Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Hilcorp Alaska, LLC Oil and Gas Activities in Cook Inlet, Alaska
Built by the Tribune's code from the Federal Register. No AI wrote this page. Published in the Federal Register Feb. 20, 2026. Document 2026-03375. Updated Nov. 14, 2026.
- What it does
NMFS, upon request from Hilcorp Alaska, LLC (Hilcorp), issues this final rule pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), to govern the taking of marine mammals incidental to specified activities conducted in support of oil and gas exploration, development, production, and decommissioning in Cook Inlet, Alaska, over the course of 5 years (2026-2031) and an associated letter of authorization (LOA). Together, the final rule and LOA allow for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described specified activities and timeframes, prescribes the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species and their habitat, and establishes requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's summary, as published in the Federal Register.
- What changed in the regulation
1 part of Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations:
Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).
- Compared with
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has published 186 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 184 in all of 2025.
Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.
- Before this
1 earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 0648-BN57 since Jan. 1, 2025.
- What happens next and when
This final rule and the LOA are effective February 20, 2026, through February 19, 2031.
The agency's dates, word for word.
The record as published
| Document number | 2026-03375 |
|---|---|
| Action | Final rule; notification of issuance of Letter of Authorization (LOA). |
| Agencies | Commerce Department; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
| Published | Feb. 20, 2026 |
| Effective date | Feb. 20, 2026 |
| Regulation identifier (RIN) | 0648-BN57 |
| Docket | NOAA-NMFS-2025-0052 |
Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register