Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the U.S. Coast Guard's Alaska Facility Maintenance and Repair Activities
| Published date | 07 March 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-04793 |
| Citation | 89 FR 16545 |
| Court | National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration |
| Section | Notices |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 46 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 46 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16545-16546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04793]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XD703]
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to the U.S. Coast Guard's Alaska Facility Maintenance and
Repair Activities
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice. Issuance of letter of authorization.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as
amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given
that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to the United
States Coast Guard (Coast Guard), for the unintentional taking of
marine mammals incidental to maintenance and repair at facilities in
Alaska, over the course of 5 years (2024-2029).
DATES: This LOA is effective from March 1, 2024, through February 28,
2029.
[[Page 16546]]
ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting documentation are available online
at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-us-coast-guards-alaska-facility-maintenance-and-repair.
In case of problems accessing these documents, please call the contact
listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cara Hotchkin, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The MMPA prohibits the ``take'' of marine mammals, with certain
exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361
et seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated to NMFS) to
allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of
small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a
specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified
geographical region if certain findings are made and either regulations
are issued or, if the taking is limited to harassment, a notice of a
proposed incidental take authorization may be provided to the public
for review.
Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds
that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or
stock(s) and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for taking for subsistence uses
(where relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods
of taking and other ``means of effecting the least practicable adverse
impact'' on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, paying
particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar
significance, and on the availability of the species or stocks for
taking for certain subsistence uses (referred to as ``mitigation'');
and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring, and
reporting of the takings are set forth. NMFS has defined ``negligible
impact'' in 50 CFR 216.103 as an impact resulting from the specified
activity that cannot be reasonably expected to, and is not reasonably
likely to, adversely affect the species or stock through effects on
annual rates of recruitment or survival.
Except with respect to certain activities not pertinent here, the
MMPA defines ``harassment'' as: any act of pursuit, torment, or
annoyance which: (i) has the potential to injure a marine mammal or
marine mammal stock in the wild (Level A harassment); or (ii) has the
potential to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild
by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not
limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or
sheltering (Level B harassment).
Summary of Request
On December 20, 2023, we issued a final rule upon request from the
Coast Guard for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to
construction activities (88 FR 87937). The Coast Guard plans to conduct
construction activities for pier maintenance and repair at eight
facilities in Alaska. This construction will include use of vibratory
pile driving and removal, impact pile driving, and down-the-hole (DTH)
drilling. The use of vibratory and impact pile driving and DTH drilling
is expected to produce underwater sound at levels that have the
potential to result in Level A and Level B harassment of marine
mammals.
Authorization
We have issued a LOA to Coast Guard authorizing the take of marine
mammals incidental to construction activities, as described above. Take
of marine mammals will be minimized through the implementation of the
following planned mitigation measures: (1) required monitoring of the
construction area to detect the presence of marine mammals before
beginning construction activities; (2) shutdown of construction
activities under certain circumstances to avoid injury of marine
mammals; and (3) soft start for impact pile driving to allow marine
mammals the opportunity to leave the area prior to beginning impact
pile driving at full power. Additionally, the rule includes an adaptive
management component that allows for timely modification of mitigation
or monitoring measures based on new information, when appropriate. The
Coast Guard will submit reports as required.
Based on these findings and the information discussed in the
preamble to the final rule, the activities described under this LOA
will have a negligible impact on marine mammal stocks and will not have
an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the affected
marine mammal stock for subsistence uses.
Dated: March 1, 2024.
Catherine Marzin,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-04793 Filed 3-6-24; 8:45 am]
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