Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities: Operation of an LNG Facility in Massachusetts Bay
Federal Register: May 21, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 99)
Notices
Page 29485-29491
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
DOCID:fr21my08-34
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XI04
Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Operation of an LNG Facility in Massachusetts Bay
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of issuance of an incidental harassment authorization.
SUMMARY: In accordance with regulations implementing the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that an
Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to operation of an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in the Massachusetts Bay, has been issued to
Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge\TM\ L.L.C. (Northeast Gateway) for a period of 1 year.
DATES: This authorization is effective from May 15, 2008, until May 14, 2009.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the application, IHA, and a list of references used in this document may be obtained by writing to P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3225. A copy of the application may be obtained by writing to this address or by telephoning the contact listed here and is also available at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/ permits/incidental.htm#iha.
The Maritime Administration (MARAD) and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) on the Northeast
Gateway Energy Bridge LNG Deepwater Port license application is available for viewing at http://dms.dot.gov under the docket number 22219.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Guan, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2289, ext 137.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional taking 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 regulations are issued or, if the taking is limited to harassment, a notice of a proposed authorization is provided to the public for review.
An authorization 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 certain subsistence uses, and if the permissible methods of taking and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of such 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.''
Subsection 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA established an expedited process by which citizens of the United States can apply for an authorization to incidentally take marine mammals by harassment. Except with respect to certain activities not pertinent here, the MMPA defines
``harassment'' as follows: 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
.
Section 101(a)(5)(D) establishes a 45-day time limit for NMFS review of an application followed by a 30-day public notice and comment period on any proposed authorizations for the incidental harassment of marine mammals. Within 45 days of the close of the comment period, NMFS must either issue or deny issuance of the authorization.
Description of the Activity
The Port consists of two subsea Submerged Turret Loading (STL ) buoys, each with a flexible riser assembly and a manifold connecting the riser assembly, via a steel flowline, to the subsea Pipeline
Lateral. Northeast Gateway utilizes vessels from its current fleet of specially designed Energy-Bridge\TM\ Regasification Vessels (EBRVs), each capable of transporting approximately 2.9 billion ft\3\ (Bcf; 82 million m\3\) of natural gas condensed to 4.9 million ft\3\ (138,000 m\3\) of LNG. Northeast Gateway will also add vessels to its fleet that will have a cargo capacity of approximately 151,000 m\3\. The mooring system installed at the Port is designed to handle both the existing vessels and any of the larger capacity vessels that may come into service in the future. The EBRVs dock to the STLTM\TM\ buoys which serve as both the single-point mooring system for the vessels and the delivery conduit for natural gas. Each of the STLTM buoys is secured to the seafloor using a series of suction anchors and a combination of chain/cable anchor lines.
During the Port operations, EBRVs servicing the Port would utilize the newly configured and International Maritime Organization-approved
Boston Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) on their approach to and departure from the NEG Port at the earliest practicable point of transit. EBRVs would maintain speeds of 12 knots or less while in the
TSS except when transiting the Off Race Point Seasonal Management Area between March 1 and April 30, the Great South Channel Seasonal
Management Area between April 1 and July 31, or when there have been active right whale sightings, active acoustic detections, or both, in the vicinity of the transiting EBRV in the TSS or at the Port, in which case the vessels would slow their speeds to 10 knots or less. See the
Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measurements section.
As an EBRV makes its final approach to the Port, vessel speed will gradually be reduced to 3 knots at 1.86 mi (1.16 km) out to less than 1 knot at a distance of 1,640 ft (500 m) from the Port. When an EBRV arrives at the Port, it will retrieve one of the two permanently anchored submerged STLTM\TM\ buoys. It will make final connection to the buoy through a series of engine and bow thruster actions. The EBRV will require the use of thrusters for dynamic positioning during docking procedure. Typically, the docking procedure is completed over a 10- to 30-minute period, with the thrusters activated as necessary for short periods of time in second bursts, not a continuous sound source.
Once connected to the buoy, the EBRV will begin vaporizing the liquified natural gas (LNG) into its natural gas state using the onboard regasification system. As the LNG is regasified, natural gas will be transferred at pipeline pressures off the EBRV through the
STLTM\TM\ buoy and flexible riser via a steel flowline leading to the connecting Pipeline Lateral. When the LNG vessel is on the buoy, wind and current effects on the vessel will be allowed to ``weathervane'' on the single-point mooring system; therefore, thrusters will not be used to maintain a stationary position. It would take approximately 8 days for each EBRV to moor to the
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STLTM\TM\ Buoy, regasify its cargo of LNG and send it to the Northeast
Gateway Pipeline Lateral, and disengage from the buoy.
It is estimated that the Port could receive approximately 65 cargo deliveries a year. During this time period thrusters will be engaged in use for docking at the Port approximately 10 to 30 minutes for each vessel arrival and departure.
The specified design life of the NEG Port is about 40 years, with the exception of the anchors, mooring chain/rope, and riser/umbilical assemblies, which are based on a maintenance-free design life of 20 years. The buoy pick-up system components are considered consumable and will be inspected following each buoy connection, and replaced (from inside the STLTM compartment during the normal cargo discharge period) as deemed necessary. The underwater components of the Port will be inspected once yearly using either divers or remotely operated vehicles to check and record the condition of the various STLTM system components. These activities will be conducted using the Port's normal support vessel, and to the extent possible will coincide with planned weekly visits to the Port.
Detailed information on these activities can be found in the MARAD/
USCG Final EIS on the Northeast Gateway Project (see ADDRESSES for availability) and in the IHA application. Detailed information on the
LNG facility's operation and maintenance activities, and noise generated from operations was also published in the Federal Register on
March 13, 2007 (72 FR 11328). No changes have been made to these proposed activities.
Comments and Responses
A notice of receipt and request for public comment on the application and proposed authorization was published on March 27, 2008
(73 FR 16266). During the 30-day public comment period, NMFS received comments from the Marine Mammal Commission (Commission) and two private citizens.
Comment 1: The Commission recommends that NMFS issue the IHA provided that (a) all marine mammal mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures identified in the Federal Register notice are included in the authorization and retained in any proposed regulations issued by NMFS to govern the activities over a five-year period; and
(b) operations be suspended immediately if a dead or seriously injured right whale or other marine mammal is found in the vicinity of the operations and the death or injury could be attributable to the applicant's activities. Any suspension should remain in place until
NMFS (1) has reviewed the situation and determined that further deaths or serious injuries are unlikely or (2) has issued regulations authorizing such takes under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA.
Response: NMFS concurs with the Commission's recommendation raised in the above comment, and extends the requirement to any type of injury, not just serious injury, if it could be attributable to LNG activities.
Comment 2: One private citizen states that more due diligence on the front end is needed before NMFS issues the IHA.
Response: NMFS has conducted extensive review of the best science available regarding the biology of the marine mammals affected and the propagation of sounds from operations of the offshore LNG port. This information is supported by Draft and Final Environmental Impact
Statements issued by MARAD and USCG under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) and a biological opinion pursuant to the Endangered
Species Act (ESA).
Comment 3: One private citizen questions why NMFS grants the permit if there is harassment to marine mammals.
Response: As stated in the beginning of this document, the MMPA directs the Secretary to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional taking 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. NMFS has made these findings and followed the appropriate process set forth in MMPA section 101(a)(5)(D).
Marine Mammals Affected by the Activity
Marine mammal species that potentially occur in the vicinity of the
Northeast Gateway facility include several species of cetaceans and pinnipeds:
North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), minke whale (B. acutorostrata), pilot whale (Globicephala spp.),
Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), killer whale (Orcinus orca), harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), and gray seal (Halichoerus grypus).
Information on those species that may be impacted by this activity are discussed in detail in the MARAD and USCG Final EIS on the
Northeast Gateway LNG proposal. Please refer to that document for more information on these species and potential impacts from construction and operation of this LNG facility. In addition, general information on these marine mammal species can also be found in Wursig et al. (2000) and in the NMFS Stock Assessment Reports (Waring et al., 2007). This latter document is available at: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/ publications/tm/tm201/. An updated summary on several commonly sighted marine mammal species distribution and abundance in the vicinity of the proposed action area is provided below.
Humpback Whale
The highest abundance for humpback whales was distributed primarily along a relatively narrow corridor following the 100-m (328 ft) isobath across the southern Gulf of Maine from the northwestern slope of
Georges Bank, south to the Great South Channel, and northward alongside
Cape Cod to Stellwagen Bank and Jeffreys Ledge. The relative abundance of whales increased in the spring with the highest occurrence along the slope waters (between the 40- and 140-m, or 131- and 459-ft, isobaths) off Cape Cod and Davis Bank, Stellwagen Basin and Tillies Basin and between the 50- and 200-m (164- and 656-ft) isobaths along the inner slope of Georges Bank. High abundance was also estimated for the waters around Platts Bank. In the summer months, abundance increased markedly over the shallow waters (
