Notice2022-05947
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Construction and Operation of the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Farm Offshore of Rhode Island
Primary source
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Published
March 21, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS has received a request from Revolution Wind, LLC (Revolution Wind), a subsidiary of [Oslash]rsted Wind Power North America, LLC's ([Oslash]rsted), for authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals incidental to construction and operation activities associated with the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Farm in Revolution Wind's lease area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OSC-A 0468) offshore of Rhode Island over the course of 5 years beginning in 2023. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of Revolution Wind's request for the development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and issuance of a Letter of Authorization (LOA). NMFS invites the public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on Revolution Wind's application and request.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 54 (Monday, March 21, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 54 (Monday, March 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15942-15944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05947]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XB890]
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Construction and Operation of the Revolution Wind
Offshore Wind Farm Offshore of Rhode Island
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
[[Page 15943]]
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for regulations and letter of
authorization; request for comments and information.
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SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from Revolution Wind, LLC
(Revolution Wind), a subsidiary of [Oslash]rsted Wind Power North
America, LLC's ([Oslash]rsted), for authorization to take small numbers
of marine mammals incidental to construction and operation activities
associated with the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Farm in Revolution
Wind's lease area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OSC-A 0468) offshore
of Rhode Island over the course of 5 years beginning in 2023. Pursuant
to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA),
NMFS is announcing receipt of Revolution Wind's request for the
development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental
taking of marine mammals and issuance of a Letter of Authorization
(LOA). NMFS invites the public to provide information, suggestions, and
comments on Revolution Wind's application and request.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than April
20, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the applications should be addressed to Jolie
Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service and should be sent to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6c25383c42291f0f042c02030d0d420b031a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7c35282c52390f1f143c12131d1d521b130a">[email protected]</span></a>.
Instructions: NMFS is not responsible for comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the
end of the comment period. Comments received electronically, including
all attachments, must not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. Attachments
to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel or
Adobe PDF file formats only. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted online at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-other-energy-activities-renewable">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-other-energy-activities-renewable</a> without change.
All personal identifying information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carter Esch, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8421. An electronic copy of Revolution
Wind's application may be obtained online at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-other-energy-activities-renewable">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-other-energy-activities-renewable</a>. In case of
problems accessing these documents, please email the contact listed
above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
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
authorization is provided to the public for review.
An incidental take authorization shall be granted if NMFS finds
that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or
stock(s), will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where
relevant), 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.
The MMPA states that the term ``take'' means to harass, hunt,
capture, kill or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine
mammal.
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 October 8, 2021, NMFS received an application from Revolution
Wind requesting authorization for the taking of marine mammals
incidental to construction and operation activities related to the
development of the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Farm offshore of Rhode
Island in Commercial Lease (OCS-A-0486). In response to our comments,
and following extensive information exchange with NMFS, Revolution Wind
submitted a revised application on February 23, 2022, that we
determined was adequate and complete on February 28, 2022. Revolution
Wind requested the regulations and subsequent LOA be valid for five
years beginning in 2023.
Revolution Wind considered the following activities associated with
Wind Farm construction and operation in its application: Impact
installation of monopiles for wind turbine generators (WTG)
foundations; impact installation of monopiles for offshore sub-station
(OSS) foundations; potential detonations of unexploded ordnances
(UXOs); construction of temporary cofferdams or casing pipes with
support sheet piles at the sea-to-shore transitions, which includes
vibratory installation and removal of sheet piles and pneumatic
hammering installation and removal of casing pipes; site
characterization surveys; fisheries monitoring; placement of scour
protection; and export cable and inter-array cable trenching, laying,
and burial. Vessels will be used to transport crew, supplies, and
materials within the Project area and to the Wind Farm location to
support pile installation. A subset of these activities (i.e.,
installing and removing piles and casing pipes using impact and
vibratory hammers, UXO detonation, and site characterization surveys)
may result in the taking, by Level A harassment and Level B harassment,
of marine mammals. Therefore, Revolution Wind requests authorization to
incidentally take marine mammals.
Specified Activities
In Executive Order 14008, President Biden stated that it is the
policy of the United States to organize and deploy the full capacity of
its agencies to combat the climate crisis to implement a Government-
wide approach that reduces climate pollution in every sector of the
economy; increases resilience to the impacts of climate change;
protects public health; conserves our lands, waters, and biodiversity;
delivers environmental justice; and spurs well-paying union jobs and
economic growth, especially through innovation, commercialization, and
deployment of clean energy technologies and infrastructure.
Through a competitive leasing process under 30 CFR 585.211,
Revolution Wind was awarded Commercial Lease OCS-A 0486 offshore of
Rhode Island and the exclusive right to submit a construction
[[Page 15944]]
and operations plan (COP) for activities within the lease area.
Revolution Wind, LLC has submitted a COP to BOEM proposing the
construction, operation, maintenance, and conceptual decommissioning of
the Revolution Wind project, a 704-megawatt (MW) commercial-scale
offshore wind energy facility located within Lease Area OCS-A 0486 and
consisting of up to 100 wind turbines, 2 offshore sub-stations, and 2
transmission cables to shore.
Revolution Wind anticipates activities potentially resulting in the
taking of marine mammals could occur for the life of the requested
regulations and LOA. This includes:
<bullet> Construction-related high-resolution site assessment
geophysical surveys in all 5 years (248 survey days per year during
Years 1; 25 survey days per year during Years 2 through 5);
<bullet> the installation of up to 100 WTG monopile foundations
(12-meter (m) diameter piles) by impact pile driving from May through
December in Year 1 over the course of 31 to 100 days;
<bullet> the installation of 2 OSS foundations by impact pile
driving of 2 monopiles (15-m diameter piles) from May through December
in Year 1 over the course of 2 days;
<bullet> the installation and removal of 2 temporary cofferdams by
vibratory pile driving at the cable tie-in area in Year 1 (14 days for
installation and 14 days for removal per cofferdam; 56 days total) or,
as an alternative to cofferdams (and also at the cable tie-in area in
Year 1), installation and removal of 2 casing pipes by pneumatic
hammering and supporting sheet piles by vibratory pile driving (2 days
for installation and 2 days for removal per casing pipe, 8 days total;
6 days for installation and 6 days for removal of support sheet piles
per cable tie-in area, 24 days total); and,
<bullet> the potential detonation of up to 13 UXOs over the course
of 13 days in Year 1 (1 UXO detonation per day, as necessary).
Revolution Wind has noted that these are the most accurate
estimates for the durations of each planned activity, but that the
schedule may shift over the course of the Project due to weather,
mechanical, or other related delays.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning Revolution Wind's request (see ADDRESSES). NMFS
will consider all information, suggestions, and comments related to the
request during the development of proposed regulations governing the
incidental taking of marine mammals by Revolution Wind, if appropriate.
Dated: March 16, 2022.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-05947 Filed 3-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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