Notice2022-14191
Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specific Activities; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Pile Driving and Removal Activities During the Metlakatla Seaplane Facility Refurbishment Project, Metlakatla, Alaska
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 6, 2022
Effective
July 1, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS has received a request from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (AKDOT&PF) for the re-issuance of a previously issued incidental harassment authorization (IHA) with the only change being effective dates. The initial IHA authorized take of eight species of marine mammals, by Level B harassment only, incidental to pile driving and removal activities and down-the-hole (DTH) drilling activities associated with maintenance improvements to the existing Metlakatla Seaplane Facility (MSF), Metlakatla, Alaska. The project has been delayed and none of the work covered in the initial IHA has been conducted. The initial IHA was effective from August 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022. The AKDOT&PF has requested re-issuance with new effective dates of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. The scope of the activities and anticipated effects remain the same, authorized take numbers are not changed, and the required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting remains the same as included in the initial IHA. NMFS is, therefore, issuing a second identical IHA to cover the incidental take analyzed and authorized in the initial IHA.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 128 (Wednesday, July 6, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40184-40186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14191]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC142]
Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specific Activities;
Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Pile Driving and Removal
Activities During the Metlakatla Seaplane Facility Refurbishment
Project, Metlakatla, Alaska
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of incidental harassment authorization.
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SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from the Alaska Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities (AKDOT&PF) for the re-issuance of
a previously issued incidental harassment authorization (IHA) with the
only change being effective dates. The initial IHA authorized take of
eight species of marine mammals, by Level B harassment only, incidental
to pile driving and removal activities and down-the-hole (DTH) drilling
activities associated with maintenance improvements to the existing
Metlakatla Seaplane Facility (MSF), Metlakatla, Alaska. The project has
been delayed and none of the work covered in the initial IHA has been
conducted. The initial IHA was effective from August 1, 2021 through
July 31, 2022. The AKDOT&PF has requested re-issuance with new
effective dates of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. The scope of the
activities and anticipated effects remain the same, authorized take
numbers are not changed, and the required mitigation, monitoring, and
reporting remains the same as included in the initial IHA. NMFS is,
therefore, issuing a second identical IHA to cover the incidental take
analyzed and authorized in the initial IHA.
DATES: This authorization is effective from July 1, 2022 through June
30, 2023.
ADDRESSES: An electronic copy of the final 2021 IHA previously issued
to the AKDOT&PF, the AKDOT&PF's application, and the Federal Register
notices proposing and issuing the initial IHA may be obtained by
visiting https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-
authorization-alaska-department-transportation-metlakatla-
[[Page 40185]]
seaplane-facility. In case of problems accessing these documents,
please call the contact listed below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Laws, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(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 authorization for incidental takings 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 August 6, 2021, NMFS published a final notice of our issuance of
an IHA authorizing take of marine mammals incidental to the MSF project
in Southeast Alaska (86 FR 43190). The effective dates of that IHA were
August 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022. On May 4, 2022, the AKDOT&PF
informed NMFS that the project was delayed. None of the work identified
in the initial IHA (e.g., pile driving activities, DTH) has occurred.
The AKDOT&PF submitted a request on May 4, 2022 that we reissue an
identical IHA that would be effective from July 1, 2022 through June
30, 2023, in order to conduct the construction work that was analyzed
and authorized through the previously issued IHA. Therefore, re-
issuance of the IHA is appropriate.
Summary of Specified Activity and Anticipated Impacts
The planned activities (including mitigation, monitoring, and
reporting), authorized incidental take, and anticipated impacts on the
affected stocks are the same as those analyzed and authorized through
the previously issued IHA.
The purpose of this project is to make repairs to the MSF. The
existing facility has deteriorated in recent years and AKDOT&PF has
conducted several repair projects. The facility is near the end of its
useful life, and replacement of all the existing float structures is
required to continue safe operation in the future. Refurbishment of the
MSF will require pile installation and removal using impact and
vibratory driving methods, as well as DTH and is expected to take 26
days of in-water work. The location, timing, and nature of the
activities, including the types of equipment planned for use, are
identical to those described in the initial IHA. The mitigation and
monitoring are also as prescribed in the initial IHA.
Species that are expected to be taken by the planned activity
include: Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), Humpback whale
(Megaptera novaeangliae), Killer whale (Orcinus orca), Pacific White-
Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), Dall's porpoise
(Phocoenoides dalli), Harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), Steller Sea
Lion (Eumetopias jubatus), and Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). A
description of the methods and inputs used to estimate take anticipated
to occur and, ultimately, the take that was authorized is found in the
previous documents referenced above. The data inputs and methods of
estimating take are identical to those used in the initial IHA. NMFS
has reviewed recent Stock Assessment Reports, information on relevant
Unusual Mortality Events, and recent scientific literature, and
determined that no new information affects our original analysis of
impacts or take estimate under the initial IHA.
We refer to the documents related to the previously issued IHA,
which include the Federal Register notice of the issuance of the
initial 2021 IHA for the AKDOT&PF's construction work (86 FR 43190),
the AKDOT&PF's application, the Federal Register notice of the proposed
IHA (86 FR 34203), and all associated references and documents.
Determinations
The AKDOT&PF will conduct activities as analyzed in the initial
2021 IHA. As described above, the number of authorized takes of the
same species and stocks of marine mammals are identical to the numbers
that were found to meet the negligible impact and small numbers
standards and authorized under the initial IHA and no new information
has emerged that would change those findings. The re-issued 2022 IHA
includes identical required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting
measures as the initial IHA, and there is no new information suggesting
that our analysis or findings should change.
Based on the information contained here and in the referenced
documents, NMFS has determined the following: (1) the required
mitigation measures will effect the least practicable impact on marine
mammal species or stocks and their habitat; (2) the authorized takes
will have a negligible impact on the affected marine mammal species or
stocks; (3) the authorized takes represent small numbers of marine
mammals relative to the affected stock abundances; and (4) the
AKDOT&PF's activities will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on
taking for subsistence purposes as no relevant subsistence uses of
marine mammals are implicated by this action.
National Environmental Policy Act
To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA;
42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6A,
NMFS must review our proposed action with respect to environmental
consequences on the human environment.
Accordingly, NMFS has determined that the issuance of the IHA
qualifies to be categorically excluded from further NEPA review. This
action is consistent with categories of activities identified in CE B4
of the Companion Manual for NOAA Administrative Order 216-6A, which do
not individually or cumulatively have the potential for significant
impacts on the quality of the human environment and for which we
[[Page 40186]]
have not identified any extraordinary circumstances that would preclude
this categorical exclusion.
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA: 16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal agency insure that any
action it authorizes, funds, or carries out is not likely to jeopardize
the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or
result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated
critical habitat. To ensure ESA compliance for the issuance of IHAs,
NMFS consults internally whenever we propose to authorize take for
endangered or threatened species, in this case with the Alaska Regional
Office (AKRO).
NMFS is authorizing take of Mexico DPS humpback whales which are
listed under the ESA. The Permit and Conservation Division completed a
Section 7 consultation with the AKRO for the issuance of this IHA and a
biological opinion was issued on July 23, 2021. The AKRO's biological
opinion states that the action is not likely to jeopardize the
continued existence of Mexico DPS humpback whales. The July 23, 2021
biological opinion is still in effect.
Authorization
NMFS has issued an IHA to the AKDOT&PF for in-water construction
activities associated with the specified activity from July 1, 2022
through June 30, 2023. All previously described mitigation, monitoring,
and reporting requirements from the initial 2021 IHA are incorporated.
Dated: June 28, 2022.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-14191 Filed 7-5-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 6, 2022.
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