Notice2022-22425
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Mayflower Wind Project Offshore of Massachusetts
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
October 17, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS has received a request from Mayflower Wind, LLC (Mayflower Wind) for authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals incidental to the Mayflower Wind Project in a designated lease area on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) Lease Area Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)-A-0521 offshore of Massachusetts, over the course of 5 years beginning on April 1, 2025. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of Mayflower Wind's request for the development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and issuance of a 5-year Letter of Authorization (LOA). NMFS invites the public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on Mayflower Wind's application and request.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 199 (Monday, October 17, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 199 (Monday, October 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62793-62794]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22425]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC428]
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to the Mayflower Wind Project Offshore of Massachusetts
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
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 Mayflower Wind, LLC
(Mayflower Wind) for authorization to take small numbers of marine
mammals incidental to the Mayflower Wind Project in a designated lease
area on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) Lease Area Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS)-A-0521 offshore of Massachusetts, over the
course of 5 years beginning on April 1, 2025. Pursuant to regulations
implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is
announcing receipt of Mayflower Wind's request for the development and
implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine
mammals and issuance of a 5-year Letter of Authorization (LOA). NMFS
invites the public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on
Mayflower Wind's application and request.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than November
16, 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#dd94898df398aebeb59db3b2bcbcf3bab2ab"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0b425f5b254e7868634b65646a6a256c647d">[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) 427-8401. An electronic copy of Mayflower 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
[[Page 62794]]
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).
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.
Summary of Request
On March 18, 2022, NMFS received an application from Mayflower Wind
requesting authorization to take marine mammals incidental to
construction activities associated with the Mayflower Wind Offshore
Wind Project offshore of Massachusetts in the designated Lease Area
OCS-A-0521. In response to our comments, and following extensive
information exchange with NMFS, Mayflower Wind submitted a final,
revised application on September 14, 2022, which we determined was
adequate and complete on September 19, 2022. Mayflower Wind requested
the regulations and subsequent LOA be valid for 5 years beginning on
April 1, 2025.
Mayflower Wind plans to conduct wind farm construction activities,
including impact and vibratory pile driving, cable installation,
unexploded ordnances (UXO) detonation, and high-resolution geophysical
(HRG) site characterization surveys to build and operate the Mayflower
Wind Project. Vessel use and fishery surveys will also be necessary to
support the project. The proposed action may incidentally expose marine
mammals occurring in the vicinity to elevated levels of underwater
noise during pile driving, UXO detonation, and HRG surveys, thereby
resulting in incidental take, by Level A harassment and/or Level B
harassment, of marine mammals. Therefore, Mayflower Wind requests
authorization to incidentally take marine mammals.
Specified Activities
Through a competitive leasing process under 30 CFR 585.211,
Mayflower Wind was awarded Commercial Lease OCS-A 0521 offshore of
Massachusetts and the exclusive right to submit a construction and
operations plan (COP) for activities within the lease area. Mayflower
Wind has submitted a COP to BOEM proposing the construction, operation,
maintenance, and conceptual decommissioning of the Mayflower Wind
Project, a 2,400 megawatt (MW) capacity commercial-scale offshore wind
energy facility consisting of up to 147 wind turbines, up to five
offshore sub-stations, and two export cable corridors making landfall
in Falmouth and Somerset, Massachusetts.
Mayflower Wind anticipates the following activities may potentially
result in harassment of marine mammals during the effective period of
the requested regulations and associated LOA:
<bullet> Installing up to 147 WTG monopile foundations with a
maximum diameter tapering from 9 meters (m; 30 feet (ft)) above the
waterline to 16 m (39 ft) below the waterline (9/16-m monopile) using a
vibratory hammer and 6,600 kJ impact hammer, or installing up to 588
pin piles with a 4.5-m maximum diameter to support up to 147 WTGs using
a vibratory hammer and a 3,500 kJ impact hammer;
<bullet> Installing up to five 9/16-m diameter OSP monopile
foundations using a 6,600 kJ impact hammer, or installing up to 135 pin
piles with a 4.5-m maximum diameter to support five OSPs using a 3,500
kJ impact hammer;
<bullet> Using HRG equipment to survey approximately 27,000
kilometers (km) (16,777 miles (mi)) over 338 days across all 5 years
(2025-2030);
<bullet> Detonating up to 10 UXOs over the course of 5 years with
no more than 1 UXO detonation occurring on any given day.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning Mayflower 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 Mayflower Wind, if appropriate.
Dated: October 11, 2022.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-22425 Filed 10-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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