Notice2023-00800
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Naval Base Point Loma Fuel Pier Inboard Pile Removal Project
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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
January 18, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued a renewal incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the United States Navy (Navy) to incidentally harass marine mammals incidental to Fuel Pier Inboard Pile Removal Project at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego Bay, CA.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 11 (Wednesday, January 18, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2889-2892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00800]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC666]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Naval Base Point Loma Fuel Pier
Inboard Pile Removal Project
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of Renewal incidental harassment authorization
(IHA).
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, notification is hereby given
that NMFS has issued a renewal
[[Page 2890]]
incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the United States Navy
(Navy) to incidentally harass marine mammals incidental to Fuel Pier
Inboard Pile Removal Project at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego Bay,
CA.
DATES: This renewal IHA is valid from January 15, 2023 through January
14, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate Fleming, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401. Electronic copies of the original
application, Renewal request, and supporting documents (including NMFS
Federal Register notices of the original proposed and final
authorizations, and the previous IHA), as well as a list of the
references cited in this document, may be obtained online at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/incidental-take-authorizations-under-marine-mammal-protection-act">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/incidental-take-authorizations-under-marine-mammal-protection-act</a>. In case of problems accessing these
documents, please call the contact listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Marine Mammal Protection Act (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 proposed or, if the taking is limited to
harassment, a notice of a proposed incidental take authorization is
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 such species or stocks for
taking for certain subsistence uses (referred to here as ``mitigation
measures''). Monitoring and reporting of such takings are also
required. The meaning of key terms such as ``take,'' ``harassment,''
and ``negligible impact'' can be found in section 3 of the MMPA (16
U.S.C. 1362) and the agency's regulations at 50 CFR 216.103.
NMFS' regulations implementing the MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e)
indicate that IHAs may be renewed for additional periods of time not to
exceed 1 year for each reauthorization. In the notice of proposed IHA
for the initial authorization, NMFS described the circumstances under
which we would consider issuing a renewal for this activity, and
requested public comment on a potential renewal under those
circumstances. Specifically, on a case-by-case basis, NMFS may issue a
one-time 1 year renewal IHA following notice to the public providing an
additional 15 days for public comments when (1) up to another year of
identical or nearly identical, or nearly identical, activities as
described in the Detailed Description of Specified Activities section
of the initial IHA issuance notice is planned or (2) the activities as
described in the Detailed Description of Specified Activities section
of the initial IHA issuance notice would not be completed by the time
the initial IHA expires and a renewal would allow for completion of the
activities beyond that described in the DATES section of the initial
IHA issuance, provided all of the following conditions are met:
(1) A request for renewal is received no later than 60 days prior
to the needed renewal IHA effective date (recognizing that the renewal
IHA expiration date cannot extend beyond 1 year from expiration of the
initial IHA);
(2) The request for renewal must include the following:
<bullet> An explanation that the activities to be conducted under
the requested renewal IHA are identical to the activities analyzed
under the initial IHA, are a subset of the activities, or include
changes so minor (e.g., reduction in pile size) that the changes do not
affect the previous analyses, mitigation and monitoring requirements,
or take estimates (with the exception of reducing the type or amount of
take);
<bullet> A preliminary monitoring report showing the results of the
required monitoring to date and an explanation showing that the
monitoring results do not indicate impacts of a scale or nature not
previously analyzed or authorized; and
(3) Upon review of the request for renewal, the status of the
affected species or stocks, and any other pertinent information, NMFS
determines that there are no more than minor changes in the activities,
the mitigation and monitoring measures will remain the same and
appropriate, and the findings in the initial IHA remain valid.
An additional public comment period of 15 days (for a total of 45
days), with direct notice by email, phone, or postal service to
commenters on the initial IHA, is provided to allow for any additional
comments on the proposed renewal. A description of the renewal process
may be found on our website at: <a href="http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-harassment-authorization-renewals">www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-harassment-authorization-renewals</a>.
History of Request
On August 26, 2021, NMFS issued an IHA to the Navy to take marine
mammals incidental to the Fuel Pier Inboard Pile Removal Project at
Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego Bay (86 FR 48986; September 01,
2021), effective from January 15, 2022 through January 14, 2023. On
November 16, 2022, NMFS received an application for the renewal of that
initial IHA. As described in the application for renewal, the
activities for which incidental take is requested consist of activities
that are covered by the initial authorization but will not be completed
prior to its expiration. At the time of submittal of the renewal
request, no activities had been conducted (though the applicant
indicated its intention to conduct some activities prior to the
expiration of the initial IHA). Therefore, a renewal is appropriate,
and no monitoring data are available for review. The notice of the
proposed renewal incidental harassment authorization was published on
December 22, 2022 (87 FR 78655).
Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts
The initial IHA authorized take incidental to the removal of 409
piles from the Fuel Pier at Naval base Point Loma by a variety of
techniques (i.e., one to two pile clippers, an underwater chainsaw, a
diamond wire saw, or a vibratory hammer, possibly with the assistance
of a diver, to allow for continued Naval Fleet readiness activities).
At the time of the request, the Navy has not done any work under the
initial IHA. The activities that will occur under the renewal IHA
consist of activities that are covered by the current authorization but
will not be completed prior to its expiration (if any work is
undertaken prior to expiration of the initial IHA). As the Navy has not
done any work under the initial IHA at the time of their request, we
assume here that the activities to be conducted under the renewal IHA
are identical to those evaluated for the initial IHA.
Level B harassment (disruption of behavioral patterns and TTS for
[[Page 2891]]
individual marine mammals resulting from exposure to the sounds
produced from the underwater acoustic sources) is authorized under the
initial IHA and authorized through this renewal for six species of
marine mammal that could be present in the project area: California sea
lion (Zalophus californianus), the northern elephant seal (Mirounga
angustirostris), the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), the bottlenose
dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), the Pacific white-sided dolphin
(Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), and the common dolphin (Delphinus
delphis). Based on the nature of the activity and the anticipated
effectiveness of the mitigation measures Level A harassment is neither
anticipated nor authorized.
The following documents are referenced in this notice and include
important supporting information:
<bullet> Initial 2022 proposed renewal IHA (87 FR 78655, December
22, 2022);
<bullet> Initial 2021 final IHA (86 FR 48986; September 01, 2021);
<bullet> Initial 2021 proposed IHA (86 FR 38274; July 20, 2021);
and
<bullet> Initial IHA application, references cited, marine mammal
monitoring plan, and San Diego Bay Acoustic Compendium (available at
<a href="http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-us-navy-fuel-pier-removal-naval-base-san-diego-california">www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-us-navy-fuel-pier-removal-naval-base-san-diego-california</a>).
Detailed Description of the Activity
A detailed description of the pile removal activities for which
take is authorized here may be found in the notices of the proposed and
final IHAs for the initial authorization. The location and nature of
the activities, including the methods and types of equipment planned
for use, are identical to those described in the previous notices. The
Navy intends to complete work by March 31, 2023, under the terms of a
previously developed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Navy
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). According to this MOU,
the Navy would only be performing in-water activities during a 196-day
period from September 16 to March 31 to not interfere with the
California least tern (Sterna antillarum browni) nesting season.
However, the renewal will be effective for a period extending to one
year from the date of expiration of the initial IHA.
Description of Marine Mammals
A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities
for which authorization of take is provided, including information on
abundance, status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the
notices of the proposed and final IHAs for the initial authorization.
NMFS has reviewed the most recent Stock Assessment Reports, information
on relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and other scientific literature,
and determined that neither this nor any other new information affects
which species or stocks have the potential to be affected or the
pertinent information in the Description of Marine Mammals in the Area
of Specified Activities contained in the supporting documents for the
initial IHA. This includes cases where stock abundances have changed.
In all cases, stock abundance estimates are either the same (i.e.,
bottlenose dolphin, California sea lion, harbor seal), or have
increased (common dolphin, Pacific white-sided dolphin, and northern
elephant seal, with the exception of the long-beaked common dolphin,
which has decreased. In all cases, our negligible impact determination
has not changed.
Potential Effects on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat
A description of the potential effects of the specified activity on
marine mammals and their habitat for the activities for which take is
authorized here may be found in the Federal Register notices of the
Proposed IHA for the initial authorization. NMFS has reviewed the most
recent draft Stock Assessment Reports, information on relevant Unusual
Mortality Events, other scientific literature, and the public comments,
and determined that neither this nor any other new information affects
our initial analysis of impacts on marine mammals and their habitat.
Estimated Take
A detailed description of the methods and inputs used to estimate
take for the specified activity are found in the notices of the
proposed and final IHAs for the initial authorization. Specifically,
the source levels, days of operation, and marine mammal density/
occurrence data applicable to this authorization remain unchanged from
the previously issued IHA. Similarly, the stocks taken, methods of
take, and types of take remain unchanged from the previously issued
IHA.
Table 1--Level B Harassment Take Estimates for the NBPL Old Fuel Pier
Pile Removal Project
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Level B
Common name take
requested
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California sea lion......................................... 1,260
Harbor seal................................................. 84
Northern elephant seal...................................... 7
Common dolphin.............................................. 756
Pacific white-sided dolphin................................. 84
Bottlenose dolphin.......................................... 84
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Description of Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measures
The mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures included as
requirements in this authorization are identical to those included in
the Federal Register notice announcing the issuance of the initial IHA,
and the discussion of the least practicable adverse impact included in
that document and the notice of the proposed IHA remains accurate. The
same measures are proposed for this renewal and are summarized here:
<bullet> The use of trained and qualified Protected Species
Observers (PSOs);
<bullet> The implementation of a 20 m shutdown zone that is larger
than the predicted Level A harassment isopleths;
<bullet> Delay or halting of activities in the event that
visibility decreases where the shutdown zone cannot be appropriately
monitored;
<bullet> Pile removal during daylight hours only;
<bullet> A minimum of one to four PSO's are allowed, depending on
the visibility of the 400 meter Level B harassment zone, the visibility
of the entire shutdown zone, and the location of pile removal
activities for concurrent pile clippers;
<bullet> PSO's will need to record all observations of marine
mammals, regardless of the distance from the pile being removed;
<bullet> Draft and final monitoring reports will be submitted to
NMFS;
<bullet> The Navy will submit all PSO datasheets and/or raw
sighting data with the draft report; and
<bullet> Reporting of injured or dead marine mammals is required.
[[Page 2892]]
Table 2--Shutdown and Harassment Zones (Meters) for Each Method
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Harassment
Pile information Removal method zone Shutdown zone
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13-inch polycarbonate pile.................... One pile clipper................ 423 20
14-inch, 16-inch concreate piles.............. One pile clipper................ 250
14-inch, 16-inch concreate piles.............. Two pile clippers............... 250
14-inch, 16-inch concreate piles.............. Underwater chainsaw............. 229
14-inch, 16-inch concreate piles.............. Diamond wire saw................ 575
14-inch, 16-inch concreate piles.............. Vibratory hammer................ 311
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Comments and Responses
A notice of NMFS' proposal to issue a renewal IHA to the Navy was
published in the Federal Register on December 22, 2022 (87 FR 78655).
That notice either described, or referenced descriptions of, the Navy's
activity, the marine mammal species that may be affected by the
activity, the anticipated effects on marine mammals and their habitat,
estimated amount and manner of take, and proposed mitigation,
monitoring and reporting measures. NMFS received no public comments.
Determinations
The renewal request consists of activities identical to those that
are covered by the initial authorization. The methods of determining
estimated take, potential effects, and required mitigation, monitoring
and reporting have not changed.
NMFS has defined negligible impact 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 (50 CFR 216.103). We
found that the activities authorized under the initial IHA would have a
negligible impact and that the taking would be small relative to the
population size.
NMFS has concluded that there is no new information suggesting that
our analysis or findings should change from those reached for the
initial IHA. This includes consideration of the estimated abundance of
common dolphin, Pacific white-sided dolphin, and northern elephant seal
stocks increasing slightly and the population estimate for long-beaked
common dolphin decreasing slightly. As such, our negligible impact
determination has not changed. Based on the information and analysis
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; (4) The Navy'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, and; (5) appropriate monitoring and reporting requirements are
included.
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 (i.e., the issuance of an IHA
renewal) with respect to potential impacts on the human environment.
This action is consistent with categories of activities identified
in Categorical Exclusion B4 (incidental take authorizations with no
anticipated serious injury or mortality) 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 have not identified any
extraordinary circumstances that would preclude this categorical
exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS determined that the issuance of the
initial IHA qualified to be categorically excluded from further NEPA
review. NMFS has determined that the application of this categorical
exclusion remains appropriate for this renewal IHA.
Endangered Species Act
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.
No incidental take of ESA-listed species is authorized or expected
to result from this activity. Therefore, NMFS has determined that
formal consultation under section 7 of the ESA is not required for this
action.
Renewal
NMFS has issued a renewal IHA to the Navy for the take of marine
mammals incidental to conducting the Fuel Pier Inboard Pile Removal
Project at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego Bay, California from
January 15, 2023 to January 14, 2024.
Dated: January 11, 2023.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-00800 Filed 1-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 18, 2023.
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