Notice2023-14237
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Falls Bridge Replacement Project in Blue Hill, Maine
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Published
July 6, 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 Maine Department of Transportation (MEDOT) to incidentally harass marine mammals incidental to Falls Bridge Replacement Project in Blue Hill, Maine.
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 128 (Thursday, July 6, 2023)</title>
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<body><pre>[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 128 (Thursday, July 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43079-43082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14237]
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Notices
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 128 / Thursday, July 6, 2023 /
Notices
[[Page 43079]]
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XD109]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Falls Bridge Replacement
Project in Blue Hill, Maine
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of renewal incidental harassment
authorization.
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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 incidental harassment authorization
(IHA) to Maine Department of Transportation (MEDOT) to incidentally
harass marine mammals incidental to Falls Bridge Replacement Project in
Blue Hill, Maine.
DATES: This renewal IHA is valid from July 1, 2023 through June 30,
2024.
ADDRESSES: 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 below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jenna Harlacher, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The 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 issued or, if the taking is limited to harassment, an incidental
harassment authorization is issued.
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 one 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, activities as described in the Detailed
Description of Specified Activity section of the initial IHA issuance
notice is planned or (2) the activities as described in the Description
of the Specified Activity and Anticipated Impacts 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 notice of
issuance of the initial IHA, 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.
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 December 8, 2021, NMFS issued an IHA to MEDOT to take marine
[[Page 43080]]
mammals incidental to the Falls Bridge Replacement Project in Blue
Hill, Maine (86 FR 71034, December 14, 2021), effective from July 1,
2022 through June 30, 2023. On March 3, 2023, 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. As
required, the applicant also provided a preliminary monitoring report
(available at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-maine-department-transportation-falls-bridge-project-blue-hill">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-maine-department-transportation-falls-bridge-project-blue-hill</a>) which confirms that the applicant has implemented the
required mitigation and monitoring, and which also shows that no
impacts of a scale or nature not previously analyzed or authorized have
occurred as a result of the activities conducted. The notice of the
proposed renewal incidental harassment authorization was published on
June 9, 2023 (88 FR 37864).
Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts
The MEDOT construction project consists of creating a temporary
bridge for vehicle traffic during work on the Falls Bridge, which was
expected to require the installation (and then removal when the project
is complete) of 15 24-inch steel pipe piles. Work on the main bridge
deck was not expected to incidentally harass marine mammals, however in
order to facilitate that work, MEDOT planned to place one or two large
trestles (up to 100 foot by 125 foot (30.5 by 38 meters) long) in the
water next to the bridge. These trestles were expected to require the
installation of up to 60 24-inch diameter steel pipe piles. In addition
to the temporary work trestles and temporary bridge, MEDOT anticipated
the need for four temporary support towers during the demolition and
removal of the existing bridge superstructure. The temporary support
towers were to be placed at the corners of the tied arch, approximately
20 feet (6.1 meters) in from the existing bridge abutments. The
temporary support towers were expected to require up to 5 24-inch steel
pipe piles to support each of the towers, for a total of 20 24-inch
steel pipe piles.
In total the initial project plans included the installation and
removal of 95 24-inch diameter steel pipe piles. It was expected that
all 95 piles would be installed in rock sockets (holes) in the bedrock
created by down-the-hole (DTH) equipment. Impact pile driving would be
used to seat the piles and potentially drive them through softer
substrates. For piles driven in the center of the channel under the
bridge (mostly for the trestles), additional lateral stability may
require the use of rebar tension anchors drilled deeper into the
substrate in the center of the piles and connected to the piles once
installed. This would be accomplished by using an 8-inch diameter DTH
bit. It was expected that no more than 65 of the 95 piles would require
these tension anchors. Once the work on the bridge was complete, all 95
piles would be removed using a vibratory hammer. The DTH and impact
hammer installation and vibratory extraction of the piles was expected
to take up to 80 days of in-water work.
MEDOT subsequently updated its construction plans by reducing the
number of driven piles from the previously estimated 95 piles down to a
total of 12 piles. Pile size was also reduced from 24-inch steel pipe
piles to 14-inch steel pipe piles. MEDOT completed all pile driving
with the use of an impact hammer, and the DTH method was not used by
MEDOT. All project related pile installation activities conducted under
the initial IHA, which were limited to installation of 12 14-inch steel
piles, were completed over a 2-day period in October and November 2022.
This renewal request is to cover the subset of the activities
covered in the initial IHA that will not be completed during the
effective IHA period. MEDOT plans to remove all 12 14-inch steel pipe
piles through vibratory means between October and December of 2023.
MEDOT estimates it will take 30 minutes to remove a single pile, with
up to six piles removed per day.
The likely or possible impacts of MEDOT's planned activity on
marine mammals could involve both non-acoustic and acoustic stressors
and are unchanged from the impacts described in the initial IHA.
Potential non-acoustic stressors could result from the physical
presence of the equipment, vessels, and personnel; however, any impacts
to marine mammals are expected to primarily be acoustic in nature.
Acoustic stressors include effects of heavy equipment operation during
pile installation and removal. The effects of underwater and in-air
noise and visual disturbance from the MEDOT's planned activities have
the potential to result in Level B harassment of marine mammals in the
action area.
Detailed Description of the Activity
A detailed description of the construction activities for which
take is authorized here may be found in the notices of the proposed and
final IHAs for the initial authorization (86 FR 61164, November 5,
2021; 86 FR 71034, December 14, 2021). As previously mentioned, this
request is for a subset of the activities authorized in the initial IHA
that would not be completed prior to its expiration. The location,
timing, and nature of the activities, including the types of equipment
planned for use, are identical to those described in the previous
notice for the initial IHA. Changes to the initial scope include the
reduction of pile size and number of piles required. The initial scope
planned for the installation and removal of 95 24-inch steel pipe
piles. In total, 12 14-inch piles were installed. MEDOT is requesting a
renewal IHA for vibratory removal of 12 14-inch steel pipe piles. The
renewal IHA would be effective from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.
Description of Marine Mammals
A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities
for which take is authorized here, including information on abundance,
status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the notice of the
proposed IHA for the initial authorization (86 FR 61164, November 5,
2021). NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data from the initial IHA,
recent draft 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 the Marine Mammals in the Area of Specified
Activities contained in the supporting documents for the initial IHA
(86 FR 61164, November 5, 2021).
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 notice of the proposed IHA for the
initial authorization (86 FR 61164, November 5, 2021). NMFS has
reviewed the monitoring data from the initial IHA, recent draft Stock
Assessment Reports, information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events,
and other scientific literature, 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
[[Page 43081]]
specified activity are found in the notices of the proposed and final
IHAs for the initial authorization (86 FR 61164, November 5, 2021; 86
FR 71034, December 14, 2021). Specifically, days of operation, area or
space within which harassment is likely to occur, and marine mammal
occurrence data applicable to this authorization remain unchanged from
the initial IHA. Similarly, the stocks taken, methods of take, daily
take estimates and types of take remain unchanged from the initial IHA.
The number of takes authorized in this renewal are a subset of the
initial authorized takes that better represent the amount of activity
left to complete. These takes, which reflect the lower number of
remaining days of work, are indicated below in Table 1.
Table 1--Amount of Taking, by Level B Harassment, by Species and Stock and Percent of Take by Stock
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Stock Take Percent of stock
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harbor porpoise.......................... Gulf Maine/Bay of Fundy.... 20 <0.1
Atlantic white-sided dolphin............. Western North Atlantic..... 20 <0.1
Common dolphin........................... Western North Atlantic..... 80 0.1
Harbor seal.............................. Western North Atlantic..... 198 0.3
Gray seal................................ Western North Atlantic..... 8 <0.1
Harp seal................................ Western North Atlantic..... 1 <0.1
Hooded seal.............................. Western North Atlantic..... 1 UNK
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Description of Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measures
The mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures included as
requirements in this authorization are almost identical to those
included in the Federal Register (FR) notice announcing the issuance of
the initial IHA, and the discussion of the least practicable adverse
impact included in that document remains accurate (86 FR 71034,
December 14, 2021). In the renewal IHA, the pile size and the amount of
piles removed per day has been updated to reflect what occurred under
the initial IHA. MEDOT's original shutdown zones were based on removal
of three 24-inch steel piles per day. However, due to the reduced pile
size used in the initial IHA, MEDOT plans to remove six 14-in steel
piles per day, resulting in larger estimated Level A harassment
isopleths. The estimated Level A harassment isopleth for high frequency
cetaceans increases from 25 meters to 62 meters. However, the shutdown
zone for phocids remains the same. As a result, MEDOT proposed to
increase the shutdown zone for cetaceans from 50 meters to 100 meters.
This update is reflected in Table 2 below and in the IHA renewal.
The following mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures are
planned for this renewal:
<bullet> The MEDOT must avoid direct physical interaction with
marine mammals during construction activity. If a marine mammal comes
within 10 meters of such activity, operations must cease and vessels
must reduce speed to the minimum level required to maintain steerage
and safe working conditions, as necessary to avoid direct physical
interaction.
<bullet> Conduct training between construction supervisors and
crews and the marine mammal monitoring team and relevant MEDOT staff
prior to the start of all pile driving activity and when new personnel
join the work, so that responsibilities, communication procedures,
monitoring protocols, and operational procedures are clearly
understood.
<bullet> Pile driving activity must be halted upon observation of
either a species for which incidental take is not authorized or a
species for which incidental take has been authorized but the
authorized number of takes has been met, entering or within the
harassment zone.
<bullet> MEDOT will establish and implement the shutdown zones. The
purpose of a shutdown zone is generally to define an area within which
shutdown of the activity would occur upon sighting of a marine mammal
(or in anticipation of an animal entering the defined area). Shutdown
zones typically vary based on the activity type and marine mammal
hearing group. To simplify implementation of shutdown zones, MEDOT has
planned to implement shutdown zones for two groups of marine mammals,
cetaceans and pinnipeds, with the shutdown zone in each group being the
largest of the shutdown zones for any of the hearing groups contained
within that group. MEDOT has also voluntarily proposed to increase
shutdown sizes above those we would typically require in order to be
precautionary and protective to marine mammals. Due to the modification
of pile size and duration as discussed above, the updated shutdown
zones for the IHA renewal are in Table 2.
Table 2--Minimum Required Shutdown Zones
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shutdown distance (m)
Activity -------------------------
Cetaceans Pinnipeds
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vibratory Removal............................. 100 50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<bullet> Monitoring must take place from 30 minutes prior to
initiation of construction activity (i.e., pre-start clearance
monitoring) through 30 minutes post-completion of construction
activity.
<bullet> Pre-start clearance monitoring must be conducted during
periods of visibility sufficient for the lead Protected Species
Observer (PSO) to determine the shutdown zones clear of marine mammals.
Construction may commence when the determination is made.
<bullet> If construction is delayed or halted due to the presence
of a marine mammal, the activity may not commence or resume until
either the animal has voluntarily exited and been visually confirmed
beyond the shutdown zone or 15 minutes have passed without re-detection
of the animal.
<bullet> MEDOT must use soft start techniques. Soft start requires
contractors and equipment to slowly approach the work site creating a
visual disturbance allowing animals in close proximity to construction
activities a chance to leave the area prior to stone resetting or new
stone placement. Contractors shall avoid walking or driving equipment
through the seal haulout. A soft start must be implemented at the start
of each day's construction activity and at any time following cessation
of activity for a period of 30 minutes or longer.
[[Page 43082]]
<bullet> The MEDOT must employ at least one PSO to monitor the
shutdown and Level B harassment zones.
<bullet> Monitoring will be conducted 30 minutes before, during,
and 30 minutes after construction activities. In addition, observers
shall record all incidents of marine mammal occurrence, regardless of
distance from activity, and shall document any behavioral reactions in
concert with distance from construction activity.
<bullet> The MEDOT must submit a draft report detailing all
monitoring within 90 calendar days of the completion of marine mammal
monitoring or 60 days prior to the issuance of any subsequent IHA for
this project, whichever comes first.
<bullet> The MEDOT must prepare and submit final report within 30
days following resolution of comments on the draft report from NMFS.
<bullet> The MEDOT must submit all PSO datasheets and/or raw
sighting data (in a separate file from the Final Report referenced
immediately above).
<bullet> The MEDOT must report injured or dead marine mammals.
Comments and Responses
A notice of NMFS' proposal to issue a renewal IHA to MEDOT was
published in the Federal Register June 9, 2023 (88 FR 37864). That
notice either described, or referenced descriptions of, the MEDOT'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 mitigation, monitoring and
reporting measures. NMFS received no public comments.
Determinations
The renewal request consists of a subset of activities analyzed
through the initial authorization described above. In analyzing the
effects of the activities for the initial IHA, NMFS determined that the
MEDOT's activities would have a negligible impact on the affected
species or stocks and that authorized take numbers of each species or
stock were small relative to the relevant stocks (e.g., less than one-
third the abundance of all stocks). The mitigation measures and
monitoring and reporting requirements as described above are identical
to the initial IHA.
NMFS has concluded that there is no new information suggesting that
our analysis or findings should change from those reached for the
initial IHA. 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) MEDOT'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
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 MEDOT for the take of marine
mammals incidental to conducting Falls Bridge Replacement Project in
Blue Hill, Maine, from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.
Dated: June 29, 2023.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-14237 Filed 7-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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