Notice2023-24105
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Tillamook South Jetty Repairs in Tillamook Bay, Oregon
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
November 1, 2023
Effective
November 1, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Portland District (Corps), for the re-issuance of a previously issued incidental harassment authorization (IHA) with the only change being to the effective dates. The initial IHA authorized take of five species of marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to construction associated with the Tillamook South Jetty Repairs in Tillamook Bay, Oregon. The project has been delayed and none of the work covered in the initial IHA has been conducted. 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 88 Issue 210 (Wednesday, November 1, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 210 (Wednesday, November 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74979-74981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24105]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XD486]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Tillamook South Jetty Repairs in
Tillamook Bay, Oregon
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 U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE), Portland District (Corps), for the re-issuance of a
previously issued incidental harassment authorization (IHA) with the
only change being to the effective dates. The initial IHA authorized
take of five species of marine mammals, by Level A and Level B
harassment, incidental to construction associated with the Tillamook
South Jetty Repairs in Tillamook Bay, Oregon. The project has been
delayed and none of the work covered in the initial IHA has been
conducted. 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 November 1, 2023, through
October 31, 2024.
ADDRESSES: An electronic copy of the final 2022 IHA previously issued
to the Corps, the Corps' application, and the Federal Register notices
proposing and issuing the initial IHA may be obtained by visiting
<a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-us-army-corps-engineers-tillamook-south-jetty-repairs">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-us-army-corps-engineers-tillamook-south-jetty-repairs</a>. In case of problems
accessing these documents, please call the contact listed below (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Wachtendonk, 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
[[Page 74980]]
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 18, 2022, NMFS published final notice of our issuance of
an IHA authorizing take of marine mammals incidental to the Tillamook
South Jetty Repairs Project (87 FR 50836). The effective dates of that
IHA were November 1, 2022, through October 31, 2023. On October 16,
2023, the Corps informed NMFS that the project was delayed. None of the
work identified in the initial IHA (e.g., pile driving) has occurred.
The Corps submitted a request that we reissue an identical IHA that
would be effective from November 1, 2023, through October 31, 2024, 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 Corps constructed, and continues to maintain, two jetties at
the entrance of Tillamook Bay, Oregon to provide reliable navigation
into and out of the bay. A Major Maintenance Report (MMR) was completed
in 2003 to evaluate wave damage to the jetties and provide design for
necessary repairs. Some repairs to the North Jetty were completed in
2010, and further repairs to the North Jetty root and trunk began in
January 2022. The Tillamook South Jetty Repairs Project (i.e., the
``proposed activities'') would complete critical repairs to the South
Jetty, as described in the MMR, with a focus on rebuilding the South
Jetty head. Work would consist of repairs to the existing structures
within the original jetty footprints (i.e., trunk repairs and the
construction of a 100-foot cap to repair the South Jetty Head), with
options to facilitate land- and water-based stone transport, storage,
and placement operations. 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 harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), California sea lion
(Zalophus californianus), Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), harbor
seal (Phoca vitulina), and northern elephant seal (Mirounga
angustirostris). 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 2022 IHA for the Corps' construction work (87 FR 50836), the
Corps' application, the Federal Register notice of the proposed IHA (87
FR 38116), and all associated references and documents.
Determinations
The Corps will conduct activities as analyzed in the initial 2022
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 2023 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 Corps'
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.
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 have not identified any extraordinary circumstances that would
preclude this categorical exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS has determined
that categorical exclusion from further NEPA review remains appropriate
for reissuance of this IHA.
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. 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.
Authorization
NMFS has issued an IHA to the Corps for in-water construction
activities associated with the specified activity from November 1,
2023, through October 31, 2024. All previously described mitigation,
monitoring, and reporting requirements from the initial 2022 IHA are
incorporated.
[[Page 74981]]
Dated: October 27, 2023.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-24105 Filed 10-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 1, 2023.
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