Notice2024-02689
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial Project Offshore of Virginia
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
February 9, 2024
Effective
February 5, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to the Virginia Electric and Power Company, doing business as Dominion Energy Virginia (Dominion Energy), for the taking of marine mammals incidental to the construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial (CVOW-C) Project (hereafter known as the "CVOW-C Project" or the "Project").
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 28 (Friday, February 9, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 28 (Friday, February 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9127-9129]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02689]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XD633]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind
Commercial Project Offshore of Virginia
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of Letter of Authorization.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as
amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given
that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to the Virginia
Electric and Power Company, doing business as Dominion Energy Virginia
(Dominion Energy), for the taking of marine mammals incidental to the
construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial (CVOW-C)
Project (hereafter known as the ``CVOW-C Project'' or the ``Project'').
DATES: The LOA is effective from February 5, 2024 through February 4,
2029.
ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting documentation are available 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 (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
[[Page 9128]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelsey Potlock, 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, regulations are
promulgated (when applicable), and public notice and an opportunity for
public comment are provided.
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) and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for taking for subsistence uses
(where relevant). If such findings are made, NMFS must prescribe the
permissible methods of taking; ``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
the species or stocks for taking for certain subsistence uses (referred
to as ``mitigation''); and requirements pertaining to the monitoring
and reporting of such takings. The MMPA defines ``take'' to mean
harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or
kill any marine mammal (16 U.S.C. 1362(13); 50 CFR 216.103). Level A
harassment is defined as any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance
which has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal
stock in the wild (16 U.S.C. 1362(18); 50 CFR 216.3). Level B
harassment is defined as any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance
which 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 (16 U.S.C. 1362(18); 50 CFR 216.3). Section
101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA and the implementing regulations at 50 CFR
part 216, subpart I authorize NMFS to propose and, if appropriate,
promulgate regulations and issue associated LOA(s). NMFS promulgated
regulations on January 23, 2024 (89 FR 4370) for the taking of marine
mammals incidental to the construction of the CVOW-C Project offshore
of Virginia. The LOA authorizes Dominion Energy and those persons it
authorizes or funds to conduct activities on its behalf to take marine
mammals incidental to specified activities during the construction of
the Project and requires them to implement mitigation, monitoring, and
reporting requirements.
Summary of Request
On January 23, 2024, NMFS promulgated a final rule (89 FR 4370)
responding to a request from Dominion Energy for authorization to take
marine mammals (21 species comprising 22 stocks) by Level B harassment
(all 22 stocks) and by Level A harassment (7 stocks) incidental to
construction activities occurring in Federal and State waters off of
Virginia, specifically within and around the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable
Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Area OCS-
A 0483 (Lease Area) and along an export cable route to sea-to-shore
transition points (collectively referred to as the ``Project Area''),
over the course of 5 years (February 5, 2024 through February 4, 2029).
The final rule included the following specified activities: the
installation of 176 wind turbine generators (WTGs) on monopile
foundations (through a maximum of 183 separate piling events) and 3
offshore substations (OSSs) on jacket foundations using pin piles by
vibratory and impact pile driving; nearshore cable landfall work
comprising of the installation and subsequent removal of nearshore
temporary cofferdams by vibratory pile driving and the installation and
subsequent removal of temporary goal posts by impact pile driving at
the sea-to-shore transition point located at the State Military
Reservation in Virginia Beach, Virginia; high-resolution geophysical
(HRG) marine site characterization surveys using active acoustic
sources; fishery and ecological monitoring surveys; the placement of
scour protection; the installation of the export cable route from OSSs
to shore-based converter stations and inter-array cables between
turbines by trenching, laying, and burial activities; vessel transit
within the specified geographical region to transport crew, supplies,
and materials; and WTG operation.
Marine mammals exposed to elevated noise levels during foundation
impact pile driving may be taken by Level A harassment, and marine
mammals exposed to elevated noise levels during impact and vibratory
pile driving and HRG site characterization surveys may be taken by
Level B harassment. No mortality or serious injury of any marine mammal
is anticipated or authorized. The number of takes, by species,
authorized may be found in table 1 in the LOA, which is available 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>.
Authorization
In accordance with the final rule (89 FR 4370, January 23, 2024;
see 50 CFR 217.296), NMFS has issued a LOA to Dominion Energy
authorizing the take, by harassment, of marine mammals incidental to
specified activities within the specified geographical region. As
previously stated, no mortality or serious injury of any marine mammal
species is anticipated or authorized. The incidental takes authorized
herein are the same as those analyzed and authorized in the final rule
(89 FR 4370, January 23, 2024). Takes of marine mammals will be
minimized through the following planned mitigation and monitoring
measures, as applicable for each specified activity: (1) implementation
of spatio-temporal seasonal/time of day work restrictions; (2) use of
multiple NMFS-approved Protected Species Observers (PSOs) to visually
observe for marine mammals (with any detection within specifically
designated zones triggering a delay or shutdown, as applicable); (3)
use of NMFS-approved passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) operators to
acoustically detect marine mammals, with a focus on detecting baleen
whales (with any detection within designated zones triggering a delay
or shutdown, as applicable); (4) implementation of clearance and
shutdown zones; (5) use of soft-start upon commencement of impact pile
driving and ramp-up of acoustic sources during HRG surveys; (6) use of
noise attenuation technology during foundation pile driving; (7) use of
situational awareness monitoring for marine mammal presence; (8) use of
sound field verification monitoring; (9) use of PAM within the vessel
transit corridor for Project vessels to travel over 10 knots (11.5
miles per hour); and (10) implementation of several vessel strike
avoidance measures to avoid vessel strikes, including but not limited
to, vessel separation zones between marine mammals and project vessels.
Additionally, NMFS may modify the LOA's mitigation, monitoring, or
reporting measures, based on new information. Dominion Energy is also
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required to submit reports, as specified in the final rule.
Based on the findings discussed in the preamble of the final rule,
NMFS has determined that the take authorized in the LOA is of small
numbers, will have a negligible impact on marine mammal stocks, will
not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the
affected marine mammal stock for subsistence uses, and the mitigation
measures provide a means of affecting the least practicable adverse
impact on the affected stocks and their habitat.
Dated: February 6, 2024.
Shannon Bettridge,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-02689 Filed 2-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 9, 2024.
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