Notice2024-09657
Draft Updated Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing-Underwater and In-Air Criteria for Onset of Auditory Injury and Temporary Threshold Shifts (Version 3.0)
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
May 3, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), announces the availability of our draft Update to: Technical Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing (Version 3.0): Underwater and In-Air Criteria for Onset of Auditory Injury and Temporary Threshold Shifts (draft Updated Technical Guidance) for public comment. The draft Updated Technical Guidance assesses the effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammal species under NMFS's jurisdiction. The draft Updated Technical Guidance provides updated received levels and auditory weighting functions, or acoustic criteria, above which individual marine mammals, in-air and underwater, are predicted to experience changes in their hearing sensitivity (auditory injury or temporary threshold shift) for all anthropogenic sound sources. Once finalized, the Updated Technical Guidance will replace NMFS's current 2018 Revisions to: Technical Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing (Version 2.0): Underwater Thresholds for Onset of Permanent and Temporary Threshold Shifts (2018 Revised Technical Guidance).
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 87 (Friday, May 3, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 87 (Friday, May 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36762-36763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09657]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XD212]
Draft Updated Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic
Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing--Underwater and In-Air Criteria for
Onset of Auditory Injury and Temporary Threshold Shifts (Version 3.0)
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), announces the
availability of our draft Update to: Technical Guidance for Assessing
the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing (Version
3.0): Underwater and In-Air Criteria for Onset of Auditory Injury and
Temporary Threshold Shifts (draft Updated Technical Guidance) for
public comment. The draft Updated Technical Guidance assesses the
effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammal species under NMFS's
jurisdiction. The draft Updated Technical Guidance provides updated
received levels and auditory weighting functions, or acoustic criteria,
above which individual marine mammals, in-air and underwater, are
predicted to experience changes in their hearing sensitivity (auditory
injury or temporary threshold shift) for all anthropogenic sound
sources. Once finalized, the Updated Technical Guidance will replace
NMFS's current 2018 Revisions to: Technical Guidance for Assessing the
Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing (Version 2.0):
Underwater Thresholds for Onset of Permanent and Temporary Threshold
Shifts (2018 Revised Technical Guidance).
DATES: Comments must be received by June 17, 2024.
ADDRESSES: The draft Updated Technical Guidance is available in
electronic form via the internet <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance</a>. You may submit comments by including NOAA-NMFS-2024-0026, by
either of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail">https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail</a>;D=NOAA-NMFS-2024-0026, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon,
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
Mail: Send comments to: Chief, Permits and Conservation Division,
Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315
East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226, Attn: Updated Acoustic
Technical Guidance.
Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments if they are sent by
any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after
the comment period ends. All comments received are a part of the public
record and NMFS will generally post for public viewing on <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy R. Scholik-Schlomer, Office of
Protected Resources, 301-427-8449, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dc9db1a5f28fbfb4b3b0b5b79cb2b3bdbdf2bbb3aa"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0c4d6175225f6f64636065674c62636d6d226b637a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Marine Fisheries Service has
developed a draft Updated Technical Guidance document for assessing the
effects of anthropogenic sound on the hearing of marine mammal species,
in-air and underwater, under NMFS's jurisdiction. Specifically, the
draft Updated Technical Guidance identifies the received levels and
auditory weighting functions, or acoustic criteria, above which
individual marine mammals are predicted to experience changes in their
hearing sensitivity (auditory injury (AUD INJ) or temporary threshold
shift (TTS)) for all anthropogenic sound sources. This document is
intended for use by NMFS analysts and managers and other relevant user
groups and stakeholders, including other Federal agencies, when seeking
to determine whether and how their activities are expected to result in
particular types of impacts to marine mammals via acoustic exposure in-
air and underwater. The draft Updated Technical Guidance outlines
NMFS's updated acoustic criteria and describes in detail how they were
developed and how they will be updated in the future.
As with our current 2018 Revised Technical Guidance (<a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2023-05/TECHMEMOGuidance508.pdf">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2023-05/TECHMEMOGuidance508.pdf</a>), NMFS worked
with the U.S. Navy, which updated their marine mammal acoustic
criteria. Upon evaluation, NMFS has determined that the Navy's proposed
criteria reflects the best available science and incorporated it into
our draft Updated Technical Guidance.
NMFS conducted an independent peer review in October/November 2022
in association with the draft Updated Technical Guidance. Details of
the peer reviews are available at the following website: <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/information-technology/update-to-20162018-technical-guidance-for-assessing-effects-of-anthropogenic-sound-on-marine-mammal">https://www.noaa.gov/information-technology/update-to-20162018-technical-guidance-for-assessing-effects-of-anthropogenic-sound-on-marine-mammal</a>.
Additionally, in May and June of 2023, NMFS solicited input from other
relevant Federal agencies on the draft Updated Technical Guidance.
Federal agency comments and NMFS responses to those comments are
available at the following website: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance</a>. To complete the review process, NMFS is now soliciting
additional stakeholder feedback via public comment on the draft Updated
Technical Guidance.
[[Page 36763]]
As an overview of the draft Updated Technical Guidance, the main
body of the document contains a summary of the updated acoustic
threshold levels and marine mammal auditory weighting functions, with
additional details provided in Appendix A (Navy Technical Report),
Appendix B (Research Recommendations), Appendix C (Review Process,
which will be completed before finalization to reflect input received
during this public comment period), and Appendix D (Glossary).
There are some notable changes associated with the draft Updated
Technical Guidance. Namely, the marine mammal hearing group terminology
from Southall et al. 2019 has been adopted. Furthermore, in-air
acoustic criteria are also now included. However, the methodology for
deriving AUD INJ and TTS criteria within the draft Updated Technical
Guidance is very similar to the methodology for NMFS's current 2018
Revised Technical Guidance (which also underwent peer review and public
comment), which we believe represents the best available science. Thus
NMFS encourages members of the public to focus their comments on the
incorporation of new data and recommended improvements to the existing
methodology, if applicable.
Changes to AUD INJ and TTS criteria as reflected in the draft
Updated Technical Guidance are primarily a result of new marine mammal
audiogram and TTS data. Some of the most notable changes to the AUD INJ
and TTS criteria include predictions of AUD INJ and TTS thresholds
below 10 kHz for species formerly classified as mid-frequency cetaceans
(now classified as high-frequency cetaceans) and significantly lower
AUD INJ and TTS thresholds for underwater otariid pinnipeds.
Please note that until NMFS finalizes the Updated Technical
Guidance, the 2018 Revised Technical Guidance remains our current
guidance.
NMFS is aware that the National Marine Mammal Foundation
successfully collected preliminary hearing data on two minke whales
during their third field season in Norway (summer 2023). These data
have implications for not only the generalized hearing range for low-
frequency cetaceans but also on their weighting function. However, no
official results have been published. Furthermore, a fourth field
season (2024) is proposed, where more data will likely be collected.
Thus, NMFS has not proposed any changes to our draft Updated Technical
Guidance based on these limited and unpublished data, though we
recognize that mysticete hearing will likely merit re-evaluation in the
future. Therefore, we anticipate that once the data from both field
seasons are published, it will likely warrant additional updates to our
Technical Guidance.
Dated: April 30, 2024.
Catherine G. Marzin,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-09657 Filed 5-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 3, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.