Notice2024-10423
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Lower Columbia River Dredged Material Management Plan, Oregon and Washington
Primary source
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Published
May 14, 2024
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, for authorization to take, by Level A and Level B harassment only, small numbers of marine mammals incidental to the Lower Columbia River (LCR) Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP), in Oregon and Washington, for a period of 5 years from November 2028 through February 2032. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of USACE's request for the development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals. NMFS invites the public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on USACE's application and request.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 94 (Tuesday, May 14, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41941-41942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10423]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XD929]
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to the Lower Columbia River Dredged Material Management
Plan, Oregon and Washington
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for letter of authorization;
request for comments and information.
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SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE), Portland District, for authorization to take, by
Level A and Level B harassment only, small numbers of marine mammals
incidental to the Lower Columbia River (LCR) Dredged Material
Management Plan (DMMP), in Oregon and Washington, for a period of 5
years from November 2028 through February 2032. Pursuant to regulations
implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is
announcing receipt of USACE's request for the development and
implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine
mammals. NMFS invites the public to provide information, suggestions,
and comments on USACE's application and request.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than June 13,
2024.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to Jolie
Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. Physical comments should
be sent to 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and
electronic comments should be sent to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#713825215f2110041d181f14311f1e10105f161e07"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c8819c98e698a9bda4a1a6ad88a6a7a9a9e6afa7be">[email protected]</span></a>.
Instructions: NMFS is not responsible for comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the
end of the comment period. Comments received electronically, including
all attachments, must not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. Attachments
to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel or
Adobe PDF file formats only. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted online at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities</a> without change. All
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information.
An electronic copy of USACE's application may be obtained online
at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities</a>. In case of
problems accessing these documents, please call the contact listed
below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Pauline, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
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, a notice of a proposed
authorization is provided to the public for review.
An incidental take authorization shall be granted if NMFS finds
that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or
stock(s), will not have an immitigable 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 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 October 18, 2023, NMFS received an application from the USACE
requesting authorization for take of marine mammals incidental to in-
water construction activities associated with the LCR DMMP in Oregon
and Washington between River Mile (RM) 23 and RM 36. We provided
comments on the application and the USACE submitted a revised version
on February 27, 2024. We deemed the application adequate and complete
on April 25, 2024. The requested regulations under which we would issue
the requested
[[Page 41942]]
LOA would be valid for 5 years, November 2028 through February 2032.
The USACE plans to construct new structures with pilings in the Lower
Columbia River. The full DMMP includes proposed dredging and placement
operations between RM 3 and RM 105.5. However, the scope of this
request for a LOA is limited to potential pile driving that would be
associated with any new structures installed under the DMMP which would
occur between RM 23 and RM 36. In-water impact and vibratory pile
driving of steel and timber piles may incidentally expose marine
mammals to elevated levels of noise, thereby resulting in incidental
take, by Level A and Level B harassment only. Therefore, the USACE
requests authorization to incidentally take marine mammals.
Specified Activities
The purpose of the proposed project is to maintain the authorized
LCR Federal Navigation Channel depth and width for a minimum of 20
years in the least cost, operationally feasible, and environmentally
acceptable manner in order to provide continued reliable, safe, and
efficient transportation of waterborne commerce and uninterrupted
transit for fully loaded vessels in the LCR. The USACE anticipates 141
in-water work days will be required to install approximately 1,029, 12-
inch timber piles and 1,038, 24-inch steel piles via impact and
vibratory driving over 5 years. The number of in-water work days per
year would range from 1 (Year 2) to 51 (Year 5). Take by Level A and
Level B harassment has been requested for harbor seal (Phoca vitulina
richardii), Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), and California sea
lion (Zalophus californianus). The USACE's application contains
mitigation and monitoring measures designed to reduce impacts to marine
mammals. The application also contains proposed marine mammal
monitoring and reporting plans.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning USACE's request (see ADDRESSES). NMFS will consider
all information, suggestions, and comments related to the request
during the development of proposed regulations governing the incidental
taking of marine mammals by USACE, if appropriate.
Dated: May 7, 2024.
Catherine Marzin,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-10423 Filed 5-13-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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