Notice2024-16411
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the New England Wind Project, Offshore Massachusetts
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
July 25, 2024
Effective
March 27, 2025
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 Avangrid Renewables, LLC (Avangrid), the parent company of the original applicant, Park City Wind, LLC (Park City Wind), LLC, for the taking of marine mammals incidental to the construction of the New England Wind Project (hereafter known as the "Project").
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 143 (Thursday, July 25, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 143 (Thursday, July 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60356-60358]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16411]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE074]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the New England Wind Project,
Offshore Massachusetts
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 Avangrid
Renewables, LLC (Avangrid), the parent company of the original
applicant, Park City Wind, LLC (Park City Wind), LLC, for the taking of
marine mammals incidental to the construction of the New England Wind
Project (hereafter known as the ``Project'').
DATES: The LOA is effective from March 27, 2025, through March 26,
2030.
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.
[[Page 60357]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karolyn Lock, 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 taking 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).
On June 21, 2024, NMFS promulgated a final rule (89 FR 52222)
responding to a request from the applicant for authorization to take
small numbers of marine mammals (39 species comprising 39 stocks).
After reviewing the request and making the required findings, NMFS is
authorizing the take, by harassment only, of 38 species, representing
38 stocks (19 species by Level A harassment and all 38 species by Level
B harassment) incidental to select construction activities occurring in
Federal and State waters off of Massachusetts, 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 0534, OCS-A 0561, the
southwest (SW) portion of Lease Area OCS-A 0501 (collectively referred
to as the Lease Area), and along an export cable routes to sea-to-shore
transition points (collectively, the Project Area) over the course of 5
years (March 27, 2025 through March 26, 2030). The specified activities
are impact pile driving, vibratory pile driving, and drilling of wind
turbine generator (WTG) and electrical service platform (ESP)
foundations; high-resolution geophysical (HRG) site characterization
surveys; detonation of unexploded ordnances (UXOs) or munitions and
explosives of concern (MECs); fisheries and benthic monitoring surveys;
placement of scour protection; trenching, laying, and burial activities
associated with the installation of the export cable from the ESP(s) to
shore based converter stations and inter-array cables between WTG
foundations; vessel transit within the specified geographical region to
transport crew, supplies, and materials; and WTG operations.
Marine mammals exposed to elevated noise levels during foundation
pile driving and/or UXO/MEC detonation, may be taken by Level A
harassment (limited to blue whales, fin whales, humpback whales, minke
whales, sei whales, sperm whales, dwarf sperm whale, pygmy sperm whale,
Atlantic spotted dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, common
bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, long-finned pilot whales, short-
finned pilot whale, Risso's dolphin, harbor porpoise, gray seal, harbor
seal, and harp seal). Marine mammals exposed to elevated noise levels
during impact pile driving, vibratory pile driving, and drilling during
foundation installation, UXO/MEC detonation, and site characterization
surveys may be taken by Level B harassment (all 38 stocks). For reasons
described in the final rule, no mortality or serious injury of any
marine mammal is anticipated to occur or authorized. Further, for
reasons described in the final rule, no take by Level A harassment of
several species, including the North Atlantic right whale, is expected
to occur or authorized.
Authorization
In accordance with the final rule (89 FR 52222, June 21, 2024; see
50 CFR 217.326), we have issued a LOA to Avangrid 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
to occur or authorized. The incidental takes authorized herein are the
same as those analyzed in the final rule (89 FR 52222, June 21, 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 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 during foundation
installation activities, 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 prior to the start of foundation impact pile driving;
(6) use of noise attenuation technology; (7) use of situational
awareness monitoring for marine mammal presence; (8) conducting sound
field verification during foundation installation and UXO/MEC
detonation; (9) use of ramp-up acoustic sources during HRG surveys; and
(10) implementation of several vessel strike avoidance measures (e.g.,
speed and separation distance measures) to reduce the risk of a vessel
interaction with a marine mammal. Additionally, Avangrid is required to
submit reports frequently to NMFS. Through adaptive management, NMFS
may modify the LOA's mitigation, monitoring, or reporting measures,
based on new information, when appropriate.
As described in the preamble of the final rule, NMFS has determined
that the take authorized in the LOA is of small numbers of marine
mammals, will
[[Page 60358]]
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: July 22, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-16411 Filed 7-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 25, 2024.
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