Notice2024-25090
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Atlantic Shores South Project Offshore of New Jersey
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
October 29, 2024
Effective
January 1, 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 Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project 1, LLC (Project Company 1), for the taking of marine mammals incidental to the construction of the Atlantic Shores South Project (hereafter known as the "Project").
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 209 (Tuesday, October 29, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85944-85946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25090]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE185]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Atlantic Shores South Project
Offshore of New Jersey
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 Atlantic Shores
Offshore Wind Project 1, LLC (Project Company 1), for the taking of
marine mammals incidental to the construction of the Atlantic Shores
South Project (hereafter known as the ``Project'').
DATES: The LOA is effective from January 1, 2025 through December 31,
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).
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
[[Page 85945]]
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 an associated LOA. NMFS promulgated
regulations on January 23, 2024 (89 FR 4370) for the taking of marine
mammals incidental to the construction of the Atlantic Shores South
Project offshore of New Jersey. The LOA authorizes Project Company 1,
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
In response to their petition to promulgate incidental take
regulations and issue an associated Letter of Authorization, on
September 24, 2024, NMFS promulgated a final rule (89 FR 77972)
establishing a framework for authorizing the taking of marine mammals
by Project Company 1. Specifically, the rule allows for take of 16
species of marine mammals comprising 17 stocks by Level B harassment
(all 17 stocks) and by Level A harassment (9 stocks) incidental to
construction activities occurring in Federal and State waters off of
New Jersey, 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 Areas
OCS-A 0499 and OCS-A-0570 (collectively, ``Lease Area'') and along two
export cable routes to sea-to-shore transition points (collectively
referred to as the ``Project Area''), over the course of 5 years
(January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2029). The final rule included
the following specified activities: the installation of up to 200 wind
turbine generators (WTGs) on jacket and/or monopile foundations using
impact pile driving; the installation of up to 10 offshore substations
(OSSs) on multi-legged jacket foundations using pin piles using impact
pile driving; the installation of one meteorological tower (Met Tower)
on a monopile using impact pile driving; nearshore cable landfall work
comprising of the installation and subsequent removal of nearshore
temporary cofferdams at the sea-to-shore transition points located in
Sea Girt, New Jersey (the Monmouth landfall site) and in Atlantic City,
New Jersey (the Atlantic City landfall site) by vibratory pile driving;
high-resolution geophysical (HRG) marine site characterization surveys
using active acoustic sources; fishery and ecological monitoring
surveys; the deployment of up to four temporary meteorological and
oceanographic (metocean) buoys; the placement of scour protection; the
installation of the export cable routes 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.
Authorization
In accordance with the MMPA, as amended, NMFS has issued a LOA to
Project Company 1 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 77972, September 24, 2024). 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>.
Takes of marine mammals will be minimized through the following
required mitigation and monitoring measures, as applicable for each
specified activity: (1) implementation of seasonal/time of day work
restrictions; (2) use of multiple NMFS-approved Protected Species
Observers 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 certain 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); (10) implementation of
several vessel strike avoidance measures to avoid vessel strikes,
including but not limited to, vessel speed restrictions and separation
zones between marine mammals and project vessels; and (11) requirements
for personal training, gear use, and actions required to be undertaken
for trawl surveys during fishery monitoring surveys. Additionally, NMFS
may modify the LOA's mitigation, monitoring, or reporting measures,
based on new information. Project Company 1 is also required to submit
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frequent and situational reports, as specified in the LOA.
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: October 24, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-25090 Filed 10-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 29, 2024.
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