Notice2025-03982
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project on Interstate 5 Between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, WA
Primary source
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Published
March 13, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS has received a request from the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBRP) for authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals incidental to the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project (IBR) on Interstate 5 (I-5) between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington over the course of five years from the date of issuance. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of the IBRP'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 the IBRP's application and request.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 48 (Thursday, March 13, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 48 (Thursday, March 13, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11950-11951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-03982]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XE624
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project on Interstate 5
Between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, WA
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 Interstate Bridge
Replacement Program (IBRP) for authorization to take small numbers of
marine mammals incidental to the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project
(IBR) on Interstate 5 (I-5) between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver,
Washington over the course of five years from the date of issuance.
Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of the IBRP'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 the IBRP's application and
request.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than April
14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the applications 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#2d64797d034542594e454644436d43424c4c034a425b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="216875710f494e5542494a484f614f4e40400f464e57">[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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cara Hotchkin, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401. An electronic copy of the IBRP'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 above.
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 unmitigable 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 July 18, 2024, NMFS received application from the IBRP
requesting authorization for take of marine mammals incidental to
construction activities related to the Interstate Bridge Replacement
Project on I-5 between Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA. After the IBRP
responded to our questions on October 12, 2024 and January 14, 2025, we
determined the application was adequate and complete on January 16,
2025. The requested regulations would be valid for five years, from
September 15, 2027 through September 14, 2032. The IBRP plans to
conduct necessary work, including pile driving (impact and vibratory)
and rotary drilling, to construct replacement bridges for the I-5
roadway over the Columbia River and North Portland Harbor. The proposed
action may incidentally expose marine mammals occurring in the vicinity
to elevated levels of underwater sound, thereby resulting in incidental
take, by Level A and Level B harassment. Therefore, the IBRP requests
authorization to incidentally take marine mammals.
[[Page 11951]]
Specified Activities
The purpose of the proposed IBR project is to improve I-5 corridor
mobility by addressing present and future travel demand and mobility
needs in the program area. Relative to the replacement bridges portion
of the larger transportation project, the proposed action is intended
to achieve the following objectives: improve travel safety and traffic
operations on the I-5 river crossing and associated interchanges; and
improve the I-5 river crossing's structural integrity (seismic
stability). The entire IBR project, including demolition and removal of
the existing bridges, is anticipated to take approximately nine years
to construct. The IBRP's ITR request is for the first five years.
Within the first five years, construction work is expected to take
approximately 1,725 non-consecutive days over the course of five years,
and involve the installation and or removal of 1,560 steel pipe piles
(24-inch [in] or 48-in diameter) and 1,500 linear feet (ft) of steel
sheet piles.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning the IBRP'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 the IBRP, if appropriate.
Dated: March 7, 2025.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-03982 Filed 3-12-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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