Notice2025-08933
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak Homeporting Facility in Kodiak, Alaska
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 20, 2025
Effective
May 19, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
In accordance with regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued two consecutive incidental harassment authorizations (IHA) to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to Base Kodiak Homeporting Facility in Womens Bay, Kodiak, Alaska.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 96 (Tuesday, May 20, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 96 (Tuesday, May 20, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21472-21473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-08933]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE795]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak
Homeporting Facility in Kodiak, Alaska
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of incidental harassment authorization.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with regulations implementing the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that
NMFS has issued two consecutive incidental harassment authorizations
(IHA) to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for authorization to take
marine mammals incidental to Base Kodiak Homeporting Facility in Womens
Bay, Kodiak, Alaska.
DATES: The year 1 authorization is effective from May 19, 2025, through
May 18, 2026. The year 2 authorization is effective from May 19, 2026,
through May 18, 2027.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the application and supporting
documents, as well as a list of the references cited in this document,
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: Kate Fleming, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
MMPA Background and Determinations
The MMPA prohibits the ``take'' of marine mammals, with certain
exceptions. Among the exceptions is section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA
(16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) which directs the Secretary of Commerce (as
delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not
intentional, taking by harassment 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 the public has an opportunity to comment on the proposed IHA.
Specifically, NMFS will issue an IHA if it 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). Further,
NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods of taking and 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 such species or stocks for taking for certain
subsistence uses (referred to here as ``mitigation''). NMFS
[[Page 21473]]
must also prescribe requirements pertaining to monitoring and reporting
of such takings. The definition of key terms such as ``take,''
``harassment,'' and ``negligible impact'' can be found in the MMPA and
the NMFS' implementing regulations (see 16 U.S.C. 1362; 50 CFR
216.103).
On March 14, 2025, a notice of NMFS' proposal to issue two
consecutive IHAs to USCG for take of marine mammals incidental to Base
Kodiak Homeporting Facility construction in Womens Bay, Kodiak, Alaska,
was published in the Federal Register (90 FR 12204). In that notice,
NMFS indicated the estimated numbers, type, and methods of incidental
take proposed for each species or stock and the mitigation, monitoring,
and reporting measures that would be required should the IHAs be
issued. The Federal Register notification (FRN) also included analysis
to support NMFS' preliminary conclusions and determinations that the
IHAs, if issued, would satisfy the requirements of section 101(a)(5)(D)
of the MMPA for issuance of the IHAs. The FRN included web links to a
draft IHA for review and other supporting documents.
No comments were received during the public comment period. There
are no changes to the specified activity, the species taken, the
proposed numbers, type, or methods of take, or the mitigation,
monitoring, or reporting measures in the proposed IHA notice. No new
information that would change any of the preliminary analyses,
conclusions, or determinations in the proposed IHA notice has become
available since that notice was published and, therefore, the
preliminary analyses, conclusions, and determinations included in the
proposed IHA are considered final.
While there are no changes from the proposed authorization, the
following clarifies a discrepancy in the notice of the proposed IHA (90
FR 12204, March 14, 2025). NMFS indicated in table 2 of notice of the
proposed IHA, that in year 2, USCG planned to install 36-inch permanent
piles using vibratory installation at a rate of 4 piles per day, and
36-inch temporary piles using vibratory installation of 6 piles per
day. However, the Level A harassment isopleths for all 36-inch piles
(temporary and permanent) were estimated based on 6 piles per day in
the year 2 draft IHA (and table 9 of the notice of the proposed IHA, 90
FR 12204, March 14, 2025). After publication of the proposed IHA, USCG
indicated that it would like to preserve flexibility to install up to 6
36-inch permanent piles in a day, and therefore, the final year 2 IHA
Level A harassment isopleths for all 36-inch piles (temporary and
permanent) were estimated based on 6 piles per day as included in the
proposed year 2 IHA.
National Environmental Policy Act
To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA;
42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6A,
NMFS must review our proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an IHA)
with respect to potential impacts on the human environment.
This action is consistent with categories of activities identified
in Categorical Exclusion B4 (IHAs with no anticipated serious injury or
mortality) of the Companion Manual for NAO 216-6A, which do not
individually or cumulatively have the potential for significant impacts
on the quality of the human environment and for which we have not
identified any extraordinary circumstances that would preclude this
categorical exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS has determined that the
issuance of the IHAs qualifies to be categorically excluded from
further NEPA review.
Endangered Species Act
Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal agency insure that any
action it authorizes, funds, or carries out is not likely to jeopardize
the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or
result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated
critical habitat. To ensure ESA compliance for the issuance of IHAs,
NMFS consults internally whenever we propose to authorize take for
endangered or threatened species.
There are three marine mammal species (humpback whale (Mexico and
Western North Pacific DPSs), fin whale, and Steller sea lion (western
DPS) with potential occurrence in the project area that is listed as
endangered under the ESA. The NMFS Alaska Regional Office Protected
Resources Division issued a Biological Opinion on May 7, 2025 under
section 7 of the ESA, on the issuance of two consecutive IHAs to USCG
under 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA by the NMFS Permits and Conservation
Division. The Biological Opinion concluded that the action is not
likely to jeopardize the continued existence of humpback whale (Mexico
and Western N. Pacific DPSs), fin whale or Steller sea lion (western
DPS), and is not likely to destroy or adversely modify humpback whale
or Steller sea lion critical habitat.
Authorization
Accordingly, consistent with the requirements of section
101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS has issued two consecutive IHAs to USCG
for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to Base Kodiak
Vessel Homeporting Facility Project in Womens Bay, Kodiak, Alaska.
Dated: May 13, 2025.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-08933 Filed 5-19-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 20, 2025.
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