Notice2025-13684

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Ferndale Refinery Dock Maintenance and Pile Replacement Project Activities in Ferndale, Washington

Primary source

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Published
July 21, 2025

Issuing agencies

Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Abstract

NMFS received a request from Phillips 66 for the renewal of their currently active incidental harassment authorization (IHA) (hereinafter, the "initial IHA") to take marine mammals incidental to Ferndale Refinery Dock Maintenance and Pile Replacement Activities in Ferndale, Washington. Activities described in the initial IHA will not be completed prior its expiration. IHA Renewal activities are nearly identical to those covered in the initial authorization. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), prior to issuing the initial IHA, NMFS requested comments on both the proposed IHA and the potential for renewing the initial IHA if certain requirements were satisfied. The renewal requirements have been satisfied, and NMFS is now providing an additional 15-day comment period to allow for any additional comments on the proposed renewal not previously provided during the initial 30-day comment period.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 137 (Monday, July 21, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 137 (Monday, July 21, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34240-34245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-13684]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE967]


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Ferndale Refinery Dock Maintenance 
and Pile Replacement Project Activities in Ferndale, Washington

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments on proposed renewal incidental 
harassment authorization.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS received a request from Phillips 66 for the renewal of 
their currently active incidental harassment authorization (IHA) 
(hereinafter, the ``initial IHA'') to take marine mammals incidental to 
Ferndale Refinery Dock Maintenance and Pile Replacement Activities in 
Ferndale, Washington. Activities described in the initial IHA will not 
be completed prior its expiration. IHA Renewal activities are nearly 
identical to those covered in the initial authorization. Pursuant to 
the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), prior to issuing the initial 
IHA, NMFS requested comments on both the proposed IHA and the potential 
for renewing the initial IHA if certain requirements were satisfied. 
The renewal requirements have been satisfied, and NMFS is now providing 
an additional 15-day comment period to allow for any additional 
comments on the proposed renewal not previously provided during the 
initial 30-day comment period.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than August 
5, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to the Permits and Conservation 
Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, and should be submitted via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7c35282c523b1d080617193c12131d1d521b130a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2c65787c026b4d585647496c42434d4d024b435a">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. 
Electronic copies of the original application, renewal request, and 
supporting documents (including NMFS Federal Register notices of the 
original proposed and final authorizations, and the previous IHA), as 
well as a list of the references cited in this document, may be 
obtained 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

[[Page 34241]]

accessing these documents, please call the contact listed below.
    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, including all attachments, must 
not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. All comments received are a part of 
the public record and will generally be posted 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> 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: Jennifer Gatzke, 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 and either regulations 
are proposed or, if the taking is limited to harassment, a notice of a 
proposed IHA is provided to the public for review.
    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). 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''); and requirements pertaining to the monitoring and 
reporting of the takings. The definition of all applicable MMPA 
statutory used above are included in the relevant sections below and 
can be found in section 3 of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1362) and the NMFS's 
implementing regulations at 50 CFR 216.103.
    NMFS' regulations implementing the MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e) 
indicate that IHAs may be renewed for additional periods of time not to 
exceed 1 year for each reauthorization. In the notice of proposed IHA 
for the initial IHA, NMFS described the circumstances under which we 
would consider issuing a renewal for this activity, and requested 
public comment on a potential renewal under those circumstances. 
Specifically, on a case-by-case basis, NMFS may issue a one-time 1-year 
renewal of an IHA following notice to the public providing an 
additional 15 days for public comments when (1) up to another year of 
identical, or nearly identical, activities as described in the Detailed 
Description of Specified Activities section of the initial IHA issuance 
notice is planned or (2) the activities as described in the Description 
of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts section of the 
initial IHA issuance notice would not be completed by the time the 
initial IHA expires and a renewal would allow for completion of the 
activities beyond that described in the DATES section of the notice of 
issuance of the initial IHA, provided all of the following conditions 
are met:
    1. A request for renewal is received no later than 60 days prior to 
the needed renewal IHA effective date (recognizing that the renewal IHA 
expiration date cannot extend beyond 1 year from expiration of the 
initial IHA).
    2. The request for renewal must include the following:
    <bullet> An explanation that the activities to be conducted under 
the requested renewal IHA are identical to the activities analyzed 
under the initial IHA, are a subset of the activities, or include 
changes so minor (e.g., reduction in pile size) that the changes do not 
affect the previous analyses, mitigation and monitoring requirements, 
or take estimates (with the exception of reducing the type or amount of 
take); and
    <bullet> A preliminary monitoring report showing the results of the 
required monitoring to date and an explanation showing that the 
monitoring results do not indicate impacts of a scale or nature not 
previously analyzed or authorized.
    Upon review of the request for renewal, the status of the affected 
species or stocks, and any other pertinent information, NMFS determines 
that there are no more than minor changes in the activities, the 
mitigation and monitoring measures will remain the same and 
appropriate, and the findings in the initial IHA remain valid.
    An additional public comment period of 15 days (for a total of 45 
days), with direct notice by email, phone, or postal service to 
commenters on the initial IHA, is provided to allow for any additional 
comments on the proposed renewal. A description of the renewal process 
may be found on our website at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-harassment-authorization-renewals">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-harassment-authorization-renewals</a>. Any comments received on the potential renewal, along with 
relevant comments on the initial IHA, have been considered in the 
development of this proposed IHA renewal, and a summary of agency 
responses to applicable comments is included in this notice. NMFS will 
consider any additional public comments prior to making any final 
decision on the issuance of the requested renewal, and agency responses 
will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

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 a renewal 
IHA) with respect to potential impacts on the human environment.
    This action is consistent with categories of activities identified 
in Categorical Exclusion B4 (incidental take authorizations with no 
anticipated serious injury or mortality) of the Companion Manual for 
NOAA Administrative Order 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 determined that the issuance of the 
initial IHA qualified to be categorically excluded from further NEPA 
review. NMFS has preliminarily determined that the application of this 
categorical exclusion remains appropriate for this renewal IHA.

History of Request

    On August 9, 2024, NMFS issued an IHA to Phillips 66 to take marine 
mammals incidental to construction activities at the Ferndale Refinery 
Dock in Ferndale, Washington (89 FR 66057), effective from August 9, 
2024 through August 8, 2025. Figure 1 shows the location of this 
project in the Strait of

[[Page 34242]]

Georgia in the northeast Puget Sound, WA.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN21JY25.000

Figure 1.--Vicinity Map Showing the Strait of Georgia in the Northeast 
Puget Sound, WA

    On May 29, 2025, NMFS received an application for the renewal of 
that initial IHA. As described in the application for renewal IHA, the 
activities for which incidental take is requested are nearly identical 
to those covered in the initial authorization, consisting of activities 
that are covered by the initial authorization but will not be completed 
prior to its expiration. Phillips 66 submitted a revised version on 
June 5, 2025, which was deemed adequate and complete. As required, the 
applicant also provided a preliminary monitoring report which confirms 
that the applicant has implemented the required mitigation and 
monitoring, and which also shows that no impacts of a scale or nature 
not previously analyzed or authorized have occurred as a result of the 
activities conducted. The initial authorization with incidental take 
calculations, species discussion, along with the monitoring report and 
a more detailed map, are available on our website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-phillips-66-cos-ferndale-refinery-dock-maintenance-and-pile">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-phillips-66-cos-ferndale-refinery-dock-maintenance-and-pile</a>.

Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts

    The purpose of the project is to strengthen the existing timber and 
steel pier that has long served as a petroleum loading facility, and 
replace it with a new steel structure that meets current industry best 
practices. The continuing project will require vibratory pile 
installation and is expected to take 15 intermittent days between 
August 1, 2025 and October 31, 2025 since marine conditions are 
expected to be relatively calm during this period. This IHA renewal 
would be valid for a period of 1 year from August 9, 2025, through 
August 8, 2026.
    The planned work is nearly identical to the activities analyzed for 
this IHA and the same monitoring plan will be implemented during pile 
driving to minimize impacts to marine mammals in the project area. 
Relative to the initial

[[Page 34243]]

construction plans, there are 54 piles of 116 remaining to drive. 
Phillips 66 also requested a minor change to add 4 additional piles to 
the project to complete all pile driving work on the causeway (58 piles 
total). These additional piles incorporate the maintenance of a foam 
building for fire suppression into the current approved Joint Aquatic 
Resources Permit Application for the causeway maintenance. NMFS 
reviewed the plan for the additional four piles at the terminal end of 
the dock and determined that it would not change our original analysis.
    The additional piles are of the same size and materials, requiring 
only 48 minutes of additional vibratory driving time to complete 
installation. NMFS has determined that the amount of take proposed for 
authorization through this renewal IHA is sufficient to cover any 
marine mammal take likely to result from this insignificant incremental 
increase in pile driving activity.
    A detailed description of the demolition and construction 
activities for which take is proposed here may be found in the Notices 
of the Proposed and Final IHAs for the initial authorization. The 
location, timing, and nature of the activities, including the types of 
equipment planned for use, are nearly identical to those described in 
the previous notices (89 FR 53046; June 25, 2024, 89 FR 66057, August 
14, 2024). The activities are identical, but are a subset of the 
initial work, except for the minor change of the addition of the four 
support piles.
    The proposed renewal would be effective for a period not exceeding 
1 year from the date of expiration of the initial IHA.

Description of Marine Mammals

    A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities 
for which authorization of take is proposed here, including information 
on abundance, status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the 
Notices of the Proposed IHA for the initial authorization. NMFS has 
reviewed the monitoring data from the initial IHA, recent Stock 
Assessment Reports, information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events, 
and other scientific literature, and determined there is no new 
information that affects which species or stocks have the potential to 
be affected or the pertinent information in the Description of the 
Marine Mammals in the Area of Specified Activities contained in the 
supporting documents for the initial IHA.

                                             Table 1--Species for Which Take Could Occur in the Project Area
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                       Stock abundance
                                                                                 ESA/MMPA status;      (CV, Nmin, most                     Annual M/SI3
           Common name                Scientific name            Stock          Strategic (Y/N) \1\    recent abundance         PBR             \3\
                                                                                                         survey) \2\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Order Artiodactyla--Cetacea--Mysticeti (baleen whales)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Balaenopteridae (rorquals):
    Humpback Whale...............  Megaptera             Central America/      E, D, Y.............  1,494 (0.171,                   3.5            14.9
                                    novaeangliae.         Southern Mexico--CA/                        1,284, 2021).
                                                          OR/WA.
    Humpback Whale...............  Megaptera             Mainland Mexico--CA/  T, D, Y.............  3,477 (0.101,                    43              22
                                    novaeangliae.         OR/WA.                                      3,185, 2018).
    Humpback Whale...............  Megaptera             Hawaii..............  -, -, N.............  11,278 (0.56,                   127           27.09
                                    novaeangliae.                                                     7,265, 2020).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Odontoceti (toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Delphinidae:
    Killer Whale.................  Orcinus orca........  Eastern North         E, D, Y.............  73 (N/A, 73, 2022).            0.13               0
                                                          Pacific Southern
                                                          Resident.
    Killer Whale.................  Orcinus orca........  West Coast Transient  -, -, N.............  349 (N/A, 349,                  3.5             0.4
                                                                                                      2018).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Phocoenidae (porpoises):
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Harbor porpoise..............  Phocoena phocoena...  Washington Inland     -, -, N.............  11,233 (0.37,                    66           >=7.2
                                                          Waters.                                     8,308, 2015).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Order Carnivora--Pinnipedia
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Otariidae (eared seals and sea lions):
    California Sea Lion..........  Zalophus              U.S.................  -,-; N..............  257,606 (N/A,                14,011            >321
                                    californianus.                                                    233,515, 2014).
    Steller Sea Lion.............  Eumetopias jubatus..  Eastern.............  -,-; N..............  36,308 (N/A,                  2,178            93.2
                                                                                                      36,308, 2022).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Phocidae (earless seals):
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Harbor Seal..................  Phoca vitulina......  Washington Northern   -, -, N.............  16,451 (0.07,                   928              40
                                                          Inland Waters.                              15,462, 2019).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Information on the classification of marine mammal species follows The Society for Marine Mammalogy's Committee on Taxonomy (<a href="https://www.marinemammalscience.org/science-and-publications/list-marine-mammal-species-subspecies/">https://www.marinemammalscience.org/science-and-publications/list-marine-mammal-species-subspecies/</a>). ESA status: Endangered (E), Threatened (T)/MMPA status:
  Depleted (D). A dash (-) indicates that the species is not listed under the ESA or designated as depleted under the MMPA. Under the MMPA, a strategic
  stock is one for which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds PBR or which is determined to be declining and likely to be listed under the
  ESA within the foreseeable future. Any species or stock listed under the ESA is automatically designated under the MMPA as depleted and as a strategic
  stock.
\2\ NMFS marine mammal stock assessment reports online at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-stock-assessments">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-stock-assessments</a> assessments. CV is coefficient of variation; Nmin is the minimum estimate of stock abundance. In some cases, CV is not applicable.
\3\ These values, found in NMFS's SARs, represent annual levels of human-caused mortality plus serious injury from all sources combined (e.g.,
  commercial fisheries, vessel strike). Annual M/SI often cannot be determined precisely and is in some cases presented as a minimum value or range.


[[Page 34244]]

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat

    A description of the potential effects of the specified activity on 
marine mammals and their habitat for the activities for which an 
authorization of incidental take is proposed here may be found in the 
Notice of the Proposed IHA for the initial authorization (89 FR 53046, 
June 25, 2024). NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data from the initial 
IHA, recent draft Stock Assessment Reports, information on relevant 
Unusual Mortality Events, and other scientific literature, and 
determined that there is no new information that affects our initial 
analysis of impacts on marine mammals and their habitat.

Estimated Take

    A detailed description of the methods and inputs used to estimate 
take for the specified activity are found in the Notice of the Proposed 
IHA for the initial authorization (89 FR 53046, June 25, 2024). 
Specifically, the source levels, days of operation (reduced to 15 days 
in this renewal), and marine mammal density/occurrence data applicable 
to this authorization remain unchanged from the previously issued IHA. 
Similarly, the stocks taken, methods of take, and types of take remain 
unchanged from the previously issued IHA. The number of takes, reduced 
to a subset of the intial IHA (smaller number of piles and days pile 
driving), are indicated below in table 2.

Table 2--Proposed Take of Marine Mammals by Level B Harassment by Species, Stock/Region, Abundance, Density, and
                              Percent of Take by Stock for 15 Days of Pile Driving
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Density                      Proposed take
         Common name           Stock (region    Stock abundance      (animals/    Total proposed   as percentage
                               characterized)                         km\2\)           take          of stock
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harbor porpoise.............  Washington                  11,233            2.16             192            1.71
                               Inland Waters
                               (North Puget
                               Sound).
Steller sea lion............  Eastern U.S.                36,308          0.0027              15            0.03
                               (North Puget
                               Sound/San Juan
                               Islands
                               (Fall)).
California sea lion.........  U.S. (North                257,606          0.0179              45            0.02
                               Puget Sound/
                               San Juan
                               Islands
                               (Fall)).
Harbor seal.................  Washington                  16,451            0.76              67            0.61
                               Northern
                               Inland (North
                               Puget Sound/
                               San Juan
                               Islands
                               (Fall)).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Description of Proposed Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measures

    The proposed mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures 
included as requirements in this authorization are identical to those 
included in the Federal Register notice announcing the issuance of the 
initial proposed IHA, and the discussion of the least practicable 
adverse impact included in that document remains accurate (89 FR 53046, 
June 25, 2024; 89 FR 66057, August 14, 2024). The following measures 
are proposed for this renewal:
    (a) The Holder must employ Protected Species Observer (PSO)s and 
establish monitoring locations. The Holder must monitor the project 
area to the maximum extent possible based on the required number of 
PSOs, required monitoring locations, and environmental conditions.
    (b) Monitoring must take place from 30 minutes prior to initiation 
of pile driving activity (i.e., pre-start clearance monitoring) through 
30 minutes post-completion of pile driving activity.
    (c) Pre-start clearance monitoring must be conducted during periods 
of visibility sufficient for the lead PSO to determine that the 
shutdown zones are clear of marine mammals. Pile driving may commence 
following 30 minutes of observation when the determination is made that 
the shutdown zones are clear of marine mammals.
    (d) If a marine mammal is observed entering or within the shutdown 
zones, pile driving activity must be delayed or halted. Pile driving 
must be commenced or resumed as described in condition 4(e) of this 
IHA.
    (e) If pile driving is delayed or halted due to the presence of a 
marine mammal, the activity may not commence or resume until either the 
animal has voluntarily exited and been visually confirmed beyond the 
shutdown zone, or 15 minutes have passed without re-detection of the 
animal.
    (f) Specific measures for avoiding take of killer whales and 
humpback whales:
    (i) Prior to the start of pile driving activities each day, the 
Holder must contact the Orca Network to obtain the latest sightings 
information for killer whales and humpback whales.
    (ii) The Holder must delay or halt pile driving activities if 
Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW), unidentified killer whale (i.e. 
transient) or humpback whales are sighted within the vicinity of the 
project area and are approaching the Level B harassment zones during 
in-water activities.
    (iii) If a SRKW, unidentified killer whale, or humpback whale 
enters the Level B harassment zone undetected, in-water pile driving 
must be suspended immediately upon detection and must not resume until 
the animal exits the Level B harassment zone or 15 minutes have passed 
without re-detection of the animal.
    (g) Pile driving activity must be halted (as described in condition 
4(d) of initial IHA) upon observation of either a species for which 
incidental take is not authorized or a species for which incidental 
take has been authorized but the authorized number of takes has been 
met, entering or within the harassment zone.
    (h) The Holder, construction supervisors and crews, PSOs, and 
relevant Phillips 66 staff must avoid direct physical interaction with 
marine mammals during construction activity. If a marine mammal comes 
within 10 meters of such activity, operations must cease and vessels 
must reduce speed to the minimum level required to maintain steerage 
and safe working conditions, as necessary to avoid direct physical 
interaction.

Comments and Responses

    As noted previously, NMFS published a notice of a proposed IHA (89 
FR 53046, June 25, 2024) and solicited public comments on both our 
proposal to issue the initial IHA for Ferndale Refinery Dock 
Maintenance and Pile Replacement Project Activities in Ferndale, 
Washington and on the potential for a renewal IHA, should certain 
requirements be met. No public comments were received following the 
notice announcing the proposed

[[Page 34245]]

issuance of the initial IHA (89 FR 53046, June 25, 2024).

Preliminary Determinations

    The proposed action is identical to that of the initial 
authorization in terms of effects. The minor change of four additional 
piles does not modify our findings. The same marine mammals are 
affected, and the potential effects and estimated take are a subset of 
the initial IHA. Mitigation and monitoring remain the same as the 
initial authorization.
    With a subset of estimated take, the extensive analysis, as well as 
the associated findings included in the prior documents remain 
applicable. We found that the previous IHA had a negligible impact, and 
with the issuance of a renewal, the taking would be small relative to 
population size.
    NMFS has preliminarily concluded that there is no new information 
suggesting that our analysis or findings should change from those 
reached for the initial IHA. Based on the information and analysis 
contained here and in the referenced documents, NMFS has determined the 
following: (1) the required mitigation measures will effect the least 
practicable impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their 
habitat; (2) the authorized takes will have a negligible impact on the 
affected marine mammal species or stocks; (3) the authorized takes 
represent small numbers of marine mammals relative to the affected 
stock abundances; (4) Phillip 66's activities will not have an 
unmitigable adverse impact on taking for subsistence purposes as no 
relevant subsistence uses of marine mammals are implicated by this 
action, and; (5) appropriate monitoring and reporting requirements are 
included.

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 ensure 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. No incidental take of ESA-listed 
species is proposed for authorization or expected to result from this 
activity. Therefore, NMFS has determined that formal consultation under 
section 7 of the ESA is not required for this proposed action.

Proposed Renewal IHA and Request for Public Comment

    As a result of these preliminary determinations, NMFS proposes to 
issue a renewal IHA to Phillips 66 for conducting the Ferndale Refinery 
Dock Maintenance and Pile Replacement Project in Ferndale, Washington, 
from August 9, 2025 through August 8, 2026, provided the previously 
described mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements are 
incorporated. A draft of the proposed and final initial IHA can be 
found 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>. We request comments 
on our analyses, the proposed renewal IHA, and any other aspect of this 
notice. Please include with your comments any supporting data or 
literature citations to help inform our final decision on the request 
for this renewal IHA.

    Dated: July 17, 2025.
Shannon Bettridge,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-13684 Filed 7-18-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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