Notice2025-14363
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Prince William Sound Ferry Terminal Improvement Projects in Cordova, Chenega, and Tatitlek, 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
July 30, 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 three incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Prince William Sound Ferry Terminal Improvement Projects (PWS Projects) in Cordova, Chenega, and Tatitlek, Alaska.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 144 (Wednesday, July 30, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 30, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35845-35846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-14363]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF050]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Alaska Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities Prince William Sound Ferry
Terminal Improvement Projects in Cordova, Chenega, and Tatitlek, Alaska
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of incidental harassment authorizations.
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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 three incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) to
the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF)
for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Prince
William Sound Ferry Terminal Improvement Projects (PWS Projects) in
Cordova, Chenega, and Tatitlek, Alaska.
DATES: These authorizations are effective for one year from the date of
notification by the IHA-holders, not to exceed one year from the date
of issuance (July 25, 2025).
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/action/incidental-take-authorization-alaska-department-transportation-and-public-facilities-prince">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-alaska-department-transportation-and-public-facilities-prince</a>. In case of problems accessing these
documents, please call the contact listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cara Hotchkin, 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 must also
prescribe requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of
such takings. The definitions 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 June 4, 2025, a notice of NMFS' proposal to issue three IHAs to
ADOT&PF for take of marine mammals incidental to the Prince William
Sound Ferry Terminal Improvement Projects (PWS Projects) in Cordova,
Chenega, and Tatitlek, Alaska was published in the Federal Register (90
FR 23814, June 4, 2025). In that notice, NMFS indicated the estimated
numbers, type, and methods of incidental take proposed for each species
or stock, as well as the mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures
that would be required should the IHAs be issued. The Federal Register
notice 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 Federal Register notice included web links to draft IHAs for
review, as well as other supporting documents.
No substantive 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 IHAs
notice. No new information that would change any of the preliminary
analyses, conclusions, or determinations in the proposed IHAs notice
has become available since that notice was published, and therefore,
the preliminary analyses, conclusions, and determinations included in
the proposed IHAs notice are considered final.
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 three IHAs)
with respect to potential impacts on the human environment.
These actions are 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-
[[Page 35846]]
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 proposed 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 ensures 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.
NMFS is authorizing take of the Western DPS of Steller sea lions,
and of the Mexico DPS of humpback whales, which are listed under the
ESA. NMFS Office of Protected Resources has completed a section 7
consultation with the Alaska Regional Office for the issuance of these
IHAs. The Alaska Regional Office's biological opinion states that the
actions are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the
listed species.
Authorization
Accordingly, consistent with the requirements of section
101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS has issued three IHAs to ADOT&PF for
authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Prince William
Sound Ferry Terminal Improvement Projects (PWS Projects) in Cordova,
Chenega, and Tatitlek, Alaska.
Dated: July 25, 2025.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-14363 Filed 7-29-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 30, 2025.
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