Notice2025-17005
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Oregon Department of Transportation's Yaquina Bay Dolphin Replacement Project in Newport, Oregon
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
September 5, 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 an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to construction activities for the Yaquina Bay Dolphin Replacement Project in Newport, Oregon.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 170 (Friday, September 5, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 170 (Friday, September 5, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42935-42936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17005]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF096]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Oregon Department of
Transportation's Yaquina Bay Dolphin Replacement Project in Newport,
Oregon
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 an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the
Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) for authorization to take
marine mammals incidental to construction activities for the Yaquina
Bay Dolphin Replacement Project in Newport, Oregon.
DATES: This authorization is effective for 1 year from the date of
notification by the IHA-holder, not to exceed 1 year from the date of
issuance (September 2, 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/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: Kelsey Potlock, 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 July 22, 2025, a notice of NMFS' proposal to issue an IHA to
ODOT for the take of marine mammals incidental to construction
activities for the Yaquina Bay Dolphin Replacement Project in Newport,
Oregon was published in the Federal Register (90 FR 34441). 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 IHA be issued. The Federal Register notice also included
analysis to support NMFS' preliminary conclusions and determinations
that the IHA, if issued, would satisfy the requirements of section
101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA for issuance of the IHA. The Federal Register
notice included web links to a draft IHA for review, as well as other
supporting documents.
No substantive comments were received during the public comment
period. With the exception of the minor change described below, 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.
Changes From the Proposed IHA to the Final IHA
We made a single change, which incorporates an updated abundance
estimate for the Oregon/Washington coastal stock of harbor seals, which
is updated to 22,549 from 24,731 animals based on more recent best
available information (Pearson et al. 2024). This change does not
influence the estimated take numbers under the proposed notice/IHA or
influence the preliminary findings made in support of the proposed 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 proposed IHA 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.
[[Page 42936]]
No incidental take of ESA-listed species is authorized 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
action.
Authorization
Accordingly, consistent with the requirements of section
101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS has issued an IHA to ODOT for
authorization to take marine mammals incidental to construction
activities for the Yaquina Bay Dolphin Replacement Project in Newport,
Oregon.
Dated: September 2, 2025.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-17005 Filed 9-4-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 5, 2025.
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