Notice2026-05283
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities' Cold Bay Ferry Terminal Reconstruction Project in Cold Bay, 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
March 18, 2026
Effective
May 1, 2028
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 Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Cold Bay Ferry Terminal Reconstruction Project in Cold Bay, Alaska.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13013-13015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05283]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF216]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Alaska Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities' Cold Bay Ferry Terminal
Reconstruction Project in Cold Bay, Alaska
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of incidental harassment authorization.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) for
authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Cold Bay Ferry
Terminal Reconstruction Project in Cold Bay, Alaska.
DATES: This Authorization is effective from May 1, 2028, through April
30, 2029.
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
[[Page 13014]]
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 December 29, 2025, a notice of NMFS' proposal to issue an IHA to
ADOT&PF for the taking of marine mammals incidental to the Cold Bay
Ferry Terminal Reconstruction Project in Cold Bay, Alaska was published
in the Federal Register (90 FR 60653). 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 comments were received during the public comment period. With
the exception of the minor changes described below, there are no
substantive 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.
Furthermore, 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;
therefore, the preliminary analyses, conclusions, and determinations
included in the proposed IHA are considered final.
Changes From the Proposed IHA to the Final IHA
NMFS made a few minor changes to the IHA based on input received
from ADOT&PF during the public comment period. The first included the
removal of the word ``lead'' in IHA measure 4(c) when describing the
start-of-shift determination related to the pre-clearance monitoring to
ensure that visibility is sufficient for PSO monitoring. As a Lead PSO
is not required at all times, the inclusion of this could pose a
logistical challenge for the project. With this change, any on-duty PSO
can make the appropriate decision for the start of activities, upon
completion of the required pre-clearance monitoring period.
The other change was related to an inadvertent inclusion of an
incorrect 500-meter (m) (1,640 feet (ft)) shutdown zone for harbor
seals (Phoca vitulina), specifically during impact pile driving of the
36-inch (in) (91-centimeter (cm)) trestle support piles, the 24-in (61-
cm) to 36-in (91-cm) temporary trestle piles, the 36-in (91-cm) dock
support pile, the 24-in (61-cm) to 36-in (91-cm) temporary dock piles,
and the 36-in (91-cm) dolphin piles. Given the small size and cryptic
behavior of this species, individuals may be difficult to see at a
distance greater than 300 m (984 ft); therefore, this has been changed
to a 300-m (984 ft) shutdown zone for harbor seals in table 2 of the
final IHA. This is also in alignment with the shutdown zone for other
small species during impact pile driving (i.e., harbor porpoises
(Phocoena phocoena) and Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus)).
Lastly, NMFS corrects a few errors in the total number of takes by
Level B harassment for Steller sea lions, harbor porpoises, and harbor
seals. The correct value for Steller sea lions should have been 3,465
total estimated exposures, minus 14 takes by Level A harassment, which
equates to 3,451 takes by Level B harassment. For harbor porpoises, the
correct value should have been 95 takes, given that the original 73
takes by Level A harassment were reduced to 4 and should have been
added to the takes by Level B harassment to equal 95 (26 + 69).
Similarly for harbor seals, the reduced number of takes by Level A
harassment (from 744 to 50) should have been added to the takes by
Level B harassment to equal 2,260 (694 + 1,560). This means that the
total percentage of the population/stock expected to be taken now
equates to 6.96 percent for Steller sea lions, 0.32 percent for harbor
porpoises, and 8.13 percent for harbor seals, all of which are still
below NMFS' threshold for small numbers. We have corrected these in the
final IHA and carry them forward here.
None of these minor updates change NMFS' analysis, the findings, or
final determinations, as previously described.
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 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, in this case, with NMFS' Alaska
Regional Office.
There are two ESA-listed marine mammal species, consisting of three
stocks, with confirmed occurrence in the project area: the Mexico DPS
and Western North Pacific DPS of humpback whales, and the Western DPS
of Steller sea lions. NMFS requested consultation under section 7 of
the ESA on December 19, 2025. The NMFS Alaska Regional Office Protected
Resources Division issued a Biological Opinion under section 7 of the
ESA, on the issuance of an IHA to ADOT&PF under section
[[Page 13015]]
101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA by the NMFS Permits and Conservation Division.
The Biological Opinion concluded that the proposed action is not likely
to jeopardize the continued existence of humpback whales (both the
Mexico DPS and the Western DPS) and Steller sea lions (Western DPS),
and is not likely to destroy or adversely modify critical habitat for
this species.
Authorization
Accordingly, consistent with the requirements of section
101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS has issued an IHA to ADOT&PF for
authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Cold Bay Ferry
Terminal Reconstruction Project in Cold Bay, Alaska.
Dated: March 16, 2026.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-05283 Filed 3-17-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 18, 2026.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.