Notice2026-05698
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Naval Base Point Loma Deperming Pier Replacement Project and the Naval Base San Diego Chollas Creek Quay Wall Repair Project in San Diego Bay, California
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 24, 2026
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 separate incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) to the United States (U.S.) Navy (Navy) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) Deperming Pier Replacement Project and the Naval Base San Diego (NBSD) Chollas Creek Quay Wall Repair Project, respectively, both in San Diego Bay, California (CA).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 56 (Tuesday, March 24, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 56 (Tuesday, March 24, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13998-14000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05698]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF596]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Naval Base Point Loma Deperming
Pier Replacement Project and the Naval Base San Diego Chollas Creek
Quay Wall Repair Project in San Diego Bay, California
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of two 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 two separate incidental harassment authorizations
(IHAs) to the United States (U.S.) Navy (Navy) for authorization to
take marine mammals incidental to the Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL)
Deperming Pier Replacement Project and the Naval Base San Diego (NBSD)
Chollas Creek Quay Wall Repair Project, respectively, both in San Diego
Bay, California (CA).
DATES: Each 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.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the application and supporting
documents, as well as a list of the references cited in this document,
can be obtained online at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-united-states-navys-naval-base-point-loma-deperming-pier">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-united-states-navys-naval-base-point-loma-deperming-pier</a>. For any issues accessing these documents, please
contact the person listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Krista Graham, 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
[[Page 13999]]
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 shall issue an IHA if it determines 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,'' are
found in the MMPA and in NMFS' implementing regulations (see 16 U.S.C.
1362; 50 CFR 216.103).
On February 3, 2026, a notice of NMFS' proposal to issue separate
IHAs to the Navy for take of marine mammals incidental to the NBPL
Deperming Pier Replacement Project and the NBSD Chollas Creek Quay Wall
Repair Project, respectively, both in San Diego Bay, CA, was published
in the Federal Register (91 FR 4875). In that notice, NMFS provided
estimates of the numbers, types, 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 an analysis to
support NMFS' preliminary conclusions and determinations that each 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 each draft IHA for review, along with other supporting
documents.
No substantive comments were received during the public comment
period. There are no changes to the specified activities, the species
taken, the type or methods of take, or the mitigation, monitoring, or
reporting measures in the proposed IHAs notice. No new information has
become available that would substantively change any of the preliminary
analyses, conclusions, or determinations in either of the proposed IHA.
Therefore, the preliminary analyses, conclusions, and determinations
included in the two proposed IHAs are considered final.
Changes From the Proposed IHAs to the Final IHAs
There are no changes from the draft IHAs posted on our website
during the 30-day public comment period and the issued IHAs. However,
after publication in the Federal Register, we identified a few minor
numerical errors (such as transposed numbers) in tables 6 and 7 of the
Federal Register notice for the proposed IHAs and discovered a
formatting error in the heading columns. The errors are as follows:
(a) In table 6 (User Spreadsheet Input Parameters Used for
Calculating Level A Harassment Isopleths), the table should indicate
four piles per day (instead of three) for the impact installation of
16-inch round plastic piles (NBPL Project). However, we based our
calculations on four piles per day, so this minor error does not affect
the analysis. Elsewhere in the Federal Register notice, it correctly
states that up to four piles per day may be installed by this method
for this pile type (e.g., page 4880).
(b) In table 7 (Calculated Distances to the Level A Harassment and
Level B Harassment Thresholds by Marine Mammal Hearing Group and
Activity), under the NBPL Deperming Pier Replacement Project Pile
Installation Activities section, the Level A harassment zones for 16-
inch round plastic piles are transposed for the ``OW'' (Otariid in-
water) and ``PW'' (Phocid in-water) columns. For OW, the Level A
harassment zone should be 2.2 meters (m), and for PW, it should be 6.7
m, which are the same as the calculations for the vibratory extraction
of 16-inch round timber piles.
(c) Additionally, in table 7, under the NBPL Deperming Pier
Replacement Project Installation Activities section, the Level B
harassment zone for 16-inch round plastic piles should be 1,445 m, not
1,455 m, which is the same as the calculation for the vibratory
extraction of 16-inch round timber piles.
(d) We also identified a formatting error in table 7, where the
information in each column was not properly aligned with the correct
column title.
We notified the Office of the Federal Register of this error, and
the Office published a notice correcting the table (see table 7; 91 FR
6827, February 13, 2026).
In summary, we have identified relatively minor errors in the
notice of proposed IHAs that, upon correction, do not substantially
alter the analysis or our findings. That is, based on the analysis
contained in the notice of proposed IHAs (91 FR 4875, February 3, 2026)
of the likely effects of the specified activities on marine mammals and
their habitat, and taking into consideration the implementation of the
monitoring and mitigation measures for each project, NMFS finds that
the total marine mammal take authorized in each IHA will have a
negligible impact on all affected marine mammal species or stocks and
will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of
marine mammals for subsistence use.
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 two
separate IHAs) 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 these two separate IHAs qualifies for categorical exclusion
from further NEPA review.
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Section 7(a)(2) of the ESA of 1973 (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 issuing IHAs, NMFS consults internally
whenever we propose to authorize take for endangered or threatened
species.
No incidental take of ESA-listed species was proposed for
authorization or expected to result from these activities. Therefore,
NMFS has determined that formal consultation under section 7 of the ESA
is not required for these actions.
Authorization
Accordingly, consistent with the requirements of section
101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS has issued separate IHAs to the Navy for
authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the NBPL Deperming
Pier Replacement
[[Page 14000]]
Project and the NBSD Chollas Creek Quay Wall Repair Project,
respectively, both in San Diego Bay, CA.
Dated: March 20, 2026.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-05698 Filed 3-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 24, 2026.
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