Notice2026-06370
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Homeporting United States Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutters at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island
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
April 2, 2026
Effective
June 1, 2027
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 consecutive 1-year incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) to the United States Coast Guard (USCG), on behalf of the United States Navy (Navy), for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to construction activities associated with the project Homeporting USCG Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs) at Naval Station (NAVSTA) Newport, Rhode Island (RI).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 63 (Thursday, April 2, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 63 (Thursday, April 2, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16650-16651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06370]
[[Page 16650]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF441]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Homeporting United States Coast
Guard Offshore Patrol Cutters at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island
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 two consecutive 1-year incidental harassment
authorizations (IHAs) to the United States Coast Guard (USCG), on
behalf of the United States Navy (Navy), for authorization to take
marine mammals incidental to construction activities associated with
the project Homeporting USCG Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs) at Naval
Station (NAVSTA) Newport, Rhode Island (RI).
DATES: The Year 1 authorization is effective from June 1, 2027, through
May 31, 2028. The Year 2 authorization is effective from June 1, 2028,
through May 31, 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: Carter Esch, 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 February 23, 2026, a notice of NMFS' proposal to issue two
consecutive 1-year IHAs to USCG for the taking of marine mammals
incidental to construction activities supporting the project
Homeporting USCG OPC at NAVSTA in Newport, RI, was published in the
Federal Register (91 FR 8441). 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
review the draft IHAs, which would be valid from June 1, 2027, through
May 31, 2028 (Year 1) and June 1, 2028, through May 31, 2029 (Year 2),
as well as other supporting documents.
No 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 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 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
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.
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 two consecutive 1-year IHAs
to USCG for the taking of marine mammals incidental to construction
activities supporting the project Homeporting USCG OPC at NAVSTA in
Newport, RI.
[[Page 16651]]
Dated: March 30, 2026.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-06370 Filed 4-1-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 2, 2026.
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