Notice2026-10974
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Francis Scott Key Bridge Rebuild Project in Baltimore, Maryland
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
June 2, 2026
Effective
June 1, 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 consecutive incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Francis Scott Key Bridge Rebuild Project in Baltimore, Maryland.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 2, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 2, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32954-32956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10974]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF759]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Francis Scott Key Bridge
Rebuild Project in Baltimore, Maryland
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of incidental harassment authorizations.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with regulations implementing the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that
NMFS has issued two consecutive incidental harassment authorizations
(IHAs) to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for authorization
to take marine mammals incidental to the Francis Scott Key Bridge
Rebuild Project in Baltimore, Maryland.
DATES: These authorizations are effective from June 1, 2026, through
[[Page 32955]]
May 31, 2027, and June 1, 2027 through May 31, 2028.
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-taking-marine-mammals-incidental-francis-scott-key-bridge">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-taking-marine-mammals-incidental-francis-scott-key-bridge</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 April 22, 2026, a notice of NMFS' proposal to issue two
consecutive IHAs to FHWA for take of marine mammals incidental to the
Francis Scott Key Bridge Rebuild Project in Baltimore, Maryland was
published in the Federal Register (91 FR 21425). 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 both draft IHAs for review, as well as other supporting
documents.
No substantive comments were received during the public comment
period. With the exception of the minor changes 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 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.
Changes From the Proposed IHAs to the Final IHAs
Changes from the proposed IHAs to the final issued IHAs include
clarifications related to hydroacoustic monitoring and results, and
correction of a mathematical error. With respect to hydroacoustic
monitoring, the notice of proposed IHAs indicated that measurements
would be taken during driving of the first five piles of each size
during both impact and vibratory driving (91 FR 21425 at 21444, April
22, 2026). FHWA has clarified that although efforts would be made to
measure driving of the first five piles in isolation, it is possible
that these measurements could include times when piles are also being
driven elsewhere along the project corridor and thus have artificially
increased background noise levels. With NMFS' concurrence, the FHWA
will adjust the sizes of shutdown and clearance zones in year 2 as
needed based on the results of hydroacoustic monitoring in year 1.
NMFS has also identified and corrected a mathematical error in
Table 7 of the proposed IHA (91 FR 21425 at 21439, April 22, 2026). The
predicted source value for the larger impact hammer was shown as 199
decibels (dB) referenced to 1 micropascal (re 1 [micro]Pa) root-mean-
square (RMS), which had been calculated based on the preliminary
measurements of the smaller impact hammer. The final measured source
value for the smaller hammer is correct in the table, and the predicted
source value for the larger hammer should be 200.4 dB re 1[micro]Pa
RMS. This change does not affect the amount of authorized take because
it results in only a very small increase in the size of the ensonified
area on the 20 percent of construction days that the larger impact
hammer is needed. This change does not affect the required shutdown
zones, because the shutdown zones were based on measured distances
during the test pile program rather than modeled source values and
propagation ranges.
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 this 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.
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.
[[Page 32956]]
Authorization
Accordingly, consistent with the requirements of section
101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS has issued two consecutive IHAs to FHWA
for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Francis
Scott Key Bridge Rebuild Project in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dated: May 29, 2026.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-10974 Filed 6-1-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 2, 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.