Notice2026-11960
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the City of Kodiak St. Herman Harbor Infrastructure Rebuild Project
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 15, 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 incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) to the City of Kodiak for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to Phase I and Phase II of the St. Herman Harbor Infrastructure Rebuild Project in Kodiak, Alaska.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 114 (Monday, June 15, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 114 (Monday, June 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35967-35968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-11960]
[[Page 35967]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF676]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the City of Kodiak St. Herman
Harbor Infrastructure Rebuild Project
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 incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) to the
City of Kodiak for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to
Phase I and Phase II of the St. Herman Harbor Infrastructure Rebuild
Project in Kodiak, Alaska.
DATES: The Phase I IHA is effective for 1 year from the date of
notification by the IHA-holder, not to exceed 1 year from the date of
issuance (June 10, 2026). The Phase II IHA is effective for 1 year from
the date of notification by the IHA-holder, not to exceed 1 year from
the date of expiration of the Phase I IHA.
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-city-kodiaks-st-herman-harbor-infrastructure-rebuild-project">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-city-kodiaks-st-herman-harbor-infrastructure-rebuild-project</a>. In case of problems accessing these
documents, please call the contact listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Austin Demarest, 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 shall 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 March 13, 2026, a notice of NMFS' proposal to issue two separate
IHAs (and potential renewal IHAs) to the City of Kodiak for take of
marine mammals incidental to the St. Herman Harbor Infrastructure
Rebuild Project in Kodiak, Alaska was published in the Federal Register
(91 FR 12363). 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 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 draft IHAs for
review, 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 notice of proposed IHAs. No
new information that would change any of the preliminary analyses,
conclusions, or determinations in the notice of proposed IHAs has
become available since that notice was published, and therefore, the
preliminary analyses, conclusions, and determinations included in the
notice of proposed IHAs are considered final.
Changes From the Proposed IHAs to the Final IHAs
Following publication of the notice of proposed IHAs, the City of
Kodiak requested additional flexibility regarding the effective period
of the Phase II IHA due to uncertainty in funding and construction
scheduling. As such, NMFS modified the Phase II IHA effective dates
accordingly. The Phase II draft IHA indicated that it would become
effective for 1 year upon the expiration of the Phase I IHA. The issued
Phase II IHA will instead become effective upon written notification
from the applicant to NMFS, but not beginning later than 1 year from
the date of expiration of the Phase I 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 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
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.
NMFS is proposing to authorize take of humpback whales (Mexico-
North Pacific and Western North Pacific DPS), fin whales (Northeast
Pacific stock), and
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Steller sea lions (Western DPS), which are listed under the ESA.
The NMFS Alaska Regional Office issued a Biological Opinion under
section 7 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) on the issuance or two
separate IHAs and the potential renewal IHAs to the City of Kodiak
under section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA by the NMFS Office of Protected
Resources. The Biological Opinion concluded that the action is not
likely to jeopardize the continued existence of ESA-listed humpback
whales (Mexico-North Pacific and Western North Pacific DPS), fin whales
(Northeast Pacific stock), and Steller sea lions (Western DPS).
Authorization
Accordingly, consistent with the requirements of section
101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS has issued two separate IHAs to the City
of Kodiak for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the
St. Herman Harbor Infrastructure Rebuild Project in Kodiak, Alaska.
Dated: June 11, 2026.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-11960 Filed 6-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 15, 2026.
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