Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2020 / Notices 85589 

panel. Please see ‘‘Short Response 

Questions’’ below. 

(2) Highlight the nominee’s specific 

area(s) of expertise relevant to the 

purpose of the Panel from the list in the 

Federal Register Notice. 

(3) A short biography of 300 to 350 

words. 

(4) A current resume. 

(5) The nominee’s full contact 

information including: Full name, work 

title, institutional affiliation, mailing 

address, email(s), phone, and fax. 

Short Response Questions for the Cover 

Letter 

(1) List your area(s) of expertise, from 

the list above. 

(2) List the geographic region(s) of the 

country with which you primarily 

associate your expertise. 

(3) Describe your leadership or 

professional experiences which you 

believe will contribute to the 

effectiveness of the HSRP panel. 

(4) Describe your familiarity and 

experience with NOAA NOS navigation 

data, products, and services. 

(5) Generally describe the breadth and 

scope of your knowledge of 

stakeholders, users, or other groups who 

interact with NOAA and whose views 

and input you believe you can share 

with the panel. 

Under 33 U.S.C. 883a, et seq., 

NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) 

is responsible for providing nautical 

charts and related information for safe 

navigation. NOS collects and compiles 

hydrographic, tidal and current, 

geodetic, and a variety of other data in 

order to fulfill this responsibility. The 

HSRP provides advice on current and 

emerging oceanographic and marine 

science technologies relating to 

operations, research and development; 

and dissemination of data pertaining to: 

(a) Hydrographic surveying; 

(b) Shoreline surveying; 

(c) Nautical charting; 

(d) Water level measurements; 

(e) Current measurements; 

(f) Geodetic measurements; 

(g) Geospatial measurements; 

(h) Geomagnetic measurements; and 

(i) Other oceanographic/marine 

related sciences. 

The Panel has fifteen voting members 

appointed by the NOAA Administrator 

in accordance with 33 U.S.C. 892c. 

Members are selected on a standardized 

basis, in accordance with applicable 

Department of Commerce guidance. The 

Co-Directors of the Center for Coastal 

and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic 

Center and two other NOAA employees 

serve as nonvoting members of the 

Panel. The Director, NOAA Office of 

Coast Survey, serves as the Designated 

Federal Official (DFO) along with two 

Alternate DFOs. 

Voting members are individuals who, 

by reason of knowledge, experience, or 

training, are especially qualified in one 

or more disciplines relating to 

hydrographic surveying, tides, currents, 

geodetic and geospatial measurements, 

marine transportation, port 

administration, vessel pilotage, coastal 

or fishery management, and other 

oceanographic or marine science areas 

as deemed appropriate by the 

Administrator. Full-time officers or 

employees of the United States may not 

be appointed as a voting member. Any 

voting member of the Panel who is an 

applicant for, or beneficiary of (as 

determined by the Administrator) any 

assistance under 33 U.S.C. 892c shall 

disclose to the Panel that relationship, 

and may not vote on any other matter 

pertaining to that assistance. 

Voting members of the Panel serve a 

four-year term, except that vacancy 

appointments are for the remainder of 

the unexpired term of the vacancy. 

Members serve at the discretion of the 

Administrator and are subject to 

government ethics standards. Any 

individual appointed to a partial or full 

term may be reappointed for one 

additional full term. A voting member 

may serve until his or her successor has 

taken office. The Panel selects one 

voting member to serve as the Chair and 

another to serve as the Vice Chair. The 

Vice Chair acts as Chair in the absence 

or incapacity of the Chair but will not 

automatically become the Chair if the 

Chair resigns. Public meetings occur at 

least twice a year, and at the call of the 

Chair or upon the request of a majority 

of the voting members or of the 

Administrator. Voting members receive 

compensation at a rate established by 

the Administrator, not to exceed the 

maximum daily rate payable under 

section 5376 of title 5, United States 

Code, when engaged in performing 

duties for the Panel during the public 

meeting. Members are reimbursed for 

actual and reasonable travel expenses 

incurred in performing such duties 

according to the Federal Travel 

Regulation. 

Additional HSRP information and 

past HSRP public meeting summary 

reports, agendas, presentations, 

transcripts, webinars, and other 

information is available online at: 

Membership: https://www.nautical 

charts.noaa.gov/hsrp/panel.html 

Recommendations: https://

www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/ 

recommendations.html 

Meeting materials: https://

www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/ 

meetings.html 

Individuals Selected for Panel 

Membership 

Upon selection and agreement to 

serve on the HSRP Panel, you become 

a Special Government Employee (SGE) 

of the United States Government. 18 

U.S.C. 202(a) an SGE(s) is an officer or 

employee of an agency who is retained, 

designated, appointed, or employed to 

perform temporary duties, with or 

without compensation, not to exceed 

130 days during any period of 365 

consecutive days, either on a fulltime or 

intermittent basis. After the selection 

process is complete, applicants selected 

to serve on the Panel must complete the 

following actions before they can be 

appointed as a Panel member: 

(a) Security Clearance (on-line 

Background Security Check process and 

fingerprinting conducted through 

NOAA Workforce Management); and 

(b) Confidential Financial Disclosure 

Report—SGE are required to file a 

Confidential Financial Disclosure 

Report to avoid involvement in a real or 

apparent conflict of interest. You may 

find information on the Confidential 

Financial Disclosure Report at: https:// 

www.oge.gov/Web/oge.nsf/Resources/ 

OGE+Form+450. 

Kathryn Ries, 

Deputy Director, Office of Coast Survey, 

National Ocean Service, National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28746 Filed 12–28–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RTID 0648–XA741 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to State Route 520 

Pontoon Pile Removal Project, 

Aberdeen, Grays Harbor County, 

Washington 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of an incidental 

harassment authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

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 

Washington State Department of 

Transportation (WSDOT) to incidentally 

harass, by Level B harassment, marine 


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mammals during pile driving activities 

associated with the State Route 520 

Pontoon Construction Site—Marine 

Piling Removal Project in Aberdeen, 

Grays Harbor County, Washington. 

DATES: This Authorization is effective 

for a period of one year, from December 

21, 2020 through December 20, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bonnie DeJoseph, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

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: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/ 

incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-protection-act. In case 

of problems accessing these documents, 

please call the contact listed above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of 

marine mammals, with certain 

exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and 

(D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce 

(as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon 

request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking 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 either regulations are 

issued or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, a notice of a proposed 

incidental take authorization may be 

provided to the public for review. 

Authorization for incidental takings 

shall be granted if NMFS 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 the species or stocks for 

taking for certain subsistence uses 

(referred to in shorthand as 

‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements 

pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting of the takings are set forth. 

The definitions of all applicable 

MMPA statutory terms cited above are 

included in the relevant sections below. 

Summary of Request 

On November 20, 2019, NMFS 

received a request from WSDOT for an 

IHA to take marine mammals incidental 

to the removal of 19-steel piles at the 

mouth of the Chehalis River where it 

enters Grays Harbor, WA. WSDOT 

submitted three revisions, including 

three between November 2019 and July 

2020, with the last being deemed 

adequate and complete on July 30, 2020. 

WSDOT subsequently submitted a final 

update to their application on August 

17, 2020. Their request is for take of a 

small number of Pacific harbor seals 

(Phoca vitulina); California sea lions 

(Zalophus californianus); Steller sea 

lions (Eumetopias jubatus); gray whales 

(Eschrichtius robustus); and harbor 

porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) by 

Level B harassment only. Neither 

WSDOT nor NMFS expects serious 

injury or mortality to result from this 

activity and, therefore, an IHA is 

appropriate. 

Description of the Specified Activity 

WSDOT plans to remove 19 steel piles 

and associated barge launch guide 

appurtenances from the footprint of the 

casting basin launch channel within the 

Washington State Department of Natural 

Resources (DNR) aquatic easement lease 

area in Grays Harbor (Figures 1 and 2). 

WSDOT must remove the 19 steel piles 

on state owned aquatic lands to comply 

with the terms and conditions of the 

lease agreement with the Washington 

DNR. The piles were used to guide 

completed pontoons out of the casting 

basin and into Grays Harbor for 

transport to Lake Washington for the 

replacement of the SR520 floatingbridge. As the action of pile driving is 

used in both the installation and 

removal of piles, the term ‘‘pile driving’’ 

is hereafter used in this document to 

refer to pile removal. 

A vibratory extractor on a crane will 

be used to remove the piles over a 

seven-day period with one day for 

mobilization and another day for 

demobilization on either end, for a total 

of nine days of in-water work. Pile 

removal is estimated to take 14.25 hours 

over a seven-day period with one day 

for mobilization and another day for 

demobilization on either end, for a total 

of nine days (Table 1). The IHA is 

effective for a period of one year from 

date of issuance. WSDOT demarcated 

their in-water work window to 16 July– 

15 February to protect Endangered 

Species Act (ESA)-listed fish and plans 

to complete work during the current 

work window. The crane will be located 

on a barge or flexi float, positioned near 

the piles. Sound in the water from 

vibratory pile driving may result in 

behavioral disturbance (or Level B 

harassment) of five marine mammal 

species. 

A detailed description of the planned 

State Route 520 Pontoon Construction 

Site—Marine Piling Removal project is 

provided in the Federal Register notice 

for the proposed IHA (85 FR 68042; 

October 27, 2020). Since that time, no 

changes have been made to the planned 

activities. Therefore, a detailed 

description is not provided here. Please 

refer to that Federal Register notice for 

the description of the specific activity. 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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BILLING CODE 3510–22–C 


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TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF PILE DRIVING ACTIVITIES

Method Pile type 

Estimated 

noise level * 

(dBRMS) 

Number 

of piles 

Minutes 

per pile 

Total time 

(hours) 

Piles 

per day 

Time 

per day 

(hours) 

Activity 

period 

(days) ** 

Vibratory Removal ................. 48-inch steel pile ................... 171 1 45 0.75 1 0.75 1 

Vibratory Removal ................. 24-inch steel pile ................... 162 17 45 12.75 4 3 5 

Vibratory Removal ................. 18-inch steel pile ................... 162 1 45 0.75 1 0.75 1 

TOTAL ............................ ................................................ .................... 19 45 14.25 6 14.25 7 

* Origin of project sound source levels discussed in Estimated Take section. 

** Pile removal activities will be conducted across 11-hour (at maximum) work days, but a ‘‘day’’ of work may not require 11 hours. NMFS increased the estimated 

removal time of the 18 and 48-inch piles from 0.5 day, as proposed by WSDOT, to 1 day, to reflect a more realistic representation of the potential schedule; i.e., the 

potential that the two piles maybe removed on separated days. 

Mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

measures are described in detail later in 

this document (please see Mitigation 

and Monitoring and Reporting sections). 

Comments and Responses 

A notice of NMFS’s proposal to issue 

an IHA to WSDOT was published in the 

Federal Register on October 27, 2020 

(85 FR 68042). That notice described, in 

detail, WSDOT’s activity, the marine 

mammal species that may be affected by 

the activity, and the anticipated effects 

on marine mammals. During the 30-day 

public comment period, NMFS received 

comments from the Marine Mammal 

Commission (Commission). Please see 

the Commission’s letter for full details 

regarding their recommendations and 

rationale. The letter is available online 

at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

action/incidental-take-authorizationstate-route-520-pontoon-pile-removalproject-aberdeen-grays. A summary of 

the Commission’s recommendations as 

well as NMFS’ responses is below. 

Comment 1: The Commission 

recommended that NMFS re-estimate 

the (1) summer density for Steller sea 

lions based on adjusting the 2015 pup 

and non-pup data using the trend data 

from 2017, applying the non-pup 

growth rate to the non-pup counts and 

the pup growth rates to the pup counts, 

and applying the relevant growth rates 

up to at least 2020 and (2) winter 

density for California sea lions based on 

applying the relevant growth rates up to 

at least 2020 and increase the numbers 

of takes accordingly. 

Response: NMFS does not concur and 

does not adopt the Commission’s 

recommendation. The Navy Marine 

Species Density Database (NMSDD) 

technical report (2019) describes density 

estimates that were used in the Navy’s 

acoustics effects model. To complete the 

modeling on schedule, the density data 

available at that time from the final 2016 

SAR (Muto et al., 2017) were used. 

Steller sea lion densities were 

calculated independently for regional 

populations in Washington, Oregon, 

California, and southeast Alaska, 

consistent with the stock assessment 

reports. No trend data were (or are 

currently) estimated for pups in 

Washington, therefore, the non-pup 

growth rate of 8.77 percent per year was 

used for the entire population. In 

addition, the baseline abundance for 

Washington sea lions was increased 

over the abundance from the stock 

assessment report based on data 

reported in Wiles (2015) before the 

growth rate was applied to project a 

2017 abundance. In comparison, the 

non-pup growth rate was used for sea 

lions in Oregon, California, and 

southeast Alaska because the number of 

non-pups in each population was 

substantially greater than the number of 

pups. Using separate growth rates for 

pups and non-pups in all three regions 

results in less than a 1 percent increase 

in the projected 2017 abundance. The 

associated change in the density is 

minimal and would not change the 

results of NMFS’ or WSDOT’s analysis 

of acoustic impacts on Steller sea lions. 

Comment 2: The Commission 

recommends that when NMFS uses 

Department of Navy pinniped densities 

for all future incidental take 

authorizations, it revise the density 

estimates based on the most recent 

abundance and trend data from the 

stock assessment reports (SARs) 

forward-projected into the year that the 

action proponent’s activities are 

proposed to occur. 

Response: NMFS appreciates the 

Commission’s recommendation, and 

will consider it as appropriate when 

evaluating future requests for 

authorization. 

Comment 3: The Commission 

recommends NMFS (1) consult with the 

Washington Department of Fish and 

Wildlife (WDFW) and determine 

whether the seal counts for Grays 

Harbor are correct as referenced in 

Jeffries et al. (2015), (2) if so, increase 

the density from 30.85 to 31.39 seals/ 

and revise the number of harbor seal 

takes to be 2,196 in the notice for 

issuance of the final authorization and 

the final authorization, and (3) if not, 

specify that the total seal counts 

originated from WDFW (pers. comm.) 

rather than Jeffries et al. (2015) in the 

notice for issuance of the final 

authorization. 

Response: NMFS consulted with 

WDFW and determined that an updated 

data set of seal counts in Grays Harbor 

was used to calculate the density 

(personal communication WDFW, 

2020), not Jeffries et al. (2015). The 

calculations are detailed in the 

Estimated Take section. WDFW is in the 

process of error checking and cleaning 

up the seal counts survey data set, and 

NMFS used the final data set supplied 

by WDFW for the density. 

Comment 4: The Commission 

recommends that NMFS include in the 

final authorization the requirement that 

WSDOT conduct pile-removal activities 

during daylight hours only. 

Response: We do concur with the 

Commission’s recommendation and do 

not adopt it. While WSDOT has no 

intention of conducting pile driving 

activities at night, it is unnecessary to 

preclude such activity should the need 

arise (e.g., on an emergency basis or to 

complete driving of a pile begun during 

daylight hours, should the construction 

operator deem it necessary to do so). We 

disagree with the statement that a 

prohibition on pile driving activity 

outside of daylight hours is necessary to 

meet the MMPA’s least practicable 

adverse impact standard, and the 

Commission does not justify this 

assertion. 

Comment 5: The Commission 

recommends that NMFS include in the 

final authorization the requirement that, 

if environmental conditions deteriorate 

such that marine mammals within the 

entire shut-down zone would not be 

visible (e.g., fog, heavy rain), pileremoval activities must be delayed until 

the Protected Species Observer (PSO) is 

confident that marine mammals within 

the shut-down zone could be detected. 

Response: NMFS concurs with this 

recommendation and has adopted it. 

Comment 6: The Commission 

recommends that NMFS revise the final 

authorization to require WSDOT to 

report the number of individuals of each 


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species detected within the Level B 

harassment zones and estimates of the 

numbers of marine mammals taken by 

Level B harassment, by species. The 

Commission additionally recommends 

that NMFS require that WSDOT include 

in its monitoring report (1) the 

estimated percentage(s) of the Level B 

harassment zones that was not visible, 

(2) an extrapolation of the estimated 

takes by Level B harassment based on 

the number of observed exposures 

within the Level B harassment zone and 

the percentage of the Level B 

harassment zone that was not visible 

(i.e., extrapolated takes), and (3) the 

total number of Level B harassment 

takes based on both the observed and 

extrapolated takes for each species. 

Response: We do not fully concur 

with the Commission’s recommendation 

and do not adopt it as stated. NMFS 

agrees with the recommendation to 

require WSDOT to report the number of 

individuals of each species detected 

within the Level B harassment zones 

and has included this requirement in 

both the proposed and final 

authorizations. (See condition 6(b)(ix).) 

NMFS does not agree with the 

recommendation to require WSDOT to 

report estimates of the numbers of 

marine mammals taken by Level B 

harassment. The Commission does not 

explain why it believes this requirement 

is necessary, nor does it provide 

recommendations for methods of 

generating such estimates in a manner 

that would lead to credible results. 

NMFS does not agree that the basic 

method described in footnote 22 of the 

Commission’s letter should be expected 

to yield estimates of total take such that 

readers of WSDOT’s report should have 

confidence that the estimates are 

reasonable representations of what may 

have actually occurred. NMFS does 

agree that WSDOT should report the 

estimated percentage(s) of the Level B 

harassment zones that were not visible, 

and has included this requirement in 

both the proposed and final 

authorizations. (See condition 6(b)(iii).) 

These pieces of information—numbers 

of individuals of each species detected 

within the harassment zones and the 

estimated percentage(s) of the 

harassment zones that were not 

visible—may be used to glean an 

approximate understanding of whether 

WSDOT may have exceeded the amount 

of take authorized. Although the 

Commission does not explain its 

reasoning for offering these 

recommendations, NMFS’ recognizes 

the basic need to understand whether an 

IHA-holder may have exceeded its 

authorized take. The need to accomplish 

this basic function of reporting does not 

require that NMFS require applicants to 

use methods we do not have confidence 

in to generate estimates of ‘‘total take’’ 

that cannot be considered reliable. 

Comment 7: The Commission 

recommends that NMFS reinforce that 

WSDOT must keep a running tally of 

the total Level B harassment takes, both 

observed and extrapolated, for each 

species consistent with condition 4(h) of 

the final authorization. 

Response: The IHA indicates the 

number of takes authorized for each 

species. We agree that WSDOT must 

ensure they do not exceed authorized 

takes, but do not concur with the 

Commission’s repeated 

recommendations regarding the need for 

NMFS to oversee IHA-holders’ 

compliance with issued IHAs, including 

the use of a ‘‘running tally’’ of takes. 

Regardless of the Commission’s 

substitution of the word ‘‘reinforce’’ for 

the word ‘‘ensure,’’ as compared with its 

prior recommendations for other 

actions, compliance with the terms of an 

issued IHA remains the responsibility of 

the IHA-holder. 

Comment 9: The Commission 

recommends that NMFS refrain from 

issuing a renewal for any authorization 

unless it is consistent with the 

procedural requirements specified in 

section 101(a)(5)(D)(iii) of the MMPA. 

Response: In prior responses to 

comments about IHA Renewals (e.g., 84 

FR 52464; October 02, 2019 and 85 FR 

53342, August 28, 2020), NMFS has 

explained how the Renewal process, as 

implemented, is consistent with the 

statutory requirements contained in 

section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, 

provides additional efficiencies beyond 

the use of abbreviated notices, and, 

further, promotes NMFS’ goals of 

improving conservation of marine 

mammals and increasing efficiency in 

the MMPA compliance process. 

Therefore, we intend to continue 

implementing the Renewal process. 

Changes From the Proposed IHA to 

Final IHA 

Corrections were made to reflect 

seven possible working days as shown 

in Table 1, with one day for 

mobilization and another day for 

demobilization on either end, totaling 

nine days of possible in-water work. 

Marine mammal density information 

used in take calculations was updated 

from fall to highest seasonal values 

(Navy 2019) to reflect the revised 

construction schedule as follows: (1) 

Off-shore Washington winter 

distribution density value of 0.649 

California Sea Lions/kilometer squared 

(km2), and (2) off-shore Washington 

summer distribution density value of 

0.1993 Steller Sea Lions/km2. See 

Estimated Take section below. We also 

clarified that harbor seal take 

calculations are based on the updated 

dataset of WDFW’s seal surveys 

(personal communication WDFW 2020). 

Due to a calculation error, corrections 

were made to total take calculations of 

harbor porpoises from 28 to 31 and to 

Pacific harbor seals from 1187 to 2157 

(see Tables 9 and 10). Level A 

harassment zones were corrected as 

shown in Table 8. Finally, NMFS 

clarified that driving proxies were used 

for three pile sizes because removal 

values are not available and median 

source levels of vibratory driving 

proxies were used for 18 and 24-inch 

piles. 

Description of Marine Mammals in the 

Area of Specified Activities 

Sections 3 and 4 of the application 

summarize available information 

regarding status and trends, distribution 

and habitat preferences, and behavior 

and life history, of the potentially 

affected species. Additional information 

regarding population trends and threats 

may be found in NMFS’s Stock 

Assessment Reports (SARs; https://

www.fisheries.noaa .gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-stock-assessments) and more 

general information about these species 

(e.g., physical and behavioral 

descriptions) may be found on NMFS’s 

website (https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/find-species). 

Table 2 lists all species or stocks for 

which take is expected and authorized 

for this action, and summarizes 

information related to the population or 

stock, including regulatory status under 

the MMPA and ESA and potential 

biological removal (PBR), where known. 

For taxonomy, we follow Committee on 

Taxonomy (2020). PBR is defined by the 

MMPA as the maximum number of 

animals, not including natural 

mortalities, that may be removed from a 

marine mammal stock while allowing 

that stock to reach or maintain its 

optimum sustainable population (as 

described in NMFS’s SARs). While no 

mortality is anticipated or authorized 

here, PBR and annual serious injury and 

mortality from anthropogenic sources 

are included here as gross indicators of 

the status of the species and other 

threats. 

Marine mammal abundance estimates 

presented in this document represent 

the total number of individuals that 

make up a given stock or the total 

number estimated within a particular 

study or survey area. NMFS’s stock 

abundance estimates for most species 


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represent the total estimate of 

individuals within the geographic area, 

if known, that comprises that stock. For 

some species, this geographic area may 

extend beyond U.S. waters. All managed 

stocks in this region are assessed in 

NMFS’s U.S. Pacific SARs (e.g., Carretta, 

et al., 2020). All values presented in 

Table 2 are the most recent available at 

the time of publication and are available 

in the 2019 SARs (Carretta, et al., 2020) 

(available online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/draftmarine-mammal-stock-assessmentreports). 

TABLE 2—MARINE MAMMALS POTENTIALLY PRESENT IN THE VICINITY OF THE STUDY AREAS

Common name Scientific name Stock 

ESA/ 

MMPA 

status; 

strategic 

(Y/N) 1

Stock abundance 

(CV, Nmin, most recent 

abundance survey) 2

PBR Annual 

M/SI 3

Order Cetartiodactyla—Cetacea—Superfamily Mysticeti (baleen whales) 

Family Eschrichtiidae: 

Gray whale .................................... Eschrichtius robustus ...... Eastern North Pacific ...... -, -, N 26,960 (0.05, 25,849, 

2016).

801 139 

Superfamily Odontoceti (toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises) 

Family Phocoenidae (porpoises): 

Harbor Porpoise ............................ Phocoena ........................ Northern OR/WA Coast .. -, -, N 21,487 (0.44, 15,123, 

2011).

151 ≥3.0 

Order Carnivora—Superfamily Pinnipedia 

Family Otariidae (eared seals and sea 

lions): 

California sea lion .......................... Zalophus californianus .... U.S. ................................. -, -, N 257,606 (N/A, 233,515, 

2014).

14,011 >320 

Steller sea lion ............................... Eumetopias jubatus ........ Eastern ............................ -, -, N 43,201 4 (see SAR, 

43,201, 2017).

2,592 113 

Family Phocidae (earless seals): 

Harbor Seal ................................... Phoca vitulina richardii .... Oregon/Washington 

Coastal.

-, -, N 24,732 5 (UNK, UNK, 

1999).

UND 10.6 

1Endangered Species Act (ESA) status: Endangered I, Threatened (T)/MMPA status: Depleted (D). A dash (-) indicates that the species is not listed under the ESA 

or designated as depleted under the MMPA. Under the MMPA, a strategic stock is one for which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds PBR or which is 

determined to be declining and likely to be listed under the ESA within the foreseeable future. Any species or stock listed under the ESA is automatically designated 

under the MMPA as depleted and as a strategic stock. 2 NMFS marine mammal stock assessment reports online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-stock-assessments. CV is coefficient of variation; Nmin is the minimum estimate of stock abundance. In some cases, CV is not applicable. 3These values, found in NMFS’s SARs, represent annual levels of human-caused mortality plus serious injury from all sources combined (e.g., commercial fisheries, ship strike). Annual M/SI often cannot be determined precisely and is in some cases presented as a minimum value or range. A CV associated with estimated 

mortality due to commercial fisheries is presented in some cases. 4 NEST is the best estimate of pup and non-pup counts, which have not been corrected to account for animals at sea during abundance surveys. 5Abundance estimate for this stock is not considered current. PBR is therefore considered undetermined, as there is no current minimum abundance estimate for 

use in calculation. We nevertheless present the most recent abundance estimate, as it represents the best available information for use in this document. 

As indicated above, all five species 

(with five managed stocks) in Table 2 

temporally and spatially co-occur with 

the activity to the degree that take is 

reasonably likely to occur, and we are 

authorizing it. All species that could 

potentially occur in the survey areas are 

included in Table 3–1 of the IHA 

application. 

A detailed description of the of the 

species likely to be affected by the 

project, including brief introductions to 

the species and relevant stocks as well 

as available information regarding 

population trends and threats, and 

information regarding local occurrence, 

were provided in the Federal Register 

notice for the proposed IHA (85 FR 

68042; October 27, 2020); since that 

time, we are not aware of any changes 

in the status of these species and stocks; 

therefore, detailed descriptions are not 

provided here. Please refer to that 

Federal Register notice for these 

descriptions. Please also refer to NMFS’ 

website (https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/find-species) for 

generalized species accounts. 

Marine Mammal Hearing 

Hearing is the most important sensory 

modality for marine mammals 

underwater, and exposure to 

anthropogenic sound can have 

deleterious effects. To appropriately 

assess the potential effects of exposure 

to sound, it is necessary to understand 

the frequency ranges marine mammals 

are able to hear. Current data indicate 

that not all marine mammal species 

have equal hearing capabilities (e.g., 

Richardson et al., 1995; Wartzok & 

Ketten 1999; Au & Hastings 2008). To 

reflect this, Southall et al., (2007) 

recommended that marine mammals be 

divided into functional hearing groups 

based on directly measured or estimated 

hearing ranges on the basis of available 

behavioral response data, audiograms 

derived using auditory evoked potential 

techniques, anatomical modeling, and 

other data. Note that no direct 

measurements of hearing ability have 

been successfully completed for 

mysticetes (i.e., low-frequency 

cetaceans). Subsequently, NMFS (2018) 

described generalized hearing ranges for 

these marine mammal hearing groups. 

Generalized hearing ranges were chosen 

based on the approximately 65 decibel 

(dB) threshold from the normalized 

composite audiograms, with the 

exception for lower limits for lowfrequency cetaceans where the lower 

bound was deemed to be biologically 

implausible and the lower bound from 

Southall et al., (2007) retained. Marine 

mammal hearing groups and their 

associated hearing ranges are provided 

in Table 3. 


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TABLE 3—MARINE MAMMAL HEARING GROUPS (NMFS 2018) 

Hearing group Generalized hearing range * 

Low-frequency (LF) cetaceans (baleen whales) ................................................................................................ 7 Hz to 35 kHz. 

Mid-frequency (MF) cetaceans (dolphins, toothed whales, beaked whales, bottlenose whales) ..................... 150 Hz to 160 kHz. 

High-frequency (HF) cetaceans (true porpoises, Kogia, river dolphins, cephalorhynchid, Lagenorhynchus 

cruciger & L. australis).

275 Hz to 160 kHz. 

Phocid pinnipeds (PW) (underwater) (true seals) ............................................................................................. 50 Hz to 86 kHz. 

Otariid pinnipeds (OW) (underwater) (sea lions and fur seals) ......................................................................... 60 Hz to 39 kHz. 

* Represents the generalized hearing range for the entire group as a composite (i.e., all species within the group), where individual species’ 

hearing ranges are typically not as broad. Generalized hearing range chosen based on ∼65 dB threshold from normalized composite audiogram, 

with the exception for lower limits for LF cetaceans (Southall et al., 2007) and PW pinniped (approximation). 

The pinniped functional hearing 

group was modified from Southall et al., 

(2007) on the basis of data indicating 

that phocid species have consistently 

demonstrated an extended frequency 

range of hearing compared to otariids, 

especially in the higher frequency range 

(Hemila ̈ et al., 2006; Kastelein et al., 

2009; Reichmuth & Holt 2013). 

For more detail concerning these 

groups and associated frequency ranges, 

please see NMFS (2018) for a review of 

available information. Five marine 

mammal species (2 cetacean and three 

pinniped (two otariid and one phocid) 

species) have the reasonable potential to 

co-occur with the planned activities. 

Please refer to Table 2. Of the cetacean 

species that may be present, one is 

classified as a low-frequency cetacean 

(i.e., all mysticete species) and one is 

classified as a high-frequency cetacean 

(i.e., harbor porpoise). 

Potential Effects of Specified Activities 

on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat 

The effects of underwater noise from 

pile removal activities have the 

potential to result in behavioral 

harassment of marine mammals in the 

vicinity of the survey area. The notice 

of proposed IHA (85 FR 68042; October 

27, 2020) included a discussion of the 

effects of anthropogenic noise on marine 

mammals and the potential effects of 

underwater noise from WSDOT’s 

vibratory pile removal on marine 

mammals and their habitat. That 

information and analysis is incorporated 

by reference into this final IHA 

determination and is not repeated here; 

please refer to the notice of proposed 

IHA (85 FR 68042; October 27, 2020). 

Estimated Take 

This section provides an estimate of 

the number of incidental takes 

authorized through this IHA, which will 

inform both NMFS’ consideration of 

‘‘small numbers’’ and the negligible 

impact determination. 

Harassment is the only type of take 

expected to result from these activities. 

Except with respect to certain activities 

not pertinent here, section 3(18) of the 

MMPA defines ‘‘harassment’’ as any act 

of pursuit, torment, or annoyance, 

which (i) has the potential to injure a 

marine mammal or marine mammal 

stock in the wild (Level A harassment); 

or (ii) has the potential to disturb a 

marine mammal or marine mammal 

stock in the wild by causing disruption 

of behavioral patterns, including, but 

not limited to, migration, breathing, 

nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering 

(Level B harassment). 

Authorized takes would be by Level B 

harassment only, in the form of 

disruption of behavioral patterns for 

individual marine mammals resulting 

from exposure to sound from vibratory 

pile removal. Based on the nature of the 

activity, Level A harassment is neither 

anticipated nor authorized. 

As described previously, no mortality 

is anticipated or authorized for this 

activity. Below we describe how the 

take is estimated. 

Generally speaking, we estimate take 

by considering: (1) Acoustic thresholds 

above which NMFS believes the best 

available science indicates marine 

mammals will be behaviorally harassed 

or incur some degree of permanent 

hearing impairment; (2) the area or 

volume of water that will be ensonified 

above these levels in a day; (3) the 

density or occurrence of marine 

mammals within these ensonified areas; 

and, (4) and the number of days of 

activities. We note that while these 

basic factors can contribute to a basic 

calculation to provide an initial 

prediction of takes, additional 

information that can qualitatively 

inform take estimates is also sometimes 

available (e.g., previous monitoring 

results or average group size). Below, we 

describe the factors considered here in 

more detail and present the authorized 

take estimate. 

Acoustic Thresholds 

NMFS recommends the use of 

acoustic thresholds that identify the 

received level of underwater sound 

above which exposed marine mammals 

would be reasonably expected to be 

behaviorally harassed (equated to Level 

B harassment) or to incur permanent 

threshold shift (PTS) of some degree 

(equated to Level A harassment). 

Level B Harassment for non-explosive 

sources—Though significantly driven by 

received level, the onset of behavioral 

disturbance from anthropogenic noise 

exposure is also informed to varying 

degrees by other factors related to the 

source (e.g., frequency, predictability, 

duty cycle), the environment (e.g., 

bathymetry), and the receiving animals 

(hearing, motivation, experience, 

demography, behavioral context) and 

can be difficult to predict (Southall et 

al., 2007, Ellison et al., 2012). Based on 

what the available science indicates and 

the practical need to use a threshold 

based on a factor that is both predictable 

and measurable for most activities, 

NMFS uses a generalized acoustic 

threshold based on received level to 

estimate the onset of behavioral 

harassment. NMFS predicts that marine 

mammals are likely to be behaviorally 

harassed in a manner we consider Level 

B harassment when exposed to 

underwater anthropogenic noise above 

received levels of 120 dB re 1 micro 

Pascal (mPa) (root mean square (rms)) for 

continuous (e.g., vibratory pile-driving, 

drilling) and above 160 dB re 1 mPa 

(rms) for non-explosive impulsive (e.g., 

seismic airguns) or intermittent (e.g., 

scientific sonar) sources. 

WSDOT’s activity includes the use of 

a continuous source (vibratory pile 

removal); therefore, the 120 dB re 1 mPa 

(rms) is applicable. 

Level A harassment for non-explosive 

sources—NMFS’ Technical Guidance 

for Assessing the Effects of 

Anthropogenic Sound on Marine 

Mammal Hearing (Version 2.0) 

(Technical Guidance, 2018) identifies 

dual criteria to assess auditory injury 

(Level A harassment) to five different 

marine mammal groups (based on 

hearing sensitivity) as a result of 

exposure to noise from two different 

types of sources (impulsive or nonimpulsive). WSDOT’s activity includes 

the use of non-impulsive (vibratory pile 

removal) sources. 


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These thresholds are provided in the 

table below. The references, analysis, 

and methodology used in the 

development of the thresholds are 

described in NMFS 2018 Technical 

Guidance, which may be accessed at 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

marine-mammal-acoustic-technicalguidance. 

TABLE 4—THRESHOLDS IDENTIFYING THE ONSET OF PERMANENT THRESHOLD SHIFT

Hearing group 

PTS onset acoustic thresholds * 

(received level) 

Impulsive Non-impulsive 

Low-Frequency (LF) Cetaceans ...................................... Cell 1: Lpk,flat: 219 dB; LE,LF,24h: 183 dB ......................... Cell 2: LE,LF,24h: 199 dB. 

Mid-Frequency (MF) Cetaceans ...................................... Cell 3: Lpk,flat: 230 dB; LE,MF,24h: 185 dB ........................ Cell 4: LE,MF,24h: 198 dB. 

High-Frequency (HF) Cetaceans ..................................... Cell 5: Lpk,flat: 202 dB; LE,HF,24h: 155 dB ........................ Cell 6: LE,HF,24h: 173 dB. 

Phocid Pinnipeds (PW) (Underwater) ............................. Cell 7: Lpk,flat: 218 dB; LE,PW,24h: 185 dB ....................... Cell 8: LE,PW,24h: 201 dB. 

Otariid Pinnipeds (OW) (Underwater) ............................. Cell 9: Lpk,flat: 232 dB; LE,OW,24h: 203 dB ....................... Cell 10: LE,OW,24h: 219 dB. 

* Dual metric acoustic thresholds for impulsive sounds: Use whichever results in the largest isopleth for calculating PTS onset. If a non-impulsive sound has the potential of exceeding the peak sound pressure level thresholds associated with impulsive sounds, these thresholds should 

also be considered. 

Note: Peak sound pressure (Lpk) has a reference value of 1 μPa, and cumulative sound exposure level (LE) has a reference value of 1μPa2s. 

In this Table, thresholds are abbreviated to reflect American National Standards Institute standards (ANSI 2013). However, peak sound pressure 

is defined by ANSI as incorporating frequency weighting, which is not the intent for this Technical Guidance. Hence, the subscript ‘‘flat’’ is being 

included to indicate peak sound pressure should be flat weighted or unweighted within the generalized hearing range. The subscript associated 

with cumulative sound exposure level thresholds indicates the designated marine mammal auditory weighting function (LF, MF, and HF 

cetaceans, and PW and OW pinnipeds) and that the recommended accumulation period is 24 hours. The cumulative sound exposure level 

thresholds could be exceeded in a multitude of ways (i.e., varying exposure levels and durations, duty cycle). When possible, it is valuable for 

action proponents to indicate the conditions under which these acoustic thresholds will be exceeded. 

Ensonified Area 

Here, we describe operational and 

environmental parameters of the activity 

that will feed into identifying the area 

ensonified above the acoustic 

thresholds, which include source levels 

and transmission loss coefficient. 

The sound field in the project area is 

the existing background noise plus 

additional construction noise from the 

project. Marine mammals are expected 

to be affected via sound generated by 

vibratory pile removal. 

Vibratory hammers produce constant 

sound when operating, and produce 

vibrations between 1,200 and 2,400 

vibrations per minute that liquefy the 

sediment surrounding the pile, allowing 

it to be removed with an upward lift 

from the crane. The actual duration to 

remove each pile depends on the type 

and size of the pile, sediment 

characteristics, etc. 

In order to calculate distances to the 

Level A harassment and Level B 

harassment sound thresholds for piles of 

various sizes being used in this project, 

NMFS used acoustic monitoring data 

from other locations to develop source 

levels for the various pile types, sizes 

and methods. NMFS derived the project 

sound source levels from reviewing 

vibratory pile driving source levels in 

the Naval Base Kitsap at Bangor Trident 

Support Facilities EHW–2 Project 

Acoustic Monitoring Report (2013), 

CALTRANS Compendium (2015), and 

Naval Base Kitsap at Bangor Test Pile 

Program Acoustic Monitoring Report 

(I&R 2012) (See Table 5). Since adequate 

data was not available for 18-inch steel 

piles the vibratory pile driving of 24- 

inch steel pile, with more than 100 data 

points, with a median source level of 

162 dB rms was used as a proxy. NMFS 

believes the available data for 48-inch 

steel piles may be underestimated in 

comparison to more robust data for 30 

and 36-inch steel piles. Hence, the 75th 

percentile of the sample was used rather 

than the median noise level (165 dB 

rms) to ensure the selected source level 

is adequately representative of actual 

source levels. All proxies used are 

derived from vibratory pile installation 

as removal values are unavailable. Use 

of source levels from installation events 

as a proxy for removal events is 

expected to be somewhat conservative. 

TABLE 5—PROJECT SOUND SOURCE LEVELS

Pile driving activity Source level 

Hammer type Pile type dB rms 

Vibratory Removal ...................................................................... 18-inch steel pile ........................................................................ 162 

24-inch steel pile ........................................................................ 162 

48-inch steel pile ........................................................................ 171 

Note: Estimated sound source level at 10 meters without attenuation. 

Level B Harassment Zones 

Transmission loss (TL) is the decrease 

in acoustic intensity as an acoustic 

pressure wave propagates out from a 

source. TL parameters vary with 

frequency, temperature, sea conditions, 

current, source and receiver depth, 

water depth, water chemistry, and 

bottom composition and topography. 

The general formula for underwater 

TL is: 

TL = B * Log10 (R1/R2) where: 

TL = transmission loss in dB 

B = transmission loss coefficient; for practical 

spreading equals 15 

R1 = the distance of the modeled SPL from 

the driven pile, and 

R2 = the distance from the driven pile of the 

initial measurement 

The recommended TL coefficient for 

most nearshore environments is the 

practical spreading value of 15. This 

value results in an expected propagation 

environment that would lie between 

spherical and cylindrical spreading loss 

conditions, which is the most 


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appropriate assumption for WSDOT’s 

activity. 

Using the practical spreading model, 

WSDOT determined underwater noise 

would fall below the behavioral effects 

threshold of 120 dB rms for marine 

mammals. NMFS independently 

estimated the Level B harassment areas 

using geographic information system 

(GIS) tools to eliminate land masses and 

other obstacles that block sound 

propagation at high tide. Such 

topographic barriers limit the maximum 

distance from being attained in all 

directions as shown by the actual 

ensonified areas calculated (Figure 2). 

The estimated Level B harassment 

distances and associated areas (as 

limited by topographic barriers), 

summarized in Table 6, determines the 

maximum potential Level B harassment 

zones for the project. 

TABLE 6—LEVEL B ISOPLETHS FOR EACH PILE TYPE

Vibratory pile type 

Level B 

isopleth 

(m) 

Area 

(km2) 

18-inch steel pile ...................................................................................................................................................... 6,310 9.1 

24-inch steel pile ...................................................................................................................................................... 6,310 9.1 

48-inch steel pile ...................................................................................................................................................... 25,120 15.35 

Level A Harassment Zones 

When the NMFS Technical Guidance 

(2016) was published, in recognition of 

the fact that ensonified area/volume 

could be more technically challenging 

to predict because of the duration 

component in the new thresholds, we 

developed a User Spreadsheet that 

includes tools to help predict a simple 

isopleth that can be used in conjunction 

with marine mammal density or 

occurrence to help predict takes. We 

note that because of some of the 

assumptions included in the methods 

used for these tools, we anticipate that 

isopleths produced are typically going 

to be overestimates of some degree, 

which may result in some degree of 

overestimate of Level A harassment 

take. However, these tools offer the best 

way to predict appropriate isopleths 

when more sophisticated 3D modeling 

methods are not available, and NMFS 

continues to develop ways to 

quantitatively refine these tools, and 

will qualitatively address the output 

where appropriate. For stationary 

sources such as vibratory pile removal, 

NMFS User Spreadsheet predicts the 

distance at which, if a marine mammal 

remained at that distance the whole 

duration of the activity, it would incur 

PTS. Inputs used in the User 

Spreadsheet, and the resulting isopleths 

are reported below (Tables 7 and 8). 

TABLE 7—NMFS TECHNICAL GUIDANCE USER SPREADSHEET INPUT TO CALCULATE LEVEL A HARASSMENT ISOPLETHS

Method Vibratory removal 

Pile Type .......................................................................... 48-inch steel pile ............... 24-inch steel pile ............... 18-inch steel pile. 

Source Level (RMS SPL) ................................................ 171 dBRMS ......................... 162 dBRMS ......................... 162 dBRMS. 


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TABLE 7—NMFS TECHNICAL GUIDANCE USER SPREADSHEET INPUT TO CALCULATE LEVEL A HARASSMENT ISOPLETHS— 

Continued 

Weighting Factor Adjustment (kHz) ................................ 2.5 ...................................... 2.5 ...................................... 2.5. 

Number of Piles per day ................................................. 1 ......................................... 4 ......................................... 1. 

Duration to drive a single pile (min) ................................ 45 ....................................... 45 ....................................... 45. 

Distance of source level measurement (m) .................... 10 ....................................... 10 ....................................... 10. 

The above input scenarios lead to PTS 

isopleth distances (Level A thresholds) 

of 0.3 to 39 meters (m) (128 feet (ft)), 

depending on the marine mammal 

group and scenario (Table 8). 

TABLE 8—CALCULATED DISTANCES (m) TO LEVEL A HARASSMENT ISOPLETHS DURING PILE REMOVAL PER HEARING

GROUP

Pile type 

Level A harassment zone (m) 

Low-frequency 

cetaceans 

Mid-frequency 

cetaceans 

High-frequency 

cetaceans 

Phocid 

pinnipeds 

Otariid 

pinnipeds 

48-inch steel pile ................................................................ 26 2 39 16 1 

24-inch steel pile ................................................................ 17 2 25 10 1 

18-inch steel pile ................................................................ 7 1 10 4 0 

Marine Mammal Occurrence 

In this section we provide the 

information about the presence, density, 

or group dynamics of marine mammals 

that will inform the take calculations. 

Gray Whale 

Photo identification, monitoring data, 

and stranding data corroborates the 

presence of gray whales in Grays Harbor 

and the adjacent coastal waters, as 

described in the Description of Marine 

Mammals in the Area of Specified 

Activities section above. Yet, these 

sources do not provide density data 

specific to Grays Harbor. Calambokidis 

et al., (1997, 2015, 2019) is a collection 

of more than 20 years of photo 

identification data, but it does not 

provide enough information suitable for 

derivation of a density value. The U.S. 

101/Chehalis River Bridge Scour Repair 

Project Marine Mammal Monitoring 

Report (WSDOT 2019) showed no 

observations of this species. 

Approximately 29 gray whale strandings 

were documented in Grays Harbor and 

adjacent coastal area from February 

2010 to August 2019 (NMMSD 2020); 

the closest to the project was found in 

mudflats near the tip of Bowerman 

Airfield, ∼9.82 kilometers (km) (6.10 

miles (mi)) from the project site, in 

2018. The NMSDD (2019) estimated the 

offshore density of gray whales from 

July to December to be 0.020167 gray 

whales/km2. Using it in estimated take 

calculations yielded a low value for gray 

whales (<2) in Grays Harbor that, in 

NMFS’ estimation, did not properly 

reflect the variability of group sizes and 

the real likelihood of encounter. 

Their group size is known to fluctuate 

by activity, which in turn correlates to 

season. During migration, they are solo 

or in small groups. On the feeding 

grounds, whales are customarily seen 

solo or in small, widely dispersed 

groups. Larger, loosely formed 

aggregations do occur on feeding and 

breeding grounds, but are in constant 

flux (Wursig et al., 2018). Gray whale 

occurrence off the Washington coast is 

expected to consist primarily of PCFG 

whales from July–November, feeding 

from five Biological Important Areas 

(BIAs) before migrating to the southern 

breeding grounds for winter (NMSDD 

2019). 

Harbor Porpoise 

Without the species count breakdown 

of aerial surveys in Grays Harbor (Adam 

et al., 2014) or information necessary to 

derive density values from photo 

identification data (Calambokidis et al., 

2015), the NMSDD (2019) annual value 

for harbor porpoises offshore of Grays 

Harbor, 0.467/km2 is the most 

appropriate data source to calculate 

take. 

California Sea Lion 

The closest of the 116 California sea 

lion strandings reported in Grays Harbor 

and adjacent coastal area from August 

2010 to February 2020, was located in 

Aberdeen, approximately 1.86 km (1.6 

mi) from the project site (NMMSD 

2020). Without a correction factor to 

incorporate those sea lions in the water 

during aerial haulout surveys of Grays 

Harbor (Jeffries et al., 2015), the density 

of only individuals hauled out from 

November to March is 0.12 seal lions/ 

km2. Since the appropriate data is not 

available to calculate the accurate 

density of all individuals using Grays 

Harbor, the offshore density of 0.6493 

sea lions/km2 during December through 

February (NMSDD 2020) was used. 

Steller Sea Lion 

Because density data is not available 

for Grays Harbor, the NMSDD (2020) 

summer offshore density of 0.1993 

Steller sea lions/km2 is used. 

Harbor Seal 

Because aerial surveys of harbor seals 

on land only produce a minimum 

assessment of the population a 

correction factor to account for the 

missing animals is necessary to estimate 

total abundance. The total counts from 

2014 Grays Harbor aerial surveys (pers 

comm., WDFW 2020) were multiplied 

by the regional correction factor of 1.43 

(Huber et al., 2001) to yield the 

estimated harbor seal abundance. The 

average survey count (7,495 seals/ 

survey) was used to calculate density by 

dividing by the area of Grays Harbor: 

((10,483 total count * 1.43)/(2 surveys))/ 

(243 km2) = 30.85 km2

The density data specific to Grays 

Harbor (pers comm., WDFW 2020) is 

preferred over the NMSDD’s (2020) 

estimated density for waters offshore 

Washington, 0.3424 harbor seals/km2. 

Take Calculation and Estimation 

Here we describe how the information 

provided above is brought together to 

produce a quantitative take estimate. 

Level A harassment take is not likely 

because of the small injury zones; the 

largest Level A harassment distance is 

40 m (131 ft) from the source for highfrequency cetaceans (harbor porpoise). 


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NMFS considers that WSDOT can 

effectively monitor such small zones to 

implement shutdown measures and 

avoid Level A harassment takes, and 

that harbor porpoise in particular are 

more likely to avoid the construction 

activity than remain within the zone for 

the full duration necessary to 

accumulate sufficient energy to incur 

injury. Therefore, no Level A 

harassment take of marine mammals is 

authorized. 

Take numbers were calculated using 

the information aggregated in the 

NMSDD (U.S. Navy, 2020) for the harbor 

porpoise, California sea lion, and Steller 

sea lion. Where a low to high range of 

densities is given for a species, the highend density value was used in the 

applicable season (i.e., summer/fall/ 

winter). In these cases, take numbers 

were calculated as: 

Total Take = marine mammal density × 

ensonified area × pile removal days 

Specific adjustments for calculating 

take numbers for gray whales and 

harbor seals are provided below. 

• Evaluated use of data value 

(offshore) and result is what we 

consider underestimate of value. 

Because recent data for gray whales in 

Grays Harbor does not provide enough 

information to derive a density value, 

and because the Level B harassment 

zone stretches across the length of Grays 

Harbor, and the flexible group size 

correlated to season, we authorize Level 

B harassment take of 1 gray whale per 

day of construction activity 1 × 7 days 

= 7 gray whales. 

• The density of harbor seals in Grays 

Harbor based on 2014 aerial surveys 

described above (pers comm., WDFW 

2020), replaces the NMSDD density 

value in the Total Take equation above. 

TABLE 9—INPUT FOR LEVEL B HARASSMENT TAKE CALCULATIONS PER SPECIES

Species Density 

(#/km2) 

Level B 

area 

48-in 

(km2) 

Level B 

area 

18/24-in 

(km2) 

Number of 

days 

48-in * 

Number of 

days 

24-in 

Number of 

days 

18-in ** 

Level B take 

48-in 

Level B take 

24-in 

Level B take 

18-in 

Gray Whale ............................... * 0.020 15.35 9.1 1 5 1 0.3 0.9 0.2 

Harbor Porpoise ........................ 0.467 15.35 9.1 1 5 1 7 21 4 

CA Sea Lion .............................. 0.557 15.35 9.1 1 5 1 10 30 6 

Steller Sea Lion ......................... 0.139 15.35 9.1 1 5 1 3 9 2 

Harbor Seal ............................... 30.85 15.35 9.1 1 5 1 473 1403 281 

* Density was not used in the calculation of estimated take for gray whales. 

TABLE 10—AUTHORIZED LEVEL B HARASSMENT TAKE, BY SPECIES AND STOCK AND PERCENT OF TAKE BY STOCK

Species Authorized 

take Level B 

Percent of 

stock 

Gray Whale .............................................................................................................................................................. 7 <0.1 

Harbor Porpoise ....................................................................................................................................................... 31 0.1 

CA Sea Lion ............................................................................................................................................................ 46 <0.1 

Steller Sea Lion ....................................................................................................................................................... 14 <0.1 

Harbor Seal .............................................................................................................................................................. 2157 8.7 

Mitigation 

In order to issue an IHA under section 

101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS must 

set forth the permissible methods of 

taking pursuant to the activity, and 

other means of effecting the least 

practicable impact on the species or 

stock and its habitat, paying particular 

attention to rookeries, mating grounds, 

and areas of similar significance, and on 

the availability of the species or stock 

for taking for certain subsistence uses 

(latter not applicable for this action). 

NMFS regulations require applicants for 

incidental take authorizations to include 

information about the availability and 

feasibility (economic and technological) 

of equipment, methods, and manner of 

conducting the activity or other means 

of effecting the least practicable adverse 

impact upon the affected species or 

stocks and their habitat (50 CFR 

216.104(a)(11)). 

In evaluating how mitigation may or 

may not be appropriate to ensure the 

least practicable adverse impact on 

species or stocks and their habitat, as 

well as subsistence uses where 

applicable, we carefully consider two 

primary factors: 

(1) The manner in which, and the 

degree to which, the successful 

implementation of the measure(s) is 

expected to reduce impacts to marine 

mammals, marine mammal species or 

stocks, and their habitat. This considers 

the nature of the potential adverse 

impact being mitigated (likelihood, 

scope, range). It further considers the 

likelihood that the measure will be 

effective if implemented (probability of 

accomplishing the mitigating result if 

implemented as planned), the 

likelihood of effective implementation 

(probability implemented as planned), 

and; 

(2) The practicability of the measures 

for applicant implementation, which 

may consider such things as cost, 

impact on operations, and, in the case 

of a military readiness activity, 

personnel safety, practicality of 

implementation, and impact on the 

effectiveness of the military readiness 

activity. 

The following mitigation measures are 

required through the IHA: 

Temporal and Seasonal Restrictions 

Timing restrictions would be used to 

avoid in-water work when ESA-listed 

salmonids are most likely to be present. 

Furthermore, work is planned to occur 

only during daylight hours, when visual 

monitoring of marine mammals can be 

effectively conducted (30 minutes after 

sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset). 

Establishment of Shutdown Zone 

WSDOT will establish a shutdown 

zone for all pile driving and removal 

activities. The purpose of a shutdown 

zone is generally to define an area 

within which shutdown of activity 

would occur upon sighting of a marine 

mammal (or in anticipation of an animal 

entering the defined area). Shutdown 

zones will vary based on the activity 

type and marine mammal hearing group 

(Table 4). The largest shutdown zones 

are generally for high frequency 

cetaceans, as shown in Table 11. 


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TABLE 11—SHUTDOWN ZONES DURING PILE DRIVING ACTIVITIES

Pile type Low-frequency 

cetaceans 

High-frequency 

cetaceans 

Phocid 

pinnipeds 

Otariid 

pinnipeds 

48-inch steel pile ............................................................................................ 30 40 20 10 

24-inch steel pile ............................................................................................ 20 30 15 10 

18-inch steel pile ............................................................................................ 10 10 10 10 

For in-water heavy machinery 

activities other than pile driving, if a 

marine mammal comes within 10 m, 

operations must cease and vessels must 

reduce speed to the minimum level 

required to maintain steerage and safe 

working conditions. WSDOT must also 

implement shutdown measures if the 

cumulative total number of individuals 

observed within the Level B harassment 

monitoring zones for any particular 

species reaches the number authorized 

under the IHA and if such marine 

mammals are sighted within the vicinity 

of the project area and are approaching 

the Level B Harassment zone during inwater construction activities. Should 

environmental conditions deteriorate 

such that marine mammals within the 

entire shutdown zone would not be 

visible (e.g., fog, heavy rain), pile 

driving and removal must be delayed 

until the PSO are confident marine 

mammals within the shutdown zone 

could be detected. 

Monitoring for Level B Harassment 

WSDOT will monitor the Level B 

harassment and the Level A harassment 

zones. Monitoring zones provide utility 

for observing by establishing monitoring 

protocols for areas adjacent to the 

shutdown zones. Monitoring zones 

enable observers to be aware of and 

communicate the presence of marine 

mammals in the project area outside the 

shutdown zone and thus prepare for a 

potential halt of activity should the 

animal enter the shutdown zone. 

Placement of PSO will allow PSOs to 

observe marine mammals within the 

Level B harassment zones. 

Pre-Activity Monitoring 

Prior to the start of daily in-water 

construction activity, or whenever a 

break in pile removal of 30 minutes or 

longer occurs, PSOs will observe the 

shutdown and monitoring zones for a 

period of 30 minutes. The shutdown 

zone will be considered cleared when a 

marine mammal has not been observed 

within the zone for that 30-minute 

period. If a marine mammal is observed 

within the shutdown zone, operations 

cannot proceed until the animal has left 

the zone or has not been observed for 15 

minutes. When a marine mammal for 

which Level B harassment take is 

authorized is present in the Level B 

harassment zone, activities may begin 

and Level B harassment take will be 

recorded. If work ceases for more than 

30 minutes, the pre-activity monitoring 

of the shutdown zones will commence. 

Non-Authorized Take Prohibited 

If a species enters or approaches the 

Level B harassment zone and that 

species is not authorized for take, pile 

driving and removal activities must shut 

down immediately. Activities must not 

resume until the animal has been 

confirmed to have left the area or an 

observation time period of 15 minutes 

has elapsed. 

Based on our evaluation of the 

applicant’s mitigation measures, NMFS 

has determined that the required 

mitigation measures provide the means 

effecting the least practicable impact on 

the affected species or stocks and their 

habitat, paying particular attention to 

rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of 

similar significance. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

In order to issue an IHA for an 

activity, section 101(a)(5)(D) of the 

MMPA states that NMFS must set forth 

requirements pertaining to the 

monitoring and reporting of such taking. 

The MMPA implementing regulations at 

50 CFR 216.104 (a)(13) indicate that 

requests for authorizations must include 

the suggested means of accomplishing 

the necessary monitoring and reporting 

that will result in increased knowledge 

of the species and of the level of taking 

or impacts on populations of marine 

mammals that are expected to be 

present in the action area. Effective 

reporting is critical both to compliance 

as well as ensuring that the most value 

is obtained from the required 

monitoring. 

Monitoring and reporting 

requirements prescribed by NMFS 

should contribute to improved 

understanding of one or more of the 

following: 

• Occurrence of marine mammal 

species or stocks in the area in which 

take is anticipated (e.g., presence, 

abundance, distribution, density); 

• Nature, scope, or context of likely 

marine mammal exposure to potential 

stressors/impacts (individual or 

cumulative, acute or chronic), through 

better understanding of: (1) Action or 

environment (e.g., source 

characterization, propagation, ambient 

noise); (2) affected species (e.g., life 

history, dive patterns); (3) co-occurrence 

of marine mammal species with the 

action; or (4) biological or behavioral 

context of exposure (e.g., age, calving or 

feeding areas); 

• Individual marine mammal 

responses (behavioral or physiological) 

to acoustic stressors (acute, chronic, or 

cumulative), other stressors, or 

cumulative impacts from multiple 

stressors; 

• How anticipated responses to 

stressors impact either: (1) Long-term 

fitness and survival of individual 

marine mammals; or (2) populations, 

species, or stocks; 

• Effects on marine mammal habitat 

(e.g., marine mammal prey species, 

acoustic habitat, or other important 

physical components of marine 

mammal habitat); and 

• Mitigation and monitoring 

effectiveness. 

Visual Monitoring 

Marine mammal monitoring must be 

conducted in accordance with the 

Monitoring section of the application 

and Section 5 of the IHA. Marine 

mammal monitoring during pile 

removal must be conducted by NMFSapproved PSOs in a manner consistent 

with the following: 

• Independent PSOs (i.e., not 

construction personnel) who have no 

other assigned tasks during monitoring 

periods must be used; 

• At least one PSO must have prior 

experience performing the duties of a 

PSO during construction activity 

pursuant to a NMFS-issued incidental 

take authorization; 

• Other PSOs may substitute 

education (degree in biological science 

or related field) or training for 

experience; and 

• WSDOT must submit PSO 

Curriculum Vitae for approval by NMFS 

prior to the onset of pile driving. 

PSOs must have the following 

additional qualifications: 

• Ability to conduct field 

observations and collect data according 

to assigned protocols; 


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• Experience or training in the field 

identification of marine mammals, 

including the identification of 

behaviors; 

• Sufficient training, orientation, or 

experience with the construction 

operation to provide for personal safety 

during observations; 

• Writing skills sufficient to prepare a 

report of observations including but not 

limited to the number and species of 

marine mammals observed; dates and 

times when in-water construction 

activities were conducted; dates, times, 

and reason for implementation of 

mitigation (or why mitigation was not 

implemented when required); and 

marine mammal behavior; and 

• Ability to communicate orally, by 

radio or in person, with project 

personnel to provide real-time 

information on marine mammals 

observed in the area as necessary. 

Two PSOs will be employed. PSO 

locations will provide an unobstructed 

view of all water within the shutdown 

zone, and as much of the Level B 

harassment zones as possible. PSO 

locations are as follows: 

(1) At the pile driving site or best 

vantage point practicable to monitor the 

shutdown zones; and 

(2) On shore, south of Mid-harbor 

Flats or best vantage point to monitor 

the harbor seal haul-out site during 

construction activities. 

Monitoring will be conducted 30 

minutes before, during, and 30 minutes 

after pile driving/removal activities. In 

addition, observers shall record all 

incidents of marine mammal 

occurrence, regardless of distance from 

activity, and shall document any 

behavioral reactions in concert with 

distance from piles being driven or 

removed. Pile driving activities include 

the time to install or remove a single 

pile or series of piles, as long as the time 

elapsed between uses of the pile driving 

or drilling equipment is no more than 

30 minutes. 

Reporting 

A draft marine mammal monitoring 

report will be submitted to NMFS 

within 90 days after the completion of 

pile driving and removal activities, or 

60 days prior to a requested date of 

issuance of any future IHAs for projects 

at the same location, whichever comes 

first. The report will include an overall 

description of work completed, a 

narrative regarding marine mammal 

sightings, and associated PSO data 

sheets. Specifically, the report must 

include: 

• Dates and times (begin and end) of 

all marine mammal monitoring; 

• Construction activities occurring 

during each daily observation period, 

including how many and what type of 

piles were removed; 

• Environmental conditions during 

monitoring periods (at beginning and 

end of PSO shift and whenever 

conditions change significantly), 

including Beaufort sea state and any 

other relevant weather conditions 

including cloud cover, fog, sun glare, 

and overall visibility to the horizon, and 

estimated observable distance (if less 

than the harassment zone distance); 

• The number of marine mammals 

observed, by species, relative to the pile 

location and if pile driving or removal 

was occurring at time of sighting; 

• Age and sex class, if possible, of all 

marine mammals observed; 

• PSO locations during marine 

mammal monitoring; 

• Distances and bearings of each 

marine mammal observed to the pile 

being driven or removed for each 

sighting (if pile driving or removal was 

occurring at time of sighting); 

• Description of any marine mammal 

behavior patterns during observation, 

including direction of travel and 

estimated time spent within the Level A 

and Level B harassment zones while the 

source was active; 

• Number of marine mammals 

detected within the harassment zones, 

by species; 

• Detailed information about any 

implementation of any mitigation 

triggered (e.g., shutdowns and delays), a 

description of specific actions that 

ensued, and resulting behavior of the 

animal, if any; 

• Description of attempts to 

distinguish between the number of 

individual animals taken and the 

number of incidences of take, such as 

ability to track groups or individuals; 

and 

• Submit all PSO datasheets and/or 

raw sighting data (in a separate file from 

the Final Report referenced immediately 

above). 

If no comments are received from 

NMFS within 30 days, the draft final 

report will constitute the final report. If 

comments are received, a final report 

addressing NMFS comments must be 

submitted within 30 days after receipt of 

comments. 

Reporting Injured or Dead Marine 

Mammals 

In the event that personnel involved 

in the construction activities discover 

an injured or dead marine mammal, 

WSDOT shall report the incident to the 

Office of Protected Resources (OPR), 

NMFS and to the regional stranding 

coordinator as soon as feasible. If the 

death or injury was clearly caused by 

the specified activity, WSDOT must 

immediately cease the specified 

activities until NMFS is able to review 

the circumstances of the incident and 

determine what, if any, additional 

measures are appropriate to ensure 

compliance with the terms of the IHA. 

The IHA-holder must not resume their 

activities until notified by NMFS. The 

report must include the following 

information: 

• Time, date, and location (latitude/ 

longitude) of the first discovery (and 

updated location information if known 

and applicable); 

• Species identification (if known) or 

description of the animal(s) involved; 

• Condition of the animal(s) 

(including carcass condition if the 

animal is dead); 

• Observed behaviors of the 

animal(s), if alive; 

• If available, photographs or video 

footage of the animal(s); and 

• General circumstances under which 

the animal was discovered. 

Negligible Impact Analysis and 

Determination 

NMFS has defined negligible impact 

as an impact resulting from the 

specified activity that cannot be 

reasonably expected to, and is not 

reasonably likely to, adversely affect the 

species or stock through effects on 

annual rates of recruitment or survival 

(50 CFR 216.103). A negligible impact 

finding is based on the lack of likely 

adverse effects on annual rates of 

recruitment or survival (i.e., populationlevel effects). An estimate of the number 

of takes alone is not enough information 

on which to base an impact 

determination. In addition to 

considering estimates of the number of 

marine mammals that might be ‘‘taken’’ 

through harassment, NMFS considers 

other factors, such as the likely nature 

of any responses (e.g., intensity, 

duration), the context of any responses 

(e.g., critical reproductive time or 

location, migration), as well as effects 

on habitat, and the likely effectiveness 

of the mitigation. We also assess the 

number, intensity, and context of 

estimated takes by evaluating this 

information relative to population 

status. Consistent with the 1989 

preamble for NMFS’s implementing 

regulations (54 FR 40338; September 29, 

1989), the impacts from other past and 

ongoing anthropogenic activities are 

incorporated into this analysis via their 

impacts on the environmental baseline 

(e.g., as reflected in the regulatory status 

of the species, population size and 

growth rate where known, ongoing 


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sources of human-caused mortality, or 

ambient noise levels). 

To avoid redundancy this 

introductory discussion of our analyses 

applies to all of the species listed in 

Table 10, given that many of the 

anticipated effects of this project on 

different marine mammal stocks are 

expected to be relatively similar in 

nature. Pile removal activities have the 

potential to disturb or displace marine 

mammals. Specifically, the project 

activities may result in take, in the form 

of Level B harassment from underwater 

sounds generated from pile removal. 

Potential takes could occur if 

individuals are present in the Level B 

harassment zone when these activities 

are underway. 

In summary and as described above, 

the following factors primarily support 

our preliminary determination that the 

impacts resulting from this activity are 

not expected to adversely affect the 

species or stock through effects on 

annual rates of recruitment or survival: 

• No mortality is anticipated or 

authorized; 

• No takes by Level A harassment are 

anticipated or authorized. Takes by 

Level B harassment constitute less than 

8 percent of the best available 

abundance estimates for all stocks; 

• Take would occur over a short 

timeframe (6 days of active pile 

removal) during the IHA effective 

period) and not occur in places and/or 

times where take would be more likely 

to accrue to impacts on reproduction or 

survival, such as within ESA-designated 

or proposed critical habitat; 

• Stock is not known to be declining 

or suffering from known contributors to 

decline (e.g., unusual mortality event 

(UME), oil spill effects); and 

• Monitoring reports from similar 

work from the Chehalis River Bridge 

Scour Repair Project have documented 

little to no effect on individuals of the 

same species impacted by the specified 

activities. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of the likely effects of the 

specified activity on marine mammals 

and their habitat, and taking into 

consideration the implementation of the 

monitoring and mitigation measures, 

NMFS finds that the total marine 

mammal take from the planned activity 

will have a negligible impact on all 

affected marine mammal species or 

stocks. 

Small Numbers 

As noted above, only small numbers 

of incidental take may be authorized 

under sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of 

the MMPA for specified activities other 

than military readiness activities. The 

MMPA does not define small numbers 

and so, in practice, where estimated 

numbers are available, NMFS compares 

the number of individuals taken to the 

most appropriate estimation of 

abundance of the relevant species or 

stock in our determination of whether 

an authorization is limited to small 

numbers of marine mammals. When the 

predicted number of individuals to be 

taken is fewer than one third of the 

species or stock abundance, the take is 

considered to be of small numbers. 

Additionally, other qualitative factors 

may be considered in the analysis, such 

as the temporal or spatial scale of the 

activities. 

The amount of take NMFS authorized 

of all species or stocks is below one 

third of the estimated stock abundance 

(in fact, take of individuals is less than 

8 percent of the abundance for all 

affected stocks). These are all likely 

conservative estimates because they 

assume all takes are of different 

individual animals which is likely not 

the case. Some individuals may return 

multiple times in a day, but PSOs would 

count them as separate takes if they 

cannot be individually identified. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of the activity (including the 

mitigation and monitoring measures) 

and the anticipated take of marine 

mammals, NMFS finds that small 

numbers of marine mammals will be 

taken relative to the population size of 

the affected species or stocks. 

Unmitigable Adverse Impact Analysis 

and Determination 

There are no relevant subsistence uses 

of the affected marine mammal stocks or 

species implicated by this action. 

Therefore, NMFS has determined that 

the total taking of affected species or 

stocks would not have an unmitigable 

adverse impact on the availability of 

such species or stocks for taking for 

subsistence purposes. 

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 action 

(i.e., the issuance of an incidental 

harassment authorization) with respect 

to potential impacts on the human 

environment. 

This action is consistent with 

categories of activities identified in 

Categorical Exclusion B4 (incidental 

harassment authorizations with no 

anticipated serious injury or mortality) 

of the Companion Manual for NOAA 

Administrative Order 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 ESA (16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal 

agency insure 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 

NMFS has issued an IHA to WSDOT 

for the potential harassment of small 

numbers of five marine mammal species 

incidental to the for conducting State 

Route 520 Pontoon Pile Removal 

Project, Aberdeen, Grays Harbor County, 

Washington over approximately seven 

days, provided the previously 

mentioned mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting requirements are incorporated. 

Dated: December 22, 2020. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28752 Filed 12–28–20; 8:45 am] 

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