[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 14 (Monday, January 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 6878]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01426]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA816]


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Oil and Gas Activities in Cook 
Inlet, Alaska

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; issuance of Letter of Authorization.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as 
amended, and implementing regulations, NMFS issued a Letter of 
Authorization (LOA) to Hilcorp Alaska LLC (Hilcorp) to take marine 
mammals incidental to oil and gas activities in Cook Inlet, Alaska.

DATES: Applicable until April 21, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Young, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    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 
authorization is provided to the public for review.
    An incidental take authorization shall be granted if NMFS finds 
that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or 
stock(s), will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where 
relevant), and if the permissible methods of taking and requirements 
pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of such takings 
are set forth.
    NMFS has defined ``negligible impact'' in 50 CFR 216.103 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.
    The MMPA states that the term ``take'' means to harass, hunt, 
capture, kill or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine 
mammal.
    Except with respect to certain activities not pertinent here, 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).

Summary

    NMFS issued regulations governing the take of 11 species of marine 
mammal, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to Hilcorp's oil 
and gas activities on July 31, 2019 (84 FR 37442). These regulations 
include mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements for the 
incidental take of marine mammals during the specified activities. As 
further detailed in the regulations (50 CFR 217.167), adaptive 
management measures allow NMFS to modify or renew LOAs as necessary if 
doing so creates a reasonable likelihood of more effective mitigation 
and monitoring. NMFS issued the first LOA to Hilcorp under these 
regulations on July 31, 2019. NMFS published a Federal Register notice 
seeking public comment on its proposal to modify the Year 1 LOA issued 
to Hilcorp on August 16, 2019 (84 FR 41957) and published a notice of 
modification on October 4, 2019 (84 FR 53119). The Year 1 LOA expired 
on July 30, 2020. To better align with the open water season, Hilcorp 
applied for their Year 2 LOA with a start date of April 1, 2020, rather 
than waiting until the expiration of their Year 1 LOA in July 2020. 
NMFS reviewed the application and issued the Year 2 LOA on April 22, 
2020. In error, NMFS did not publish a Federal Register notice upon 
issuance, but the signed LOA and Hilcorp's application were published 
on NMFS' website immediately upon issuance.

Authorization

    NMFS has issued a LOA (available at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-hilcorp-alaska-llc-oil-and-gas-activities-cook-inlet-alaska) to Hilcorp Alaska LLC for the potential 
harassment of small numbers of four marine mammal species incidental to 
oil and gas activities in Cook Inlet, Alaska, provided the mitigation, 
monitoring and reporting requirements of the rulemaking are 
incorporated.

    Dated: January 15, 2021.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-01426 Filed 1-22-21; 8:45 am]
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