Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Notices 10545 

II. Method of Collection 

The MBDA uses several forms of data 

collection: by mail, hand delivery, fax, 

or electronic delivery when the MBDA 

staff presents questions to the MBDA 

Business Center clients. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0640–0025. 

Form Number(s): Not applicable. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit organizations, not-for-profit 

institutions, State, Local, or Tribal 

government, and Federal government. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

250. 

Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 250. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $0 

IV. Request for Comments 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) 

Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the 

accuracy of our estimate of the time and 

cost burden for this proposed collection, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (d) Minimize the 

reporting burden on those who are to 

respond, including the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you may ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03433 Filed 2–19–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–21–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XA880] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Portsmouth 

Naval Shipyard Dry Dock 1 

Modification and Expansion 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments on 

proposed incidental harassment 

authorization renewal. 

SUMMARY: NMFS received a request from 

the U.S. Navy (Navy) for the renewal of 

their currently active incidental 

harassment authorization (IHA) to take 

marine mammals incidental to 

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Dry Dock 1 

modification and expansion in Kittery, 

Maine. These activities are nearly 

identical to those covered in the current 

authorization. The project has been 

delayed and a small portion of the 

activities covered in the initial IHA have 

not been completed. The Navy also 

proposes to drive an additional number 

of piles for which the installation 

methods are identical and pile types are 

nearly identical to those covered in the 

initial IHA. Pursuant to the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act, NMFS 

requested comments on both the 

proposed IHA and the potential for 

renewing the initial authorization if 

certain requirements were satisfied. The 

renewal requirements have been 

satisfied, and NMFS is now providing 

an additional 15-day comment period to 

allow for any additional comments on 

the proposed renewal not previously 

provided during the initial 30-day 

comment period. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than March 6, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. Written 

comments should be submitted via 

email to ITP.Esch@noaa.gov. 

Instructions: NMFS is not responsible 

for comments sent by any other method, 

to any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period. Comments, including all 

attachments, must not exceed a 25- 

megabyte file size. Attachments to 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word or Excel or Adobe PDF file 

formats only. All comments received are 

a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted online at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/ 

incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-protection-act without 

change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit confidential business 

information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carter Esch, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8421. 

Electronic copies of the original 

application, renewal request, and 

supporting documents (including NMFS 

Federal Register notices of the original 

proposed and final authorizations, and 

the previous IHA), 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 Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(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 

is 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 such species or stocks for 

taking for certain subsistence uses 

(referred to here as ‘‘mitigation 

measures’’). Monitoring and reporting of 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
10546 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Notices 

such takings are also required. The 

meaning of key terms such as ‘‘take,’’ 

‘‘harassment,’’ and ‘‘negligible impact’’ 

can be found in section 3 of the MMPA 

(16 U.S.C. 1362) and the agency’s 

regulations at 50 CFR 216.103. 

NMFS’ regulations implementing the 

MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e) indicate 

that IHAs may be renewed for 

additional periods of time not to exceed 

one year for each reauthorization. In the 

notice of proposed IHA for the initial 

authorization, NMFS described the 

circumstances under which we would 

consider issuing a renewal for this 

activity, and requested public comment 

on a potential renewal under those 

circumstances. Specifically, on a caseby-case basis, NMFS may issue a onetime one-year Renewal IHA following 

notice to the public providing an 

additional 15 days for public comments 

when (1) up to another year of identical 

or nearly identical, or nearly identical, 

activities as described in the Description 

of the Specified Activities and 

Anticipated Impacts section of this 

notice is planned or (2) the activities as 

described in the Description of the 

Specified Activities and Anticipated 

Impacts section of this notice would not 

be completed by the time the IHA 

expires and a renewal would allow for 

completion of the activities beyond that 

described in the Dates and Duration 

section of the notice of proposed IHA 

for the initial IHA, provided all of the 

following conditions are met: 

• A request for renewal is received no 

later than 60 days prior to the needed 

IHA renewal effective date (recognizing 

that the r IHA renewal expiration date 

cannot extend beyond one year from 

expiration of the initial IHA); 

• The request for renewal must 

include the following: 

(1) An explanation that the activities 

to be conducted under the requested 

Renewal IHA are identical to the 

activities analyzed under the initial 

IHA, are a subset of the activities, or 

include changes so minor (e.g., 

reduction in pile size) that the changes 

do not affect the previous analyses, 

mitigation and monitoring 

requirements, or take estimates (with 

the exception of reducing the type or 

amount of take); and 

(2) A preliminary monitoring report 

showing the results of the required 

monitoring to date and an explanation 

showing that the monitoring results do 

not indicate impacts of a scale or nature 

not previously analyzed or authorized. 

Upon review of the request for 

renewal, the status of the affected 

species or stocks, and any other 

pertinent information, NMFS 

determines that there are no more than 

minor changes in the activities, the 

mitigation and monitoring measures 

will remain the same and appropriate, 

and the findings in the initial IHA 

remain valid. 

An additional public comment period 

of 15 days (for a total of 45 days), with 

direct notice by email, phone, or postal 

service to commenters on the initial 

IHA, is provided to allow for any 

additional comments on the proposed 

renewal. A description of the renewal 

process may be found on our website at: 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentalharassment-authorization-renewals. 

Any comments received on the potential 

renewal, along with relevant comments 

on the initial IHA, have been considered 

in the development of this proposed 

IHA renewal, and a summary of agency 

responses to applicable comments is 

included in this notice. NMFS will 

consider any additional public 

comments prior to making any final 

decision on the issuance of the 

requested renewal, and agency 

responses will be summarized in the 

final notice of our decision. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

To comply with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 

NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 

216–6A, NMFS must review our 

proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an 

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 (IHAs 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 

preliminarily determined that the 

issuance of the proposed IHA renewal 

qualifies to be categorically excluded 

from further NEPA review. 

We will review all comments 

submitted in response to this notice 

prior to concluding our NEPA process 

or making a final decision on the IHA 

renewal request. 

History of Request 

On November 1, 2018, NMFS received 

a request from the Navy for 

authorization of the taking, by Level B 

harassment and Level A harassment, of 

marine mammals incidental to the 

modification and expansion of Dry Dock 

1 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in 

Kittery, Maine. The specified activity is 

expected to result in the take of five 

species of marine mammals (harbor 

seals (Phoca vitulina), gray seals 

(Halichoerus grypsus), harp seals 

(Pagophilus groenlandicus), hooded 

seals (Cystophora cristata), harbor 

porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)). A 

final version of the application, which 

we deemed adequate and complete, was 

submitted on March 11, 2019. We 

published a notice of a proposed IHA 

(referred to hereafter as the proposed 

initial IHA) and request for comments 

on April 4, 2019 (84 FR 13252). After 

the public comment period, NMFS 

issued the final IHA on May 16, 2019, 

effective October 1, 2019, through 

September 30, 2020 (84 FR 24476), 

hereafter referred to as the 2019 IHA. On 

September 30, 2019, the Navy informed 

NMFS that the project was delayed. 

None of the work identified in the IHA 

had occurred and no take of any marine 

mammals had occurred since the 

issuance of the IHA. The Navy 

requested that NMFS modify the 

effective dates in order to conduct the 

construction work that was previously 

analyzed and authorized. On December 

3, 2019, NMFS re-issued, with new 

effective dates, an IHA to the Navy to 

take marine mammals incidental to 

modification and expansion of at the 

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Dry Dock 1 

in Kittery, Maine (84 FR 67261; 

December 9, 2019), effective from March 

1, 2020 through February 28, 2021 

(hereafter referred to as the initial IHA). 

On January 21, 2021, NMFS received 

an application for the renewal of the 

initial IHA. As described in the request 

for the renewal IHA, the activities for 

which incidental take is requested 

include a small subset of the activities 

that are covered by the initial 

authorization but will not be completed 

prior to its expiration, as well as a new 

addition of activity that is nearly 

identical to that covered in the initial 

authorization. As required, the 

applicant also provided a preliminary 

monitoring report (available at: https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-constructionactivities) which confirms that the 

applicant has implemented the required 

mitigation and monitoring, and which 

also shows that no impacts of a scale or 

nature not previously analyzed or 

authorized have occurred as a result of 

the activities conducted. 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Notices 10547 

Description of the Specified Activities 

and Anticipated Impacts 

The Navy’s planned activities include 

installation of temporary dolphin piles 

for construction of the caisson seat floatin, completion of the caisson seat 

foundation, and construction of a 

temporary blast wall. The Navy planned 

to install the guide dolphin piles in 

February 2021, prior to the expiration of 

the initial IHA; however, due to 

unforeseen delays, these piles are now 

scheduled to be installed in March 

2021. Additionally, the installation of 

sheet piles to complete the caisson seat 

foundation is scheduled to conclude on 

February 25, 2021, although if there are 

any unanticipated weather or 

equipment delays, this activity might 

not be completed prior to the expiration 

of the initial IHA. Finally, construction 

of a temporary blast wall was not 

specifically analyzed in the 2019 IHA, 

but will involve the installation of a 

comparatively small number (in relation 

to the initial IHA) of similar or smaller 

size steel sheet and pipe piles using 

installation methods identical to those 

described in the 2019 IHA. The location 

and nature of the activities, including 

the types of equipment planned for use, 

are nearly identical to those described 

in the initial IHA. 

Similarly, the anticipated impacts are 

identical in nature (though significantly 

lower in number) to those described in 

the initial IHA. Also, NMFS anticipates 

the take of only two of the five species 

of marine mammals described in the 

2019 IHA (harbor seals and gray seals) 

by Level A harassment and Level B 

harassment incidental to underwater 

noise resulting from construction 

associated with the proposed activities. 

The following documents are 

referenced in this notice and include 

important supporting information: 

• Reissued 2019 IHA (84 FR 67261; 

December 9, 2019); 

• 2019 final IHA (84 FR 24476; May 

28, 2019); 

• 2019 proposed IHA (843 FR 13252; 

April 4, 2019); 

• 2019 IHA application, references 

cited, and previous public comments 

received (available at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-constructionactivities). 

Detailed Description of the Activity 

The Navy proposes to modify and 

expand Dry Dock 1 at Portsmouth Naval 

Shipyard because dimensional 

limitations currently impede operations 

and maintenance. To minimize impacts 

on dry dock operations during 

construction, the overall project is being 

constructed in phases. The first element, 

construction of a superflood basin, is 

scheduled to occur in six phases; 

activities associated with first two 

phases, and one activity from Phase 3 

(installation of the caisson seat float-in) 

were described and analyzed in the 

2019 IHA. Phases 1 and 2, planned to 

be completed under the initial IHA, 

included site reconnaissance, field 

measurements, contractor submittals 

and general mobilization activities 

(Phase 1), and construction of the 

southern closure, construction of the 

caisson seat float-in and foundation, 

Berth 1 and 11 improvements, Dry Dock 

1 utility improvements, and dredging 

(Phase 2). Schedule delays precluded 

installation of the caisson seat float-in; 

therefore, the Navy included this 

activity in the renewal request. 

To construct the caisson seat float-in, 

the Navy would use vibratory pile 

driving to install six temporary 

dolphins, comprised of twelve, 30-inch 

(in) diameter steel pipe piles (a 

reduction in size from the 36-in 

diameter steel pipe piles analyzed for 

this activity in the 2019 IHA). 

To construct the remaining portion of 

the caisson seat foundation, the renewal 

request includes the installation of 

twenty 27-in sheet piles using a 

combination of vibratory and impact 

pile driving, as described in the initial 

IHA. The 2019 IHA analyzed the 

potential for Level A harassment and 

Level B harassment from installation of 

twenty 24-in sheet piles using the 

identical installation methods; the size 

of the sheet pile included in the renewal 

request is slightly larger and the source 

levels used to model distances to the 

Level A harassment and Level B 

harassment isopleths are accordingly 

slightly higher (see Estimated Take 

section, Table 1). However, although the 

sheet pile size is slightly larger, the 

number of 27-in sheet piles (20) 

associated with installation of the 

caisson seat foundation included in the 

renewal request is identical in number 

to that planned for the caisson sear 

foundation and also a small subset of 

the total number (320) of 24 in sheet 

piles included in the initial IHA. 

Finally, the Navy proposes to 

construct a temporary blast wall, 

comprised of 15, 30-in steel pipe piles 

and 70 25-in sheet piles installed using 

vibratory pile driving only. This wall 

would be located within the project 

area, across the opening of the existing 

Dry Dock 1 between Berth 1 and Berth 

11A and opposite the caisson seat, 

described in the proposed initial IHA 

(84 FR 13252; April 4, 2019). For 

comparison, the initial IHA included 

vibratory installation of 48, 36-in steel 

pipe piles and 320 24-in sheet piles. 

Therefore, the renewal request includes 

nearly identical pile sizes (steel pipe 

and sheet) and identical installation 

method to those described and included 

in the initial IHA. 

A detailed description of the 

construction activities for which take is 

proposed here may be found in the 

Federal Register notice of proposed IHA 

for the 2019 authorization (84 FR 13252; 

April 4, 2019). As stated above, the 

location and nature of the pile driving 

operations, including the type and size 

of piles and the methods of pile driving, 

are identical or nearly identical to those 

analyzed in the 2019 IHA. The proposed 

IHA renewal would be effective from 

the date of issuance to February 27, 

2022 (i.e., one year after the expiration 

of the initial IHA), although all 

construction proposed in the renewal 

request would be completed between 

March 1, 2021 and March 31, 2021. 

Description of Marine Mammals 

A description of the marine mammals 

in the area of the activities for which 

authorization of take is proposed here, 

including information on abundance, 

status, distribution, and hearing, may be 

found in the Federal Register notice for 

the proposed IHA for the 2019 

authorization (84 FR 13252; April 4, 

2019). NMFS has reviewed recent draft 

Stock Assessment Reports, information 

on relevant Unusual Mortality Events, 

and other scientific literature. NMFS 

has preliminarily determined that there 

is no new information that affects which 

species or stocks have the potential to 

be affected or the pertinent information 

in the Description of the Marine 

Mammals in the Area of Specified 

Activities contained in the supporting 

documents for the 2019 IHA. 

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals 

and Their Habitat 

A description of the potential effects 

of the specified activity on marine 

mammals and their habitat for the 

activities for which take is proposed 

here may be found in the Federal 

Register notices for the proposed initial 

IHA (84 FR 13252; April 4, 2019). NMFS 

has reviewed recent draft Stock 

Assessment Reports, information on 

relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and 

other scientific literature, and 

determined that neither this nor any 

other new information affects our initial 

analysis of impacts on marine mammals 

and their habitat. 

Estimated Take 

A detailed description of the methods 

and inputs used to estimate take for the 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
10548 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Notices 

specified activity are found in the 

Federal Register notices for the initial 

IHA, including the proposed 2019 IHA 

(84 FR 13252; April 4, 2019) and final 

2019 IHA (84 FR 24476; May 28, 2019). 

Marine mammal occurrence data 

applicable to this authorization remain 

unchanged from the previously issued 

IHA. Similarly, the stocks taken, 

methods of estimating take, and types of 

take remain unchanged from the 

previously issued IHA. As mentioned 

previously, due to the use of slightly 

different pile sizes, the source levels 

included in the renewal request (Table 

1) are nearly identical, rather than 

identical, to those analyzed in the 2019 

IHA and included in the initial IHA. In 

addition, the number of construction 

days and piles proposed in the Renewal 

request (Tables 2 and 3) are fewer than 

those included in the initial IHA. 

Finally, the proposed maximum 

ensonified area, or region of influence 

(ROI), is smaller (0.42 square kilometers 

(km2)) than that analyzed in the initial 

IHA (0.85 km2) because the completed 

construction (e.g., southern closure wall 

and majority of the caisson seat 

foundation) created additional barriers 

to sound produced by construction 

activities. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF IN-WATER PILE DRIVING SOURCE LEVELS (SL) AT 10 m FROM SOURCE

Pile type and size Installation 

method 

SPLpk, 

dB re 1 μPa 

SPLrms, 

dB re 1 μPa 

SEL, dB 

re 1 μPa2-s 

30-inch steel pipe 1 ............................................................................................. Vibratory ...... NA 167 (175) 167 (175) 

27-inch sheet pile 2 ............................................................................................. Vibratory ...... NA 167 (163) 167 (163) 

27-inch sheet pile 3 ............................................................................................. Impact ......... 211 (205) 196 (190) 181 (180) 

25-inch sheet pile 2 ............................................................................................. Vibratory ...... NA 163 (163) 163 (163) 

SPLpk, dB re 1 μPa = peak sound pressure level referenced to 1 micropascal; SPLrms = root mean square sound pressure level referenced to 

1 micropascal; SEL = sound exposure level referenced to 1 micropascal-squared-second; values from 2019 IHA in parentheses: 1 vibratory installation of 36 in steel pile; 2 vibratory installation of 24 in sheet pile; 3 impact installation of 24 in sheet pile. 

Table 2 includes information for both 

the subset of activities using vibratory 

pile driving the Navy will not complete 

before the current IHA expires (e.g., 

completion of the caisson seat 

foundation and installation of the guide 

dolphins for the caisson seat float-in 

structure) as well as the newly proposed 

activity, construction of a temporary 

blast wall. 

TABLE 2—DISTANCES AND AREAS OF HARASSMENT ZONES, AND ASSOCIATED CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES FOR VIBRATORY

PILE DRIVING

Section Pile size (inch (in)) 

and count 

Total pile 

driving days 

Level A harassment injury 

(PTS onset) 

Behavior disturbance 

Level B harassment 

High-frequency 

cetaceans 173 dB 

SELcum1 threshold radial 

distance/area 

Phocid pinnipeds 201 dB 

SELcum threshold radial 

distance/area 

All marine mammals 120 

dB RMS threshold radial 

distance/ROI * 

Caisson seat foundation.27 in steel sheet (20) 2 25.4 m/0.001746 km2 .... 10.4 m/0.000338 km2 .... 13,594 m/0.42 km2. 

Guide dolphins for 

caisson float-in.

30 in steel pipe (12) 12 4.8 m/0.000072 km2 ...... 2.0 m/0.000012 km2 ...... 13,594 m/0.42 km2. 

Temporary blast wall 30 in steel pipe (15) 8 7.7 m/0.000185 km2 ...... 3.2 m/0.000032 km2 ...... 13,594 m/0.42 km2. 

Temporary blast wall 25 in steel sheet (70) 7 22.5 m/0.001378 km2 .... 9.2 m/0.000264 km2 ...... 13,594 m/0.42 km2. 

* Region of influence (ROI); potentially ensonified area capped due to landmass and existing Dry Dock 1 structural interception of noise. 

1SELcum = cumulative sound exposure level. 

Table 3 provides information for 

impact driving of sheet piles required to 

complete construction of the caisson 

seat foundation. 

TABLE 3—DISTANCES AND AREAS OF HARASSMENT ZONES, AND ASSOCIATED CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES FOR IMPACT

PILE DRIVING

Section Pile size (inch(in)) 

and count 

Total pile 

driving days 

Level A harassment injury 

(PTS onset) 

Behavior disturbance 

Level B 

High-frequency 

cetaceans 155 dB 

SELcum1 threshold 

Phocid pinnipeds (seals) 

185 dB SELcum

threshold 

All marine mammals 160 

dB RMS threshold radial 

distance/ROI * 

Caisson seat foundation.27 in steel sheet (20) 2 2,055.5 m/0.42 km2 ....... 923.5 m/0.40 km2 .......... 2,512 m/0.42 km2. 

* Region of influence (ROI); potentially ensonified area capped due to landmass and existing Dry Dock 1 structural interception of noise. 

1SELcum = cumulative sound exposure level. 

Takes estimated in the renewal 

request were zero for three of the five 

species included in the 2019 and initial 

IHAs (harbor porpoise, hooded seal, and 

harp seal) because the densities for 

these species were zero at the specified 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Notices 10549 

location during the proposed 

construction period (March 1, 2021 

through March 31, 2021). For the other 

two species, the number of proposed 

takes, which are indicated below in 

Table 4, are less than those authorized 

in the 2019 IHA (harbor seals: 284 Level 

A harassment takes, 776 Level B 

harassment takes; gray seals: 25 Level A 

harassment takes, 35 Level B 

harassment takes). 

TABLE 4—ESTIMATED TAKE PROPOSED FOR RENEWAL AND PROPORTION OF POPULATION POTENTIALLY AFFECTED

Species 

Estimated take 

by Level B 

harassment 

Estimated take 

by Level A 

harassment 

Stock Abundance of 

stock 

Percentage 

of stock 

potentially 

affected 

Harbor seal ....................................... 29 2 W North Atlantic ............................... 75,834 0.04 

Gray seal .......................................... 3 0 W North Atlantic ............................... 27,131 0.01 

Description of Proposed Mitigation, 

Monitoring and Reporting Measures 

The proposed mitigation, monitoring, 

and reporting measures included as 

requirements in this authorization are 

identical to those included in the 

Federal Register notice announcing the 

issuance of the 2019 IHA (84 FR 24476; 

May 28, 2019) and initial IHA (84 FR 

67261; December 9, 2019), and the 

discussion of the least practicable 

adverse impact included in that 

document remains accurate. The 

following measures are proposed for 

this renewal. 

Proposed Mitigation Requirements 

In summary, mitigation includes 

implementation of shut down 

procedures if any marine mammal 

approaches or enters the shutdown zone 

for pile driving (10 meters (m) (33 feet 

(ft)) for vibratory pile driving of steel 

pipe and sheet piles; 50 m (164 ft) for 

impact driving of steel pipe and sheet 

piles). For in-water heavy machinery 

work other than pile driving (e.g. 

standard barges, barge-mounted cranes, 

excavators, etc.), 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. 

Trained observers must monitor to 

implement shutdowns and collect 

information at each active pile driving 

location (whether vibratory or impact 

driving of steel pipe or sheet piles). 

Pile driving activities may only be 

conducted during daylight hours. If the 

shutdown zone is obscured by fog or 

poor lighting conditions, pile driving 

will not be initiated until the entire 

shutdown zone is visible. Work that has 

been initiated appropriately in 

conditions of good visibility may 

continue during poor visibility. The 

shutdown zone will be monitored for 30 

minutes prior to initiating the start of 

pile driving, during the activity, and for 

30 minutes after activities have ceased. 

If pinnipeds are present within the 

shutdown zone prior to pile driving, the 

start will be delayed until the animals 

leave the shutdown zone of their own 

volition, or until 15 minutes elapse 

without re-sighting the animal(s). 

Soft start procedures must be 

implemented at the start of each day’s 

impact pile driving and at any time 

following cessation of impact driving for 

a period of thirty minutes or longer. The 

Navy must conduct an initial set of 

three strikes from the impact hammer at 

reduced energy, followed by a 30- 

second waiting period, succeeded by 

two subsequent three strike sets. 

Proposed Monitoring Requirements 

The Navy will employ trained 

protected species observers (PSOs) to 

conduct marine mammal monitoring for 

its Portsmouth Naval Shipyard 

modification and expansion project. The 

purposes of marine mammal monitoring 

are to implement mitigation measures 

and learn more about impacts to marine 

mammals from the Navy’s construction 

activities. The PSOs will be located at 

the best vantage points (primarily on 

docks and piers) to observe and collect 

data on marine mammals in and around 

the project area. PSOs will monitor all 

Level A harassment zones and at least 

two-thirds of the Level B harassment 

zones for 30 minutes before, during, and 

after all pile installation work. 

Proposed Reporting Requirements 

The Navy must provide NMFS with a 

draft monitoring report within 90 

calendar days of the expiration of the 

IHA, or within conclusion of the 

construction work, whichever comes 

first. This report must detail the 

monitoring protocol, summarize the 

data recorded during monitoring, and 

estimate the number of marine 

mammals that may have been harassed. 

If comments are received from NMFS on 

the draft report within 30 days, a final 

report shall be submitted to NMFS 

within 30 days thereafter. If no 

comments are received from NMFS 

within 30 days after receipt of the draft 

report, the draft report will be 

considered final. 

In the unanticipated event that the 

construction activities clearly cause the 

take of a marine mammal in a manner 

prohibited by this Authorization, such 

as an injury, serious injury, or mortality 

(Level A take), the Navy shall 

immediately cease all operations and 

immediately report the incident to the 

NMFS Office of Protected Resources and 

the NMFS Greater Atlantic Coast Region 

Stranding Coordinator. The report must 

include the following information: 

1. Time, date, and location (latitude 

and longitude) of the incident; 

2. Description of the incident; 

3. Status of all sound sources used in 

the 24 hours preceding the incident; 

4. Environmental conditions (wind 

speed, wind direction, sea state, cloud 

cover, visibility, water depth); 

5. Description of the marine mammal 

observations in the 24 hours preceding 

the incident; 

6. Species identification or 

description of the animal(s) involved; 

7. The fate of the animal(s); and 

8. Photographs or video footage of the 

animal(s), if equipment is available. 

Activities shall not resume until 

NMFS is able to review the 

circumstances of the prohibited take. 

NMFS will work with the Navy to 

determine what is necessary to 

minimize the likelihood of further 

prohibited take and ensure MMPA 

compliance. The Navy may not resume 

their activities until notified by NMFS 

via letter, email, or telephone. 

In the event that the Navy discovers 

an injured or dead marine mammal, and 

the marine mammal observer 

determines that the cause of injury or 

death is unknown and the death is 

relatively recent (less than a moderate 

state of decomposition), the Navy will 

immediately report the incident to the 

NMFS Office of Protected Resources, 

and the NMFS Greater Atlantic Coast 

Region Stranding Coordinator. The 

report must include the same 

information identified above. Activities 

may continue while NMFS reviews the 

circumstances of the incident. NMFS 

will work with the Navy to determine 


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10550 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Notices 

whether modifications in the activities 

are appropriate. 

In the event that the Navy discovers 

an injured or dead marine mammal, and 

the marine mammal observer 

determines that the injury or death is 

not associated with or related to the 

activities authorized in the IHA 

(previously wounded animal, carcass 

with moderate to advanced 

decomposition, or scavenger damage), 

the Navy shall report the incident to the 

NMFS Office of Protected Resources, 

and the NMFS Greater Atlantic Coast 

Region Stranding Coordinator within 24 

hours of the discovery. The Navy shall 

provide photographs or video footage (if 

available) or other documentation of the 

stranded animal(s) to NMFS Office of 

Protected Resources, and the NMFS 

Greater Atlantic Coast Region Stranding 

Coordinator. The Navy may continue its 

operations under such a case. 

Public Comments 

As noted previously, NMFS published 

a notice of a proposed 2019 IHA (84 FR 

13252; April 4, 2019) and solicited 

public comments on both our proposal 

to issue the 2019 IHA for the Navy’s 

construction activities and on the 

potential for an IHA renewal, should 

certain requirements be met. 

All public comments were addressed 

in the notice announcing the issuance of 

the initial IHA (84 FR 24476; May 28, 

2019). Below, we describe how we have 

addressed, with updated information 

where appropriate, any comments 

received that specifically pertain to the 

renewal of the initial IHA. 

Comment: The Commission 

recommends that NMFS refrain from 

implementing its proposed renewal 

process and instead use abbreviated 

Federal Register notices and reference 

existing documents to streamline the 

IHA process. If NMFS adopts the 

proposed renewal process, the 

Commission recommends that NMFS 

provide the Commission and the public 

a legal analysis supporting its 

conclusion that the process is consistent 

with section 101(a)(5)(D) 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. 

Preliminary Determinations 

The construction activities proposed 

by the Navy are identical or nearly 

identical to those analyzed in the initial 

IHA, as are the method of taking and the 

effects of the action (though the amount 

of proposed authorized take is notably 

lower). The potential effects of the 

Navy’s activities are limited to Level A 

harassment and Level B harassment in 

the form of auditory injury and 

behavioral disturbance. In analyzing the 

effects of the activities in the 2019 IHA, 

NMSF determined that the Navy’s 

activities would have a negligible 

impact on the affected species or stocks 

and that the authorized take numbers of 

each species or stock were small relative 

to the relevant stocks (e.g., less than one 

percent of all stocks). The mitigation 

measures and monitoring and reporting 

requirements as described above are 

identical to the initial IHA. 

NMFS has preliminarily concluded 

that there is no new information 

suggesting that our analysis or findings 

should change from those reached for 

the initial IHA. Based on the 

information and analysis contained here 

and in the referenced documents, NMFS 

has determined the following: (1) The 

required mitigation measures will affect 

the least practicable impact on marine 

mammal species or stocks and their 

habitat; (2) the authorized takes will 

have a negligible impact on the affected 

marine mammal species or stocks; (3) 

the authorized takes represent small 

numbers of marine mammals relative to 

the affected stock abundances; (4) the 

Navy’s activities will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on taking 

for subsistence purposes as no relevant 

subsistence uses of marine mammals are 

implicated by this action, and; (5) 

appropriate monitoring and reporting 

requirements are included. 

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 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 marine 

mammal species is expected to result 

from this activity, and none would be 

authorized. Therefore, NMFS has 

determined that consultation under 

section 7 of the ESA is not required for 

this action. 

Proposed Renewal IHA and Request for 

Public Comment 

As a result of these preliminary 

determinations, NMFS proposes to issue 

a IHA renewal to the Navy for 

conducting in-water construction 

activities associated with the 

modification and expansion of 

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Dry Dock 1 

from the date of issuance through 

February 27, 2022, provided the 

previously described mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting requirements 

are incorporated. A draft of the 

proposed and final 2019 IHA can be 

found at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-constructionactivities. We request comment on our 

analyses, the proposed Renewal IHA, 

and any other aspect of this notice. 

Please include with your comments any 

supporting data or literature citations to 

help inform our final decision on the 

request for MMPA authorization. 

Dated: February 17, 2021. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03507 Filed 2–19–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XA877] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone off Alaska; Alaska Groundfish 

and Halibut Seabird Working Group; 

Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: NMFS Alaska Groundfish and 

Halibut Seabird Working Group will 

meet to discuss seabird/fisheries 

interactions (vessel collisions), 

development of an Alaska coordinated 

strategic plan for reporting and 

monitoring fisheries interactions with 

birds listed under the Endangered 

Species Act, and an update on whether 

or not the short-tailed albatross is 

actually two distinct species. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

March 10, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES