8594 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 24 / Monday, February 8, 2021 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XA832] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to the Parallel 

Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project in 

Virginia Beach, Virginia 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments on 

proposed Renewal incidental 

harassment authorization. 

SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request 

from the Chesapeake Tunnel Joint 

Venture (CTJV) for the Renewal of their 

currently active incidental harassment 

authorization (IHA) to take marine 

mammals incidental to Parallel Thimble 

Shoal Tunnel Project (PTST) in Virginia 

Beach, Virginia. These activities are 

identical to those covered in the current 

authorization. The project has 

experienced delays and most of the 

work covered in the initial IHA will not 

be completed by the time it expires. 

Pursuant to the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act, prior to issuing the 

currently active IHA, 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 February 23, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service and should be 

submitted via email to ITP.Laws@

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 

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: Ben 

Laws, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 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: 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

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

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, 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 

Renewal IHA effective date (recognizing 

that the Renewal IHA 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). 

(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 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 24 / Monday, February 8, 2021 / Notices 8595 

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 May 24, 2019, NMFS received a 

request from the CTJV for an IHA to take 

marine mammals incidental to pile 

driving and removal at the Chesapeake 

Bay Bridge and Tunnel (CBBT) near 

Virginia Beach, Virginia. The 

application was deemed adequate and 

complete on October 11, 2019. The 

CTJV’s request is for take of harbor seal 

(Phoca vitulina), gray seal (Halichoerus 

grypus), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops 

truncatus), harbor porpoise (Phocoena 

phocoena) and humpback whale 

(Megaptera novaeangliae) by Level A 

and Level B harassment. We published 

a notice of a proposed IHA and request 

for comments on November 25, 2019 (84 

FR 64847) and subsequently published 

the final notice of our issuance of the 

IHA on March 20, 2020 (85 FR 16061), 

effective from March 10, 2020, through 

March 9, 2021. This IHA was expected 

to cover one year of an anticipated 5- 

year project. 

On December 15, 2020, 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 are identical to, and consist of 

a subset of, those covered in the initial 

authorization. In order to consider an 

IHA Renewal, NMFS requires the 

applicant provide a preliminary 

monitoring report 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. NMFS has 

reviewed CTJV’s preliminary 

monitoring report and has preliminarily 

determined that CTJV’s proposed 

activities (including mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting), estimated 

incidental take, and anticipated impacts 

on the affected stocks are the same as 

those analyzed and authorized through 

the initial IHA. However, NMFS is 

requesting comments or additional 

information that may further inform our 

proposal to issue an IHA Renewal to 

CTJV. This IHA Renewal would be valid 

for a period of one year. 

Description of the Specified Activities 

and Anticipated Impacts 

CTJV’s planned activities include 

construction associated with the PTST 

project. Specifically, the location, 

timing, and nature of the activities, 

including the types of equipment 

planned for use, are identical to those 

described in the original IHA. The 

project consists of the construction of a 

two-lane parallel tunnel to the west of 

the existing Thimble Shoal Tunnel, 

connecting Portal Island Nos. 1 and 2 of 

the CBBT facility which extends across 

the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay near 

Virginia Beach, Virginia. The PTST 

project will address existing constraints 

to regional mobility based on current 

traffic volume along the facility. 

Planned construction associated with 

the initial IHA included the driving of 

812 piles over 198 days as shown below: 

• 180 12-inch timber piles 

• 74 36-inch steel pipe piles 

• 500 36-inch interlocked pipes 

• 58 42-inch steel casings 

Of these planned activities, under the 

initial IHA CTJV installed a total of 76 

36-inch pipe piles and installed and 

removed 58 42-inch steel casings over 

approximately 64 construction days. 

Additionally, 52 36-inch interlocking 

pipe piles have been eliminated from 

the construction plan. This is due to a 

design change which increased the 

elevation of stone placement on the 

West berm on Portal Island 1, 

decreasing the number of piles being 

installed below Mean High Water 

(MHW). Remaining piles will be 

installed using impact driving, vibratory 

driving and drilling with down-the-hole 

(DTH) hammers. Some piles will be 

removed via vibratory hammer. 

Accounting for work conducted under 

the initial IHA and the planned design 

change resulting in a reduction in total 

piles, CTJV plans to drive 684 piles over 

an estimated 140 days under this 

proposed Renewal IHA. 

Similarly, the anticipated impacts are 

identical to those described in the initial 

IHA. NMFS anticipates the take of the 

same five species of marine mammal 

(harbor seal, gray seal, bottlenose 

dolphin, harbor porpoise, and 

humpback whale) by Level A 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: 

• Initial final IHA (85 FR 16061; 

March 20, 2020); 

• Initial proposed IHA (84 FR 64847; 

November 25, 2019); and 

• 2019 IHA application, references 

cited, and previous public comments 

received (available at 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

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

Detailed Description of the Activity 

The PTST project entails construction 

of a two-lane parallel tunnel to the west 

of the existing Thimble Shoal Tunnel. 

The new parallel two-lane tunnel is 

6,350 feet (ft) (1935.5 meter (m)) in 

overall total length with 5,356 linear ft 

(1632.5 m) located below MHW. 

Remaining proposed in-water activities 

to be covered under this Renewal 

include the following: 

• Mooring dolphins: An estimated 

180 12-inch timber piles will be used for 


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8596 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 24 / Monday, February 8, 2021 / Notices 

construction of the temporary mooring 

dolphins (120 piles at Portal Island No. 

1 and 60 piles at Portal Island No. 2) 

and will be installed and removed using 

a vibratory hammer. However, should 

refusal be encountered prior to design 

tip elevation when driving with the 

vibratory hammer an impact hammer 

will be used to drive the remainder of 

the pile length. No bubble curtains will 

be utilized for the installation of the 

timber piles; 

• Construction of temporary Omega 

trestle: 28 in-water 36-inch diameter 

steel pipe piles will be installed at 

Portal Island 2; 

• Construction of two engineered 

berms requiring 202 36-inch steel 

interlocked pipe piles (81 on west side; 

121 on east side) for Portal Island 1 and 

246 piles of the same size and type (124 

piles on west side; 122 on east side) for 

Portal Island 2. Construction methods 

will include impact pile driving as well 

as casing advancement by DTH hammer. 

Interlocked pipe piles will be installed 

through the use of DTH drilling 

equipment. Once the pipes are 

advanced through the rock layer using 

the DTH technology, they are driven to 

final grade via traditional impact 

driving methods; and 

• Vibratory installation and removal 

of 12 36-inch steel pipe piles at Portal 

Island 1 and 16 piles at Portal Island 2 

on both sides of the new tunnel 

alignment for settlement mitigation, 

support of excavation, and to facilitate 

flowable fill placement. 

Some in-water construction activities 

would occur simultaneously. A detailed 

description of the construction activities 

for which authorization of take is 

proposed here may be found in the 

Federal Register notice of proposed IHA 

for the 2020 authorization (84 FR 64847; 

November 25, 2019). Location, timing 

(e.g., seasonality), and nature of the pile 

driving operations, including the type 

and size of piles and the methods of pile 

driving, are identical to those analyzed 

in the initial IHA. The proposed IHA 

Renewal would be effective for a period 

of one year. 

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 initial 

authorization (84 FR 64847; November 

25, 2019). Updated information 

regarding stock abundance was 

provided in the Federal Register notice 

announcing issuance of the initial IHA 

(85 FR 16061; March 20, 2020). NMFS 

has reviewed recent draft Stock 

Assessment Reports, information on 

relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and 

other scientific literature. The draft 2020 

Stock Assessment Report states that 

estimated abundance has increased for 

the Gulf of Maine stock of humpback 

whales, from 1,380 (CV = 0) to 1,393 

(CV = 0.15). NMFS has preliminarily 

determined that neither this nor any 

other new information 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 initial 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 notice for the proposed initial 

IHA (84 FR 64847; November 25, 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 

specified activity are found in the 

Federal Register notice for the proposed 

and final initial IHAs (84 FR 64847; 

November 25, 2019 and 85 FR 16061; 

March 20, 2020). Specifically, the 

source levels and marine mammal 

occurrence data applicable to this 

authorization remain unchanged from 

the previously issued IHA, with the 

exception of the small amount of work 

completed. CTJV conducted 

approximately 64 days of the planned 

work and has eliminated a small 

number of originally planned piles, 

reducing the approximate total number 

of operational days for this proposed 

Renewal IHA. However, because the 

take numbers developed for most 

species for which take is proposed for 

authorization involve qualitative 

elements and because the reduction in 

total days would not result in a 

substantive decrease in the take number 

for bottlenose dolphin, we carry forward 

the take numbers unchanged for this 

proposed Renewal IHA. The stocks 

taken, methods of take, and types of take 

remain unchanged from the previously 

issued IHA, as do the number of takes, 

which are indicated below in Table 1. 

TABLE 1—ESTIMATED TAKE PROPOSED FOR AUTHORIZATION AND PROPORTION OF POPULATION POTENTIALLY AFFECTED

Species Stock Level A takes Level B takes Percentage of 

stock 

Humpback whale ............................................ Gulf of Maine .................................................. ........................ 12 0.9 

Harbor porpoise .............................................. Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy ........................... 5 7 <0.01 

Bottlenose dolphin .......................................... WNA Coastal, Northern Migratory ................. 142 14,095 * <33 

WNA Coastal, Southern Migratory ................. 142 14,095 * <33 

NNCES ........................................................... 2 198 24 

Harbor seal ..................................................... Western North Atlantic ................................... 1,296 2,124 4.5 

Gray seal ......................................................... Western North Atlantic ................................... 1 3 <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 initial IHA (85 FR 16061; 

March 20, 2020), 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 shutdown 

procedures if any marine mammal 

approaches or enters the established 

shutdown zones. Shutdown zones for 

species authorized for take are as 

follows: 100 meters for harbor porpoise 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 24 / Monday, February 8, 2021 / Notices 8597 

and bottlenose dolphin; 15 meters for 

harbor seal and gray seal. For humpback 

whale, shutdown distances correspond 

with the estimated Level A harassment 

zones and are dependent on activity 

type. For in-water heavy machinery 

work 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. One trained observer must 

monitor to implement shutdowns and 

collect information at each active pile 

driving location (whether vibratory or 

impact driving of steel or concrete 

piles). 

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. Use 

of an air bubble curtain system will be 

implemented by the CTJV during impact 

driving of 36-inch steel piles except in 

water less than 10 ft in depth. 

Proposed Monitoring Requirements 

The CTJV will be required to station 

between two and four PSOs at locations 

offering the best available views of the 

monitoring zones. At least two PSOs 

will be required to monitor before, 

during, and after the pile-driving and 

-removal activities. At least one PSO 

must be located in close proximity to 

each pile driving rig during active 

operation of single or multiple, 

concurrent driving devices. At least one 

additional PSO is required at each 

active driving rig or other location 

providing best possible view if the Level 

B harassment zone and shutdown zones 

cannot reasonably be observed by one 

PSO. 

Proposed Reporting Requirements 

A draft report will be submitted to 

NMFS within 90 days of the completion 

of marine mammal monitoring, or 60 

days prior to the requested date of 

issuance of any future IHA for projects 

at the same location, whichever comes 

first. The report will include marine 

mammal observations pre-activity, 

during-activity, and post-activity during 

pile driving days (and associated PSO 

data sheets), and will also provide 

descriptions of any behavioral responses 

to construction activities by marine 

mammals and a complete description of 

all mitigation shutdowns and the results 

of those actions and an extrapolated 

total take estimate based on the number 

of marine mammals observed during the 

course of construction. A final report 

must be submitted within 30 days 

following resolution of comments on the 

draft report. 

Public Comments 

As noted previously, NMFS published 

a notice of a proposed IHA (84 FR 

64847; November 25, 2019) and 

solicited public comments on both our 

proposal to issue the initial IHA for 

CTJV’s construction activities and on 

the potential for a Renewal IHA, should 

certain requirements be met. 

All public comments were addressed 

in the notice announcing the issuance of 

the initial IHA (85 FR 16061; March 20, 

2020). 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 Marine Mammal 

Commission expressed continuing 

concern with NMFS’ use of the Renewal 

process. 

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 CTJV are identical to (and a subset 

of) those analyzed in the initial IHA, as 

are the method of taking and the effects 

of the action. The planned number of 

days of activity will be slightly reduced 

given the completion of a small portion 

of the originally planned work. The 

potential effects of CTJV’s activities are 

limited to Level A and Level B 

harassment in the form of auditory 

injury and behavioral disturbance. In 

analyzing the effects of the activities in 

the initial IHA, NMFS determined that 

CTJV’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-third of the abundance 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 effect 

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) 

CTJV’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. 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 Renewal IHA to CTJV for conducting 

in-water construction activities 

associated with the PTST in Virginia 

Beach, Virginia, from the date of 

issuance for a period of one year, 

provided the previously described 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements are incorporated. A draft 

of the proposed and final initial IHA can 

be found at www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

incidental-take-authorizationsconstruction-activities. 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. 


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Dated: February 2, 2021. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02467 Filed 2–5–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Return Link Service Authorization in 

the United States Search and Rescue 

Region 

AGENCY: National Environmental 

Satellite, Data, and Information Service 

(NESDIS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice and request for public 

comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Search and Rescue 

Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) 

Program, which is managed by NOAA 

and assisted by the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration, 

the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Coast 

Guard, requests input from all interested 

persons on the U.S. authorization of 

Return Link Service (RLS) 

acknowledgment Type 1 capable 

Cospas-Sarsat 406 MHz distress 

beacons. Through this Request for 

Information (RFI), the SARSAT Program 

seeks the public’s views on the 

inclusion of this optional feature on 

U.S. country-coded beacons. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

April 30, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Responses should be 

submitted via email to sarsat.rls.rfi@

noaa.gov. Include ‘‘Public Comment on 

type approval of RLS beacons’’ in the 

subject line of the message. All personal 

identifying information (e.g., name, 

address, etc.), confidential business 

information, or otherwise sensitive 

information submitted voluntarily by 

the sender will be publicly accessible. 

NOAA will accept anonymous 

comments. Clearly indicate which 

question or subject, if applicable, 

submitted comments pertain to. All 

submissions must be in English. Please 

note that the U.S. Government will not 

pay for response preparation, or for the 

use of any information contained in the 

response. 

Instructions: Respondents need not 

reply to any or all of the questions 

listed. Email attachments will be 

accepted in plain text, Microsoft Word, 

or Adobe PDF formats only. Each 

individual or institution is requested to 

submit only one response. The SARSAT 

Program may post responses to this RFI, 

without change, on a Federal website. 

NOAA, therefore, requests that no 

business proprietary information, 

copyrighted information, or personally 

identifiable information be submitted in 

response to this RFI. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

SARSAT Program Analyst, Mr. Allan 

Knox, NOAA, allan.knox@noaa.gov, 

301–817–4144. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The RLS is being provided via the 

Galileo Global Navigation Satellite 

System and is designed to provide the 

beacon user in distress an 

acknowledgment message informing 

them that the alert has been detected 

and located by the Cospas-Sarsat 

System. 

The SARSAT Program has 

commenced an effort to understand the 

benefits and associated risks of RLS 

Type 1 equipped beacons and is 

soliciting the public through this RFI to 

obtain input from a wider range of 

stakeholders, including academia, 

private industry, beacon users and other 

relevant organizations and institutions. 

The public input provided in response 

to this RFI will help inform the 

SARSAT Program as it evaluates the 

authorization of RLS Type 1 equipped 

beacons within the United States. 

In depth information on RLS Type 1 

equipped beacons can be found at: 

https://www.gsc-europa.eu/sites/ 

default/files/sites/all/files/Galileo-SARSDD.pdf. 

Additional information on RLSenabled beacons may be viewed at: 

https://cospas-sarsat.int/en/beaconownership/rls-enabled-beaconpurchase. 

Questions To Inform U.S. SARSAT 

Program Regarding Authorization of 

Type 1 RLS Cospas-Sarsat Distress 

Beacons 

Please consider the following 

questions of interest to the SARSAT 

Program when responding: 

1. Under nominal conditions, the RLS 

has an inherent period of time between 

beacon activation and the 

acknowledgement being received and 

displayed to the person in distress. This 

period of time should be within 30 

minutes. Is this acceptable? If not, what 

is an acceptable time? 

2. What is the best method to ensure 

the user understands that there is a 

period of time before the 

acknowledgement message is received? 

Please consider that the user’s first 

interaction with an RLS capable beacon 

could be an emergency situation where 

only the beacon is available (no user 

manual). 

3. RLS only indicates that the distress 

signal has been received, not that rescue 

forces have been deployed. Therefore, 

the acknowledgement message is not an 

indication of when rescue forces may 

arrive on scene. How should the beacon 

user be provided this information so 

that they understand what the RLS 

signal means? Please consider that the 

user’s first interaction with an RLS 

capable beacon could be an emergency 

situation where only the beacon is 

available (no user manual). 

4. There are several RLS related 

message indications that can be 

displayed to the beacon user; RLS signal 

sent from beacon, awaiting RLS signal 

return, RLS response received, RLS 

signal not received, etc. Which signals 

should be displayed to the user and how 

should they be displayed? Please 

consider the user’s first interaction with 

an RLS capable beacon could be an 

emergency situation where only the 

beacon is available (no user manual). 

5. Are there any other features you 

believe would be advantageous to add to 

406 MHz emergency beacons? 

6. Are there any other comments you 

would like the U.S. SARSAT Program to 

consider? 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 883(d) and (e). 

Dated: February 3, 2021. 

Mark W. Turner, 

SARSAT Program Manager. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02509 Filed 2–5–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–HR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XA829] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Washington 

State Department of Transportation 

Purdy Bridge Rehabilitation Project, 

Pierce County, WA 

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 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES