41684 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 158 / Tuesday, August 18, 2009 / Notices 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: August 12, 2009. 

William D. Chappell, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 09–19660 Filed 8–17–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–583–833] 

Polyester Staple Fiber from Taiwan: 

Rescission of Antidumping Duty 

Administrative Review in Part 

AGENCY: Import Administration, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: On June 24, 2009, in response 

to requests from the petitioner, the 

Department of Commerce published a 

notice of initiation of administrative 

review of the antidumping duty order 

on polyester staple fiber from Taiwan. 

The period of review is May 1, 2008, 

through April 30, 2009. The Department 

of Commerce is rescinding this review 

in part. 

DATES: Effective Date: August 18, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Thomas 

Schauer or Richard Rimlinger, AD/CVD 

Operations, Office 5, Import 

Administration, International Trade 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution 

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; 

telephone: (202) 482–0410 or (202) 482– 

4477. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On June 24, 2009, in response to a 

request from Invista, S.a.r.L. (the 

petitioner), the Department of 

Commerce (the Department) published a 

notice of initiation of administrative 

review of the antidumping duty order 

on polyester staple fiber from Taiwan. 

See Initiation of Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Administrative 

Reviews and Requests for Revocation in 

Part, 74 FR 30052 (June 24, 2009). On 

July 31, 2009, the petitioner withdrew 

its request for an administrative review 

of Nan Ya Plastics Corporation. See 

letter from the petitioner entitled 

‘‘Polyester Staple Fiber From Taiwan - 

Withdrawal of Annual Review Request’’ 

dated July 31, 2009. 

Rescission of Review in Part 

In accordance with 19 CFR 

351.213(d)(1) the Department will 

rescind an administrative review ‘‘if a 

party that requested a review withdraws 

the request within 90 days of the date 

of publication of notice of initiation of 

the requested review.’’ We received the 

petitioner’s withdrawal letter within the 

90-day time limit. Because the 

Department received no other requests 

for review of Nan Ya Plastics 

Corporation, the Department is 

rescinding the review with respect to 

polyester staple fiber from Taiwan from 

Nan Ya Plastics Corporation. This 

rescission is pursuant to 19 CFR 

351.213(d)(1). The Department will 

issue appropriate assessment 

instructions to U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection 15 days after publication of 

this notice. 

Notification to Importers 

This notice serves as a final reminder 

to importers of their responsibility 

under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a 

certificate regarding the reimbursement 

of antidumping duties prior to 

liquidation of the relevant entries 

during this review period. Failure to 

comply with this requirement could 

result in the Secretary’s assumption that 

reimbursement of antidumping duties 

occurred and subsequent assessment of 

double antidumping duties. 

We are issuing and publishing this 

rescission in accordance with section 

777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 

amended, and 19 CFR 351.213(d)(4). 

Dated: August 12, 2009. 

John M. Andersen, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Operations. 

[FR Doc. E9–19802 Filed 8–17–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0638–XI68 

Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental 

to Specified Activities; Construction of 

the East Span of the San FranciscoOakland Bay Bridge 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of an 

incidental harassment authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with provisions 

of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA) as amended, notification is 

hereby given that an Incidental 

Harassment Authorization (IHA) has 

been issued to the California 

Department of Transportation 

(CALTRANS) to take small numbers of 

California sea lions, Pacific harbor seals, 

harbor porpoises, and gray whales, by 

harassment, incidental to construction 

of a replacement bridge for the East 

Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay 

Bridge (SF-OBB) in California. 

DATES: This authorization is effective 

from August 14, 2009 until August 13, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the application, 

IHA, and/or a list of references used in 

this document may be obtained by 

writing to P. Michael Payne, Chief, 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 

East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910–3225. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shane Guan, NMFS, (301) 713–2289, ext 

137, or Monica DeAngelis, NMFS, (562) 

980–3232. 

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 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, the taking is limited to 

harassment, notice of a proposed 

authorization is provided to the public 

for review. 

Permission 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 

certain subsistence uses and if the 

permissible methods of taking and 

requirements pertaining to the 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting of 

such taking are set forth. NMFS has 

defined egligible 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.’’ 

Section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA 

established an expedited process by 

which citizens of the United States can 

apply for an authorization to 

incidentally take small numbers of 

marine mammals by harassment. Except 

with respect to certain activities not 

pertinent here, the MMPA defines 

‘‘harassment’’ as: 


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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]. 

Section 101(a)(5)(D) establishes a 45– 

day time limit for NMFS review of an 

application followed by a 30–day public 

notice and comment period on any 

proposed authorizations for the 

incidental harassment of small numbers 

of marine mammals. Within 45 days of 

the close of the comment period, NMFS 

must either issue or deny issuance of 

the authorization. 

Summary of Request 

On March 3, 2008, CALTRANS 

submitted a request to NOAA requesting 

renewal of an IHA for the possible 

harassment of small numbers of 

California sea lions (Zalophus 

californianus), Pacific harbor seals 

(Phoca vitulina richardsii), harbor 

porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), and 

gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) 

incidental to construction of a 

replacement bridge for the East Span of 

the SF-OBB, in San Francisco Bay 

(SFB), California. An IHA was 

previously issued to CALTRANS for this 

activity on May 2, 2007 and it expired 

on May 1, 2008 (72 FR 25748, May 7, 

2007). However, no pile driving 

activities were conducted during that 

period. A detailed description of the SFOBB project was provided in the 

November 14, 2003 (68 FR 64595) 

Federal Register notice of an earlier IHA 

and is not repeated here. Please refer to 

that Federal Register notice. 

On June 2, 2008, CALTRANS 

provided an update on the proposed 

pile driving activities planned for the 

2008 - 2009 season. In its update, 

CALTRANS states that pile driving for 

the 2009 construction would be driving 

the 42 - 48 in (0.17 - 0.19 m) diameter 

temporary piles, as opposed to the 5.9 

- 8.2 ft (1.8 - 2.5 m) diameter permanent 

piles. Therefore, the noise from pile 

driving of these temporary piles would 

be far less than from previous pile 

driving activities. In addition, 

CALTRANS indicates that deployment 

of an air bubble curtain would not be 

feasible for the driving of these smaller 

temporary piles due to the complexity 

of the driving frames. A Federal 

Register notice of receipt of the 

application, the modification of 

mitigation measures, and proposed IHA 

was published on July 3, 2008 (73 FR 

38180), along with new safety zones 

without an air bubble system. On 

September 15, 2008, CALTRANS 

provided certain acoustic measures for 

testing pile driving of temporary piles 

without air bubble curtain system. 

On January 29, 2009, CAlTRANS 

provided NMFS with a detailed 

description of the SF-OBB construction 

work and all acoustic measurements 

without air bubble curtains 

(CALTRANS, 2009). Specifically, the 

modified proposed construction 

activities include driving of temporary 

piles at Temporary Towers D, F and G 

which are necessary for the erection of 

falsework to support the Self-Anchored 

Suspension Span (SAS) portion of the 

SF-OBB project. Each tower has a north 

and south node. All three Temporary 

Towers are located to the east of Yerba 

Buena Island (YBI). Temporary Tower D 

is located approximately 60 m (197 ft) 

from the eastern shoreline of YBI. 

Temporary Tower F is located 

approximately 100 m (328 ft) east of 

Temporary Tower D. Temporary Tower 

G is located approximately 100 m (328 

ft) east of Temporary Tower F. 

In addition, CALTRANS indicated 

that certain piles would be installed by 

using both vibratory and impact 

hammers, instead of only impact 

hammers as in the previous IHAs. 

Unlike pile driving using impact 

hammers which involves the repeated 

striking of the head of a steel pile by a 

double-acting hydraulic hammer, 

vibratory pile driving was achieved by 

means of a variable eccentric vibrator 

attached to the head of the pile. The pile 

driving machine is lifted and positioned 

over the pile by means of an excavator 

or crane, and is fastened to the pile by 

a clamp and/or bolts. The majority of 

piles were initially driven into the 

substrate by vibration, over a period of 

several minutes. 

The use of vibratory pile driving has 

the benefit of having lower impact to 

anadramous fish species in the vicinity 

of the proposed project area, since the 

instantaneous sound pressure levels are 

lower when compared to noise from 

impact hammers. Therefore, fish species 

in close vicinity of the project area are 

less likely to suffer from mortality and 

injury (Hawkins, 2006). Empirical 

hydroacoustic measurements of impact 

and vibratory hammers during 

CALTRANS testing pile driving in San 

Francisco Bay on October 23, December 

9, and December 11, 2008, are shown in 

Table 1. Hydroacoustic monitors used 

data collected on December 9 and 

December 11, 2008, determine the 

distance of the 120 dB isopleths. At 

1,900 m from the vibratory pile driving, 

sound levels are in the low 120 dB rms 

range. At this distance pile driving was 

audible but not measurable due to 

ambient noise (CALTRANS, 2009). 

Both impact and vibratory pile 

driving is expected to be short-term in 

duration. Pile driving conducted to 

collect hydroacoustic data showed that 

the vibration of the bottom segment of 

each pile took approximately 3 minutes; 

the vibration of the top segment of each 

pile took approximately 8 minutes; and 

that the impact driving of the top 

segment of each pile lasted an average 

of 15 minutes. On average, it took about 

25 minutes of driving time to install 

each temporary pile (CALTRANS, 

2009). The entire project is expected to 

be completed by the end of 2009. 

Please refer to the CALTRANS memos 

for a detailed description of the 

modification of the proposed 

construction activities. 

TABLE 1. ROOT-MEAN-SQUARE ISOPLETHS BASED ON HYDROACOUSTIC MONITORING IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY BY

ILLINGWORTH & RODKIN, INC. (CALTRANS, 2009) 

Sound Level (dB re 1 μPa rms) 120* 160* * 180* * 190* * 

Radius for Vibratory Pile Driving 1,900 m 250 m 15 m does not exist 

Radius for Impact Pile Driving NA 1,000 m 235 m 95 m 

* Hydroacoustic measurements for received level at 120 dB re 1 μPa rms from vibratory pile driving were collected on December 9 and 11, 

2008. 

** Hydroacoustic measurements for received levels at 160, 180, and 190 dB re 1 μPa rms from vibratory pile driving were collected on October 

23, 2008. 


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41686 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 158 / Tuesday, August 18, 2009 / Notices 

Comments and Responses 

A notice of receipt and request for 

public comment on the application and 

proposed authorization was published 

on July 3, 2008 (73 FR 38180). During 

the 30 ay public comment period, the 

Marine Mammal Commission 

(Commission) provided the only 

comment. 

Comment: The Commission states that 

it recommends that NMFS grant the 

applicant request, provided that the 

monitoring and mitigation activities 

described in the NMFS previous 

Federal Register notices are carried out 

as described. 

Response: NMFS agrees with the 

Commission recommendation, and all 

monitoring and mitigation measured 

described in the previous Federal 

Register notice (73 FR 38180; July 3, 

2008) are required in the current IHA. 

Description of the Marine Mammals 

Potentially Affected by the Activity 

General information on the marine 

mammal species found in California 

waters can be found in Caretta et al. 

(2007), which is available at the 

following URL: http:// 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/sars/ 

po2007.pdf. Refer to that document for 

information on these species. 

The marine mammals most likely to 

be found in the SF-OBB area are the 

California sea lion, Pacific harbor seal, 

and harbor porpoise. From December 

through May gray whales may also be 

present in the SF-OBB area. Information 

on California sea lion, harbor seal, and 

gray whale was provided in the 

November 14, 2003 (68 FR 64595), 

Federal Register notice; information on 

harbor porpoise was provided in the 

January 26, 2006 (71 FR 4352), Federal 

Register notice. 

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals 

and Their Habitat 

CALTRANS and NMFS have 

determined that open-water pile 

driving, as outlined in the project 

description, has the potential to result 

in behavioral harassment of California 

sea lions, Pacific harbor seals, harbor 

porpoises, and gray whales that may be 

swimming, foraging, or resting in the 

project vicinity while pile driving is 

being conducted. Pile driving could 

potentially harass those few pinnipeds 

that are in the water close to the project 

site, whether their heads are above or 

below the surface. 

Based on airborne noise levels 

measured and on-site monitoring 

conducted during 2004 under the 

previous IHAs, noise levels from the 

East Span project did not result in the 

harassment of harbor seals hauled out 

on Yerba Buena Island (YBI). Also, 

noise levels from the East Span project 

are not expected to result in harassment 

of the sea lions hauled out at Pier 39, 

as airborne and waterborne sound 

pressure levels (SPLs) would attenuate 

to levels below where harassment 

would be expected by the time they 

reach that haul-out site, 5.7 km (3.5 

miles) from the project site. Therefore, 

no pinniped hauled out would be 

affected as a result of the proposed piledriving. A detailed description of the 

acoustic measurements is provided in 

the 2004 CALTRANS marine mammal 

and acoustic monitoring report for the 

same activity (CALTRANS 2005). With 

the modification of the proposed 

construction activities involving smaller 

piles, NMFS believes that the in-air 

noise would only become less intense, 

therefore, no pinniped hauled out 

would be affected. 

In contrary to impact pile driving, 

which the striking hammers produce 

intense bangs with rapid raise of 

acoustic energy within extremely short 

pulse duration, noises generated by 

vibratory pile driving have lower 

instantaneous SPL but longer duration 

(HDR Alaska et al., 2006). 

However, since the transient sound 

produced by vibratory pile driving has 

longer duration then impact pile driving 

pulses, it is arguable that a single batch 

of vibratory pile driving noise could 

contain more acoustic energy than a 

single impact hammer pulse in terms of 

sound exposure levels (SEL). To 

mitigate the low level behavioral impact 

from this prolonged transient noise, 

currently NMFS uses the received level 

of 120 dB re 1 μPa rms as the onset of 

behavioral harassment for marine 

mammals from vibratory pile driving 

noise. In comparison, NMFS uses the 

received level of 160 dB re 1 μPa rms 

as the onset of behavioral harassment 

for marine mammals from the much 

shorter impulse, or noise from impact 

pile driving. 

Since the modified proposed SF-OBB 

construction project would be installing 

smaller temporary piles with no air 

bubble curtain, and since the pile 

driving activities would be performed 

by using both impact and vibratory 

hammers, NMFS conducted an 

comparison of isopleths from large 

foundation pile driving activities using 

an air bubble curtain system (Table 2) 

with the current testing pile driving 

without an air bubble curtain by both 

impact and vibratory pile driving (Table 

1). The acoustic data used from the 

foundation pile driving were provided 

by CALTRANS (CALTRANS, 2005). The 

comparison shows that the radius for 

the zone of influence (ZOI) for Level B 

behavioral harassment, as defined by 

marine mammals exposed to received 

SPL (impulse) of 160 dB re 1 μPa rms, 

for the previous larger pile driving 

activities using air bubble curtain was 

about 2,000 m. This distance is 

approximately the same as the radius for 

the proposed vibratory pile driving for 

the smaller temporary piles at received 

SPL of 120 dB re 1 μPa rms, a level 

thought may cause Level B behavioral 

harassment to marine mammals by 

vibratory pile driving. Therefore, NMFS 

concludes that the potential impacts to 

marine mammals from the proposed SFOBB construction project involving 

installation of smaller temporary piles 

using both impact and vibratory 

hammers without deployment of an air 

bubble curtain system are the same as 

the previous construction activities of 

installation larger foundation piles 

using impact hammers and air bubble 

curtain system as a mitigation measure. 

TABLE 2. SUMMARY OF HYDROACOUSTIC MEASUREMENTS REPORTED AS DB RE 1 μPA – PIER E3W MARINE MAMMAL

HYDROACOUSTIC CHARACTERIZATION, 10/13/2004 (ADOPTED FROM CALTRANS, 2005) 

Position Water Depth 

South Pile 

Hammer: Menck 1,700 

North Pile 

Hammer: Menck 1,700 

RMS impulse Peak RMS impulse Peak 

50m West (made by Caltrans)* -- 177 186 

100m West* ∼12–14m 175 185 173 182 

100m North ∼12m 174 183 


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TABLE 2. SUMMARY OF HYDROACOUSTIC MEASUREMENTS REPORTED AS DB RE 1 μPA – PIER E3W MARINE MAMMAL

HYDROACOUSTIC CHARACTERIZATION, 10/13/2004 (ADOPTED FROM CALTRANS, 2005)—Continued 

Position Water Depth 

South Pile 

Hammer: Menck 1,700 

North Pile 

Hammer: Menck 1,700 

RMS impulse Peak RMS impulse Peak 

100m South** ∼12m 174 182 

500m West ∼8m 174 182 

500m South ∼10m 167 177 177 188 

1000m North 14 m 169 178 

1000m South ∼10m 169 176 

2000m North 11 m 162 169 

2000m South ∼10m <140 <150 

4400m North >12m <130 <150 

4400m South >12 m <130 <150 

* Continuous measurement. All others are spot measurements of at least 5 minutes in duration. 

** Many obstructions including Pier E3E. 

For reasons provided in greater detail 

in NMFS November 14, 2003 (68 FR 

64595) Federal Register notice and in 

CALTRANS June 2004, January 2005 

annual monitoring reports, and marine 

mammal observation memoranda 

between February and September, 2006, 

the proposed construction would result 

in harassment of only small numbers of 

harbor seals and would not result in 

more than a negligible impact on marine 

mammal stocks and their habitat. This 

was achieved by implementing a variety 

of monitoring and mitigation measures 

including marine mammal monitoring 

before and during pile driving, 

establishing safety zones, ramping up 

pile driving, and deploying air bubble 

curtain to attenuate underwater pile 

driving sound. However, with no air 

bubble curtain being deployed for the 

proposed pile driving of smaller 

temporary piles, additional cautions 

must be exercised to ensure that no 

marine mammals will be taken by Level 

A (i.e., injury) harassment. Based on the 

pinniped distribution within the 

proposed project area and prior 

monitoring reports, NMFS estimates 

that up to 5 harbor seals and 5 

California sea lions could be taken by 

Level B behavioral harassment as a 

result of the proposed temporary pile 

driving project. 

Short-term impacts to habitat may 

include minimal disturbance of the 

sediment where the channels are 

dredged for barge access and where 

individual bridge piers are constructed. 

Long-term impacts to marine mammal 

habitat will be limited to the footprint 

of the piles and the obstruction they 

will create following installation. 

However, this impact is not considered 

significant as the marine mammals can 

easily swim around the piles of the new 

bridge, as they currently swim around 

the existing bridge piers. 

Mitigation Measures 

For the issuance of the IHA for the 

planned 2008 2009 SF-OBB planned 

construction activities to reduce adverse 

impacts to marine mammals to the 

lowest extent practicable, NMFS 

requires the following mitigation 

measures to be implemented. 

Establishment of Safety/Buffer Zones 

CALTRANS indicated that for the 

planned 2008 2009 SF-OBB 

construction pile driving activities, an 

air bubble curtain cannot be deployed 

due to the complexity of the driving 

frame. Therefore, proposed shutdown 

safety zones corresponding to where a 

marine mammal could be injured would 

be established based on empirical field 

measurements of pile driving sound 

levels. 

These safety zones shall include all 

areas where the underwater SPLs are 

anticipated to equal or exceed 190 dB re 

1 microPa rms (impulse) for pinnipeds 

and 180 dB re 1 microPa rms (impulse) 

for gray whales and harbor porpoises, 

and be monitored at all times when pile 

driving is underway. No additional 

safety zone will be established for 

vibratory pile driving since the 

measured source levels will not exceed 

the 180 and 190 dB re 1 microPa. 

Observers on boats shall survey the 

safety zone to ensure that no marine 

mammals are seen within the zone 

before pile driving of a pile segment 

begins. If marine mammals are found 

within the safety zone, pile driving of 

the segment shall be delayed until they 

move out of the area. If a marine 

mammal is seen above water and then 

dives below, the contractor shall wait 15 

minutes and if no marine mammals are 

seen by the observer in that time it will 

be assumed that the animal has moved 

beyond the safety zone. This 15–minute 

criterion is based on scientific evidence 

that harbor seals in San Francisco Bay 

dive for a mean time of 0.50 minutes to 

3.33 minutes (Harvey and Torok, 1994), 

and the mean diving duration for harbor 

porpoises ranges from 44 to 103 seconds 

(Westgate et al., 1995). However, due to 

the limitations of monitoring from a 

boat, there can be no assurance that the 

zone will be devoid of all marine 

mammals at all times. 

Once the pile driving of a segment 

begins it cannot be stopped until that 

segment has reached its predetermined 

depth due to the nature of the sediments 

underlying the Bay. If pile driving stops 

and then resumes, it would potentially 

have to occur for a longer time and at 

increased energy levels. In sum, this 

would simply amplify impacts to 

marine mammals, as they would endure 

potentially higher SPLs for longer 

periods of time. Pile segment lengths 

and wall thickness have been specially 

designed so that when work is stopped 

between segments (but not during a 

single segment), the pile tip is never 


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resting in highly resistant sediment 

layers. Therefore, because of this 

operational situation, if seals, sea lions, 

or harbor porpoises enter the safety zone 

after pile driving of a segment has 

begun, pile driving will continue and 

marine mammal observers will monitor 

and record marine mammal numbers 

and behavior. However, if pile driving 

of a segment ceases for 30 minutes or 

more and a marine mammal is sighted 

within the designated safety zone prior 

to commencement of pile driving, the 

observer(s) must notify the Resident 

Engineer (or other authorized 

individual) immediately and follow the 

mitigation requirements as outlined 

previously in this document. 

Soft Start 

It should be recognized that although 

marine mammals will be protected from 

Level A harassment (i.e., injury) through 

marine mammal observers monitoring a 

190–dB safety zone for pinnipeds and 

180–dB safety zone for cetaceans, 

mitigation may not be 100 percent 

effective at all times in locating marine 

mammals. Therefore, in order to provide 

additional protection to marine 

mammals near the project area by 

allowing marine mammals to vacate the 

area prior to receiving a potential injury, 

CALTRANS shall also oft start the 

hammer prior to operating at full 

capacity. CALTRANS typically 

implements a oft start with several 

initial hammer strikes at less than full 

capacity (i.e., approximately 40–60 

percent energy levels) with no less than 

a 1 minute interval between each strike. 

Similar levels of noise reduction are 

expected underwater. Therefore, the 

contractor shall initiate pile driving 

hammers with this procedure in order to 

allow pinnipeds or cetaceans in the area 

to voluntarily move from the area. This 

should expose fewer animals to loud 

sounds both underwater and above 

water noise. This would also ensure 

that, although not expected, any 

pinnipeds and cetaceans that are missed 

during safety zone monitoring will not 

be injured. 

Compliance with Equipment Noise 

Standards 

To mitigate noise levels and, 

therefore, impacts to California sea 

lions, Pacific harbor seals, harbor 

porpoises, and gray whales, all 

construction equipment shall comply as 

much as possible with applicable 

equipment noise standards of the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, and 

all construction equipment shall have 

noise control devices no less effective 

than those provided on the original 

equipment. 

Monitoring 

The following monitoring measures 

are required for the proposed SF-OBB 

construction activities. 

Visual Observations 

Safety zone monitoring shall be 

conducted during driving of all openwater piles without cofferdams and with 

cofferdams when underwater SPLs 

reach 190 dB RMS or greater. 

Monitoring of the pinniped and 

cetacean safety zones shall be 

conducted by a minimum of three 

qualified NMFS-approved observers for 

each safety zone. One three-observer 

team shall be required for the safety 

zones around each pile driving site, so 

that multiple teams shall be required if 

pile driving is occurring at multiple 

locations at the same time. The 

observers shall begin monitoring at least 

30 minutes prior to startup of the pile 

driving. Most likely observers will 

conduct the monitoring from small 

boats, as observations from a higher 

vantage point (such as the SF-OBB) are 

not practical. Pile driving shall not 

begin until the safety zones are clear of 

marine mammals. However, as 

described in the Mitigation section, 

once pile driving of a segment begins, 

operations will continue uninterrupted 

until the segment has reached its 

predetermined depth. However, if pile 

driving of a segment ceases for 30 

minutes or more and a marine mammal 

is sighted within the designated safety 

zone prior to commencement of pile 

driving, the observer(s) must notify the 

Resident Engineer (or other authorized 

individual) immediately and follow the 

mitigation requirements as outlined 

previously (see Mitigation). Monitoring 

shall continue through the pile driving 

period and shall end approximately 30 

minutes after pile driving has been 

completed. Biological observations shall 

be made using binoculars during 

daylight hours. 

In addition to monitoring from boats, 

during open-water pile driving, 

monitoring at one control site (i.e., 

harbor seal haul-out sites and the waters 

surrounding such sites not impacted by 

the East Span Project’s pile driving 

activities, e.g., Mowry Slough) shall be 

designated and monitored for 

comparison. Monitoring shall be 

conducted twice a week at the control 

site whenever open-water pile driving is 

being conducted. Data on all 

observations shall be recorded and shall 

include items such as species, numbers, 

behavior, details of any observed 

disturbances, time of observation, 

location, and weather. The reactions of 

marine mammals shall be recorded 

based on the following classifications 

that are consistent with the Richmond 

Bridge Harbor Seal survey methodology 

(for information on the Richmond 

Bridge authorization, see 68 FR 66076, 

November 25, 2003): (1) No response, 

(2) head alert (looks toward the source 

of disturbance), (3) approach water (but 

not leave), and (4) flush (leaves haul-out 

site). The number of marine mammals 

under each disturbance reaction shall be 

recorded, as well as the time when seals 

re-haul after a flush. 

Acoustical Observations 

Airborne noise level measurements 

have been completed and underwater 

environmental noise levels will 

continue to be measured as part of the 

East Span Project. The purpose of the 

underwater sound monitoring is to 

establish the safety zone of 190 dB re 1 

micro-Pa RMS (impulse) for pinnipeds 

and the safety zone of 180 dB re 1 

micro-Pa RMS (impulse) for cetaceans. 

Monitoring will be conducted during 

the driving of the last half (deepest pile 

segment) for any given open-water pile. 

One pile in every other pair of pier 

groups will be monitored. One reference 

location will be established at a distance 

of 100 m (328 ft) from the pile driving. 

Sound measurements will be taken at 

the reference location at two depths (a 

depth near the mid-water column and a 

depth near the bottom of the water 

column but at least 1 m (3 ft) above the 

bottom) during the driving of the last 

half (deepest pile segment) for any given 

pile. Two additional in-water spot 

measurements will be conducted at 

appropriate depths (near mid water 

column), generally 500 m (1,640 ft) in 

two directions either west, east, south or 

north of the pile driving site will be 

conducted at the same two depths as the 

reference location measurements. In 

cases where such measurements cannot 

be obtained due to obstruction by land 

mass, structures or navigational hazards, 

measurements will be conducted at 

alternate spot measurement locations. 

Measurements will be made at other 

locations either nearer or farther as 

necessary to establish the approximate 

distance for the safety zones. Each 

measuring system shall consist of a 

hydrophone with an appropriate signal 

conditioning connected to a sound level 

meter and an instrument grade digital 

audiotape recorder (DAT). Overall SPLs 

shall be measured and reported in the 

field in dB re 1 micro-Pa rms (impulse). 

An infrared range finder will be used to 

determine distance from the monitoring 

location to the pile. The recorded data 

will be analyzed to determine the 

amplitude, time history and frequency 

content of the impulse. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 158 / Tuesday, August 18, 2009 / Notices 41689 

Reporting 

Under previous IHAs, CALTRANS 

submitted weekly marine mammal 

monitoring reports for the time when 

pile driving was commenced. In August 

2006, CALTRANS submitted its 

Hydroacoustic Measurement at Piers T1 

and E2 report. This report is available 

by contacting NMFS (see ADDRESSES) or 

on the Web at http://biomitigation.org. 

Under the proposed IHA, 

coordination with NMFS will occur on 

a weekly basis. During periods with 

open-water pile driving activity, weekly 

monitoring reports will be made 

available to NMFS and the public at 

http://biomitigation.org. These weekly 

reports will include a summary of the 

previous week monitoring activities and 

an estimate of the number of seals and 

sea lions that may have been disturbed 

as a result of pile driving activities. 

In addition, CALTRANS will to 

provide NMFS’ Southwest Regional 

Administrator with a draft final report 

within 90 days after completion of the 

westbound Skyway contract and 90 

days after completion of the Suspension 

Span foundations contract. This report 

should detail the monitoring protocol, 

summarize the data recorded during 

monitoring, and estimate the number of 

marine mammals that may have been 

harassed due to pile driving. If no 

comments are received from NMFS 

Southwest Regional Administrator 

within 30 days, the draft final report 

will be considered the final report. If 

comments are received, a final report 

must be submitted within 30 days after 

receipt of comments. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) 

NMFS prepared an Environmental 

Assessment (EA) for the take of marine 

mammals incidental to construction of 

the East Span of the SF-OBB and made 

a Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI) on November 4, 2003. Due to 

the modification of part of the 

construction project and the mitigation 

measures, NMFS reviewed additional 

information from CALTRANS regarding 

empirical measurements of pile driving 

noises for the smaller temporary piles 

without an air bubble curtain system 

and the use of vibratory pile driving. 

NMFS prepared a Supplemental 

Environmental Assessment (SEA) and 

analyzed the potential impacts to 

marine mammals that would result from 

the modification of the action. A 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI) was signed on August 5, 2009. 

A copy of the SEA and FONSI is 

available upon request (see ADDRESSES). 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

On October 30, 2001, NMFS 

completed consultation under section 7 

of the ESA with the Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA) on the 

CALTRANS’ construction of a 

replacement bridge for the East Span of 

the SF-OBB in California. Anadromous 

salmonids are the only listed species 

which may be affected by the project. 

The finding contained in the Biological 

Opinion was that the proposed action at 

the East Span of the SF-OBB is not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of listed anadromous 

salmonids, or result in the destruction 

or adverse modification of designated 

critical habitat for these species. Listed 

marine mammals are not expected to be 

in the area of the action and thus would 

not be affected. 

NMFS proposed issuance of an IHA to 

CALTRANS constitutes an agency 

action that authorizes an activity that 

may affect ESA-listed species and, 

therefore, is subject to section 7 of the 

ESA. The effects of the activities on 

listed salmonids were analyzed during 

consultation between the FHWA and 

NMFS, and the underlying action has 

not changed from that considered in the 

consultation. Therefore, the effects 

discussion contained in the Biological 

Opinion issued to the FHWA on 

October 30, 2001, pertains also to this 

action. NMFS has determined that 

issuance of an IHA for this activity does 

not lead to any effects on listed species 

apart from those that were considered in 

the consultation on FHWA’s action. 

Determinations 

For the reasons discussed in this 

document and in previously identified 

supporting documents, NMFS has 

preliminarily determined that the 

impact of pile driving and other 

activities associated with construction 

of the East Span Project should result, 

at worst, in the Level B harassment of 

small numbers of California sea lions, 

Pacific harbor seals, harbor porpoises, 

and potentially gray whales that inhabit 

or visit SFB in general and the vicinity 

of the SF-OBB in particular. While 

behavioral modifications, including 

temporarily vacating the area around the 

construction site, may be made by these 

species to avoid the resultant visual and 

acoustic disturbance, the availability of 

alternate areas within SFB and haul-out 

sites (including pupping sites) and 

feeding areas within the Bay has led 

NMFS to determine that this action will 

have a negligible impact on California 

sea lion, Pacific harbor seal, harbor 

porpoises, and gray whale populations 

along the California coast. 

In addition, no take by Level A 

harassment (injury) or death is 

anticipated and harassment takes 

should be at the lowest level practicable 

due to incorporation of the mitigation 

measures mentioned previously in this 

document. The activity will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on 

subsistence uses of marine mammals 

described in MMPA section 

101(a)(5)(D)(i)(II). 

Authorization 

NMFS has issued an IHA to 

CALTRANS for the potential 

harassment of small numbers of harbor 

seals, California sea lions, harbor 

porpoises, and gray whales incidental to 

construction of a replacement bridge for 

the East Span of the San FrancisoOakland Bay Bridge in California, 

provided the previously mentioned 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements are incorporated. 

Dated: August 12, 2009. 

James H. Lecky, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–19771 Filed 8–17–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

COURT SERVICES AND OFFENDER 

SUPERVISION AGENCY 

Privacy Act of 1974; System of 

Records; Notice 

AGENCY: Court Services and Offender 

Supervision Agency. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Authority: The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 

U.S.C. 552a) and Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Circular No. A–130. 

SUMMARY: CSOSA is proposing to 

establish blanket routine uses in order 

to: (1) Better meet our agency mission, 

particularly to increase public safety, 

prevent crime, and reduce recidivism by 

enhancing information sharing with our 

law enforcement partners; and (2) lessen 

the administrative burden on CSOSA by 

reducing the number of single requests 

for information from our law 

enforcement partners. 

Unless indicated otherwise by another 

public notice, these blanket routine uses 

will apply to following CSOSA systems 

of records: 

CSOSA–9 Supervision Offender Case File 

CSOSA–11 Supervision & Management 

Automated Record Tracking 

DATES: CSOSA must forward this Notice 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) ten (10) days before CSOSA 

submits the Notice to the Federal 

Register. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES