Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 174 / Monday, September 11, 2023 / Notices 62337 

considered untimely for submissions 

which are due from multiple parties 

simultaneously. In such a case, 

Commerce will inform parties in the 

letter or memorandum setting forth the 

deadline (including a specified time) by 

which extension requests must be filed 

to be considered timely. This policy also 

requires that an extension request must 

be made in a separate, stand-alone 

submission, and clarifies the 

circumstances under which Commerce 

will grant untimely-filed requests for the 

extension of time limits. Please review 

the Final Rule, available at https://

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/ 

html/2013-22853.htm, prior to 

submitting factual information in these 

segments. 

These initiations and this notice are 

in accordance with section 751(a) of the 

Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)) and 19 CFR 

351.221(c)(1)(i). 

Dated: September 5, 2023. 

James Maeder, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping 

and Countervailing Duty Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19528 Filed 9–8–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD248] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Marine Site 

Characterization Surveys in the Area of 

Commercial Lease of Submerged 

Lands for Renewable Energy 

Development on the Outer Continental 

Shelf Lease Areas OCS–A 0486, 0487, 

and 0500 

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 received a request from 

Orsted Wind Power North America LLC 

(Orsted) for the renewal of their 2022 

incidental harassment authorization 

(IHA) (hereinafter, the 2022 IHA is 

referred to as the ‘‘initial IHA’’ and the 

requested IHA is referred to as the 

‘‘Renewal IHA’’) to take marine 

mammals incidental to marine site 

characterization surveys, using highresolution geophysical (HRG) 

equipment, in coastal waters from New 

York to Massachusetts, including the 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

(BOEM) Commercial Lease of 

Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy 

Development on the Outer Continental 

Shelf (OCS) Lease Areas OCS–A 0486, 

0487, 0500 and along potential export 

cable routes (ECR). The activities are 

identical to those covered under the 

initial IHA, which expires on October 5, 

2023. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (MMPA), prior to issuing 

the initial 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. If issued, the renewal 

IHA would be effective from the date of 

issuance. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than September 26, 

2023. 

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.Lock@

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. 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. Electronic copies 

of the application and supporting 

documents, as well as a list of the 

references cited in this document, may 

be obtained online at: 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-constructionactivities. In case of problems accessing 

these documents, please call the contact 

listed below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karolyn Lock, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

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 promulgated or, if the 

taking is limited to harassment, an 

incidental harassment authorization is 

issued. 

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). 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’’). NMFS must 

also prescribe requirements pertaining 

to monitoring and reporting of such 

takings. The definitions of key terms 

such as ‘‘take,’’ ‘‘harassment,’’ and 

‘‘negligible impact’’ can be found in the 

MMPA and NMFS implementing 

regulations (see 16 U.S.C. 1362; 50 CFR 

216.3; 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 

IHA, 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 1-time 

1-year renewal of an 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 Detailed Description of 

Specified Activities section of the initial 

IHA issuance notice is planned, or (2) 

the activities as described in the 

Description of the Specified Activities 

and Anticipated Impacts section of the 


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62338 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 174 / Monday, September 11, 2023 / Notices 

initial IHA issuance notice would not be 

completed by the time the initial IHA 

expires and a renewal would allow for 

completion of the activities beyond that 

described in the DATES section of the 

notice of issuance of the initial IHA, 

provided all of the following conditions 

are met: 

1. A request for renewal is received no 

later than 60 days prior to the needed 

renewal of the initial IHA effective date 

(recognizing that the renewal’s 

expiration date cannot extend beyond 1 

year from expiration of the initial IHA); 

2. The request for renewal must 

include the following: 

• An explanation that the activities to 

be conducted under the requested 

renewal 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 

• 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; 

and 

3. 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 

This action is consistent with 

categories of activities identified in 

Categorical Exclusion B4 (incidental 

take authorizations with no anticipated 

serious injury or mortality) of the 

Companion Manual for NOAA 

Administrative Order 216–6A, which do 

not individually or cumulatively have 

the potential for significant impacts on 

the quality of the human environment 

and for which we have not identified 

any extraordinary circumstances that 

would preclude this categorical 

exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS 

determined that the issuance of the 

initial IHA qualified to be categorically 

excluded from further NEPA review. 

NMFS has preliminarily determined 

that the application of this categorical 

exclusion remains appropriate for this 

Renewal IHA. 

Summary of Request 

On October 6, 2022, NMFS issued an 

IHA to Orsted to take small numbers of 

marine mammals incidental to marine 

site characterization surveys in Federal 

and state waters located in Lease Areas 

OCS–A 0486, 0487, 0500 off the coasts 

from New York to Massachusetts and 

along potential ECRs to landfall 

locations between Raritan Bay (part of 

the New York Bight) and Falmouth, 

Massachusetts. On May 26, 2023, NMFS 

received a request for a renewal of that 

initial IHA because Orsted’s marine site 

characterization surveys under the 

initial IHA had not yet occurred and 

more time is required. As described in 

the application for the Renewal IHA, the 

activities for which incidental take is 

requested are identical to those covered 

by the initial IHA. However, Orsted 

decreased the number of survey days 

from 400 to 390 based on the 

assumption that subsidiaries of Orsted 

will have separate incidental take 

authorizations for marine site 

characterization surveys in Lease Areas 

OCS–A 0486 (Revolution Wind; 88 FR 

8996, February 10, 2023) and OCS–A 

0487 (Sunrise Wind; 87 FR 79072, 

January 19, 2023) during the proposed 

effective period of the Renewal IHA. 

NMFS is proposing to authorize 

incidental take through this proposed 

Renewal IHA assuming 400 survey days 

will be necessary as NMFS has not 

promulgated final rules for Revolution 

Wind and Sunrise Wind. 

As no work has commenced under the 

initial IHA, Orsted cannot provide a 

preliminary monitoring report. 

However, if work occurs before the 

effective date of the proposed Renewal 

IHA, a preliminary monitoring report 

would be required and be made 

available on NMFS’ website (available at 

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

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

incidental-take-authorizations-otherenergy-activities-renewable) and would 

detail any implemented mitigation and 

monitoring and show that no impacts of 

a scale or nature not previously 

analyzed or authorized have occurred as 

a result of the activities conducted. 

Orsted has complied with all the 

requirements (e.g., mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting) of the 

previous IHAs in Lease Areas OCS–A 

0486, 0487, and 0500 (84 FR 52464, 

October 2, 2019; 85 FR 63508, October 

8, 2020; 87 FR 13975, March 11, 2022). 

On August 1, 2022, NMFS announced 

proposed changes to the existing North 

Atlantic right whale vessel speed 

regulations to further reduce the 

likelihood of mortalities and serious 

injuries to endangered North Atlantic 

right whales from vessel collisions, 

which are a leading cause of the species’ 

decline and a primary factor in an 

ongoing Unusual Mortality Event (87 FR 

46921). Should a final vessel speed rule 

be issued and become effective during 

the effective period of this proposed 

Renewal IHA (or any other MMPA 

incidental take authorization), the 

authorization holder would be required 

to comply with any and all applicable 

requirements contained within the final 

rule. Specifically, where measures in 

any final vessel speed rule are more 

protective or restrictive than those in 

this or any other MMPA authorization, 

authorization holders would be required 

to comply with the requirements of the 

rule. Alternatively, where measures in 

this or any other MMPA authorization 

are more restrictive or protective than 

those in any final vessel speed rule, the 

measures in the MMPA authorization 

would remain in place. These changes 

would become effective immediately 

upon the effective date of any final 

vessel speed rule and would not require 

any further action on NMFS’s part. 

Description of the Specified Activities 

and Anticipated Impacts 

Orsted plans to conduct marine site 

characterization surveys, specifically 

HRG surveys, in the Lease Areas OCS– 

A 0486, 0487, 0500 and ECR Area in 

Federal and state waters from New York 

to Massachusetts to support the 

characterization of the existing seabed 

and subsurface geological conditions, 

which is necessary for the development 

of an offshore electric transmission 

system. The project would use active 

acoustic sources, including some with 

potential to result in the incidental take 

of marine mammals by Level B 

harassment. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 174 / Monday, September 11, 2023 / Notices 62339 

This proposed Renewal IHA is 

identical to the initial IHA and 

conservatively assumes no work will 

occur for the remainder of the initial 

IHA. 

The Renewal IHA would authorize 

incidental take, by Level B harassment 

only (in the form of behavioral 

disturbance), of 16 species or stocks of 

marine mammals for identical marine 

site characterization survey activities to 

be completed in one year, in the same 

area, using survey methods identical to 

those described in the initial IHA 

application. Therefore, the anticipated 

effects on marine mammals and the 

affected stocks also remain the same. 

The amount of take, by Level B 

harassment, requested for the Renewal 

IHA is also identical to that authorized 

in the initial IHA. All mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting measures 

would remain exactly as described in 

the Federal Register notice of the issued 

initial IHA (87 FR 61575, October 12, 

2022). 

Detailed Description of the Activity 

A detailed description of the marine 

site characterization survey activities for 

which incidental take is proposed here 

may be found in the Federal Register 

notice of the proposed IHA (87 FR 

52515, August 26, 2022) for the initial 

authorization. The location and nature 

of the activities, including the types of 

equipment planned for use, are identical 

to those described in the previous 

notices. 

TABLE 1—NUMBER OF SURVEY DAYS

FOR EACH LEASE AREA AND ECR 1

Area 

IHA Total 

number of 

survey 

days 2

OCS–A–0486 ............................ 10 

OCA–A–0487 ............................ 10 

OCS–A–0500 ............................ 200 

ECR .......................................... 180 

Total .......................................... 400 

1 Up to three total survey vessels may be 

operating within both of the survey areas concurrently. Orsted estimated it would conduct 

surveys at a rate of 70 kilometers (km) per 

survey day. 2 NMFS proposes to authorize work for the 

same number of vessel days as described in 

the initial IHA. 

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 of 

the proposed IHA for the initial 

authorization (87 FR 52515, August 26, 

2022). NMFS has reviewed the recently 

finalized 2022 Stock Assessment 

Reports (SARs), which included updates 

to stock abundances since the initial 

IHA was issued, information on relevant 

Unusual Mortality Events, and other 

scientific literature. In August 2023, 

NMFS released its final 2022 SARs, 

which updated the population estimate 

(Nbest) of North Atlantic right whales 

from 368 to 338 and annual mortality 

and serious injury increased from 8.1 to 

31.2. This large increase in annual 

serious injury/mortality is a result of 

NMFS including undetected annual 

mortality and serious injury in the total 

annual serious injury/mortality, which 

had not been previously included in the 

SARs. The population estimate is 

slightly lower than the North Atlantic 

Right Whale Consortium’s 2022 Report 

Card, which identifies the population 

estimate as 340 individuals (Pettis et al., 

2023). NMFS has determined that 

neither this nor any other new 

information affects which species or 

stocks have the potential to be affected 

or any other 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 of the proposed IHA for 

the initial authorization proposed (87 

FR 52515, August 26, 2022). NMFS has 

reviewed information on relevant 

Unusual Mortality Events, the 2022 

SARs, and other scientific literature and 

data, and preliminarily determined that 

there is no new information that 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 

notices of the proposed (87 FR 52515, 

August 26, 2022) and issued (87 FR 

61575; October 12, 2022) IHAs for the 

initial authorization. Specifically, the 

acoustic sources and levels, survey 

days, and marine mammal density 

applicable to this authorization remain 

unchanged from the initial IHA. 

Similarly, the stocks taken, methods of 

take and type of take (i.e., Level B 

harassment in the form of behavioral 

disturbance) remain unchanged from 

the initial IHA. 

As was done in the initial IHA, Orsted 

requested a deviation from the 

calculated take for some species given to 

account for group size or observations 

during surveys in the surrounding area. 

Other than in the instances described 

below, Orsted’s requested take matches 

their initial IHA. Orsted’s Renewal IHA 

request references new data sources to 

inform group sizes for humpback whale 

(collected under the Northeast Projects 

IHA (87 FR 13975, March 11, 2022)), 

minke whale (Kenney and VignessRaposa, 2010); and Risso’s dolphin 

(Barkaszi and Kelly, 2019). When these 

group size data were considered, the 

takes requested by Orsted for these 

species in their application were equal 

to or less than that authorized under the 

initial IHA. However, NMFS proposes to 

authorize the same number of incidental 

takes for all species as the initial IHA as 

the activities are identical and NMFS 

considers the data sources used in the 

initial IHA the best scientific 

information available. 

During consideration of this Renewal 

IHA request, a typographical error in the 

proposed and notice of issuance Federal 

Register publications was identified that 

stated 17 pilot whales were authorized 

for take when 52 were requested and 

authorized within the IHA (as stated in 

the initial IHA application and issued 

IHA). The number of takes included in 

the Renewal IHA application and within 

this proposed Renewal IHA is 52, which 

equates to 0.13 percent of the 

population abundance. Lastly, the stock 

abundance amounts used for the initial 

IHA were from the 2021 SARs (Hayes et 

al., 2022), the most recent available at 

the time of publication; the abundance 

amounts used for this proposed 

Renewal IHA are the final 2022 SARs 

(Hayes et al., 2023). 


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TABLE 2—INITIAL IHA TAKE AUTHORIZED AND RENEWAL IHA PROPOSED TAKE BY LEVEL B HARASSMENT 1

Species Population 

abundance 2

Take 

authorized 

initial IHA 

Requested 

proposed 

take 

renewal IHA 

NMFS 

proposed 

take 

renewal 

IHA3

Percent of 

population 

for 

renewal IHA 

North Atlantic right whale 4 ...................................................................... 338 17 16 17 5.03 

Humpback whale ..................................................................................... 1,396 34 19 34 2.44 

Fin whale ................................................................................................. 6,802 14 14 14 0.21 

Sei whale ................................................................................................. 6,292 3 3 3 0.05 

Minke whale ............................................................................................. 21,968 13 9 13 0.06 

Sperm whale ............................................................................................ 4,349 2 2 2 0.05 

Long-finned Pilot whale 5 ......................................................................... 39,215 52 52 52 0.13 

Bottlenose dolphin 6 ................................................................................. 62,851 139 139 139 0.22 

Common Dolphin ..................................................................................... 172,974 6,000 6,000 6,000 3.47 

Atlantic white-sided dolphin ..................................................................... 93,233 210 206 210 0.23 

Atlantic spotted dolphin ............................................................................ 39,921 29 29 29 0.07 

Risso’s dolphin ......................................................................................... 35,215 30 30 30 0.09 

Striped dolphin ......................................................................................... 67,036 20 20 20 0.03 

Harbor porpoise ....................................................................................... 95,543 287 279 287 0.30 

Gray seal ................................................................................................. 27,300 118 116 118 0.43 

Harbor seal .............................................................................................. 61,336 118 116 118 <0.01 

1 No take by Level A harassment is anticipated nor proposed to be authorized. 

2Final 2022 SARs (Hayes et al., 2023). At the time of the issuance of the initial IHA, the 2021 SARs were used as the best available science. 

This table utilizes the 2022 SARs abundance numbers. The only species where the abundance number changed between the initial IHA and this 

proposed renewal was the North Atlantic right whale. 3While Orsted adjusted their requested take numbers for some species based on 10 less survey days or by utilizing a different data source, 

NMFS proposes to authorize the same amount of take as the initial IHA; as previously described. 4The SARs stock abundance number at the time of issuance for the initial IHA was 368. The percent of population affected under the initial 

IHA was 4.62%. While the total number of proposed takes remains the same between the initial IHA and this proposed renewal, due to the decrease in the population abundance to 338 (2022 SARs), the percent of the population affected would increase slightly to 5.03%. 5While the original Federal Register publications for the initial IHA contained a typo of 17 takes by Level B harassment instead of the 52 requested and eventually authorized, the percent abundance affected provided in those publications was correct (0.13%) as that value had been 

correctly calculated using 52. Therefore, as the population abundance remains unchanged from the initial IHA, the correction in this proposed renewal notice of 17 to 52 does not change the percent of the population proposed to be affected (0.13%). 6Western North Atlantic, Offshore stock. 

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 (87 FR 61575; 

October 12, 2022), and the discussion of 

the least practicable adverse impact 

determination included in that 

document remains applicable and 

accurate. All mitigation, monitoring, 

and reporting measures in the initial 

IHA are identical this proposed Renewal 

IHA and summarized below. 

• Ramp-up: A ramp-up procedure 

would be used for geophysical survey 

equipment capable of adjusting energy 

levels at the start or re-start of survey 

activities; 

• Protected Species Observers: A 

minimum of one NMFS-approved 

Protected Species Observer (PSO) must 

be on duty and conducting visual 

observations at all times during daylight 

hours (i.e., from 30 minutes prior to 

sunrise through 30 minutes following 

sunset). Two PSOs will be on watch 

during nighttime operations; 

• Pre-Operation Clearance Protocols: 

Prior to initiating HRG survey activities, 

Orsted would implement a 30-minute 

pre-operation clearance period. If any 

marine mammals are detected within 

the Exclusion Zones prior to or during 

ramp-up, the HRG equipment would be 

shut down (as described below); 

• Shutdown Zones: If an HRG source 

is active and a marine mammal is 

observed within or entering a relevant 

shutdown zone, an immediate 

shutdown of the HRG survey equipment 

would be required. Note this shutdown 

requirement would be waived for 

certain genera of small delphinids and 

pinnipeds; 

• Vessel strike avoidance measures: 

Separation distances for large whales 

(500 m North Atlantic right whales and 

other ESA-listed marine mammals; 100 

m for all other non-ESA listed baleen 

whales; 50 m all other marine 

mammals); restricted vessel speeds and 

operational maneuvers; and 

• Reporting: Orsted will submit a 

marine mammal report within 90 days 

following completion of the surveys. 

Comments and Responses 

As noted previously, NMFS published 

a notice of a proposed IHA (87 FR 

52515, August 26, 2022), and solicited 

public comments on both our proposal 

to issue the initial IHA for marine site 

characterization surveys 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 (87 FR 61575; October 12, 2022) 

and none of the comments specifically 

pertained to the renewal of the initial 

IHA. 

Preliminary Determinations 

The survey activities proposed by 

Orsted are identical to those analyzed in 

the initial IHA, as are the method of 

taking and the effects of the action. The 

mitigation measures and monitoring and 

reporting requirements as described 

above are also identical to the initial 

IHA. The number of takes proposed is 

equal to that authorized in the initial 

IHA. The potential effect of the 

proposed activities remains limited to 

Level B harassment in the form of 

behavioral disturbance. In analyzing the 

effects of the activities in the initial 

IHA, NMFS determined that the 

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). 


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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. This includes 

consideration of the 2022 SAR 

estimated abundance of the North 

Atlantic right whale stock. Specifically, 

NMFS is proposing to authorize 17 takes 

of North Atlantic right whales by Level 

B harassment only, and the impacts 

resulting from the project’s activities are 

neither reasonably expected nor 

reasonably likely to adversely affect the 

stock through effects on annual rates of 

recruitment or survival. Additionally, 

approximately 5 percent of the stock 

abundance is proposed for take by Level 

B harassment. 

Based on the information and analysis 

contained here and in the referenced 

documents, including the consideration 

of the final 2022 SARs, 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) 

Orsted’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, in this 

case with the NMFS Greater Atlantic 

Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species. 

NMFS Office of Protected Resources 

has authorized the incidental take of 

four species of marine mammals which 

are listed under the ESA (the North 

Atlantic right, fin, sei, and sperm whale) 

and has determined that these activities 

fall within the scope of activities 

analyzed in GARFO’s programmatic 

consultation regarding geophysical 

surveys along the U.S. Atlantic coast in 

the three Atlantic Renewable Energy 

Regions (completed June 29, 2021; 

revised September 2021). The proposed 

Renewal IHA provides no new 

information about the effects of the 

action, nor does it change the extent of 

effects of the action, or any other basis 

to require reinitiation of consultation 

with NMFS GARFO; therefore, the ESA 

consultation has been satisfied for the 

initial IHA and remains valid for the 

Renewal IHA. 

Proposed Renewal IHA and Request for 

Public Comment 

As a result of these preliminary 

determinations, NMFS proposes to issue 

a renewal IHA to Orsted for conducting 

marine site characterization surveys off 

New York to Massachusetts (Lease 

Areas OCS–A 0486, 0487, and 0500), 

effective from October 6, 2023 through 

October 5, 2024, provided the 

previously described mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting requirements 

are incorporated. A draft of the 

proposed and initial IHA can be found 

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

permit/incidental-take-authorizationsunder-marine-mammal-protection-act. 

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: September 1, 2023. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19508 Filed 9–8–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD327] 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Take of Anadromous Fish 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of one incidental 

take permit application; availability of a 

draft environmental assessment; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

NMFS has received one Incidental Take 

Permit (ITP) application for the City of 

Santa Cruz’s Anadromous Salmonid 

Habitat Conservation Plan (ASHCP). 

The ASHCP has been submitted 

pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, 

as amended. NMFS has also prepared a 

draft environmental assessment (EA) 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) describing the 

potential effects of NMFS’ proposed 

issuance of the Permit associated with 

the submitted ASHCP. NMFS is 

furnishing this notice in order to allow 

other agencies, tribes, and the public an 

opportunity to review and comment on 

these documents. 

DATES: Written comments on the EA 

must be received at the appropriate 

address (see ADDRESSES) on or before 5 

p.m. Pacific standard time on October 

11, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by Santa 

Cruz Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: SantaCruzHCPNEPA.WCR@

noaa.gov. Include ‘‘Santa Cruz HCP’’ in 

the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

National Marine Fisheries Service, West 

Coast Region, Coastal California Office, 

777 Sonoma Avenue, Room 325, Santa 

Rosa, California 95404; Attn: William 

Stevens. 

• Fax: (707) 578–3435; Attn: William 

Stevens. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on https://www.regulations.gov 

without change. 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. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). When 

commenting, please refer to the specific 

page number and the subject of your 

comment. 

The documents subject to public 

comment are available on the internet 

at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/westcoast/laws-and-policies/west-coastregion-national-environmental-policyact-documents. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William Stevens, Santa Rosa, CA, (707) 

575–6066, William.Stevens@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

ESA-Listed Species Covered in This 

Notice 

Central California Coast (CCC) 

Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU) of 

coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1