68572 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Notices 

is retained, designated, appointed, or 

employed to perform temporary duties, 

with or without compensation, for not 

to exceed 130 days during any period of 

365 consecutive days, either on a fulltime or intermittent basis. After the 

membership selection process is 

complete, applicants who are selected to 

serve on the Committee must complete 

the following actions before they can be 

appointed as a Committee member: 

(a) Background Check (on-line 

Background Check process and 

fingerprinting conducted through 

NOAA Office of Human Capital 

Services); and 

(b) Confidential Financial Disclosure 

Report: As an SGE, one is required to 

file annually a Confidential Financial 

Disclosure Report to avoid involvement 

in a real or apparent conflict of interest. 

One may find the Confidential Financial 

Disclosure Report at the following 

website: http://www.usoge.gov/forms/ 

form_450.aspx. 

Privacy Act Statement 

Authority. The collection of 

information concerning nominations to 

the IOOS AC is authorized under the 

FACA, 5 U.S.C. app. and its 

implementing regulations, 41 CFR part 

102–3, and in accordance with the 

Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 

(Privacy Act) 5 U.S.C. 552a. 

Purpose. The collection of names, 

contact information, resumes, 

professional information, and 

qualifications is required in order for 

the Under Secretary to appoint members 

to the IOOS AC. 

Routine Uses. NOAA will use the 

nomination information for the purpose 

set forth above. The Privacy Act of 1974 

authorizes disclosure of the information 

collected to NOAA staff for work-related 

purposes and for other purposes only as 

set forth in the Privacy Act and for 

routine uses published in the Privacy 

Act System of Records Notice 

COMMERCE/DEPT–11, Candidates for 

Membership, Members, and Former 

Members of Department of Commerce 

Advisory Committees, available at 

https://www.osec.doc.gov/opog/ 

PrivacyAct/SORNs/dept-11.html, and 

the System of Records Notice 

COMMERCE/DEPT–18, Employees 

Personnel Files Not Covered by Notices 

of Other Agencies, available at https:// 

www.osec.doc.gov/opog/PrivacyAct/ 

SORNs/DEPT-18.html. 

Disclosure. Furnishing the 

nomination information is voluntary; 

however, if the information is not 

provided, the individual would not be 

considered for appointment as a 

member of the IOOS AC. 

Krisa M. Arzayus, 

Deputy Director, U.S. Integrated Ocean 

Observing System Office, National Ocean 

Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22090 Filed 10–3–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–JE–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD392] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Issuance of an Incidental Take 

Statement Under the Endangered 

Species Act for Salmon Fisheries in 

Southeast Alaska Subject to the 

Pacific Salmon Treaty 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), Alaska Regional Office 

(AKR), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement; 

request for written comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces its intent to 

prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS), in accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), to analyze the impacts of 

alternatives related to NMFS’s issuance 

of an incidental take statement (ITS) for 

species listed as threatened or 

endangered under the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA) affected by salmon 

fisheries in Southeast Alaska (SEAK) 

that are managed consistent with the 

provisions of the 2019 Pacific Salmon 

Treaty (PST) Agreement. Compliance 

with the ITS would exempt participants 

in these fisheries from the ESA’s 

prohibition on take of threatened and 

endangered species. This notice is 

necessary to inform the public of 

NMFS’s intent to prepare this EIS and 

to provide the public with an 

opportunity to provide input for 

NMFS’s consideration. 

DATES: NMFS requests comments 

concerning the scope of the analysis and 

identification of relevant information, 

studies, and analyses. All comments 

must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern 

Time on November 20, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2023–0115, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

NOAA–NMFS–2023–0115 in the Search 

box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Gretchen Harrington, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 

Susan Meyer. Mail comments to P.O. 

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668. 

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), 

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). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bridget Mansfield, (907) 586–7228, 

Bridget.Mansfield@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Pacific Salmon Treaty and SEAK 

Salmon Fishery Management 

The PST provides a framework for the 

management of salmon fisheries in the 

U.S. and Canada and regulates the 

salmon fisheries that occur in the ocean 

and inland waters of Oregon, 

Washington, British Columbia, the 

Yukon, and southeast Alaska, and the 

rivers that flow into these waters. The 

PST established fishing regimes that set 

upper limits on intercepting fisheries, 

defined as fisheries in one country that 

harvest salmon originating in another 

country, and sometimes include 

provisions that apply to the 

management of the Parties’ nonintercepting fisheries as well. The 

overall purpose of the regimes is to 

accomplish the conservation, 

production, and harvest allocation 

objectives set forth in the PST. These 

objectives are designed to prevent 

overfishing, provide for each country to 

benefit from production originating in 

its water, avoid undue disruption of 

existing fisheries, and reduce 

interceptions to the extent practicable. 

Each Party to the PST must 

implement the fisheries management 

framework domestically. Fisheries in 

both Federal and state waters off of 

SEAK are managed consistent with the 

2019 PST Agreement. For Federal 


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fisheries occurring in the Exclusive 

Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coast of 

SEAK, the U.S. does this through 

implementation of provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act and 

the Fishery Management Plan for the 

Salmon Fisheries in the EEZ off Alaska 

(FMP). The FMP, approved in 1979 (last 

amended in 2021), conserves and 

manages the Pacific salmon commercial 

and sport fisheries that occur in the U.S. 

EEZ off Alaska. The FMP establishes 

two management areas, the East Area 

and the West Area, with a border at 

Cape Suckling, and addresses 

commercial salmon fisheries in each 

area. In the East Area, the FMP delegates 

management of the commercial troll and 

sport salmon fisheries that occur in the 

EEZ to the State of Alaska and prohibits 

commercial salmon fishing with net 

gear in the EEZ. 

NMFS does not manage the salmon 

fisheries that occur in state waters. The 

State of Alaska Department of Fish and 

Game (ADF&G) manages salmon troll, 

net, and sport fisheries subject to the 

PST’s conservation, production, and 

harvest allocation objectives in state 

waters (internal waters and marine 

waters from shore to 3 nautical miles 

(approximately 6 kilometers) offshore) 

of SEAK. The SEAK commercial salmon 

fisheries occurring in state waters 

include troll, purse seine, drift gillnet, 

and set gillnet fisheries. The State’s 

management of commercial and sport 

salmon fisheries, including harvest 

monitoring, stock assessment, and 

transboundary river enhancement 

necessary to implement the 2019 PST 

Agreement, is partially funded through 

Federal grants dispersed by NOAA. 

ESA Consultation and Litigation 

History 

In response to the 2019 PST 

Agreement, NMFS consulted under 

section 7 of the ESA on three actions— 

• Delegation of management authority 

over salmon fisheries in the SEAK EEZ 

to the State of Alaska on the basis of 

new information regarding the effects of 

the action and the contemporary status 

of impacted ESA-listed species, 

• Federal funding through grants to 

the State of Alaska for the State’s 

management of commercial and sport 

salmon fisheries and transboundary 

river enhancement necessary to 

implement the 2019 PST Agreement, 

and 

• Federal funding of a conservation 

program to support critical Puget Sound 

Chinook stocks and Southern Resident 

Killer Whales (SRKW) related to the 

2019 PST Agreement, one component of 

which included funding of a prey 

increase program for Southern Resident 

Killer Whales (SRKW). 

In 2019, NMFS completed the 

consultation and issued the 2019 

Biological Opinion (BiOp) and ITS. In 

the BiOp, NMFS concluded that the 

actions were not likely to jeopardize the 

continued existence of any of the ESAlisted species and that the actions were 

not likely to destroy or adversely modify 

designated critical habitat for any of the 

listed species. NMFS also issued an ITS 

that exempted take of ESA-listed species 

incidental to the prosecution of the 

SEAK fisheries. 

In 2020, the Wild Fish Conservancy 

(WFC), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, 

filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court 

for the Western District of Washington 

challenging the 2019 BiOp (Wild Fish 

Conservancy v. Quan, No. 2:20–CV– 

417–RAJ–MLP (W.D. Wash.)). WFC 

alleged NMFS violated the ESA and 

NEPA. On August 8, 2022, the district 

court found that NMFS violated both 

the ESA and NEPA (Wild Fish 

Conservancy v. Quan, No. 2:20–CV– 

417–RAJ–MLP, 2021 WL 8445587 (W.D. 

Wash. Sept. 27, 2021), report and 

recommendation adopted, No. 2:20–CV– 

417–RAJ, 2022 WL 3155784 (W.D. 

Wash. Aug. 8, 2022)). With respect to 

the ESA, the court determined the prey 

increase program lacked specificity and 

deadlines or otherwise enforceable 

obligations and was not subject to 

agency control or reasonably certain to 

occur. The court also concluded that 

NMFS failed to evaluate the effects of 

the prey increase program on ESA-listed 

Chinook salmon. 

With respect to NEPA, the court 

concluded NMFS failed to conduct 

NEPA analyses for the issuance of the 

ITS exempting take of ESA-listed 

species associated with the SEAK 

salmon fisheries considered in the 2019 

BiOp. The court also concluded that 

NMFS failed to conduct adequate NEPA 

analysis for the adoption of the prey 

increase program. The court remanded 

to the agency to address its conclusions 

regarding the ESA and NEPA 

deficiencies. 

As part of its effort to address the 

court’s orders on remand, NMFS 

intends to conduct an ESA Section 7 

consultation and prepare two EISs. The 

EIS described in this Notice of Intent 

would respond specifically to the court 

order with respect to the stated failure 

to prepare an analysis pursuant to NEPA 

for the issuance of the ITS for the SEAK 

salmon fisheries. This EIS will analyze 

the effects of a reasonable range of 

alternatives for the issuance of an ITS to 

exempt otherwise prohibited take of 

ESA-listed species in the SEAK salmon 

fisheries under the 2019 PST 

Agreement. NMFS is also preparing a 

separate EIS for the expenditure of 

Federal funding to provide additional 

prey for SRKW (88 FR 54301, August 

10, 2023). 

Preliminary Purpose and Need 

Statement 

The proposed action is the issuance of 

the ITS under the ESA, per the court 

orders in Wild Fish Conservancy v. 

Quan directing the agency to conduct 

NEPA analysis for the issuance of the 

ITS. The purpose of issuing the ITS in 

a BiOp is to exempt incidental take of 

ESA-listed species associated with the 

SEAK salmon fisheries subject to 

provisions of the 2019 PST Agreement 

to the level or amount as specified in 

the ITS, provided the take occurs in 

compliance with the ITS. NMFS issues 

an ITS when NMFS concludes that an 

action and associated incidental take of 

ESA-listed species would not violate 

ESA Section 7. 

Under Section 7 of the ESA, NMFS as 

the action agency must consult to 

ensure that any action it authorizes, 

funds, or carries out is not likely to 

jeopardize the continued existence of 

listed species or result in the 

destruction or adverse modification of 

designated critical habitat (16 U.S.C. 

1536(a)(2)). As a result of that 

consultation, NMFS as the consulting 

agency must prepare a BiOp detailing 

how the agency action affects ESA-listed 

species and designated critical habitat 

under its jurisdiction (16 U.S.C. 

1536(b)(3)). If NMFS as the consulting 

agency concludes, among other things, 

that the agency action and any 

associated incidental take is not likely 

to jeopardize the continued existence of 

any ESA-listed species, NMFS must 

issue an ITS. Compliance with the ITS 

exempts the incidental take that is 

reasonably certain to occur (16 U.S.C. 

1536(b)(4); 50 CFR 402.14) from 

prohibitions under Section 9 of the ESA. 

The ITS specifies, among other 

requirements: the impact of such 

incidental taking on the listed species 

and limits on that incidental take; 

measures considered necessary or 

appropriate to minimize the impact of 

such take; terms and conditions 

(including reporting requirements) that 

implement the specified measures; and 

measures needed to comply with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act, if 

applicable. 

When NMFS issues a BiOp and ITS in 

its role as the consulting agency, the ITS 

is not a permit or authorization or 

otherwise a major Federal action that 

triggers the requirement to comply with 

NEPA. As set forth in section 7(o) of the 

ESA, compliance with an ITS provides 


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an exemption from the ESA’s take 

prohibition (16 U.S.C. 1536(o)). There 

are instances, such as this one, when 

NMFS is both the consulting agency and 

the action agency (prior decision to 

delegate management of fisheries in the 

EEZ and disbursement of Federal 

funding). In those instances, NMFS as 

the action agency must comply with 

NEPA for the underlying Federal 

actions, but NMFS does not separately 

have to comply with NEPA for the 

issuance of the BiOp and the ITS since 

the issuance of a BiOp and ITS does not 

constitute a ‘‘major Federal action.’’ San 

Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Auth. v. 

Jewell, 747 F.3d 581, 644–45 (9th Cir. 

2014). However, because the district 

court concluded that NMFS must 

comply with NEPA in issuing this ITS, 

we intend to prepare this EIS to respond 

to the court’s orders. 

Preliminary Alternatives 

NMFS will evaluate a reasonable 

range of alternatives regarding the 

proposed issuance of the ITS for ESAlisted species associated with the SEAK 

salmon fisheries subject to provisions of 

the 2019 PST Agreement. Possible 

alternatives could be constructed from 

one or more of the following draft 

alternatives in addition to those 

developed through the public scoping: 

Alternative 1: Status Quo, No Action 

Alternative 1 is the status quo ITS 

from the 2019 BiOp. With this ITS, the 

EIS would assume that the SEAK 

salmon fisheries subject to the 2019 PST 

Agreement would continue to be 

prosecuted under the 2019 PST 

Agreement and existing fishery 

management measures. This alternative 

would not comply with the court’s 

orders, because the court identified 

flaws with the 2019 BiOp. 

Alternative 2: Issuance of a New ITS 

With a New BiOp 

Under Alternative 2, NMFS would 

develop a new BiOp to respond to the 

court’s finding that the 2019 BiOp did 

not comply with the ESA; the new BiOp 

would contain an ITS, consistent with 

the requirements of 16 U.S.C. 1536, that 

includes the level of take that NMFS 

determines is reasonably certain to 

occur for each ESA-listed species 

considered in the BiOp. 

With this ITS, the EIS would assume 

that the SEAK salmon fisheries subject 

to the 2019 PST Agreement would 

continue to be prosecuted under the 

2019 PST Agreement and fishery 

management measures consistent with 

any reasonable and prudent measures 

and terms and conditions included in 

the new ITS. 

Alternative 3: NMFS Would Not Issue 

an ITS 

Under Alternative 3, NMFS would not 

develop a new BiOp and any incidental 

taking of listed species by the SEAK 

salmon fisheries would not be exempt 

from the ESA’s prohibition of such take. 

The EIS would therefore assume that the 

SEAK salmon fisheries under the 2019 

PST Agreement would not be 

prosecuted. 

This Alternative is presented 

exclusively for analytical purposes 

consistent with the requirements of 

NEPA and implementing regulations 

that NMFS analyze a range of 

alternatives. It is not consistent with the 

purpose and need of the action. Under 

the ESA, NMFS as the consulting 

agency is obligated at the conclusion of 

any consultation to (1) prepare a BiOp 

detailing how the agency action affects 

listed species and their designated 

critical habitat (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(3)); 

and (2) issue an ITS for take that is 

reasonably certain to occur incidental to 

the action (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(4)) if 

NMFS concludes, among other things, 

that the agency action and any 

incidental take is not likely to 

jeopardize the continued existence of 

any listed species (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(4); 

50 CFR 402.14(g)(7)). Therefore, NMFS 

fully intends to comply with the ESA 

and the court’s orders by conducting a 

new consultation and issuing a BiOp 

and ITS for the Federal actions 

associated with the SEAK salmon 

fisheries. 

Issues and Expected Impacts to be 

Analyzed 

The EIS will analyze a reasonable 

range of alternatives developed through 

the scoping process and their likely 

impacts on ESA-listed species, marine 

resources, and participants in the SEAK 

salmon fisheries subject to the 2019 PST 

Agreement. Those fisheries include the 

sport salmon fisheries and the 

commercial salmon troll, purse seine, 

drift gillnet, and set gillnet fisheries. 

Marine resources, in addition to ESAlisted species, that may be impacted by 

the alternatives include non ESA-listed 

salmon, other finfish, marine mammals, 

seabirds, and habitat. The EIS will 

consider any socio-economic impacts of 

the alternatives. 

The ESA-listed species designated in 

an ITS, on which the impacts of the 

proposed action would be analyzed in 

the EIS, could include ESA-listed 

Chinook salmon: Puget Sound, Lower 

Columbia River, Upper Willamette 

River, and Snake River fall-run 

Evolutionary Significant Units (ESUs, 

all threatened); Steller sea lions, western 

Distinct Population Segment (DPS) 

(endangered); humpback whale, Mexico 

DPS (threatened); killer whale, southern 

resident DPS (SRKW) (endangered); and 

their designated critical habitats. 

Salmon fisheries in SEAK may have 

effects on non-listed salmon. Some of 

these salmon may be prey resources for 

SRKW, thus the fisheries may affect 

SRKW through the catch of non-ESAlisted salmon. Fishing gear interactions 

occur in the SEAK salmon fisheries that 

may affect the Mexico DPS of humpback 

whales and the western DPS of Steller 

sea lions. 

Schedule for the Decision-Making 

Process 

NMFS intends to prepare the EIS 

concurrently with the new BiOP. NMFS 

anticipates issuing a Record of Decision 

before November 2024. 

Public Involvement 

Scoping is an early and open process 

for determining the scope of issues to be 

addressed in an EIS and for identifying 

the significant issues related to the 

proposed action (40 CFR 1501.9). An 

EIS is a detailed statement on a 

proposed agency action, but it does not 

mandate particular results or 

substantive outcomes, as the purpose 

and function of NEPA is satisfied if the 

agency considered relevant 

environmental information and the 

public has been informed regarding the 

decision-making process (40 CFR 

1500.1(a)). 

A principal objective of the scoping 

and public involvement process is to 

identify a range of reasonable 

management alternatives that, with 

adequate analysis in an EIS, will 

delineate critical issues and provide a 

clear basis for distinguishing among 

those alternatives and informing the 

selection of a preferred alternative. 

Through this notice, NMFS is notifying 

the public that an EIS and a decisionmaking process for this proposed action 

have been initiated, so that interested or 

affected people may participate and 

contribute to the final decision. 

NMFS is seeking written public 

comments on the scope of issues, 

including potential impacts, 

information, analyses, and alternatives 

that should be considered. Written 

comments should be as specific as 

possible to be the most helpful. Written 

comments received during the scoping 

process, including the names and 

addresses of those submitting them, will 

be considered part of the public record 

of this proposal and will be available for 

public inspection. Written comments 

will be accepted at the address above 

(see ADDRESSES). 


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

Dated: September 28, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21913 Filed 9–29–23; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD398] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to U.S. Navy Mole 

Pier South Berth Floating Dry Dock 

Project 

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 

U.S. Navy to incidentally harass marine 

mammals during construction 

associated with Mole Pier Floating Dry 

Dock project at Naval Base San Diego. 

DATES: This Authorization is effective 

from March 1, 2024 through February 

28, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: 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: https://

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: 

Steven Tucker, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The 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 

proposed or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, a notice of a proposed IHA 

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 the species or stocks for 

taking for certain subsistence uses 

(referred to in shorthand as 

‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements 

pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting of the takings are set forth. 

The definitions of all applicable MMPA 

statutory terms cited above are included 

in the relevant sections below. 

Summary of Request 

On February 16, 2022, NMFS received 

a request from the U.S. Navy, Navy Base 

San Diego (or, the Navy) for an IHA to 

take marine mammals incidental to 

Mole Pier Floating Dry Dock project in 

south-central San Diego Bay. The 

application was deemed adequate and 

complete on May 1, 2023. The Navy’s 

request is for authorization to 

incidentally take California sea lions, 

harbor seals, and bottlenose dolphins, 

by Level B harassment only. Neither the 

U.S. Navy nor NMFS expect serious 

injury or mortality to result from this 

activity and, therefore, an IHA is 

appropriate. 

NMFS previously issued an IHA to 

the U.S. Navy for similar work (87 FR 

65578, October 31, 2022). The U.S. Navy 

has complied with all the requirements 

(e.g., mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting) of the previous IHA, and 

information regarding their monitoring 

results is publicly available at: https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

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

Description of Activity 

Overview 

The U.S. Navy request is associated 

with demolition and construction 

activities related to partial demolition 

and construction of a floating dry dock 

and related facilities at Mole Pier, Navy 

Base San Diego. The purpose of the 

Mole Pier South Berth Floating Dry 

Dock (FDD) Project is to overcome 

current shortfall in dry dock availability 

for repair and maintenance of vessels at 

Navy Base San Diego. The planned 

activity remedies some of the 

constraints resulting from aging or 

obsolete facilities. 

Activities that may result in Level B 

harassment include removal of existing 

piles and installation of new piles to 

support facilities that are necessary for 

repair and maintenance of vessels in 

furtherance of the U.S. Navy’s 

Congressionally mandated 

responsibilities under 10 U.S.C. 5062. 

The specified activity also includes 

dredging and demolition of the existing 

deck at the mooring wharf, installation 

of mooring attachments, installation of a 

steel floating dry dock and construction 

of a ramp and pier. Demolition activities 

include vibratory removal or clipping of 

up to fifty-four 24 x 24-inch square 

concrete piles and seven 24-inch 

octagonal concrete piles. Pile driving 

and extraction activities will take place 

during 33 days of in-water work at the 

Mole Pier mooring wharf and the ramp. 

The Test Pile Program (TPP) described 

in the notice of proposed authorization 

(88 FR 47111, July 21, 2023) will not be 

undertaken. Permanent pile 

installations, expected to occur via 

impact hammer and/or jetting, consist of 

eighty 24-inch octagonal concrete piles 

at the mooring wharf and twenty-one 

24-inch octagonal piles for the Ramp 

Pier and access to the FDD. 

Dates and Duration 

The U.S. Navy requested that the IHA 

be effective for a period of 1 year, from 

March 1, 2024 through February 28, 

2025. During this period, the Navy 

expects to complete the pile driving and 

removal portions of the project during 

59 workdays that may be nonconsecutive, with all in-water activities 

conducted during daylight hours. Pile 

driving and removal activities may 

occur at any time during the proposed 

1-year period of effectiveness. 

Specific Geographic Region 

The activities would occur in the 

south-central portion of San Diego Bay. 

San Diego Bay (the Bay) is a narrow, 

crescent-shaped natural embayment 

oriented northwest-southeast with an 

approximate length of 24 kilometers 

(km) and a total area of roughly 4 km2

(11,000 acres; Port of San Diego, 2007). 

The width of the Bay ranges from 300 

meters to 5.800 meters and depths range 

from 23 meters Mean Lower Low Water 

(MLLW) near the tip of Ballast Point to 

less than 1.2 meters at the southern end 


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