Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 69145 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD241] 

Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental 

to Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to City of Cordova 

Harbor Rebuild Project, Cordova, 

Alaska 

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 two incidental 

harassment authorizations (IHAs) to the 

City of Cordova (Cordova) to 

incidentally harass marine mammals 

during construction activities associated 

with a with the City of Cordova, 

Cordova Harbor Rebuild project, in 

Cordova, Alaska. 

DATES: These Authorizations are 

effective from October 1, 2023 through 

September 30, 2024 and October 1, 2024 

through September 30, 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-mammalprotection/incidental-takeauthorizations-construction-activities. 

In case of problems accessing these 

documents, please call the contact listed 

below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rachel Wachtendonk, 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 United States (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, 2023, NMFS received 

a request from the Cordova for two IHAs 

to take marine mammals incidental to 

pile driving and removal activities 

associated with the City of Cordova, 

Cordova Harbor Rebuild project, in 

Cordova, Alaska over the course of 2 

years. Following NMFS’ review of the 

application, The City of Cordova 

(Cordova) submitted a revised version 

on April 19, 2023. The application was 

deemed adequate and complete on May 

12, 2023. Cordova’s request for the first 

IHA is for take of 4 species of marine 

mammals by Level B harassment and, 

for a subset of these species, Level A 

harassment. For the second IHA, 

Cordova is requesting take of only 

Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) 

and harbor seal (Phocoena phocoena) by 

Level A and Level B harassment. 

Neither Cordova nor NMFS expect 

serious injury or mortality to result from 

this activity and, therefore, IHAs are 

appropriate. 

There are no changes from the 

proposed IHAs to the final IHAs. 

Description of Activity 

Cordova plans to replace existing 

structures in the Cordova Harbor in 

Cordova, Alaska. Over the course of 2 

years spanning September 2023–April 

2024 and September 2024–April 2025, 

Cordova will use a variety of methods, 

including vibratory, impact, and downthe-hole (DTH) pile driving to remove 

existing piles and to install new ones. 

Phase I will involve the removal of 

existing piles, the installation and 

removal of temporary piles, and the 

installation of permanent piles in the 

south harbor. During Phase I, 130 timber 

(12-inch (in) diameter; 0.3-meter (m) 

diameter) and 61 old steel (12-in (0.3-m) 

diameter) piles will be removed. Once 

the existing piles are removed, 155 16- 

in (0.4-m), 70 18-in (0.5-m), and 30 30- 

in (0.8-m) permanent steel piles will be 

installed. The installation and removal 

of 61 temporary 24-in (0.6-m) steel pipe 

piles will be completed to support 

permanent pile installation. Vibratory 

hammers, impact hammers, and DTH 

drilling will be used for the installation 

and removal of all piles. Piles will be 

removed by dead-pull or vibratory 

methods. The installation and removal 

of temporary piles will be conducted 

using vibratory hammers. All permanent 

piles will be initially installed with a 

vibratory hammer. After vibratory 

driving, if needed, piles will be 

impacted into the bedrock with an 

impact hammer. For some piles, a DTH 

drill will be needed to drive piles the 

final few inches of embedment. 

Phase II will involve the removal of 

existing piles, the installation and 

removal of temporary piles, and the 

installation of permanent piles in the 

north and south harbor. During Phase II, 

268 12-in (0.3-m) timber piles will be 

removed. Then, 24 24-in (0.6-m) steel 

piles, 80 steel H-piles, and 80 steel sheet 

piles will be installed. The installation 

and removal of 31 temporary 24-in (0.6- 

m) steel pipe piles will be completed to 

support permanent pile installation. As 

in Phase I, vibratory hammers, impact 

hammers, and DTH drilling will be used 

for the installation and removal of all 

piles. Piles will be removed by deadpull or vibratory methods. The 

installation and removal of temporary 

piles will be conducted using vibratory 

hammers. All permanent piles would be 

initially installed with a vibratory 

hammer. After vibratory driving, if 

needed, piles will be impacted into the 

bedrock with an impact hammer. For 

some piles, a DTH drill will be needed 

to drive piles the final few inches of 

embedment. 

A further detailed description of the 

planned construction project is 

provided in the Federal Register notice 

for the proposed IHAs (88 FR 45149, 

July 14, 2023). Since that time, no 

changes have been made to the planned 

activities. Therefore, a detailed 

description is not provided here. Please 

refer to that Federal Register notice for 

the description of the specified activity. 

Mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

measures are described in detail later in 

this document (please see Mitigation 

and Monitoring and Reporting). 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
69146 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 

Comments and Responses 

A notice of NMFS’ proposal to issue 

two IHAs to Cordova was published in 

the Federal Register on July 14, 2023 

(88 FR 45149). That notice described, in 

detail, Cordova’s activity, the marine 

mammal species that may be affected by 

the activity, and the anticipated effects 

on marine mammals. During the 30-day 

public comment period, no public 

comments were received. 

Description of Marine Mammals in the 

Area of Specified Activities 

Sections 3 and 4 of the application 

summarize available information 

regarding status and trends, distribution 

and habitat preferences, and behavior 

and life history of the potentially 

affected species. NMFS fully considered 

all of this information, and we refer the 

reader to these descriptions, instead of 

reprinting the information. Additional 

information regarding population trends 

and threats may be found in NMFS’ 

Stock Assessment Reports (SARs; 

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

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

marine-mammal-stock-assessments) 

and more general information about 

these species (e.g., physical and 

behavioral descriptions) may be found 

on NMFS’ website (https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/find-species). 

Table 1 lists all species or stocks for 

which take is expected and authorized 

for this activity, and summarizes 

information related to the population or 

stock, including regulatory status under 

the MMPA and Endangered Species Act 

(ESA) and potential biological removal 

(PBR), where known. PBR is defined by 

the MMPA as the maximum number of 

animals, not including natural 

mortalities, that may be removed from a 

marine mammal stock while allowing 

that stock to reach or maintain its 

optimum sustainable population (as 

described in NMFS’ SARs). While no 

serious injury or mortality is anticipated 

or authorized here, PBR and annual 

serious injury and mortality from 

anthropogenic sources are included here 

as gross indicators of the status of the 

species or stocks and other threats. 

Marine mammal abundance estimates 

presented in this document represent 

the total number of individuals that 

make up a given stock or the total 

number estimated within a particular 

study or survey area. NMFS’ stock 

abundance estimates for most species 

represent the total estimate of 

individuals within the geographic area, 

if known, that comprises that stock. For 

some species, this geographic area may 

extend beyond U.S. waters. All managed 

stocks in this region are assessed in 

NMFS’ Alaska Marine Mammal SARs. 

All values presented in Table 1 are the 

most recent available at the time of 

publication (including from the 2022 

SARs) and are available online at: 

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

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

marine-mammal-stock-assessments. 

TABLE 1—SPECIES LIKELY IMPACTED BY THE SPECIFIED ACTIVITIES 1

Common name Scientific name Stock 

ESA/ 

MMPA 

status; 

strategic 

(Y/N) 2

Stock abundance 

(CV, Nmin, most recent 

abundance survey) 3

PBR Annual 

M/SI 4

Odontoceti (toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises) 

Family Delphinidae: 

Killer whale ......................... Orcinus orca ............................. Alaska Resident ........................ -/-; N 1,920 (N/A, 1,920, 2019) 19 1.3 

Gulf of Alaska/Aleutian Islands/ 

Bering Sea Transient.

-/-; N 587 (N/A, 587, 2012) ...... 5.9 0.8 

AT1 Transient ........................... -/D; N 7 (N/A, 7, 2019) .............. 0.1 0 

Family Phocoenidae (porpoises): 

Dall’s porpoise .................... Phocoenoides dalli .................... Alaska ....................................... -/-; N UND (UND, UND, 

2015) 5.

UND 37 

Order Carnivora—Pinnipedia 

Family Otariidae (eared seals 

and sea lions): 

Steller sea lion .................... Eumetopias jubatus .................. Western DPS ............................ E/D; Y 52,932 (N/A, 52,932, 

2019).

318 254 

Family Phocidae (earless seals): 

Harbor seal ......................... Phoca vitulina ........................... Prince William Sound ............... -/-; N 44,756 (N/A, 41,776, 

2015).

1253 413 

1 Information on the classification of marine mammal species can be found on the web page for The Society for Marine Mammalogy’s Committee on Taxonomy 

(https://www.marinemammalscience.org/science-and-publications/list-marine-mammal-species-subspecies; Committee on Taxonomy, 2022). 2Endangered Species Act (ESA) status: Endangered (E), Threatened (T)/MMPA status: Depleted (D). A dash (-) indicates that the species is not listed under the 

ESA or designated as depleted under the MMPA. Under the MMPA, a strategic stock is one for which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds PBR or 

which is determined to be declining and likely to be listed under the ESA within the foreseeable future. Any species or stock listed under the ESA is automatically 

designated under the MMPA as depleted and as a strategic stock. 3 NMFS marine mammal stock assessment reports online at: https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/sars/. CV is coefficient of variation; Nmin is the minimum estimate of 

stock abundance. In some cases, CV is not applicable. 4These values, found in NMFS’s SARs, represent annual levels of human-caused mortality plus serious injury from all sources combined (e.g., commercial fisheries, vessel strike). Annual M/SI often cannot be determined precisely and is in some cases presented as a minimum value or range. A CV associated with estimated mortality due to commercial fisheries is presented in some cases. 5Population estimate of 13,110 based on surveys from western Prince William Sound, as abundance estimates for the Alaska stock are more than 8 years old and 

are no longer considered reliable (Muto et al., 2022). This population estimate will be used for small numbers calculations. 

As indicated above, all four species 

(with six managed stocks) in Table 1 

temporally and spatially co-occur with 

the activity to the degree that take is 

reasonably likely to occur. All species 

that could potentially occur in the 

planned project areas are included in 

Table 10 of the IHA application. While 

northern fur seal, Pacific white-sided 

dolphin, harbor porpoise, humpback 

whale, fin whale, minke whale, and gray 

whale have been documented in Prince 

William Sound, the temporal and/or 

spatial occurrence of these species is 

such that take is not expected to occur, 

and they are not discussed further 

beyond the explanation provided here. 

These species are all considered to be 

rare (no sightings in recent years) or 

very rare (no local knowledge of 

sightings within the project vicinity) 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1

I I I I 
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 69147 

within Orca Bay according to the Prince 

William Sound Science Center in 

Cordova (Prince William Sound Science 

Center, 2022; Schinella, 2022). Given 

the shallow depths of the waters 

surrounding Cordova Harbor, it would 

also be unusual for many of these 

species to enter the project area. The 

take of these species has not been 

requested nor authorized and these 

species are not considered further in 

this document. 

A detailed description of the species 

likely to be affected by Cordova’s 

construction project, including brief 

introductions to the species and 

relevant stocks as well as available 

information regarding population trends 

and threats, and information regarding 

local occurrence, were provided in the 

Federal Register notice for the proposed 

IHAs (88 FR 45149, July 14, 2023); since 

that time, we are not aware of any 

changes in the status of these species 

and stocks; therefore, detailed 

descriptions are not provided here. 

Please refer to that Federal Register 

notice for these descriptions. Please also 

refer to the NMFS website (https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/find-species) for 

generalized species accounts. 

Marine Mammal Hearing 

Hearing is the most important sensory 

modality for marine mammals 

underwater, and exposure to 

anthropogenic sound can have 

deleterious effects. To appropriately 

assess the potential effects of exposure 

to sound, it is necessary to understand 

the frequency ranges marine mammals 

are able to hear. Not all marine mammal 

species have equal hearing capabilities 

(e.g., Richardson et al., 1995; Wartzok 

and Ketten, 1999; Au and Hastings, 

2008). To reflect this, Southall et al. 

(2007, 2019) recommended that marine 

mammals be divided into hearing 

groups based on directly measured 

(behavioral or auditory evoked potential 

techniques) or estimated hearing ranges 

(behavioral response data, anatomical 

modeling, etc.). Note that no direct 

measurements of hearing ability have 

been successfully completed for 

mysticetes (i.e., low-frequency 

cetaceans). Subsequently, NMFS (2018) 

described generalized hearing ranges for 

these marine mammal hearing groups. 

Generalized hearing ranges were chosen 

based on the approximately 65-decibel 

(dB) threshold from the normalized 

composite audiograms, with the 

exception for lower limits for lowfrequency cetaceans where the lower 

bound was deemed to be biologically 

implausible and the lower bound from 

Southall et al. (2007) retained. Marine 

mammal hearing groups and their 

associated hearing ranges are provided 

in Table 2. 

TABLE 2—MARINE MAMMAL HEARING GROUPS

[NMFS, 2018] 

Hearing group Generalized hearing 

range * 

Low-frequency (LF) cetaceans (baleen whales) ......................................................................................................................... 7 Hz to 35 kHz. 

Mid-frequency (MF) cetaceans (dolphins, toothed whales, beaked whales, bottlenose whales) .............................................. 150 Hz to 160 kHz. 

High-frequency (HF) cetaceans (true porpoises, Kogia, river dolphins, Cephalorhynchid, Lagenorhynchus cruciger & L. 

australis).

275 Hz to 160 kHz. 

Phocid pinnipeds (PW) (underwater) (true seals) ....................................................................................................................... 50 Hz to 86 kHz. 

Otariid pinnipeds (OW) (underwater) (sea lions and fur seals) .................................................................................................. 60 Hz to 39 kHz. 

* Represents the generalized hearing range for the entire group as a composite (i.e., all species within the group), where individual species’ 

hearing ranges are typically not as broad. Generalized hearing range chosen based on a ∼65-dB threshold from normalized composite audiogram, with the exception for lower limits for LF cetaceans (Southall et al., 2007) and PW pinniped (approximation). 

The pinniped functional hearing 

group was modified from Southall et al. 

(2007) on the basis of data indicating 

that phocid species have consistently 

demonstrated an extended frequency 

range of hearing compared to otariids, 

especially in the higher frequency range 

(Hemila ̈ et al., 2006; Kastelein et al., 

2009; Reichmuth and Holt, 2013). 

For more detail concerning these 

groups and associated frequency ranges, 

please see NMFS (2018) for a review of 

available information. 

Potential Effects of Specified Activities 

on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat 

The effects of underwater noise from 

Cordova’s pile driving activities have 

the potential to result in behavioral 

harassment of marine mammals in the 

vicinity of the project area. The notice 

of the proposed IHAs (88 FR 45149, July 

14, 2023) included a discussion of the 

effects of anthropogenic noise on marine 

mammals and the potential effects of 

underwater noise from Cordova’s pile 

driving activities on marine mammals 

and their habitat. That information and 

analysis is incorporated by reference 

into this final IHA determination and is 

not repeated here; please refer to the 

notice of the proposed IHAs (88 FR 

45149, July 14, 2023). 

Estimated Take of Marine Mammals 

This section provides an estimate of 

the number of incidental takes 

authorized through these IHAs, which 

will inform both NMFS’ consideration 

of ‘‘small numbers,’’ and the negligible 

impact determinations. 

Harassment is the only type of take 

expected to result from these activities. 

Except with respect to certain activities 

not pertinent here, section 3(18) of the 

MMPA defines ‘‘harassment’’ as 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). 

Authorized takes will primarily be by 

Level B harassment, as use of the 

acoustic sources (i.e., vibratory or 

impact pile driving and DTH drilling) 

has the potential to result in disruption 

of behavioral patterns for individual 

marine mammals. There is also some 

potential for auditory injury (Level A 

harassment) to result, primarily for 

Dall’s porpoise and harbor seals, due to 

the cryptic nature of these species in 

context of larger predicted auditory 

injury zones. Auditory injury is unlikely 

to occur for mid-frequency species and 

otariids, based on the likelihood of the 

species in the action area, the ability to 

monitor the entire smaller shutdown 

zone, and because of the expected ease 

of detection for the former groups. The 

mitigation and monitoring measures are 

expected to minimize the severity of the 

taking to the extent practicable. 

As described previously, no serious 

injury or mortality is anticipated or 

authorized for this activity. Below we 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
69148 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 

describe how the take numbers are 

estimated. 

For acoustic impacts, generally 

speaking, we estimate take by 

considering: (1) acoustic thresholds 

above which NMFS believes the best 

available science indicates marine 

mammals would be behaviorally 

harassed or incur some degree of 

permanent hearing impairment; (2) the 

area or volume of water that would be 

ensonified above these levels in a day; 

(3) the density or occurrence of marine 

mammals within these ensonified areas; 

and, (4) the number of days of activities. 

We note that while these factors can 

contribute to a basic calculation to 

provide an initial prediction of potential 

takes, additional information that can 

qualitatively inform take estimates is 

also sometimes available (e.g., previous 

monitoring results or average group 

size). Below, we describe the factors 

considered here in more detail and 

present the take estimates. 

Acoustic Thresholds 

NMFS recommends the use of 

acoustic thresholds that identify the 

received level of underwater sound 

above which exposed marine mammals 

would be reasonably expected to be 

behaviorally harassed (equated to Level 

B harassment) or to incur permanent 

threshold shift (PTS) of some degree 

(equated to Level A harassment). 

Thresholds have also been developed 

identifying the received level of in-air 

sound above which exposed pinnipeds 

would likely be behaviorally harassed. 

Level B Harassment—Though 

significantly driven by received level, 

the onset of behavioral disturbance from 

anthropogenic noise exposure is also 

informed to varying degrees by other 

factors related to the source or exposure 

context (e.g., frequency, predictability, 

duty cycle, duration of the exposure, 

signal-to-noise ratio, distance to the 

source), the environment (e.g., 

bathymetry, other noises in the area, 

predators in the area), and the receiving 

animals (hearing, motivation, 

experience, demography, life stage, 

depth) and can be difficult to predict 

(e.g., Southall et al., 2007, 2021; Ellison 

et al., 2012). Based on what the 

available science indicates and the 

practical need to use a threshold based 

on a metric that is both predictable and 

measurable for most activities, NMFS 

typically uses a generalized acoustic 

threshold based on received level to 

estimate the onset of behavioral 

harassment. NMFS generally predicts 

that marine mammals are likely to be 

behaviorally harassed in a manner 

considered to be Level B harassment 

when exposed to underwater 

anthropogenic noise above root-meansquared pressure received levels (RMS 

SPL) of 120 dB (referenced to 1 

micropascal (re 1 mPa)) for continuous 

(e.g., vibratory pile driving, drilling) and 

above RMS SPL 160 dB re 1 mPa for nonexplosive impulsive (e.g., seismic 

airguns) or intermittent (e.g., scientific 

sonar) sources. For in-air sounds, NMFS 

predicts that harbor seals exposed above 

received levels of 90 dB re 20 mPa (RMS) 

would be behaviorally harassed, and 

other pinnipeds would be harassed 

when exposed above 100 dB re 20 mPa 

(RMS). Generally speaking, Level B 

harassment take estimates based on 

these behavioral harassment thresholds 

are expected to include any likely takes 

by temporary threshold shift (TTS) as, 

in most cases, the likelihood of TTS 

occurs at distances from the source less 

than those at which behavioral 

harassment is likely. TTS of a sufficient 

degree can manifest as behavioral 

harassment, as reduced hearing 

sensitivity and the potential reduced 

opportunities to detect important 

signals (conspecific communication, 

predators, prey) may result in changes 

in behavior patterns that would not 

otherwise occur. 

Cordova’s planned activity includes 

the use of continuous (vibratory 

hammer and DTH drilling) and 

impulsive (DTH drilling and impact pile 

driving) sources, and therefore the 120- 

and 160-dB re 1 mPa (RMS) thresholds 

are applicable. 

Level A Harassment—NMFS’ 

Technical Guidance for Assessing the 

Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on 

Marine Mammal Hearing (Version 2.0) 

(Technical Guidance, 2018) identifies 

dual criteria to assess auditory injury 

(Level A harassment) to five different 

marine mammal groups (based on 

hearing sensitivity) as a result of 

exposure to noise from two different 

types of sources (impulsive or nonimpulsive). Cordova’s planned activity 

includes the use of impulsive (impact 

pile driving and DTH drilling) and nonimpulsive (vibratory hammer and DTH 

drilling) sources. 

These thresholds are provided in the 

table below. The references, analysis, 

and methodology used in the 

development of the thresholds are 

described in NMFS’ 2018 Technical 

Guidance, which may be accessed at: 

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

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

marine-mammal-acoustic-technicalguidance. 

TABLE 3—THRESHOLDS IDENTIFYING THE ONSET OF PERMANENT THRESHOLD SHIFT

Hearing group 

PTS onset acoustic thresholds * 

(received level) 

Impulsive Non-impulsive 

Low-Frequency (LF) Cetaceans ...................................... Cell 1: Lpk,flat: 219 dB; LE,LF,24h: 183 dB ......................... Cell 2: LE,LF,24h: 199 dB. 

Mid-Frequency (MF) Cetaceans ...................................... Cell 3: Lpk,flat: 230 dB; LE,MF,24h: 185 dB ........................ Cell 4: LE,MF,24h: 198 dB. 

High-Frequency (HF) Cetaceans ..................................... Cell 5: Lpk,flat: 202 dB; LE,HF,24h: 155 dB ........................ Cell 6: LE,HF,24h: 173 dB. 

Phocid Pinnipeds (PW) (Underwater) ............................. Cell 7: Lpk,flat: 218 dB; LE,PW,24h: 185 dB ....................... Cell 8: LE,PW,24h: 201 dB. 

Otariid Pinnipeds (OW) (Underwater) ............................. Cell 9: Lpk,flat: 232 dB; LE,OW,24h: 203 dB ....................... Cell 10: LE,OW,24h: 219 dB. 

* Dual metric acoustic thresholds for impulsive sounds: Use whichever results in the largest isopleth for calculating PTS onset. If a non-impulsive sound has the potential of exceeding the peak sound pressure level thresholds associated with impulsive sounds, these thresholds should 

also be considered. 

Note: Peak sound pressure (Lpk) has a reference value of 1 μPa, and cumulative sound exposure level (LE) has a reference value of 1μPa2s. 

In this Table, thresholds are abbreviated to reflect American National Standards Institute standards (ANSI 2013). However, peak sound pressure 

is defined by ANSI as incorporating frequency weighting, which is not the intent for this Technical Guidance. Hence, the subscript ‘‘flat’’ is being 

included to indicate peak sound pressure should be flat weighted or unweighted within the generalized hearing range. The subscript associated 

with cumulative sound exposure level thresholds indicates the designated marine mammal auditory weighting function (LF, MF, and HF 

cetaceans, and PW and OW pinnipeds) and that the recommended accumulation period is 24 hours. The cumulative sound exposure level 

thresholds could be exceeded in a multitude of ways (i.e., varying exposure levels and durations, duty cycle). When possible, it is valuable for 

action proponents to indicate the conditions under which these acoustic thresholds will be exceeded. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 69149 

Ensonified Area 

Here, we describe operational and 

environmental parameters of the activity 

that are used in estimating the area 

ensonified above the acoustic 

thresholds, including source levels and 

transmission loss coefficient. 

The sound field in the project area is 

the existing background noise plus 

additional construction noise from the 

planned project. Marine mammals are 

expected to be affected via sound 

generated by the primary components of 

the project (i.e., impact pile driving, 

vibratory pile driving and removal, and 

DTH). 

In order to calculate distances to the 

Level A harassment and Level B 

harassment thresholds for the methods 

and piles being used in this project, 

NMFS used acoustic monitoring data 

from other locations to develop source 

levels for the various pile types, sizes 

and methods (Table 4). This analysis 

uses the practical spreading loss model, 

a standard assumption regarding sound 

propagation for similar environments, to 

estimate transmission of sound through 

water. For this analysis, the 

transmission loss factor of 15 (4.5 dB 

per doubling of distance) is used. A 

weighting adjustment factor of 2.5 or 2, 

a standard default value for vibratory 

pile driving and removal or impact 

driving and DTH respectively, were 

used to calculate Level A harassment 

areas. 

NMFS recommends treating DTH 

systems as both impulsive and 

continuous, non-impulsive sound 

source types simultaneously. Thus, 

impulsive thresholds are used to 

evaluate Level A harassment, and 

continuous thresholds are used to 

evaluate Level B harassment. With 

regards to DTH mono-hammers, NMFS 

recommends proxy levels for Level A 

harassment based on available data 

regarding DTH systems of similar sized 

piles and holes (Denes et al., 2019; Guan 

and Miner, 2020; Reyff and Heyvaert, 

2019; Reyff, 2020; Heyvaert and Reyff, 

2021). 

TABLE 4—ESTIMATED UNDERWATER PROXY SOURCE LEVELS FOR PILE INSTALLATION AND REMOVAL

Pile type Phase 

Proxy source levels (dB) at 10 m 

Reference 

Peak RMS SEL 

Vibratory Pile Driving 

12- to 24-in timber pile removal.I, II ........................ 162 ........................ Greenbusch et al., 2018; CALTRANS, 2020. 

12- to 24-in steel pile removal.I ........................ 161 ........................ NAVFAC (2013, 2015). 

24-in steel template pile install/removal.I, II ........................ ........................

16-in steel pile ................... I ........................ ........................

18-in steel pile ................... I ........................ ........................

24-in steel pile ................... II ........................ ........................

30-in steel pile ................... I ........................ 161.9 ........................ Denes et al., 2016. 

Steel H-pile ....................... II ........................ 165 ........................ CALTRANS, 2015. 

Steel sheet pile ................. II ........................ 162 ........................ Buehler et al., 2015. 

Impact Pile Driving 

16-in steel pile ................... I 192.8 181.1 168.3 Denes et al., 2016. 

18-in steel pile ................... I ........................ ........................ ........................

24-in steel pile ................... II ........................ ........................ ........................

30-in steel pile ................... I 210 190 177 NMFS 2023 analysis *. 

Steel H-pile ....................... II 200 177 170 CALTRANS, 2015. 

Steel sheet pile ................. II 205 190 180 CALTRANS, 2015. 

DTH Drilling 

16-in steel pile ................... I ........................ 167 159 Heyvaert and Reyff, 2021. 

18- to 24-in steel pile ........ I, II ........................ ........................ ........................

30-in steel pile ................... I ........................ 174 164 Denes et al., 2019); Reyff and Heyvaert, 2019; 

Reyff, 2020. 

Steel H-pile ....................... II ........................ ........................ ........................

Note: SEL= sound exposure level; RMS= root mean square. 

* NMFS used the mean of regionally relevant measurements to determine suitable proxy source values for these pile types. Projects included 

in the analysis were Navy (2012, 2013) and Miner (2020), following the methodology of Navy (2015). 

TABLE 5—ESTIMATED IN-AIR PROXY SOURCE LEVELS FOR PILE INSTALLATION AND REMOVAL

Pile type Phase 

Proxy 

source levels 

(dB) at 15 m Reference 

RMS 

Vibratory Pile Driving 

24-in steel template pile install/removal ......................... I 103.2 Laughlin, 2010. 

18-in steel pile ................................................................ ..............................

Steel H-pile ..................................................................... ..............................


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1

I I 

I I 
69150 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 

TABLE 5—ESTIMATED IN-AIR PROXY SOURCE LEVELS FOR PILE INSTALLATION AND REMOVAL—Continued 

Pile type Phase 

Proxy 

source levels 

(dB) at 15 m Reference 

RMS 

Impact Pile Driving 

18-in steel pile ................................................................ I 101 Ghebreghzabiher et al., 2017. 

Steel H-pile ..................................................................... ..............................

DTH Drilling 1

18-in steel pile ................................................................ I 101 Ghebreghzabiher et al., 2017. 

Steel H-pile ..................................................................... ..............................

Note: SEL= sound exposure level; RMS= root mean square. 1We conservatively assume that the proxy value for DTH driving is the same as for impact driving. 

Level B Harassment Zones 

Transmission loss (TL) is the decrease 

in acoustic intensity as an acoustic 

pressure wave propagates out from a 

source. TL parameters vary with 

frequency, temperature, sea conditions, 

current, source and receiver depth, 

water depth, water chemistry, and 

bottom composition and topography. 

The general formula for underwater TL 

is: 

TL = B * log10 (R1/R2), 

Where: 

TL = transmission loss in dB 

B = transmission loss coefficient; for practical 

spreading equals 15 

R1 = the distance of the modeled SPL from 

the driven pile, and 

R2 = the distance from the driven pile of the 

initial measurement. 

The recommended TL coefficient for 

most nearshore environments is the 

practical spreading value of 15. This 

value results in an expected propagation 

environment that would lie between 

spherical and cylindrical spreading loss 

conditions, which is the most 

appropriate assumption for Cordova’s 

planned underwater activities. The 

Level B harassment zones and 

approximate amount of area ensonified 

for the planned underwater activities 

are shown in Table 6. The Level B 

harassment zones for the planned 

upland pile driving activities that may 

generate airborne noise are shown in 

Table 5. 

Level A Harassment Zones 

The ensonified area associated with 

Level A harassment is more technically 

challenging to predict due to the need 

to account for a duration component. 

Therefore, NMFS developed an optional 

User Spreadsheet tool to accompany the 

Technical Guidance that can be used to 

relatively simply predict an isopleth 

distance for use in conjunction with 

marine mammal density or occurrence 

to help predict potential takes. We note 

that because of some of the assumptions 

included in the methods underlying this 

optional tool, we anticipate that the 

resulting isopleth estimates are typically 

going to be overestimates of some 

degree, which may result in an 

overestimate of potential take by Level 

A harassment. However, this optional 

tool offers the best way to estimate 

isopleth distances when more 

sophisticated modeling methods are not 

available or practical. For stationary 

sources, such as pile installation or 

removal, the optional User Spreadsheet 

tool predicts the distance at which, if a 

marine mammal remained at that 

distance for the duration of the activity, 

it would be expected to incur PTS. The 

isopleths generated by the User 

Spreadsheet used the same TL 

coefficient as the Level B harassment 

zone calculations (i.e., the practical 

spreading value of 15). Inputs used in 

the User Spreadsheet (e.g., number of 

piles per day, duration and/or strikes 

per pile) are presented in Tables 1 and 

2 in the Federal Register Notice of the 

proposed IHAs (88 FR 45149, July 14, 

2023). The maximum RMS SPL, sound 

exposure level (SEL), and resulting 

isopleths are reported in Tables 4, 5, 

and 6. 

TABLE 6—LEVEL A AND LEVEL B HARASSMENT ISOPLETHS FOR PILE DRIVING ACTIVITIES

Pile type Phase 

Distances to Level A and Level B thresholds 

(m) 

Level B 

Ensonified area 1 2

for 

Level B (km2) Level A 

MF HF Phocid Otariid 

Vibratory Pile Driving 

12- to 24-in timber 

pile removal.

I, II 1.8 30.5 12.5 0.9 6,309.6 ................... 125. 

12- to 24-in steel 

pile removal.

I 1.6 26.1 10.7 0.8 5,411.7 ................... 92. 

24-in steel template 

pile install/removal.

I, II 0.9 14.2 5.8 0.4 

16-in steel pile ....... I 1.1 18.6 7.6 0.5 

18-in steel pile ....... I 1.4 22.5 9.3 0.7 

24-in steel pile ....... II 

30-in steel pile ....... I 1.4 24.1 9.9 0.7 6,213.5 ................... 121.2. 

Steel H-pile ............ II 1.1 18.7 7.7 0.5 10,000 .................... 314. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1

I >-------I ~r-------------l 
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 69151 

TABLE 6—LEVEL A AND LEVEL B HARASSMENT ISOPLETHS FOR PILE DRIVING ACTIVITIES—Continued 

Pile type Phase 

Distances to Level A and Level B thresholds 

(m) 

Level B 

Ensonified area 1 2

for 

Level B (km2) Level A 

MF HF Phocid Otariid 

Steel sheet pile ...... II 0.7 11.8 4.8 0.3 6,310 ...................... 125. 

In-air pile installation/removal.I ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ 68.6 (Phocid)/22.8 

(Otariid).

0.01 (Phocid)/0.002 

(Otariid). 

Impact Pile Driving 

16-in steel pile ....... I 4.7 158.8 71.4 5.2 255 ......................... 0.2. 

18-in steel pile ....... I 

24-in steel pile ....... II ................................

30-in steel pile ....... I 23.6 791.3 355.5 25.9 1,000 ...................... 3.14. 

Steel H-pile ............ II 12.1 405.3 182.1 13.3 341.5 ...................... 0.37. 

Steel sheet pile ...... II 56.2 1881.2 845.2 61.5 1,000 ...................... 3.14. 

In-air pile installation/removal.I ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ 53.2 (Phocid)/16.8 

(Otariid).

0.009 (Phocid)/ 

0.0009 (Otariid). 

DTH Drilling 

16-in steel pile ....... I 32.1 1075.7 483.3 35.2 13,593.6 ................. 580.2. 

18- to 24-in steel 

pile.

I,II 

30-in steel pile ....... I 61.3 2,052.20 922 67.1 39,810.7 ................. 4976.6. 

Steel H-pile ............ II 

In-air pile installation/removal.I ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ 53.2 (Phocid)/16.8 

(Otariid).

0.009 (Phocid)/ 

0.0009 (Otariid). 

1Areas were calculated based on areas of a circle with the specified radius from Table 4 and 5 and realized ensonified areas will be smaller 

due to truncation by land masses. 2The ensonified area within Cordova Harbor will be no more than 0.19 kilometers2 (km2). 

Marine Mammal Occurrence 

In this section we provide information 

about the occurrence of marine 

mammals, including presence, density, 

local knowledge, or other relevant 

information which will inform the take 

calculations. 

Daily occurrence probability of each 

marine mammal species in the action 

area is based on consultation with local 

researchers and marine professionals. 

Occurrence probability estimates are 

based on conservative density 

approximations for each species and 

factor in historic data of occurrence, 

seasonality, and group size in Orca Bay, 

Orca Inlet, and/or Prince William 

Sound. A summary of planned take is 

shown in Table 7. To accurately 

describe species occurrence near the 

action area, marine mammals were 

described as either common (multiple 

sightings every month, could occur each 

day), frequent (multiple sightings every 

year, could occur each month), or 

infrequent (few sightings every year, 

could occur each month). 

TABLE 7—ESTIMATED OCCURRENCE OF GROUP SIGHTINGS OF MARINE MAMMALS

Species Frequency Seasonality Occurrence Group size a

Steller sea lion: 

(within harbor) ................................. Common ........................... Year-round ........................ 1 group per day ................ b 4.1 

(outside harbor) ............................... Common ........................... Year-round ........................ 2 groups per day .............. b 4.1 

Harbor seal: 

(within harbor) ................................. Frequent ........................... Year-round ........................ 1 group per day ................ c 3.5 

(outside harbor) ............................... Common ........................... Year-round ........................ 2 groups per day .............. c 3.5 

Killer whale ............................................. Infrequent ......................... Year-round ........................ 1 group per 10 days ......... d 14 

Dall’s porpoise ........................................ Infrequent ......................... Year-round ........................ 1 group per 10 days ......... e 4.3 

aGroup size was averaged from seasonal data (Steller sea lions and harbor seals), pod size (killer whales), and observational data (Dall’s porpoise) for more information see application. b Leonard and Wisdom, 2020; Sigler et al., 2017. cADF&G, 2022a. 

d Muto et al., 2022. e Moran et al., 2018. 

Take Estimation 

Here we describe how the information 

provided above is synthesized to 

produce a quantitative estimate of the 

take that is reasonably likely to occur 

and are authorized. 

For total underwater take estimate, 

the daily occurrence probability for a 

species was multiplied by the estimated 

group size and by the number of days 

of each type of pile driving activity. 

Group size is based on the best available 

published research for these species and 

their presence in this area. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
69152 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 

Estimated take = Group size × Groups 

per day × Days of pile driving 

activity 

Take of pinnipeds by Level B 

harassment due to airborne noise was 

calculated based on the proportion of 

area within the harbor likely to be 

ensonified above the thresholds for 

harbor seals and other pinnipeds, 

respectively. The percent of the harbor 

ensonified was then multiplied by the 

number of days of pile driving, the 

group size, and groups per day, as done 

for underwater take estimates. The total 

numbers of takes by Level B harassment 

due to airborne noise authorized for 

harbor seal and Steller sea lion are 

seven and zero, respectively. 

Take by Level A harassment is 

authorized for Steller sea lions and 

harbor seals given that these species are 

known to spend extended periods of 

time within Cordova Harbor and most 

Level A harassment isopleths are 

contained within Cordova Harbor. The 

take by Level A harassment calculations 

are based on lower daily occurrence 

estimates for each species than take by 

Level B harassment calculations based 

on input from marine professionals in 

the community about their presence in 

within the smaller ensonified zone of 

the harbor (Table 7; Greenwood 2022). 

Take by Level A harassment is also 

authorized for Dall’s porpoise for impact 

driving of sheet piles and DTH drilling 

of 30 in and H-piles as it is not 

practicable to observe and shut down 

for porpoises throughout the entire 

Level A harassment zone (1,885 m for 

impact driving and 2,050 m for DTH 

drilling). Additionally, Level A 

harassment isopleths for most hearing 

groups and pile types were less than 10 

m (Table 6) which is the minimum 

shutdown zone for this project (see 

Mitigation). Because the Level A 

harassment isopleths for those piles are 

within the minimum 10-m shutdown 

zone, no takes by Level A harassment 

are expected to occur from those 

activities, and therefore the predicted 

take by Level A harassment were 

removed from the total take calculations 

(Table 8). 

During Phase II, killer whale and 

Dall’s porpoise are not expected to 

occur within any harassment zones due 

to the relatively shallow water that will 

be ensonified (south of Spike Island into 

tidal mud flats) and therefore no take is 

authorized for these species. 

TABLE 8—TAKE OF MARINE MAMMALS BY LEVEL A AND LEVEL B HARASSMENT AND PERCENT OF STOCK TO BE TAKEN

BY PHASE

Species Stock/DPS 

Authorized take 

Stock size 1 Percent of 

stock Level A Level B Total take 

Phase I 

Steller sea lion ........... Western DPS .............................. 107 788 895 52,932 1.69 

Harbor seal ................ Prince William Sound .................. 154 681 835 44,756 1.87 

Killer whale 2 .............. Alaska Resident .......................... ........................ 83 83 1,920 4.35 

Gulf of Alaska/Aleutian Islands/ 

Bering Sea Transient.

........................ 26 26 587 4.35 

Dall’s porpoise ........... Alaska .......................................... 10 32 42 13,110 0.32 

Phase II 

Steller sea lion ........... Western DPS .............................. 98 730 828 52,932 1.56 

Harbor seal ................ Prince William Sound .................. 133 623 756 44,756 1.69 

1Stock size comes from the most recent SARs except for Dall’s porpoise whose stock estimate is based on surveys from western Prince William Sound only, as abundance estimates for the Alaska stock are more than 8 years old and no longer considered reliable (Muto et al., 2022). 2AT1 transient stock take calculation resulted in 0.3 takes, therefore no takes were requested or are authorized. 

Mitigation 

In order to issue an IHA under section 

101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS must 

set forth the permissible methods of 

taking pursuant to the activity, and 

other means of effecting the least 

practicable impact on the species or 

stock and its habitat, paying particular 

attention to rookeries, mating grounds, 

and areas of similar significance, and on 

the availability of the species or stock 

for taking for certain subsistence. NMFS 

regulations require applicants for 

incidental take authorizations to include 

information about the availability and 

feasibility (economic and technological) 

of equipment, methods, and manner of 

conducting the activity or other means 

of effecting the least practicable adverse 

impact upon the affected species or 

stocks, and their habitat (50 CFR 

216.104(a)(11)). 

In evaluating how mitigation may or 

may not be appropriate to ensure the 

least practicable adverse impact on 

species or stocks and their habitat, as 

well as subsistence uses where 

applicable, NMFS considers two 

primary factors: 

(1) The manner in which, and the 

degree to which, the successful 

implementation of the measure(s) is 

expected to reduce impacts to marine 

mammals, marine mammal species or 

stocks, and their habitat, as well as 

subsistence uses. This considers the 

nature of the potential adverse impact 

being mitigated (likelihood, scope, 

range). It further considers the 

likelihood that the measure will be 

effective if implemented (probability of 

accomplishing the mitigating result if 

implemented as planned), the 

likelihood of effective implementation 

(probability implemented as planned); 

and, 

(2) The practicability of the measures 

for applicant implementation, which 

may consider such things as cost, and 

impact on operations. 

Mitigation Measures 

Cordova must follow mitigation 

measures as specified below: 

• Ensure that construction 

supervisors and crews, the monitoring 

team, and relevant Cordova staff are 

trained prior to the start of all pile 

driving and DTH drilling activity, so 

that responsibilities, communication 

procedures, monitoring protocols, and 

operational procedures are clearly 

understood. New personnel joining 

during the project must be trained prior 

to commencing work; 

• Employ Protected Species 

Observers (PSOs) and establish 

monitoring locations as described in the 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1

I I 
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 69153 

application and the IHAs. The Holder 

must monitor the project area to the 

maximum extent possible based on the 

required number of PSOs, required 

monitoring locations, and 

environmental conditions. For all pile 

driving and removal at least one PSO 

must be used. The PSO will be stationed 

as close to the activity as possible; 

• The placement of the PSOs during 

all pile driving and removal and DTH 

drilling activities will ensure that the 

entire shutdown zone is visible during 

pile installation; 

• Monitoring must take place from 30 

minutes prior to initiation of pile 

driving or DTH drilling activity (i.e., 

pre-clearance monitoring) through 30 

minutes post-completion of pile driving 

or DTH drilling activity; 

• Pre-start clearance monitoring must 

be conducted during periods of 

visibility sufficient for the lead PSO to 

determine that the shutdown zones 

indicated in Table 9 are clear of marine 

mammals. Pile driving and DTH drilling 

may commence following 30 minutes of 

observation when the determination is 

made that the shutdown zones are clear 

of marine mammals; 

• Cordova must use soft start 

techniques when impact pile driving. 

Soft start requires contractors to provide 

an initial set of three strikes at reduced 

energy, followed by a 30-second waiting 

period, then two subsequent reducedenergy strike sets. A soft start must be 

implemented at the start of each day’s 

impact pile driving and at any time 

following cessation of impact pile 

driving for a period of 30 minutes or 

longer; 

• If a marine mammal is observed 

entering or within the shutdown zones 

indicated in Table 9, pile driving and 

DTH drilling must be delayed or halted. 

If pile driving is delayed or halted due 

to the presence of a marine mammal, the 

activity may not commence or resume 

until either the animal has voluntarily 

exited and been visually confirmed 

beyond the shutdown zone (Table 9) or 

15 minutes have passed without redetection of the animal; and 

• As planned by the applicant, in 

water activities will take place only 

between civil dawn and civil dusk when 

PSOs can effectively monitor for the 

presence of marine mammals; during 

conditions with a Beaufort Sea State of 

4 or less. Pile driving and DTH drilling 

may continue for up to 30 minutes after 

sunset during evening civil twilight, as 

necessary to secure a pile for safety 

prior to demobilization during this time. 

The length of the post-activity 

monitoring period may be reduced if 

darkness precludes visibility of the 

shutdown and monitoring zones. 

Shutdown Zones 

Cordova will establish shutdown 

zones for all pile driving and DTH 

drilling activities. The purpose of a 

shutdown zone is generally to define an 

area within which shutdown of the 

activity will occur upon sighting of a 

marine mammal (or in anticipation of an 

animal entering the defined area). 

Shutdown zones will be based upon the 

Level A harassment isopleth for each 

pile size/type and driving method 

where applicable, as shown in Table 9. 

For in-water heavy machinery 

activities other than pile driving, if a 

marine mammal comes within 10 m, 

work will stop and vessels will reduce 

speed to the minimum level required to 

maintain steerage and safe working 

conditions. A 10-m shutdown zone 

serves to protect marine mammals from 

physical interactions with project 

vessels during pile driving and other 

construction activities, such as barge 

positioning or drilling. If an activity is 

delayed or halted due to the presence of 

a marine mammal, the activity may not 

commence or resume until either the 

animal has voluntarily exited and been 

visually confirmed beyond the 

shutdown zone indicated in Table 9 or 

15 minutes have passed without redetection of the animal. Construction 

activities must be halted upon 

observation of a species for which 

incidental take is not authorized or a 

species for which incidental take has 

been authorized but the authorized 

number of takes has been met entering 

or within the harassment zone. 

All marine mammals will be 

monitored in the Level B harassment 

zones and throughout the area as far as 

visual monitoring can take place. If a 

marine mammal enters the Level B 

harassment zone, construction activities 

including in-water work will continue 

and the animal’s presence within the 

estimated harassment zone will be 

documented. 

Cordova will also establish shutdown 

zones for all marine mammals for which 

take has not been authorized or for 

which incidental take has been 

authorized but the authorized number of 

takes has been met. These zones are 

equivalent to the Level B harassment 

zones for each activity. If a marine 

mammal species not covered under 

these IHAs enters the shutdown zone, 

all in-water activities will cease until 

the animal leaves the zone or has not 

been observed for at least 15 minutes, 

and NMFS will be notified about 

species and precautions taken. Pile 

driving will proceed if the non-IHA 

species is observed to leave the Level B 

harassment zone or if 15 minutes have 

passed since the last observation. 

If shutdown and/or clearance 

procedures will result in an imminent 

safety concern, as determined by 

Cordova or its designated officials, the 

in-water activity will be allowed to 

continue until the safety concern has 

been addressed, and the animal will be 

continuously monitored. 

TABLE 9—SHUTDOWN AND MONITORING ZONES

Pile type Phase 

Minimum shutdown zone 

(m) Monitoring zone 

(m) 

MF HF Phocid Otariid 

Barge movements, pile positioning, etc.I, II 10 10 10 10 10. 

Vibratory Pile Driving 

12- to 24-in timber pile removal I, II 10 35 25 10 6,310. 

12- to 24-in steel pile removal I 10 35 20 10 5,425. 

24-in steel template pile install/ 

removal.

I, II 10 25 10 10 5,425. 

16- to 24-in steel pile.

30-in steel pile .......................... I 10 25 10 10 6,225. 

Steel H-pile ............................... II 10 35 25 10 10,000. 

Steel sheet pile ........................ II 10 25 10 10 6,310. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
69154 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 

TABLE 9—SHUTDOWN AND MONITORING ZONES—Continued 

Pile type Phase 

Minimum shutdown zone 

(m) Monitoring zone 

(m) 

MF HF Phocid Otariid 

In-air pile install/removal .......... I ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ 70 (phocids)/25 (otariids). 

Impact Pile Driving 

16- to 24-in steel pile ............... I 10 185 75 10 255. 

30-in steel pile .......................... I 25 800 360 25 1,000. 

Steel H-pile ............................... II 25 410 185 25 350. 

Steel sheet pile ........................ II 75 1,000 500 75 1,000. 

In-air pile install ........................ I ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ 55 (phocids)/20 (otariids). 

DTH Drilling 

16- to 24-in pile ........................ I, II 35 1,000 500 40 13,594. 

30-in pile ................................... I 75 1,000 500 75 39,811. 

Steel H-pile ............................... II 75 1,000 500 75 39,811. 

In-air pile install ........................ I ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ 55 (phocids)/20 (otariids). 

Protected Species Observers 

The placement of PSOs during all 

construction activities (described in the 

Monitoring and Reporting section) will 

ensure that the entire shutdown zone is 

visible. Should environmental 

conditions deteriorate such that the 

entire shutdown zone would not be 

visible (e.g., fog, heavy rain), pile 

driving would be delayed until the PSO 

is confident marine mammals within 

the shutdown zone could be detected. 

PSOs will monitor the full shutdown 

zones and the remaining Level A 

harassment and the Level B harassment 

zones to the extent practicable. 

Monitoring zones provide utility for 

observing by establishing monitoring 

protocols for areas adjacent to the 

shutdown zones. Monitoring zones 

enable observers to be aware of and 

communicate the presence of marine 

mammals in the project areas outside 

the shutdown zones and thus prepare 

for a potential cessation of activity 

should the animal enter the shutdown 

zone. 

Pre-Activity Monitoring 

Prior to the start of daily in-water 

construction activity, or whenever a 

break in pile driving or DTH drilling of 

30 minutes or longer occurs, PSOs will 

observe the shutdown and monitoring 

zones for a period of 30 minutes. The 

shutdown zone will be considered 

cleared when a marine mammal has not 

been observed within the zone for that 

30-minute period. If a marine mammal 

is observed within the shutdown zones 

listed in Table 9, pile driving activity 

will be delayed or halted. If work ceases 

for more than 30 minutes, the preactivity monitoring of the shutdown 

zones would commence. A 

determination that the shutdown zone is 

clear must be made during a period of 

good visibility (i.e., the entire shutdown 

zone and surrounding waters must be 

visible to the naked eye). 

Soft-Start Procedures 

Soft-start procedures provide 

additional protection to marine 

mammals by providing warning and/or 

giving marine mammals a chance to 

leave the area prior to the hammer 

operating at full capacity. For impact 

pile driving, contractors will be required 

to provide an initial set of three strikes 

from the hammer at reduced energy, 

followed by a 30-second waiting period, 

then two subsequent reduced-energy 

strike sets. Soft-start will be 

implemented at the start of each day’s 

impact pile driving and at any time 

following cessation of impact pile 

driving for a period of 30 minutes or 

longer. 

Based on our evaluation of the 

applicant’s planned measures NMFS 

has determined that the mitigation 

measures provide the means of effecting 

the least practicable impact on the 

affected species or stocks and their 

habitat, paying particular attention to 

rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of 

similar significance. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

In order to issue an IHA for an 

activity, section 101(a)(5)(D) of the 

MMPA states that NMFS must set forth 

requirements pertaining to the 

monitoring and reporting of such taking. 

The MMPA implementing regulations at 

50 CFR 216.104(a)(13) indicate that 

requests for authorizations must include 

the suggested means of accomplishing 

the necessary monitoring and reporting 

that will result in increased knowledge 

of the species and of the level of taking 

or impacts on populations of marine 

mammals that are expected to be 

present while conducting the activities. 

Effective reporting is critical both to 

compliance as well as ensuring that the 

most value is obtained from the required 

monitoring. 

Monitoring and reporting 

requirements prescribed by NMFS 

should contribute to improved 

understanding of one or more of the 

following: 

• Occurrence of marine mammal 

species or stocks in the area in which 

take is anticipated (e.g., presence, 

abundance, distribution, density); 

• Nature, scope, or context of likely 

marine mammal exposure to potential 

stressors/impacts (individual or 

cumulative, acute or chronic), through 

better understanding of: (1) action or 

environment (e.g., source 

characterization, propagation, ambient 

noise), (2) affected species (e.g., life 

history, dive patterns), (3) co-occurrence 

of marine mammal species with the 

activity, or (4) biological or behavioral 

context of exposure (e.g., age, calving or 

feeding areas); 

• Individual marine mammal 

responses (behavioral or physiological) 

to acoustic stressors (acute, chronic, or 

cumulative), other stressors, or 

cumulative impacts from multiple 

stressors; 

• How anticipated responses to 

stressors impact either: (1) long-term 

fitness and survival of individual 

marine mammals, or (2) populations, 

species, or stocks; 

• Effects on marine mammal habitat 

(e.g., marine mammal prey species, 

acoustic habitat, or other important 

physical components of marine 

mammal habitat); and, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1

I I 

I I 

I I 
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 69155 

• Mitigation and monitoring 

effectiveness. 

Visual Monitoring 

Marine mammal monitoring must be 

conducted in accordance with the 

conditions in this section and the IHAs. 

Marine mammal monitoring during pile 

driving activities will be conducted by 

PSOs meeting NMFS’ following 

requirements: 

• Independent PSOs (i.e., not 

construction personnel) who have no 

other assigned tasks during monitoring 

periods will be used; 

• At least one PSO will have prior 

experience performing the duties of a 

PSO during construction activity 

pursuant to a NMFS-issued incidental 

take authorization; 

• Other PSOs may substitute 

education (degree in biological science 

or related field) or training for 

experience; and 

• Where a team of three or more PSOs 

is required, a lead observer or 

monitoring coordinator will be 

designated. The lead observer will be 

required to have prior experience 

working as a marine mammal observer 

during construction. 

PSOs must have the following 

additional qualifications: 

• Ability to conduct field 

observations and collect data according 

to assigned protocols; 

• Experience or training in the field 

identification of marine mammals, 

including the identification of 

behaviors; 

• Sufficient training, orientation, or 

experience with the construction 

operation to provide for personal safety 

during observations; 

• Writing skills sufficient to prepare a 

report of observations including but not 

limited to the number and species of 

marine mammals observed; dates and 

times when in-water construction 

activities were conducted; dates, times 

and reason for implementation of 

mitigation (or why mitigation was not 

implemented when required); and 

marine mammal behavior; 

• Ability to communicate orally, by 

radio or in person, with project 

personnel to provide real-time 

information on marine mammals 

observed in the area as necessary; 

• Cordova must employ up to five 

PSOs depending on the size of the 

monitoring and shutdown zones. A 

minimum of two PSOs (including the 

lead PSO) must be assigned to the active 

pile driving location to monitor the 

shutdown zones and as much of the 

Level B harassment zones as possible; 

• Cordova must establish monitoring 

locations with the best views of 

monitoring zones as described in the 

IHAs and Application; 

• Up to five monitors will be used at 

a time depending on the size of the 

monitoring area. PSOs will be deployed 

in strategic locations around the area of 

potential effects at all times during inwater pile driving and removal. PSOs 

will be positioned at locations that 

provide full views of the impact 

hammering monitoring zone and the 

Level A harassment Shutdown Zones. 

All PSOs will have access to highquality binoculars, range finders to 

monitor distances, and a compass to 

record bearing to animals as well as 

radios or cells phones for maintaining 

contact with work crews; 

• During work in the south harbor, up 

to three PSOs will be stationed at the 

following locations: along the south 

harbor parking area, on the Breakwater 

Trail, and at a viewpoint along New 

England Cannery Road; and 

• During work in the north harbor, up 

to five PSOs will be stationed at the 

following locations: along the north 

harbor parking area, on the Breakwater 

Trail, at the viewpoint along the shore 

near Saddle Point, at a viewpoint along 

Whitshed Road, and on a vessel in Orca 

Inlet. 

Monitoring will be conducted 30 

minutes before, during, and 30 minutes 

after all in water construction activities. 

In addition, PSOs will record all 

incidents of marine mammal 

occurrence, regardless of distance from 

activity, and will document any 

behavioral reactions in concert with 

distance from piles being driven or 

removed. Pile driving activities include 

the time to install or remove a single 

pile or series of piles, as long as the time 

elapsed between uses of the pile driving 

equipment is no more than 30 minutes. 

Cordova shall conduct briefings 

between construction supervisors and 

crews, PSOs, Cordova staff prior to the 

start of all pile driving activities and 

when new personnel join the work. 

These briefings will explain 

responsibilities, communication 

procedures, marine mammal monitoring 

protocol, and operational procedures. 

Reporting 

A draft marine mammal monitoring 

report will be submitted to NMFS 

within 90 days after the completion of 

pile driving and removal activities for 

each IHA, or 60 days prior to a 

requested date of issuance from any 

future IHAs for projects at the same 

location, whichever comes first. The 

report will include an overall 

description of work completed, a 

narrative regarding marine mammal 

sightings, and associated PSO data 

sheets. Specifically, the report must 

include: 

(1) Dates and times (begin and end) of 

all marine mammal monitoring; 

(2) Construction activities occurring 

during each daily observation period, 

including the number and type of piles 

driven or removed and by what method 

(i.e., impact, vibratory, or DTH drilling) 

and the total equipment duration for 

vibratory removal for each pile or total 

number of strikes for each pile (impact 

driving); 

(3) PSO locations during marine 

mammal monitoring; 

(4) Environmental conditions during 

monitoring periods (at beginning and 

end of PSO shift and whenever 

conditions change significantly), 

including Beaufort sea state and any 

other relevant weather conditions 

including cloud cover, fog, sun glare, 

and overall visibility to the horizon, and 

estimated observable distance; and 

(5) Upon observation of a marine 

mammal, the following information: 

(a) Name of PSO who sighted the 

animal(s) and PSO location and activity 

at the time of sighting; 

(b) Time of sighting; 

(c) Identification of the animal(s) (e.g., 

genus/species, lowest possible 

taxonomic level, or unidentifiable), PSO 

confidence in identification, and the 

composition of the group if there is a 

mix of species; 

(d) Distance and bearing of each 

marine mammal observed relative to the 

pile being driven for each sightings (if 

pile driving was occurring at time of 

sighting); 

(e) Estimated number of animals 

(min/max/best estimate); 

(f) Estimated number of animals by 

cohort (adults, juveniles, neonates, 

group composition, sex class, etc.); 

(g) Animal’s closest point of approach 

and estimated time spent within the 

harassment zone; 

(h) Description of any marine 

mammal behavioral observations (e.g., 

observed behaviors such as feeding or 

traveling), including an assessment of 

behavioral responses thought to have 

resulted from the activity (e.g., no 

response or changes in behavioral state 

such as ceasing feeding, changing 

direction, flushing, or breaching); 

(i) Number of marine mammals 

detected within the harassment zones 

and shutdown zones; by species; and 

(j) Detailed information about any 

implementation of any mitigation 

triggered (e.g., shutdowns and delays), a 

description of specific actions that 

ensured, and resulting changes in 

behavior of the animal(s), if any. 

If no comments are received from 

NMFS within 30 days, the draft reports 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
69156 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 

will constitute the final reports. If 

comments are received, a final report 

addressing NMFS comments must be 

submitted within 30 days after receipt of 

comments. 

Reporting Injured or Dead Marine 

Mammals 

In the event that personnel involved 

in the construction activities discover 

an injured or dead marine mammal, the 

IHA-holder must immediately cease the 

specified activities and report the 

incident to the Office of Protected 

Resources (OPR) 

(PR.ITP.MonitoringReports@noaa.gov), 

NMFS and to the Alaska Regional 

Stranding Coordinator as soon as 

feasible. If the death or injury was 

clearly caused by the specified activity, 

Cordova must immediately cease the 

specified activities until NMFS is able 

to review the circumstances of the 

incident and determine what, if any, 

additional measures are appropriate to 

ensure compliance with the terms of the 

IHAs. The IHA-holder must not resume 

their activities until notified by NMFS. 

The report must include the following 

information: 

• Time, date, and location (latitude/ 

longitude) of the first discovery (and 

updated location information if known 

and applicable); 

• Species identification (if known) or 

description of the animal(s) involved; 

• Condition of the animal(s) 

(including carcass condition if the 

animal is dead); 

• Observed behaviors of the 

animal(s), if alive; 

• If available, photographs or video 

footage of the animal(s); and 

• General circumstances under which 

the animal was discovered. 

Negligible Impact Analysis and 

Determination 

NMFS has defined negligible impact 

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 

(50 CFR 216.103). A negligible impact 

finding is based on the lack of likely 

adverse effects on annual rates of 

recruitment or survival (i.e., populationlevel effects). An estimate of the number 

of takes alone is not enough information 

on which to base an impact 

determination. In addition to 

considering estimates of the number of 

marine mammals that might be ‘‘taken’’ 

through harassment, NMFS considers 

other factors, such as the likely nature 

of any impacts or responses (e.g., 

intensity, duration), the context of any 

impacts or responses (e.g., critical 

reproductive time or location, foraging 

impacts affecting energetics), as well as 

effects on habitat, and the likely 

effectiveness of the mitigation. We also 

assess the number, intensity, and 

context of estimated takes by evaluating 

this information relative to population 

status. Consistent with the 1989 

preamble for NMFS’ implementing 

regulations (54 FR 40338, September 29, 

1989), the impacts from other past and 

ongoing anthropogenic activities are 

incorporated into this analysis via their 

impacts on the baseline (e.g., as 

reflected in the regulatory status of the 

species, population size and growth rate 

where known, ongoing sources of 

human-caused mortality, or ambient 

noise levels). 

To avoid repetition, the discussion of 

our analysis applies to all the species 

listed in Table 1, given that the 

anticipated effects of this activity on 

these different marine mammal stocks 

are expected to be similar. There is little 

information about the nature or severity 

of the impacts, or the size, status, or 

structure of any of these species or 

stocks that would lead to a different 

analysis for this activity. Also, because 

both the number and nature of the 

estimated takes anticipated to occur are 

identical in Phase I and Phase II, the 

analysis below applies to each of the 

IHAs. 

Pile driving and DTH drilling 

activities associated with the project, as 

outlined previously, have the potential 

to disturb or displace marine mammals. 

Specifically, the specified activities may 

result in take, in the form of Level B 

harassment and, for some species, Level 

A harassment from underwater sounds 

generated by pile driving. Potential 

takes could occur if individuals are 

present in the ensonified zone when 

these activities are underway. 

No serious injury or mortality is 

expected, even in the absence of 

required mitigation measures, given the 

nature of the activities. Further, no take 

by Level A harassment is anticipated for 

killer whales due to the application of 

planned mitigation measures, such as 

shutdown zones that encompass the 

Level A harassment zones for the 

species, the rarity of the species near the 

action area, and the shallow depths of 

the harbor. The potential for harassment 

will be minimized through the 

construction method and the 

implementation of the planned 

mitigation measures (see Mitigation 

section). 

Take by Level A harassment is 

authorized for three species (Steller sea 

lion, harbor seal, and Dall’s porpoise) as 

the Level A harassment isopleths exceed 

the size of the shutdown zones for 

specific construction scenarios. 

Additionally, the two pinniped species 

are common in and around the action 

area. Therefore, there is the possibility 

that an animal could enter a Level A 

harassment zone and remain within that 

zone for a duration long enough to incur 

PTS. Take by Level A harassment of 

these species is therefore authorized. 

Any take by Level A harassment is 

expected to arise from, at most, a small 

degree of PTS (i.e., minor degradation of 

hearing capabilities within regions of 

hearing that align most completely with 

the energy produced by impact pile 

driving such as the low-frequency 

region below 2 kilohertz (kHz)), not 

severe hearing impairment or 

impairment within the ranges of greatest 

hearing sensitivity. Animals would need 

to be exposed to higher levels and/or 

longer duration than are expected to 

occur here in order to incur any more 

than a small degree of PTS. 

Further, the amount of authorized 

take by Level A harassment is very low 

for the marine mammal stocks and 

species. If hearing impairment occurs, it 

is most likely that the affected animal 

would lose only a few decibels in its 

hearing sensitivity. Due to the small 

degree anticipated, any PTS potential 

incurred would not be expected to affect 

the reproductive success or survival of 

any individuals, much less result in 

adverse impacts on the species or stock. 

The Level A harassment zones 

identified in Table 6 are based upon an 

animal exposed to pile driving or DTH 

drilling of several piles per day (up to 

25 piles per day for vibratory removal, 

10 piles per day of vibratory 

installation, 6 piles per day of impact 

driving, and 4 piles per day of DTH 

drilling). Given the short duration to 

impact drive or vibratory install or 

extract, or use DTH drilling, each pile 

and break between pile installations (to 

reset equipment and move piles into 

place), an animal would have to remain 

within the area estimated to be 

ensonified above the Level A 

harassment threshold for multiple 

hours. This is highly unlikely given 

marine mammal movement patterns in 

the area. If an animal was exposed to 

accumulated sound energy, the resulting 

PTS would likely be small (e.g., PTS 

onset) at lower frequencies where pile 

driving energy is concentrated, and 

unlikely to result in impacts to 

individual fitness, reproduction, or 

survival. 

Additionally, some subset of the 

individuals that are behaviorally 

harassed could also simultaneously 

incur some small degree of TTS for a 

short duration of time. However, since 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 69157 

the hearing sensitivity of individuals 

that incur TTS is expected to recover 

completely within minutes to hours, it 

is unlikely that the brief hearing 

impairment would affect the 

individual’s long-term ability to forage 

and communicate with conspecifics, 

and will therefore not likely impact 

reproduction or survival of any 

individual marine mammal, let alone 

adversely affect rates of recruitment or 

survival of the species or stock. 

The nature of the pile driving project 

precludes the likelihood of serious 

injury or mortality. For all species and 

stocks, take would occur within a 

limited, confined area (adjacent to the 

project site) of the stock’s range. Take by 

Level A and Level B harassment will be 

reduced to the level of least practicable 

adverse impact through use of 

mitigation measures described herein. 

Further, the amount of take authorized 

is extremely small when compared to 

stock abundance. 

Behavioral responses of marine 

mammals to pile driving, pile removal, 

and DTH drilling in Cordova Harbor and 

the surrounding Orca Inlet are expected 

to be mild, short term, and temporary. 

Marine mammals within the Level B 

harassment zones may not show any 

visual cues they are disturbed by 

activities or they could become alert, 

avoid the area, leave the area, or display 

other mild responses that are not 

observable such as changes in 

vocalization patterns. Given that pile 

driving, pile removal, and DTH drilling 

are temporary activities and effects will 

cease when equipment is not operating, 

any harassment occurring will be 

temporary. Additionally, many of the 

species present in region will only be 

present temporarily based on seasonal 

patterns or during transit between other 

habitats. These species will be exposed 

to even smaller periods of noisegenerating activity, further decreasing 

the impacts. 

The same regions are also a part of the 

western distinct population segment 

(DPS) Steller sea lion ESA critical 

habitat. While Steller sea lions are 

common in the project area, there are no 

essential physical and biological habitat 

features, such as haulouts or rookeries, 

within the planned project area. The 

nearest haulout and rookery are over 30 

km away from the planned project area. 

Therefore, the planned project is not 

expected to have significant adverse 

effects on the critical habitat of Wester 

DPS Steller sea lions. No areas of 

specific biological importance (e.g., ESA 

critical habitat, other BIAs, or other 

areas) for any other species are known 

to co-occur with the project area. 

In addition, it is unlikely that minor 

noise effects in a small, localized area of 

habitat will have any effect on each 

stock’s ability to recover. In 

combination, we believe that these 

factors, as well as the available body of 

evidence from other similar activities, 

demonstrate that the potential effects of 

the specified activities will have only 

minor, short-term effects on individuals. 

The specified activities are not expected 

to impact rates of recruitment or 

survival and will therefore not result in 

population-level impacts. 

In summary and as described above, 

the following factors primarily support 

our determination that the impacts 

resulting from this activity are not 

expected to adversely affect any of the 

species or stocks through effects on 

annual rates of recruitment or survival: 

• No serious injury or mortality is 

anticipated or authorized; 

• Take by Level A harassment will be 

very small amounts and of low degree; 

• Take by Level A harassment is 

authorized only for Steller sea lions, 

harbor seals, and Dall’s porpoise; 

• For all species, the Orca Inlet and 

the Cordova Harbor is a very small and 

peripheral part of their range; 

• Anticipated takes by Level B 

harassment are relatively low for all 

stocks. Level B harassment will be 

primarily in the form of behavioral 

disturbance, resulting in avoidance of 

the project areas around where impact 

or vibratory pile driving is occurring, 

with some low-level TTS that may limit 

the detection of acoustic cues for 

relatively brief amounts of time in 

relatively confined footprints of the 

activities; 

• Effects on species that serve as prey 

for marine mammals from the activities 

are expected to be short-term and, 

therefore, any associated impacts on 

marine mammal feeding are not 

expected to result in significant or longterm consequences for individuals, or to 

accrue to adverse impacts on their 

populations; 

• The ensonified areas are very small 

relative to the overall habitat ranges of 

all species and stocks, and will not 

adversely affect ESA-designated critical 

habitat for any species or any areas of 

known biological importance; 

• The lack of anticipated significant 

or long-term negative effects to marine 

mammal habitat; and 

• Cordova will implement mitigation 

measures including soft-starts and 

shutdown zones to minimize the 

numbers of marine mammals exposed to 

injurious levels of sound, and to ensure 

that take by Level A harassment is, at 

most, a small degree of PTS. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of the likely effects of the 

specified activity on marine mammals 

and their habitat, and taking into 

consideration the implementation of the 

monitoring and mitigation measures, 

NMFS finds that the total marine 

mammal take, specific to each of the 2 

consecutive years of planned activity, 

will have a negligible impact on all 

affected marine mammal species or 

stocks. 

Small Numbers 

As noted previously, only take of 

small numbers of marine mammals may 

be authorized under sections 

101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA for 

specified activities other than military 

readiness activities. The MMPA does 

not define small numbers and so, in 

practice, where estimated numbers are 

available, NMFS compares the number 

of individuals taken to the most 

appropriate estimation of abundance of 

the relevant species or stock in our 

determination of whether an 

authorization is limited to small 

numbers of marine mammals. When the 

predicted number of individuals to be 

taken is fewer than one-third of the 

species or stock abundance, the take is 

considered to be of small numbers. 

Additionally, other qualitative factors 

may be considered in the analysis, such 

as the temporal or spatial scale of the 

activities. 

The amount of take NMFS plans to 

authorize, specific to each of the 2 

consecutive years of planned activity, is 

below one-third of the estimated stock 

abundance for all species (in fact, take 

of individuals is less than 5 percent of 

the abundance of the affected stocks, see 

Table 8). This is likely a conservative 

estimate because we assume all takes 

are of different individual animals, 

which is likely not the case. Some 

individuals may return multiple times 

in a day, but PSOs will count them as 

separate takes if they cannot be 

individually identified. 

The most recent estimate for the 

Alaska stock of Dall’s porpoise was 

13,110 animals; however this number 

accounts for only a portion of the stock’s 

range. Therefore, the 42 authorized 

takes (including 10 Level A takes) of 

this stock are believed to be an even 

smaller portion of the overall stock 

abundance. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of the planned activity (including 

the mitigation and monitoring 

measures) and the anticipated take of 

marine mammals, for each of the 2 

consecutive years of planned activity, 

NMFS finds that small numbers of 

marine mammals would be taken 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
69158 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 

relative to the population size of the 

affected species or stocks. 

Unmitigable Adverse Impact Analysis 

and Determination 

In order to issue an IHA, NMFS must 

find that the specified activity will not 

have an ‘‘unmitigable adverse impact’’ 

on the subsistence uses of the affected 

marine mammal species or stocks by 

Alaskan Natives. NMFS has defined 

‘‘unmitigable adverse impact’’ in 50 CFR 

216.103 as an impact resulting from the 

specified activity: (1) That is likely to 

reduce the availability of the species to 

a level insufficient for a harvest to meet 

subsistence needs by (i) causing the 

marine mammals to abandon or avoid 

hunting areas, (ii) directly displacing 

subsistence users, or (iii) placing 

physical barriers between the marine 

mammals and the subsistence hunters; 

and (2) That cannot be sufficiently 

mitigated by other measures to increase 

the availability of marine mammals to 

allow subsistence needs to be met. 

The Alutiiq and Eyak people of Prince 

William Sound traditionally harvested 

marine mammals, however the last 

recorded subsistence harvest in Cordova 

was in 2014 as part of a regional effort 

to update the status of subsistence uses 

in Exxon Valdez Oil Spill communities, 

during which no marine mammals were 

harvested in Cordova (Fall and 

Zimpelman 2016). 

In the decades since the Exxon Valdez 

Oil Spill, there have been declines in 

the number of households hunting and 

harvesting larger marine mammals in 

Prince William Sound. Surveys 

gathering subsistence data found that 10 

percent or fewer households harvest or 

use harbor seals or sea lions (Poe et al., 

2010). Subsistence hunters in Prince 

William Sound report having to travel 

farther from their home communities to 

be successful when harvesting marine 

mammals (Keating et al., 2020). 

The planned project is not likely to 

adversely impact the availability of any 

marine mammal species or stocks that 

are commonly used for subsistence 

purposes or to impact subsistence 

harvest of marine mammals in the 

region because: 

• There is no recent recorded 

subsistence harvest of marine mammals 

in the area; 

• Construction activities are localized 

and temporary; 

• Mitigation measures will be 

implemented to minimize disturbance 

of marine mammals in the action area; 

and, 

• The project will not result in 

significant changes to availability of 

subsistence resources. 

Based on the description of the 

specified activity, the measures 

described to minimize adverse effects 

on the availability of marine mammals 

for subsistence purposes, and the 

planned mitigation and monitoring 

measures, NMFS has determined that 

there will not be an unmitigable adverse 

impact on subsistence uses from 

Cordova’s planned activities. 

Endangered Species Act 

There is one marine mammal species 

(western DPS Steller sea lion) with 

confirmed occurrence in the project area 

that is listed as endangered under the 

ESA. The NMFS Alaska Regional Office 

issued a Biological Opinion on 

September 28, 2023 under section 7 of 

the ESA on the issuance of two IHAs to 

Cordova under section 101(a)(5)(D) of 

the MMPA by the NMFS Office of 

Protected Resources. The Biological 

Opinion concluded that this action is 

not likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of Western Distinct 

Population Segment (DPS) Steller sea 

lions. In addition, the proposed action 

is not likely to adversely affect Western 

North Pacific DPS humpback whales, 

Mexico DPS humpback whales, fin 

whales, or Steller sea lion critical 

habitat. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

To comply with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

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

NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 

216–6A, NMFS must evaluate our 

proposed action (i.e., the issuance of 

two IHAs) and alternatives with respect 

to potential impacts on the human 

environment. 

This action is consistent with 

categories of activities identified in 

Categorical Exclusion B4 (IHAs with no 

anticipated serious injury or mortality) 

of the Companion Manual for NAO 216– 

6A, which do not individually or 

cumulatively have the potential for 

significant impacts on the quality of the 

human environment and for which we 

have not identified any extraordinary 

circumstances that would preclude this 

categorical exclusion. Accordingly, 

NMFS has determined that the issuance 

of these IHAs qualifies to be 

categorically excluded from further 

NEPA review. 

Authorizations 

NMFS has issued two consecutive 

IHAs to Cordova for the potential 

harassment of small numbers of marine 

mammal species incidental to the 

Cordova Harbor Rebuild project, in 

Cordova, Alaska, that includes the 

previously explained mitigation, 

monitoring and reporting requirements. 

Dated: September 29, 2023. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22096 Filed 10–4–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD446] 

New England Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) is 

scheduling a public meeting of its 

Groundfish Committee via webinar to 

consider actions affecting New England 

fisheries in the exclusive economic zone 

(EEZ). Recommendations from this 

group will be brought to the full Council 

for formal consideration and action, if 

appropriate. 

DATES: This webinar will be held on 

Monday, November 13, 2023, at 9:30 

a.m. 

ADDRESSES: Webinar registration URL 

information: https://attendee.

gotowebinar.com/register/

4122443360576842070. 

Council address: New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cate 

O’Keefe, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Agenda 

The Groundfish Committee will meet 

to discuss recommendations from the 

Recreational Advisory Panel and 

Groundfish Advisory Panel. They will 

review draft Framework Adjustment 66 

alternatives and draft impacts analysis 

and recommend preferred alternatives 

to the Council. They will receive an 

update on Framework Adjustment 68/ 

Acceptable Biological Catches (ABC) 

Control Rules. They will also continue 

development of the Atlantic Cod 

Transition Plan as well as possibly 

recommend 2024 priorities to the 

Council. The Committee will discuss 

other business if necessary. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1