72048 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 201 / Thursday, October 19, 2023 / Notices 

organisms, protected species and 

habitats, marine mammals, kelp beds, 

eelgrass beds, biodiversity), 

c. Social, historical, and cultural 

resources (cultural and subsistence 

harvest, community subsistence 

hunting, subsistence fishing, culturally 

important sites to encourage or avoid, 

shipwrecks), 

d. Government boundaries, 

e. Industry (fishing, energy 

production, transportation, 

communication cables), 

f. Military, 

g. Navigation, and 

h. Recreational resources (fishing, 

hunting, etc.). 

9. Are there aquaculture species or 

gear considerations that may result in 

optimized growth in Alaska state 

waters? This might include (but is not 

limited to): species or aquaculture gear 

depth thresholds, water current 

thresholds, temperature thresholds, 

salinity thresholds, etc. Are there any 

species or gear not currently being used 

in Alaska state waters that you would 

like to see in the future? Do they extend 

any of these (or other) thresholds? 

Please be as specific as possible. 

10. Is there any additional 

information NOAA should consider? 

When providing input, please specify: 

• The question number(s) you are 

responding to; and 

• Whether your comments are related 

to specific type(s) of aquaculture 

(macroalgae, invertebrates, or a 

combination of species). 

Responses to this request are 

voluntary. Respondents need not reply 

to all questions. 

Authority: E.O. 13921. 

Dated: October 12, 2023. 

Danielle Blacklock, 

Director, Office of Aquaculture, National 

Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23084 Filed 10–18–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD374] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to the Ocean Wind 

1 Project Offshore of New Jersey 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of Letter of 

Authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA) as amended, and implementing 

regulations, notification is hereby given 

that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has 

been issued to Ocean Wind, LLC (Ocean 

Wind), a subsidiary wholly owned by 

Orsted Wind Power North America, LLC 

(Orsted), for the taking of marine 

mammals incidental to the construction 

of the Ocean Wind 1 Project. 

DATES: The LOA is effective from 

October 13, 2023 through October 12, 

2028. 

ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting 

documentation are available online at: 

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

incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-protection-act. In case 

of problems accessing these documents, 

please call the contact listed below (see 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kelsey Potlock, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of 

marine mammals, with certain 

exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and 

(D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce 

(as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon 

request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking of small numbers of 

marine mammals by U.S. citizens who 

engage in a specified activity (other than 

commercial fishing) within a specified 

geographical region if certain findings 

are made, regulations are promulgated 

(when applicable), and public notice 

and an opportunity for public comment 

are provided. 

An 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). If such findings 

are made, NMFS must prescribe the 

permissible methods of taking; ‘‘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 as 

‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements 

pertaining to the monitoring and 

reporting of such takings. The MMPA 

defines ‘‘take’’ to mean harass, hunt, 

capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, 

hunt, capture, or kill any marine 

mammal (16 U.S.C. 1362(13); 50 CFR 

216.103). Level A harassment is defined 

as any act of pursuit, torment, or 

annoyance which has the potential to 

injure a marine mammal or marine 

mammal stock in the wild (16 U.S.C. 

1362(18); 50 CFR 216.3). Level B 

harassment is defined as any act of 

pursuit, torment, or annoyance which 

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 (16 U.S.C. 

1362(18); 50 CFR 216.3). Section 

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

implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 

216, subpart I authorize NMFS to 

propose and, if appropriate, promulgate 

regulations and issue an associated 

LOA(s). NMFS promulgated regulations 

on September 13, 2023 (88 FR 62898) 

for the taking of marine mammals 

incidental to the construction of the 

Ocean Wind 1 Project offshore of New 

Jersey. The LOA authorizes Ocean Wind 

and those persons it authorizes or funds 

to conduct activities on its behalf to take 

marine mammals incidental to specified 

activities during the construction of the 

Project and requires them to implement 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements. 

Summary of Request 

On September 13, 2023, NMFS 

promulgated a final rule (88 FR 62898) 

responding to a request from Ocean 

Wind for authorization to take marine 

mammals (17 species comprising 18 

stocks) by Level B harassment (all 18 

stocks) and by Level A harassment (10 

stocks) incidental to construction 

activities occurring in Federal and State 

waters off of New Jersey, specifically 

within and around the Bureau of Ocean 

Energy Management (BOEM) 

Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands 

for Renewable Energy Development on 

the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease 

Area OCS–A 0498 (Lease Area) and 

along 2 export cable routes to sea-toshore transition points (collectively 

referred to as the ‘‘Project Area’’), over 

the course of 5 years (October 13, 2023 

through October 12, 2028). The 

activities covered under the final rule 

include: the installation of 98 wind 

turbine generators (WTGs) and 3 

offshore substations (OSSs) on monopile 

foundations by impact pile driving; the 

installation and subsequent removal of 

nearshore temporary cofferdams and 

goal posts by vibratory pile driving at 

the cable landfall sites in Ocean County, 

New Jersey and Cape May County, New 

Jersey; high-resolution geophysical 

(HRG) marine site characterization 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 201 / Thursday, October 19, 2023 / Notices 72049 

surveys using active acoustic sources; 

the detonation of up to 10 unexploded 

ordnance or munitions and explosives 

of concern (UXOs/MECs) of different 

charge weights; fishery and ecological 

monitoring surveys; the placement of 

scour protection; the installation of the 

export cable route from OSSs to shorebased converter stations and inter-array 

cables between turbines by trenching, 

laying, and burial activities; vessel 

transits within the specified 

geographical region to transport crew, 

supplies, and materials to support 

construction and operation. 

Marine mammals exposed to elevated 

noise levels during impact driving, or 

UXO/MEC detonations may be taken by 

Level A harassment, and marine 

mammals exposed to elevated noise 

levels during impact and vibratory pile 

driving, site characterization surveys, or 

UXO/MEC detonations may be taken by 

Level B harassment. No Level A 

harassment of North Atlantic right 

whales, blue whales, sperm whales, 

Atlantic spotted dolphins, Atlantic 

white-sided dolphins, common 

dolphins, long-finned or short-finned 

pilot whales, or Risso’s dolphins is 

anticipated or authorized. No mortality 

or serious injury of any marine mammal 

is anticipated or authorized. 

Authorization 

In accordance with the final rule (88 

FR 62898, September 13, 2023, see 50 

CFR 217.266), we have issued a LOA to 

Ocean Wind authorizing the take, by 

harassment, of marine mammals 

incidental to specified construction 

activities within the specified 

geographical region. No mortality or 

serious injury of any marine mammal 

species is anticipated or authorized. The 

incidental takes authorized herein are 

the same as those analyzed and 

authorized in the final rule (88 FR 

62898, September 13, 2023). Takes of 

marine mammals will be minimized 

through the following planned 

mitigation and monitoring measures, as 

applicable for each specified activity: (1) 

implementation of seasonal/time of day 

work restrictions; (2) use of multiple 

NMFS-approved Protected Species 

Observers (PSOs) to visually observe for 

marine mammals (with any detection 

within specifically designated zones 

triggering a delay or shutdown, as 

applicable); (3) use of NMFS-approved 

passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) 

operators to acoustically detect marine 

mammals, with a focus on detecting 

baleen whales (with any detection 

within designated zones triggering a 

delay or shutdown, as applicable); (4) 

implementation of clearance and 

shutdown zones; (6) use of soft-start 

prior to the start of impact pile driving; 

(7) use of noise attenuation technology 

during impact pile driving and UXO/ 

MEC detonations; (8) use of situational 

awareness monitoring for marine 

mammal presence; (9) use of sound field 

verification monitoring; (10) use of softstart impact pile driving and ramp-up 

acoustic sources during HRG surveys; 

(11) implementation of vessel separation 

zones between marine mammals and 

project vessels; (12) use of PAM within 

the vessel transit corridor for Project 

vessels to travel over 10 knots (11.5 

miles per hour); and (13) 

implementation of additional Vessel 

Strike Avoidance measures to reduce 

the risk of a vessel collision with a 

marine mammal. Additionally, NMFS 

may modify the LOA’s mitigation, 

monitoring, or reporting measures, 

based on new information, when 

appropriate (see also 50 CFR 

217.267(c)). Ocean Wind is also 

required to submit reports, as specified 

in the final rule. 

Based on the findings and information 

discussed in the preamble of the final 

rule, the take authorized in the LOA 

will have a negligible impact on marine 

mammal stocks, will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the affected marine 

mammal stock for subsistence uses, and 

the mitigation measures provide a 

means of affecting the least practicable 

adverse impact on the affected stocks 

and their habitat. 

Dated: October 16, 2023. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23087 Filed 10–18–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Application for Appointment 

in the NOAA Commissioned Officer 

Corps 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, on or after the date of publication 

of this notice. We invite the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

comment on proposed, and continuing 

information collections, which helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on August 10, 

2023 during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Commerce. 

Title: Application for Appointment in 

the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0047. 

Form Number(s): NOAA Forms 56–42 

and 56–42a. 

Type of Request: Regular submission 

[revision and extension of a current 

information collection]. 

Number of Respondents: 300. 

Average Hours per Response: Written 

applications: 2 hours; Interviews: 5 

hours; References: 15 minutes. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,475. 

Needs and Uses: This is a request for 

revision and extension of an existing 

information collection. 

The NOAA Commissioned Officer 

Corps is the uniformed service of the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), a bureau of the 

United States Department of Commerce. 

Officers serve under Senate-confirmed 

appointments and Presidential 

commissions (33 U.S.C. chapter 17, 

subchapter 1, sections 853 and 854). 

The NOAA Corps provides a cadre of 

professionals trained in engineering, 

earth sciences, oceanography, 

meteorology, fisheries science, and 

other related disciplines who serve their 

country by supporting NOAA’s mission 

of surveying the Earth’s oceans, coasts, 

and atmosphere to ensure the economic 

and physical well-being of the Nation. 

NOAA Corps officers operate vessels 

and aircraft engaged in scientific 

missions and serve in leadership 

positions throughout NOAA. Persons 

wishing to apply for an appointment in 

the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps 

must complete an application package, 

including NOAA Form 56–42, at least 

three letters of recommendation, and 

official transcripts. A personal interview 

must also be conducted. Eligibility 

requirements include a bachelor’s 

degree with at least 48 credit hours of 

science, engineering, or other 

disciplines related to NOAA’s mission, 

excellent health, and normal color 

vision with uncorrected visual acuity no 

worse than 20/400 in each eye 

(correctable to 20/20). 

The revision includes updates which 

reflect the current status of the NOAA 

Corps. This includes amending the 

essay questions and updating the 


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