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[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 120 (Thursday, June 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28824-28826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13313]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC969

2018 Revision to Technical Guidance for Assessing the Effects of 
Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing--Underwater Acoustic 
Thresholds for Onset of Permanent and Temporary Threshold Shifts

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Per approval of the Secretary of Commerce, The National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the availability of the 2018 
Revision (NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-59) to its 2016 Technical 
Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine 
Mammal Hearing--Underwater Acoustic Thresholds for Onset of Permanent 
and Temporary Threshold Shifts (Technical Guidance or Guidance) based 
on comments received during the review of the Guidance pursuant to 
section 10 of Presidential Executive Order, Implementing an America-
First Offshore Energy Strategy (April 28, 2017).

ADDRESSES: The 2018 Revision to the Technical Guidance (NOAA Technical 
Memorandum NMFS-OPR-59) is available in electronic form via the 
internet at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy R. Scholik-Schlomer, Office of 
Protected Resources, 301-427-8449, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Presidential Executive Order (E.O.) 13795, Implementing an America-
First Offshore Energy Strategy (82 FR 20815; April 28, 2017), states in 
section 2 that ``It shall be the policy of the United States to 
encourage energy exploration and production, including on the Outer 
Continental Shelf, in order to maintain

[[Page 28825]]

the Nation's position as a global energy leader and foster energy 
security and resilience for the benefit of the American people, while 
ensuring that any such activity is safe and environmentally 
responsible.''
    Among the requirements of E.O. 13795 is section 10, which called 
for a review of NMFS' Technical Guidance as follows: ``The Secretary of 
Commerce shall review [NMFS' Technical Guidance] for consistency with 
the policy set forth in Section 2 of this order and, after consultation 
with the appropriate Federal agencies, take all steps permitted by law 
to rescind or revise that guidance, if appropriate.''
    The 2016 Technical Guidance referred to in E.O. 13795 is a 
technical document that compiles, interprets, and synthesizes 
scientific literature to produce updated received levels, or acoustic 
thresholds, above which individual marine mammals under NMFS' 
jurisdiction are predicted to experience changes in their hearing 
sensitivity (either temporary or permanent) for all underwater human-
made sound sources. It is intended for use by NMFS analysts and 
managers and other relevant user groups and stakeholders, including 
other Federal agencies, when seeking to determine whether and how their 
activities are expected to result in hearing impacts to marine mammals 
via acoustic exposure. The Technical Guidance helps evaluate a proposed 
activity within a comprehensive effects analysis. It can inform 
decisions related to mitigation and monitoring requirements, but it 
does not mandate any specific mitigation. The Technical Guidance does 
not address or change NMFS' application of standards in the regulatory 
context, under applicable statutes, and does not create or confer any 
rights for or on any person, or operate to bind the public (i.e., the 
use of the Technical Guidance is not mandatory).
    The Office of Management and Budget previously classified the 
Technical Guidance as a Highly Influential Scientific Assessment 
(HISA). As such, the document underwent three independent peer reviews, 
at three different stages its development, including a follow-up to one 
of the peer reviews, prior to its dissemination by NMFS in 2016. 
Details of each peer review are included within the Technical Guidance 
(Appendix C), and specific peer reviewer comments and NMFS' responses 
are at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance. In addition to 
three independent peer reviews, there were three public comment 
periods. The Federal Register Notice of Availability for the 2016 
Guidance (81 FR 51694; August 4, 2016) summarizes substantive public 
comments and NMFS' responses.

Review Under E.O. 13795

    To assist the Secretary of Commerce in the review of the Technical 
Guidance for consistency with the policy in section 2 of E.O. 13795, 
NMFS solicited public comment via a 45-day public comment period (82 FR 
24950; May 31, 2017). Additionally, on September 25, 2017, NMFS hosted 
an Interagency Consultation meeting with representatives from the 
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Department of State, Federal 
Highway Administration, Marine Mammal Commission, National Park 
Service, National Science Foundation, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. Navy.
    During the public comment period, NMFS received 62 comments from 
Federal agencies (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Navy, and 
Marine Mammal Commission), oil and gas industry representatives, 
Members of Congress, subject matter experts, non-governmental 
organizations, and members of the public. Most of the comments (85%) 
recommended no changes to the Technical Guidance. No public commenter 
suggested rescinding the Technical Guidance. The U.S. Navy, Marine 
Mammal Commission, Members of Congress, and subject matter experts 
expressed support for the Technical Guidance's auditory injury 
thresholds as reflecting the best available science. The remaining 
comments (15%) focused on additional scientific publications for 
consideration or recommended revisions to improve implementation of the 
Technical Guidance.
    At the Federal Interagency Consultation meeting, none of the 
Federal agencies recommended rescinding the Technical Guidance. They 
expressed support for the Technical Guidance's auditory injury 
thresholds and the science behind their derivation. Comments received 
at the meeting focused on improvements to implementation of the 
Technical Guidance.
    During both the public comment period and the Interagency meeting, 
three key topic areas were raised: (1) The limited scientific data on 
the impacts of sound on baleen whale hearing; (2) the need to determine 
accurate sound exposure durations for all species of marine mammals; 
and (3) the need to improve the Technical Guidance's optional User 
Spreadsheet tool. Commenters also encouraged the agency to establish 
working groups to address these data gaps and future needs.

2018 Revisions to Technical Guidance

    In response to the feedback received during the public comment 
period and the Interagency meeting, NMFS has improved the Technical 
Guidance and updated User Spreadsheet tool in several ways. Since none 
of the public commenters or Federal agencies offered additional 
scientific data to modify the auditory injury thresholds, including 
those for baleen whales, no changes are warranted on that topic at this 
time. Nevertheless, NMFS plans to convene a working group later in 2018 
to continue to examine and refine the auditory injury thresholds for 
baleen whales as more scientific data become available. Also, since 
none of the public commenters or Federal agencies offered additional 
scientific data to modify the sound exposure durations for all species 
of marine mammals, no specific changes are warranted on that topic at 
this time either. Nevertheless, NMFS plans to convene a working group 
later in 2018 to evaluate sound exposure durations to determine whether 
revisions are appropriate for future updates of the Technical Guidance 
based on any new information.
    To help applicants implement the Technical Guidance and optional 
User Spreadsheet tool, NMFS has: (a) Drafted a new User Manual for the 
optional User Spreadsheet that provides more detailed instructions and 
examples on how to use it and plans to submit this User Manual for 
public comment later in 2018 to gain input from stakeholders and inform 
future versions of this manual; (b) modified the optional User 
Spreadsheet to provide additional capabilities to assess auditory 
injury thresholds; (c) modified the current optional User Spreadsheet 
tool to facilitate assessing auditory injury thresholds for commonly 
used sound source; (d) modified the Technical Guidance to be more 
reflective of an updated international standard specifically developed 
for underwater acoustics that became available after the documents 
finalization in 2016; (e) included a summary and preliminary analysis 
of relevant scientific literature published since the 2016 Technical 
Guidance's finalization; and (f) updated the Technical Guidance to 
include the Navy's finalized version of their 2016 Technical Report 
that was used to derive the Technical Guidance's auditory injury 
thresholds.
    The 2018 Revision to the Technical Guidance (NOAA Technical

[[Page 28826]]

Memorandum NMFS-OPR-59) with the updated User Spreadsheet tool and the 
new companion User Manual is available in electronic form via the 
internet at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance.

    Dated: June 18, 2018.
Elaine T. Saiz,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-13313 Filed 6-20-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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