28824 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 120 / Thursday, June 21, 2018 / Notices 

and their habitat, and taking into 

consideration the implementation of the 

monitoring and mitigation measures, 

NMFS finds that the total marine 

mammal take from the specified activity 

will have a negligible impact on all 

affected marine mammal species or 

stocks. 

Small Numbers 

As noted above, only small numbers 

of incidental take may be authorized 

under Section 101(a)(5)(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. 

Additionally, other qualitative factors 

may be considered in the analysis, such 

as the temporal or spatial scale of the 

activities. 

The numbers of marine mammals that 

we authorize to be taken, for all species 

and stocks, would be considered small 

relative to the relevant stocks or 

populations (less than 11 percent of 

each species and stock). See Table 6. 

Based on the analysis contained herein 

of the proposed activity (including the 

mitigation and monitoring measures) 

and the anticipated take of marine 

mammals, NMFS finds that small 

numbers of marine mammals will be 

taken relative to the population size of 

the affected species or stocks. 

Unmitigable Adverse Impact Analysis 

and Determination 

There are no relevant subsistence uses 

of the affected marine mammal stocks or 

species implicated by this action. 

Therefore, NMFS has determined that 

the total taking of affected species or 

stocks would not have an unmitigable 

adverse impact on the availability of 

such species or stocks for taking for 

subsistence purposes. 

Endangered Species Act 

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.) requires that each Federal agency 

insure that any action it authorizes, 

funds, or carries out is not likely to 

jeopardize the continued existence of 

any endangered or threatened species or 

result in the destruction or adverse 

modification of designated critical 

habitat. To ensure ESA compliance for 

the issuance of IHAs, NMFS consults 

internally, in this case with the NMFS 

Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries 

Office (GARFO), whenever we propose 

to authorize take for endangered or 

threatened species. 

The NMFS Office of Protected 

Resources is authorizing the incidental 

take of four species of marine mammals 

which are listed under the ESA: The 

North Atlantic right, fin, sei, and sperm 

whale. BOEM consulted with NMFS 

GARFO under section 7 of the ESA on 

commercial wind lease issuance and 

site assessment activities on the Atlantic 

Outer Continental Shelf in 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York 

and New Jersey Wind Energy Areas. The 

NMFS GARFO issued a Biological 

Opinion concluding that these activities 

may adversely affect but are not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of the North Atlantic right, fin, 

and sperm whale. The Biological 

Opinion can be found online at: 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-other-energyactivities-renewable. Upon request from 

the NMFS Office of Protected Resources, 

the NMFS GARFO will issue an 

amended incidental take statement 

associated with this Biological Opinion 

to include the takes of the ESA-listed 

marine mammal species authorized 

through this IHA. 

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 review our 

proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an 

incidental harassment authorization) 

with respect to potential impacts on the 

human environment. Accordingly, 

NMFS prepared an Environmental 

Assessment (EA) and analyzed the 

potential impacts to marine mammals 

that would result from the project, as 

well as from a similar project proposed 

by Garden State Offshore Energy (a 

subsidiary of Deepwater Wind) off the 

coast of Delaware. A Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed 

on June 13, 2018. A copy of the EA and 

FONSI is available online at: 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-other-energyactivities-renewable. 

Authorization 

NMFS has issued an IHA to 

Deepwater Wind New England, LLC for 

conducting marine site characterization 

surveys offshore of Rhode Island and 

Massachusetts and along potential 

submarine cable routes, for a period of 

one year, provided the previously 

mentioned mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting requirements are incorporated. 

Dated: June 15, 2018. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13279 Filed 6–20–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

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. 

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/marinemammal-acoustic-technical-guidance. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy R. Scholik-Schlomer, Office of 

Protected Resources, 301–427–8449, 

Amy.Scholik@noaa.gov. 

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 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 120 / Thursday, June 21, 2018 / Notices 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 humanmade 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/marinemammal-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, nongovernmental 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 


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28826 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 120 / Thursday, June 21, 2018 / Notices 

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/marinemammal-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 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XG132 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to the South Basin 

Improvements Project at the San 

Francisco Ferry Terminal 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; Issuance of an Incidental 

Harassment Authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

regulations implementing the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as 

amended, notification is hereby given 

that NMFS has issued an incidental 

harassment authorization (IHA) to the 

San Francisco Bay Area Water 

Emergency Transportation Authority 

(WETA) to incidentally harass, by Level 

B harassment only, marine mammals 

during construction activities associated 

with the Downtown San Francisco Ferry 

Terminal Expansion Project, South 

Basin Improvements Project in San 

Francisco, California. 

DATES: This Authorization is effective 

from June 1, 2018 through May 31, 

2019. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy Fowler, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

Electronic copies of the application and 

supporting documents, as well as a list 

of the references cited in this document, 

may be obtained online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

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

these documents, please call the contact 

listed above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the 

MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct 

the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated 

to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the 

incidental, but not intentional, taking of 

small numbers of marine mammals by 

U.S. citizens who engage in a specified 

activity (other than commercial fishing) 

within a specified geographical region if 

certain findings are made and either 

regulations are issued or, if the taking is 

limited to harassment, a notice of a 

authorization is provided to the public 

for review. 

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), will 

not have an unmitigable adverse impact 

on the availability of the species or 

stock(s) for subsistence uses (where 

relevant), and if the permissible 

methods of taking and requirements 

pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting of such takings are set 

forth. 

NMFS has defined ‘‘negligible 

impact’’ in 50 CFR 216.103 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. 

The MMPA states that the term ‘‘take’’ 

means to harass, hunt, capture, kill or 

attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill 

any marine mammal. 

Except with respect to certain 

activities not pertinent here, 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). 

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 review our action 

(i.e., the issuance of an incidental 

harassment authorization) with respect 

to potential impacts on the human 

environment. 

This action is consistent with 

categories of activities identified in 

Categorical Exclusion B4 (incidental 

harassment authorizations with no 

anticipated serious injury or mortality) 

of the Companion Manual for NOAA 

Administrative Order 216–6A, which do 

not individually or cumulatively have 

the potential for significant impacts on 

the quality of the human environment 

and for which we have not identified 

any extraordinary circumstances that 

would preclude this categorical 

exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS has 

determined that the issuance of the IHA 

qualifies to be categorically excluded 

from further NEPA review. 

Summary of Request 

On January 22, 2018, NMFS received 

a request from WETA for an IHA to take 

marine mammals incidental to 

expansion and improvements at the 

downtown San Francisco ferry terminal. 

The application was determined to be 

adequate and complete on April 10, 

2018. WETA’s request was for take of 

seven species of marine mammals by 

Level A and Level B harassment. This 

authorization is valid from June 1, 2018 

to May 31, 2019. Neither WETA nor 

NMFS expect serious injury or mortality 

to result from this activity and, 

therefore, an IHA is appropriate. 

NMFS previously issued an IHA to 

WETA for similar work (82 FR 29521; 

June 29, 2017). WETA complied with all 

the requirements (e.g., mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting) of the 

previous IHA and information regarding 

their monitoring results may be found in 

the ‘‘Estimated Take’’ section. 

Description of Activity 

WETA is planning to expand berthing 

capacity at the Downtown San 

Francisco Ferry Terminal, located at the 

San Francisco Ferry Building, to 

support existing and future planned 

water transit services operated on San 

Francisco Bay by WETA and WETA’s 

emergency operations. The Downtown 

San Francisco Ferry Terminal 

Expansion Project includes the 

construction of three new water transit 

gates and overwater berthing facilities, 

in addition to supportive landside 

improvements, such as additional 

passenger waiting and queueing areas, 

circulation improvements, and other 

water transit-related amenities. The new 

gates and other improvements would be 

designed to accommodate future 

planned water transit services between 

Downtown San Francisco and Antioch, 

Berkeley, Martinez, Hercules, Redwood 

City, Richmond, and Treasure Island, as 

well as emergency operation needs. The 

new gates will be constructed using 81 

steel piles, ranging in diameter from 24 

to 36 inches (in). All piles will be driven 

during the authorized in-water work 

window of June 1 to November 30, 

2018. 


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