Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 178 / Friday, September 13, 2024 / Notices 74921 

14See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). 

15 Id. 

16See 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2); see also 

Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the 

Weighted-Average Dumping Margin and 

Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping 

Proceedings; Final Modification, 77 FR 8101, 8102 

(February 14, 2012) (Final Modification for 

Reviews). 

17See Order, 86 FR at 35273. 

18See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 68 

FR 23954 (May 6, 2003). 19See Order, 86 FR at 35272. 

Assessment Rates 

Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(A) of the 

Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1), upon 

completion of this administrative 

review, Commerce shall determine, and 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties 

on all appropriate entries of subject 

merchandise covered by this review.14 If 

Interpipe’s weighted-average dumping 

margin in the final results of this review 

is not zero or de minimis (i.e., greater 

than or equal to 0.5 percent), we will 

calculate importer-specific ad valorem 

assessment rates for the merchandise by 

dividing the total amount of dumping 

calculated for all reviewed sales to the 

importer by the total entered value of 

the merchandise sold to the importer.15

Where either Interpipe’s ad valorem 

weighted-average dumping margin is 

zero or de minimis, or an importerspecific ad valorem assessment rate is 

zero or de minimis in the final results 

of review, we will instruct CBP to 

liquidate the appropriate entries 

without regard to antidumping duties.16

In accordance with Commerce’s 

‘‘automatic assessment’’ practice, for 

entries of subject merchandise during 

the POR produced by Interpipe for 

which it did not know was destined for 

the United States, we intend to instruct 

CBP to liquidate those entries at the allothers rate (i.e., 23.75 percent) 17 in the 

original less-than-fair-value (LTFV) 

investigation if there is no rate for the 

intermediate company(ies) involved in 

the transaction.18

Commerce intends to issue 

assessment instructions to CBP no 

earlier than 35 days after the date of 

publication of the final results of this 

review in the Federal Register. If a 

timely summons is filed at the U.S. 

Court of International Trade, Commerce 

will direct CBP not to liquidate relevant 

entries until the time for parties to file 

a request for a statutory injunction has 

expired (i.e., within 90 days of 

publication). 

Cash Deposit Requirements 

The following cash deposit 

requirements will be in effect for all 

shipments of subject merchandise 

entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 

for consumption on or after the date of 

publication of the notice of the final 

results of this administrative review in 

the Federal Register, as provided for by 

section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the 

cash deposit rate for Interpipe will be 

equal to the weighted-average dumping 

margin established for Interpipe in the 

final results of this administrative 

review, except if the rate is less than 

0.50 percent and, therefore, de minimis 

within the meaning of 19 CFR 

351.106(c)(1), then the cash deposit rate 

will be zero; (2) for producers or 

exporters not covered in this review but 

that were previously reviewed or 

investigated in a prior segment of this 

proceeding, the cash deposit rate will 

continue to be the rate assigned to the 

company in the most recentlycompleted segment of this proceeding in 

which the producer or exporter was 

examined; (3) if the exporter of the 

subject merchandise does not have a 

company-specific rate but the producer 

of the subject merchandise does, then 

the cash deposit rate will be the rate 

assigned to the producer of the subject 

merchandise in the most recently 

completed segment of this proceeding in 

which the producer was examined; and 

(4) the cash deposit rate for all other 

producers or exporters will continue to 

be the all-others rate of 23.75 percent 

that was established in the investigation 

in this proceeding.19 These cash deposit 

requirements, when imposed, shall 

remain in effect until further notice. 

Notification to Importers 

This notice serves as a preliminary 

reminder to importers of their 

responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) 

to file a certificate regarding the 

reimbursement of antidumping duties 

prior to liquidation of the relevant 

entries during this review period. 

Failure to comply with this requirement 

could result in Commerce’s 

presumption that reimbursement of 

antidumping duties occurred and the 

subsequent assessment of double 

antidumping duties. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

We are issuing and publishing these 

preliminary results of review in 

accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 

777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 

351.213(h)(2) and 351.221(b)(4). 

Dated: September 6, 2024. 

Abdelali Elouaradia, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance. 

Appendix—List of Topics Discussed in 

the Preliminary Decision Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. Background 

III. Scope of the Order 

IV. Affiliation/Single Entity 

V. Discussion of the Methodology 

VI. Currency Conversion 

VII. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2024–20749 Filed 9–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE234] 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to Geophysical Surveys 

Related to Oil and Gas Activities in the 

Gulf of Mexico 

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, its implementing 

regulations, and NMFS’ MMPA 

Regulations for Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Geophysical 

Surveys Related to Oil and Gas 

Activities in the Gulf of Mexico, 

notification is hereby given that NMFS 

has issued a Letter of Authorization 

(LOA) to bp Exploration and 

Production, Inc., (bp) for the take of 

marine mammals incidental to 

geophysical survey activity in the Gulf 

of Mexico (GOM). 

DATES: The LOA is effective from 

September 9, 2024, through February 

14, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: The LOA, LOA request, and 

supporting documentation are available 

online at: https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/action/incidental-takeauthorization-oil-and-gas-industrygeophysical-survey-activity-gulf-mexico. 

In case of problems accessing these 

documents, please call the contact listed 

below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rachel Wachtendonk, Office of 

Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 427– 

8401. 


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74922 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 178 / Friday, September 13, 2024 / Notices 

1For purposes of acoustic exposure modeling, the 

GOM was divided into seven zones. Zone 1 is not 

included in the geographic scope of the rule. 

2Acoustic propagation modeling was performed 

for two seasons: winter (December–March) and 

summer (April–November). Marine mammal 

density data is generally available on a monthly 

basis, and therefore further refines take estimates 

temporally. 

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 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 proposed 

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. 

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). 

On January 19, 2021, we issued a final 

rule with regulations to govern the 

unintentional taking of marine 

mammals incidental to geophysical 

survey activities conducted by oil and 

gas industry operators, and those 

persons authorized to conduct activities 

on their behalf (collectively ‘‘industry 

operators’’), in U.S. waters of the GOM 

over the course of 5 years (86 FR 5322, 

January 19, 2021). The rule was based 

on our findings that the total taking 

from the specified activities over the 5- 

year period will have a negligible 

impact on the affected species or 

stock(s) of marine mammals and will 

not have an unmitigable adverse impact 

on the availability of those species or 

stocks for subsistence uses, and became 

effective on April 19, 2021. 

The regulations at 50 CFR 217.180 et 

seq. allow for the issuance of LOAs to 

industry operators for the incidental 

take of marine mammals during 

geophysical survey activities and 

prescribe the permissible methods of 

taking and other means of effecting the 

least practicable adverse impact on 

marine mammal species or stocks and 

their habitat (often referred to as 

mitigation), as well as requirements 

pertaining to the monitoring and 

reporting of such taking. Under 50 CFR 

217.186(e), issuance of an LOA shall be 

based on a determination that the level 

of taking will be consistent with the 

findings made for the total taking 

allowable under these regulations and a 

determination that the amount of take 

authorized under the LOA is of no more 

than small numbers. 

NMFS subsequently discovered that 

the 2021 rule was based on erroneous 

take estimates. We conducted another 

rulemaking using correct take estimates 

and other newly available and pertinent 

information relevant to the analyses 

supporting some of the findings in the 

2021 final rule and the taking allowable 

under the regulations. We issued a final 

rule in April 2024, effective May 24, 

2024 (89 FR 31488, April 24, 2024). 

The 2024 final rule made no changes 

to the specified activities or the 

specified geographical region in which 

those activities would be conducted, nor 

to the original 5-year period of 

effectiveness. In consideration of the 

new information, the 2024 rule 

presented new analyses supporting 

affirmance of the negligible impact 

determinations for all species, and 

affirmed that the existing regulations, 

which contain mitigation, monitoring, 

and reporting requirements, are 

consistent with the ‘‘least practicable 

adverse impact’’ standard of the MMPA. 

Summary of Request and Analysis 

Bp plans to conduct a threedimensional (3D) ocean bottom node 

(OBN) survey over 325 lease blocks in 

the Alaminos Canyon, Garden Banks, 

Keathley Canyon, and East Breaks areas, 

with water depths ranging from 

approximately 1,000 to 2,500 m. See 

section F of the LOA application for a 

map of the area. 

Bp anticipates using two dual-source 

vessels, and would preferentially use 

the low-frequency airgun source known 

as Gemini (also referred to as a dual 

barbell source). Alternatively, bp may 

use conventional airgun sources, with 

each source configured as an array 

consisting of 28 elements with a total 

volume of 4,430 cubic inches (in3). 

Please see bp’s application for 

additional detail. 

The Gemini source was not included 

in the acoustic exposure modeling 

developed in support of the rules. 

However, the Gemini was previously 

described and evaluated in support of a 

previous LOA and we rely on that 

analysis here (88 FR 72739, October 23, 

2023). For additional detail regarding 

sources, see section C of the LOA 

application. Based on this information 

we have determined there will be no 

effects of a magnitude or intensity 

different from those evaluated in 

support of the rules. NMFS therefore 

expects that use of modeling results 

supporting the final rule relating to use 

of the 32 element, 5,110 in3 airgun array 

are expected to be conservative as a 

proxy for use in evaluating potential 

impacts of use of the Gemini. 

The survey effort proposed by bp in 

its LOA request was used to develop 

LOA-specific take estimates based on 

the acoustic exposure modeling results 

described in our rule preamble (89 FR 

31488, April 24, 2024). In order to 

generate the appropriate take number 

for authorization, the following 

information was considered: (1) survey 

type; (2) location (by modeling zone 1); 

(3) number of days; (4) source; and (5) 

month.2 In this case, the 5,110 in3

airgun array was selected, as discussed 

above. The acoustic exposure modeling 

performed in support of the rule 

provides 24-hour exposure estimates for 

each species, specific to each modeled 

source and survey type in each zone and 

month. 

No 3D OBN surveys were included in 

the modeled survey types, and use of 

existing proxies (i.e., two-dimensional 

(2D), 3D (narrow-azimuth) NAZ, 3D 

(wide-azimuth) WAZ, Coil) is generally 

conservative for use in evaluation of 3D 

OBN survey effort, largely due to the 

greater area covered by the modeled 

proxies. Summary descriptions of these 

modeled survey geometries are available 

in the preamble to the proposed rule (83 

FR 29212, 29220, June 22, 2018). Coil 

was selected as the best available proxy 

survey type in this case because the 

spatial coverage of the planned survey 

is most similar to the coil survey 

pattern. The planned OBN survey will 

involve two source vessels sailing along 

closely spaced survey lines, with daily 

survey area coverage of approximately 

114 kilometers squared per day, similar 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 178 / Friday, September 13, 2024 / Notices 74923 

to that assumed for the coil survey 

proxy. Among the different parameters 

of the modeled survey patterns (e.g., 

area covered, line spacing, number of 

sources, shot interval, total simulated 

pulses), NMFS considers area covered 

per day to be most influential on daily 

modeled exposures exceeding Level B 

harassment criteria. Although bp is not 

proposing to perform a survey using the 

coil geometry, the coil proxy is most 

representative of the effort planned by 

bp in terms of predicted Level B 

harassment exposures. 

The survey will take place over 

approximately 142 days with 66 days of 

sound source operation (12 days 

planned in zone 5 and 54 days planned 

in zone 7). The monthly distribution of 

survey days is not known in advance, so 

take estimates for each species are based 

on the time period that produces the 

greatest value. 

Based on the results of our analysis, 

NMFS has determined that the level of 

taking expected for this survey and 

authorized through the LOA is 

consistent with the findings made for 

the total taking allowable under the 

regulations. See table 1 in this notice 

and table 6 of the rule (89 FR 31488, 

April 24, 2024). 

Small Numbers Determination 

Under the GOM rule, NMFS may not 

authorize incidental take of marine 

mammals in an LOA if it will exceed 

‘‘small numbers.’’ In short, when an 

acceptable estimate of the individual 

marine mammals taken is available, if 

the estimated number of individual 

animals taken is up to, but not greater 

than, one-third of the best available 

abundance estimate, NMFS will 

determine that the numbers of marine 

mammals taken of a species or stock are 

small (89 FR 31535, May 24, 2024). For 

more information please see NMFS’ 

discussion of small numbers in the 2021 

final rule (86 FR 5438, January 19, 

2021). 

The take numbers for authorization 

are determined as described above in 

the Summary of Request and Analysis 

section. Subsequently, the total 

incidents of harassment for each species 

are multiplied by scalar ratios to 

produce a derived product that better 

reflects the number of individuals likely 

to be taken within a survey (as 

compared to the total number of 

instances of take), accounting for the 

likelihood that some individual marine 

mammals may be taken on more than 1 

day (86 FR 5404, January 19, 2021; 89 

FR 31535, May 24, 2024). The output of 

this scaling, where appropriate, is 

incorporated into adjusted total take 

estimates that are the basis for NMFS’ 

small numbers determinations, as 

depicted in table 1. 

This product is used by NMFS in 

making the necessary small numbers 

determinations through comparison 

with the best available abundance 

estimates (see discussion at 86 FR 5391, 

January 19, 2021). For this comparison, 

NMFS’ approach is to use the maximum 

theoretical population, determined 

through review of current stock 

assessment reports (SAR; https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-stock-assessments) and modelpredicted abundance information 

(https://seamap.env.duke.edu/models/ 

Duke/GOM/). Information supporting 

the small numbers determinations is 

provided in table 1. 

TABLE 1—TAKE ANALYSIS

Species Authorized 

take 

Scaled 

take 1 Abundance 2 Percent abundance 

Rice’s whale ........................................................................................................................... 0 n/a 51 n/a 

Sperm whale .......................................................................................................................... 408 172.5 3,007 5.7 

Kogia spp. .............................................................................................................................. 3 287 85.3 980 10.8 

Beaked whales ...................................................................................................................... 547 55.2 803 6.9 

Rough-toothed dolphin .......................................................................................................... 1,017 292.0 4,853 6.0 

Bottlenose dolphin ................................................................................................................. 363 103.4 165,125 0.1 

Clymene dolphin .................................................................................................................... 1,713 491.7 4,619 10.6 

Atlantic spotted dolphin ......................................................................................................... 108 30.9 21,506 0.1 

Pantropical spotted dolphin ................................................................................................... 13,612 3,906.5 67,225 5.8 

Spinner dolphin ...................................................................................................................... 185 52.8 5,548 1.0 

Striped dolphin ....................................................................................................................... 4,849 1,391.6 5,634 24.7 

Fraser’s dolphin ..................................................................................................................... 444 127.3 1,665 7.6 

Risso’s dolphin ....................................................................................................................... 210 62.0 1,974 3.1 

Blackfish 4 ............................................................................................................................... 3,384 998.4 6,113 16.3 

Short-finned pilot whale ......................................................................................................... 142 42.0 2,741 1.5 

1Scalar ratios were applied to ‘‘Authorized Take’’ values as described at 86 FR 5322, 5404 (January 19, 2021) to derive scaled take numbers 

shown here. 2Best abundance estimate. For most taxa, the best abundance estimate for purposes of comparison with take estimates is considered here to 

be the model-predicted abundance (Garrison et al., 2023). For Rice’s whale, Atlantic spotted dolphin, and Risso’s dolphin, the larger estimated 

SAR abundance estimate is used. 3 Includes 19 takes by Level A harassment and 268 takes by Level B harassment. Scalar ratio is applied to takes by Level B harassment only; 

small numbers determination made on basis of scaled Level B harassment take plus authorized Level A harassment take. 4The ‘‘blackfish’’ guild includes melon-headed whales, false killer whales, pygmy killer whales, and killer whales. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of bp’s proposed survey activity 

described in its LOA application and 

the anticipated take of marine 

mammals, NMFS finds that small 

numbers of marine mammals will be 

taken relative to the affected species or 

stock sizes (i.e., less than one-third of 

the best available abundance estimate) 

and therefore the taking is of no more 

than small numbers. 

Authorization 

NMFS has determined that the level 

of taking for this LOA request is 

consistent with the findings made for 

the total taking allowable under the 

incidental take regulations and that the 

amount of take authorized under the 

LOA is of no more than small numbers. 

Accordingly, we have issued an LOA to 

bp authorizing the take of marine 

mammals incidental to its geophysical 

survey activity, as described above. 

Dated: September 9, 2024. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20776 Filed 9–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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