83464 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 16, 2024 / Notices 

TABLE 6—PROPOSED UPDATED SHUTDOWN ZONES—Continued 

Pile type and method 

Shutdown zone 

for all species 

(m) 

Change from initial IHA 

Steel Shell Pile 36 inch, Vibratory .............................................................................................. 40 Increased 10 m. 

Sediment Pins 

14- to 16-inch Timber, Vibratory ................................................................................................. 30 No change. 

14- to 16-inch Timber, Impact ..................................................................................................... 20 No change. 

14- to 16-inch Composite, Vibratory ........................................................................................... 10 No change. 

14- to 16-inch Composite, Impact ............................................................................................... 20 No change. 

Comments and Responses 

As noted previously, NMFS published 

a notice of a proposed IHA (88 FR 

82836, November 27, 2023) and 

solicited public comments on both our 

proposal to issue the initial IHA for 

PG&E’s sediment remediation project 

and on the potential for a renewal IHA, 

should certain requirements be met. 

All public comments were addressed 

in the notice announcing the issuance of 

the initial IHA (89 FR 5865, January 30, 

2024) and none of the comments 

specifically pertained to the renewal 

IHA. 

Preliminary Determinations 

NMFS has preliminarily concluded 

that there is no new information 

suggesting that our analysis or findings 

should change from those reached for 

the initial IHA. This includes 

consideration of the estimated 

abundance of the Eastern stock of the 

Steller sea lion decreasing, updated 

analysis reflecting the 2024 Technical 

Guidance, and corresponding updates to 

required shutdown zones. Based on the 

information and analysis contained here 

and in the referenced documents, NMFS 

has determined the following: (1) the 

required mitigation measures will effect 

the least practicable impact on marine 

mammal species or stocks and their 

habitat; (2) the authorized takes will 

have a negligible impact on the affected 

marine mammal species or stocks; (3) 

the authorized takes represent small 

numbers of marine mammals relative to 

the affected stock abundances; (4) 

PG&E’s activities will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on taking 

for subsistence purposes as no relevant 

subsistence uses of marine mammals are 

implicated by this action, and; (5) 

appropriate monitoring and reporting 

requirements are included. 

Endangered Species Act 

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 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 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species. 

No incidental take of ESA-listed 

species is proposed for authorization or 

expected to result from this activity. 

Therefore, NMFS has determined that 

formal consultation under section 7 of 

the ESA is not required for this action. 

Proposed Renewal IHA and Request for 

Public Comment 

As a result of these preliminary 

determinations, NMFS proposes to issue 

a renewal IHA to PG&E for conducting 

pile driving activities associated with 

the Sediment Remediation Project in 

San Francisco Bay, California from May 

1, 2025, to April 30, 2026, provided the 

previously described mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting requirements 

are incorporated. A draft of the 

proposed and final initial IHA can be 

found at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-authorization-pacificgas-electric-sediment-remediationproject-san. We request comment on our 

analyses, the proposed renewal IHA, 

and any other aspect of this notice. 

Please include with your comments any 

supporting data or literature citations to 

help inform our final decision on the 

request for MMPA authorization. 

Dated: October 9, 2024. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23797 Filed 10–15–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE351] 

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 modification to 

expiration date 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 (GOM), 

notification is hereby given that NMFS 

has modified the expiration date of a 

Letter of Authorization (LOA) issued to 

Murphy Exploration and Production 

Company (Murphy) for the take of 

marine mammals incidental to 

geophysical survey activity in the GOM. 

DATES: This LOA is effective through 

January 31, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: The LOA, LOA request, and 

supporting documentation are available 

online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/marinemammal-protection/issued-lettersauthorization-oil-and-gas-industrygeophysical-survey. In case of problems 

accessing these documents, please call 

the contact listed below (FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jenna Harlacher, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

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

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


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 16, 2024 / Notices 83465 

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. The rule 

became effective on April 19, 2021. 

Our 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’’ (LPAI) standard of the 

MMPA. 

NMFS issued a LOA to Murphy on 

March 20, 2024, for the take of marine 

mammals incidental to a threedimensional (3D) ocean bottom node 

survey in the Green Canyon protraction 

areas, including approximately 44 lease 

blocks, effective April 1, 2024, through 

October 31, 2024. Please see the Federal 

Register notice of issuance (89 FR 

20946, March 26, 2024) for additional 

detail regarding the LOA and the survey 

activity. 

Murphy has requested that the 

October 31, 2024, expiration date be 

extended to January 31, 2025, due to 

survey delays (the survey has not 

begun). Since we issued the LOA to 

Murphy, we have updated the final rule 

to include corrected take estimates and 

new information as discussed above; 

therefore, we have updated the 

authorized take numbers accordingly 

based on this new information. There 

are no changes to the planned survey, as 

described in the previous notice of 

issuance (89 FR 20946, March 26, 2024), 

including the planned location and 

duration of the survey. 

As discussed in the previous notice of 

issuance (89 FR 20946, March 26, 2024), 

no 3D OBN surveys were included in 

the modeled survey types, thus the coil 

proxy was selected. Murphy plans to 

cover approximately 25.6 square 

kilometers (km2) per day compared to 

the 144 km2 in the coil proxy, and 

although Murphy is not proposing to 

perform a survey using the coil 

geometry, the coil proxy is most 

representative of the effort planned by 

Murphy in terms of predicted Level B 

harassment exposures. Additionally, 

Murphy plans to use a 28-element, 

5,230 cubic inch (in3) airgun array and 

therefore the 5,110 in3 proxy was 

selected. 

The survey will take place over 

approximately 44 days with 40 days of 

sound source operation, all planned in 

Zone 5. The monthly distribution of 

survey days is not known in advance, 

though we assume that the planned 40 

days of source operation would occur 

contiguously. Take estimates for each 

species are based on the time period 

that produces the greatest value. There 

are no other changes to Murphy’s 

planned activity. 

For the Rice’s whale, take estimates 

based solely on the modeling yielded 

results that are not realistically likely to 

occur when considered in light of other 

relevant information available during 

the rulemaking process regarding 

marine mammal occurrence in the 

GOM. The approach used in the 

acoustic exposure modeling, in which 

seven modeling zones were defined over 

the U.S. GOM, necessarily averages finescale information about marine mammal 

distribution over the large area of each 

modeling zone. Thus, although the 

modeling conducted for the rule is a 

natural starting point for estimating 

take, the rule acknowledged that other 

information could be considered (see, 

e.g., 86 FR 5442, January 19, 2021, 

discussing the need to provide 

flexibility and make efficient use of 

previous public and agency review of 

other information and identifying that 

additional public review is not 

necessary unless the model or inputs 

used differ substantively from those that 

were previously reviewed by NMFS and 

the public). For this survey, NMFS has 

other relevant information reviewed 

during the rulemaking that indicates use 

of the acoustic exposure modeling to 

generate a take estimate may produce 

results inconsistent with what is known 

regarding their occurrence in the GOM. 

Accordingly, we have adjusted the 

calculated take estimates as described 

below. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
83466 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 16, 2024 / Notices 

NMFS’ 2024 final rule provided 

detailed discussion regarding Rice’s 

whale habitat (see, e.g., 89 FR 31508, 

31519). In summary, recent survey data, 

sightings, and acoustic data support 

Rice’s whale occurrence in waters 

throughout the GOM between 

approximately 100 m and 400 m depth 

along the continental shelf break, and 

associated habitat-based density 

modeling has identified similar habitat 

(i.e., approximately 100 to 400 m water 

depths along the continental shelf 

break) as being Rice’s whale habitat 

(Garrison et al., 2023; Soldevilla et al., 

2022, 2024). 

Although Rice’s whales may occur 

outside of the general depth range 

expected to provide suitable habitat, we 

expect that any such occurrence would 

be rare. Murphy’s planned activities 

will occur in water depths of 

approximately 914 to 3,372 m in the 

central GOM. Thus, NMFS does not 

expect there to be the reasonable 

potential for take of Rice’s whale in 

association with this survey and, 

accordingly, does not authorize take of 

Rice’s whale through the LOA. 

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 (see 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. 

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 (see 86 FR 

5404, January 19, 2021). 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 0 

Sperm whale ................................................................................................................ 366 155 3,007 5.2 

Kogia spp ..................................................................................................................... 3 117 36 980 4.3 

Beaked whales ............................................................................................................ 1,271 128 803 16.0 

Rough-toothed dolphin ................................................................................................ 932 268 4,853 5.5 

Bottlenose dolphin ....................................................................................................... 1,156 332 165,125 0.2 

Clymene dolphin .......................................................................................................... 583 168 4,619 3.6 

Atlantic spotted dolphin ............................................................................................... 345 99 21,506 0.5 

Pantropical spotted dolphin ......................................................................................... 8,022 2,302 67,225 3.4 

Spinner dolphin ............................................................................................................ 185 53 5,548 1.0 

Striped dolphin ............................................................................................................. 1,667 478 5,634 8.5 

Fraser’s dolphin ........................................................................................................... 342 98 1,665 5.9 

Risso’s dolphin ............................................................................................................. 311 92 1,974 4.6 

Blackfish 4 .................................................................................................................... 2,009 593 6,113 9.7 

Short-finned pilot whale ............................................................................................... 470 139 2,741 5.1 

1Scalar ratios were applied to ‘‘Authorized Take’’ values as described at 86 FR 5322 and 86 FR 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 SAR abundance estimate is used. 3 Includes 6 takes by Level A harassment and 111 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. 

Authorization 

NMFS has changed the expiration 

date of the LOA from October 30, 2024, 

to January 31, 2025 and updated 

authorized take numbers based on the 

corrected information in the updated 

rule. There are no other changes to the 

LOA as described in the March 26, 

2024, Federal Register notice of 

issuance (89 FR 20946): the specified 

survey activity, and small numbers 

analysis and determination remain 

unchanged and are incorporated here by 

reference. 

Dated: October 10, 2024. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23839 Filed 10–15–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1