82986 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 15, 2024 / Notices 

1See section 771(5)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, 

as amended. 

‘‘conclusive’’ court decision. The CIT’s 

October 2, 2024, judgment constitutes a 

final decision of the CIT that is not in 

harmony with Commerce’s Final Scope 

Ruling. Thus, this notice is published in 

fulfillment of the publication 

requirements of Timken. 

Amended Final Scope Ruling 

In accordance with the CIT’s October 

2, 2024, final judgment, Commerce is 

amending its Final Scope Ruling and 

finds that the scope of the orders does 

not cover the products addressed in the 

Final Scope Ruling. 

Liquidation of Suspended Entries 

Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection (CBP) that, 

pending any appeals, the cash deposit 

rate will be zero percent for the 

modified R210–S engine manufactured 

by Chongqing Rato. In the event that the 

CIT’s final judgment is not appealed or 

is upheld on appeal, Commerce will 

instruct CBP to liquidate entries of the 

modified R210–S engine manufactured 

by Chongqing Rato without regard to 

antidumping and countervailing duties 

and to lift suspension of liquidation of 

such entries. 

At this time, Commerce remains 

enjoined by CIT from liquidating entries 

excluded from the scope of the orders 

by the Final Scope Ruling. These entries 

will remain enjoined pursuant to the 

terms of the injunction during the 

pendency of any appeals process. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

This notice is issued and published in 

accordance with sections 516A(c) and 

(e) and 777(i)(1) of the Act. 

Dated: October 8, 2024. 

Ryan Majerus, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and 

Negotiations, performing the non-exclusive 

functions and duties of the Assistant 

Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23695 Filed 10–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

Subsidy Programs Provided by 

Countries Exporting Softwood Lumber 

and Softwood Lumber Products to the 

United States; Request for Comment 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Commerce (Commerce) seeks public 

comment on any subsidies, including 

stumpage subsidies, provided by certain 

countries exporting softwood lumber or 

softwood lumber products to the United 

States during the period January 1, 

2024, through June 30, 2024. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted by 

November 14, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: All comments must be 

submitted through the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at https://

www.regulations.gov, Docket No. ITA– 

2024–0006. The materials in the docket 

will not be edited to remove identifying 

or contact information, and Commerce 

cautions against including any 

information in an electronic submission 

that the submitter does not want 

publicly disclosed. Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF 

formats only. 

All comments should be addressed to 

Abdelali Elouaradia, Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance, at the U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20230. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kristen Johnson, AD/CVD Operations, 

Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Avenue NW Washington, 

DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–4793. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Pursuant to section 805 of title VIII of 

the Tariff Act of 1930 (the Softwood 

Lumber Act of 2008), the Secretary of 

Commerce is mandated to submit to the 

appropriate Congressional committees a 

report every 180 days on any subsidy 

provided by countries exporting 

softwood lumber or softwood lumber 

products to the United States, including 

stumpage subsidies. Commerce 

submitted its last subsidy report to the 

Congress on June 27, 2024. 

Request for Comments 

Given the large number of countries 

that export softwood lumber and 

softwood lumber products to the United 

States, we are soliciting public comment 

only on subsidies provided by countries 

which had exports accounting for at 

least one percent of total U.S. imports of 

softwood lumber by quantity, as 

classified under Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 

subheadings 4407.1100, 4407.1200, 

4407.1300, 4407.1400, and 4407.1900, 

during the period January 1, 2024, 

through June 30, 2024. Official U.S. 

import data, published by the United 

States International Trade Commission’s 

DataWeb, indicate that five countries 

(Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, and 

Sweden) exported softwood lumber to 

the United States during that time 

period in amounts sufficient to account 

for at least one percent of U.S. imports 

of softwood lumber products. We intend 

to rely on similar six-month periods to 

identify the countries subject to future 

reports on softwood lumber subsidies. 

For example, we intend to rely on U.S. 

imports of softwood lumber and 

softwood lumber products during the 

period July 1, 2024, through December 

31, 2024, to select the countries subject 

for the next report. 

Under U.S. trade law, a subsidy exists 

where an authority: (i) provides a 

financial contribution; (ii) provides any 

form of income or price support within 

the meaning of Article XVI of the 

General Agreements on Tariffs and 

Trade 1994; or (iii) makes a payment to 

a funding mechanism to provide a 

financial contribution to a person, or 

entrusts or directs a private entity to 

make a financial contribution, if 

providing the contribution would 

normally be vested in the government 

and the practice does not differ in 

substance from practices normally 

followed by governments, and a benefit 

is thereby conferred.1

Parties should include in their 

comments: (1) the country which 

provided the subsidy; (2) the name of 

the subsidy program; (3) a brief 

description (no more than 3–4 

sentences) of the subsidy program; and 

(4) the government body or authority 

that provided the subsidy. 

Dated: October 7, 2024. 

Dawn Shackleford, 

Executive Director for Trade Agreements 

Policy and Negotiations. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23731 Filed 10–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE353] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Sand Island Pile 

Dikes Repairs on the Columbia River 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of a modified 

incidental harassment authorization. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 15, 2024 / Notices 82987 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

regulations implementing the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as 

amended, notification is hereby given 

that NMFS has issued a modified 

incidental harassment authorization 

(IHA) to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

(USACE) to incidentally harass marine 

mammals during construction 

associated with Sand Island Pile Dikes 

Repairs on the Columbia River. 

DATES: This modified IHA is effective 

through July 31, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: 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/action/incidental-takeauthorization-army-corps-engineerssand-island-pile-dikes-repairscolumbia. In case of problems accessing 

these documents, please call the contact 

listed below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert Pauline, 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 and either regulations are 

issued or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, a notice of a proposed 

incidental take authorization may be 

provided to the public for review. 

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). Further, NMFS must prescribe 

the permissible methods of taking and 

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 such species or stocks for 

taking for certain subsistence uses 

(referred to in shorthand as 

‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements 

pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting of such takings are set 

forth. 

History of Request 

On March 4, 2022, NMFS received a 

request from the USACE for two 

consecutive IHAs to take marine 

mammals incidental to the Sand Island 

Pile Dikes Repairs Project on the 

Columbia River over the course of 2 

years. The USACE’s request was for take 

of seven species of marine mammals by 

Level B harassment and, for a subset of 

these species (harbor seal (Phoca 

vitulina) and harbor porpoise (Phocoena 

phocoena)), Level A harassment. On 

August 22, 2023, NMFS published a 

Federal Register notice (87 FR 51346) 

announcing the issuance of the IHAs, 

which were valid for year 1 from August 

1, 2023 through July 31, 2024 and for 

year 2 from August 1, 2024 through July 

31, 2025. 

On August 19, 2024, NMFS received 

a request from the USACE to modify the 

year 2 IHA. Following receipt of 

additional information, NMFS accepted 

the request on September 11, 2024. The 

original year 2 IHA authorized, by Level 

B harassment only, six takes of 

humpback whale (from the California/ 

Oregon/Washington stock designated at 

the time; Megaptera novaeangliae) and 

two takes from the West Coast Transient 

stock of killer whale (Orcinus orca). 

Sightings of humpback whales have 

increased in the work area from 

previous years. Humpback whale 

feeding groups have begun utilizing the 

mouth of the Columbia River as foraging 

ground. The USACE had recorded four 

potential takes of humpback whale by 

Level B harassment as of September 11, 

2024 after 24 days of in-water pile 

driving work, with 80 in-water days 

remaining. In addition, there have been 

several recent sightings of transient 

killer whales in the area. These 

sightings represent a change to 

occurrence data considered by NMFS 

and which informed the original take 

estimates. Therefore, the USACE is 

requesting a modification to the year 2 

authorization to increase the authorized 

take of humpback whale and killer 

whale, by Level B harassment only. 

Description of the Activity and 

Anticipated Impacts 

There are no changes to the specified 

activity or to the mitigation, monitoring, 

and reporting requirements as described 

for the original year 2 IHA (87 FR 39481, 

July 1, 2022). Please see the additional 

relevant documents related to the 

issuance of the initial IHA, including 

the USACE’s application and the notice 

of issuance of the IHA (87 FR 51346, 

August 22, 2022) (available at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-authorization-armycorps-engineers-sand-island-pile-dikesrepairs-columbia) for more detailed 

descriptions. 

Detailed Description of the Action 

A detailed description of the 

construction activities can be found in 

the aforementioned documents 

associated with the issuance of the 

initial year 2 IHA. The location and 

general nature of the activities are 

identical to those described in the 

previous documents. As of September 

11, 2024, 24 days in-water work had 

been completed out of a projected total 

of 104 days. 

Description of Marine Mammals 

A description of the marine mammals 

in the area of the activities can be found 

in these previous documents, which 

remains applicable to this modified IHA 

as well. In addition, NMFS has 

reviewed the draft 2023 Stock 

Assessment Reports (SARs; Young et al., 

2023; available at: https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/national/marine-mammalprotection/marine-mammal-stockassessment-reports), information on 

relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and 

recent scientific literature, and 

incorporated that into table 1 below. 

Table 1 lists all species or stocks for 

which take is expected and authorized 

to be authorized for this activity, and 

summarizes information related to the 

population or stock, including 

regulatory status under the MMPA and 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) and 

potential biological removal (PBR), 

where known. PBR is defined by the 

MMPA as the maximum number of 

animals, not including natural 

mortalities, that may be removed from a 

marine mammal stock while allowing 

that stock to reach or maintain its 

optimum sustainable population (as 

described in NMFS’ SARs). While no 

serious injury or mortality is anticipated 

or authorized here, PBR and annual 

serious injury and mortality from 

anthropogenic sources are included here 

as gross indicators of the status of the 

species or stocks and other threats. 

Marine mammal abundance estimates 

presented in this document represent 

the total number of individuals that 

make up a given stock or the total 

number estimated within a particular 

study or survey area. NMFS’ stock 

abundance estimates for most species 

represent the total estimate of 

individuals within the geographic area, 

if known, that comprises that stock. For 

some species, this geographic area may 

extend beyond U.S. waters. All managed 

stocks in this region are assessed in 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
82988 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 15, 2024 / Notices 

NMFS’ Alaska Marine Mammal SARs. 

All values presented in table 1 are the 

most recent available at the time of 

publication (including from the draft 

2023 SARs) and are available online at: 

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

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

marine-mammal-stock-assessments. 

Note that the stock abundances of 

humpback whale, harbor porpoise, and 

Steller sea lion have updated since the 

Federal Register notice of issuance was 

published (87 FR 51346, August 22, 

2022). The updates figures are reflected 

in table 1. 

TABLE 1—SPECIES LIKELY IMPACTED BY THE SPECIFIED ACTIVITIES

Common name Scientific name Stock 

ESA/ 

MMPA 

status; 

strategic 

(Y/N) 1

Stock abundance 

(CV, Nmin, most recent 

abundance survey) 2

PBR Annual 

M/SI 3

Order Cetartiodactyla—Cetacea—Superfamily Mysticeti (baleen whales) 

Family Balaenopteridae (rorquals): 

Humpback whale .................... Megaptera novaeangliae ... Central America/Southern Mexico—California/Oregon/Washington.E, D, Y 1,494 (0.171, 1,284, 2021) 3.5 14.9 

Mainland Mexico—CA/OR/WA ..... T, D, Y 3,477 (0.101, 3,185, 2018) 43 22 

Superfamily Odontoceti (toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises) 

Family Delphinidae: 

Killer Whale ............................ Orcinus orca ...................... West Coast Transient ................... -, -, N 349 4 (N/A, 349, 2018) ....... 3.5 0.4 

Family Phocoenidae (porpoises): 

Harbor Porpoise ..................... Phocoena phocoena .......... Northern Oregon/Washington 

Coast.

-, -, N 22,074 (0.391, 16,068, 

2024).

161 3.2 

Order Carnivora—Superfamily Pinnipedia 

Family Otariidae (eared seals and 

sea lions): 

California Sea Lion ................. Zalophus californianus ....... U.S. ............................................... -, -, N 257,606 (N/A, 233,515, 

2014).

14,011 >321 

Steller Sea Lion ...................... Eumetopias jubatus ........... Eastern .......................................... -, -, N 36,308 (N/A, 36,308, 

2022) 5.

2,592 112 

Family Phocidae (earless seals): 

Harbor Seal ............................ Phoca vitulina .................... Oregon/Washington Coast ........... -, -, N 24,732 6 (UNK, UNK, 1999) UND 10.6 

Northern Elephant Seal .......... Mirounga angustirostris ..... California Breeding ....................... -, -, N 187,386 (N/A, 85,369, 

2013).

5,122 13.7 

1 ESA status: Endangered (E), Threatened (T)/MMPA status: Depleted (D). A dash (-) indicates that the species is not listed under the ESA or designated as depleted under the MMPA. Under the MMPA, a strategic stock is one for which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds PBR or which is determined to be 

declining and likely to be listed under the ESA within the foreseeable future. Any species or stock listed under the ESA is automatically designated under the MMPA 

as depleted and as a strategic stock. 2 NMFS marine mammal stock assessment reports online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-stock-assessmentreports-region. CV is coefficient of variation; Nmin is the minimum estimate of stock abundance. 3 These values, found in NMFS’s SARs, represent annual levels of human-caused mortality plus serious injury from all sources combined (e.g., commercial fisheries, ship strike). Annual mortality/serious injury (M/SI) often cannot be determined precisely and is in some cases presented as a minimum value or range. 4 Based on counts of individual animals identified from photo-identification catalogues. Surveys for abundance estimates of these stocks are conducted infrequently. 5 Nest is best estimate of counts, which have not been corrected for animals at sea during abundance surveys. Estimates provided are for the U.S. only. 6 The abundance estimate for this stock is greater than 8 years old and is therefore not considered current. PBR is considered undetermined for this stock, as there 

is no current minimum abundance estimate for use in calculation. We nevertheless present the most recent abundance estimates, as these represent the best available information for use in this document. 

Humpback Whales 

On September 8, 2016, NMFS divided 

the once single species into 14 distinct 

population segments (DPS) under the 

ESA, removed the species-level listing 

as endangered, and, in its place, listed 

four DPSs as endangered and one DPS 

as threatened (81 FR 62259, September 

8, 2016). The remaining nine DPSs were 

not listed. There are four DPSs in the 

North Pacific, including Western North 

Pacific and Central America, which are 

listed as endangered, Mexico, which is 

listed as threatened, and Hawaii, which 

is not listed. 

The 2022 Pacific SARs described a 

revised stock structure for humpback 

whales which modifies the previous 

stocks designated under the MMPA to 

align more closely with the ESAdesignated DPSs (Caretta et al., 2023; 

Young et al., 2023). Specifically, the 

three previous North Pacific humpback 

whale stocks (Central and Western 

North Pacific stocks and a CA/OR/WA 

stock; take of humpback whales 

authorized through the original Year 2 

IHA was from the latter stock) were 

replaced by five stocks, largely 

corresponding with the ESA-designated 

DPSs. These include Western North 

Pacific and Hawaii stocks and a Central 

America/Southern Mexico-CA/OR/WA 

stock (which corresponds with the 

Central America DPS). The remaining 

two stocks, corresponding with the 

Mexico DPS, are the Mainland MexicoCA/OR/WA and Mexico-North Pacific 

stocks (Caretta et al., 2023; Young et al., 

2023). The former stock is expected to 

occur along the west coast from 

California to southern British Columbia, 

while the latter stock may occur across 

the Pacific, from northern British 

Columbia through the Gulf of Alaska 

and Aleutian Islands/Bering Sea region 

to Russia. Only the Mainland MexicoCA/OR/WA and Mexico-North Pacific 

stocks are expected to be affected by the 

specified activity, and take previously 

authorized for the CA/OR/WA stock is 

here reallocated to these two newly 

designated stocks, as discussed below. 

We have determined that no new 

information affects our original analysis 

of potential impacts under the initial 

Year 2 IHA. 

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals 

and Their Habitat 

A description of the potential effects 

of the specified activities on marine 

mammals and their habitat may be 

found in the documents supporting the 

issuance of the original year 2 IHA, 

which remains applicable to the 

modification of the IHA. NMFS is not 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES

I I I 

I I I I 
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 15, 2024 / Notices 82989 

aware of new information regarding 

potential effects. 

Estimated Take 

A detailed description of the methods 

and inputs used to estimate authorized 

take for the specified activities are 

found in the Federal Register notice of 

proposed IHAs (87 FR 3948, July 1, 

2022). The types and sizes of piles, 

ensonified areas and source levels, and 

methods of pile driving remain 

unchanged from the IHA. 

The modification addresses USACE’s 

concerns that the ongoing construction 

activities could result in exceeding 

levels of authorized take of humpback 

whale and killer whale. Sightings of 

humpback whales have increased in the 

project area from previous years. 

Humpback whale feeding groups have 

begun utilizing the mouth of the 

Columbia River as foraging ground, 

arriving in the lower Columbia estuary 

as early as mid-June, and have been 

observed as late as mid-November with 

whale peak abundance coinciding with 

the peak abundance of forage fish in 

mid-summer. Humpback whales were 

observed in the immediate vicinity of 

West and East Sand Islands in late 

summer and fall of 2015 and 2016. They 

were also observed in the area in 2017 

and 2019, but their presence was not 

documented in 2018. Under the 2023 

year 1 IHA, no humpback whales were 

detected in 34 days of pile driving. 

According to Wade et al. (2021), the 

probabilities that humpback whales 

encountered in Oregon and California 

(i.e., south of the Columbia River) 

belong to various DPSs are as follows: 

Mexico DPS, 58 percent; and Central 

America DPS, 42 percent. The 

probabilities that humpback whales 

found in Washington and Southern 

British Columbia waters (i.e., north of 

the Columbia River) belong to various 

DPSs are as follows: Hawai’i DPS, 69 

percent; Mexico DPS, 25 percent; and 

Central America DPS, 6 percent (Wade 

et al., 2021). In this area, these DPSs 

correspond with the newly designated 

Mainland Mexico-CA/OR/WA, Central 

America/Southern Mexico-CA/OR/WA, 

and Hawaii stocks, respectively. Since 

the Columbia River is considered the 

dividing line between these two areas, 

the correct proportion of humpback 

whales likely to be encountered is 

unclear, i.e., whether the probabilities 

are closer to those assumed for the 

regions north or south of the Columbia 

River. NMFS conservatively assumes 

here that take of humpback whale 

would be the same as at a location south 

of the Columbia River, with 58 percent 

likely from the Mexico stock and 42 

percent from the Central America stock. 

The USACE has recorded four takes of 

humpback whale by Level B harassment 

as of September 11, 2024 after 24 days 

of in-water pile driving work which 

equates to a daily take rate of 0.17 

animals/day. NMFS had originally 

authorized six takes by Level B 

harassment. With 80 days in-water work 

remaining, the projected take at the rate 

described above would result in 14 

takes in addition to the 4 takes already 

recorded. NMFS is further authorizing 

an additional 10 takes by Level B 

harassment to ensure adequate 

consideration of likely take in light of 

the present increased occurrence of 

humpback whales. Therefore, NMFS has 

authorized a total of 28 humpback 

whale takes by Level B harassment. 

The USACE also requested an 

increase in authorized take by Level B 

harassment of killer whales. NMFS had 

authorized two takes by Level B 

harassment under the original year 2 

IHA. Under the 2023 year 1 IHA, no 

killer whales were detected in 34 days 

of pile driving according to the 

monitoring report submitted by the 

USACE. Based on recent anecdotal 

sightings, the USACE was concerned 

about potentially exceeding authorized 

take. The USACE felt that killer whales 

are more likely to enter into the project 

than previously considered. NMFS 

agreed with this assessment and 

modified the original IHA accordingly. 

The modal group sizes for transient 

killer whales ranges from three to four 

(Shields et al. 2018). NMFS assumed 

take of 2 groups of 4 in addition to the 

2 already authorized in the year 2 IHA 

for a total of 10 takes by Level B 

harassment. 

Table 2 shows the authorized take of 

all marine mammals by Level A and 

Level B harassment including revisions 

to authorized take of humpback whale 

and killer whale. 

TABLE 2—AUTHORIZED TAKE OF MARINE MAMMALS BY LEVEL A AND LEVEL B HARASSMENT BY YEAR, BY SPECIES AND

STOCK AND PERCENT OF TAKE BY STOCK

Species 

Authorized 

take by Level 

A harassment 

Authorized 

take by Level 

B harassment 

Total proposed 

take Stock Stock abundance 

Percent of 

stock 

Year 2: 

Humpback whale 1 ........................ 0 12 12 Central America/Southern Mexico— 

California/Oregon/Washington.

1,494 <0.01 

0 16 16 Mainland Mexico—CA/OR/WA ........... 3,477 0.46 

Killer whale ................................... 0 10 10 West Coast Transient ......................... 349 0.28 

Harbor porpoise ........................... 27 163 190 Northern Oregon/Washington Coast .. 22,074 0.86 

California sea lion ......................... 0 23,421 23,421 U.S ...................................................... 257,606 9.09 

Steller sea lion .............................. 0 29,502 29,502 Eastern ................................................ 36,308 81.25 

Harbor seal ................................... 54 5,361 5,415 Oregon/Washington Coast .................. 24,732 21.89 

Northern elephant seal ................. 0 6 6 California Breeding ............................. 187,363 <0.01 

1Humpback whales from the Central America/Southern Mexico-CA/OR/WA stock and the Mainland Mexico-CA/OR/WA stock are likely to occur in the project area 

in the respective percentages of 42 and 58 percent (Wade et al. 2021). 

Description of Mitigation, Monitoring 

and Reporting Measures 

The mitigation, monitoring and 

reporting measures are identical to those 

included in the initial year 2 IHA and 

remain relevant for this modified IHA. 

These can be found in the documents 

supporting the issuance of the two 

consecutive final IHAs. 

Determinations 

With the exception of the revised take 

numbers for humpback whale and killer 

whale, by Level B harassment only, the 

USACE’s in-water construction 

activities as well as mitigation and 

reporting requirements are unchanged 

from those in the year 2 IHA. The effects 

of the activity on the affected species 

and stocks remain unchanged. 

The additional takes by Level B 

harassment would be due to potential 

behavioral disturbance and potential 

temporary threshold shift (TTS). No 

serious injury or mortality is anticipated 

given the nature of the activity and 

measures designed to minimize the 

possibility of injury to marine 

mammals. The potential for harassment 

is minimized through the construction 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
82990 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 15, 2024 / Notices 

method and the implementation of the 

planned mitigation measures (see 

Description of Mitigation, Monitoring 

and Reporting Measures section). 

The USACE’s pile driving project 

precludes the likelihood of serious 

injury or mortality. For all species and 

stocks, take would occur within a 

limited, confined area of the stock’s 

range. Level A and Level B harassment 

would be reduced to the level of least 

practicable adverse impact through use 

of mitigation measures described herein. 

The additional authorized takes of 

humpback whale and killer whale 

represent a minor increase in the 

percent of stock taken that was 

authorized in the initial year 2 IHA, and 

the anticipated impacts are identical to 

those described in the Federal Register 

notice of issuance of final IHA (87 FR 

51346, August 22, 2022). The increases 

in authorized takes by Level B 

harassment for humpback and killer 

whale are extremely small when 

compared to stock abundance. The 

increase in authorized take of humpback 

and killer whale by Level B harassment 

is less than 0.01 percent for the Central 

America/Southern Mexico DPS and no 

greater than 0.46 percent for the 

Mainland Mexico DPS. Therefore, this 

activity will not cause effects on annual 

rates of recruitment or survival. We 

have determined that the impacts 

resulting from this activity are not 

expected to adversely affect annual rates 

of recruitment or survival for humpback 

whale, killer whale or any other species 

where NMFS has authorized take. 

Based on the information 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) the USACE’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 (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, in this case with the 

West Coast Regional Office. 

As part of the original IHA, NMFS 

authorized incidental take of humpback 

whales from the California/Oregon/ 

Washington stock that was designated at 

the time, and which included whales 

from the ESA-listed Mexico and Central 

America DPSs. The effects of this 

Federal action were adequately 

analyzed in the NMFS West Coast 

Region’s Biological Opinion and 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Essential Fish Habitat Response for the 

Sand Island Pile Dike Repair Project, 

dated June 14, 2022, which concluded 

that the action is not likely to adversely 

affect humpback whales from the 

Mexico and Central America DPSs or 

their designated critical habitat. This 

modification of the IHA does not change 

the existing analysis and, therefore, the 

prior determination remains unchanged. 

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 

IHA) with respect to potential impacts 

on the human environment. 

This action is consistent with 

categories of activities identified in 

Categorical Exclusion B4 (IHAs 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 

modification of the IHA continues to 

qualify to be categorically excluded 

from further NEPA review. 

Authorization 

NMFS has issued a modified IHA to 

the USACE for conducting construction 

activities associated Sand Island Dikes 

Repair Project on the Columbia River 

that includes the previously explained 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements. 

Dated: October 8, 2024. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23681 Filed 10–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Request for Information; Data for 

Marine Spatial Studies in Maryland, 

New Jersey, and Delaware 

AGENCY: National Centers for Coastal 

Ocean Science, National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Department of 

Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Notice; request for information. 

SUMMARY: NOAA’s National Ocean 

Service (NOS) National Centers for 

Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), 

hereafter NOAA, in partnership with the 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

(BOEM), is working to build spatial 

planning capacity in the United States 

(U.S.) Central Atlantic region. Through 

this Request for Information, NOAA is 

seeking public input to identify coastal 

and marine spatial data or other critical 

information to inform marine spatial 

analyses in Maryland, New Jersey, and 

Delaware. The input we receive from 

the data development workshop 

meeting, as well as the responses to the 

items listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this document, 

will be used to inform potential coastal 

and ocean development activities in the 

U.S. Central Atlantic region, such as 

renewable energy development. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

provide input in response to this 

Request for Information through 

November 1, 2024. Late-filed input will 

be considered to the extent practicable. 

Verbal input will be accepted during 

a public meeting to be held in 

Columbia, Maryland on October 16–17, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to provide input using one of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit 

electronic written public comments via 

the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

NOAA–NOS–2024–0122 in the Search 

box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES