[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84333-84337]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24437]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RTID 0648-XE362


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Skagway Ore Terminal 
Redevelopment Project

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

ACTION: Notice; request for comments on proposed renewal incidental 
harassment authorization.

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SUMMARY: NMFS received a request from Municipality of Skagway (MOS) for 
the renewal of their currently active incidental harassment 
authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals incidental to the terminal 
redevelopment project in Skagway, Alaska. MOS's activities consist of 
activities that are covered by the current authorization but will not 
be completed prior to its expiration. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act (MMPA), prior to issuing the currently active IHA, NMFS 
requested comments on both the proposed IHA and the potential for 
renewing the initial authorization if certain requirements were 
satisfied. The renewal requirements have been satisfied, and NMFS is 
now providing an additional 15-day comment period to allow for any 
additional comments on the proposed renewal not previously provided 
during the initial 30-day comment period.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than November 
6, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief, 
Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, and should be submitted via email to 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c78e9397e9afa6b5aba6a4afa2b587a9a8a6a6e9a0a8b1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a5ecf1f58bcdc4d7c9c4c6cdc0d7e5cbcac4c48bc2cad3">[email protected]</span></a>.
    Instructions: NMFS is not responsible for comments sent by any 
other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the 
end of the comment period. Comments, including all attachments, must 
not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. Attachments to comments will be 
accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel or Adobe PDF file formats only. All 
comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be 
posted online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/incidental-take-authorizations-under-marine-mammal-protection-act without change. All 
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily 
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit 
confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected 
information.
    Electronic copies of the original application, renewal request, and 
supporting documents (including NMFS Federal Register notices of the 
original proposed and final authorizations, and the previous IHA), as 
well as a list of the references cited in this document, may be 
obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/incidental-take-authorizations-under-marine-mammal-protection-act. In case of 
problems accessing these documents, please call the contact listed 
above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jenna Harlacher, Office of Protected 
Resources (OPR), 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 promulgated or, if the taking is limited to harassment, an 
incidental harassment authorization is issued.
    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 here as ``mitigation 
measures''). NMFS must also prescribe requirements pertaining to 
monitoring and reporting of such takings. The definition of key terms 
such as ``take,'' ``harassment,'' and ``negligible impact'' can be 
found in the MMPA and the NMFS's implementing regulations (see 16 
U.S.C. 1362; 50 CFR 216.103).
    NMFS' regulations implementing the MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e) 
indicate that IHAs may be renewed for additional periods of time not to 
exceed 1 year for each reauthorization. In the notice of proposed IHA 
for the initial IHA, NMFS described the circumstances under which we 
would consider issuing a renewal for this activity, and requested 
public comment on a potential renewal under those circumstances. 
Specifically, on a case-by-case basis, NMFS may issue a one-time 1-year 
renewal of an IHA following notice to the public providing an 
additional 15 days for public comments when: (1) up to another year of 
identical, or nearly identical, activities as described in the Detailed 
Description of Specified Activities section of the initial IHA issuance 
notice is planned; or (2) the activities as described in the 
Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts section 
of the initial IHA issuance notice would not be completed by the time 
the initial IHA expires and a renewal would allow for completion of the 
activities beyond that described in the DATES section of the notice of 
issuance of the initial IHA, provided all of the following conditions 
are met:
    1. A request for renewal is received no later than 60 days prior to 
the needed renewal IHA effective date (recognizing that the renewal IHA 
expiration date cannot extend beyond 1 year from expiration of the 
initial IHA);
    2. The request for renewal must include the following:
    <bullet> An explanation that the activities to be conducted under 
the requested renewal IHA are identical to the activities analyzed 
under the initial IHA, are a subset of the activities, or include 
changes so minor (e.g., reduction in pile size) that the changes do not 
affect the previous analyses, mitigation and monitoring requirements, 
or take estimates (with

[[Page 84334]]

the exception of reducing the type or amount of take); and
    <bullet> A preliminary monitoring report showing the results of the 
required monitoring to date and an explanation showing that the 
monitoring results do not indicate impacts of a scale or nature not 
previously analyzed or authorized; and
    3. Upon review of the request for renewal, the status of the 
affected species or stocks, and any other pertinent information, NMFS 
determines that there are no more than minor changes in the activities, 
the mitigation and monitoring measures will remain the same and 
appropriate, and the findings in the initial IHA remain valid.
    An additional public comment period of 15 days (for a total of 45 
days), with direct notice by email, phone, or postal service to 
commenters on the initial IHA, is provided to allow for any additional 
comments on the proposed renewal. A description of the renewal process 
may be found on our website at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-harassment-authorization-renewals. Any comments received on the potential renewal, along with 
relevant comments on the initial IHA, have been considered in the 
development of this proposed IHA renewal, and a summary of agency 
responses to applicable comments is included in this notice. NMFS will 
consider any additional public comments prior to making any final 
decision on the issuance of the requested renewal, and agency responses 
will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

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 
renewal) with respect to potential impacts on the human environment.
    This action is consistent with categories of activities identified 
in Categorical Exclusion B4 (incidental take 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 determined that the issuance of the 
initial IHA qualified to be categorically excluded from further NEPA 
review. NMFS has preliminarily determined that the application of this 
categorical exclusion remains appropriate for this renewal IHA.

History of Request

    On August 29, 2023, NMFS issued an IHA to MOS to take marine 
mammals incidental to the terminal redevelopment project in Skagway, 
Alaska (88 FR 60652, September 5, 2023), effective from October 1, 
2023, through September 30, 2024. On February 5, 2024, NMFS received a 
request from MOS to modify the 2023 IHA; adding 2 takes by Level A 
harassment and 45 takes by Level B harassment for northern fur seal, 
and to adjust take requests based on average species densities 
throughout the year due to work occurring in all seasons and, 
consequently, increasing authorized take by Level B harassment to 270 
for Steller sea lion. On May 3, 2024, NMFS issued Skagway a 
modification of the initial 2023 IHA (89 FR 36765).
    On July 22, 2024, NMFS received an application for the renewal of 
the initial IHA (as modified). After discussions with MOS about the 
proposed work to be conducted under the renewal IHA, we received a 
revised renewal request on September 30, 2024. As described in the 
application for renewal IHA, the activities for which incidental take 
is requested consist of a subset of the activities that were covered by 
the initial authorization but which were not completed prior to its 
expiration. As required, the applicant also provided a final monitoring 
report, available online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-municipality-skagways-skagway-ore-terminal-redevelopment. The report confirms that the applicant has 
implemented the required mitigation and monitoring, and which also 
shows that no impacts of a scale or nature not previously analyzed or 
authorized have occurred as a result of the activities conducted.

Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts

    MOS planned to redevelop the Skagway Ore Terminal in Skagway, 
Alaska, with 196 days of pile installation and removal. This project 
involved installation and removal of 36 temporary steel pile guides, 
removal of 692 piles, and installation of 244 permanent steel piles. 
Two different installation methods were used: vibratory pile driving 
and impact pile driving. Due to unexpected delays, MOS did not complete 
the construction during the initial 1-year period, completing removal 
of 385 piles and installation of 101 piles.
    This renewal request is to cover a subset of the activities covered 
in the initial IHA that was not completed during the effective IHA 
period and which is planned to occur during the effective period of the 
proposed renewal IHA. Specifically, MOS plans to install two 24-in 
piles and remove ten timber piles, which are necessary to stabilize a 
single existing fender. The remainder of the initially planned work 
would not be conducted under this proposed renewal IHA.
    The likely or possible impacts of the MOS's proposed activity on 
marine mammals is unchanged from the impacts described in the initial 
IHA. Potential non-acoustic stressors could result from the physical 
presence of the equipment, vessels, and personnel; however, any impacts 
to marine mammals are expected to primarily be acoustic in nature. 
Sounds resulting from pile installation, removal, and drilling may 
result in the incidental take of marine mammals by Level A and Level B 
harassment in the form of auditory injury or behavioral harassment.

Detailed Description of the Activity

    A detailed description of the construction activities for which 
take is proposed here may be found in the notices of the proposed and 
final IHAs for the initial authorization (88 FR 23627, April 18, 2023; 
88 FR 60652, September 5, 2023). As previously mentioned, this request 
is for a subset of the activities considered for the initial IHA that 
were not completed prior to its expiration and which are planned to 
occur under this proposed renewal IHA. The location, timing, and nature 
of the activities, including the types of equipment planned for use, 
are identical to those described in the previous notice for the initial 
IHA. The proposed renewal IHA would be effective from the date of 
issuance through September 30, 2025.
    The subset of activities to be completed under this proposed 
renewal IHA includes installation of two 24-in steel piles by vibratory 
and impact pile driving and vibratory removal of ten timber piles. MOS 
proposes that this subset of activities would take approximately 4 
days, including 2 days for the pile installation and 2 days for the 
pile removal.

Description of Marine Mammals

    A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities 
for which

[[Page 84335]]

authorization of take is proposed here, including information on 
abundance, status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the 
notice of the proposed IHA for the initial authorization and the notice 
of issuance of a modified incidental harassment authorization (88 FR 
23627, April 18, 2023; 89 FR 36765, May 3, 2024).
    NMFS has reviewed the preliminary monitoring data from the initial 
IHA, recent draft Stock Assessment Reports, and determined that neither 
this nor any other new information affects which species have the 
potential to be affected or the pertinent information in the 
Description of the Marine Mammals in the Area of Specified Activities 
contained in the supporting documents for the initial IHA and modified 
IHA (88 FR 23627, April 18, 2023; 89 FR 36765, May 3, 2024).

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat

    A description of the potential effects of the specified activity on 
marine mammals and their habitat for the limited subset of activities 
for which the authorization of take is proposed here may be found in 
the notice of the proposed IHA for the initial authorization (88 FR 
23627, April 18, 2023). NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data from the 
initial IHA, recent draft Stock Assessment Reports, information on 
relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and other scientific literature, and 
determined that neither this nor any other new information affects our 
initial analysis of impacts on marine mammals and their habitat.

Estimated Take

    A detailed description of the methods and inputs used to estimate 
take for the specified activity are found in the notices of the 
proposed and final IHAs for the initial authorization and the notice of 
issuance of the modified IHA (88 FR 23627, April 18, 2023; 88 FR 60652, 
September 5, 2023; 89 FR 36765, May 3, 2024). Specifically, the action 
area and marine mammal density and occurrence data applicable to this 
authorization remain unchanged from the initial and modified IHA. 
Similarly, source levels, type of activity, methods of take, and types 
of take remain unchanged from the initial and modified IHA. However, 
there are changes to the estimated Level A harassment zones based on 
the revised amount of piles driven per day and the 2024 draft Technical 
Guidance, further discussed below. The estimated number of takes 
proposed for authorization is based on the subset of activities to be 
completed under this renewal IHA, and therefore represents a proportion 
of the initial authorized takes. These takes reflect the estimated 
remaining number of days of work and number of piles to be driven. 
Estimated take by Level A and Level B harassment was calculated using 
the same methodology as in the initial and modified IHA.
    On May 3, 2024, NMFS published (89 FR 36762) and solicited public 
comment on its draft Updated Technical Guidance, which includes updated 
thresholds and weighting functions to inform auditory injury estimates, 
and is intended to replace the 2018 Technical Guidance referenced 
above, once finalized. The public comment period ended on June 17, 
2024, and although the Updated Technical Guidance is not final, we 
expect the Updated Technical Guidance to represent the best available 
science once it is. To best ensure we have considered an appropriate 
evaluation of potential effects, in consideration of the best available 
science, we have conducted basic comparative calculations using the 
draft Updated Technical Guidance for the purposes of understanding the 
number of takes by Level A harassment (auditory injury) that would be 
predicted if the draft Updated Technical Guidance were finalized with 
no changes. The relevant draft updated thresholds and weighting 
functions may be found in the executive summary of the draft Updated 
Technical Guidance, on pages 3 and 4. We have also considered whether 
modifications to mitigation zones would be appropriate in light of the 
draft Updated Technical Guidance. Based on the outcome of these 
comparisons/analyses using the draft Updated Technical Guidance and the 
number of piles and days of work to be conducted in this renewal, the 
modeled estimates of take by Level A harassment did not present 
substantial differences for any species.
    In this proposed renewal, use of the draft Updated Technical 
Guidance results in changes to the estimated Level A harassment zones, 
but there are no changes to the estimated Level B harassment zones 
(table 1). The updated Level A harassment zones are used to revise 
estimations of potential take by Level A harassment. In table 2, we 
have presented values based on the methodology that was included in the 
previous authorizations, incorporating the previously described changes 
(number of piles per day and the Updated Technical Guidance). Takes are 
a proportion of the initial authorized takes and based on the days of 
work included in this renewal IHA. Proposed mitigation zones, in 
consideration of the updated isopleths, are discussed in the Proposed 
Mitigation section.

                               Table 1--Level A and Level B Harassment Isopleths (m) for Impact and Vibratory Pile Driving
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                                                Level A harassment zone (m) \1\                    Level A harassment zone (m) \2\             Level B
               Activity               ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  harassment
                                          LF        MF        HF      Phocids   Otariids     LF        HF        VHF     Phocids   Otariids    zone (m)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24-in steel pile, Impact Installation   1,977.6      70.3   2,355.6   1,058.3       77.1   1,970.4     251.4   3,049.2   1,750.4      652.5        857.7
24-in steel pile,* Vibratory                4.1       0.4       6.1       2.5        0.2       5.6       2.2       4.6       7.2        2.4        3,981
 Installation and Removal............
14-in timber pile, Vibratory Removal.       2.7       0.2         4       1.7        0.1       3.7       1.4         3       4.7        1.6        3,415
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\1\ Zones are based on the 2018 Revised Technical Guidance. This is what was used in the initial and modified IHA to calculate Level A harassment zones.
\2\ Zones are based on the Draft 2024 Updated Technical Guidance, further described above. This is new information that was not available at the time of
  the initial and modified IHA. Species groups have also changed in the Updated Technical Guidance.
* Based on the up to 30-in piles included in the initial IHA that also included pile sizes: 10.75-in, 14-in, 16-in, 20-in, 24-in, 28-in, and 30-in.


                Table 2--Proposed Amount of Taking, by Level A and Level B Harassment, by Species and Stock and Percent of Take by Stock
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                                                                                        Initial IHA   Initial IHA    Proposed     Proposed
                    Species                                      Stock                  authorized    authorized     Level A      Level B     Percent of
                                                                                       Level A take  Level B take      take         take        stock
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Humpback Whale.................................  Hawaii..............................             2            13            0          * 2           <1
                                                 Mexico-North Pacific................             0             1            0            0            0

[[Page 84336]]

 
Minke Whale....................................  Alaska..............................             2             6            0          * 1           <1
Killer Whale \1\...............................  Eastern North Pacific, Northern                  2            90            0         * 25           <1
                                                  Residents, Southeast Alaska +
                                                  Eastern North Pacific, Alaska
                                                  Residents + West Coast Transients +
                                                  Gulf, Aleutian, Bering Transients.
Dall's Porpoise................................  Alaska..............................            43           193            0            4           <1
Harbor Porpoise................................  Southeast Alaska....................            17            75            0          * 2           <1
Harbor Seal....................................  Alaska--Lynn Canal/Stephens Passage.           193         2,760           11           54           <1
Steller Sea Lion...............................  Eastern U.S. + Western U.S..........             2           270            0           10           <1
Northern Fur Seal..............................  Pribilof Islands/Eastern Pacific                 2            45            0            3           <1
                                                  stock.
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* Rounded up to assumed average group size based on Dahlheim et al., 2009.
\1\ Dahlheim et al. (2009) observed mean group sizes of 25 (resident ecotype) and 5 (transient ecotype) for killer whales in Southeast Alaska. While MOS
  observed only two killer whales during the initial IHA, it is possible that a larger group could enter the area during the renewal activities.

Description of Proposed Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measures

    The proposed mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures 
included as requirements in this authorization are substantially 
similar to those included in the FR notice announcing the issuance of 
the initial IHA, and the discussion of the least practicable adverse 
impact included in that document remains accurate (88 FR 60652, 
September 5, 2023). The only changes from the initial IHA are to the 
required shutdown zones (table 3), due to the changes in Level A 
harassment zone distances (table 1). As the initial IHA required 
shutdown zones equal to the Level A harassment zones, we retain that 
approach to mitigation in reflection of the new zones updated on the 
basis of the best scientific information available. Additionally, 
acoustic monitoring (as was required through the initial IHA) is not 
proposed here, due to the minimal pile driving planned under this 
proposed renewal IHA.

                                     Table 3--Shutdown and Monitoring Zones
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Minimum shutdown zone (m)
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------  Harassment
               Activity                                               VHF                              zone (m)
                                        LF cetacean  HF cetacean    cetacean    Phocids    Otariids
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24-in steel pile, Impact Installation.        1,975          255        3,050      1,755        655          860
24-in steel pile, Vibratory                      10           10           10         10         10        3,985
 Installation and Removal.............
14-in timber pile, Vibratory Removal..           10           10           10         10         10        3,415
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The following mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures are 
proposed for this renewal:
    <bullet> The MOS must avoid direct physical interaction with marine 
mammals during construction activity. If a marine mammal comes within 
10-m of such activity, operations must cease and vessels must reduce 
speed to the minimum level required to maintain steerage and safe 
working conditions, as necessary to avoid direct physical interaction;
    <bullet> Conduct training between construction supervisors and 
crews and the marine mammal monitoring team and relevant MOS staff 
prior to the start of all pile driving activity and when new personnel 
join the work, so that responsibilities, communication procedures, 
monitoring protocols, and operational procedures are clearly 
understood;
    <bullet> Pile driving activity must be halted upon observation of 
either a species for which incidental take is not authorized or a 
species for which incidental take has been authorized but the 
authorized number of takes has been met, entering or within the 
harassment zone;
    <bullet> MOS will establish and implement the shutdown zones. The 
purpose of a shutdown zone is generally to define an area within which 
shutdown of the activity would occur upon sighting of a marine mammal 
(or in anticipation of an animal entering the defined area). Shutdown 
zones typically vary based on the activity type and marine mammal 
hearing group;
    <bullet> Monitoring must take place from 30 minutes prior to 
initiation of construction activity (i.e., pre-start clearance 
monitoring) through 30 minutes post-completion of construction 
activity;
    <bullet> Pre-start clearance monitoring must be conducted during 
periods of visibility sufficient for the lead Protected Species 
Observer (PSO) to determine the shutdown zones clear of marine mammals. 
Construction may commence when the determination is made;
    <bullet> If construction is delayed or halted due to the presence 
of a marine mammal, the activity may not commence or resume until 
either the animal has voluntarily exited and been visually confirmed 
beyond the shutdown zone or 15 minutes have passed without re-detection 
of the animal;
    <bullet> MOS must use soft start techniques when impact pile 
driving. Soft start requires contractors and equipment to slowly 
approach the work site creating a visual disturbance allowing animals 
in close proximity to construction activities a chance to leave the 
area prior to stone resetting or new stone placement. A soft start must 
be implemented at the start of each day's construction activity and at 
any time following cessation of activity for a period of 30 minutes or 
longer;
    <bullet> The MOS must employ up to four PSOs to monitor the 
shutdown and Level B harassment zones during pile driving activities;
    <bullet> Monitoring will be conducted 30 minutes before, during, 
and 30 minutes after construction activities. In addition, observers 
shall record all incidents of marine mammal occurrence, regardless of 
distance from activity, and shall document any behavioral reactions in 
concert with distance from construction activity;

[[Page 84337]]

    <bullet> The MOS must submit a draft report detailing all 
monitoring within 90 calendar days of the completion of marine mammal 
monitoring or 60 days prior to the issuance of any subsequent IHA for 
this project, whichever comes first;
    <bullet> The MOS must prepare and submit final report within 30 
days following resolution of comments on the draft report from NMFS;
    <bullet> The MOS must submit all PSO datasheets and/or raw sighting 
data (in a separate file from the Final Report referenced immediately 
above); and
    <bullet> The MOS must report injured or dead marine mammals.

Comments and Responses

    As noted previously, NMFS published a notice of a proposed IHA and 
proposed modified IHA (88 FR 23627, April 18, 2023; 89 FR 22684, April 
2, 2024) and solicited public comments on both our proposal to issue 
the initial IHA for Skagway Ore Terminal Redevelopment project and on 
the potential for a renewal IHA, should certain requirements be met. 
During the 30-day public comment period, NMFS received no substantive 
comments on either the proposal to issue the initial IHA for MOS's 
construction activities or on the potential for a renewal IHA.

Preliminary Determinations

    The proposed renewal request consists of a subset of activities 
analyzed through the initial authorization described above. In 
analyzing the effects of the activities for the initial IHA, NMFS 
determined that MOS's activities would have a negligible impact on the 
affected species or stocks and that authorized take numbers of each 
species or stock were small relative to the relevant stocks (e.g., less 
than one-third the abundance of all stocks). The mitigation measures 
and monitoring and reporting requirements as described above are 
substantially similar to those required through initial IHA; 
hydroacoustic monitoring is excluded because it was completed under the 
initial IHA, and the shutdown zones have been revised to reflect the 
piles to be driven in the proposed subset of work.the minor changes 
described above do not affect the least practicable adverse impact 
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. Based on the information and analysis 
contained here and in the referenced documents, NMFS has preliminarily 
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) MOS'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

    The NMFS Alaska Regional Office issued a Biological Opinion under 
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 
on the issuance of an IHA and potential renewal IHA to MOS under 
section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA by the NMFS OPR. The Biological 
Opinion concluded that the action is not likely to jeopardize the 
continued existence of ESA-listed humpback whales or Steller sea lions.

Proposed Renewal IHA and Request for Public Comment

    As a result of these preliminary determinations, NMFS proposes to 
issue a renewal IHA to MOS for conducting the terminal redevelopment 
construction in Skagway, Alaska, from the date of issuance through 
September 30, 2025, provided the previously described mitigation, 
monitoring, and reporting requirements are incorporated. A draft of the 
proposed and final initial IHA and modified IHA can be found at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-municipality-skagways-skagway-ore-terminal-redevelopment. 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 17, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-24437 Filed 10-21-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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