[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84868-84871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24763]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE397]


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Replacement of Pier 302 at Naval 
Base Point Loma, San Diego, California

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of renewal incidental harassment 
authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given 
that NMFS has issued a renewal incidental harassment authorization 
(IHA) to the U.S Navy to incidentally harass marine mammals during 
construction activities associated with pile driving at the Point Loma 
Naval Base in San Diego, CA.

DATES: This authorization is effective from the date of issuance to 
September 30, 2024.

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/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities. In case of problems accessing these documents, please call 
the contact listed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Summer Owens, 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

[[Page 84869]]

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 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.

Summary of Request

    On October 1, 2023, NMFS issued an IHA to the U.S. Navy to take 
marine mammals incidental to construction associated with the 
replacement of Pier 302 at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, 
California (88 FR 6703, February 1, 2023), effective from October 1, 
2023, through September 30, 2024. On July 31, 2024, NMFS received an 
application for the renewal of that initial IHA. As described in the 
application for renewal IHA, the activities for which incidental take 
is requested consist of activities that are covered by the initial 
authorization but will not be completed prior to its expiration. As 
required, the applicant also provided preliminary monitoring data which 
confirm 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. There are no changes from the proposed 
authorization in this final authorization.

Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts

    The planned activities for this project are a subset of previously 
planned activities consisting of activities that were not completed in 
the initial IHA. There are still 17, 6-inch steel round piles to 
install using a vibratory hammer which will be completed over 2 days. 
All other aspects (including mitigation, monitoring, and reporting), 
species for which take is authorized, and anticipated impacts on the 
affected stocks are the same as those analyzed and authorized through 
the previously issued IHA.
    The purpose of the project is to replace Pier 302 which provides 
the U.S. Navy's marine mammal program with adequate facilities to house 
its marine mammals and provide a safe working environment for personnel 
to support the U.S. Navy's overall mission to maintain, train, and 
equip combat ready Naval forces. The location, timing, and nature of 
the activities, including the types of equipment planned for use, are 
identical to those described in the initial IHA.
    Species that are expected to be taken incidental to pile driving 
activity, by Level B harassment only, are California sea lion (Zalophus 
californianus), northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), 
harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), 
Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), and common 
dolphin (Delphinus delphis). Take was calculated using the same method 
as for the initial IHA, but reflecting the reduced amount of activity, 
i.e., only installing 17, 6-inch round steel piles.

Description of the Specified Activity

    A detailed description of the demolition and construction 
activities for which take is requested here may be found in the 
proposed renewal notice (89 FR 80228, October 2, 2024) and

[[Page 84870]]

notices of the proposed (87 FR 68442, November 15, 2022) and final (88 
FR 6703, February 1, 2023) IHAs for the initial authorization. Since 
that time, no changes have been made to the planned activities. 
Therefore, a detailed description is not provided here. Please refer to 
that Federal Register notice for the description of the specific 
activity.

Comments and Responses

    A notice of NMFS' proposal to issue an IHA to the U.S Navy was 
published in the Federal Register on October 2, 2024 (89 FR 80228). 
That notice described, in detail, the U.S Navy's activity, the marine 
mammal species that may be affected by the activity, and the 
anticipated effects on marine mammals. In that notice, we requested 
public input on the request for authorization described therein, our 
analyses, the proposed authorization, and any other aspect of the 
notice of proposed IHA, and requested that interested persons submit 
relevant information, suggestions, and comments. During the 15-day 
public comment period, NMFS did not receive any public comments.

Description of Marine Mammals

    A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities 
for which authorization of take is proposed here, including information 
on abundance, status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the 
notices of the proposed and final IHAs for the initial authorization. 
NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data from the initial IHA, draft 2023 
Stock Assessment Reports, information on relevant Unusual Mortality 
Events, and other scientific literature, and determined there is no new 
information that affects which species or stocks 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.

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 activities for which an 
authorization of incidental take is requested here may be found in the 
notices of the proposed and final IHAs for the initial authorization. 
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 
there is no new information that 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. Specifically, 
the source levels, days of operation, and marine mammal occurrence data 
applicable to this authorization remain unchanged from the previously 
issued IHA. Similarly, the stocks taken, methods of take, and types of 
take remain unchanged from the previously issued IHA. As noted above, 
the amount of estimated take requested for authorization here is lower 
than that authorized through the initial IHA, corresponding with the 
subset of activity remaining for completion.
    To calculate take, the U.S. Navy estimated average occurrence of 
each species based on previous nearby completed Navy projects and 
multiplied it by the number of total piles driving days to get their 
estimated potential take for authorization. Under the initial IHA 32 
days of pile driving were planned, but only 30 days' worth of pile work 
were completed. There are now 2 days of pile work remaining, with the 
same estimated abundance numbers used and multiplied by 2 days of pile 
driving work to produce take estimates for the renewal IHA (table 1).

                    Table 1--Authorized Amount of Taking by Level A/B Harassment, by Species
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                                                                     Expected
                                                                      average         Initial         Renewal
                             Species                                individuals     authorized      authorized
                                                                      per day          take            take
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California sea lion \1\.........................................              15             480              30
Harbor seal \1\.................................................               1              32               2
Bottlenose dolphin \1\..........................................               1              32               2
Common dolphin (Long- and Short-beaked) \2\.....................               9             288              18
Pacific white-sided dolphin \2\.................................               1              32               2
Northern elephant seal..........................................         \3\ (/)               7               1
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................  ..............             871              55
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\1\ Average daily counts based on observations during Year 4 Fuel Pier Replacement Project Monitoring (NAVFAC SW
  2017b).
\2\ Average daily counts based on observations during Year 2 Fuel Pier Replacement Project Monitoring (NAVFAC SW
  2015).
\3\ Expected potential of two northern elephant seals over the duration of project activity with a +5 buffer.

Description Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measures

    The mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures included as 
requirements in this authorization are identical to those included in 
the Federal Register notice announcing the issuance of the initial IHA, 
and the discussion of the least practicable adverse impact included in 
that document and the notice of the proposed IHA remains accurate.

Determinations

    NMFS has 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 determined the following: (1) the 
required mitigation measures will affect 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 U.S. Navy'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.

[[Page 84871]]

Endangered Species Act

    Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) requires that each Federal agency ensure 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 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.

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 evaluate our proposed action (the issuance of an IHA) and 
alternatives 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 NAO 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 determined that the application of this 
categorical exclusion remains appropriate for this renewal IHA.

Authorization

    NMFS has issued a renewal IHA to the U.S Navy for the potential 
harassment of small numbers of six marine mammal species incidental to 
the Replacement of Pier 302 at Naval Base Point Loma, San Diego, 
California, that includes the previously explained mitigation, 
monitoring and reporting requirements.

    Dated: October 21, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-24763 Filed 10-23-24; 8:45 am]
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