85520 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 208 / Monday, October 28, 2024 / Notices 

Highly Migratory Species Management 

Team 8 a.m. 

Enforcement Consultants As Necessary 

Day 4—Saturday, November 16, 2024 

Oregon State Delegation 7 a.m. 

California State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Washington State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory 

Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Coastal Pelagic Species Management 

Team 8 a.m. 

Enforcement Consultants As 

Necessary, Online 

Day 5—Sunday, November 17, 2024 

Oregon State Delegation 7 a.m. 

California State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Washington State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory 

Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Coastal Pelagic Species Management 

Team 8 a.m. 

Enforcement Consultants As 

Necessary, Online 

Day 6—Monday, September 23, 2024 

Oregon State Delegation 7 a.m. 

California State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Washington State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in the meeting agenda may be 

discussed, those issues may not be the 

subject of formal action during these 

meetings. Action will be restricted to 

those issues specifically listed in this 

document and any issues arising after 

publication of this document that 

require emergency action under section 

305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 

provided the public has been notified of 

the intent to take final action to address 

the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Mr. Kris 

Kleinschmidt (kris.kleinschmidt@

noaa.gov; (503) 820–2412) at least 10 

business days prior to the meeting date. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: October 23, 2024. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–24988 Filed 10–25–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE406] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to the 

Maintenance and Rehabilitation of the 

Bellingham Shipping Terminal 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of renewal 

incidental harassment authorization. 

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 Port of Bellingham to 

incidentally harass marine mammals 

incidental to maintenance and 

rehabilitation of the Bellingham 

Shipping Terminal in Bellingham, WA. 

DATES: This renewal IHA is effective 

from November 7, 2024 through 

November 7, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the 

original application, renewal request, 

and supporting documents (including 

NMFS Federal Register notices of the 

initial proposed and final 

authorizations, and the proposed 

renewal IHA), as well as a list of the 

references cited in this document, may 

be obtained online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-authorization-portbellinghams-bellingham-shippingterminal-bellingham. In case of 

problems accessing these documents, 

please call the contact listed below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Craig Cockrell, 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 

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 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 caseby-case basis, NMFS may issue a onetime 1-year renewal 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 will not be 

completed by the time the initial IHA 

expires and a renewal will 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: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 208 / Monday, October 28, 2024 / Notices 85521 

• 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 

• 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-authorizationrenewals. 

History of Request 

On November 6, 2023, NMFS issued 

an IHA to the Port of Bellingham to take 

marine mammals incidental to the 

Maintenance and Rehabilitation of the 

Bellingham Shipping Terminal Project 

in Bellingham, WA (88 FR 77972, 

November 11, 2023), effective from 

November 6, 2023 through November 6, 

2024. On September 20, 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 are nearly identical to those 

covered in the initial authorization and 

will not be completed prior to its 

expiration. Under the initial IHA a 

number of piles have been removed but 

no pile installations have occurred. As 

required, the Port of Bellingham also 

provided preliminary monitoring data, 

which confirms that the Port of 

Bellingham had implemented the 

required mitigation and monitoring, and 

also showed that no impacts of a scale 

or nature not previously analyzed or 

authorized have occurred as a result of 

the activities conducted. The notice of 

the proposed renewal incidental 

harassment authorization was published 

on October 4, 2024 (89 FR 80890). There 

are no changes from the proposed 

renewal IHA to the final renewal IHA. 

Description of the Specified Activities 

and Anticipated Impacts 

The purpose of the project at the 

Bellingham Shipping Terminal is to 

repair some of the failing wharf and pier 

structures of the terminal. As described 

in detail in the notice for the initial IHA 

(88 FR 77972, November 11, 2023), inwater construction will include both 

pile removal and installation of a 

multiple types of piles with vibratory 

and impact hammers. A minor change 

to the activities conducted by the Port 

of Bellingham was requested in the 

renewal letter. The initial IHA noted 

that the Port of Bellingham would limit 

vibratory pile driving time to 90 

minutes per day. The Port of Bellingham 

will increase the vibratory pile driving 

time to 360 minutes per day for this 

renewal period. This change will 

increase the size of the Level A 

harassment zones and shutdown zones 

associated with vibratory pile driving 

and removal as compared with those 

analyzed in the initial IHA (see 

Description of Mitigation, Monitoring 

and Reporting Measures). The increase 

to shutdown zones follows the same 

goals for mitigation articulated in the 

notice of the initial proposed IHA, i.e., 

the shutdown zones are equal to the 

estimated Level A harassment zones, 

and there is no increase to the estimated 

take numbers. Therefore, NMFS has 

determined that this change is minor 

and that the action is eligible for 

renewal. The construction is still 

expected to occur for 87 nonconsecutive days. Sounds produced by 

these activities may result in take, by 

Level A harassment and Level B 

harassment, of marine mammals located 

in Bellingham Bay. 

Incidental take resulting from the inwater pile driving and removal in this 

renewal will be at the same level as 

authorized in the initial IHA. Four 

marine mammal species are expected to 

experience Level B harassment and one 

of these species additionally has the 

potential for Level A harassment (see 

Estimated Take). 

All documents related to the initial 

IHA are available on our website: 

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

incidental-take-authorization-portbellinghams-bellingham-shippingterminal-bellingham. 

Detailed Description of the Activity 

A detailed description of the 

demolition and construction activities 

for which take is authorized here may 

be found in the Notices of the Proposed 

and Final IHAs for the initial 

authorization. The location, timing, and 

nature of the activities, including the 

types of equipment planned for use, are 

identical to those described in the 

previous notices. 

Description of Marine Mammals 

A description of the marine mammals 

in the area of the activities for which 

take is authorized, 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, recent draft 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. 

It should be noted that the draft 2023 

NMFS’ Marine Mammal Stock 

Assessment Reports (SARs) updated 

stock abundances for the Eastern 

Distinct Population Segment for Steller 

sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) and 

harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) (Carretta et 

al. 2023). For Steller sea lions, the 

abundance decreased slightly from the 

initial IHA stock abundance estimate of 

43,201 individuals to 36,308 

individuals. During the development of 

the initial IHA the Washington Northern 

Inland Waters stock of harbor seals had 

an unknown abundance. Since then, the 

abundance estimate in the draft 2023 

SARs has been updated to 16,451 

individuals. None of these population 

changes impact the findings made in 

support of the initial IHA. Additional 

information on all stocks affected by 

this action is available in the NMFS’ 

U.S. Pacific SARs (available online at: 

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

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

marine-mammal-stock-assessmentreports). 

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 take is authorized 

may be found in the notices of the 


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85522 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 208 / Monday, October 28, 2024 / Notices 

proposed and final IHAs for the initial 

authorization. NMFS has reviewed the 

monitoring data from the initial IHA, 

recent draft SARs, 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 do the 

number of takes, which are indicated 

below in table 1. 

TABLE 1—ESTIMATED TAKE BY LEVEL A AND LEVEL B HARASSMENT, BY SPECIES AND STOCK

Common name Stock Stock 

abundance a

Level 

A 

Level 

B 

Total 

take 

Take as 

percentage of 

stock 

Harbor porpoise .................. Washington Inland Waters 11,233 0 261 261 2.3 

Steller sea lion .................... Eastern U.S. ....................... 36,308 0 87 87 0.2 

California sea lion ............... U.S. .................................... 257,606 0 87 87 < 0.1 

Harbor seal ......................... Washington Northern Inland 

Waters.

16,451 264 2,029 3,050 18.5 

aStock or DPS size is Nbest according to NMFS 2023 Draft Stock Assessment Reports. 

Description of Mitigation, Monitoring 

and Reporting Measures 

The mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting measures included as 

requirements in this authorization are 

nearly 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. 

As noted above, the increase vibratory 

pile installation time from 90 minutes 

per day to 360 minutes per day has 

increased the size of the shutdown 

zones as noted in table 2 of this section. 

The applicant and NMFS analyzed the 

Level A harassment and associated 

shutdown zones using vibratory pile 

installation duration of 90 minutes a 

day, for inputs in the optional User 

Spreadsheet tool as reported in table 5 

of the final IHA Federal Register notice 

(88 FR 77972, November 14, 2023). In 

the request for renewal of the initial IHA 

the applicant requested that NMFS 

analyze and revise the shutdown zones 

associated with an increase in vibratory 

pile driving time to 360 minutes per 

day. Using the optional User 

Spreadsheet tool the applicants and 

NMFS analyzed and revised the 

shutdown zones based on this expected 

increase in vibratory pile installation 

duration. The following standard 

mitigation measures are required: 

• Shutdown zones for Level A 

harassment as specified in the initial 

IHA with the exception of vibratory pile 

installation where the Port of 

Bellingham expects to drive piles for 

360 minutes a day. The updated 

shutdown zones are shown in table 2; 

TABLE 2—UPDATED SHUTDOWN ZONES DURING VIBRATORY PILE INSTALLATION

Activity 

Shutdown zones (m) 1

HF cetaceans Phocids Otariids 

Vibratory installation (360 minutes) ............................................................................................. 75 (30) 30 (20) 10 (10) 

1Shutdown zones shown in parentheticals are what was included in the initial IHA. 

• Protected species observers (PSO) 

observing the monitoring zones 

established in the initial IHA during all 

pile installation and removal activities; 

• Soft start procedures for impact pile 

driving consisting of an initial set of 

strikes from the hammer at reduced 

energy, with each strike followed by a 

30-second waiting period; 

• The use of a marine pile-driving 

energy attenuator (i.e., air bubble 

curtain system) will be implemented by 

the Port of Bellingham during impact 

pile driving of all steel pipe piles; and 

• Prior to the start of daily in-water 

construction activity, or whenever a 

break in pile driving/removal of 30 

minutes or longer occurs, PSOs will 

observe the shutdown and monitoring 

zones for a period of 30 minutes. If a 

marine mammal is observed within the 

shutdown zone, a soft start cannot 

proceed until the animal has left the 

zone or has not been observed for 15 

minutes. 

Monitoring and reporting 

requirements associated with this 

renewal are as follows: 

• A minimum of one PSO will be on 

duty during impact pile driving 

activities and a minimum of two PSOs 

during vibratory installation/removal; 

• Observers will be required to use 

approved data forms; and 

• A draft report will be submitted to 

NMFS within 90 days of the completion 

of marine mammal monitoring. The 

report will include marine mammal 

observations pre-activity, duringactivity, and post-activity during pile 

driving days (and associated PSO data 

sheets). 

Comments and Responses 

A notice of NMFS’ proposal to issue 

a renewal IHA to the Port of Bellingham 

was published in the Federal Register 

on October 4, 2024 (89 FR 80890). That 

notice either described, or referenced 

descriptions of, the Port of Bellingham’s 

activity, the marine mammal species 

that may be affected by the activity, the 

anticipated effects on marine mammals 

and their habitat, estimated amount and 

manner of take, and proposed 

mitigation, monitoring and reporting 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 208 / Monday, October 28, 2024 / Notices 85523 

measures. NMFS received no public 

comments. 

Determinations 

The construction activities are nearly 

identical to those analyzed for the initial 

IHA, as are the method of taking and the 

effects of the action. The higher 

vibratory drive time does increase the 

size of the Level A harassment zones 

and shutdown zones slightly. This 

increase in zone sizes, however, does 

not change the anticipated take numbers 

analyzed in the initial IHA. In analyzing 

the effects of the activities for the initial 

IHA, NMFS determined that the Port of 

Bellingham’s activities will have a 

negligible impact on the affected species 

or stocks and that the authorized take 

numbers of each species or stock were 

small relative to the relevant stocks (e.g., 

less than one-third of the abundance of 

all stocks). Although some marine 

mammal abundances have changed 

since the initial IHA, none of this new 

information affects NMFS’ 

determinations supporting issuance of 

the initial IHAs. The mitigation 

measures and monitoring and reporting 

requirements as described above are 

nearly identical to the initial IHA. 

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 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 Port of Bellingham’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. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

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 National 

Environmental Policy Act review. 

NMFS has determined that the 

application of this categorical exclusion 

remains appropriate for this renewal 

IHA. 

Endangered Species Act 

No incidental take of ESA-listed 

species is authorized or expected to 

result from this activity. Therefore, 

NMFS has determined that consultation 

under section 7 of the ESA is not 

required for this action. 

Renewal 

NMFS has issued a renewal IHA to 

the Port of Bellingham for the take of 

marine mammals incidental to the 

Maintenance and Rehabilitation of the 

Bellingham Shipping Terminal Project 

in Bellingham, WA from November 7, 

2024 to November 7, 2025. 

Dated: October 23, 2024. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25021 Filed 10–25–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meeting 

TIME AND DATE: Wednesday, October 30, 

2024—10:00 a.m. (See MATTERS TO BE

CONSIDERED). 

PLACE: The meeting will be held 

remotely, and in person at 4330 EastWest Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 

20814. 

To attend the meeting remotely, 

please use the following link: https://

cpsc.webex.com/cpsc/

j.php?MTID=m316a2dd3fc

8c521a03226e1fc2027958. 

STATUS: Commission Meeting—Open to 

the Public. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: 

Decisional Matter: FY 2025 Operating 

Plan. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Alberta E. Mills, Office of the Secretary, 

U.S. Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, 

Bethesda, MD 20814, 301–504–7479 

(Office) or 240–863–8938 (Cell). 

Dated: October 23, 2024. 

Alberta E. Mills, 

Commission Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25066 Filed 10–24–24; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

Notice of Availability of Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Enhanced Integrated Air and 

Missile Defense System on Guam 

AGENCY: Missile Defense Agency (MDA), 

Department of Defense (DoD). 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The MDA, as the lead agency, 

announces the availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

(EISX–007–20–MDA–1725955966) for 

the proposed construction, deployment, 

and operation and maintenance of an 

Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile 

Defense (EIAMD) System on Guam 

(Proposed Action). The United States 

Army (USA), the United States Navy 

(USNAV), the United States Air Force 

(USAF), and the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) are cooperating 

agencies on this Draft EIS. The Draft EIS 

was prepared in accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA); the Council on 

Environmental Quality Regulations for 

Implementing the Procedural Provisions 

of NEPA; and the agency implementing 

procedures of MDA, USA, USNAV, 

USAF, and FAA. The Draft EIS also 

supports compliance with the National 

Historic Preservation Act of 1966 

(NHPA) and its implementing 

regulations. 

DATES: The 75-day public comment 

period will be from October 25, 2024, to 

January 8, 2025. Comments must be 

postmarked or received on or before 

January 8, 2025 to ensure consideration 

in the Final EIS. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted by: Email: info@EIAMDEIS.com, Online form: www.EIAMDEIS.com, Mail: ManTech International 

Corporation, Attention: EIAMD EIS 

Project Support, PMB 403, 1270 N. 

Marine Corps Drive, Suite 101, 

Tamuning, Guam 96913–4331. 

Comments will also be accepted at the 

open house public meetings. The public 

meetings will be held at the following 

locations: (1) November 13, 2024, Ha ̊gat 

Mayor’s Office Community Center 

Building 393, Route 2, Ha ̊gat, Guam; (2) 

November 14, 2024, Hilton Guam Resort 

Micronesian Room, 202 Hilton Road, 


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