12666 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 44 / Monday, March 7, 2022 / Notices 

comment on proposed, and continuing 

information collections, which helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on October 28, 

2021 during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

Title: Partner Probabilistic Snowfall 

Messaging Survey. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–XXXX. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Regular submission 

new information collection. 

Number of Respondents: 7,600. 

Average Hours per Response: 0.25 

hours or 15 minutes. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,900 

hours. 

Needs and Uses: For decades, the 

National Weather Service (NWS) has 

provided deterministic (i.e., singlevalue) snowfall forecasts or snowfall 

uncertainty forecasts with set, narrow 

ranges (i.e., 2–4, 4–6 inches). More 

recent advancements in model 

ensembles have allowed for the 

calculation of probabilistic snowfall 

information. This forecast information 

can be messaged in a number of ways, 

for example, as the probability a 

location will receive some amount of 

snowfall, or as the probability the 

snowfall will be within a certain range. 

While statistically more accurate, it is 

unknown if probabilistic snowfall 

forecasts are understood or helpful to 

the end user in their decision making 

process. 

The NWS and National Center for 

Atmospheric Research will work 

together to conduct a survey across the 

NWS Central Region to determine 

different core partners’ needs, 

preferences, understanding, and 

usefulness regarding probabilistic snow 

forecasts. Core partners of interest for 

this effort are emergency managers, 

school officials, and transportation 

officials. The survey will be hosted as a 

web-based survey through QuestionPro 

and will be electronically distributed to 

core partners by local NWS forecast 

offices across the Central Region in early 

2022. 

Results from this survey will be used 

to determine how probabilistic snowfall 

information will be used in future NWS 

products and services with the ultimate 

goal of providing information in a way 

that improves core partners’ ability to 

make informed decisions for the 

protection of life and property. 

Affected Public: Local (city or 

county), state, tribal, federal, and 

college/university emergency managers, 

local school principals, 

superintendents, transportation 

directors, and maintenance officials, 

and city, regional, or state transportation 

officials. 

Frequency: Up to once per year for the 

approved period. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering the title of the collection. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04746 Filed 3–4–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–KE–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB501] 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to the Construction of the 

Ocean Wind 1 Wind Energy Facility 

Offshore of New Jersey 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

Letter of Authorization; request for 

comments and information. 

SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request 

from Ocean Wind, LLC (Ocean Wind), a 

subsidiary of Orsted Wind Power North 

America, LLC’s (Orsted), for 

authorization to take small numbers of 

marine mammals incidental to 

construction activities associated with 

the Ocean Wind 1 wind energy facility 

in the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management’s (BOEM) Lease Area 

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)–A–0498 

Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands 

for Renewable Energy Development on 

the Outer Continental Shelf off of New 

Jersey over the course of 5 years 

beginning in 2023. Pursuant to 

regulations implementing the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS 

is announcing receipt of Ocean Wind’s 

request for the development and 

implementation of regulations 

governing the incidental taking of 

marine mammals. NMFS invites the 

public to provide information, 

suggestions, and comments on Ocean 

Wind’s application and request. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than April 6, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the 

applications should be addressed to 

Jolie Harrison, Chief, Permits and 

Conservation Division, Office of 

Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service and should be sent to 

ITP.Potlock@noaa.gov. 

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 received 

electronically, including all 

attachments, must not exceed a 25- 

megabyte file size. Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word or 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/ 

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

incidental-take-authorizations-otherenergy-activities-renewable 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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kelsey Potlock, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. An 

electronic copy of Ocean Wind’s 

application may be obtained online at: 

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

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

incidental-take-authorizations-otherenergy-activities-renewable. In case of 

problems accessing these documents, 

please email the contact listed above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

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) 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 44 / Monday, March 7, 2022 / Notices 12667 

within a specified geographical region if 

certain findings are made and either 

regulations are issued or, if the taking is 

limited to harassment, a notice of a 

proposed authorization is provided to 

the public for review. 

An incidental take authorization shall 

be granted if NMFS finds that the taking 

will have a negligible impact on the 

species or stock(s), will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the species or stock(s) for 

subsistence uses (where relevant), and if 

the permissible methods of taking and 

requirements pertaining to the 

mitigation, monitoring and reporting of 

such takings are set forth. 

NMFS has defined ‘‘negligible 

impact’’ in 50 CFR 216.103 as an impact 

resulting from the specified activity that 

cannot be reasonably expected to, and is 

not reasonably likely to, adversely affect 

the species or stock through effects on 

annual rates of recruitment or survival. 

The MMPA states that the term ‘‘take’’ 

means to harass, hunt, capture, kill or 

attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill 

any marine mammal. 

Except with respect to certain 

activities not pertinent here, the MMPA 

defines ‘‘harassment’’ as: Any act of 

pursuit, torment, or annoyance, which 

(i) has the potential to injure a marine 

mammal or marine mammal stock in the 

wild (Level A harassment); or (ii) has 

the potential to disturb a marine 

mammal or marine mammal stock in the 

wild by causing disruption of behavioral 

patterns, including, but not limited to, 

migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, 

feeding, or sheltering (Level B 

harassment). 

Summary of Request 

On October 1, 2021, NMFS received 

an application from Ocean Wind 

requesting authorization for take of 

marine mammals incidental to 

construction activities related to the 

development of the Ocean Wind 1 

Offshore Wind Farm off of New Jersey 

in Commercial Lease (OCS–A–0498). In 

response to our comments, and 

following extensive information 

exchange with NMFS, Ocean Wind 

submitted a revised application on 

February 8, 2022 that we determined 

was adequate and complete on February 

11, 2022. Ocean Wind requested the 

regulations and subsequent Letter of 

Authorization (LOA) be valid for five 

years beginning in 2023. 

Ocean Wind considered the following 

activities associated with wind farm 

construction in its application: Impact 

installation of monopiles for wind 

turbine generators (WTG) foundations; 

impact installation of monopiles or pin 

piles for offshore sub-station (OSS) 

foundations; potential detonations of 

unexploded ordinances UXOs; 

construction of temporary cofferdams at 

the sea-to-shore transitions, which 

includes vibratory installation and 

removal of sheet pile; site 

characterization surveys using a range of 

frequencies; fisheries monitoring; 

placement of scour protection; and 

export cable trenching, laying, and 

burial. Vessels will be used to transport 

crew, supplies, and materials to the 

Project area and to support pile 

installation. A subset of these activities 

(e.g., installing piles using pile driving, 

UXO detonation, and site 

characterization surveys) may result in 

the take, by Level A harassment and 

Level B harassment, of marine 

mammals. Therefore, Ocean Wind 

requests authorization to incidentally 

take marine mammals. 

Specified Activities 

In Executive Order 14008, President 

Biden stated that it is the policy of the 

United States to organize and deploy the 

full capacity of its agencies to combat 

the climate crisis to implement a 

Government-wide approach that 

reduces climate pollution in every 

sector of the economy; increases 

resilience to the impacts of climate 

change; protects public health; 

conserves our lands, waters, and 

biodiversity; delivers environmental 

justice; and spurs well-paying union 

jobs and economic growth, especially 

through innovation, commercialization, 

and deployment of clean energy 

technologies and infrastructure. 

Through a competitive leasing process 

under 30 CFR 585.211, Ocean Wind was 

awarded Commercial Lease OCS–A 

0498 offshore of New Jersey and the 

exclusive right to submit a construction 

and operations plan (COP) for activities 

within the lease area. Ocean Wind, LLC 

has submitted a COP to BOEM 

proposing the construction, operation, 

maintenance, and conceptual 

decommissioning of the Ocean Wind 1 

project, a 1,100-megawatt (MW) 

commercial-scale offshore wind energy 

facility located within the northeastern 

portion of Lease Area OCS–A 0498 and 

consisting of up to 98 wind turbines, 3 

offshore sub-stations, and 3 

transmission cables to shore. 

Ocean Wind anticipates activities 

potentially resulting in take of marine 

mammals could occur for the life of the 

requested regulations and LOA. This 

includes: 

• Several construction-related highresolution site assessment geophysical 

surveys in all 5 years (88 days per year 

during Years 1, 4, and 5; 180 days per 

year during Years 2 and 3); 

• the installation of up to 98 tapered 

(i.e., one end has a larger diameter than 

the other end) WTGs (monopile 

foundation; 8⁄11-meter (m) diameter 

piles) by impact pile driving; 

• the installation of up to 3 OSSs 

foundations by impact pile driving 

consisting of either 3 monopiles (8⁄11-m 

diameter tapered piles) or 48 pin piles 

(jacket; 2.44-m diameter piles) from May 

through December in Years 1 and 2 over 

the course of 56 to 116 days; 

• the installation and removal of up 

to 7 temporary cofferdams by vibratory 

pile driving at the cable tie-in area in 

Year 1 (4 days for installation and 

removal per cofferdam; 28 days total); 

and, 

• the potential detonation of up to 10 

UXOs over the course of 10 days in Year 

1 (1 UXO detonation per day, as 

necessary). 

Ocean Wind has noted that these are 

the most accurate estimates for the 

durations of each planned activity, but 

that the schedule may shift over the 

Project due to weather, mechanical, or 

other related delays. 

Information Solicited 

Interested persons may submit 

information, suggestions, and comments 

concerning Ocean Wind’s request (see 

ADDRESSES). NMFS will consider all 

information, suggestions, and comments 

related to the request during the 

development of proposed regulations 

governing the incidental taking of 

marine mammals by Ocean Wind, if 

appropriate. 

Dated: March 1, 2022. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04661 Filed 3–4–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB858] 

Schedules for Atlantic Shark 

Identification Workshops and 

Protected Species Safe Handling, 

Release, and Identification Workshops 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public workshops. 

SUMMARY: Free Atlantic Shark 

Identification Workshops and Safe 

Handling, Release, and Identification 

Workshops will be held in April, May, 


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