15942 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 54 / Monday, March 21, 2022 / Notices 

during May–August. Therefore, the 

stock is not expected to be present in its 

entirety year round at the proposed 

project location. 

Further, many of the dolphin 

observations in the Delaware Bay and 

South of Cape May, NJ are likely 

repeated sightings of the same 

individuals. A by Toth et al., (2010) 

conducted 73 boat-based photoidentification surveys in southern New 

Jersey near the Bay from 2003–2005 and 

found that of the 205 individuals 

identified, 44 percent were sighted 

multiple times within or among the 

years. Multiple sightings of the same 

individual would considerably reduce 

the number of individual animals that 

are taken by harassment. 

The offshore stock is distributed 

primarily along the outer continental 

shelf and continental slope in the 

Northwest Atlantic Ocean from Georges 

Band to the Florida Keys (Hayes et al., 

2021). There is suspected overlap of the 

two stocks south of Cape Hatteras, North 

Carolina to some degree. 

In summary and as described above, 

the following factors primarily support 

our determination regarding the 

incidental take of small numbers of the 

affected stocks of a species or stock: 

• The take of marine mammal stocks 

comprises less than 5 percent of any 

stock abundance (with the exception of 

the northern migratory stock of 

bottlenose dolphins); 

• Potential bottlenose dolphin takes 

in the survey area are likely to be 

allocated between both distinct stocks; 

• Bottlenose dolphin stocks in the 

survey area have extensive ranges and it 

would be unlikely to find a high 

percentage of individuals from either 

stock concentrated in a relatively small 

area such as the proposed survey area; 

• Many of the takes would likely be 

repeats of the same animals, especially 

during summer months. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of the proposed activity 

(including the proposed mitigation and 

monitoring measures) and the 

anticipated take of marine mammals, 

NMFS preliminarily finds that small 

numbers of marine mammals will be 

taken relative to the population size of 

the affected species or stocks. 

Unmitigable Adverse Impact Analysis 

and Determination 

There are no relevant subsistence uses 

of the affected marine mammal stocks or 

species implicated by this action. 

Therefore, NMFS has determined that 

the total taking of affected species or 

stocks would not have an unmitigable 

adverse impact on the availability of 

such species or stocks for taking for 

subsistence purposes. 

Endangered Species Act 

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (ESA: 16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal 

agency insure that any action it 

authorizes, funds, or carries out is not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of any endangered or 

threatened species or result in the 

destruction or adverse modification of 

designated critical habitat. To ensure 

ESA compliance for the issuance of 

IHAs, NMFS Office of Protected 

Resources (OPR) consults internally 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species. 

NMFS OPR is proposing to authorize 

the incidental take of four species of 

marine mammals which are listed under 

the ESA, including the North Atlantic 

right, fin, sei, and sperm whale, and 

NMFS has determined that issuance of 

the proposed IHA falls within the scope 

of activities analyzed in NMFS 

GARFO’s programmatic consultation 

regarding geophysical surveys along the 

U.S. Atlantic coast in the three Atlantic 

Renewable Energy Regions (completed 

June 29, 2021; revised September 2021). 

Proposed Authorization 

As a result of these preliminary 

determinations, NMFS proposes to issue 

an IHA to Orsted for conducting marine 

site characterization surveys off the 

coast of Delaware from May 10, 2022 

through May, 2023, provided the 

previously mentioned mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting requirements 

are incorporated. A draft of the 

proposed IHA can be found at https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/ 

incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-protection-act. 

Request for Public Comments 

We request comment on our analyses, 

the proposed authorization, and any 

other aspect of this notice of proposed 

IHA for the proposed marine site 

characterization survey. We also request 

at this time comment on the potential 

Renewal of this proposed IHA as 

described in the paragraph below. 

Please include with your comments any 

supporting data or literature citations to 

help inform decisions on the request for 

this IHA or a subsequent Renewal IHA. 

On a case-by-case basis, NMFS may 

issue a one-time, one-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 Description of 

Proposed Activities section of this 

notice is planned or (2) the activities as 

described in the Description of 

Proposed Activities section of this 

notice would not be completed by the 

time the IHA expires and a Renewal 

would allow for completion of the 

activities beyond that described in the 

Dates and Duration section of this 

notice, provided all of the following 

conditions are met: 

• 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 one year from 

expiration of the initial IHA). 

• The request for renewal must 

include the following: 

(1) 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 

(2) 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. 

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. 

Dated: March 16, 2022. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05935 Filed 3–18–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB890] 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to Construction and 

Operation of the Revolution Wind 

Offshore Wind Farm Offshore of Rhode 

Island 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 54 / Monday, March 21, 2022 / Notices 15943 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

regulations and letter of authorization; 

request for comments and information. 

SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request 

from Revolution Wind, LLC (Revolution 

Wind), a subsidiary of ;rsted Wind 

Power North America, LLC’s (;rsted), 

for authorization to take small numbers 

of marine mammals incidental to 

construction and operation activities 

associated with the Revolution Wind 

Offshore Wind Farm in Revolution 

Wind’s lease area on the Outer 

Continental Shelf (OSC–A 0468) 

offshore of Rhode Island over the course 

of 5 years beginning in 2023. Pursuant 

to regulations implementing the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS 

is announcing receipt of Revolution 

Wind’s request for the development and 

implementation of regulations 

governing the incidental taking of 

marine mammals and issuance of a 

Letter of Authorization (LOA). NMFS 

invites the public to provide 

information, suggestions, and comments 

on Revolution Wind’s application and 

request. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than April 20, 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.Esch@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: 

Carter Esch, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8421. An 

electronic copy of Revolution 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) 

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 8, 2021, NMFS received 

an application from Revolution Wind 

requesting authorization for the taking 

of marine mammals incidental to 

construction and operation activities 

related to the development of the 

Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Farm 

offshore of Rhode Island in Commercial 

Lease (OCS–A–0486). In response to our 

comments, and following extensive 

information exchange with NMFS, 

Revolution Wind submitted a revised 

application on February 23, 2022, that 

we determined was adequate and 

complete on February 28, 2022. 

Revolution Wind requested the 

regulations and subsequent LOA be 

valid for five years beginning in 2023. 

Revolution Wind considered the 

following activities associated with 

Wind Farm construction and operation 

in its application: Impact installation of 

monopiles for wind turbine generators 

(WTG) foundations; impact installation 

of monopiles for offshore sub-station 

(OSS) foundations; potential 

detonations of unexploded ordnances 

(UXOs); construction of temporary 

cofferdams or casing pipes with support 

sheet piles at the sea-to-shore 

transitions, which includes vibratory 

installation and removal of sheet piles 

and pneumatic hammering installation 

and removal of casing pipes; site 

characterization surveys; fisheries 

monitoring; placement of scour 

protection; and export cable and interarray cable trenching, laying, and burial. 

Vessels will be used to transport crew, 

supplies, and materials within the 

Project area and to the Wind Farm 

location to support pile installation. A 

subset of these activities (i.e., installing 

and removing piles and casing pipes 

using impact and vibratory hammers, 

UXO detonation, and site 

characterization surveys) may result in 

the taking, by Level A harassment and 

Level B harassment, of marine 

mammals. Therefore, Revolution 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, Revolution Wind 

was awarded Commercial Lease OCS–A 

0486 offshore of Rhode Island and the 

exclusive right to submit a construction 


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15944 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 54 / Monday, March 21, 2022 / Notices 

and operations plan (COP) for activities 

within the lease area. Revolution Wind, 

LLC has submitted a COP to BOEM 

proposing the construction, operation, 

maintenance, and conceptual 

decommissioning of the Revolution 

Wind project, a 704-megawatt (MW) 

commercial-scale offshore wind energy 

facility located within Lease Area OCS– 

A 0486 and consisting of up to 100 wind 

turbines, 2 offshore sub-stations, and 2 

transmission cables to shore. 

Revolution Wind anticipates activities 

potentially resulting in the taking of 

marine mammals could occur for the 

life of the requested regulations and 

LOA. This includes: 

• Construction-related highresolution site assessment geophysical 

surveys in all 5 years (248 survey days 

per year during Years 1; 25 survey days 

per year during Years 2 through 5); 

• the installation of up to 100 WTG 

monopile foundations (12-meter (m) 

diameter piles) by impact pile driving 

from May through December in Year 1 

over the course of 31 to 100 days; 

• the installation of 2 OSS 

foundations by impact pile driving of 2 

monopiles (15-m diameter piles) from 

May through December in Year 1 over 

the course of 2 days; 

• the installation and removal of 2 

temporary cofferdams by vibratory pile 

driving at the cable tie-in area in Year 

1 (14 days for installation and 14 days 

for removal per cofferdam; 56 days total) 

or, as an alternative to cofferdams (and 

also at the cable tie-in area in Year 1), 

installation and removal of 2 casing 

pipes by pneumatic hammering and 

supporting sheet piles by vibratory pile 

driving (2 days for installation and 2 

days for removal per casing pipe, 8 days 

total; 6 days for installation and 6 days 

for removal of support sheet piles per 

cable tie-in area, 24 days total); and, 

• the potential detonation of up to 13 

UXOs over the course of 13 days in Year 

1 (1 UXO detonation per day, as 

necessary). 

Revolution 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 

course of the Project due to weather, 

mechanical, or other related delays. 

Information Solicited 

Interested persons may submit 

information, suggestions, and comments 

concerning Revolution 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 Revolution Wind, 

if appropriate. 

Dated: March 16, 2022. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05947 Filed 3–18–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB899] 

Pacific Fishery Management Council; 

Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Pacific Council) 

and its advisory entities will hold 

online and in-person public meetings. 

DATES: The Pacific Council and its 

advisory entities will meet April 7–13, 

2022 in a hybrid format with the Pacific 

Council and its salmon advisory bodies 

meeting in-person with live streaming 

and remote participation options. All 

other ancillary meetings will be held by 

online meeting only. The Pacific 

Council meeting will begin on Friday, 

April 8, 2022, at 8 a.m. Pacific Daylight 

Time (PDT), reconvening at 8 a.m. on 

Saturday, April 9 through Wednesday, 

April 13, 2022. All meetings are open to 

the public, except for a Closed Session 

held from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., Friday, April 

8, to address litigation and personnel 

matters. The Pacific Council will meet 

as late as necessary each day to 

complete its scheduled business. 

ADDRESSES: 

Council address: Meetings of the 

Pacific Council and its salmon advisory 

entities will be held at the Doubletree by 

Hilton Seattle Airport, 18740 

International Boulevard, Seattle, WA; 

telephone: (206) 246–8600. Other 

ancillary meetings will be held online. 

All meetings of the Pacific Council and 

its advisory entities will include online 

meeting access and remote participation 

options. Specific meeting information, 

including directions on joining the 

meeting, connecting to the live stream 

broadcast, and system requirements will 

be provided in the meeting 

announcement on the Pacific Council’s 

website (see www.pcouncil.org). You 

may send an email to Mr. Kris 

Kleinschmidt (kris.kleinschmidt@

noaa.gov) or contact him at (503) 820– 

2412 for technical assistance. 

Council address: Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, 7700 NE 

Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, 

OR 97220–1384. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Merrick Burden, Executive Director, 

Pacific Council; telephone: (503) 820– 

2418 or (866) 806–7204 toll-free, or 

access the Pacific Council website, 

www.pcouncil.org, for the proposed 

agenda and meeting briefing materials. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The April 

7–13, 2022 meeting of the Pacific 

Council will be streamed live on the 

internet. The broadcasts begin initially 

at 9 a.m. PDT Friday, April 8, 2022, and 

through Wednesday, April 13, 2022. 

Broadcasts end when business for the 

day is complete. Only the audio portion 

and presentations displayed on the 

screen at the Pacific Council meeting 

will be broadcast. The audio portion for 

the public is listen-only except that an 

opportunity for oral public comment 

will be provided prior to Council Action 

on each agenda item. Additional 

information and instructions on joining 

or listening to the meeting can be found 

on the Pacific Council’s website (see 

www.pcouncil.org). 

The following items are on the Pacific 

Council agenda, but not necessarily in 

this order. Agenda items noted as ‘‘Final 

Action’’ refer to actions requiring the 

Council to transmit a proposed fishery 

management plan, proposed plan 

amendment, or proposed regulations to 

the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, under 

Sections 304 or 305 of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act. Additional detail on 

agenda items, Council action, and 

advisory entity meeting times, are 

described in Agenda Item A.4, Proposed 

Council Meeting Agenda, and will be in 

the advance April 2022 briefing 

materials and posted on the Pacific 

Council website at www.pcouncil.org no 

later than Friday, March 25, 2022. 

A. Call to Order 

1. Opening Remarks 

2. Roll Call 

3. Executive Director’s Report 

4. Approve Agenda 

B. Open Comment Period 

1. Comments on Non-Agenda Items 

C. Habitat Issues 

1. Current Habitat Issues 

D. Salmon Management 

1. National Marine Fisheries Service 

Report 

2. Tentative Adoption of 2022 

Management Measures for Analysis 

3. Clarify Council Direction on 2022 

Management Measures 

4. Methodology Review Preliminary 

Topic Selection 

5. Further Direction for 2022 


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