Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 / Notices 102115 

II. Method of Collection 

Electronic formats are the preferred 

method for submitting Coastal and 

Estuarine Land Conservation Planning, 

Protection or Restoration (CELCP) plans, 

land conservation project applications, 

performance reports and other required 

materials. However, respondents may 

submit materials in electronic or paper 

formats. Project applications are 

normally submitted electronically via 

Grants.gov, but may be submitted by 

mail in paper form if electronic 

submittal is not a viable option. 

Methods of submittal for plans, 

performance reports or other required 

materials primarily include electronic 

submittal via email, secure file transfer, 

or eRA Commons, with submittal of 

paper forms or electronic files by mail 

if necessary. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0459. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission 

(extension of a currently approved 

information collection). 

Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal 

Government; not-for-profit institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

55. 

Estimated Time per Response: CELCP 

Plans, 120 hours to develop, 35 hours to 

revise or update; project application and 

checklist, 20 hours; semi-annual and 

annual reporting, 5 hours each. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 1,455. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $55 in recordkeeping/reporting 

costs. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

Obtain or Retain Benefits. 

Legal Authority: Coastal Zone 

Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1451, et 

seq.). 

IV. Request for Comments 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) 

Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the 

accuracy of our estimate of the time and 

cost burden for this proposed collection, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (d) Minimize the 

reporting burden on those who are to 

respond, including the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you may ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office 

of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29755 Filed 12–16–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE417] 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to Construction of the 

Vineyard Northeast Offshore Wind 

Project Offshore of Massachusetts and 

Connecticut 

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 Vineyard Northeast, LLC (Vineyard 

Northeast), for authorization to take 

small numbers of marine mammals 

incidental to the development of the 

Vineyard Northeast Offshore Wind 

Project (Project) in the Bureau of Ocean 

Energy Management (BOEM) 

Commercial Lease on the Outer 

Continental Shelf OCS–A–0522 off of 

Massachusetts (MA) and Connecticut 

(CT) over the course of 5 years 

beginning on January 1, 2028. Pursuant 

to regulations implementing the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS 

is announcing receipt of Vineyard 

Northeast’s request for regulations 

governing the incidental taking of 

marine mammals and associated Letter 

of Authorization (LOA). NMFS invites 

the public to provide information, 

suggestions, and comments on Vineyard 

Northeast’s application and request. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than January 16, 

2025. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the 

applications should be addressed to 

Jolie Harrison, Chief, Permits and 

Conservation Division, Office of 

Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. Physical comments 

should be sent to 1315 East-West 

Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 

20910 and electronic comments should 

be sent to ITP.taylor@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. 

An electronic copy of Vineyard 

Northeast’s application may be obtained 

online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-other-energyactivities-renewable. In case of problems 

accessing these documents, please call 

the contact listed below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessica Taylor, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

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 


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102116 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 / Notices 

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 May 24, 2024, NMFS received an 

application from Vineyard Northeast 

requesting authorization to take marine 

mammals incidental to the development 

of the Project in the BOEM Lease Area 

OCS–A–0522 off of MA and CT. In 

response to our comments, and 

following an extensive information 

exchange with NMFS, Vineyard 

Northeast submitted a final revised 

application on November 18, 2024, 

which we deemed adequate and 

complete on November 18, 2024. 

Vineyard Northeast requests the 

regulations and subsequent Letter of 

Authorization (LOA) be valid for 5 

years, beginning on January 1, 2028. 

Vineyard Northeast has proposed to 

construct the Project (comprised of two 

sub-projects: Project 1 and Project 2) 

using impact and vibratory pile driving 

of wind turbine generators (WTG) 

foundations, impact pile driving of 

electrical service platform (ESP) 

foundations and a booster station, 

vibratory installation and removal of 

cofferdams at cable landfall sites, 

detonation of unexploded ordinances 

(UXOs), site characterization surveys, 

seabed preparation and scour protection 

application, and inter-array and export 

cable trenching, laying, and burial. 

Vessels would be used to transport 

crew, supplies, and materials to the 

project area to support construction. 

Vineyard Northeast has determined that 

a subset of these activities (i.e., 

installing piles using impact and 

vibratory pile driving, vibratory 

installation and removal of cofferdams, 

site characterization surveys, and 

potential UXO detonation) may result in 

the take, by Level A harassment and/or 

Level B harassment, of marine 

mammals. Therefore, Vineyard 

Northeast requests authorization to 

incidentally take marine mammals. 

Take by mortality or serious injury of 

any marine mammal or take by Level A 

harassment of North Atlantic right 

whales is not requested. 

Specified Activities 

Vineyard Northeast proposes to 

develop, construct, and operate an 

offshore wind energy facility in the 

BOEM Lease Area OCS–A–0522 along 

with associated offshore and onshore 

transmission systems. The purpose of 

this facility would be to generate 

renewable electricity to meet the 

demand expressed by northeastern 

states and other users in order to 

achieve renewable energy and carbon 

emission reduction goals. The Lease 

Area is located within the southeastern 

portion of the MA Wind Energy Area 

and is approximately 46 kilometers (29 

miles) from Nantucket. Offshore export 

cable corridors (OECC) would connect 

the Lease Area to landfall sites in MA 

and CT. Vineyard Northeast has divided 

the Lease Area into Project 1 

(northeastern portion) and Project 2 

(southwestern portion), as well as 

proposed two potential construction 

schedules consisting of a 2-year 

(Schedule A: 2030–2031) or 4-year 

(Schedule B: 2029–2032) timeline. The 

Project would consist of up to 160 wind 

turbine generator and electrical service 

platform positions within the Lease 

Area, and up to 4 offshore export cable 

bundles with 2 cable bundles making 

landfall in MA and 2 cable bundles 

making landfall in CT. If high voltage 

alternating current (HVAC) cables are 

used, Vineyard Northeast may install a 

booster station along the MA OECC in 

the northwestern portion of Lease Area 

OCS–A–0534 to increase efficiency of 

electrical transmission. 

Vineyard Northeast anticipates the 

following activities may potentially 

result in the harassment of marine 

mammals during the effective period of 

the requested regulations and associated 

LOA: 

• Installing up to 159 WTG monopile 

and/or piled jacket foundations with a 

maximum diameter of 14 meters (m) 

using a 6,600 or 8,000 kilojoules (kJ) 

impact hammer, vibratory hammer, and 

potential drilling; 

• Installing up to three ESP 

foundations and one booster station 

foundation using piled jacket 

foundations comprised of 4.25 m pin 

piles driven with a 3,500 kJ impact 

hammer; 

• Installing and removing up to 5 

cofferdams comprised of sheet piles 

using a vibratory hammer; 

• Using HRG equipment to survey the 

Lease Area over 64 days; and 

• Potential detonation of up to 10 

UXOs. 

Information Solicited 

Interested persons may submit 

information, suggestions, and comments 

concerning Vineyard Northeast’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 Vineyard 

Northeast, if appropriate. 

Dated: December 11, 2024. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29574 Filed 12–16–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Notice To Solicit Nominations for 

Membership on the National Sea Grant 

Advisory Board (NSGAB) 

AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Research (OAR), National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Department of 

Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Notice to solicit nominations for 

membership on the National Sea Grant 

Advisory Board (NSGAB). https://

seagrant.noaa.gov/About/AdvisoryBoard. 

SUMMARY: The National Sea Grant 

Advisory Board (NSGAB) advises the 

National Sea Grant College Program (Sea 

Grant) in the areas of program 

evaluation, strategic planning, 

education and extension and science 

and technology programs. For more 

information on this Federal Advisory 

Committee please visit the Federal 

Advisory Committee database: https://

www.facadatabase.gov/FACA/ 

FACAPublicPage. This notice also 

responds to the Sea Grant Program 

Improvement Act of 1976, which 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1