52644 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 22, 2021 / Notices 

II. Method of Collection 

NMFS does not require, but does 

accept, conservation plans and reports 

electronically. NMFS has not developed 

a form to be used for submission of 

plans or reports. In the past, NMFS has 

made plans and annual reports from 

states available through the internet and 

plans to continue this practice. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0466. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission 

(extension of a currently approved 

information collection). 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; State, local or tribal 

governments. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1. 

Estimated Time per Response: 2,500 

hours to complete each agreement or 

plan that has the intention of making 

listing unnecessary; 320 hours to 

conduct monitoring for successful 

agreements; and 80 hours to prepare a 

report for successful agreements. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 3,300. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $150. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: ESA (16 U.S.C. 1533). 

IV. Request for Comments 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit NMFS 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 information 

collection request. 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, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20488 Filed 9–21–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB358] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Elkhorn Slough 

Tidal Marsh Restoration Project, Phase 

III in Monterey County, California 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of an 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 an incidental 

harassment authorization (IHA) to the 

California Department of Fish and 

Wildlife (CDFW) to incidentally harass, 

by Level B harassment only, marine 

mammals during restoration activity 

associated with the Elkhorn Slough 

Tidal Marsh Restoration Project, Phase 

III, in Monterey Bay, California. 

DATES: This authorization is effective 

from September 16, 2021 through 

September 15, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim 

Corcoran, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, (301) 427–8401. Electronic 

copies of the original application and 

supporting documents (including NMFS 

FR notices of the prior authorizations), 

as well as a list of the references cited 

in this document, may be obtained 

online at: https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/permit/incidental-takeauthorizations-under-marine-mammalprotection-act. In case of problems 

accessing these documents, please call 

the contact listed above. 

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 

issued or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, a notice of a proposed 

incidental take authorization may be 

provided to the public for review. 

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 in shorthand as 

‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements 

pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting of such takings are set 

forth. 

The definitions of all applicable 

MMPA statutory terms cited above are 

included in the relevant sections below. 

Summary of Request 

On June 14, 2021, NMFS received a 

request from CDFW for an IHA to take 

marine mammals incidental to the 

Elkhorn Slough Restoration Project, 

Phase III, at the Seal Bend Restoration 

Area in Monterey Country, CA. The 

application was deemed adequate and 

complete on July 27, 2021. CDFW’s 

request is for take of a small number of 

Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) by 

Level B harassment only. Neither CDFW 

nor NMFS expects serious injury or 

mortality to result from this activity 

and, therefore, an IHA is appropriate. 

NMFS previously issued an IHA to 

CDFW for Phase I (82 FR 16800; April 

6, 2017) and Phase II (85 FR 14640; 

March 13, 2020) of the Elkhorn Slough 

Restoration Project. Restoration work 

under the 2020 IHA at the MinhotoHester and Seal Bend restoration areas 

was expected to be completed within 

180 days within the 1-year timeframe of 

the IHA. However, on May 3, 2021 

CDFW informed NMFS that the 

estimated 180 days of construction for 

both the Minhoto-Hester and Seal Bend 

Restoration Areas would not be enough 

to complete the project. This 

preliminary estimate did not adequately 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 22, 2021 / Notices 52645 

account for variable weather conditions 

experienced during construction (e.g., 

wet weather and soils required 

extensive reworking of fill), the amount 

of time to haul material from the borrow 

area to the fill location, or contractor 

availability which resulted in a smaller 

crew than initially expected. Therefore, 

only 118 days of construction occurred 

under the initial IHA. To cover the 

remaining work at the Minhoto-Hester 

Restoration Area, CDFW requested an 

IHA Renewal. NMFS published a notice 

of a proposed IHA Renewal and request 

for comments in the Federal Register on 

June 8, 2021 to complete the remaining 

62 days of work (86 FR 30412) 

(Hereafter referred to as the 2021 

Renewal). We subsequently published 

the final notice of our issuance of the 

IHA Renewal on July 7, 2021 (86 FR 

35751). 

As work at the Seal Bend Restoration 

Area had not begun and could not be 

covered by the 2021 Renewal, CDFW 

requested that a new IHA be issued that 

would be valid for one year from the 

date of issuance. Under this new IHA, 

CDFW would conduct 240 days of work 

to restore 28.6 acres (11.57 hectares) of 

tidal marsh habitat in the Seal Bend 

Restoration Area. The project would 

include the use of haul trucks and heavy 

earthmoving equipment to transport dry 

material out onto the marsh. The project 

activities will not differ from the 2020 

IHA other than the number of 

construction days, and the means of 

calculating take. 

Description of the Specified Activity 

The Elkhorn Slough Tidal Marsh 

Restoration Project (project) plans to 

restore approximately 122 acres (49.37) 

of tidal marsh across three phases, all of 

which are located in Monterey County, 

California. This IHA covers take 

incidental to Phase III of the project, 

which will restore 28.6 acres (11.57 

hectares) at the Seal Bend Restoration 

Area. Similar to previous project phases, 

Phase III will relocate soil from an 

upland area called ‘‘the borrow’’ 

through use of heavy earth moving 

equipment, within a 12-month period. 

Construction activities are expected to 

produce airborne noise and visual 

disturbance that have the potential to 

result in behavioral harassment of 

Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). 

NMFS is authorizing take, by Level B 

Harassment, of Pacific harbor seals as a 

result of the specified activity. 

A detailed description of the planned 

restoration project is provided in the 

Federal Register notice for the proposed 

IHA (86 FR 43204; August 6, 2021). 

Since that time, no changes have been 

made to the planned restoration 

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’s proposal to issue 

an IHA to CDFW was published in the 

Federal Register on August 6, 2021 (86 

FR 43204). That notice described, in 

detail, CDFW’s activity, the marine 

mammal species that may be affected by 

the activity, and the anticipated effects 

on marine mammals. During the 30-day 

public comment period, NMFS received 

no comments. 

Description of Marine Mammals in the 

Area of Specified Activities 

A description of the marine mammals 

in the area of the activities is found in 

the 2020 IHA, which remains applicable 

to the proposed 2021–2022 IHA as well. 

In addition, NMFS has reviewed recent 

2020 Stock Assessment Reports, 

information on relevant Unusual 

Mortality Events, and recent scientific 

literature, and determined that no new 

information affects our original analysis 

of impacts under this IHA. Please refer 

to the previous Federal Register notices 

for the 2020 IHA for these descriptions. 

Please also refer to NMFS’ website 

(www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/ 

mammals/) for generalized species 

accounts. 

Potential Effects of Specified Activities 

on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat 

A description of the potential effects 

of the specified activities on marine 

mammals and their habitat may be 

found in the documents supporting the 

2020 IHA, which remains applicable to 

the issuance of the 2021–2022 IHA. The 

effects of CDFW’s activities have the 

potential to result in behavioral 

harassment of marine mammals in the 

vicinity of the project area. The notice 

of proposed IHA (86 FR 43204; August 

6, 2021) included a discussion of the 

effects of anthropogenic activity on 

marine mammals and their habitat. That 

information and analysis is incorporated 

by reference into this final IHA 

determination and is not repeated here; 

please refer to the notice of proposed 

IHA (86 FR 43204; August 6, 2021). 

Estimated Take 

A detailed description of the previous 

methods and inputs used to estimate 

authorized take is found in the 2020 

IHA. The total number of construction 

days and the method of estimating take 

have been modified from the 2020 IHA 

to reflect construction delays as 

discussed above and the monitoring 

data received under the 2020 IHA. The 

source levels and marine mammal 

occurrence and density remain 

unchanged from the 2020 IHA and 

detailed information regarding these 

figures can be found in the proposed 

and issued 2020 IHA. 

Take Calculation and Estimates 

To repeat how take was calculated in 

the 2020 IHA, we used the total number 

of seals taken during Phase I 

construction (i.e., 62 seals) divided by 

the sum of the daily average number of 

seals observed hourly during Phase I. 

That percentage (8.79 percent) was 

rounded to 9 percent and multiplied by 

the sum of the highest daily count of 

seals observed by the Reserve Otter 

Monitoring Projects at all observation 

areas between January 2018 and April 

2019 (i.e., 417). That number was 

multiplied by the total number of 

construction days to arrive at the total 

take estimate that was used. 

For the Phase III project, we have 

additional monitoring data that more 

accurately reflects the amount of take 

that occurs during this type of 

restoration activity. In particular we 

now have data that suggests the 

maximum number of seals taken per day 

within 300 m of construction activity 

has been 8, which occurred on 

September 8, 2020 (Table 1). Therefore, 

we propose to use that maximum 

number of seals taken per day to 

estimate take using the following 

formula: 

Total Take Estimate = Max # of seals 

taken per day * # of Construction 

Days 

The average total individual takes per 

day for Phase II was 1.33 which is 

considerably lower than the maximum 

number of seals taken per day (8) (Table 

1). Therefore we believe this approach 

is adequately precautionary and reflects 

likely expected take. Using this 

approach, a summary of estimated takes 

of harbor seals incidental to the project 

activities are provided in Table 2. 

52646 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 22, 2021 / Notices 

TABLE 1—PHASE II HARBOR SEAL DISTURBANCE DATA—NUMBER OF SEALS EXPERIENCING LEVEL B HARASSMENT

Date Distance (m) 

Total 

individuals 

harassed 1

9/2/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................... 300m 0 

9/8/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................... 150m 0 

9/8/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................... 150m 0 

9/9/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................... 60m 0 

9/10/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................. 60m 0 

9/15/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................. 60m 1 

9/21/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................. 60m 0 

9/21/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................. 60m 2 

11/9/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................. 300m 1 

3/17/2021 ................................................................................................................................................................. 200m 5 

3/24/2021 ................................................................................................................................................................. 60m 1 

3/24/2021 ................................................................................................................................................................. 60m 1 

4/5/2021 ................................................................................................................................................................... 80m 2 

4/5/2021 ................................................................................................................................................................... 60m 1 

4/14/2021 ................................................................................................................................................................. 80m 2 

9/2/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................... 60m 0 

9/3/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................... 20m 1 

9/8/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................... 80m 8 

9/9/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................... 40m 0 

9/16/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................. 100m 1 

9/22/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................. 40m 0 

10/19/2020 ............................................................................................................................................................... 40m 2 

10/28/2020 ............................................................................................................................................................... 100m 0 

11/5/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................. 60m 0 

12/3/2020 ................................................................................................................................................................. 80m 1 

12/16/2020 ............................................................................................................................................................... 60m 7 

5/4/2021 ................................................................................................................................................................... 80m 0 

Total .................................................................................................................................................................. ........................ 36 

1 ‘‘Total Seals Taken’’ = the number of seals that moved or flushed during the incident. Alert responses are not considered to be takes. 

TABLE 2—CALCULATED TAKE AND PERCENTAGE OF STOCK EXPOSED

Authorized Take 

Species Level B Level A Percent of 

stock 3

Pacific Harbor Seal .......................... 8 max seals taken per day 1*(240 days 2)= 1920 ..................................... 0 6.2 

1 Maximum number of seals harassed/taken in one day during Phase II. 

2 Number of construction days at the Seal Bend Restoration Area. 

3 Data from U.S. Pacific Marine Mammal Stock Assessments: 2014 (Carretta et al., 2015) (Abundance = 30,968). 

Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting 

Measures 

In order to issue an IHA under section 

101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS must 

set forth the permissible methods of 

taking pursuant to the activity, and 

other means of effecting the least 

practicable impact on the species or 

stock and its habitat, paying particular 

attention to rookeries, mating grounds, 

and areas of similar significance, and on 

the availability of the species or stock 

for taking for certain subsistence uses 

(latter not applicable for this action). 

NMFS regulations require applicants for 

incidental take authorizations to include 

information about the availability and 

feasibility (economic and technological) 

of equipment, methods, and manner of 

conducting the activity or other means 

of effecting the least practicable adverse 

impact upon the affected species or 

stocks and their habitat (50 CFR 

216.104(a)(11)). 

In evaluating how mitigation may or 

may not be appropriate to ensure the 

least practicable adverse impact on 

species or stocks and their habitat, as 

well as subsistence uses where 

applicable, we carefully consider two 

primary factors: 

(1) The manner in which, and the 

degree to which, the successful 

implementation of the measure(s) is 

expected to reduce impacts to marine 

mammals, marine mammal species or 

stocks, and their habitat. This considers 

the nature of the potential adverse 

impact being mitigated (likelihood, 

scope, range). It further considers the 

likelihood that the measure will be 

effective if implemented (probability of 

accomplishing the mitigating result if 

implemented as planned), the 

likelihood of effective implementation 

(probability implemented as planned); 

and 

(2) The practicability of the measures 

for applicant implementation, which 

may consider such things as cost, 

impact on operations, and, in the case 

of a military readiness activity, 

personnel safety, practicality of 

implementation, and impact on the 

effectiveness of the military readiness 

activity. 

Description of Mitigation 

Some of the mitigation measures are 

identical to those included in the FR 

Notice announcing the final 2020 IHA 

and detailed descriptions of these 

requirements can be found in that 

document. However, a few requirements 

have been updated to reflect NMFS 

more recent construction requirements 

and those changes are discussed in 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 22, 2021 / Notices 52647 

detail below and are required for this 

project: 

Visual Monitoring—CDFW must 

fulfill monitoring requirements as 

described below. Required monitoring 

must be conducted by dedicated, 

trained, NMFS-approved Protected 

Species Observer(s) (PSO(s)). CDFW 

must monitor the project area to the 

maximum extent possible based on the 

required number of PSOs, required 

monitoring locations, and 

environmental conditions. 

• Level B Harassment Zone—PSOs 

shall establish a Level B harassment 

zone within 300 m of all construction 

activities. 

• When construction activities occur 

either, (1) in water or; (2) within the 

boundaries of the Seal Bend Restoration 

Area (Phase III) identified in Figure 2, 

monitoring must occur every other day 

when work is occurring. 

• When construction activities occur 

near the ‘‘borrow’’ area where marsh fill 

material is gathered, monitoring must 

occur every fifth day when work is 

occurring within 300 m from seal 

haulouts or, if outside this area, when 

work is occurring less than 200 m from 

the water. Occurrence of marine 

mammals within the Level B 

harassment zone must be communicated 

to the construction lead to prepare for 

the potential shutdown when required. 

Description of Monitoring and Reporting 

In order to issue an IHA for an 

activity, section 101(a)(5)(D) of the 

MMPA states that NMFS must set forth 

requirements pertaining to the 

monitoring and reporting of such taking. 

The MMPA implementing regulations at 

50 CFR 216.104 (a)(13) indicate that 

requests for authorizations must include 

the suggested means of accomplishing 

the necessary monitoring and reporting 

that will result in increased knowledge 

of the species and of the level of taking 

or impacts on populations of marine 

mammals that are expected to be 

present in the action area. Effective 

reporting is critical both to compliance 

as well as ensuring that the most value 

is obtained from the required 

monitoring. 

Monitoring and reporting 

requirements prescribed by NMFS 

should contribute to improved 

understanding of one or more of the 

following: 

• Occurrence of marine mammal 

species or stocks in the area in which 

take is anticipated (e.g., presence, 

abundance, distribution, density); 

• Nature, scope, or context of likely 

marine mammal exposure to potential 

stressors/impacts (individual or 

cumulative, acute or chronic), through 

better understanding of: (1) Action or 

environment (e.g., source 

characterization, propagation, ambient 

noise); (2) affected species (e.g., life 

history, dive patterns); (3) co-occurrence 

of marine mammal species with the 

action; or (4) biological or behavioral 

context of exposure (e.g., age, calving or 

feeding areas); 

• Individual marine mammal 

responses (behavioral or physiological) 

to acoustic stressors (acute, chronic, or 

cumulative), other stressors, or 

cumulative impacts from multiple 

stressors; 

• How anticipated responses to 

stressors impact either: (1) long-term 

fitness and survival of individual 

marine mammals; or (2) populations, 

species, or stocks; 

• Effects on marine mammal habitat 

(e.g., marine mammal prey species, 

acoustic habitat, or other important 

physical components of marine 

mammal habitat); and 

• Mitigation and monitoring 

effectiveness. Changes from the 2020 

IHA include: 

• 5(g)(v)(10): Notes should include 

any of the following information to the 

extent it is feasible to record: 

Æ Age-class; 

Æ Sex; 

Æ Unusual activity or signs of stress; 

Æ Activity of seals observed within 

hour timeframe (e.g., resting, swimming, 

etc.) and approximate number of seals 

that have arrived or left since last hourly 

count; and 

Æ Any other information worth 

noting; and 

• 6(a): The Holder must submit its 

draft report(s) on all monitoring 

conducted under this IHA within 90 

calendar days of the completion of 

monitoring or 60 calendar days prior to 

the requested issuance of any 

subsequent IHA for construction activity 

at the same location, whichever comes 

first. A final report must be prepared 

and submitted within 30 calendar days 

following receipt of any NMFS 

comments on the draft report. If no 

comments are received from NMFS 

within 30 calendar days of receipt of the 

draft report, the report shall be 

considered final. 

The rest of monitoring and reporting 

measures are identical to those included 

in the FR Notice announcing the final 

2020 IHA and detailed descriptions of 

these requirements can be found in that 

document. 

Negligible Impact Analysis and 

Determination 

NMFS has defined negligible impact 

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 

(50 CFR 216.103). A negligible impact 

finding is based on the lack of likely 

adverse effects on annual rates of 

recruitment or survival (i.e., populationlevel effects). An estimate of the number 

of takes alone is not enough information 

on which to base an impact 

determination. In addition to 

considering estimates of the number of 

marine mammals that might be ‘‘taken’’ 

through harassment, NMFS considers 

other factors, such as the likely nature 

of any responses (e.g., intensity, 

duration), the context of any responses 

(e.g., critical reproductive time or 

location, migration), as well as effects 

on habitat, and the likely effectiveness 

of the mitigation. We also assess the 

number, intensity, and context of 

estimated takes by evaluating this 

information relative to population 

status. Consistent with the 1989 

preamble for NMFS’s implementing 

regulations (54 FR 40338; September 29, 

1989), the impacts from other past and 

ongoing anthropogenic activities are 

incorporated into this analysis via their 

impacts on the environmental baseline 

(e.g., as reflected in the regulatory status 

of the species, population size and 

growth rate where known, ongoing 

sources of human-caused mortality, or 

ambient noise levels). 

Construction activities associated 

with this project have the potential to 

disturb or displace marine mammals. 

No serious injury or mortality is 

expected, and with mitigation we expect 

to avoid any potential for Level A 

Harassment as a result of the Seal Bend 

construction activities for Phase III. The 

specified activities may result in take, in 

the form of Level B harassment 

(behavioral disturbance) only, from 

visual disturbance and/or noise from 

construction activities. The project area 

is within a portion of the local, year 

round, habitat for harbor seals of the 

greater Elkhorn Slough. Behavioral 

disturbance associated with these 

activities are expected to affect only a 

small amount of the total population, 

although those effects could be 

recurring over the life of the project if 

the same individuals remain in the 

project vicinity. Harbor seals may avoid 

the area or halt any behaviors (e.g., 

resting) when exposed to anthropogenic 

noise or visual disturbance. Due to the 

abundance of suitable and, in some 

cases, newly restored haulout habitat 

available in the greater Elkhorn Slough, 

the short-term displacement of resting 

52648 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 22, 2021 / Notices 

harbor seals is not expected to affect the 

overall fitness of any individual animal. 

Effects on individuals that are taken 

by Level B Harassment, on the basis of 

reports in the literature as well as 

monitoring from previous phases and 

other similar activities, will likely be 

limited to reactions such as 

displacement from the area or 

disturbance during resting. The 

construction activities analyzed here, 

such as equipment used, construction 

approach, and turbidity management, 

are the same as those activities 

previously analyzed under the 2017 and 

2020 IHAs. Both Phase I and Phase II of 

the project reported no injuries or 

mortality to marine mammals as a result 

of the construction activities, and no 

known long-term adverse consequences 

from behavioral harassment have been 

documented. Repeated exposures of 

individuals to levels of noise or visual 

disturbance at these levels, though they 

may cause Level B Harassment, are 

unlikely to result in hearing impairment 

or significant disruption of foraging 

behaviors. Many animals perform vital 

functions, such as feeding, resting, 

traveling, and socializing, on a diel 

cycle (i.e., 24 hour cycle), and 

behavioral reactions (such as disruption 

of critical life functions, displacement, 

or avoidance of important habitat) are 

more likely to be significant if they last 

more than one diel cycle or recur on 

subsequent days (Southall et al., 2007). 

However, Pacific harbor seals have been 

hauling out at Elkhorn slough for 

several years (including during pupping 

season and while females are pregnant), 

despite the presence of anthropogenic 

noise and activities such as vessel 

traffic, Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) 

trains, and human voices from kayaking 

and recreational activities. Harbor seals 

have repeatedly hauled out to rest 

(inside and outside the project area) or 

pup (outside of the project area) despite 

these potential stressors. The activities 

are not expected to result in the 

alteration of reproductive or feeding 

behaviors. It is not likely that neonates 

will be in the project area as females 

prefer to keep their pups along the main 

channel of Elkhorn Slough, which is 

outside the area expected to be restored 

by project activities (Figure 2). Seals are 

primarily foraging outside of Elkhorn 

Slough and at night in Monterey Bay, 

outside the project area, and during 

times when construction activities are 

not occurring. 

Pacific harbor seals, as the only 

potentially affected marine mammal 

species under NMFS jurisdiction in the 

action area, are not listed as threatened 

or endangered under the ESA and 

NMFS SARs for this stock has shown to 

be increasing in population size and is 

considered stable (Caretta et al., 2015). 

Even repeated Level B Harassment of 

some small subset of the overall stock is 

unlikely to result in any significant 

decrease in viability for the affected 

individuals, and thus will not result in 

any adverse impacts to the stock as a 

whole. The restoration of the marsh 

habitat will have no adverse effect on 

marine mammal habitat, but possibly a 

long-term beneficial effect on harbor 

seals by improving ecological function 

of the slough, including higher species 

diversity, increase species abundance, 

larger fish, and improved habitat. 

In summary and as described above, 

the following factors primarily support 

our determination that the impacts 

resulting from this activity are not 

expected to adversely affect the species 

or stock through effects on annual rates 

of recruitment or survival: 

• No mortality is anticipated or 

authorized; 

• No Level A Harassment is 

anticipated or authorized; 

• Anticipated incidents of Level B 

Harassment consist of, at worst, 

temporary modifications in behavior; 

• Primary foraging and reproductive 

habitat are outside of the project area 

and not expected to result in the 

alteration of habitat important to these 

behaviors or substantially impact the 

behaviors themselves. There is 

alternative haulout habitat just outside 

the footprint of the construction area, 

along the main channel of Elkhorn 

Slough, and in Parson’s Slough, often 

the preferred pupping grounds in recent 

years (per comm Jim Harvey 2019), that 

will be available for seals while some of 

the haulouts are inaccessible; 

• Restoration of the marsh habitat 

will have no adverse effect on marine 

mammal habitat, but possibly a longterm beneficial effect; 

• Presumed efficacy of the mitigation 

measures in reducing the effects of the 

specified activity to the level of least 

practicable impact; and 

• These stocks are not listed under 

the ESA or considered depleted under 

the MMPA. 

In combination, we believe that these 

factors, as well as the available body of 

evidence from previous phases of the 

project and other similar activities, 

demonstrate that the potential effects of 

the specified activities will have only 

short-term effects on a relatively small 

portion of the entire California stock. 

The specified activities are not expected 

to impact rates of recruitment or 

survival and will therefore not result in 

population-level impacts. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of the likely effects of the 

specified activity on marine mammals 

and their habitat, and taking into 

consideration the implementation of the 

monitoring and mitigation measures, 

NMFS finds that the total marine 

mammal take from the activity will have 

a negligible impact on all affected 

marine mammal species or stocks. 

Small Numbers 

As noted above, only small numbers 

of incidental take may be authorized 

under sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of 

the MMPA for specified activities other 

than military readiness activities. The 

MMPA does not define small numbers 

and so, in practice, where estimated 

numbers are available, NMFS compares 

the number of individuals taken to the 

most appropriate estimation of 

abundance of the relevant species or 

stock in our determination of whether 

an authorization is limited to small 

numbers of marine mammals. When the 

predicted number of individuals to be 

taken is fewer than one third of the 

species or stock abundance, the take is 

considered to be of small numbers. 

Additionally, other qualitative factors 

may be considered in the analysis, such 

as the temporal or spatial scale of the 

activities. 

For the Phase III of the Elkhorn 

Slough Tidal Marsh Restoration Project, 

the authorized take (if we conservatively 

assume that each take occurred to a new 

animal, which is unlikely) comprises 

approximately 6.2 percent of the 

abundance of Pacific harbor seals in the 

California Stock. Therefore, based on 

the analysis herein of the activity 

(including the mitigation and 

monitoring measures) and the 

anticipated take of marine mammals, 

NMFS finds that small numbers of 

marine mammals will be taken relative 

to the population size of the affected 

species or stock. 

Unmitigable Adverse Impact Analysis 

and Determination 

There are no relevant subsistence uses 

of the affected marine mammal stock 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. 

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 review our action 

(i.e., the issuance of an IHA) with 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 22, 2021 / Notices 52649 

respect to potential impacts on the 

human environment. 

The current action is consistent with 

categories of activities identified in 

Categorical Exclusion B4 (incidental 

harassment 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 has 

determined that the issuance of the IHA 

qualifies to be categorically excluded 

from further NEPA review just as 

previous phases of the project did. 

We have reviewed all comments 

submitted in response to the proposed 

IHA notice to conclude our NEPA 

process and make a final decision on the 

IHA request. 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

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 consults internally 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species. 

No incidental take of ESA-listed 

species is for authorization or expected 

to result from this activity in the 

Elkhorn Slough Reserve. Therefore, 

NMFS has determined that formal 

consultation under section 7 of the ESA 

is not required for this action. 

Authorization 

As a result of these determinations, 

NMFS has issued an IHA to CDFW for 

the potential harassment of small 

numbers of harbor seals incidental to 

conducting restoration activities at the 

Seal Bend Restoration Area in Elkhorn 

Slough (Monterey County, CA), 

provided the previously mentioned 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements are incorporated. 

Dated: September 16, 2021. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20466 Filed 9–21–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Weather and Society Survey, 

and Using Quick Response Surveys To 

Build a Public Perception and 

Response Database 

AGENCY: National Oceanic & 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection, 

revised request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), invites the general public and 

other Federal agencies to 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. The purpose of this 

notice is to allow for 60 days of public 

comment preceding submission of the 

collection to OMB. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this proposed 

information collection must be received 

on or before November 22, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments to 

Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, 

at Adrienne.thomas@noaa.gov. Please 

reference OMB Control Number 0648- 

xxxx in the subject line of your 

comments. Do not submit Confidential 

Business Information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

specific questions related to collection 

activities should be directed to Nicole 

Kurkowski, R2O Team Lead, DOC/ 

NOAA/NWS/OSTI, 1325 East-West 

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 

301.427.9104, nicole.kurkowski@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

A notice of request for a new 

information collection was previously 

published in the Federal Register on 

August 19, 2021 (86 FR 46681) 

regarding this collection. This revised 

notice incorporates an additional 

collection of information and this notice 

will allow for an additional 60 days for 

public comment. 

In alignment with the Weather 

Forecasting and Innovation Act of 2017 

(Pub. L. 115–25), two data collections 

are proposed under this request. There 

are no other collections for which these 

can be merged. 

The first proposed information 

collection request is sponsored by DOC/ 

NOAA/National Weather Service 

(NWS)/Office of Science and 

Technology Integration (OSTI). 

Currently, NOAA lacks data and data 

collection instruments that articulate 

and explicate how individuals receive, 

interpret, and respond to NOAA 

information, forecasts, and warnings for 

severe, winter, and tropical weather 

hazards. Furthermore, NOAA lacks this 

type of data longitudinally (i.e., 

collected over time). Without this type 

of longitudinal data, NOAA, and the 

NWS specifically, cannot determine if it 

has met its mission of saving lives and 

property, propose societal impact 

performance metrics, nor demonstrate if 

progress or improvements have been 

made, as outlined in the Weather 

Research and Forecasting Innovation 

Act of 2017. This effort aims to advance 

the Tornado Warning Improvement and 

Extension Program (TWIEP)’s goal to 

‘‘reduce the loss of life and economic 

losses from tornadoes through the 

development and extension of accurate, 

effective, and timely tornado forecasts, 

predictions, and warnings, including 

the prediction of tornadoes beyond one 

hour in advance (Pub. L. 115–25)’’. This 

work addresses NOAA’s 5-year Research 

and Development Vision Areas (2020– 

2026) Section 1.4 (FACETs). The 

Weather and Society Survey also 

advances the findings of the National 

Academy of Science 2012 report, 

‘‘Assessment of the NWS Modernization 

Program’’, in reference to NWS’ ‘‘chain 

of events associated with a tornado 

warning’’ (p52). This effort also 

advances the NWS Strategic Plan (2019– 

2022) ‘‘Transformative Impact-Based 

Decision Support Services (IDSS) and 

Research to Operations and Operations 

to Research (R2O/O2R). Furthermore, 

the Survey furthers the NWS Weather 

Ready Nation (WRN) Roadmap (2013) 

Sections 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.8, and 

3.1.4. 

This information would be collected 

at the Cooperative Institute for 

Mesoscale Meteorological Studies 

(CIMMS) and the University of 

Oklahoma’s Center for Risk and Crisis 

Management (CRCM), who has 

developed data collection instruments 

that would allow for more routine and 

longitudinal data collection, as the data 

will be collected on an annual basis. 

Furthermore, this team has developed 

interactive ‘‘dashboards’’, or tools, to 

visualize the aggregated data.