[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 106 (Thursday, June 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33470-33472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11841]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC039]


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Construction and Operation of the Sunrise Wind Offshore 
Wind Farm, Offshore New York

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for regulations and Letter of 
Authorization; request for comments and information.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has received a petition from Sunrise Wind, LLC (Sunrise 
Wind), a 50/50 joint venture between Orsted North America Inc. (Orsted) 
and Eversource Investment LLC (Eversource), requesting authorization to 
take small numbers of marine mammals incidental to construction and 
operation activities associated with the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind 
Farm in a designated lease area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OSC-A 
0487)

[[Page 33471]]

offshore New York over the course of 5 years beginning in 2023. 
Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
(MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of Sunrise 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 Sunrise Wind's application and request.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than July 5, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to Jolie 
Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service and should be sent to 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1c55484c32587d70655c72737d7d327b736a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="256c71750b6144495c654b4a44440b424a53">[email protected]</span></a>.
    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-other-energy-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: Jaclyn Daly, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401. An electronic copy of Sunrise Wind's 
application may be obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-other-energy-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. For requests under 
section 101(A)(5)(A) of the MMPA, NMFS is also required to begin the 
public review process by publishing a notice of receipt of a request 
for the implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking 
(50 CFR 216.104(b)(1)(ii)).
    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 November 10, 2021, NMFS received an application from Sunrise 
Wind requesting authorization for the taking of marine mammals 
incidental to construction and operation activities related to the 
development of the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm offshore of Rhode 
Island in Commercial Lease (OCS-A-0487). In response to our comments, 
and following extensive information exchange with NMFS, Sunrise Wind 
submitted a final, revised application on May 9, 2022, that we 
determined was adequate and complete on May 10, 2022. Sunrise Wind 
requested the regulations and subsequent LOA be valid for five years 
beginning in 2023.
    Sunrise Wind considered the following activities associated with 
wind farm construction and operation in its application: Impact 
installation of up to 94 wind turbine generators (WTG) monopole 
foundations at 102 potential locations; impact installation of one 
offshore converter stations (OCS-DC) jacket foundation; installation 
and removal of temporary cofferdams or casing pipes with support sheet 
piles at the cable landfall location using a pneumatic pipe rammer, 
impact hammer, and vibratory hammer; detonation of unexploded ordnances 
(UXOs); high-resolution geophysical (HRG) site characterization 
surveys; fisheries monitoring surveys; and export cable and inter-array 
cable trenching, laying, and burial. Vessels will be used to transport 
crew, supplies, and materials within the Project area to support 
construction and operation. Sunrise Wind has determined that a subset 
of these activities (i.e., WTG and OCS-DC foundation installation, 
installing and removing piles and casing pipes at the cable landfall 
location, HRG surveys, and UXO detonation) may result in the taking, by 
Level A harassment and Level B harassment, of marine mammals. 
Therefore, Sunrise 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, Sunrise 
Wind was awarded Commercial Lease OCS-A 0487 offshore of New York and 
the exclusive right to submit a construction and operations plan (COP) 
for activities within the lease area. Sunrise Wind has submitted a COP 
to BOEM proposing the construction, operation, maintenance, and 
conceptual decommissioning of the Sunrise Wind project, a 924-1,034 
megawatt (MW) commercial-scale offshore wind energy facility located 
within Lease Area OCS-

[[Page 33472]]

A 0487 and consisting of up to 94 wind turbines, one offshore sub-
stations, and 1 transmission cable to shore.
    Sunrise Wind anticipates the following activities may potentially 
result in harassment of marine mammals:
    <bullet> Installing up to 94 WTG monopile foundations with a 
maximum diameter tapering from 7 meters (m) above the waterline to 12 m 
(39 ft) below the waterline (7/12 m monopile) using a 4,000 kilojoule 
impact hammer pile driving from May through December in 2024;
    <bullet> installing one OCS-DC jacket foundation (8 4-m pin piles) 
by impact pile driving from May through December in 2024;
    <bullet> installing and removing 2 casing pipes by pneumatic 
ramming and/or impact driving and supporting sheet piles by vibratory 
pile driving at the cable landfall location on Fire Island, New York 
(up to four days to install and remove each casing pipe for 8 days 
total plus up to 24 days to install and remove supporting sheet piles);
    <bullet> using HRG equipment to survey approximately 30,861 
kilometers (km) over approximately 621 days across all 5 years (2023-
2028);
    <bullet> the potential high-order detonation of up to 3 UXOs over 
the course of 3 days in 2024 (1 UXO detonation per day, as necessary).
    Sunrise 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 Sunrise 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 Sunrise Wind, if appropriate.

    Dated: May 27, 2022.
Catherine Marzin,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-11841 Filed 6-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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