30434 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 8, 2021 / Notices 

• No biologically important area is 

present in or near the construction area. 

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 section 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, 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 less 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. 

NMFS authorizes incidental take of 5 

marine mammal stocks. The total 

amount of take authorized is three 

percent or less for all five of these stocks 

(Table 11). 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of the activity (including the 

prescribed 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 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 (ESA) 

No incidental take of ESA-listed 

species is authorized or expected to 

result from this activity. Therefore, 

NMFS has determined that formal 

consultation under section 7 of the ESA 

is not required for this action. 

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 

proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an 

IHA) with respect to potential impacts 

on the human environment. 

This action is consistent with 

categories of activities identified in 

Categorical Exclusion B4 (IHA 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 NMFS has 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. 

Authorization 

As a result of these determinations, 

NMFS has issued an IHA to the Navy for 

the taking of marine mammals 

incidental to modification and 

expansion of the Portsmouth Naval 

Shipyard Dry Dock 1 in Kittery, Maine, 

effective for one year from the date of 

issuance, provided the previously 

mentioned mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting requirements are incorporated. 

A copy of the final IHA can be found at 

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

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

Dated: June 3, 2021. 

Catherine Marzin, 

Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11983 Filed 6–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB131] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Site 

Characterization Surveys Off the Coast 

of Massachusetts; Correction 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; modified proposal of an 

incidental harassment authorization; 

request for comments on modified 

proposed authorization and possible 

renewal; correction. 

SUMMARY: This document contains 

corrections to the DATES section of the 

notice of modified proposed incidental 

harassment authorization (IHA) for take 

of marine mammals incidental to 

marine site characterization surveys in 

coastal waters of Massachusetts 

published in the Federal Register on 

May 20, 2021. This action is necessary 

to notify the public of the end date of 

the public comment period, which was 

inadvertently omitted from the notice. 

This document corrects that omission; 

all other information is unchanged. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. Written 

comments should be submitted via 

email to ITP.Pauline@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, including all 

attachments, must not exceed a 25- 

megabyte file size. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted online at 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/ 

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

Robert Pauline, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

NMFS published a notice of a 

modified proposed IHA in the Federal 

Register on May 20, 2021 (86 FR 27393), 

based on a request from Mayflower 

Wind Energy LLC (Mayflower) for 

authorization to take marine mammals 

incidental to site characterization 

surveys off the coast of Massachusetts in 

the area of the Commercial Lease of 

Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy 

Development on the Outer Continental 

Shelf (OCS–A 0521) and along potential 

submarine cable routes to landfall 

locations at Falmouth, Massachusetts 

and near Narragansett Bay. The 

information in the notice of modified 

proposed IHA is not repeated here. As 

published, the notice of modified 

proposed IHA (86 FR 27393; May 20, 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 8, 2021 / Notices 30435 

2021) omitted the DATES section 

including the closing date of the 

comment period. 

Correction 

In the Federal Register of May 20, 

2021, in FR Doc. 2021–10551, on page 

27394, in the first column, correct the 

DATES section to read as follows: 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than June 21, 

2021. 

The closing date for public comments 

regarding the notice of modified 

proposed IHA published on May 20, 

2021 (86 FR 27393) in the Federal 

Register is June 21, 2021. 

Dated: June 2, 2021. 

Catherine Marzin, 

Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11910 Filed 6–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB067] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Marine Site 

Characterization Surveys Offshore of 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

Connecticut, and New York 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments on 

proposed renewal incidental harassment 

authorization. 

SUMMARY: NMFS received a request from 

Vineyard Wind, LLC (Vineyard Wind) 

for the Renewal of their currently active 

incidental harassment authorization 

(IHA) to take marine mammals 

incidental to marine site 

characterization survey activities off the 

coast of Massachusetts in the areas of 

the Commercial Lease of Submerged 

Lands for Renewable Energy 

Development on the Outer Continental 

Shelf (OCS–A 0501 and OCS–A 0522) 

and along potential submarine cable 

routes to landfall locations in 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

Connecticut, and New York. These 

activities consist of activities that are 

covered by the current authorization but 

will not be completed prior to its 

expiration. Pursuant to the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), prior 

to issuing the currently active IHA, 

NMFS requested comments on both the 

proposed IHA and the potential for 

renewing the initial authorization if 

certain requirements were satisfied. The 

Renewal requirements have been 

satisfied, and NMFS is now providing 

an additional 15-day comment period to 

allow for any additional comments on 

the proposed Renewal not previously 

provided during the initial 30-day 

comment period. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than June 23, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. Written 

comments should be submitted via 

email to ITP.tyson.moore@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, including all 

attachments, must not exceed a 25- 

megabyte file size. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted online at 

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

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

Reny Tyson Moore, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

Electronic copies of the original 

application, Renewal request, and 

supporting documents (including NMFS 

Federal Register notices of the original 

proposed and final authorizations, and 

the previous IHA), as well as a list of the 

references cited in this document, may 

be obtained online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/ 

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

of problems accessing these documents, 

please call the contact listed above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(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 proposed or, if the taking 

is limited to harassment, a notice of a 

proposed incidental take authorization 

is 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 here as ‘‘mitigation 

measures’’). Monitoring and reporting of 

such takings are also required. The 

meaning of key terms such as ‘‘take,’’ 

‘‘harassment,’’ and ‘‘negligible impact’’ 

can be found in section 3 of the MMPA 

(16 U.S.C. 1362) and the agency’s 

regulations at 50 CFR 216.103. 

NMFS’ regulations implementing the 

MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e) indicate 

that IHAs may be renewed for 

additional periods of time not to exceed 

one year for each reauthorization. In the 

notice of proposed IHA for the initial 

authorization, NMFS described the 

circumstances under which we would 

consider issuing a Renewal for this 

activity and requested public comment 

on a potential Renewal under those 

circumstances. Specifically, on a caseby-case basis, NMFS may issue a onetime, 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, or nearly identical, 

activities as described in the Detailed 

Description of Specified Activities 

section of the initial IHA issuance 

notice is planned or (2) the activities as 

described in the Detailed Description of 

Specified Activities section of the initial 

IHA issuance notice would not be 

completed by the time the initial IHA 

expires and a Renewal would allow for 

completion of the activities beyond that 

described in the DATES section of the 

notice of issuance of the initial IHA, 

provided all of the following conditions 

are met: 

(1) 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 


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