[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 198 (Tuesday, October 14, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61616-61617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24317]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on 
the Issuance of Take Authorizations in Cook Inlet, Alaska

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

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces its 
intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze 
the environmental impacts of issuing Incidental Take Authorizations 
(ITAs) pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) for the 
taking of marine mammals incidental to anthropogenic activities in the 
waters of Cook Inlet, Alaska. NMFS will hold a public scoping meeting 
to begin the scoping process.

DATES: All comments, written statements, and questions regarding the 
scoping process and preparation of the EIS must be received no later 
than December 29, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments and statements regarding the scoping 
for this EIS, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2014-0129, by any of the 
following methods:
    <bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. To 
submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, enter NOAA-NMFS-2014-0129 
in the keyword search. Locate the document you wish to comment on from 
the resulting list and click on the ``Comment Now'' icon on the right 
of that line.
    <bullet> Mail: Jolie Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation 
Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910.
    <bullet> Fax: (301) 713-0376, Attn: Jolie Harrison.
    <bullet> Public Meeting: Oral and written comments will be accepted 
during the upcoming public scoping meeting on Monday, November 3, 2014. 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, Public Meetings for more information.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and 
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the 
sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will 
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you 
wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be 
accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel or Adobe PDF file formats only. We 
request that you include background documents to support your comments 
as appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jolie Harrison, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, at (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 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 for a period of one year or less, a notice of 
proposed authorization is provided to the public for review. The term 
``take'' under the MMPA means ``to harass, hunt, capture or kill, or 
attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill.'' 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].''
    Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds 
that the

[[Page 61617]]

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.''

Geographic Area To Be Considered

    For the purposes of this EIS, NMFS intends to analyze the effects 
on the human environment of issuing authorizations for the incidental 
take of marine mammals from activities occurring in both the state and 
Federal waters of Cook Inlet, AK, from Knik Arm in the northern part of 
the Inlet to the southern edge of Kachemak Bay on the southeastern part 
of the Inlet and to the southern edge of Cape Douglas on the 
southwestern part of the Inlet.

Objectives of the EIS

    NMFS prepares environmental analyses under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to support the issuance of ITAs for 
specific activities under sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA. 
This programmatic EIS will analyze the potential effects on the human 
environment of issuing MMPA ITAs for various anthropogenic activities 
in Cook Inlet. An EIS that analyzes multiple activities over multiple 
years will provide a comprehensive decision-support tool for NMFS, 
allowing us to address cumulative effects over a longer time frame, 
consider a wider range of reasonable alternatives consistent with our 
statutory mandates, and analyze a wider range of practicable mitigation 
and monitoring measures for protecting marine mammals and the 
availability of marine mammals for subsistence uses.
    Anthropogenic activities are prevalent in Cook Inlet, and there are 
indications that the level of activities may increase in the coming 
years. Additionally, NMFS continues to be concerned about the lack of 
recovery of the small resident population of Cook Inlet beluga whales, 
which is both depleted under the MMPA and listed as endangered under 
the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Preparation of an EIS, which will 
allow for a more comprehensive analysis of alternatives and mitigation 
and monitoring measures, will not only achieve greater administrative 
efficiency for NMFS' ITA program but will increase NMFS' options and 
flexibility for processing MMPA ITA requests in the region while 
ensuring compliance with MMPA, ESA, and NEPA mandates. NMFS has 
determined that the preparation of such an EIS will provide the best 
decision support tool for processing MMPA ITA requests in Cook Inlet.

Types of Information Requested

    NMFS invites the participation of Federal agencies, State of 
Alaska, local, and tribal government entities, Native American and 
Native Alaskan organizations, environmental and fish and wildlife 
organizations, the oil and gas industry, non-energy industries, other 
interested organizations and entities, and the general public, for use 
in the preparation of this EIS. To help us determine the scope and the 
significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the EIS, NMFS is seeking 
a wide array of information about: (1) The ecological, social, and 
economic environments and values in Cook Inlet, Alaska; (2) the 
potential impact of various types of human activities in Cook Inlet 
(e.g., oil and gas exploration and development, construction, port 
redevelopment projects, etc.) on the marine, coastal and human 
environments; (3) subsistence activities and uses of marine mammals in 
Cook Inlet; (4) the acoustic environment in Cook Inlet; (5) proposed 
and upcoming projects within Cook Inlet; (6) ways to assess, mitigate, 
minimize, and monitor impacts of activities on marine mammals 
(especially beluga whales) and their habitats (including prey species); 
and (7) any other relevant information.

Public Meetings

    We will hold a public scoping meeting in Anchorage, AK, on Monday, 
November 3, 2014, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Loussac Library's Wilda 
Marston Theater located at 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage, AK 99503. 
Written and oral comments will be accepted at the public meeting.

    Dated: October 7, 2014.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-24317 Filed 10-10-14; 8:45 am]
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