Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 155 / Monday, August 14, 2017 / Notices 37851 

consultation. We will use the results of 

this consultation, in combination with 

the above findings, in our final analysis 

to determine whether to issue a permit. 

If the requirements are met, we will 

issue the permit to the applicant. 

We will publish a record of our final 

action in the Federal Register. 

Authority: This notice is provided 

pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations 

(40 CFR 1506.6). 

Dated: August 9, 2017. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17105 Filed 8–11–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF561 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to the U.S. Navy Training 

and Testing Activities in the Atlantic 

Fleet Training and Testing Study Area 

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 the U.S. Navy (Navy) for 

authorization to take marine mammals 

incidental to the training and testing 

activities conducted in the Atlantic 

Fleet Training and Testing (AFTT) 

Study Area from October 2018 through 

October 2023. Pursuant to the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS 

is announcing our receipt of the Navy’s 

request for the development and 

implementation of regulations 

governing the incidental taking of 

marine mammals and inviting 

information, suggestions, and comments 

on the Navy’s application and request. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than September 13, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the 

application should be addressed to Jolie 

Harrison, Chief, Permits, Conservation 

and Education Division, Office of 

Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West 

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910– 

3225. The mailbox address for providing 

email comments is ITP.Egger@noaa.gov. 

NMFS is not responsible for email 

comments sent to addresses other than 

the one provided here. Comments sent 

via email, including all attachments, 

must not exceed a 10-megabyte file size. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ 

incidental.htm#applications without 

change. All Personal Identifying 

Information (for example, name, 

address, etc.) 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: 

Stephanie Egger, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS; phone: (301) 427– 

8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Availability 

An electronic copy of the Navy’s 

application may be obtained online at: 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ 

incidental.htm#applications. The Navy 

released a draft Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS)/Overseas EIS (OEIS) for 

the on June 30, 2017. A copy of the draft 

EIS, which would also support NMFS’ 

proposed rulemaking under the MMPA, 

is available at www.aftteis.com. 

Background 

Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the 

MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct 

the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) 

to allow, upon request, the incidental, 

but not intentional taking of marine 

mammals by U.S. citizens who engage 

in a specified activity (other than 

commercial fishing) if certain findings 

are made and regulations are issued or, 

if the taking is limited to harassment, 

notice of a proposed authorization is 

provided to the public for review. 

Incidental take authorizations 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 taking 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.’’ 

With respect to military readiness 

activities, the MMPA defines 

‘‘harassment’’ as any act that injures or 

has the significant potential to injure a 

marine mammal or marine mammal 

stock in the wild (Level A Harassment); 

or (ii) any act that disturbs or is likely 

to disturb a marine mammal or marine 

mammal stock in the wild by causing 

disruption of natural behavioral 

patterns, including, but not limited to, 

migration, surfacing, nursing, breeding, 

feeding, or sheltering, to a point where 

such behavioral patterns are abandoned 

or significantly altered (Level B 

Harassment). 

Summary of Request 

On June 16, 2017, NMFS received an 

application from the Navy requesting 

authorization to take individuals of 39 

marine mammal species by Level A and 

B (behavioral) harassment incidental to 

training, testing, and routine military 

operations (all categorized as military 

readiness activities) from the use of 

sonar and other transducers, in-water 

detonations, air guns, and impact pile 

driving/vibratory extraction. In 

addition, the Navy is requesting nine 

mortalities of four marine mammal 

species during ship shock trials, and 

three takes (not to exceed two from any 

individual stock) by injury or mortality 

from vessel strikes over the five-year 

period. One marine mammal species, 

the North Atlantic right whale 

(Eubalaena glacialis), has designated 

critical habitat in the AFTT Study Area. 

The Navy’s training and testing 

activities would occur over five years 

beginning October 2018. On August 4, 

2017, the Navy sent an amendment to 

its application and Navy’s application 

was considered final and complete. 

This will be NMFS’ third rule making 

for AFTT activities under the MMPA. 

NMFS published the first rule effective 

from January 22, 2009 through January 

22, 2014 on January 27, 2009 (74 FR 

4844) and the second rule effective from 

November 14, 2013 through November 

13, 2018 on December 4, 2013 (78 FR 

73009). For this third rule making, the 

Navy is proposing to conduct similar 

sonar activities in the proposed 

rulemaking as they have conducted over 

the past nine years in the previous two 

rule makings. 

Description of the Specified Activity 

The Navy’s training and testing 

activities to be conducted within the 

AFTT Study Area (includes areas of the 

western Atlantic Ocean along the east 

coast of North America, portions of the 

Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico, 

covering approximately 2.6 million 

square nautical miles of ocean area, 


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37852 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 155 / Monday, August 14, 2017 / Notices 

oriented from the mean high tide line 

along the U.S. coast and extends east to 

the 45-degree west longitude line, north 

to the 65-degree north latitude line, and 

south to approximately the 20-degree 

north latitude line) over the course of 5 

years. Please refer to the application, 

specifically Figure 1.1–1 for a map of 

the Study Area and Figures 2.2–1 

through Figure 2.2–3 for additional 

maps of the range complexes and testing 

ranges. The following types of training 

and testing, which are classified as 

military readiness activities pursuant to 

the MMPA, as amended by the National 

Defense Authorization Act, would be 

covered under the LOAs (if authorized): 

amphibious warfare (in-water 

detonations), anti-submarine warfare 

(sonar and other transducers, in-water 

detonations), expeditionary warfare (inwater detonations), surface warfare (inwater detonations), mine warfare (sonar 

and other transducers, in-water 

detonations), and other (sonar and other 

transducers, impact pile driving/ 

vibratory extraction, air guns). 

The Navy has proposed a suite of 

mitigation measures for marine 

mammals that could be implemented 

during training and testing activities in 

the AFTT Study Area. Procedural 

mitigation generally involves: (1) The 

use of one or more trained Lookouts to 

diligently observe for specific biological 

resources within a mitigation zone, (2) 

requirements for Lookouts to 

immediately communicate sightings of 

specific biological resources to the 

appropriate watch station for 

information dissemination, and (3) 

requirements for the watch station to 

implement mitigation (e.g., halt an 

activity) until certain recommencement 

conditions have been met. Mitigation 

measures are also conducted in specific 

mitigation zones and can consist of a 

variety of measures including, but not 

limited to: Conducting a certain number 

of major training exercise per year, not 

planning or avoid planning major 

training exercises, minimizing or not 

conducting active sonar, conducting a 

certain amount of hull-mounted midfrequency active sonar per year, not 

expending explosive or non-explosive 

ordnance, and implementing vessel 

speed reductions. 

The Navy also proposes to undertake 

monitoring and reporting efforts to track 

compliance with take authorizations 

and to help investigate the effectiveness 

of implemented mitigation measures in 

the AFTT Study Area. This can include 

Adaptive Management, the Integrated 

Comprehensive Monitoring Program, 

the Strategic Planning Process, and 

Annual Monitoring and Exercise and 

Testing Reports. As an example, under 

the Integrated Comprehensive 

Monitoring Program, the monitoring 

relating to the effects of Navy training 

and testing activities on protected 

marine species are designed to increase 

in the understanding of the likely 

occurrence of marine mammals in the 

vicinity of the action (i.e., presence, 

abundance, distribution, and density of 

species) and to increase the 

understanding of the nature, scope, or 

context of the likely exposure of marine 

mammals to any of the potential 

stressors associated with the action. 

Please refer to Chapter 13 of the Navy’s 

application for full details on 

monitoring and reporting proposed by 

the Navy. 

Information Solicited 

Interested persons may submit 

information, suggestions, and comments 

concerning the Navy’s request (see 

ADDRESSES). NMFS will consider all 

information, suggestions, and comments 

related to the Navy’s request and NMFS’ 

potential development and 

implementation of regulations 

governing the incidental taking of 

marine mammals by the Navy’s testing 

and training activities for the AFTT 

Study Area. 

Dated: August 8, 2017. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17061 Filed 8–11–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

Combined Notice of Filings 

Take notice that the Commission has 

received the following Natural Gas 

Pipeline Rate and Refund Report filings: 

Filings Instituting Proceedings 

Docket Numbers: RP10–996–000. 

Applicants: Dominion Cove Point 

LNG, LP. 

Description: Dominion Energy Cove 

Point LNG, LP submits tariff filing per: 

DECP—2017 Report of Operational 

Sales and Purchases of Gas. 

Filed Date: 07/31/2017. 

Accession Number: 20170731–5099. 

Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time on Monday, August 14, 2017. 

Docket Numbers: RP17–961–000. 

Applicants: Transcontinental Gas 

Pipe Line Company. 

Description: Transcontinental Gas 

Pipe Line Company, LLC submits tariff 

filing per 154.204: Update List of NonConforming Service Agreements 

(Dalton) to be effective 8/1/2017. 

Filed Date: 08/03/2017. 

Accession Number: 20170803–5115. 

Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time on Tuesday, August 15, 2017. 

Docket Numbers: RP17–962–000. 

Applicants: Cameron Interstate 

Pipeline, LLC. 

Description: Cameron Interstate 

Pipeline, LLC submits tariff filing per 

154.204: Filing of Tenaska Capacity 

Release Umbrella Agreement to be 

effective 8/1/2017. 

Filed Date: 08/03/2017. 

Accession Number: 20170803–5156. 

Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time on Tuesday, August 15, 2017. 

Docket Numbers: RP17–920–001. 

Applicants: Gulf South Pipeline 

Company, LP. 

Description: Gulf South Pipeline 

Company, LP submits tariff filing per 

154.205(b): Amendment to Filing in 

Docket No. RP17–920–000 to be 

effective 8/1/2017. 

Filed Date: 08/04/2017. 

Accession Number: 20170804–5077. 

Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time on Wednesday, August 16, 2017. 

Docket Numbers: RP17–963–000. 

Applicants: NJR Energy Services 

Company, Talen Energy Marketing, LLC. 

Description: Joint Petition for 

Temporary Waiver of Capacity Release 

of NJR Energy Services Company, et al. 

Filed Date: 08/04/2017. 

Accession Number: 20170804–5088. 

Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time on Friday, August 11, 2017. 

Docket Numbers: RP17–964–000. 

Applicants: Texas Eastern 

Transmission, LP. 

Description: Joint Settlement 

Extension Agreement (Phase II/PCBs, 

RP88–67, et. al.) of Texas Eastern 

Transmission, LP. 

Filed Date: 08/04/2017. 

Accession Number: 20170804–5166. 

Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time on Wednesday, August 16, 2017. 

The filings are accessible in the 

Commission’s eLibrary system by 

clicking on the links or querying the 

docket number. 

Any person desiring to intervene or 

protest in any of the above proceedings 

must file in accordance with Rules 211 

and 214 of the Commission’s 

Regulations (18 CFR 385.211 and 

385.214) on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

time on the specified comment date. 

Protests may be considered, but 

intervention is necessary to become a 

party to the proceeding. 

eFiling is encouraged. More detailed 

information relating to filing 

requirements, interventions, protests, 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES