[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58524-58525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23105]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-BD69
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; U.S.
Navy Training and Testing Activities in the Mariana Islands 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.
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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 Mariana Islands Training and
Testing (MITT) Study Area from July 2015 through July 2020. 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 October
24, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to Michael
Payne, Chief, Permits and Conservation 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 [email protected]. 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 http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm 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.
A copy of the Navy's application may be obtained by visiting the
internet at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm. The
Navy's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for MITT was made
available to the public on September 13, 2013. A 60-day public comment
period is open through November 12, 2013. Documents cited in this
notice may also be viewed, by appointment, during regular business
hours, at the aforementioned address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Magliocca, Office of
Protected Resources, NMFS, (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 United States citizens who engage in a specified activity
(other than commercial fishing) within a specific 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.
Authorization for incidental takings 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.''
With respect to military readiness activities, the MMPA defines
``harassment'' as: ``(i) any act that injures or has the significant
potential to injure a 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 April 22, 2013, NMFS received an application from the Navy
requesting a Letters of Authorization (LOA) for the take of 26 species
of marine mammals incidental to Navy training and testing activities to
be conducted in the MITT Study Area over 5 years. The Navy is
requesting a 5-year LOA for training and testing activities to be
conducted from 2015 through 2020. The Study Area includes the existing
Mariana Islands Range Complex, a transit corridor between the Mariana
Islands and the Hawaii Range Complex, and Navy pierside locations where
sonar maintenance or testing may occur (see Figure 2-1 of the Navy's
application for a map of the MITT Study Area). The activities conducted
within the MITT Study Area are classified as military readiness
activities. The Navy states that these activities may expose some of
the marine mammals present within the MITT Study Area to sound from
underwater acoustic sources and explosives. In addition, incidental
takes of marine mammals may occur from ship strike. The Navy is
requesting authorization to take 26 marine mammal species by Level B
(behavioral) harassment; 15 of those marine mammal species may be taken
by injury or mortality.
Description of the Specified Activity
In the application submitted to NMFS, the Navy requests
authorization to take marine mammals incidental to conducting the
following training and testing activities: anti-surface warfare; anti-
submarine warfare; mine warfare; naval special warfare; major training
activities; Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) testing; anti-surface
warfare testing; anti-submarine warfare testing; Naval Sea Systems
Command (NAVSEA) testing; and Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Naval
Research Laboratory (NRL) testing. Detailed descriptions of these
activities, including duration, location, and equipment involved, are
provided in the Navy's application. The Navy has also prepared a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) analyzing the effects on the
human environment of implementing their preferred alternative (among
others).
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning the Navy's request (see
[[Page 58525]]
ADDRESSES). All input related to the Navy's MITT request and NMFS' role
in governing the incidental taking of marine mammals will be considered
by NMFS when developing, if appropriate, the most effective regulations
governing the issuance of a Letter of Authorization.
Dated: September 12, 2013.
Perry Gayaldo,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-23105 Filed 9-23-13; 8:45 am]
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