[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 155 (Monday, August 14, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37851-37852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17061]
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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.
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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 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 [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 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,
[[Page 37852]]
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 (in-water detonations),
surface warfare (in-water 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 mid-frequency 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]
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