[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 105 (Thursday, May 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24977-24978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11660]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XF603
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Casitas Pier Fender Pile
Replacement
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; proposed revised incidental harassment authorization;
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from Venoco, LLC, (Venoco) and
Chevron USA, Inc., (Chevron) to transfer, from Venoco to Chevron, a
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) one-year Incidental Harassment
Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental
to the Casitas Pier Fender Pile Replacement Project, following the sale
of Casitas Pier to Chevron. No other changes are proposed. NMFS is
inviting comments on the proposed transfer of the Casitas Pier IHA to
Chevron.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than July 2,
2018.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief,
Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service. Physical comments should be sent to
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and electronic comments
should be sent to [email protected].
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 received electronically, including
all attachments, must not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. Attachments
to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel or
Adobe PDF file formats only. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/node/23111 without change. All personal
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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: Sara Young, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401. Electronic copies of Venoco's original
IHA, may be obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/node/23111. In case of problems accessing these documents, please call the
contact listed above.
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 (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 issued or, if
the taking is limited to harassment, a notice of a proposed
authorization is provided to the public for review.
An 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.
Summary of Request
On October 27, 2017, NMFS issued an IHA to Venoco to take marine
mammals, by Level B harassment, incidental to the Casitas Pier Fender
Pile Replacement Project, effective from November 1, 2017, through
October 31, 2018 (82 FR 55579). On January 1, 2018, Chevron succeeded
Venoco as the owner and operator of Carpinteria Gas Plant, including
Casitas Pier.
Chevron subsequently submitted a written request to transfer the
current IHA from Venoco to Chevron. With the transfer of the Casitas
Pier IHA, Chevron agrees to comply with the associated terms,
conditions, stipulations, and restrictions of the original Casitas Pier
IHA. No other changes were requested. The revised IHA, if issued, would
remain effective through October 31, 2018.
This Federal Register notice sets forth only a proposed change in
the Casitas Pier IHA holder's name. There are no other changes to the
current IHA as described in the November 22, 2017, Federal Register
notice of a final IHA (82 FR 55579): The specified activity;
description of marine mammals in the area of the specified activity;
potential effects on marine mammals and their habitat; mitigation and
related monitoring used to implement mitigation; reporting; estimated
take by incidental harassment; negligible impact and small numbers
analyses and determinations; impact on availability of affected species
or stocks for subsistence uses and the period of effectiveness remain
unchanged and are herein incorporated by reference.
Proposed Revisions to the Casitas Pier IHA
NMFS is proposing a change in the name of the holder of the Casitas
Pier IHA from ``Venoco, LLC'' to ``Chevron USA, Inc''.
Request for Public Comments
NMFS invites comment on the proposed change to the current IHA.
Please include with your comments any supporting data or literature
citations to help inform our final decision on Venoco and Chevron's
request for transfer of the Casitas Pier authorization.
Dated: May 25, 2018.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-11660 Filed 5-30-18; 8:45 am]
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