Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project in Cook Inlet, 15556-15557 [2018-07465]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
15556
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 70 / Wednesday, April 11, 2018 / Notices
Summary documenting panel opinions
regarding the strengths and weaknesses
of the stock assessment and input data.
Participants for SEDAR Workshops are
appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South
Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery
Management Councils and NOAA
Fisheries Southeast Regional Office,
HMS Management Division, and
Southeast Fisheries Science Center.
Participants include data collectors and
database managers; stock assessment
scientists, biologists, and researchers;
constituency representatives including
fishermen, environmentalists, and
NGO’s; International experts; and staff
of Councils, Commissions, and state and
federal agencies.
The items of discussion during the
Data Webinar are as follows:
Panelists will review the data sets
being considered for the assessment and
discuss initial modeling efforts.
Although non-emergency issues not
contained in this agenda may come
before this group for discussion, those
issues may not be the subject of formal
action during this meeting. Action will
be restricted to those issues specifically
identified in this notice and any issues
arising after publication of this notice
that require emergency action under
section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act, provided the public has been
notified of the intent to take final action
to address the emergency.
Special Accommodations
The meeting is physically accessible
to people with disabilities. Requests for
sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to the
Council office (see ADDRESSES) at least 5
business days prior to each workshop.
Note: The times and sequence specified in
this agenda are subject to change.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 6, 2018.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–07474 Filed 4–10–18; 8:45 am]
amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:17 Apr 10, 2018
Jkt 244001
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XF843
Taking and Importing Marine
Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Alaska Liquefied Natural
Gas (LNG) Project in Cook Inlet
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.
AGENCY:
NMFS has received a request
from the Alaska Gasline Development
Corporation (AGDC) for authorization to
take, by harassment, marine mammals
incidental to constructing an integrated
liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in
Cook Inlet, Alaska, beginning November
2019 and continuing through October
2024. Pursuant to the implementing
regulations of the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is
announcing our receipt of the AGDC’s
request for regulations governing the
incidental taking of marine mammals
and inviting information, suggestions,
and comments on the AGDC’s
application and request.
DATES: Comments and information must
be received no later than May 11, 2018.
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.guan@noaa.gov.
Instructions: 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 10megabyte file size. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/
incidental/construction.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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Shane Guan, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Availability
An electronic copy of the AGDC’s
application may be obtained online at:
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/
incidental/energy_other.htm.
Background
Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972,
as amended (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.
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 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.
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).
The use of sound sources such as
those described in the application (e.g.,
pile driving) may result in the take of
marine mammals through disruption of
behavioral patterns or may cause
auditory injury of marine mammals.
Therefore, incidental take authorization
under the MMPA is warranted.
Summary of Request
On April 18, 2017, NMFS received an
application from the AGDC requesting
authorization to take a small number of
humpback whale, beluga whale, killer
whale, harbor porpoise, and harbor seal,
by Level B harassment, incidental to
E:\FR\FM\11APN1.SGM
11APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 70 / Wednesday, April 11, 2018 / Notices
amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES
noise exposure resulting from
constructing LNG facilities in Cook
Inlet, Alaska from 2019 to 2023. AGDC’s
request is for take of five species of
marine mammals, by Level B
harassment only. Neither AGDC nor
NMFS expects injury, serious injury, or
mortality to result from this activity.
NMFS provided questions and
comments to AGDC after receiving the
initial application regarding the scope of
the project and impact analysis. AGDC
submitted a modified request on
February 23, 2018 and NMFS deemed
the application adequate and complete
on March 14, 2018.
Description of the Specified Activity
AGDC proposes to construct facilities
to transport and offload LNG in Cook
Inlet, AK, for export. The Project
activities include:
• Construction of the proposed
Marine Terminal in Cook Inlet,
including construction of a temporary
Material Offloading Facility (MOF) and
a permanent Product Loading Facility
(PLF).
• Construction of the Mainline across
Cook Inlet, including the potential
construction of a Mainline MOF on the
west side of Cook Inlet.
Components of proposed construction
activities in Cook Inlet that have the
potential to expose marine mammals to
received acoustic levels that could
result in take include:
• Vibratory and impact pile driving
associated with MOF and PLF
construction.
• Anchor handling associated with
pipelay across the Cook Inlet.
For pile driving over the project
duration, a total of 130 48-inch (-in) and
201 60-in steel piles would be installed
using impact hammers for the PLF
construction. A total of 7 24-in and 28
48-in steel piles would be installed
using impact hammers and 66 18-in and
35 60-in steel piles using vibratory
hammers for the MOF construction. In
addition, approximately 6,700 feet and
670 feet of sheet pile would be installed
using a vibratory and impact hammer,
respectively, for the MOF construction.
For anchor handling, a total of 5.75
and 13.25 hours of activities are
assessed for mooring/pipe trenching and
pipelaying in Seasons 3 and 4,
respectively.
The LNG facility construction
activities are anticipated to begin in late
2019 and take approximately four years
to complete. However, the rule will
cover a five-year period to encompass
additional time should delays occur.
A suite of proposed mitigation and
monitoring measures for marine
mammals that could potentially be
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:17 Apr 10, 2018
Jkt 244001
taken during in-water construction
activities includes: (1) Establishing and
monitoring Level A and Level B zones
with protected species observers (PSOs),
(2) establishing a 100-m shutdown zone
and implementing shutdown measures
when an animal is detected to
approaching the shutdown zone, and (3)
limiting pile driving activities to
daylight hours only.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit
information, suggestions, and comments
concerning the AGDC’s request (see
ADDRESSES). NMFS will consider all
information, suggestions, and comments
related to the AGDC’s request and
NMFS’ potential development and
implementation of regulations
governing the incidental taking of
marine mammals by the AGDC’s LNG
facility construction in Cook Inlet.
Dated: April 6, 2018.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–07465 Filed 4–10–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XG156
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council (MAFMC); Public Meetings
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of a public meeting.
AGENCY:
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (Council) will
hold a public workshop to provide a
forum for fishermen, managers, and
scientists from the United States and
European Union to interact and discuss
possible solutions to the complex
problems associated with the smallmesh pelagic fisheries in their
respective regions.
DATES: The meeting will be held
Tuesday, May 1, 2018 through
Thursday, May 3, 2018. For agenda
details, see SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
SUMMARY:
The meeting will be held at:
the Beauport Hotel Gloucester, 55
Commercial Street, Gloucester, MA
01930, telephone: (844) 282–0008.
Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, 800 N State St.,
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
15557
Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; telephone:
(302) 674–2331.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D. Executive
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council; telephone: (302)
526–5255.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
workshop will involve a combination of
presentations, group discussions, and
field trips designed to give participants
first-hand knowledge of local fishery
operations and issues. A detailed
agenda and additional information are
available on the Council’s website at
https://www.mafmc.org/workshop/us-eupelagics-workshop.
Special Accommodations
These meetings are physically
accessible to people with disabilities.
Requests for sign language
interpretation or other auxiliary aid
should be directed to M. Jan Saunders,
(302) 526–5251, at least 5 days prior to
the meeting date.
Dated: April 6, 2018.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–07473 Filed 4–10–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING
COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection
Activities Under OMB Review
Commodity Futures Trading
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), this
notice announces that the Information
Collection Request (‘‘ICR’’) abstracted
below has been forwarded to the Office
of Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for
review and comment. The ICR describes
the nature of the information collections
and its expected costs and burden.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before May 11, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the
burden estimate or any other aspect of
the information collections, including
suggestions for reducing the burden,
may be submitted directly to the Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs
(‘‘OIA’’) in OMB within 30 days of this
notice’s publication by either of the
following methods. Please identify the
comments by ‘‘OMB Control Nos. 3038–
0052 or 3038–0074.’’
• By email addressed to:
OIRAsubmissions@omb.eop.gov or
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\11APN1.SGM
11APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 11, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15556-15557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07465]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XF843
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project in Cook Inlet
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 Alaska Gasline
Development Corporation (AGDC) for authorization to take, by
harassment, marine mammals incidental to constructing an integrated
liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Cook Inlet, Alaska, beginning
November 2019 and continuing through October 2024. Pursuant to the
implementing regulations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA),
NMFS is announcing our receipt of the AGDC's request for regulations
governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and inviting
information, suggestions, and comments on the AGDC's application and
request.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than May 11,
2018.
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].
Instructions: 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. All
comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be
posted to www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental/construction.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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Guan, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability
An electronic copy of the AGDC's application may be obtained online
at: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental/energy_other.htm.
Background
Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
of 1972, as amended (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.
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 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.
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).
The use of sound sources such as those described in the application
(e.g., pile driving) may result in the take of marine mammals through
disruption of behavioral patterns or may cause auditory injury of
marine mammals. Therefore, incidental take authorization under the MMPA
is warranted.
Summary of Request
On April 18, 2017, NMFS received an application from the AGDC
requesting authorization to take a small number of humpback whale,
beluga whale, killer whale, harbor porpoise, and harbor seal, by Level
B harassment, incidental to
[[Page 15557]]
noise exposure resulting from constructing LNG facilities in Cook
Inlet, Alaska from 2019 to 2023. AGDC's request is for take of five
species of marine mammals, by Level B harassment only. Neither AGDC nor
NMFS expects injury, serious injury, or mortality to result from this
activity. NMFS provided questions and comments to AGDC after receiving
the initial application regarding the scope of the project and impact
analysis. AGDC submitted a modified request on February 23, 2018 and
NMFS deemed the application adequate and complete on March 14, 2018.
Description of the Specified Activity
AGDC proposes to construct facilities to transport and offload LNG
in Cook Inlet, AK, for export. The Project activities include:
Construction of the proposed Marine Terminal in Cook
Inlet, including construction of a temporary Material Offloading
Facility (MOF) and a permanent Product Loading Facility (PLF).
Construction of the Mainline across Cook Inlet, including
the potential construction of a Mainline MOF on the west side of Cook
Inlet.
Components of proposed construction activities in Cook Inlet that
have the potential to expose marine mammals to received acoustic levels
that could result in take include:
Vibratory and impact pile driving associated with MOF and
PLF construction.
Anchor handling associated with pipelay across the Cook
Inlet.
For pile driving over the project duration, a total of 130 48-inch
(-in) and 201 60-in steel piles would be installed using impact hammers
for the PLF construction. A total of 7 24-in and 28 48-in steel piles
would be installed using impact hammers and 66 18-in and 35 60-in steel
piles using vibratory hammers for the MOF construction. In addition,
approximately 6,700 feet and 670 feet of sheet pile would be installed
using a vibratory and impact hammer, respectively, for the MOF
construction.
For anchor handling, a total of 5.75 and 13.25 hours of activities
are assessed for mooring/pipe trenching and pipelaying in Seasons 3 and
4, respectively.
The LNG facility construction activities are anticipated to begin
in late 2019 and take approximately four years to complete. However,
the rule will cover a five-year period to encompass additional time
should delays occur.
A suite of proposed mitigation and monitoring measures for marine
mammals that could potentially be taken during in-water construction
activities includes: (1) Establishing and monitoring Level A and Level
B zones with protected species observers (PSOs), (2) establishing a
100-m shutdown zone and implementing shutdown measures when an animal
is detected to approaching the shutdown zone, and (3) limiting pile
driving activities to daylight hours only.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning the AGDC's request (see ADDRESSES). NMFS will
consider all information, suggestions, and comments related to the
AGDC's request and NMFS' potential development and implementation of
regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals by the
AGDC's LNG facility construction in Cook Inlet.
Dated: April 6, 2018.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-07465 Filed 4-10-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
