Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Oil and Gas Activities in Cook Inlet, Alaska, 41957-41958 [2019-17634]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 159 (Friday, August 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41957-41958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17634]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XR036


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Oil and Gas Activities in Cook 
Inlet, Alaska

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments on modification of Letter of 
Authorization.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as 
amended, and implementing regulations, NMFS is requesting comments on 
its proposal to modify a Letter of Authorization issued to Hilcorp 
Alaska LLC (Hilcorp) to take marine mammals incidental to oil and gas 
activities in Cook Inlet, Alaska.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than 
September 16, 2019.

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/action/incidental-take-authorization-hilcorp-alaska-llc-oil-and-gas-activities-cook-inlet-alaska without change. All 
personal 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.

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 incidental take authorization 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.
    The MMPA states that the term ``take'' means to harass, hunt, 
capture, kill or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine 
mammal.
    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).

Summary of Request

    NMFS issued regulations governing the take of eleven species of 
marine mammal, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to 
Hilcorp's oil and gas activities on July 31, 2019; 84 FR 37442). These 
regulations include mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements 
for the incidental take of marine mammals during the specified 
activities. As detailed in the regulations (50 CFR 217.167), adaptive 
management measures allow NMFS to modify or renew Letters of 
Authorization as necessary if doing so creates a reasonable likelihood 
of more effectively accomplishing the goals of mitigation and 
monitoring set forth in those regulations.
    NMFS proposes to modify a mitigation measure pertaining to 3D 
seismic surveying during Year 1 of Hilcorp's activity. NMFS published a 
mitigation measure in error that stated before ramp up of seismic 
airguns during the 3D seismic survey, the entire exclusion zone (EZ) 
must be visually cleared by protected species observers (PSOs). This 
measure is correct for operations beginning in daylight hours. However, 
visually clearing the entirety of the EZ to ramp up airgun activity at 
night was not NMFS' intent. The intent was that PSOs should monitor the 
EZ to the greatest extent possible for 30 minutes prior to ramp-up of 
nighttime operations, but with the understanding that it is not 
possible to observe the entirety of the EZ at night and that Hilcorp 
would still be allowed to initiate ramp-up as long as no marine mammals 
were seen during this time. If any marine mammal is observed in the EZ, 
during daylight hours or at night, ramp up would not commence until

[[Page 41958]]

either the animal has voluntarily left and been visually confirmed 
outside the EZ or the required amount of time (15 for porpoises and 
pinnipeds, 30 minutes for cetaceans) have passed without re-detection 
of the animal. The analysis and findings contained in the final rule 
were made under the premise that nighttime ramp up of airguns is 
allowable.
    Ramping up airgun activity at night is essential to Hilcorp's 
survey design and minimizes the amount of days that active acoustic 
sources are emitting sound into the marine environment. As described in 
Hilcorp's application, acquisition of one line of 3D seismic takes 
approximately five hours. At the end of a line while the vessel turns 
to prepare for the next line acquisition, NMFS requires that airguns 
are turned off, to reduce the amount of unnecessary noise emitted into 
the marine environment. Turning the source vessel takes approximately 
one and a half hours, during which no noise is emitted from airguns. By 
allowing ramp up of airguns at night, the total number of 3D seismic 
survey days is notably reduced and marine mammal habitat noise will 
sooner be reduced to ambient noise levels.
    Specifically, while there is a somewhat higher probability that a 
marine mammal might go unseen within the clearance zone when the 
airguns are initiated at night, the likelihood of injury is still low 
because of the ramp-up requirement, which ensures that any initial 
injury zone is small and allows animals time to move away from the 
source, and the fact that PSOs are on duty monitoring the exclusion 
zone to the degree possible at that time. Further, any potential slight 
increase in the probability of injury (in the form of a small degree of 
PTS, and not considered at all likely, or authorized, for beluga whales 
or other mid-frequency specialists) is offset by the reduced behavioral 
harassment and reduced potential for more serious energetic effects 
expected to result from the significant reduction in the overall number 
of days across which the area will be ensonified by the airgun 
operation.
    Ramp up of airguns at night is also the most practicable survey 
design, which allows the survey to be completed as quickly as possible 
before weather conditions deteriorate and daylight decreases in Cook 
Inlet, and at less cost.
    Of important note, this change in mitigation does not change either 
the predicted take numbers or the negligible impact analysis, as the 
predicted Level A harassment (injury) numbers conservatively do not 
include any sort of an adjustment to account for the effectiveness of 
any of the measures.

Request for Public Comments

    In order to maintain a transparent process for issuance of 
incidental take authorizations and because the public was not able to 
comment on this mitigation measure, NMFS is requesting comment on 
amending the Year 1 Letter of Authorization to allow ramp up of airguns 
at night without requiring full clearance of the EZ by PSOs. Full 
clearance of the EZ by PSOs would still be required for all operations 
in daylight hours. A draft of the amended LOA is available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-hilcorp-alaska-llc-oil-and-gas-activities-cook-inlet-alaska.

    Dated: August 13, 2019.
Cathryn E. Tortorici,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-17634 Filed 8-15-19; 8:45 am]
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