Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Energy Project Offshore of Rhode Island, 41391-41392 [2024-10419]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 2024 / Notices
Based on the analysis contained
herein of Anadarko’s proposed survey
activity described in its LOA
application and the anticipated take of
marine mammals, NMFS finds that
small numbers of marine mammals will
be taken relative to the affected species
or stock sizes (i.e., less than one-third of
the best available abundance estimate)
and therefore the taking is of no more
than small numbers.
Authorization
NMFS has determined that the level
of taking for this LOA request is
consistent with the findings made for
the total taking allowable under the
incidental take regulations and that the
amount of take authorized under the
LOA is of no more than small numbers.
Accordingly, we have issued an LOA to
Anadarko authorizing the take of marine
mammals incidental to its geophysical
survey activity, as described above.
Dated: May 6, 2024
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–10417 Filed 5–10–24; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
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Administration
[RTID 0648–XD954]
Western Pacific Fishery Management
Council; Public Meetings
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public meetings.
AGENCY:
The Western Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) will
hold its Education Committee (EC) and
Social Science Planning Committee
(SSPC) meetings to discuss and make
recommendations on fishery
management issues in the Western
Pacific Region.
DATES: The EC meeting will be held on
May 29, 2024, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.,
Hawaii Standard Time (HST). The SSPC
meeting will be held on May 30, 2024,
from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., HST. See
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for the
agenda.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
The EC meeting will be held
by web conference via Webex.
The SSPC meeting will be held as a
hybrid meeting for SSPC members and
the public, with a remote participation
option available via Webex. In-person
ADDRESSES:
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21:33 May 10, 2024
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attendance will be hosted at the Council
office, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400,
Honolulu, HI 96813.
Instructions for connecting to the web
conference and providing oral public
comments will be posted on the Council
website at www.wpcouncil.org. For
assistance with the web conference
connection, contact the Council office at
(808) 522–8220.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director,
Western Pacific Fishery Management
Council; telephone: (808) 522–8220.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A public
comment period will be provided in the
agendas. The order in which agenda
items are addressed may change. The
meetings will run as late as necessary to
complete scheduled business.
41391
9. Discussion and Recommendations
Special Accommodations
These meetings are physically
accessible to people with disabilities.
Requests for sign language
interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Kitty M. Simonds,
(808) 522–8220 (voice) or (808) 522–
8226 (fax), at least 5 days prior to the
meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 8, 2024.
Rey Israel Marquez,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–10391 Filed 5–10–24; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Agenda for the EC Meeting
Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 1 p.m. to 4
p.m., HST
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Review of the Last Education
Committee Recommendations and
Meeting
A. Council Education Committee
Memorandum of Understanding
Update
B. Working Group Reports
i. Input on Education Initiatives in
Council 2025–2028 Program Plan
ii. Incorporate Fisheries Science into
K–12 and Higher Education
Classrooms
iii. Review Course Articulation
Agreements Between 2-year and 4year Higher Education Programs
C. Marine Resource Education
Program in Pacific Islands Update
3. Council 2025–2028 Program Plan
Update
4. Other Business
5. Public Comment
6. Discussion and Recommendations
[RTID 0648–XD900]
Agenda for the SSPC Meeting
Thursday, May 30, 2024, 12 p.m. to 4
p.m., HST
1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Approval of Agenda
3. Annual Stock Assessment and
Fishery Evaluation Reports
A. Socioeconomic Modules 2023
Report Updates
B. Fisher Observations
4. Review of Draft 2025–2029
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
Research Priorities
5. Social, Economic, Ecological, and
Management Process Review
6. Project Updates
7. Other Business
8. Public Comment
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Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to
Specified Activities; Taking Marine
Mammals Incidental to the Revolution
Wind Offshore Wind Energy Project
Offshore of Rhode Island
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; modification of letter of
authorization.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA), as amended, its implementing
regulations, and NMFS’ MMPA
Regulations for Taking Marine
Mammals Incidental to Construction of
the Revolution Wind Project Offshore of
Rhode Island, notification is hereby
given that upon request from Revolution
Wind, LLC (Revolution Wind), NMFS
has modified a Letter of Authorization
(LOA) issued to Revolution Wind for the
take of marine mammals incidental to
activities associated with construction
of the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind
Energy Project (hereafter known as the
‘‘Project’’) in Federal and State waters
offshore Rhode Island. Specifically,
NMFS has removed the requirement
that each real-time passive acoustic
monitoring (PAM) data stream must be
monitored by separate PAM operators.
NMFS has determined that this
modification to the aforementioned
monitoring requirement does not change
the findings made for the regulations
and does not result in any change in the
total estimated number of takes of
marine mammals.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\13MYN1.SGM
13MYN1
41392
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 2024 / Notices
The modified LOA is valid
through November 19, 2028.
ADDRESSES: The issued modified LOA
may be obtained online at https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/
incidental-take-authorizationrevolution-wind-llc-constructionrevolution-wind-energy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Carter Esch, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
DATES:
Background
The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of
marine mammals, with certain
exceptions. 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 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, regulations are promulgated
(when applicable), and public notice
and an opportunity for public comment
are provided.
Authorization for incidental takings
shall be granted if NMFS finds that the
taking will have a negligible impact on
the species or stock(s) and will not have
an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for
taking for subsistence uses (where
relevant). If such findings are made,
NMFS must prescribe the permissible
methods of taking and other ‘‘means of
effecting the least practicable adverse
impact’’ on the affected species or
stocks and their habitat, paying
particular attention to rookeries, mating
grounds, and areas of similar
significance, and on the availability of
such species or stocks for taking for
certain subsistence uses (referred to as
‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements
pertaining to the monitoring and
reporting of such takings.
NMFS promulgated a final rule in the
Federal Register on October 20, 2023
(88 FR 72562), which governs the
incidental take of marine mammals
incidental to Revolution Wind’s
construction of the Project in Federal
and State waters offshore Rhode Island,
specifically within the Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management (BOEM)
Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands
for Renewable Energy Development on
the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease
Area OCS–A–0486 and along two export
cable routes to sea-to-shore transition
points. The rule became effective on
November 20, 2023, and is valid
through November 19, 2028. The
VerDate Sep<11>2014
21:33 May 10, 2024
Jkt 262001
regulations allow NMFS to approve
requests for modification to the LOA’s
specified activity or the mitigation,
monitoring, or reporting measures if
NMFS determines the requested change
does not change the findings made for
promulgation of the regulations and
does not result in more than a minor
change in the total estimated number of
takes (see 50 CFR 217.277(b)).
NMFS issued a LOA to Revolution
Wind on November 20, 2023, and
published a notice of issuance in the
Federal Register on November 27, 2023
(88 FR 82834). The LOA authorized
Revolution Wind to take, by harassment,
marine mammals incidental to specified
construction activities, specifically
impact pile driving of wind turbine
generator and offshore substation
monopile foundations, UXO/MEC
detonations, vibratory pile driving of
cofferdams and goal posts, pneumatic
hammering of casing pipes, and highresolution geophysical vessel-based site
characterization surveys, within the
specified geographical region.
Summary of Request and Analysis
On March 7, 2024, NMFS received a
request from Revolution Wind to
remove the ‘‘per acoustic data stream’’
requirement from LOA measure 4(c)(2)
(‘‘Concurrently, at least one PAM
operator per acoustic data stream
(equivalent to the number of acoustic
buoys) must be actively monitoring for
marine mammals. . .’’). Revolution
Wind requested other LOA
modifications in their March letter;
however, NMFS is not making these
modifications at this time because
solutions to the challenges have been
identified. In support of its acoustic data
stream request, Revolution Wind cited
challenges that had not adequately been
considered prior to promulgation of the
regulations. Specifically, Revolution
Wind cited limited vessel space, the
financial burden of employing multiple
PAM operators, and the limited pool of
qualified candidates as concerns
associated with the need to maintain a
rotation of four on-duty PAM operators.
The regulations and LOA allow for PAM
operators to monitor from a shoreside
location; however, the PAM system
Revolution Wind is using is configured
such that PAM operators must be
located on the foundation installation
vessel. Moreover, Revolution Wind
highlighted that some functionalities of
the PAM software planned for use (e.g.,
the ability to localize on the position of
an acoustic detection) are optimized
when a single PAM operator evaluates
the software data products for all
acoustic buoy data streams rather than
having multiple PAM operators view
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
separate data streams. NMFS’ evaluation
indicated that the requested
modification would alleviate concerns
that were not fully considered by
Revolution Wind previously while also
allowing for potential improvement in
localization efficacy. NMFS expects
PAM operators to acoustically detect
marine mammals within the applicable
zones with the same level of efficacy
and in accordance with a NMFSapproved PAM Plan. Furthermore,
NMFS did not incorporate mitigation
and monitoring measures, other than 10decibel sound attenuation and seasonal
restrictions, into the estimated take
analysis. Therefore, NMFS has
determined that the requested
modification of measure 4(c)(2) does not
change the findings made for the
regulations and does not result in
changes in the total estimated take
numbers.
NMFS has removed the language
requiring that each acoustic data stream
must be monitored by a separate PAM
operator from the modified LOA. The
modified LOA specifies that at least one
on-duty PAM operator must monitor
acoustic data streams prior to, during,
and following foundation installations.
Authorization
NMFS has issued a modified LOA to
Revolution Wind authorizing the take,
by harassment, of small numbers of
marine mammals incidental to specified
construction activities associated with
the Project, which includes the
modified monitoring measure discussed
herein.
Dated: May 6, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–10419 Filed 5–10–24; 8:45 am]
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Approval of a Boundary Expansion for
the South Slough National Estuarine
Research Reserve
Office for Coastal Management,
National Ocean Service, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of approval; notice of
availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Coastal Zone Management Act and its
implementing regulations, notice is
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\13MYN1.SGM
13MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 93 (Monday, May 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41391-41392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10419]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XD900]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind
Energy Project Offshore of Rhode Island
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; modification of letter of authorization.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as
amended, its implementing regulations, and NMFS' MMPA Regulations for
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Construction of the Revolution Wind
Project Offshore of Rhode Island, notification is hereby given that
upon request from Revolution Wind, LLC (Revolution Wind), NMFS has
modified a Letter of Authorization (LOA) issued to Revolution Wind for
the take of marine mammals incidental to activities associated with
construction of the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Energy Project
(hereafter known as the ``Project'') in Federal and State waters
offshore Rhode Island. Specifically, NMFS has removed the requirement
that each real-time passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data stream must
be monitored by separate PAM operators. NMFS has determined that this
modification to the aforementioned monitoring requirement does not
change the findings made for the regulations and does not result in any
change in the total estimated number of takes of marine mammals.
[[Page 41392]]
DATES: The modified LOA is valid through November 19, 2028.
ADDRESSES: The issued modified LOA may be obtained online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-revolution-wind-llc-construction-revolution-wind-energy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carter Esch, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The MMPA prohibits the ``take'' of marine mammals, with certain
exceptions. 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
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, regulations are promulgated (when
applicable), and public notice and an opportunity for public comment
are provided.
Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds
that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or
stock(s) and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for taking for subsistence uses
(where relevant). If such findings are made, NMFS must prescribe the
permissible methods of taking and other ``means of effecting the least
practicable adverse impact'' on the affected species or stocks and
their habitat, paying particular attention to rookeries, mating
grounds, and areas of similar significance, and on the availability of
such species or stocks for taking for certain subsistence uses
(referred to as ``mitigation''); and requirements pertaining to the
monitoring and reporting of such takings.
NMFS promulgated a final rule in the Federal Register on October
20, 2023 (88 FR 72562), which governs the incidental take of marine
mammals incidental to Revolution Wind's construction of the Project in
Federal and State waters offshore Rhode Island, specifically within the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease of Submerged
Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) Lease Area OCS-A-0486 and along two export cable routes to sea-
to-shore transition points. The rule became effective on November 20,
2023, and is valid through November 19, 2028. The regulations allow
NMFS to approve requests for modification to the LOA's specified
activity or the mitigation, monitoring, or reporting measures if NMFS
determines the requested change does not change the findings made for
promulgation of the regulations and does not result in more than a
minor change in the total estimated number of takes (see 50 CFR
217.277(b)).
NMFS issued a LOA to Revolution Wind on November 20, 2023, and
published a notice of issuance in the Federal Register on November 27,
2023 (88 FR 82834). The LOA authorized Revolution Wind to take, by
harassment, marine mammals incidental to specified construction
activities, specifically impact pile driving of wind turbine generator
and offshore substation monopile foundations, UXO/MEC detonations,
vibratory pile driving of cofferdams and goal posts, pneumatic
hammering of casing pipes, and high-resolution geophysical vessel-based
site characterization surveys, within the specified geographical
region.
Summary of Request and Analysis
On March 7, 2024, NMFS received a request from Revolution Wind to
remove the ``per acoustic data stream'' requirement from LOA measure
4(c)(2) (``Concurrently, at least one PAM operator per acoustic data
stream (equivalent to the number of acoustic buoys) must be actively
monitoring for marine mammals. . .''). Revolution Wind requested other
LOA modifications in their March letter; however, NMFS is not making
these modifications at this time because solutions to the challenges
have been identified. In support of its acoustic data stream request,
Revolution Wind cited challenges that had not adequately been
considered prior to promulgation of the regulations. Specifically,
Revolution Wind cited limited vessel space, the financial burden of
employing multiple PAM operators, and the limited pool of qualified
candidates as concerns associated with the need to maintain a rotation
of four on-duty PAM operators. The regulations and LOA allow for PAM
operators to monitor from a shoreside location; however, the PAM system
Revolution Wind is using is configured such that PAM operators must be
located on the foundation installation vessel. Moreover, Revolution
Wind highlighted that some functionalities of the PAM software planned
for use (e.g., the ability to localize on the position of an acoustic
detection) are optimized when a single PAM operator evaluates the
software data products for all acoustic buoy data streams rather than
having multiple PAM operators view separate data streams. NMFS'
evaluation indicated that the requested modification would alleviate
concerns that were not fully considered by Revolution Wind previously
while also allowing for potential improvement in localization efficacy.
NMFS expects PAM operators to acoustically detect marine mammals within
the applicable zones with the same level of efficacy and in accordance
with a NMFS-approved PAM Plan. Furthermore, NMFS did not incorporate
mitigation and monitoring measures, other than 10-decibel sound
attenuation and seasonal restrictions, into the estimated take
analysis. Therefore, NMFS has determined that the requested
modification of measure 4(c)(2) does not change the findings made for
the regulations and does not result in changes in the total estimated
take numbers.
NMFS has removed the language requiring that each acoustic data
stream must be monitored by a separate PAM operator from the modified
LOA. The modified LOA specifies that at least one on-duty PAM operator
must monitor acoustic data streams prior to, during, and following
foundation installations.
Authorization
NMFS has issued a modified LOA to Revolution Wind authorizing the
take, by harassment, of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to
specified construction activities associated with the Project, which
includes the modified monitoring measure discussed herein.
Dated: May 6, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-10419 Filed 5-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
