Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental To Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project Offshore New York, 53589-53590 [2024-14156]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 124 / Thursday, June 27, 2024 / Notices
following website www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function and
entering either the title of the collection
or the OMB Control Number 0648–0352.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024–14117 Filed 6–26–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XE035]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental
To Specified Activities; Taking Marine
Mammals Incidental to the Sunrise
Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project
Offshore New York
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of letter of
authorization.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA) as amended, and implementing
regulations, notification is hereby given
that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has
been issued to Sunrise Wind, LLC
(Sunrise Wind), a 50/50 joint venture
between ;rsted North America, Inc.,
(;rsted) and Eversource Investment,
LLC, for the taking of marine mammals
incidental to the construction of the
Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm
Project (hereafter known as the
‘‘Project’’).
DATES: The LOA is effective from June
21, 2024, through June 20, 2029.
ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting
documentation are available online at:
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/
incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-protection-act. In case
of problems accessing these documents,
please call the contact listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jaclyn Daly, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:13 Jun 26, 2024
Jkt 262001
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, regulations are promulgated
(when applicable), and public notice
and an opportunity for public comment
are provided.
An authorization for incidental taking
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; ‘‘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
the species or stocks for taking for
certain subsistence uses (referred to as
‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements
pertaining to the monitoring and
reporting of such takings. The MMPA
defines ‘‘take’’ to mean harass, hunt,
capture, or kill, or attempt to harass,
hunt, capture, or kill any marine
mammal (16 U.S.C. 1362(13); 50 CFR
216.103). Level A harassment is defined
as any act of pursuit, torment, or
annoyance which has the potential to
injure a marine mammal or marine
mammal stock in the wild (16 U.S.C.
1362(18); 50 CFR 216.3). Level B
harassment is defined as any act of
pursuit, torment, or annoyance which
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 (16 U.S.C.
1362(18); 50 CFR 216.3). Section
101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA and the
implementing regulations at 50 CFR part
216, subpart I authorize NMFS to
propose and, if appropriate, promulgate
regulations and issue associated LOA(s).
On May 22, 2024, NMFS promulgated
a final rule (89 FR 45292) responding to
a request from Sunrise Wind for
authorization to take small numbers of
marine mammals (16 species
comprising 16 stocks) by Level B
harassment (all 16 stocks) and by Level
A harassment (7 of the 16 stocks)
incidental to select construction
activities occurring in Federal and State
waters off of New York, specifically
within and around the Bureau of Ocean
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
53589
Energy Management (BOEM)
Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands
for Renewable Energy Development on
the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease
Area OCS–A 0487 (Lease Area) and
along one export cable route to sea-toshore transition points over the course
of 5 years (June 21, 2024, through June
20, 2029). The specified activities are
impact pile driving wind turbine
generators (WTGs) on monopile
foundations and a single offshore
converter substation (OCS–DC) on a
jacket foundation using pin piles;
pneumatic hammering for installation
and removal of temporary casing pipes
and vibratory pile driving for
installation and removal of temporary
goal post and sheet piles at the cable
landfall site in Shirley, New York;
impact and vibratory pile driving
associated with the Smith Point County
Park temporary pier; detonating up to
three unexploded ordnance or
munitions and explosives of concern
(UXO/MEC) of different charge weights;
high-resolution geophysical (HRG)
marine site characterization surveys
using active acoustic sources; trenching,
laying, and burial activities associated
with the installation of the export cable
route from the OCS–DC to the shorebased converter station and inter-array
cables between turbines; fishery and
ecological monitoring surveys; the
placement of scour protection; vessel
transit within the specified geographical
region to transport crew, supplies, and
materials; and WTG operation.
Marine mammals exposed to elevated
noise levels during foundation pile
driving and/or UXO/MEC detonation,
may be taken by Level A harassment
(limited to fin whales, humpback
whales, sei whales, minke whale, harbor
porpoise, gray seal, and harbor seal) and
Level B harassment (all 16 species), and
marine mammals exposed to elevated
noise levels during impact and vibratory
pile driving during foundation
installation, cable landfall construction,
pier construction activities, and site
characterization surveys may be taken
by Level B harassment. For reasons
described in the final rule, no mortality
or serious injury of any marine mammal
is anticipated to occur or authorized.
Further, for reasons described in the
final rule, no take by Level A
harassment of several species, including
the North Atlantic right whale, is
expected to occur or authorized.
Authorization
In accordance with the final rule (89
FR 45292, May 22, 2024; see 50 CFR
217.316), we have issued a LOA to
Sunrise Wind authorizing the take, by
harassment, of marine mammals
E:\FR\FM\27JNN1.SGM
27JNN1
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
53590
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 124 / Thursday, June 27, 2024 / Notices
incidental to specified activities within
the specified geographical region. As
previously stated, no mortality or
serious injury of any marine mammal
species is anticipated to occur or
authorized. The incidental takes
authorized herein are the same as those
analyzed in the final rule (89 FR 45292,
May 22, 2024). Takes of marine
mammals will be minimized through
the following planned mitigation and
monitoring measures, as applicable for
each specified activity: (1)
implementation of spatio-temporal work
restrictions; (2) use of multiple NMFSapproved Protected Species Observers
(PSOs) to visually observe for marine
mammals (with any detection within
specifically designated zones triggering
a delay or shutdown, as applicable); (3)
use of NMFS-approved passive acoustic
monitoring (PAM) operators to
acoustically detect marine mammals
during foundation pile driving, with a
focus on detecting baleen whales (with
any detection within designated zones
triggering a delay or shutdown, as
applicable); (4) implementation of
clearance and shutdown zones; (5) use
of soft-start prior to the start of
foundation impact pile driving; (6) use
of noise attenuation technology; (7) use
of situational awareness monitoring for
marine mammal presence; (8)
conducting sound field verification
during foundation installation and
UXO/MEC detonation; (9) use of rampup acoustic sources during HRG
surveys; and (10) implementation of
several vessel strike avoidance measures
(e.g., speed and separation distance
measures) to reduce the risk of a vessel
interaction with a marine mammal.
Additionally, Sunrise Wind is required
to submit reports frequently to NMFS.
Through adaptive management,
NMFS may modify the LOA’s
mitigation, monitoring, or reporting
measures, based on new information,
when appropriate.
As described in the preamble of the
final rule, NMFS has determined that
the take authorized in the LOA is of
small numbers of marine mammals, will
have a negligible impact on marine
mammal stocks, will not have an
unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the affected marine
mammal stock for subsistence uses, and
the mitigation measures provide a
means of affecting the least practicable
adverse impact on the affected stocks
and their habitat.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:13 Jun 26, 2024
Jkt 262001
Dated: June 24, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–14156 Filed 6–26–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; West Coast Region Vessel
Identification Requirements
The Department of Commerce will
submit the following information
collection request to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication
of this notice. We invite the general
public and other Federal agencies to
comment on proposed, and continuing
information collections, which helps us
assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize
the public’s reporting burden. Public
comments were previously requested
via the Federal Register on April 2,
2024 during a 60-day comment period.
This notice allows for an additional 30
days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
Title: West Coast Region Vessel
Identification Requirements.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0355.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission
(extension of a currently approved
collection).
Number of Respondents: 1,007.
Average Hours per Response: 45
minutes.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 151
(annualized over five years).
Needs and Uses: This request is for
extension of a currently approved
information collection. The success of
fisheries management programs
depends significantly on regulatory
compliance. The vessel identification
requirement is essential to facilitate
enforcement. The ability to link fishing
(or other activity) to the vessel owner or
operator is crucial to enforcement of
regulations issued under the authority
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act. A
vessel’s official number is required to be
displayed on the port and starboard
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
sides of the deckhouse or hull, and on
a weather deck. It identifies each vessel
and should be visible at distances at sea
and in the air. Law enforcement
personnel rely on vessel marking
information to assure compliance with
fisheries management regulations.
Vessels that qualify for particular
fisheries are also readily identified, and
this allows for more cost-effective
enforcement. Cooperating fishermen
also use the vessel numbers to report
suspicious or non-compliant activities
that they observe in unauthorized areas.
The identifying number on fishing
vessels is used by the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), the United
States Coast Guard (USCG), and other
marine agencies in issuing regulations,
prosecutions, and other enforcement
actions necessary to support sustainable
fisheries behaviors as intended in
regulations. Regulation-compliant
fishermen ultimately benefit from these
requirements, as unauthorized and
illegal fishing is deterred, and more
burdensome regulations are avoided.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Frequency: SFD staff consulted with
various groundfish vessel captains
participating in various groundfish pot,
longline, midwater trawl, bottom trawl
fisheries, and determined that gear and
vessel markings have a five-year life
span.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: 50 CFR 660.12.
This information collection request
may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov.
Follow the instructions to view the
Department of Commerce collections
currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function and
entering either the title of the collection
or the OMB Control Number 0648–0355.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024–14036 Filed 6–26–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\27JNN1.SGM
27JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 124 (Thursday, June 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53589-53590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14156]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE035]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental To Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm
Project Offshore New York
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of letter of authorization.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as
amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given
that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to Sunrise Wind,
LLC (Sunrise Wind), a 50/50 joint venture between [Oslash]rsted North
America, Inc., ([Oslash]rsted) and Eversource Investment, LLC, for the
taking of marine mammals incidental to the construction of the Sunrise
Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project (hereafter known as the ``Project'').
DATES: The LOA is effective from June 21, 2024, through June 20, 2029.
ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting documentation are available online
at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/incidental-take-authorizations-under-marine-mammal-protection-act. In case of problems
accessing these documents, please call the contact listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jaclyn Daly, 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
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, regulations are
promulgated (when applicable), and public notice and an opportunity for
public comment are provided.
An authorization for incidental taking 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; ``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
the species or stocks for taking for certain subsistence uses (referred
to as ``mitigation''); and requirements pertaining to the monitoring
and reporting of such takings. The MMPA defines ``take'' to mean
harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or
kill any marine mammal (16 U.S.C. 1362(13); 50 CFR 216.103). Level A
harassment is defined as any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance
which has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal
stock in the wild (16 U.S.C. 1362(18); 50 CFR 216.3). Level B
harassment is defined as any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance
which 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 (16 U.S.C. 1362(18); 50 CFR 216.3). Section
101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA and the implementing regulations at 50 CFR
part 216, subpart I authorize NMFS to propose and, if appropriate,
promulgate regulations and issue associated LOA(s).
On May 22, 2024, NMFS promulgated a final rule (89 FR 45292)
responding to a request from Sunrise Wind for authorization to take
small numbers of marine mammals (16 species comprising 16 stocks) by
Level B harassment (all 16 stocks) and by Level A harassment (7 of the
16 stocks) incidental to select construction activities occurring in
Federal and State waters off of New York, specifically within and
around 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 0487 (Lease Area) and along
one export cable route to sea-to-shore transition points over the
course of 5 years (June 21, 2024, through June 20, 2029). The specified
activities are impact pile driving wind turbine generators (WTGs) on
monopile foundations and a single offshore converter substation (OCS-
DC) on a jacket foundation using pin piles; pneumatic hammering for
installation and removal of temporary casing pipes and vibratory pile
driving for installation and removal of temporary goal post and sheet
piles at the cable landfall site in Shirley, New York; impact and
vibratory pile driving associated with the Smith Point County Park
temporary pier; detonating up to three unexploded ordnance or munitions
and explosives of concern (UXO/MEC) of different charge weights; high-
resolution geophysical (HRG) marine site characterization surveys using
active acoustic sources; trenching, laying, and burial activities
associated with the installation of the export cable route from the
OCS-DC to the shore-based converter station and inter-array cables
between turbines; fishery and ecological monitoring surveys; the
placement of scour protection; vessel transit within the specified
geographical region to transport crew, supplies, and materials; and WTG
operation.
Marine mammals exposed to elevated noise levels during foundation
pile driving and/or UXO/MEC detonation, may be taken by Level A
harassment (limited to fin whales, humpback whales, sei whales, minke
whale, harbor porpoise, gray seal, and harbor seal) and Level B
harassment (all 16 species), and marine mammals exposed to elevated
noise levels during impact and vibratory pile driving during foundation
installation, cable landfall construction, pier construction
activities, and site characterization surveys may be taken by Level B
harassment. For reasons described in the final rule, no mortality or
serious injury of any marine mammal is anticipated to occur or
authorized. Further, for reasons described in the final rule, no take
by Level A harassment of several species, including the North Atlantic
right whale, is expected to occur or authorized.
Authorization
In accordance with the final rule (89 FR 45292, May 22, 2024; see
50 CFR 217.316), we have issued a LOA to Sunrise Wind authorizing the
take, by harassment, of marine mammals
[[Page 53590]]
incidental to specified activities within the specified geographical
region. As previously stated, no mortality or serious injury of any
marine mammal species is anticipated to occur or authorized. The
incidental takes authorized herein are the same as those analyzed in
the final rule (89 FR 45292, May 22, 2024). Takes of marine mammals
will be minimized through the following planned mitigation and
monitoring measures, as applicable for each specified activity: (1)
implementation of spatio-temporal work restrictions; (2) use of
multiple NMFS-approved Protected Species Observers (PSOs) to visually
observe for marine mammals (with any detection within specifically
designated zones triggering a delay or shutdown, as applicable); (3)
use of NMFS-approved passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) operators to
acoustically detect marine mammals during foundation pile driving, with
a focus on detecting baleen whales (with any detection within
designated zones triggering a delay or shutdown, as applicable); (4)
implementation of clearance and shutdown zones; (5) use of soft-start
prior to the start of foundation impact pile driving; (6) use of noise
attenuation technology; (7) use of situational awareness monitoring for
marine mammal presence; (8) conducting sound field verification during
foundation installation and UXO/MEC detonation; (9) use of ramp-up
acoustic sources during HRG surveys; and (10) implementation of several
vessel strike avoidance measures (e.g., speed and separation distance
measures) to reduce the risk of a vessel interaction with a marine
mammal. Additionally, Sunrise Wind is required to submit reports
frequently to NMFS.
Through adaptive management, NMFS may modify the LOA's mitigation,
monitoring, or reporting measures, based on new information, when
appropriate.
As described in the preamble of the final rule, NMFS has determined
that the take authorized in the LOA is of small numbers of marine
mammals, will have a negligible impact on marine mammal stocks, will
not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the
affected marine mammal stock for subsistence uses, and the mitigation
measures provide a means of affecting the least practicable adverse
impact on the affected stocks and their habitat.
Dated: June 24, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-14156 Filed 6-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
