Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Military Readiness Activities in the Hawaii-California Training and Testing Study Area, 100982-100984 [2024-29416]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Notices
Comment 4: State Pipe & Supply Inc.’s
(State Pipe’s) General and
Administrative (G&A) Expense Ratio
Calculation
Comment 5: Whether to Calculate State
Pipe’s G&A Expenses on a CompanyWide Basis
Comment 6: Whether to Apply State Pipe’s
Financial and G&A Ratios to Per-Unit
Costs on the Same Basis as the
Denominator Used to Calculate the
Ratios
Comment 7: Whether to Revise State Pipe’s
Reported Indirect Selling Expenses to
Include the Full G&A Expense Amount
Incurred
Comment 8: Whether to Include Certain
Omitted Costs in Hyundai Steel’s G&A
Expenses
Comment 9: Whether to Exclude
Investment Related Accounts From
Hyundai Steel’s Net Interest Expenses
VI. Recommendation
Appendix II—Companies Not Selected
for Individual Review
1. AJU Besteel Co., Ltd.
2. Chang Won Bending Co., Ltd.
3. Daiduck Piping Co., Ltd.
4. Dong Yang Steel Pipe Co., Ltd.
5. Dongbu Incheon Steel Co., Ltd.
6. EEW KHPC Co., Ltd.
7. EEW Korea Co., Ltd.
8. Geumok Tech. Co. Ltd.
9. Hansol Metal Co. Ltd.
10. HiSteel Co., Ltd.
11. Husteel Co., Ltd.
12. Hyundai RB Co., Ltd.
13. Il Jin Nts Co. Ltd.
14. Kiduck Industries Co., Ltd.
15. Kum Kang Kind. Co., Ltd.
16. Kumsoo Connecting Co., Ltd.
17. Nexteel Co., Ltd.
18. Seonghwa Industrial Co., Ltd.
19. SIN–E B&P Co., Ltd.
20. Steel Flower Co., Ltd.
21. WELTECH Co., Ltd.
[FR Doc. 2024–29318 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Seafood Inspection and
Certification 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
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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 September
9, 2024 during a 60-day comment
period. This notice allows for an
additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration,
Commerce.
Title: Seafood Inspection and
Certification Requirements.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0266.
Form Number(s): 89–800, 89–801, and
89–814.
Type of Request: Regular submission
[revision and extension of a current
information collection].
Number of Respondents: 1,012.
Average Hours per Response: 0.0833
hours to complete the Application for
Inspection Services, Surety Bond, and
the contract completion. 0.5 hours for
an Application for Appeal. 0.25 hours to
complete the Label and Specification
submission. 60 hours to submit the
HACCP for new applicants, and 40
hours to submit the HACCP for current
applicants.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 23,067
hours.
Needs and Uses: This request is for
the revision and extension of a current
information collection. The National
Marine Fisheries Service operates a feefor-service Seafood Inspection Program
(SIP), available to all segments of the
seafood industry. Participants request
services such as product inspection,
export health and legal harvest
certification, and facility approval.
Information is collected from
participants to confirm the identity of
products being inspected and certified,
as well as to show compliance with
Program requirements. The
implementing regulations for this
Program at 50 CFR 260 are being
updated to bring the regulation more in
line with current practices, remove
outdated text, and streamline seafood
inspection services. The last updated
information collection (published
January 19, 2022, with expiration date
January 31, 2025) already included all of
the changes proposed with this
rulemaking, including the shift to online
inspection and service requests and
housing day-to-day procedures in the
online SIP Manual versus in codified
text. The information collection is being
revised and extended to add a
previously overlooked Surety form and
adjust the burden figures.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Frequency: Varies, On occasion and
annually.
PO 00000
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Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Legal Authority: The National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) operates the
fee-for-service Seafood Inspection
Program (SIP) under the authorities of
the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946
(7 U.S.C 38), as amended, and the Fish
and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C
742a–742j).
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 0648–0266.
Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office
of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024–29357 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XE490]
Taking and Importing Marine
Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Military Readiness
Activities in the Hawaii-California
Training and Testing Study Area
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for
regulations and letters of authorization;
request for comments and information.
AGENCY:
NMFS has received a request
from the U.S. Department of the Navy
(including the U.S. Navy and the U.S.
Marine Corps (Navy)) and on behalf of
the U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard) and
U.S. Army (Army; hereafter, Navy, Coast
Guard, and Army are collectively
referred to as Action Proponents) for
authorization to take marine mammals
incidental to training, testing, and
modernization and sustainment of
ranges conducted in the HawaiiCalifornia Training and Testing (HCTT)
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Notices
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
Study Area over the course of 7 years
from December 2025 through December
2032. Pursuant to regulations
implementing the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is
announcing receipt of the Action
Proponents’ request for the development
and implementation of regulations
governing the incidental taking of
marine mammals and issuance of four 7year Letters of Authorization (LOAs).
NMFS invites the public to provide
information, suggestions, and comments
on the Action Proponents’ application
and request.
DATES: Comments and information must
be received no later than January 13,
2025.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be
addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief,
Permits and Conservation Division,
Office of Protected Resources, National
Marine Fisheries Service, and should be
submitted via email to ITP.davis@
noaa.gov. An electronic copy of the
Action Proponents’ application may be
obtained online at: https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-military-readinessactivities. In case of problems accessing
the document, please call the contact
listed below.
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, including all
attachments, must not exceed a 25megabyte file size. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will be generally posted online at:
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/
national/marine-mammal-protection/
incidental-take-authorizations-militaryreadiness-activities 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:
Leah Davis, 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
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commercial fishing) within a specified
geographical region if certain findings
are made and either regulations are
proposed or, if the taking is limited to
harassment, a 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
taking for subsistence uses (where
relevant). Further, 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 the species or stocks for
taking for certain subsistence uses
(referred to in shorthand as
‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements
pertaining to the monitoring and
reporting of the takings.
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.
The National Defense Authorization
Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2004 (Pub.
L. 108–136) amended section 101(a)(5)
of the MMPA to remove the ‘‘small
numbers’’ and ‘‘specified geographical
region’’ provisions and amended the
definition of ‘‘harassment’’ as applied to
a ‘‘military readiness activity’’ to read as
follows (section 3(18)(B) of the MMPA):
(i) Any act that injures or has the
significant potential to injure a marine
mammal or marine mammal stock in the
wild (Level A Harassment); or (ii) Any
act that disturbs or is likely to disturb
a marine mammal or marine mammal
stock in the wild by causing disruption
of natural behavioral patterns,
including, but not limited to, migration,
surfacing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or
sheltering, to a point where such
behavioral patterns are abandoned or
significantly altered (Level B
Harassment). On August 13, 2018, the
NDAA for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L.
115–232) amended the MMPA to allow
incidental take regulations for military
readiness activities to be issued for up
to 7 years.
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100983
Summary of Request
On September 16, 2024, NMFS
received an application from the Action
Proponents requesting authorization to
take marine mammals, by Level A and
Level B harassment, incidental to
training, testing, and modernization and
sustainment of ranges (all characterized
as military readiness activities)
including the use of sonar and other
transducers, in-air detonations, in-water
detonations, air guns, and impact and
vibratory pile driving and extraction in
the HCTT Study Area. In addition, the
Action Proponents are requesting
authorization of 146 takes by mortality
of 11 marine mammal species from
explosives during Navy training
exercises, 27 takes by mortality of 7
marine mammal species from explosives
(including ship shock trials) during
Navy testing activities, and 9 takes of
large whales by serious injury or
mortality from vessel strikes over the 7year period of the LOAs: 5 takes
incidental to the Navy’s training and
testing activities, and 4 takes incidental
to the Coast Guard’s training activities.
In response to our comments and
following information exchange, the
Action Proponents submitted a final
revised application that we determined
was adequate and complete on
December 12, 2024. The Action
Proponents requested the regulations
and subsequent LOAs be valid for 7
years beginning in December 2025.
This will be the fourth time NMFS
has promulgated incidental take
regulations pursuant to the MMPA
relating to similar military readiness
activities in HCTT, following those
effective from January 5, 2009, through
January 5, 2014, (74 FR 1456, January
12, 2009), from December 24, 2013,
through December 24, 2018 (78 FR
78106, December 24, 2013), and from
December 21, 2018, through December
20, 2023 (83 FR 66846, December 27,
2018), which was subsequently
extended until December 20, 2025 (85
FR 41780, July 10, 2020) due to
amendments to the NDAA (Pub. L. 115–
232).
Description of the Specified Activity
The HCTT Study Area includes areas
in the north-central Pacific Ocean, from
California west to Hawaii and the
International Date Line, and including
the Hawaii Range Complex (HRC),
Southern California (SOCAL) Range
Complex, Point Mugu Sea Range
(PMSR), Silver Strand Training
Complex, and the Northern California
(NOCAL) Range Complex. The HRC
encompasses ocean areas around the
Hawaiian Islands, extending from 16
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Notices
degrees north latitude to 43 degrees
north latitude and from 150 degrees
west longitude to the International Date
Line. The SOCAL Range Complex is
located approximately between Dana
Point, California and San Antonio,
Mexico, and extends southwest into the
Pacific Ocean. The PMSR is located
adjacent to Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa
Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties
along the Pacific Coast of Southern
California. The Silver Strand Training
Complex is an integrated set of training
areas located on and adjacent to the
Silver Strand, a narrow, sandy isthmus
separating the San Diego Bay from the
Pacific Ocean. The NOCAL Range
Complex consists of two separate areas
located offshore of central and northern
California, one northwest of San
Francisco and the other southwest of
Monterey Bay. Please refer to figure 1–
1 of the application for a map of the
HCTT Study Area, figure 2–1 through
figure 2–6 for additional maps of the
Hawaii Study Area and figure 2–7
through figure 2–17 for additional maps
of the California Study Area.
The following types of training and
testing, which are classified as military
readiness activities pursuant to the
section 315(f) of Public Law 101–314
(16 U.S.C. 703), are included in the
specified activity described in the
Action Proponents application:
• Amphibious warfare (in-water
detonations);
• Anti-submarine warfare (sonar and
other transducers, in-water detonations);
• Expeditionary warfare (in-water
detonations, pile driving/extraction);
• Mine warfare (sonar and other
transducers, in-water detonations);
• Surface warfare (in-water
detonations); and
• Other (sonar and other transducers,
air guns, vessel movement, missile and
target launch noise from locations on
San Nicolas Island, missile and aerial
target launch noise from the Pacific
Missile Range Facility (PMRF), artillery
firing noise from shore to surface
gunnery at PMRF).
The application includes proposed
mitigation measures for marine
mammals that would be implemented
during training and testing activities in
the HCTT Study Area (see section 11 of
the application). Proposed procedural
mitigation generally involves: (1) the
use of one or more trained Lookouts to
diligently observe for specific biological
resources within a mitigation zone, (2)
requirements for Lookouts to
immediately communicate sightings of
specific biological resources to the
appropriate watch station for
information dissemination, and (3)
requirements for the watch station to
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implement mitigation (e.g., halt an
activity) until certain recommencement
conditions have been met. Mitigation
measures are also proposed for specific
mitigation areas and consist of a variety
of measures including, but not limited
to: conducting a certain number of
major training exercises per year, not
planning or avoid planning major
training exercises, minimizing or not
conducting active sonar, conducting a
limited amount of hull-mounted midfrequency active sonar per year, not
expending explosive or non-explosive
ordnance, and implementing vessel
speed reductions in certain
circumstances.
The Action Proponents also propose
to undertake monitoring and reporting
efforts to better understand the impacts
of their activities on marine mammals
and their habitat, track compliance with
take authorizations, and to help
investigate the effectiveness of
implemented mitigation measures in the
HCTT Study Area.
Disabled, 355 E Street SW, Suite 325,
Washington, DC 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information or to submit
comments contact: Mike Jurkowski,
Telephone: (703) 489–1322, or email
CMTEFedReg@AbilityOne.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
notice is published pursuant to 41
U.S.C. 8503 (a)(2) and 41 CFR 51–2.3. Its
purpose is to provide interested persons
an opportunity to submit comments on
the proposed actions.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit
information, suggestions, and comments
concerning the Action Proponents’
request (see ADDRESSES). NMFS will
consider all information, suggestions,
and comments related to the request
during the development of proposed
regulations governing the incidental
taking of marine mammals by the
Action Proponents, if appropriate.
Michael R. Jurkowski,
Director, Business Operations.
Dated: December 10, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–29416 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM
PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR
SEVERELY DISABLED
Procurement List; Propose Deletions
Committee for Purchase From
People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled.
ACTION: Proposed Deletions from the
Procurement List.
AGENCY:
The Committee is proposing
to delete service(s) from the
Procurement List that were furnished by
nonprofit agencies employing persons
who are blind or have other severe
disabilities.
SUMMARY:
Comments must be received on
or before: January 12, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase
From People Who Are Blind or Severely
DATES:
PO 00000
Frm 00036
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Deletions
The following service(s) are proposed
for deletion from the Procurement List:
Service(s)
Service Type: Food Service
Mandatory for: Kirtland Air Force Base,
Kirtland AFB, NM
Authorized Source of Supply: LifeROOTS,
Inc., Albuquerque, NM
Contracting Activity: Dept of the Air Force,
FA7014 AFDW, PK
[FR Doc. 2024–29424 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6353–01–P
COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM
PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR
SEVERELY DISABLED
Notice of Meeting
Committee for Purchase from
People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
AGENCY:
January 23, 2025, from 1 p.m. to
4 p.m. ET.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held
virtually only via Zoom webinar.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Angela Phifer, 355 E Street SW, Suite
325, Washington, DC 20024; (703) 798–
5873; CMTEFedReg@AbilityOne.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: The Committee for
Purchase From People Who Are Blind
or Severely Disabled is an independent
government agency operating as the U.S.
AbilityOne Commission. It oversees the
AbilityOne Program, which provides
employment opportunities through
Federal contracts for people who are
blind or have significant disabilities in
the manufacture and delivery of
products and services to the Federal
Government. The Javits-Wagner-O’Day
Act (41 U.S.C. chapter 85) authorizes
the contracts.
Registration: Attendees not requesting
speaking time should register not later
DATES:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 240 (Friday, December 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 100982-100984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29416]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE490]
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Military Readiness Activities in the Hawaii-California
Training and Testing Study Area
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for regulations and letters of
authorization; request for comments and information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Department of the
Navy (including the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps (Navy)) and on
behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard) and U.S. Army (Army;
hereafter, Navy, Coast Guard, and Army are collectively referred to as
Action Proponents) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental
to training, testing, and modernization and sustainment of ranges
conducted in the Hawaii-California Training and Testing (HCTT)
[[Page 100983]]
Study Area over the course of 7 years from December 2025 through
December 2032. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of the Action
Proponents' request for the development and implementation of
regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and
issuance of four 7-year Letters of Authorization (LOAs). NMFS invites
the public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on the
Action Proponents' application and request.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than January
13, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief,
Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service, and should be submitted via email to
[email protected]. An electronic copy of the Action Proponents'
application may be obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-military-readiness-activities. In case of problems accessing the
document, please call the contact listed below.
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, including all attachments, must
not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. All comments received are a part of
the public record and will be generally posted online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-military-readiness-activities 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: Leah Davis, 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 and either regulations
are proposed or, if the taking is limited to harassment, a 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 taking for subsistence uses
(where relevant). Further, 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 the species or stocks for
taking for certain subsistence uses (referred to in shorthand as
``mitigation''); and requirements pertaining to the monitoring and
reporting of the takings.
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.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2004
(Pub. L. 108-136) amended section 101(a)(5) of the MMPA to remove the
``small numbers'' and ``specified geographical region'' provisions and
amended the definition of ``harassment'' as applied to a ``military
readiness activity'' to read as follows (section 3(18)(B) of the MMPA):
(i) Any act that injures or has the significant potential to injure a
marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild (Level A Harassment);
or (ii) Any act that disturbs or is likely to disturb a marine mammal
or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of natural
behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration,
surfacing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering, to a point where
such behavioral patterns are abandoned or significantly altered (Level
B Harassment). On August 13, 2018, the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub.
L. 115-232) amended the MMPA to allow incidental take regulations for
military readiness activities to be issued for up to 7 years.
Summary of Request
On September 16, 2024, NMFS received an application from the Action
Proponents requesting authorization to take marine mammals, by Level A
and Level B harassment, incidental to training, testing, and
modernization and sustainment of ranges (all characterized as military
readiness activities) including the use of sonar and other transducers,
in-air detonations, in-water detonations, air guns, and impact and
vibratory pile driving and extraction in the HCTT Study Area. In
addition, the Action Proponents are requesting authorization of 146
takes by mortality of 11 marine mammal species from explosives during
Navy training exercises, 27 takes by mortality of 7 marine mammal
species from explosives (including ship shock trials) during Navy
testing activities, and 9 takes of large whales by serious injury or
mortality from vessel strikes over the 7-year period of the LOAs: 5
takes incidental to the Navy's training and testing activities, and 4
takes incidental to the Coast Guard's training activities. In response
to our comments and following information exchange, the Action
Proponents submitted a final revised application that we determined was
adequate and complete on December 12, 2024. The Action Proponents
requested the regulations and subsequent LOAs be valid for 7 years
beginning in December 2025.
This will be the fourth time NMFS has promulgated incidental take
regulations pursuant to the MMPA relating to similar military readiness
activities in HCTT, following those effective from January 5, 2009,
through January 5, 2014, (74 FR 1456, January 12, 2009), from December
24, 2013, through December 24, 2018 (78 FR 78106, December 24, 2013),
and from December 21, 2018, through December 20, 2023 (83 FR 66846,
December 27, 2018), which was subsequently extended until December 20,
2025 (85 FR 41780, July 10, 2020) due to amendments to the NDAA (Pub.
L. 115-232).
Description of the Specified Activity
The HCTT Study Area includes areas in the north-central Pacific
Ocean, from California west to Hawaii and the International Date Line,
and including the Hawaii Range Complex (HRC), Southern California
(SOCAL) Range Complex, Point Mugu Sea Range (PMSR), Silver Strand
Training Complex, and the Northern California (NOCAL) Range Complex.
The HRC encompasses ocean areas around the Hawaiian Islands, extending
from 16
[[Page 100984]]
degrees north latitude to 43 degrees north latitude and from 150
degrees west longitude to the International Date Line. The SOCAL Range
Complex is located approximately between Dana Point, California and San
Antonio, Mexico, and extends southwest into the Pacific Ocean. The PMSR
is located adjacent to Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San
Luis Obispo Counties along the Pacific Coast of Southern California.
The Silver Strand Training Complex is an integrated set of training
areas located on and adjacent to the Silver Strand, a narrow, sandy
isthmus separating the San Diego Bay from the Pacific Ocean. The NOCAL
Range Complex consists of two separate areas located offshore of
central and northern California, one northwest of San Francisco and the
other southwest of Monterey Bay. Please refer to figure 1-1 of the
application for a map of the HCTT Study Area, figure 2-1 through figure
2-6 for additional maps of the Hawaii Study Area and figure 2-7 through
figure 2-17 for additional maps of the California Study Area.
The following types of training and testing, which are classified
as military readiness activities pursuant to the section 315(f) of
Public Law 101-314 (16 U.S.C. 703), are included in the specified
activity described in the Action Proponents application:
Amphibious warfare (in-water detonations);
Anti-submarine warfare (sonar and other transducers, in-
water detonations);
Expeditionary warfare (in-water detonations, pile driving/
extraction);
Mine warfare (sonar and other transducers, in-water
detonations);
Surface warfare (in-water detonations); and
Other (sonar and other transducers, air guns, vessel
movement, missile and target launch noise from locations on San Nicolas
Island, missile and aerial target launch noise from the Pacific Missile
Range Facility (PMRF), artillery firing noise from shore to surface
gunnery at PMRF).
The application includes proposed mitigation measures for marine
mammals that would be implemented during training and testing
activities in the HCTT Study Area (see section 11 of the application).
Proposed procedural mitigation generally involves: (1) the use of one
or more trained Lookouts to diligently observe for specific biological
resources within a mitigation zone, (2) requirements for Lookouts to
immediately communicate sightings of specific biological resources to
the appropriate watch station for information dissemination, and (3)
requirements for the watch station to implement mitigation (e.g., halt
an activity) until certain recommencement conditions have been met.
Mitigation measures are also proposed for specific mitigation areas and
consist of a variety of measures including, but not limited to:
conducting a certain number of major training exercises per year, not
planning or avoid planning major training exercises, minimizing or not
conducting active sonar, conducting a limited amount of hull-mounted
mid-frequency active sonar per year, not expending explosive or non-
explosive ordnance, and implementing vessel speed reductions in certain
circumstances.
The Action Proponents also propose to undertake monitoring and
reporting efforts to better understand the impacts of their activities
on marine mammals and their habitat, track compliance with take
authorizations, and to help investigate the effectiveness of
implemented mitigation measures in the HCTT Study Area.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning the Action Proponents' request (see ADDRESSES).
NMFS will consider all information, suggestions, and comments related
to the request during the development of proposed regulations governing
the incidental taking of marine mammals by the Action Proponents, if
appropriate.
Dated: December 10, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-29416 Filed 12-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
