Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Construction of the Vineyard Northeast Offshore Wind Project Offshore of Massachusetts and Connecticut, 102115-102116 [2024-29574]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 / Notices
II. Method of Collection
Electronic formats are the preferred
method for submitting Coastal and
Estuarine Land Conservation Planning,
Protection or Restoration (CELCP) plans,
land conservation project applications,
performance reports and other required
materials. However, respondents may
submit materials in electronic or paper
formats. Project applications are
normally submitted electronically via
Grants.gov, but may be submitted by
mail in paper form if electronic
submittal is not a viable option.
Methods of submittal for plans,
performance reports or other required
materials primarily include electronic
submittal via email, secure file transfer,
or eRA Commons, with submittal of
paper forms or electronic files by mail
if necessary.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
III. Data
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Type of Review: Regular submission
(extension of a currently approved
information collection).
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Government; not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
55.
Estimated Time per Response: CELCP
Plans, 120 hours to develop, 35 hours to
revise or update; project application and
checklist, 20 hours; semi-annual and
annual reporting, 5 hours each.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 1,455.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $55 in recordkeeping/reporting
costs.
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Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Legal Authority: Coastal Zone
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1451, et
seq.).
IV. Request for Comments
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permit the Department/Bureau to: (a)
Evaluate whether the proposed
information collection is necessary for
the proper functions of the Department,
including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the
accuracy of our estimate of the time and
cost burden for this proposed collection,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c)
Evaluate ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) Minimize the
reporting burden on those who are to
respond, including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:45 Dec 16, 2024
Jkt 265001
public record. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before
including your address, phone number,
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identifying information in your
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your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
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to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office
of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024–29755 Filed 12–16–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–08–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XE417]
Taking and Importing Marine
Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Construction of the
Vineyard Northeast Offshore Wind
Project Offshore of Massachusetts and
Connecticut
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 Vineyard Northeast, LLC (Vineyard
Northeast), for authorization to take
small numbers of marine mammals
incidental to the development of the
Vineyard Northeast Offshore Wind
Project (Project) in the Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management (BOEM)
Commercial Lease on the Outer
Continental Shelf OCS–A–0522 off of
Massachusetts (MA) and Connecticut
(CT) over the course of 5 years
beginning on January 1, 2028. Pursuant
to regulations implementing the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS
is announcing receipt of Vineyard
Northeast’s request for regulations
governing the incidental taking of
marine mammals and associated Letter
of Authorization (LOA). NMFS invites
the public to provide information,
suggestions, and comments on Vineyard
Northeast’s application and request.
SUMMARY:
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Frm 00012
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
102115
Comments and information must
be received no later than January 16,
2025.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the
applications 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, Maryland
20910 and electronic comments should
be sent to ITP.taylor@noaa.gov.
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 25megabyte 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/
national/marine-mammal-protection/
incidental-take-authorizations-otherenergy-activities-renewable 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.
An electronic copy of Vineyard
Northeast’s application may be obtained
online at: https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-other-energyactivities-renewable. In case of problems
accessing these documents, please call
the contact listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jessica Taylor, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DATES:
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
E:\FR\FM\17DEN1.SGM
17DEN1
102116
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 / Notices
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
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
On May 24, 2024, NMFS received an
application from Vineyard Northeast
requesting authorization to take marine
mammals incidental to the development
of the Project in the BOEM Lease Area
OCS–A–0522 off of MA and CT. In
response to our comments, and
following an extensive information
exchange with NMFS, Vineyard
Northeast submitted a final revised
application on November 18, 2024,
which we deemed adequate and
complete on November 18, 2024.
Vineyard Northeast requests the
regulations and subsequent Letter of
Authorization (LOA) be valid for 5
years, beginning on January 1, 2028.
Vineyard Northeast has proposed to
construct the Project (comprised of two
sub-projects: Project 1 and Project 2)
using impact and vibratory pile driving
of wind turbine generators (WTG)
foundations, impact pile driving of
electrical service platform (ESP)
foundations and a booster station,
vibratory installation and removal of
cofferdams at cable landfall sites,
detonation of unexploded ordinances
(UXOs), site characterization surveys,
seabed preparation and scour protection
application, and inter-array and export
cable trenching, laying, and burial.
Vessels would be used to transport
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:45 Dec 16, 2024
Jkt 265001
crew, supplies, and materials to the
project area to support construction.
Vineyard Northeast has determined that
a subset of these activities (i.e.,
installing piles using impact and
vibratory pile driving, vibratory
installation and removal of cofferdams,
site characterization surveys, and
potential UXO detonation) may result in
the take, by Level A harassment and/or
Level B harassment, of marine
mammals. Therefore, Vineyard
Northeast requests authorization to
incidentally take marine mammals.
Take by mortality or serious injury of
any marine mammal or take by Level A
harassment of North Atlantic right
whales is not requested.
Specified Activities
Vineyard Northeast proposes to
develop, construct, and operate an
offshore wind energy facility in the
BOEM Lease Area OCS–A–0522 along
with associated offshore and onshore
transmission systems. The purpose of
this facility would be to generate
renewable electricity to meet the
demand expressed by northeastern
states and other users in order to
achieve renewable energy and carbon
emission reduction goals. The Lease
Area is located within the southeastern
portion of the MA Wind Energy Area
and is approximately 46 kilometers (29
miles) from Nantucket. Offshore export
cable corridors (OECC) would connect
the Lease Area to landfall sites in MA
and CT. Vineyard Northeast has divided
the Lease Area into Project 1
(northeastern portion) and Project 2
(southwestern portion), as well as
proposed two potential construction
schedules consisting of a 2-year
(Schedule A: 2030–2031) or 4-year
(Schedule B: 2029–2032) timeline. The
Project would consist of up to 160 wind
turbine generator and electrical service
platform positions within the Lease
Area, and up to 4 offshore export cable
bundles with 2 cable bundles making
landfall in MA and 2 cable bundles
making landfall in CT. If high voltage
alternating current (HVAC) cables are
used, Vineyard Northeast may install a
booster station along the MA OECC in
the northwestern portion of Lease Area
OCS–A–0534 to increase efficiency of
electrical transmission.
Vineyard Northeast anticipates the
following activities may potentially
result in the harassment of marine
mammals during the effective period of
the requested regulations and associated
LOA:
• Installing up to 159 WTG monopile
and/or piled jacket foundations with a
maximum diameter of 14 meters (m)
using a 6,600 or 8,000 kilojoules (kJ)
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
impact hammer, vibratory hammer, and
potential drilling;
• Installing up to three ESP
foundations and one booster station
foundation using piled jacket
foundations comprised of 4.25 m pin
piles driven with a 3,500 kJ impact
hammer;
• Installing and removing up to 5
cofferdams comprised of sheet piles
using a vibratory hammer;
• Using HRG equipment to survey the
Lease Area over 64 days; and
• Potential detonation of up to 10
UXOs.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit
information, suggestions, and comments
concerning Vineyard Northeast’s 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 Vineyard
Northeast, if appropriate.
Dated: December 11, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–29574 Filed 12–16–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Notice To Solicit Nominations for
Membership on the National Sea Grant
Advisory Board (NSGAB)
Office of Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research (OAR), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Department of
Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice to solicit nominations for
membership on the National Sea Grant
Advisory Board (NSGAB). https://
seagrant.noaa.gov/About/AdvisoryBoard.
AGENCY:
The National Sea Grant
Advisory Board (NSGAB) advises the
National Sea Grant College Program (Sea
Grant) in the areas of program
evaluation, strategic planning,
education and extension and science
and technology programs. For more
information on this Federal Advisory
Committee please visit the Federal
Advisory Committee database: https://
www.facadatabase.gov/FACA/
FACAPublicPage. This notice also
responds to the Sea Grant Program
Improvement Act of 1976, which
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\17DEN1.SGM
17DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 102115-102116]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29574]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE417]
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Construction of the Vineyard Northeast Offshore Wind
Project Offshore of Massachusetts and Connecticut
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 Vineyard Northeast, LLC
(Vineyard Northeast), for authorization to take small numbers of marine
mammals incidental to the development of the Vineyard Northeast
Offshore Wind Project (Project) in the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease on the Outer Continental Shelf OCS-
A-0522 off of Massachusetts (MA) and Connecticut (CT) over the course
of 5 years beginning on January 1, 2028. Pursuant to regulations
implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is
announcing receipt of Vineyard Northeast's request for regulations
governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and associated Letter
of Authorization (LOA). NMFS invites the public to provide information,
suggestions, and comments on Vineyard Northeast's application and
request.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than January
16, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the applications 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, Maryland 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/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-other-energy-activities-renewable 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.
An electronic copy of Vineyard Northeast's application may be
obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-other-energy-activities-renewable. In case of problems accessing these documents,
please call the contact listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Taylor, 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
[[Page 102116]]
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
On May 24, 2024, NMFS received an application from Vineyard
Northeast requesting authorization to take marine mammals incidental to
the development of the Project in the BOEM Lease Area OCS-A-0522 off of
MA and CT. In response to our comments, and following an extensive
information exchange with NMFS, Vineyard Northeast submitted a final
revised application on November 18, 2024, which we deemed adequate and
complete on November 18, 2024. Vineyard Northeast requests the
regulations and subsequent Letter of Authorization (LOA) be valid for 5
years, beginning on January 1, 2028.
Vineyard Northeast has proposed to construct the Project (comprised
of two sub-projects: Project 1 and Project 2) using impact and
vibratory pile driving of wind turbine generators (WTG) foundations,
impact pile driving of electrical service platform (ESP) foundations
and a booster station, vibratory installation and removal of cofferdams
at cable landfall sites, detonation of unexploded ordinances (UXOs),
site characterization surveys, seabed preparation and scour protection
application, and inter-array and export cable trenching, laying, and
burial. Vessels would be used to transport crew, supplies, and
materials to the project area to support construction. Vineyard
Northeast has determined that a subset of these activities (i.e.,
installing piles using impact and vibratory pile driving, vibratory
installation and removal of cofferdams, site characterization surveys,
and potential UXO detonation) may result in the take, by Level A
harassment and/or Level B harassment, of marine mammals. Therefore,
Vineyard Northeast requests authorization to incidentally take marine
mammals. Take by mortality or serious injury of any marine mammal or
take by Level A harassment of North Atlantic right whales is not
requested.
Specified Activities
Vineyard Northeast proposes to develop, construct, and operate an
offshore wind energy facility in the BOEM Lease Area OCS-A-0522 along
with associated offshore and onshore transmission systems. The purpose
of this facility would be to generate renewable electricity to meet the
demand expressed by northeastern states and other users in order to
achieve renewable energy and carbon emission reduction goals. The Lease
Area is located within the southeastern portion of the MA Wind Energy
Area and is approximately 46 kilometers (29 miles) from Nantucket.
Offshore export cable corridors (OECC) would connect the Lease Area to
landfall sites in MA and CT. Vineyard Northeast has divided the Lease
Area into Project 1 (northeastern portion) and Project 2 (southwestern
portion), as well as proposed two potential construction schedules
consisting of a 2-year (Schedule A: 2030-2031) or 4-year (Schedule B:
2029-2032) timeline. The Project would consist of up to 160 wind
turbine generator and electrical service platform positions within the
Lease Area, and up to 4 offshore export cable bundles with 2 cable
bundles making landfall in MA and 2 cable bundles making landfall in
CT. If high voltage alternating current (HVAC) cables are used,
Vineyard Northeast may install a booster station along the MA OECC in
the northwestern portion of Lease Area OCS-A-0534 to increase
efficiency of electrical transmission.
Vineyard Northeast anticipates the following activities may
potentially result in the harassment of marine mammals during the
effective period of the requested regulations and associated LOA:
Installing up to 159 WTG monopile and/or piled jacket
foundations with a maximum diameter of 14 meters (m) using a 6,600 or
8,000 kilojoules (kJ) impact hammer, vibratory hammer, and potential
drilling;
Installing up to three ESP foundations and one booster
station foundation using piled jacket foundations comprised of 4.25 m
pin piles driven with a 3,500 kJ impact hammer;
Installing and removing up to 5 cofferdams comprised of
sheet piles using a vibratory hammer;
Using HRG equipment to survey the Lease Area over 64 days;
and
Potential detonation of up to 10 UXOs.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning Vineyard Northeast's 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 Vineyard Northeast, if
appropriate.
Dated: December 11, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-29574 Filed 12-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
