[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]
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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.
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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]
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