[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38308-38309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-18311]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 050195E]


Small Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Lockheed Launch Vehicles at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of issuance of an incidental harassment authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that an Incidental 
Harassment Authorization to take small numbers of harbor seals by 
harassment incidental to launches of Lockheed's launch vehicles (LLVs) 
at Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6), Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA (VAFB) 
has been issued.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This authorization is effective from July 18, 1995 
until July 18, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The application and authorization are available for review 
in the following offices: Marine Mammal Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and 
the Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90802.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth Hollingshead, Marine Mammal 
Division, Office of Protected Resources at 301-713-2055, or Craig 
Wingert, Southwest Regional Office at 301-980-4021.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs 
the Secretary of Commerce 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 and 
regulations are issued.
    Permission may 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 subsistence uses; and the permissible methods of taking 
and requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such 
taking are set forth.
    On April 30, 1994, the President signed Public Law 103-238, the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994. One part of this law 
added a new subsection 101(a)(5)(D) to the MMPA to establish an 
expedited process by which citizens of the United States can receive an 
authorization, without regulations, to incidentally take small numbers 
of marine mammals by harassment. New subsection 101(a)(5)(D) 
establishes a 45-day time limit for NMFS review of an application 
followed by a 30-day public notice and comment period on any proposed 
authorizations for the incidental harassment of small numbers of marine 
mammals. Within 45 days after the comment period, NMFS must either 
issue, or deny issuance, of the authorization.
    On March 13, 1995, NMFS received an application from Lockheed 
requesting an authorization for the harassment of small numbers of 
harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) incidental to LLV launches at SLC-6, 
VAFB. These launches would place commercial payloads into low earth 
orbit using its family of vehicles (LLV-1, LLV-2 and LLV-3). Because of 
the requirements for circumpolar trajectories of the LLV and its 
payloads, the use of SLC-6 is the only feasible alternative within the 
United States. Lockheed intends to launch approximately two LLVs during 
the period of this proposed 1-year authorization (Air Force, 
1995)1. The noise associated with the launch itself and the 
resultant sonic boom have the potential to cause a startle response to 
harbor seals that haul out on the coastline south and southwest of VAFB 
and possibly on the northern Channel Islands. Launch noise would be 
expected to occur over the coastal habitats in the vicinity of SLC-6 
while low-level sonic booms potentially could be heard on the Channel 
Islands, specifically San Miguel Island (SMI) and Santa Rosa Island.

    \1\ A list of references used in this document can be obtained 
by writing to the address provided above (see ADDRESSES).
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    A notice of receipt of the application and the proposed 
authorization was published on May 10, 1995 (60 FR 24840) and a 30-day 
public comment period was provided on the application and proposed 
authorization. During the comment period, one comment was received. The 
Marine Mammal Commission recommended that NMFS (1) determine whether 
additional marine mammals should be included in the authorization; (2) 
justify the conclusion that no harbor seals, including pups, would be 
killed or seriously injured during launches; and (3) demonstrate that 
only small numbers of harbor seals or other marine mammals would be 
taken. These recommendations are discussed in detail below. Other than 
information necessary to respond to the comments, additional background 
information on the activity and request can be found in the above-
mentioned notice and needs not be repeated here.
    1. Determine whether additional marine mammals should be included 
in the authorization. While there are approximately 29 species of 
cetaceans and 6 species of pinnipeds that have the potential to be 
under the flight path of the LLV and thereby subject to hearing either 
launch or sonic boom noise, only harbor seals are expected to haul out 
along the coast at VAFB and be subject to taking by harassment. Launch 
noises, which are predicted to be about 93 dBA (118 dB) at the 
principal haulout at Rocky Point, are expected to be almost 
unnoticeable offshore. In order to be detectable by a marine mammal, 
noise needs to be greater than ambient within the same frequency band 
as the animal's hearing range. With launch noises attenuating to 
approximately 85 dBA within 2.5 km offshore, and ambient noise level 
expected to range between 56 and 96 dBA (Lockheed, 1995), there is no 
scientific evidence that any marine mammals, other than harbor seals 
onshore at the time of launch, would be subject to harassment by launch 
noises, although the potential does exist that other marine mammal 
species may hear the launch noise.
    Sonic booms resulting from launches of the LLV vary with the type 
of vehicle, vehicle trajectory and the specific ground location. Sonic 
booms are not expected to intersect with the ocean surface until the 
vehicle changes its launch trajectory. This location will vary 
depending upon the LLV type, but will be well offshore. For example, 
the sonic boom from LLV-3 (the largest of the LLV rockets) is not 
expected to intersect any portion of the northern Channel Islands, but 
instead will focus approximately 37 miles from the launch site, in open 
water southwest of the Channel Islands.
    The maximum magnitude of sonic booms from launches of the LLV-1 
(6.3 lb/ft2 (psf)/130.7.6 dB), LLV-2 (3.5 psf/125.6 dB) and the 
LLV-3 (3.5 psf/125.6 dB), as predicted by Lockheed, will be less than 
those measured for other launch vehicles, such as the Titan IV and the 
Space Shuttle (10 psf), for 

[[Page 38309]]
which small take authorizations for harassment have been issued 
previously (see 56 FR 41628, August 22, 1991 and 51 FR 11737, April 7, 
1986). Also, while it is predicted that launches of the LLV-1 and LLV-2 
will produce sonic booms over portions of the Channel Islands, the 
maximum overall sound pressure levels over the islands are not expected 
to exceed 80 dBA and in most cases will not exceed 70 dBA (Air Force, 
1995). These sonic boom levels are likely to be indistinguishable from 
background noises caused by wind and surf (Air Force, 1995). 
Furthermore, as the expected noise level is well below the threshold 
response criteria of 101.8 dBA identified during previous research on 
harbor seal behavior resulting from sonic booms (Stewart et al., 1993), 
and as harbor seals have shown themselves to be more sensitive to noise 
than other species of seals and sea lions (Bowles and Stewart, 1980) 
and, therefore, more likely to flee to the water than other pinniped 
species, there is no evidence that either harbor seals or other 
pinniped species on the Channel Islands would be impacted by sonic 
booms from LLVs. However, to ensure that this assumption is valid, NMFS 
will require acoustic monitoring of the first launch of each type of 
LLV that takes place at the same time that pinnipeds are hauled out on 
SMI to determine sound pressure levels. If noise levels exceed the 
predicted levels, and/or there are indications that pinnipeds responded 
to the sonic booms, Lockheed will be requested to seek a modification 
to its authorization to include pinnipeds on the Channel Islands.
    Cetaceans and pinnipeds in the water should also be unaffected by 
the sonic booms, although, depending upon location and ambient noise 
levels, they may be able to hear the sonic boom. First, sound entering 
a water surface at an angle greater than 13 degrees from the vertical 
has been shown to be largely deflected at the surface with very little 
sound entering the water (Chappell, 1980; Richardson et al., 1991), 
although rough seas may provide some surfaces at the proper angle for 
penetration (Richardson et al., 1991). As this area is relatively 
small, the chance that a marine mammal would be within it and thereby 
capable of hearing the sonic boom is low. Also, Chappell (1980) 
believes that a sonic boom would need to have a peak overpressure in 
the range of 138 to 169 dB to cause a temporary hearing threshold shift 
(TTS) in marine mammals, lasting at most a few minutes. Therefore, with 
the likelihood that a marine mammal will be directly under the line of 
flight of the LLV being remote, and with the LLVs having overpressures 
below the threshold for potentially causing TTS in marine mammals, NMFS 
believes that sonic booms are not likely to result in the harassment of 
cetacean or pinniped populations in offshore southern California.
    2. Justify the conclusion that no harbor seals, including pups, 
would be killed or seriously injured during launches. NMFS is not aware 
of any Titan IV launchings by the U.S. Air Force during the harbor seal 
pupping season (February through end of May (post-weaning)); direct 
observations to conclude whether harbor seal pups would be incidentally 
killed or seriously injured during launches or not is therefore not 
available. However, several studies on other pinniped species support 
this assumption. First, Stewart (1981, 1982) exposed breeding 
California sea lions and northern elephant seals on San Nicolas Island 
to loud implosive noises created by a carbide pest control cannon. 
Sound pressure levels varied from 125.7 to 146.9 dB. While behavioral 
responses of each species varied by sex, age, and season, Stewart found 
that habitat use, population growth, and pup survival of both species 
appeared unaffected by periodic exposure to the noise. In addition, 
while monitoring the August 2, 1993, Titan IV launch, Stewart et al. 
(1993) reported that the rocket explosion created a sonic boom-like 
pressure wave that caused approximately 45 percent of the California 
sea lions (approximately 23,400, including 14 to 15 thousand 1-month 
old pups, were hauled-out on SMI during the launch) and 2 percent of 
the northern fur seals to enter the surf zone. Although approximately 
15 percent of the sea lion pups were temporarily abandoned when their 
mothers fled into the surf, no injuries or mortalities were observed. 
After forming rafts offshore, most animals returned to shore within 2 
hours of the disturbance (Stewart et al., 1993). However, to ensure 
that no harbor seals (or other pinnipeds) are killed or seriously 
injured by launchings of LLVs, monitoring of the impact of LLV launches 
on the harbor seal haulouts at Rocky Point or in the absence of harbor 
seals at that location, at another South VAFB location, and on the 
northern part of SMI during the 1-year period of authorization will be 
required.
    3. Demonstrate that only small numbers of harbor seals or other 
marine mammals would be taken. Based upon the information discussed 
above, NMFS believes that only those harbor seals hauled out along the 
coast of VAFB at the time of either of the two planned launches could 
potentially be taken by harassment. As the population at this haulout 
numbers fewer than 500 animals at the peak haulout time of the year 
(Lockheed, 1995), and as only a portion of the population is expected 
to react to launch noises, NMFS considers that this authorization will 
result in the taking by harassment of only a small number of harbor 
seals and have a negligible impact on the species.
    Therefore, since NMFS is assured that the taking will not result in 
more than the harassment (as defined by the MMPA Amendments of 1994) of 
a small number of harbor seals, would have only a negligible impact on 
the species, and would result in the least practicable impact on the 
stock, NMFS has determined that the requirements of section 
101(a)(5)(D) have been met and the authorization can be issued.

    Dated: July 19, 1995.
Patricia A. Montanio,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-18311 Filed 7-25-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F