[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 24, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38437-38439]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-18791]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 042696B]


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-Martin's launch vehicles 
(LMLVs) at Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6), Vandenberg Air Force Base, 
CA (Vandenberg) has been issued.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This authorization is effective from July 18, 1996 
through July 17, 1997.


[[Page 38438]]


ADDRESSES: The application, authorization and list of references used 
in this determination 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, Office of 
Protected Resources at 301-713-2055, or Irma Lagomarsino, Southwest 
Regional Office at 310-980-4016.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs 
NMFS 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.
    The MMPA Amendments of 1994 established an expedited process by 
which citizens of the United States can apply for an authorization to 
incidentally take small numbers of marine mammals by harassment. The 
MMPA defines ``harassment'' as:

     * * *any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which (a) has 
the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in 
the wild; or (b) 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.

    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 of the 
close of the comment period, NMFS must either issue or deny issuance of 
the authorization.

Summary of Request

    On April 1, 1996, NMFS received an application from the U.S. Air 
Force, Vandenberg, requesting continuation of an authorization for the 
harassment of small numbers of harbor seals incidental to launches of 
LMLVs at SLC-6, Vandenberg. These launches would place commercial 
payloads into low earth orbit. Because of the requirements for 
circumpolar trajectories of the LMLV and its payloads, the use of SLC-6 
is the only feasible alternative for LMLV launches within the United 
States. As a result of the noise associated with the launch itself and 
the resultant sonic boom, these noises have the potential to cause a 
startle response to those harbor seals which haul out on the coastline 
south and southwest of Vandenberg and may be detectable to marine 
mammals west of the Channel Islands. Launch noise would be expected to 
occur over the coastal habitats in the vicinity of SLC-6 while low-
level sonic booms could be heard west of the Channel Islands.

Comments and Responses

    A notice of receipt of the application and the proposed 
authorization was published on May 2, 1996 (61 FR 19609) and a 30-day 
public comment period was provided on the application and proposed 
authorization. During the comment period, two letters were received. 
The comments contained in these letters are addressed below. Other than 
information necessary to respond to the comments, additional background 
information on the activity and request can be found in the proposed 
authorization notice and previous notices (60 FR 24840, May 10, 1995; 
60 FR 38308, July 26, 1995) on LMLV launches. Therefore this 
information is not repeated here. These documents are available from 
NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
    Comment 1: The Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) recommended that NMFS 
obtain and assess the monitoring results from the 1995 authorization to 
determine whether the conclusions made are justified.
    Response 1: On August 15, 1995, Lockheed launched an LLV-1 rocket 
from SLC-6. Monitoring by population census, still photography, and 
video taping, indicated that, as expected, the launch noise produced a 
startle and flight response in hauled-out harbor seals at and near 
Rocky Point. Populations on beaches used for hauling out were reduced 
from approximately 191 animals to 21 animals during the day of the 
launch, as a result of launch activities, but returned to pre-launch 
status (193 harbor seals) by the morning following the launch (Pollard 
1995).
    The intensity of sonic booms from the LMLV, which are predicted to 
impinge on San Miguel Island at less than 60 dBA, are close enough to 
ambient noise that they are not expected to cause any disturbances of 
pinnipeds inhabiting the Channel Islands. During the launch of the 
first (and only) LLV, no evidence of disturbance to the rookery on San 
Miguel Island was observed immediately following the arrival of the 
sonic boom created by the rocket (Howorth 1995).
    Comment 2: The MMC recommended that NMFS require that any marine 
mammal mortalities or serious injuries, or possible mortalities or 
injuries, be reported immediately.
    Response 2: NMFS agrees and has conditioned the incidental 
harassment authorization accordingly.
    Comment 3: The MMC recommended that NMFS and the Air Force consult 
to determine whether authorization under section 101(a)(5)(A) would be 
more appropriate than annual authorizations for each launch vehicle.
    Response 3: Several previous authorization notices have noted that 
NMFS anticipates that 1-year authorizations for each rocket type will 
be replaced in the near future by a new set of regulations, under 
section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA, governing incidental takes of marine 
mammals by launches of all rocket types from Vandenberg. An application 
for a small take authorization under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA 
is presently in preparation by the Air Force.
    Comment 4: Save Our Coast was concerned about the adverse effect of 
increasing rocket launches from Vandenberg on harbor seals and 
considered monitoring to be of utmost importance.
    Response 4: Monitoring continues to be required for this and all 
incidental harassment authorizations for activities at Vandenberg. 
Under the proposed programmatic authorization mentioned in Response 3, 
cumulative impacts by all rocket launches at Vandenberg will need to be 
addressed.

Conclusion

    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.

Authorization

    For the above reasons, NMFS has issued an incidental harassment 
authorization for 1 year for the above described activity provided the 
above

[[Page 38439]]

mentioned mitigation, monitoring and reporting requirements are 
undertaken.

    Dated: July 17, 1996.
Patricia A. Montanio,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-18791 Filed 7-23-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F