[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 3 (Monday, January 6, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 734-735]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-180]



[[Page 734]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 091396A]


Small Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taurus Space 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 (IHA) to take small numbers of seals and sea 
lions by harassment incidental to launches of Taurus space launch 
vehicles (Taurus SLV) at Launch Support Complex 576E (LSC- 576E), 
Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA (Vandenberg) has been issued to the U.S. 
Air Force for a period of 1 year.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This authorization is effective from January 1, 1997, 
through December 31, 1997.

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 Irma 
Lagomarsino, Southwest Regional Office at 301-980-4016.

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.
    Subsection 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA established an expedited 
process by which U.S. citizens can apply for an authorization to 
incidentally take small numbers of marine mammals by harassment for a 
period of up to 1 year. 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.

Summary of Request

    On August 14, 1996, NMFS received a revised application from the 
U.S. Air Force, Vandenberg, requesting an authorization for the 
harassment of small numbers of harbor seals and possibly California sea 
lions and northern elephant seals, incidental to launches of Taurus 
SLVs at LSC-576E, Vandenberg. These launches would place commercial 
payloads into earth orbit. Because LSC-576E is located north of most 
other launch complexes at Vandenberg and because there are oil 
production platforms located off the coast to the south of LSC-576E, 
missions flown from LSC-576E do not fly directly on their final 
southward course. The normal trajectory for a LSC-576E launch is in a 
general west-south-west direction away from the coastline. The flight 
paths for each 1997 launch will proceed on an initial azimuth of 
205 deg. until approximately 24 kilometers (km )(15 miles (mi)) west of 
the shoreline. The Taurus SLV will then perform a dogleg maneuver left 
to a final mission-specific azimuth of between 180 deg. and 197 deg.. 
No Taurus SLV launch from LSC-576E will proceed southeast, overflying 
San Miguel or Santa Rosa islands. Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC 
1996) anticipates launching two Taurus SLVs during the 1-year period of 
validity for this proposed authorization.
    As a result of the noise associated with the launch itself and the 
resultant sonic boom, there is the potential to cause a startle 
response to those harbor seals that haul out on the coastline south and 
southwest of Vandenberg and may be detectable to marine mammals in 
waters off Vandenberg and to the west of the Channel Islands. Launch 
noise would be expected to occur over the coastal habitats in the 
vicinity of LSC-576E while a low-level sonic boom may be heard west of 
the Channel Islands.
    A notice of receipt of the Taurus SLV application and the proposed 
authorization was published on September 25, 1996 (61 FR 50276) and a 
30-day public comment period was provided on the application and 
proposed authorization.

Comments and Responses

    During the 30-day comment period, one letter was received. The 
comments contained in this letter 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 needs not be repeated here.
    Comment 1: The Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) requested 
confirmation that the Air Force would be applying for a programmatic 5-
year authorization under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA. The MMC 
believes that, because of the possible cumulative effects of launches 
at Vandenberg, a 5-year authorization is appropriate.
    Response: NMFS anticipates that this 1-year authorization for 
Taurus SLV launches, along with others issued previously for Lockheed 
launch vehicles (61 FR 38437, July 24, 1996), McDonnell Douglas Delta 
II launch vehicles (61 FR 59218, November 21, 1996), and Titan II and 
IV (61 FR 64337, December 4, 1996) will be replaced 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 under development by the Air Force.
    Comment 2: The MMC recommends that, before issuing the requested 
authorization, NMFS review the results of monitoring done to date to 
determine (1) if there may have been cumulative effects on the haul-out 
patterns, abundance, or productivity of harbor seals that reside in the 
Vandenberg area, and (2) whether the current monitoring program is 
sufficient to detect such effects.
    Response: By limiting incidental harassment authorizations to a 
single year as opposed to multi-year authorizations for Letters of 
Authorization (LOAs) issued under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA, 
NMFS does not believe that Congress intended NMFS to make negligible 
impact assessments on activities for periods greater than the period of 
the authorization, nor to require holders of IHAs to monitor for 
periods greater than the authorization. As a result, monitoring for 
most activities holding IHAs are designed to be event specific, that 
is, for a period of time prior to the event, during the event, and 
after

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completion of the activity. Although this precludes the applicability 
of monitoring under a single IHA for determining long-term cumulative 
effects, in those cases where holders of IHAs request continuing 
authorizations, monitoring, over time and in conjunction with other 
measurements of population trends and abundances, provides information 
sufficient to make the necessary negligible impact determinations under 
section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA. This is what was done for the 
negligible impact determination for this authorization.
    Recognizing that short-term monitoring leaves unanswered the effect 
from cumulative impacts, the U.S. Air Force is designing research to 
investigate this concern. This research will use launches of Titan IVs 
(the rocket presumed to be having the greatest impact since it is the 
largest rocket launched from Vandenberg) to provide information vital 
for assessing long-term impacts on the physiology, behavior and 
survival of pinnipeds from launch noise and sonic booms. This research, 
which will be conducted under an MMPA section 104 research permit, is 
expected to begin within a year.
    Therefore, while no long-term studies are currently underway on the 
effects on pinnipeds from launch noises or sonic booms, monitoring at 
Vandenberg for Titan IV and other rocket launches in the past has 
provided the baseline information on long-term and cumulative impacts. 
This information and the fact that the haul-outs along the Vandenberg 
coast remain active indicate that there are no immediately evident 
long-term, cumulative impacts. Launch noises are infrequent enough and 
divided between North and South Vandenberg so that these impacts are 
presumed to be less significant, cumulatively, than human, wildlife and 
pet disturbances including motorized vessels.
    Comment 3: The MMC states that it should be made clear that the 
authorization is automatically rescinded if a marine mammal is killed 
as a result of the authorized activity.
    Response: No marine mammals are anticipated to be killed or 
seriously injured as a result of launchings of Taurus SLV rockets. 
However, while section 101(a)(5)(D)(iv) of the MMPA provides NMFS 
authority to modify, suspend, or revoke an authorization if it is found 
that the provisions of the section are not being met, for IHA 
suspensions, NMFS follows procedures established for suspension of LOAs 
under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA. In that regard, an IHA may be 
suspended without notice and comment if emergency conditions exist that 
pose a significant risk to the well-being of the marine mammal stock, 
or if holder of an IHA is not in compliance with the conditions of the 
IHA. However, prior to revocation of an IHA, NMFS must satisfy the 
statutory notice and comment requirement. Therefore, section 
101(a)(5)(B) allows NMFS to withdraw (revoke) or ``suspend for a time 
certain'' an LOA, subsequent to notice and comment, while section 
101(a)(5)(C) allows a waiver of the notice and comment requirement for 
emergency suspensions, but not for revocations. Conditions for 
suspension or withdrawal of an LOA or IHA are described in 50 CFR 
216.106 and 216.107.

Conclusion

    Based upon the information provided in the proposed authorization, 
NMFS has determined that the short-term impact of the launching of 
Taurus SLV rockets is expected to result at worst, in a minor, 
temporary reduction in utilization of the haulout as seals or sea lions 
leave the beach for the safety of the water. These launchings are not 
expected to result in any reduction in the number of pinnipeds and they 
are expected to continue to occupy the same area. In addition, there 
will not be any impact on the habitat itself. Based upon studies 
conducted for previous space vehicle launches at Vandenberg, 
significant long-term impacts on pinnipeds at Vandenberg and the 
northern Channel Islands are unlikely.
    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, California sea lions, and northern 
elephant seals; would have only a negligible impact on the species, and 
would result in the least practicable impact on the stock, NMFS 
determined that the requirements of section 101(a)(5)(D) had been met 
and the incidental harassment authorization was issued.

    Dated: December 27, 1996.
Ann D. Terbush,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-180 Filed 1-3-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F