[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 15, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37881-37884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-18463]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 070197A]


Small Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Oil and Gas Exploration Drilling Activities in the Beaufort Sea

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

ACTION: Notice of receipt of application and proposed authorization for 
a small take exemption; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from ARCO Alaska, Inc., (ARCO) for 
an authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals by harassment 
incidental to exploration drilling activities in Camden Bay, Beaufort 
Sea in waters off Alaska. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
(MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to authorize ARCO 
to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of ringed, bearded, 
and spotted seals and possibly, bowhead and beluga whales, in the above 
mentioned area between August 1997 and August 1998.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than August 
14, 1997.


[[Page 37882]]


ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to Michael 
Payne, Chief, Marine Mammal Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3225. A copy of 
the application, an environmental assessment (EA) and a list of 
references used in this document may be obtained by writing to this 
address or by telephoning one of the contacts listed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Hollingshead, Office of 
Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2055, Brad Smith, Western Alaska 
Field Office, NMFS, (907) 271-5006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

     Section 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) 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 either regulations are issued or, if the taking is limited to 
harassment, notice of a proposed authorization is provided to the 
public for review.
    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 10, 1996 (61 FR 15884), NMFS published an interim rule 
establishing, among other things, procedures for issuing incidental 
harassment authorizations under section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA for 
activities in Arctic waters, including requirements for peer-review of 
a monitoring program and a plan of cooperation between the applicant 
and affected subsistence users. For additional information on the 
procedures to be followed for this authorization, please refer to that 
document.

Summary of Request

    On May 30, 1997, NMFS received an application from ARCO requesting 
a 1-year authorization for the possible harassment of small numbers of 
several species of marine mammals incidental to moving a Concrete 
Island Drilling System (CIDS) from Prudhoe Bay to Camden Bay, Alaska 
and drilling an oil exploration well at that location during the 
winter, 1997/98. Essentially, the project has several stages as 
summarized below:
    (a) Deballast the bottom-founded Global Marine Drilling Co. 
``Glomar Beaufort Sea #1'' CIDS and move it to the well site in Camden 
Bay on or about August 15, 1997;
    (b) Transport drilling supplies, materials and other equipment to 
the CIDS. Transport fuel from Canada to the site;
    (c) Warm shutdown mode until such time as ice in Camden Bay is 
fully formed (estimated to be around November 1, 1997). Crew change via 
helicopter during this and succeeding times;
    (d) Drilling operations after ice formation on or around November 
1, 1997. Drilling and well testing operations may occur from that date 
through mid-May 1998;
    (e) Cold shutdown mode from completion of drilling and well testing 
operations until around July 1, 1998; and
    (f) Towing CIDS from Camden Bay by tug boats to Prudhoe Bay or 
another location.
    A more detailed description of the work planned is contained in the 
application (ARCO 1997) and is available upon request (see ADDRESSES).

Description of Habitat and Marine Mammals Affected by the Activity

    A detailed description of the Beaufort Sea ecosystem and its 
associated marine mammals can be found in several documents (NMFS 1996, 
Minerals Management Service (MMS) 1992, 1996; NMFS 1989) and need not 
be repeated here.

Marine Mammals

    The Beaufort/Chukchi Seas support a diverse assemblage of marine 
mammals including bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), gray whales 
(Eschrichtius robustus), beluga (Delphinapterus leucas), ringed seals 
(Phoca hispida), spotted seals (Phoca largha) and bearded seals 
(Erignathus barbatus). Descriptions of the biology and distribution of 
these species, and others, can be found in several other documents (LGL 
and Greeneridge 1996, 1997, Lentfer 1988, MMS 1992, NMFS 1989, 1990 and 
1996, Small and DeMaster 1995). Please refer to those documents for 
information on the biology, distribution and abundance of these 
species.

Potential Impacts on Marine Mammals

    Disturbance by noise is the principal means for potential takings 
by harassment by this activity. Vessels, aircraft, and drilling 
activities all provide potential sources for the harassment of marine 
mammals by noise at the activity site. These are summarized below.

Potential Harassment by Vessel Noise

    No specific acoustic characterization of the CIDS under tow has 
been undertaken. However, the tow is performed by three ocean-going 
tugs of a type that are commonly used for transport activities in the 
Beaufort (e.g., the various sealifts to the oil fields, re-supply of 
offshore drilling operations, annual barge lifts to coastal 
communities).
    Detailed information about noise levels produced by marine traffic 
employing comparable vessels in the Beaufort Sea is available elsewhere 
(Malme et al. 1989, Richardson and Malme 1993, Richardson et al. 
(1995)) and is incorporated here by reference. In summary, bowheads 
show avoidance reactions, at times being displaced by as much as a few 
kilometers (km) (Richardson et al. 1993), to ships and boats that 
proceed directly toward them but then frequently return to whatever was 
their behavior aspect (swimming, feeding, resting, etc), once the 
source of the disturbance has passed (Richardson and Malme 1993). 
Bowheads that are actively engaged in social interactions or mating may 
be less responsive to boats (Wartzok et al. 1989, Richardson and Malme 
1993). Wartzok et al. (1989) also found that bowheads >1,640 ft (>500 
m) to the side of or behind a small ship seemed unaffected and that 
bowheads often approached within 329-1640 ft (100-500 m) when the ship 
was not maneuvering toward the whales. Approximately 1 percent of 
bowheads (based on subsistence harvested animals) show scars from 
collisions with vessel propellers (George et al. 1994).
    In addition to tugs moving the CIDS, additional vessel traffic will 
consist of barges transporting drilling supplies from Prudhoe Bay and 
fuel from a port in the Canadian Arctic. An estimated ten barge loads 
(two barges at five loads per barge) of material will travel after the 
CIDS to the well location from Prudhoe Bay, AK. These barges will 
contain the drilling supplies and other materials needed to support the 
operation through the 1997/98 winter drilling season. After offloading 
at the CIDS on or about September 1, 1997, they will return to Prudhoe 
Bay area. This activity is expected to occur from about August 27, 1997 
to about September 9, 1997, weather permitting.

[[Page 37883]]

    In addition to the above barges, there will be two barge loads (one 
barge/two loads) traveling from the Canadian Beaufort Sea area westward 
to the CIDS to provide fuel for the upcoming drilling operations. The 
barge will offload the fuel at the CIDS and return to Canada area as 
soon as fuel transfer operations are completed. This activity is 
expected to occur from about August 27 through September 9, 1997, 
weather permitting.
    There is no evidence from past monitoring programs in the Beaufort 
Sea that marine traffic of the type discussed above causes avoidance 
reactions in those seal species which may be present in the area. 
Beluga whales, which migrate through the Beaufort Sea, but far to the 
north of the activity, have shown strong avoidance at great distances 
from tugboats, especially in spring (Richardson et al. 1995).

Potential Harassment by Aircraft Noise

    Crew changes and supplies of fresh food will be handled by 
helicopter(s) based in Deadhorse, AK. Helicopters have the potential to 
harass marine mammals. However, because these flights will fly mostly 
over land, any potential harassment is expected to be limited to seals 
inhabiting shore-fast ice. Ringed and bearded seals hauled out on ice 
often dive when approached by low flying aircraft or helicopters (Harbo 
1972, Burns and Frost 1979, and Allison 1981 as reported in Richardson 
et al. 1995) but do not always do so (e.g., Burns et al. 1982).
    As detailed in Richardson et al. (1995), reactions of ringed seals 
concealed in subnivean lairs (below snow on ice) varied with aircraft 
altitude and lateral distance (Kelly et al. 1986). Radiotelemetry 
showed that some seals left the ice when a helicopter was at an 
altitude 1,000 ft (<305 m) within 1.25 mi (2 km) lateral distance. The 
noise in a subnivean lair is reduced by snow (Cummings and Holliday 
1983). However, counts of ringed seal calls in water suggests that seal 
abundance in one area subjected to low-flying aircraft and other 
disturbances was similar to that in less disturbed areas (Calvert and 
Stirling 1985).
    To minimize potential harassment, NMFS proposes to require 
helicopters supplying the CIDS to maintain an altitude of 1,000 ft (305 
m) until within .5 mi (.80 km) of the CIDS, except in emergency 
situations.

Potential Harassment by Drilling Operations

    The CIDS is an offshore drilling platform specifically designed to 
operate in relatively shallow 30-50 ft (10-16 m) Arctic waters. 
Although close to shore (3.5 mi (5.6 km)), the platform may be visible 
to those few bowheads that approach the shoreline. However, the 
platform should not be visible to the great majority of bowheads which 
will be within the main westward migratory path in waters 65-165 ft 
(20-50 m) deep. During 1979-94, only about 3.0 percent of the bowheads 
traveled west within 12.5 mi (20 km) of from the barrier islands (LGL 
and Greeneridge 1996). While the platform is in warm shutdown, 
underwater wideband sound pressure levels (SPLs) are expected to be 
approximately 109 db (re 1 Pa @ 1 m) at a range of 912 ft (278 
m) with running generators as the only significant source of man-made 
sounds from the operations during this period (Hall and Francine 1991). 
Hall and Francine (1989) report that 13 bowhead whales approached to 
within 656 ft (200 m) of a stationary drilling platform in 1989 while 
it was in a quiet mode.
    Once freeze-up is completed, drilling operations can begin. Hall 
and Francine (1991) measured the SPL from a CIDS in the Beaufort Sea at 
134-137 dB (re 1 Pa @ 1 m) after freeze-up at 656 ft (200 m) 
and 89 dB at 0.87 mi (1.4 km) (Richardson et al. 1995). While SPLs at 
this level of intensity are considered by NMFS to be too low to be 
injurious to pinnipeds, there may be some effects in the immediate 
vicinity of the CIDS due either to associated sounds, human activity, 
or the structure itself. Frost and Lowry (1988), for example, found in 
springtime that densities of ringed seals were reduced within 2.3 mi 
(3.7 km) of artificial islands, on some of which drilling was underway. 
Alternatively, the creation of polynas (areas of open water) in the 
wake of artificial islands, bottom founded structures, or occurring 
naturally, could attract seals. This attraction could lead to increased 
mortality by predating polar bears, which, by spring, could lead to a 
local decrease in the seal population.

Potential Effects on Subsistence Needs

    Provided the mitigation measures described below are followed, NMFS 
has not identified any unmitigable adverse impacts on the availability 
of the species or stock(s) for subsistence needs. The CIDS will be 
placed on location by September 1, 1997, prior to the beginning of the 
annual bowhead whaling season. Also, since no drilling operations will 
be conducted until after freeze-up, there will be only minimal noise 
generated from the rig that could influence, or otherwise impact, 
subsistence whaling operations. It should be noted that the CIDS 
location is approximately 35 mi (56.3 km) west of the Kaktovik and 100 
mi (161 km) east of the Nuiqsut communities.

Potential Effect on Habitat

    The CIDS is a mobile offshore drilling unit that has a 
``footprint'' of 295 ft (90 m) X 312.5 ft (95.25 m). The temporary loss 
of this area is negligible when compared to the size of the nearshore 
Beaufort Sea. When drilling and well-testing operations are completed, 
the well will be plugged and abandoned in accordance with MMS and 
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission regulations. This 
abandonment will leave the project area in essentially an unmodified 
condition, since there will be no wellhead or other structures 
remaining above the ocean floor. In the unlikely event that there is a 
significant oil spill, ARCO has prepared an oil discharge prevention 
and contingency plan (ODPCP) specifically for the Warthog #1 
exploration well. The ODPCP is an extensive document that addresses 
spill response, several spill scenarios, cleanup activities, and 
numerous other aspects of oil spill prevention and response.

Potential Impacts on Polar Bears and Walrus

    ARCO believes that small numbers of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) 
and Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) may be present at various times 
in the drilling area. As a result, ARCO applied for a Letter of 
Authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for the 
taking of these two species incidental to the Warthog #1 drilling 
project. This authorization was granted by the USFWS on May 21, 1997, 
under 50 CFR Part 18, subpart J.

Mitigation

    Several mitigation measures to reduce the potential for marine 
mammal harassment will be implemented by ARCO as part of their proposed 
activity. These include:
    (a) Moving the CIDS from Prudhoe Bay to Camden Bay prior to the 
westward migration period for bowhead whales;
    (b) Completion of supply and construction of the CIDS prior to the 
start of the Kaktovik subsistence bowhead hunt;
    (c) Maintaining the CIDS in a warm shutdown mode until such time as 
ice in Camden Bay is fully formed (e.g., during the time period for 
bowhead whale migration);
    (d) Using the CIDS platform instead of a floating platform, or 
semisubmersible platform eliminating the need for icebreaker vessels;

[[Page 37884]]

    (e) Conducting drilling operations during winter months instead of 
during the open water season as done in previous years;
    (f) Maintaining the CIDS in a cold shutdown mode after completion 
of drilling in May 1998; and
    (g) Not moving the CIDS to Prudhoe Bay during the spring bowhead 
migration period.
    In addition to mitigation proposed by ARCO as part of their 
application, NMFS will caution ARCO from conducting any activities 
relating to the operation of the CIDS, to the extent practicable, in 
the vicinity of ice pressure ridges or other areas where ringed seal 
lairs may be present.

Monitoring

    The monitoring program will consist of two phases:
    Phase I-Open Water Season. Arco will utilize trained personnel 
onboard the various transport vessels to conduct visual observations to 
locate and assess the behavior of those six species of marine mammals 
that are known to use the open-water area between Prudhoe Bay and 
Camden Bay. The monitoring program will commence with the movement of 
the CIDS to Camden Bay in mid- to late-August 1997 and will end at the 
time that freeze-up of Camden Bay is complete. Observers will be 
trained by a marine biologist (approved in advance by NMFS) and an 
experienced Native marine mammal subsistence hunter. Both of these 
individuals will accompany the vessels transporting the CIDS and will 
remain with the CIDS until freeze-up. All marine mammal observations 
will be provided daily to NMFS.
    NMFS proposes, as part of this Authorization, if granted, to also 
require the above-mentioned monitoring program during deballasting and 
movement of the CIDS back to Prudhoe Bay, or another location. NMFS, 
however, will require notification if the CIDS is to be moved to a 
location other than between Camden Bay and Prudhoe Bay.
    Phase II-Ice Season. Although not mentioned in the application, 
monitoring during the ice-drilling season will also be necessary. 
However, because of the low expectation of interactions with marine 
mammals that are under the jurisdiction of NMFS, dedicated observers 
are not considered necessary. As a result, NMFS proposes to require as 
part of the Authorization that ARCO instruct the polar bear watchperson 
to maintain a sightings-and-behavior log for seals that is separate 
from the Polar Bear Sightings Log. This latter reporting requirement is 
mandated by 50 CFR 18.27 and the Letter of Authorization issued to ARCO 
by the USFWS on May 21, 1997.
    NMFS does not propose to require any seal or whale monitoring 
program during the cold shutdown phase.

Reporting

    In addition to daily reporting via radio during the open water 
season, NMFS proposes to require ARCO to submit two reports, the first 
to be submitted 60 days after starting oil drilling for the open-water 
monitoring period. The second report will be required 90 days after 
completion of activities authorized for marine mammal takings.

Consultation

    Under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, NMFS has begun 
consultation on the proposed issuance of an incidental harassment 
authorization. Consultation will be concluded upon completion of the 
comment period and consideration of those comments in the final 
determination on issuance of an authorization.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

    In conjunction with this notice, NMFS has released an EA that 
addresses the impacts on the human environment from issuance of the 
authorization and the alternatives to the proposed action. A copy of 
the EA is available upon request (see ADDRESSES).

Conclusions

    NMFS has preliminarily determined that the short-term impact of 
exploration drilling and related activities in the Beaufort Sea will 
result, at worst, in a temporary modification in behavior by certain 
species of pinnipeds, and possibly some individual bowhead or beluga 
whales. While behavioral modifications may be made by these species of 
marine mammals to avoid the resultant noise from tugs either towing the 
CIDS or transporting supplies, or due to drilling activities, this 
behavioral change is expected to have a negligible impact on the 
animals.
    While the number of potential incidental harassment takes will 
depend on the distribution and abundance of marine mammals (which vary 
annually due to variable ice conditions and other factors) in the 
activity area, the number of potential harassment takings is estimated 
to be small. In addition, no take by injury and/or death is anticipated 
and takes will be at the lowest level practicable due to incorporation 
of the mitigation measures mentioned above. No rookeries, mating 
grounds, areas of concentrated feeding, or other areas of special 
significance for marine mammals occur within or near the planned area 
of operations during the season of operations.
    Because bowhead whales are east of the area in the Canadian 
Beaufort Sea until late August/early September, moving the CIDS during 
August is not expected to impact subsistence hunting of bowhead whales.
    Appropriate mitigation measures to avoid an unmitigable adverse 
impact on the availability of bowhead whales for subsistence needs is 
expected to be the subject of consultation between ARCO and subsistence 
users.

Proposed Authorization

    NMFS proposes to issue an incidental harassment authorization to 
ARCO for the possible harassment of small numbers of several species of 
marine mammals incidental to moving a CIDS from Prudhoe Bay to Camden 
Bay, Alaska and drilling an oil exploration well at that location 
during the winter 1997/98, provided the above mentioned mitigation, 
monitoring and reporting requirements are incorporated. NMFS has 
preliminarily determined that the proposed activities would result in 
the harassment of only small numbers of ringed seals, bearded seals, 
spotted seals and, possibly bowhead and beluga whales; will have a 
negligible impact on these marine mammal stocks; and will not have an 
unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of these stocks for 
subsistence uses.

Information Solicited

    NMFS requests interested persons to submit comments, information, 
and suggestions concerning this request (see ADDRESSES).

    Dated: July 9, 1997.
Patricia A. Montanio,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-18463 Filed 7-14-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F