[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 195 (Friday, October 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54866-54868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26390]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 080599C]
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Rocket Launches
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
[[Page 54867]]
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of issuance of a modification to a letter of
authorization.
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SUMMARY: NMFS has amended the Letter of Authorization (LOA) issued on
April 2, 1999, to the 30th Space Wing, U.S. Air Force at
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (Vandenberg), to include an
additional rocket type to its list of launch vehicles authorized to
harass seals and sea lions incidental to launch activities.
DATES: Effective from October 14, 1999, through April 2, 2000.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the request for modification, the LOA and the
supporting documentation are available for review during regular
business hours in the following offices: Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, and the
Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long
Beach, CA 90802.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Hollingshead, Office of
Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2055, or Christina Fahy, NMFS,
(562) 980-4023.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.; the MMPA) directs NMFS to
allow, on 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 and regulations are
issued. Under the MMPA, the term ``taking'' means to harass, hunt,
capture, or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt, capture or kill marine
mammals.
Permission may be granted for periods up to 5 years if NMFS finds,
after notification and opportunity for public comment, that the taking
will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) of marine
mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses. In
addition, NMFS must prescribe regulations that include permissible
methods of taking and other means effecting the least practicable
adverse impact on the species and its habitat and on the availability
of the species for subsistence uses, paying particular attention to
rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance. The
regulations must include requirements pertaining to the monitoring and
reporting of such taking. Regulations governing the taking of seals and
sea lions incidental to missile and rocket launches, aircraft flight
test operations, and helicopter operations at Vandenberg were published
on March 1, 1999 (64 FR 9925), and remain in effect until December 31,
2003.
In accordance with the MMPA, as amended, and implementing
regulations, a 1-year LOA to take small numbers of seals and sea lions
was issued on April 2, 1999, to the 30th Space Wing (64 FR
17145, April 8, 1999). On August 3, 1999, the 30th Space
Wing requested NMFS to amend the LOA to include a new rocket, the
Minotaur, to the list of rockets authorized to take harbor seals and
California sea lions incidental to activities at Vandenberg. The U.S.
Air Force did not request NMFS to increase the number of annual
launches from Vandenberg that are authorized to take marine mammals
under the LOA.
Comments and Responses
On August 18, 1999 (64 FR 44893), NMFS published a notice of
receipt of, and requested public comment on, the request. During the
15-day public comment period, one letter was received. The U.S. Marine
Mammal Commission noted that it had no objection to NMFS' issuance of
the requested modification.
Discussion and Analysis
Spaceport Systems International (SSI) wants to begin launching the
OSP Space Launch Vehicle, the Minotaur rocket, from the California
Commercial Spaceport (CCS) on Vandenberg. The Minotaur contains 2
segments of Minuteman II solid-fuel motors and 2 Orion upperstage
motors. According to SSI, the sound emitted during the launch should be
no more than what a Minuteman II would emit.
Because this is a new launch vehicle, it was not included in the
LOA issued to Vandenberg on April 2, 1999. Therefore, in order for NMFS
to authorize the takings by harassment incidental to this new rocket,
NMFS must be assured that the takings will not exceed the level of
incidental harassment considered when it made its negligible impact
finding on March 1, 1999 (64 FR 9925). First, Vandenberg is authorized
to harass pinnipeds incidental to 10 missile launches from North
Vandenberg and 20 rocket launches annually from South Vandenberg. This
authorized level of launches for incidental takes of marine mammals
will not be modified by NMFS to add this additional rocket to the LOA.
Second, as mentioned previously, the Minotaur rocket consists of the
first two segments of Minuteman II solid-fuel motors and two Orion
upperstage motors. For incidental takes of pinnipeds on the Vandenberg
coastline, only the first one or two motors are important for assessing
impacts along the California coast. The Minotaur, like the Minuteman II
missiles launched from North Vandenberg, use Thiokol first-stage rocket
motor with 202,600 pounds (lbs) of thrust and a second-stage motor made
by Aerojet with 60,000 lbs of thrust. As a result, launch noises would
be similar to those expected at North Vandenberg during a Minuteman II
launch.
Third, Vandenberg has requested a small take of harbor seals (and
possibly a few California sea lions) by incidental harassment for this
rocket launched from the CCS, an area close to Space Launch Complex
(SLC)-6. While the CCS was identified in the 30th Space
Wing's July 11, 1997, application for a small take authorization and in
the U.S. Air Force's Programmatic Operations Environmental Assessment
for small takes of marine mammals, because the CCS was under
construction at the time, no rocket types were identified for launching
at that time of the application to NMFS. As a result, an incidental
take assessment could not be made for this location by either NMFS or
the 30th Space Wing during the rulemaking. However, impacts
to pinnipeds from launches at nearby SLC-6 by Lockheed Martin's family
of Athena rockets was analyzed on July 21, 1998 (63 FR 39055) and
previously (see 60 FR 24840, May 10, 1995).
Finally, because the Minotaur rocket's first stage solid-fuel
booster is half the size of the first-stage booster of the Athena 1
launched from SLC-6, it can be expected to impact the nearby harbor
seal haulouts to a lesser, but unknown, level than the Athena. NMFS
estimated that the Athena rocket would, under typical conditions,
result in a sound pressure level of 127 dB (107 dBA) re 20 Pa
at the harbor seal haulouts at Rocky
Point, which are about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) to the south and southwest
of SLC-6. This level is sufficient to cause harbor seals to leave the
beach at Point Arguello, Rocky Point, and Boathouse Flats. However,
because the CCS is only 1 mile (1.6 km) from the closest haulout at
Rocky Point whereas SLC-6 is approximately 2.5 mi (4.0 km) away from
the nearest haulout, NMFS expects that SPLs from the launch of the
Minotaur will be similar to levels expected from the Athena rocket at
the Rocky Point haulout.
Because the addition of the Minotaur rocket to the launch list at
Vandenberg will not result in an increase in the
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number of launches authorized to take pinnipeds under the LOA, NMFS
does not expect additional cumulative impacts to occur and therefore,
NMFS has determined that the takes will remain small and not have more
than a negligible impact on seals and sea lions at Vandenberg.
Monitoring and Reporting
Because this is a new launch vehicle, the 30th Space
Wing is required under the LOA to measure the noise profiles from the
rocket at the time of its first launch and to monitor impacts on marine
mammals at nearby active, pinniped haulouts.
Dated: October 4, 1999.
Art Jeffers,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-26390 Filed 10-7-99; 8:45 am]
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