[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 146 (Tuesday, July 30, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49292-49293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-19231]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 062102A]


Small Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Power Plant Operations

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

ACTION: Notice of issuance of a Letter of Authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as 
amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given 
that a 1-year Letter of Authorization (LOA) to take harbor, gray, harp 
and hooded seals incidental to intake cooling water operations at 
Seabrook Station nuclear power plant, Seabrook, NH has been issued to 
the North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation (North Atlantic).

DATES: Effective from June 26, 2002 through June 25, 2003.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the application is available by writing to Donna 
Wieting, Chief, Marine Mammal Conservation Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 
20910, or by telephoning one of the contact listed here.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Hollingshead, Office of 
Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2055, ext 128 or Salvatore 
Testaverde, Northeast Regional Office, NMFS, (978) 281-9368.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    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 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.
    Permission may be granted for periods of 5 years or less if NMFS 
finds that the taking will have no more than 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. In 
addition, NMFS must prescribe regulations that include permissible 
methods of taking and other means

[[Page 49293]]

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 several species of seals 
incidental to intake cooling water operations at Seabrook Station 
nuclear power plant were published on May 25, 1999 (64 FR 28114), and 
remain in effect until June 30, 2004. These regulations include 
mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements for the incidental 
taking of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), gray seals (Halichoerus 
grypus), harp seals (Phoca groenlandica), and hooded seals (Cystophora 
cristata) at Seabrook Station.

Summary of Request

    NMFS received a request from North Atlantic on June 4, 2002, for 
renewal of their LOA, which expires on June 26, 2002, to lethally take 
20 harbor seals and 4 of any combination of gray, harp, and hooded 
seals at Seabrook Station. However, North Atlantic noted in their 
annual report that no seals have been entrapped in Seabrook's offshore 
intake structures since the installation of the Seal Deterrent Barriers 
in August 1999.

Authorization

    Based on the determinations made in 1999 (64 FR 28114, May 25, 
1999) and that annual reports submitted by North Atlantic indicate that 
no seals have been killed incidental to operations at Seabrook Station, 
NMFS has issued an LOA to North Atlantic for the taking of harbor 
seals, gray seals, harp seals, and hooded seals incidental to 
operations of the Seabrook Station with the understanding that the 
mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements described in 50 CFR 
216.134-135 and in the LOA are undertaken.

    Dated: July 24, 2002.
Wanda Cain,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-19231 Filed 7-29-02; 8:45 am]
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