[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77750-77752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-31982]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 111202A]


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine 
MammalsIncidental to Construction and Operation of Offshore Oil and Gas 
Facilities in the Beaufort Sea

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 letter of authorization (LOA) to take a small number of marine 
mammals incidental to the production of offshore oil and gas at the 
Northstar development in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska has been issued to 
BP Exploration (Alaska), Anchorage, AK (BPXA).

DATES: This LOA is effective from December 9, 2002, until December 9, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: A copy of BPXA's letter and/or the LOA may be obtained by 
writing to the Office of Protected

[[Page 77751]]

Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or by 
telephoning one of the contacts listed here.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Hollingshead (301) 713-
2055, ext. 128, or Bradley Smith (907) 271-5006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 
1361 et seq.) 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 by NMFS 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, will not have an 
unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or 
stock(s) of marine mammals for subsistence uses, and if regulations are 
prescribed setting forth the permissible methods of taking and the 
requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking. 
Regulations governing the taking of marine mammals incidental to 
construction and operation of the offshore oil and gas facility at 
Northstar in the Beaufort Sea were published and made effective on May 
25, 2000 (65 FR 34014), and remain in effect until May 25, 2005.

Summary of Request

    On September 25, 2002, NMFS received a request from BPXA for a 
renewal of an LOA issued on September 28, 2000 (65 FR 58265) and 
reissued on December 14, 2001 (66 FR 65923, December 21, 2001), for the 
taking of marine mammals incidental to oil production operations at 
Northstar, under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA. This request 
contained information in compliance with 50 CFR 216.209, which updated 
information provided in BPXA's original application for takings 
incidental to construction and operations at Northstar. The current LOA 
for the taking of marine mammals incidental to oil production at the 
Northstar facility will expire on November 30, 2002.
    Impacts on marine mammals may occur through noise from barge, 
helicopter traffic, drilling, and other noise sources on the platform. 
Impacts may also result if there is an oil spill resulting from 
production. While noise impacts on marine mammals will be low (this 
structure will make less noise than standard jack-up rigs, the concrete 
island drilling structure, or seismic activity), bowhead whales will 
likely hear the noise at distances up to 10 km (6.2 mi) from the 
island. In addition, there may be some harassment, injury, or mortality 
of ringed seals during ice road construction. Noise impacts may result 
in the harassment of approximately 215 bowheads, 5 gray whales and 15 
beluga whales. Year-round operations at Northstar may result in the 
harassment of up to approximately 95 ringed seals and 1 bearded seal 
being harassed and the incidental mortality of up to 5 ringed seal 
pups.
    As oil spills are highly unlikely, impacts on marine mammals from 
an oil spill are also unlikely to take place. However, in order to 
mitigate the potential for impacts on bowheads and the subsistence use 
of bowheads, BPXA has confirmed to NMFS that it will not drill into 
oil-bearing strata during periods of open water or broken ice, 
essentially the time period between June 13 and ending with the 
presence of 18 inches of continuous ice cover for one-half mile in all 
directions. This mitigation is due to the present lack of adequate 
ability to clean up after an oil spill has occurred. Additional 
mitigation has been proposed by BPXA to the North Slope Borough native 
community to ensure that, in the event that an oil spill did occur, it 
would not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the subsistence use of 
the bowhead whale.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

    In accordance with section 6.01 of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrative Order 216-6 
(Environmental Review Procedures for Implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act , May 20, 1999), NMFS has analyzed both the 
context and intensity of this action and determined, based on a 
programmatic NEPA assessment conducted on the impact of NMFS' 
rulemaking for the issuance of IHAs (61 FR 15884; April 10, 1996); the 
Corps of Engineers' 1998 Final Environmental Impact Statement for 
Northstar construction and oil production; and the contents, results, 
and analyses of BP's marine mammal monitoring program from 1999 through 
October, 2002, will not individually or cumulatively result in a 
significant impact on the quality of the human environment as defined 
in 40 CFR 1508.27. Therefore, based on this analysis, the action of 
issuing an LOA governing the incidental taking of marine mammals, by 
harassment for this activity meets the definition of a ``Categorical 
Exclusion'' as defined under NOAA Administrative Order 216-6 and is 
exempted from further environmental review.

Endangered Species Act

    On March 4, 1999, NMFS concluded consultation, under the Endangered 
Species Act, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on permitting the 
construction and operation at the Northstar site. The finding of that 
consultation was that construction and operation at Northstar is not 
likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the bowhead whale 
stock. Because issuance of a small take authorization to BPXA under 
section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA is a Federal action, NMFS has 
completed section 7 consultation on this action. The finding of this 
consultation was that the issuance of the subject small take 
authorization was unlikely to adversely affect the bowhead whale.

Determinations

    In NMFS' final 5-year rule notice published on May 25, 2000 (63 FR 
32207), and in the notice published on December 21, 2001 (66 FR 65923) 
regarding the LOA for oil production at Northstar and in internal 
supporting documentation, NMFS has determined, that the taking of 
marine mammals incidental to oil production operations at the Northstar 
offshore oil and gas facility in state and federal waters, will not 
result in more than the incidental taking of small numbers of bowhead 
whales, beluga whales, ringed seals, and, possibly California gray 
whales, bearded seals and spotted seals. NMFS noted in addition, that 
the taking will have only a negligible impact on these marine mammal 
stocks, would not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of these species or stocks for taking for subsistence 
uses, and would result in the least practicable impact on these stocks. 
As the results from the monitoring program carried out since 1999 have 
not indicated that the determinations made in 2000 and 2001 were in 
error, nor that estimated levels of incidental harassment have been 
exceeded, and as the activity that was reviewed in 2001 (oil production 
activities) has not changed, these determinations remain valid.


[[Page 77752]]


    Dated: December 9, 2002.
Laurie K. Allen,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-31982 Filed 12-18-02; 8:45 am]
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