[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 91 (Monday, May 12, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25347-25348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11737]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 052802D]


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Rocket Launches

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

ACTION: Notice of issuance of a modification to 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 NMFS has amended the letter of authorization (LOA) to take small 
numbers of seals and sea lions that was issued on May 31, 2002, to the 
30th Space Wing, U.S. Air Force.

DATES: Effective from May 9, 2003, through May 31, 2003.

ADDRESSES: The amended letter of authorization and 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 Hollingshead, Office of 
Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2322, ext 128, or Christina Fahy, 
NMFS, (562) 980-4023.

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 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 Air Force 
Base, CA (Vandenberg AFB) were published on March 1, 1999 (64 FR 9925), 
and remain in effect until December 31, 2003.

Summary of Request

    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 May 31, 2002, to the 30th Space Wing (67 FR 38939, June 
6, 2002). On August 22, 2002, the 30th Space Wing, U.S. Air Force at 
Vandenberg AFB, requested an amendment to this LOA to include launches 
of the Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) and Alternative Boost Vehicle 
(ABV).
    The Missile Defense Agency is developing the Ground-Based Midcourse 
Defense (GMD) Element of the conceptual Ballistic Missile Defense

[[Page 25348]]

System (BMDS). The GMD Element is designed to protect the United States 
in the event of a limited ballistic missile attack by destroying the 
threat missile in mid-course phase of its flight. The GBI canisterized 
booster and uncanisterized ABV that make up part of the GMD Element, 
will be flight-tested from Launch Facility (LF)-21 and 23 on the 
northern end of north Vandenberg AFB. Previously, pinnipeds rarely used 
this area, but during recent marine mammal surveys conducted in March 
and April, 2002 and with the overall increase in the harbor seal 
populations at Vandenberg AFB, a new harbor seal haul-out site was 
discovered that is regularly used by harbor seal mothers and their 
pups. This site, designated as Lions Head, is approximately 2.0 km (1 
mi) from LF-21 and LF-23; therefore, the 30\th\ Space Wing, Vandenberg 
AFB, has requested that the GBI boost vehicle launches be included 
under the 10 ICBM launches authorized for taking pinipeds incidental to 
launches at Vandenberg AFB under the regulations (64 FR 9925, March 1, 
1999).
    In 1999, the potential environmental impacts of the activities 
associated with two canisterized GBI booster verification test flights 
from LF-21 in northern Vandenberg AFB were analyzed in the 1999 Booster 
Verification Test Environmental Assessment (EA). The 1999 EA analyzed 
the potential environmental impacts of all pre-flight, launch, and 
post-launch activities. Congressional direction in the Defense 
Authorization Act for fiscal year 2001 included the development of a 
backup or alternative booster option involving proven technologies. A 
decision was made to develop and test a second boost vehicle, the 
uncanisterized ABV. The proposed ABV test flights are an important step 
in the development of the GMD Element. The ABV being proposed for 
launch from LF-23 would consist of the GMD Element. The ABV being 
proposed for launch from LF-23 would consist of a commercially 
available, solid propellant booster consisting of three stages and an 
exo-atmospheric kill vehicle emulator that may contain a divert and 
attitude control system.

Impacts on Marine Mammals

    A detailed description of the pinniped stocks potentially affected 
by missile and rocket launches from Vandenberg AFB and an assessment of 
those impacts can be found in the final rule on the taking of marine 
mammals incidental to these activities (64 FR 9925, March 1, 1999).
    The primary potential for impacts to pinnipeds would be from the 
noise created during the proposed missile launches. Noise from 
Minuteman launches, which have been previously launched from LF-21 and 
LF-23, ranges from 98 dBA approximately 4.2 km (2.6 mi) from the launch 
site to 80 dBA approximately 13 km (8 mi) from the launch site. The 
level of noise for the ABV during launch and flight is expected to be 
less and relatively short in duration. At approximately the same 
distance from LF-21, the previous BVT-2 launch (GBI canisterized 
vehicle) was 6 dB less than the Minuteman III launch and 17 dB less 
than Peacekeeper launches. Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), the 
main pinniped species using north Vandenberg AFB, would normally be at 
least 2.0 km (1 mi) from the launch site. Other pinnipeds, such as 
California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and northern elephant 
seals (Mirounga angustirostris), may haul-out temporarily on beaches 
several kilometers from the launch facilities. Noise from prior 
launches has not appeared to affect pinniped use of the coastal areas 
on Vandenberg AFB. Pinniped monitoring has been performed for launches 
of larger missiles on north Vandenberg AFB, such as the Peacekeeper and 
Delta II. The effect on harbor seals, which were most susceptible to 
disturbance, has been limited to a negligible short-term (5-30 min) 
abandonment of nearby haul-out areas. No pinniped mother-pup 
separations have been noted at the harbor seal haul-out sites closest 
to launch site. Recent surveys discovered a new harbor seal haul-out 
site on north Vandenberg AFB that is regularly used by up to 3 harbor 
seal mothers and their pups. The 30th Space Wing began monitoring 
harbor seals at this site for ICBM (Minuteman and Peacekeeper) launches 
that occurred during the harbor seal pupping season (March-June) in 
accordance with the small take regulations and LOA.
    The GBI canisterized and uncanisterized booster launches would be 
included in the 10 ICBM launches per year that are currently allowed 
under the regulations and LOA. The planned 6 GBI launches over the next 
five years will not cause the number of ICBM launches to go over the 
authorized 10/year.

Monitoring and Reporting

    In accordance with the regulations (64 FR 9925, March 1, 1999) and 
LOA, acoustic monitoring will be performed during initial launch of 
each type of vehicle (this would be accomplished for the initial GBI 
canisterized booster launch) and harbor seal monitoring would be 
conducted during the pupping season in accordance with Vandenberg AFB 
guidelines. The intermittent launches planned for the ABV test flights 
(6 flights over the next 5 years) and the relatively small size 
(smaller than Minuteman and Peacekeeper missiles) are not expected to 
have more than a negligible impact on harbor seals at Vandenberg AFB.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

    Under rulemaking conducted in 1999 (64 FR 9925, March 1, 1999), 
NMFS reviewed this action in accordance with NEPA and the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA). Please refer to that document for additional 
information. Because the action discussed in this document is not 
substantially different from the 1999 action, and because no 
significant new scientific information or analyses have been developed 
in the past several years significant enough to warrant new NEPA 
documentation, this action is categorically excluded from further 
review under NOAA Administrative Order 216-6.

ESA

    This action will not affect listed marine mammal species as these 
species are not expected to haulout on north Vandenberg AFB and thereby 
potentially be affected through harassment and fleeing from the 
haulout. No other species listed under the ESA will be affected by this 
modification.

Determinations

    Because the addition of the GBI and ABV missiles to the launch list 
at Vandenberg AFB will not result in an increase in the number of 
missile launches authorized to take pinnipeds by Level B harassment 
under the LOA, NMFS does not expect additional impacts, individually or 
cumulatively, to occur and therefore, NMFS has determined that the 
incidental harassment will remain small and not have more than a 
negligible impact on the pinniped populations off the Vandenberg AFB 
coast.

    Dated: May 6, 2003.
Laurie K. Allen,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-11737 Filed 5-9-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S