[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 136 (Monday, July 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40479-40481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11268]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 061406A]


Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Port 
Sutton Navigation Channel, Tampa Bay, FL

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

ACTION: Notice of a proposed modification to a proposed marine mammal 
incidental take authorization; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS received a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-
Jacksonville District (Corps) for an authorization to take marine 
mammals, by harassment, incidental to expanding and deepening the Port 
Sutton Navigation Channel in Tampa Harbor, FL (Port Sutton project). On 
August 18, 2005, NMFS published a Federal Register notice to solicit 
public comments for the Corps' proposed project and NMFS preliminary 
determination of issuing an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) 
to the Corps. Subsequently, the Corps submitted additional information 
to NMFS on charge weight of the explosives and calculations for impact 
zones from a similar port construction project that the Corps completed 
in Miami. Due to the similarity of the geophysical structure and rock 
substrate between the Port of Miami and Port Sutton, the Corps proposes 
to modify certain aspects of the proposed project in Port Sutton with 
the best available scientific information obtained from the Port of 
Miami project. NMFS is requesting comments on the proposed

[[Page 40480]]

modifications to the Port Sutton project and its IHA.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than August 
1, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposed modification should be addressed 
to P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 
Division, Office of Protected Species, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. The mailbox 
address for providing e-mail comments on this action is 
[email protected]. Comments sent via e-mail, including all 
attachments, must not exceed a 10-megabyte file size. NMFS requests 
that comments be limited to the proposed modifications only; comments 
already submitted during the original public comment will be addressed 
when NMFS makes a final determination whether an IHA will be issued. A 
copy of the original application, Environmental Assessment (EA), and 
documents submitted to support the modifications may be obtained by 
writing to the address provided or by telephoning the contact listed 
under the heading FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Publications 
referenced in this document are available for viewing, by appointment 
during regular business hours, at the address provided here during this 
comment period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Guan, NMFS, (301)713-2289, ext 
137.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
(MMPA) (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct 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 either regulations 
are issued or, if the taking is limited to harassment, a notice of a 
proposed authorization is provided to the public for review.
    An authorization shall 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 if the permissible methods of taking 
and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting 
of such takings are set forth. NMFS has defined ``negligible impact'' 
in 50 CFR 216.103 as ``an impact resulting from the specified activity 
that cannot be reasonably expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, 
adversely affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates 
of recruitment or survival.''
    Subsection 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA established an expedited 
process by which citizens of the United States can apply for an 
authorization to incidentally take small numbers of marine mammals by 
harassment. Except with respect to certain activities not pertinent 
here, the MMPA now defines ``harassment'' as:
    any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which (i) has the 
potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the 
wild [Level A harassment]; or (ii) has the potential to disturb a 
marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing 
disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, 
migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering 
[Level B harassment].
    Subsection 101(a)(5)(D) establishes a 45-day time limit for NMFS 
review of an application followed by a 30-day public notice and comment 
period on any proposed authorizations for the incidental harassment of 
small numbers of marine mammals.

Summary of Request

    On February 26, 2004, NMFS received a request from the Corps for an 
authorization to take, by harassment, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops 
truncatus) incidental to using blasting during enlargement of the Port 
Sutton Navigation Channel, a part of the Tampa Harbor Federal 
Navigation Project, in the northern portion of Tampa Bay, Hillsborough 
County, Florida. The purpose of the project is to enlarge the 
navigation channel to accommodate larger vessels and incorporate an 
additional channel segment into the Federal channel. Detailed 
information of the project description, a summary of the marine mammal 
species in the proposed project area, and a description of potential 
effects on marine mammals are provided in a previous Federal Register 
notice (70 FR 48541, August 18, 2005) and are not repeated here.

Summary of Proposed Modification

    Based on previous experience with harbor construction associated 
blasting in Puerto Rico in 1999 and Miami in 2005, the Corps has 
developed a set of standard specifications that would be used as 
general guidelines for the Port Sutton Project. These specifications 
would modify the existing proposed project plan (including mitigation) 
in the following ways:
    (1) The Corps will not conduct any blasting activities between 
November 1 and March 31, when the likelihood of Florida manatee 
(Trichechus manatus latirostris) presence is high within the proposed 
project area.
    (2) The Corps will provide the contractor's approved Blasting Plan 
to the NMFS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the 
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for review at 
least 30 days prior to the proposed date of the blast(s). The Blasting 
Plan shall include at least the following information:
    (a) A list of the observers, their qualifications, and positions 
for the watch, and a map depicting the proposed locations for boats or 
land-based observers.
    (b) The amount of explosive charge proposed, the explosive charge's 
equivalency in TNT, how it will be executed (depth of drilling, 
stemming, etc.), a drawing showing the placement of charges, size of 
the safety radius and how it will be marked, tide tables for the 
proposed blasting event(s), and estimates of times and days for 
blasting events.
    (3) For each explosive charge placed, detonation will not occur if 
a marine mammal is known to be (or based on previous sightings, may be) 
within a circular area known as the safety zone. In the absence of 
acoustic measurements of the shock and pressure waves emanating from 
the detonations, the following equations were proposed in the Corps' 
original application and NMFS proposed IHA notice for blasting projects 
to determine zones of injury or mortality from an open water explosion. 
The equations, based on Young (1991), were:
Caution zone Radius (R) = 260 x (W)1/3
Safety zone Radius (R) = 520 x (W)1/3
    with radius (R) = 260 times or 520 times the cube root of the 
weight (W) of the explosive charge where R = radius of the zone in ft 
and W = weight of the explosive charge in lbs/delay. The caution zone 
represents the radius in ft from the detonation beyond which mortality 
would not be expected from an open-water blast. The safety zone is the 
approximate distance in ft beyond which injury (Level A harassment) is 
unlikely from an open-water explosion. These zones were initially 
proposed to be used by the Corps for implementing mitigation measures 
to protect marine mammals.
    Upon completion of the Port of Miami harbor construction project, 
the Corps calculated and analyzed field measurements of acoustic wave 
pressures during the Port of Miami Project. The results show that the 
acoustic wave pressures from the

[[Page 40481]]

detonation to a distance equal to the caution zone radius plus 300 ft 
(91 m) dropped down to the level of ambient noise.
    Due to the similarity of the geophysical structure and rock 
substrate between Port of Miami and Port Sutton, the Corps believes the 
adoption of the Port of Miami pressure measurements to establish safety 
zones at Port Sutton provides a conservative level of protection for 
marine mammals. Therefore, the Corps proposes to modify the safety zone 
radius to the radius of the calculated caution zone plus 300 ft (91 m). 
This modification will reduce the area of safety zones and make marine 
mammal monitoring more effective.
    (4) Marine mammal monitoring shall begin at least 1 hour prior to 
the scheduled start of blasting to identify the possible presence of 
manatees and dolphins. The monitoring shall continue until at least one 
half-hour after detonations are complete.
    Marine mammal monitoring will consist of a minimum of six 
observers. Each observer will be equipped with a two-way radio that 
shall be dedicated exclusively to the watch. Extra radio should be 
available in case of failures. Observers will also be equipped with 
polarized sunglasses, binoculars, a red flag for backup visual 
communication, and a sighting log with a map to record marine mammal 
sightings.
    In addition to monitoring from two small boats and from a draw 
barge, marine mammal monitoring will also include a continuous aerial 
survey to be conducted by aircraft, as approved by the Federal Aviation 
Administration.
    (5) Detonation events will be halted if an animal is spotted within 
300 ft (91 m) of the perimeter of the caution zone (i.e., the safety 
zone). The blasting event shall not take place until the animal moves 
out of the area under its own volition, or 30 minutes after the last 
sighting of the animal.

Endangered Species Act

    The Corps is currently working with the USFWS on an ESA section 7 
consultation regarding potential take of Florida manatees incidental to 
the proposed action. No ESA-listed species under NMFS jurisdiction will 
be affected.

Preliminary Conclusions

    NMFS believes that the Corps' proposed modification to the proposed 
action would not increase the incidental take of marine mammals from 
its original proposal by number or severity. The newly available 
information that was used for the proposed modification would provide a 
better assessment on the potential impacts on marine mammals, and 
therefore provides more effective mitigation and monitoring measures. 
NMFS retains its preliminary determination made in its previous Federal 
Register notice (70 FR 48541, August 18, 2005) that the Corps' proposed 
action and subsequent modification, including mitigation measures to 
protect marine mammals, may result, at worst, in the temporary 
modification in behavior by small numbers of bottlenose dolphins, 
including temporarily vacating the Port Sutton Channel area to avoid 
the blasting activity and potential for minor visual and acoustic 
disturbance from dredging and detonations. This action is expected to 
have a negligible impact on the affected species or stock of marine 
mammals. In addition, no take by injury or death is anticipated, and 
harassment takes will be at the lowest level practicable due to 
incorporation of the mitigation measures described in this document and 
the August 18, 2005, Federal Register notice (70 FR 48541).

Proposed Authorization

    NMFS proposes to issue an IHA to the Corps for the harassment of 
small numbers of bottlenose dolphins incidental to expanding and 
deepening the Port Sutton Channel in Tampa Harbor, FL, provided the 
mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements, along with the 
proposed modifications, are incorporated.

Information Solicited

    NMFS requests interested persons to submit comments and information 
concerning this proposed modification to the proposed project and NMFS' 
preliminary determination of issuing an IHA (see ADDRESSES).

    Dated: July 11, 2006.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E6-11268 Filed 7-14-06; 8:45 am]
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