[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38990-38991]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15473]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XI58


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

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, notice is hereby given that NMFS 
has issued a letter of authorization (LOA) to BP Exploration (Alaska), 
Inc. (BPXA) to take marine mammals incidental to the production of 
offshore oil and gas at the Northstar development in the Beaufort Sea 
off Alaska.

DATES: This Authorization is effective from July 7, 2008, through July 
6, 2009.

ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting documentation may be obtained by 
writing to P. Michael Payne, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 
East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or by telephoning one of 
the contacts listed here.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Candace Nachman or Ken Hollingshead 
(301) 713-2289, or Brad Smith (907) 271-3023.

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 
``take'' means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill or to attempt to 
harass, hunt, capture, or kill marine mammals.
    Authorization may be granted for periods up to 5 years if NMFS 
finds, after notice 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) of marine mammals for 
subsistence uses. In addition, NMFS must prescribe regulations setting 
forth the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting 
the least practicable adverse impact on the species and its habitat, 
and on the availability of the species for subsistence uses. The 
regulations also must include 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 were made effective on April 6, 2006 
(71 FR 11314, March 7, 2006), and remain in effect until April 6, 2011. 
For detailed information on this action, please refer to that document. 
These regulations include mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 
requirements. The six species of marine mammals that BP may take in 
small numbers during construction and operation of the Northstar 
facility are bowhead whales, gray whales, beluga whales, ringed seals, 
spotted seals, and bearded seals.

Summary of Request

    On May 27, 2008, NMFS received a request from BPXA for a renewal of 
an LOA issued on July 6, 2007, for the taking of small numbers of 
marine mammals incidental to oil production operations at Northstar, 
under the regulations issued on March 7, 2006 (71 FR 11314). This 
request (BPXA, 2008) contains information in compliance with 50 CFR 
216.209, which updates information provided in BPXA's original 
application for takings incidental to construction and operations at 
Northstar. BPXA also submitted the required activity and monitoring 
report under the 2007-2008 LOA.

Summary of Activity and Monitoring Under the 2007-2008 LOA

    One offshore ice road was built during the 2006-2007 ice-covered 
season. Helicopters made 135 round trips to Northstar during the 2006-
2007 ice-covered season to transport crew and materials to and from the 
facility and recommended flight corridors and altitude restrictions 
were maintained. Hagglunds tracked vehicles made 37 round trips between 
West Dock and Northstar Island, and the hovercraft made 574 round trips 
during the 2006-2007 ice-covered season.
    Drilling activities were conducted at two well sites from November 
17, 2006, to May 1, 2007. No vibratory or impact pile driving 
activities took place during the present reporting period. The 2007 
repair activities consisted of removing the concrete blocks in areas 
that had sustained erosion and/or block damage, installing a new layer 
of filter fabric, installing gravel bags of various sizes to build up 
and stabilize the subgrade, installing another layer of filter fabric 
and an overlying layer of geogrid to reduce the susceptibility of the 
fabric to abrasion, and installing the concrete block armor.
    Each month, four to seven aerial surveys were conducted to inspect 
the pipeline for leaks or spills. There were 25 reportable Northstar-
related spills during the 2006-2007 ice-covered season and the 2007 
open-water season. Material spilled included drilling mud, corrosion 
inhibitor, sewage, methanol, motor oil, diesel fuel, hydraulic fluid, 
lube oil, and propylene glycol. Most of this material remained in 
contaminant and was recovered. All spilled material was contained and 
cleaned up. Contaminated snow, ice, and gravel were removed with 
various types of equipment, hand tools, and absorbents. No clean-up 
activity was necessary after Northstar flare events during the 
reporting period. On May 18, 2007, one quart of hydraulic fluid was 
released from a ditch witch; a portion of this fluid reached Beaufort 
Sea surface water. Shovels were used to scrape up the contaminated snow 
and ice from the spill site and sorbents were used to soak up the 
materials from the water surface. All the contaminated materials were 
recovered from the ice and water surface, thereby avoiding impact to 
the environment.
    During the open-water period, there were 190 helicopter round 
trips, 347 hovercraft round trips, 40 tug and barge trips, and 137 
Alaska Clean Seas Bay-class boat round trips to Northstar. There were 
an additional three trips by Bay-class boats in association with 
acoustic monitoring of the bowhead whale migration.
    Seal observations in 2007 began on May 15 and were conducted almost 
daily through July 31. Over the standard period of May 15-July 15, a 
total of three seals were counted during 57 days. This was much less 
than the total number of observations in 2005 and 2006 over the same 
period. As in 2005 and 2006, no seals were observed after July 15, when 
some monitoring continued. Results of seal counts conducted from 
Northstar Island during

[[Page 38991]]

the reporting period did not provide evidence, or reason to suspect, 
that any seals were killed or injured by Northstar-related activities 
during 2007. No activities were conducted that could have exposed 
pinnipeds and whales to underwater received levels greater than 190 dB 
re 1 microPa (rms) or 180 dB re 1 microPa (rms), respectively.
    Seven Directional Autonomous Seafloor Acoustic Recorders (DASARs) 
were installed in August, 2007. Five of the devices were deployed at 
locations 11.4-21.4 km (7.1-13.3 mi) NNE of Northstar Island and 
recorded low-frequency sounds continuously for approximately 36 days, 
until October 3. Simultaneously, near-island recordings were obtained 
from two DASARs placed 410-480 m (1,345-1,575 ft) from Northstar over 
the same period. In total, 11,780 bowhead whale calls were recorded in 
approximately 36 days at the four offshore DASAR locations. A total of 
10,146 calls, or 282 calls/day, were detected by two of the offshore 
DASARs combined. The 282 calls/day figure for 2007 is less than those 
recorded for 2003-2004 but greater than those for 2001, 2002, 2005, and 
2006. The much higher call counts in 2007 compared to the two previous 
years are probably related to the absence of nearshore pack ice during 
the 2007 season, meaning there were probably more whales closer to 
shore.
    Based on boat traffic records, sound emissions associated with 
Northstar activities in 2007 were probably somewhat higher than in 2006 
but lower than in 2001-2003. However, the weather was also considerably 
windier in 2006, which increases baseline sound levels. BPXA has no 
evidence that the island per se was producing sounds that were 
different in amplitude or frequency characteristics compared to 
previous years.
    Subsistence hunters from Nuiqsut who traveled to Cross Island for 
the annual bowhead whale hunt did not report any negative effects from 
Northstar activities on their ability to conduct the hunt. In 2007, 
Nuiqsut whalers landed three whales. One whale was struck and lost.

Authorization

    BPXA complied with the requirements of the 2007 LOA, and NMFS has 
determined that the marine mammal take resulting from the 2007 
construction and operation activities is within that analyzed in and 
anticipated by the associated regulations. Accordingly, NMFS has issued 
a 1-year LOA to BPXA, authorizing the taking of small numbers of marine 
mammals incidental to oil production operations at the Northstar 
offshore facility in state and Federal waters in the U.S. Beaufort Sea. 
Issuance of this LOA is based on findings described in the preamble to 
the final rule (71 FR 11314, March 7, 2006) and supported by 
information contained in BPXA's 2007 annual report that the activities 
described in the LOA will result in the taking of no more than small 
numbers of bowhead whales, beluga whales, ringed seals, and, possibly 
California gray whales, bearded seals, and spotted seals and that the 
total taking will have a negligible impact on these marine mammal 
stocks and would not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of these species or stocks for taking for subsistence 
uses.

    Dated: July 1, 2008.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E8-15473 Filed 7-7-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S