[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 28 (Thursday, February 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7034-7035]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3043]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XN20


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Space Vehicle and Test Flight Activities from Vandenberg 
Air Force Base, CA

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, 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) has been issued to the 30th Space 
Wing, U.S. Air Force, to take four species of seals and sea lions 
incidental to rocket and missile launches on Vandenberg Air Force Base 
(VAFB), California, a military readiness activity.DATES: Effective 
February 7, 2009, through February 6, 2010.

ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting documentation are available for 
review by writing to P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits, Conservation, 
and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS), 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 
20910-3225 or by telephoning one of the contacts listed

[[Page 7035]]

below (FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Documents cited in this notice 
may be viewed, by appointment, during regular business hours, at the 
aforementioned address and at the Southwest Regional Office, NMFS, 501 
West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Candace Nachman, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2289 ext. 156, or Monica DeAngelis, NMFS, 
(562) 980-3232.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs 
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 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. Under the MMPA, the term 
taking 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 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 for monitoring and reporting of 
such taking.
    Regulations governing the taking of Pacific harbor seals (Phoca 
vitulina richardsi), northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), 
California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), and northern fur seals 
(Callorhinus ursinus), by harassment, incidental to missile and rocket 
launches, aircraft flight test operations, and helicopter operations at 
VAFB, were issued on February 6, 2009 (74 FR 6236), and remain in 
effect until February 6, 2014. For detailed information on this action, 
please refer to that document. These regulations include mitigation, 
monitoring, and reporting requirements for the incidental take of 
marine mammals during missile and rocket launches at VAFB.
    This LOA is effective from February 7, 2009, through February 6, 
2010, and authorizes the incidental take of the four marine mammal 
species listed above that may result from the launching of up to 30 
space and missile vehicles and up to 20 rockets annually from VAFB, as 
well as from aircraft and helicopter operations. Harbor seals haul-out 
on several sites on VAFB, and harbor seals, California sea lions, 
elephant seals, and northern fur seals are found on various haul-out 
sites and rookeries on San Miguel Island. Currently, six space launch 
vehicle programs use VAFB to launch satellites into polar orbit: Delta 
II, Taurus, Atlas V, Delta IV, Falcon, and Minotaur. Also a variety of 
small missiles, several types of interceptor and target vehicles, and 
fixed-wing aircrafts are launched from VAFB.
    The activities under these regulations create two types of noise: 
continuous (but short-duration) noise, due mostly to combustion effects 
of aircraft and launch vehicles, and impulsive noise, due to sonic boom 
effects. Launch operations are the major source of noise on the marine 
environment from VAFB. The operation of launch vehicle engines produces 
significant sound levels. The noise generated by VAFB activities will 
result in the incidental harassment of pinnipeds, both behaviorally and 
in terms of physiological (auditory) impacts. The noise and visual 
disturbances from space launch vehicle and missile launches and 
aircraft and helicopter operations may cause the animals to move 
towards or enter the water. Take of pinnipeds will be minimized through 
implementation of the following mitigation measures: (1) all aircraft 
and helicopter flight paths must maintain a minimum distance of 1,000 
ft (305 m) from recognized seal haul-outs and rookeries; (2) missile 
and rocket launches must, whenever possible, not be conducted during 
the harbor seal pupping season of March through June; (3) VAFB must 
avoid, whenever possible, launches which are predicted to produce a 
sonic boom on the Northern Channel Islands during the primary pinniped 
pupping seasons of March through June; and (4) monitoring methods will 
be reviewed by NMFS if post-launch surveys determine that an injurious 
or lethal take of a marine mammal occurred. VAFB will also use 
monitoring surveys, audio-recording equipment, and time-lapse video to 
monitor the animals before, during, and after rocket launches, and to 
measure sound levels generated by the launches. Reports will be 
submitted to NMFS after each LOA expires, and a final comprehensive 
report, which will summarize all previous reports and assess cumulative 
impacts, will be submitted before the rule expires. This LOA will be 
renewed annually based on review of the annual monitoring report.

    Dated: February 6, 2009.
Angela Somma,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-3043 Filed 2-11-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S