[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11205-11206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4539]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA254


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Construction and Operation of a Liquefied Natural Gas 
Deepwater Port in the Gulf of Mexico

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for letter of authorization; 
request for comments and information.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from Port Dolphin Energy LLC (Port 
Dolphin) for authorization for the take, by Level B harassment, of 
marine mammals incidental to construction and operation of the Port 
Dolphin Deepwater Port (Port) off the Gulf coast of Florida for the 
period June 2012-June 2017. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of Port Dolphin's request for 
the development and implementation of 5-year regulations governing the 
incidental taking of marine mammals and inviting information, 
suggestions, and comments on Port Dolphin's application and request.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than March 
31, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to Michael 
Payne, Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West 
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. The mailbox address for providing e-
mail comments is [email protected]. NMFS is not responsible for e-
mail comments sent to addresses other than the one provided here. 
Comments sent via e-mail,

[[Page 11206]]

including all attachments, must not exceed a 10-megabyte file size.
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm without change. All Personal Identifying Information 
(for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the 
commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential 
Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Candace Nachman, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2289, ext. 156.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability

    A copy of Port Dolphin's application may be obtained by writing to 
the address specified above (ADDRESSES), calling the contact listed 
above (FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT), or visiting the Internet at: 
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm. The U.S. Coast 
Guard's and U.S. Maritime Administration's Final Environmental Impact 
Statement was made available to the public on July 9, 2009.

Background

    Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the 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.
    Authorization for incidental takings 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 (where 
relevant), 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.''
    Except with respect to certain activities not pertinent here, the 
MMPA 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].

Summary of Request

    On February 1, 2011, NMFS received a complete application from Port 
Dolphin requesting authorization for the take of two marine mammal 
species incidental to construction and operation of a liquefied natural 
gas (LNG) deepwater port off the Gulf coast of Florida over the course 
of 5 years, which would necessitate the promulgation of 5-year 
regulations. Port Dolphin plans to build the LNG Port off the western 
coast of Florida, approximately 42 mi (68 km) from Port Manatee, 
Florida. Once built, Port Dolphin anticipates up to 46 shuttle 
regasification vessel (SRV) unloadings per year during the first 
several years of operation. Noise produced during Port installation and 
construction activities and Port operations have the potential to take 
marine mammals. Port Dolphin requests authorization to take two 
cetacean species by Level B harassment only: Atlantic spotted dolphin 
and bottlenose dolphin. Injury or mortality is unlikely during the 
proposed activities, and take by Level A harassment (including injury) 
or mortality is not requested in Port Dolphin's application.

Specified Activities

    In the application submitted to NMFS, Port Dolphin requests 
authorization to take marine mammals incidental to construction and 
operation of the LNG Port off the Gulf coast of Florida. Construction 
activities, which would take approximately 11 months to complete, 
include: buoy installation; offshore hammering; horizontal directional 
drilling (HDD); HDD vibratory; pipeline laying offshore; pipeline 
laying inshore; offshore plowing; and inshore plowing. Operational 
activities include: SRV maneuvering and docking and regasification. 
Sections 1 and 2 of Port Dolphin's application describe the full suite 
of activities, as well as the location and duration of activity.

Information Solicited

    Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and 
comments concerning Port Dolphin's request (see ADDRESSES). All 
information, suggestions, and comments related to Port Dolphin's 
request and NMFS' potential development and implementation of 
regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals by Port 
Dolphin's activities will be considered by NMFS in developing, if 
appropriate, the most effective regulations governing the issuance of 
letters of authorization.

    Dated: February 23, 2011.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-4539 Filed 2-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P