[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 178 (Monday, September 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54970-54971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21886]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD477


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; U.S. 
Navy Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore Training in Virginia and North 
Carolina

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 the U.S. Navy (Navy) for 
authorization to take marine mammals incidental to conducting Joint 
Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) training activities in Virginia and 
North Carolina, from June 2015 through June 2020. Pursuant to the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing our receipt of 
the Navy's request for the development and implementation of 
regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and 
inviting information, suggestions, and comments on the Navy's 
application and request.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than October 
15, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to Jolie 
Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910. The mailbox address for providing email 
comments is [email protected]. NMFS is not responsible for email 
comments sent to addresses other than the one provided here. Comments 
sent via email, including all attachments, must not exceed a 25-
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.
    A copy of the Navy's application may be obtained by visiting the 
internet at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm. 
Documents cited in this notice may also be viewed, by appointment, 
during regular business hours, at the aforementioned address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Guan, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 United States citizens who engage in a specified activity 
(other than commercial fishing) within a specific 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.''
    With respect to military readiness activities, the MMPA defines 
``harassment'' as: ``(i) Any act that injures or has the significant 
potential to injure a marine mammal stock in the wild [Level A 
Harassment]; or (ii) any act that disturbs or is likely to disturb a 
marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption 
of natural behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, 
migration, surfacing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering, to a 
point where such behavioral patterns are abandoned or significantly 
altered [Level B Harassment].''

Summary of Request

    On August 20, 2014, NMFS received an application from the Navy 
requesting a letter of authorization (LOA) for the take of bottlenose 
and Atlantic spotted dolphins incidental to the Navy's JLOTS training 
activities in nearshore waters at the Joint Expeditionary Base (JEB) 
Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia and at Camp Lejeune in North 
Carolina. The Navy is requesting a 5-year LOA for these activities. 
These activities are classified as military readiness activities. The 
Navy states that these activities may result in take of marine mammals 
from noise or visual disturbance from temporary pier construction 
associated with the JLOTS training activities. The Navy requests to 
take bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins by Level B harassment.

Description of the Specified Activity

    JLOTS training is the movement of cargo and personnel from ships to 
shore in areas that do not have existing fixed port facilities. Among 
the several coordinated exercises of the JLOTS training, the only 
activity that has the potential to harass marine mammals is the 
construction of the Elevated Causeway System, Modular [ELCAS(M)] by 
introducing noise into the water.
    The ELCAS (M) is a temporary pier constructed from the beach into 
the water past the surf zone. It provides a means of delivering 
containers, vehicles, and bulk cargo ashore without lighterage craft 
having to enter the surf zone. The ELCAS (M) consists of a series of 
24- by 40-ft. (7.3- by 12.2-m) pontoon sections joined together and 
supported by piles driven into the sea floor.
    To build the pier, piles are driven into the sand with a diesel-
powered impact hammer. The piles used typically are hollow, half-inch 
steel uncapped piles, 24 inches (0.5 m) in diameter, and can be of 
various lengths (38 ft. [11.6 m], 57 ft. [17.4 m], or 76 ft. [23.2 m]) 
depending on local bathymetry. The depth to which the piles are driven 
is between 30 and 40 ft. (9.1 to 12.2 m) and installation takes 
approximately 15 minutes per pile. Typically, 6 piles would be 
installed in a day. Two pile drivers are generally used, but not 
simultaneously: while one is driving a

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pile, the other is being re-positioned for the next pile. Construction 
may take up to 20 days. A pier length of 1,500 ft (457 m) is typical 
for training, with approximately 119 supporting piles.
    Once the ELCAS (M) is constructed, offloading operations are 
similar to those of a conventional pier. Container-handling operations 
consist primarily of transferring containers from lighterage vessels 
(e.g., Landing Craft Utility or Landing Craft Mechanized) to the pier. 
Empty trucks or trailers are driven onto a turntable at the seaward end 
of the ELCAS (M) and are loaded with containers using the same cranes 
from construction. The ELCAS (M) is wide enough to accommodate two-way 
traffic. Rolling stock may be lifted by crane to the pier and driven to 
the beach as well. Operations typically involve the use of two 
forklifts and an average of six cargo trucks a day during the exercise. 
Power for the operation of the turntable and the lighting of the ELCAS 
(M) is provided by up to two 30-kilowatt (kW) and two 100-kW 
generators.
    The ELCAS (M) is dismantled by removing the pontoon sections and 
extracting the piles with a vibratory hammer, which takes approximately 
6 minutes per pile, over the course of 10 days. Typically, 12 piles are 
removed in a day. On the beach, the modified area re-graded to its 
original elevation.

Information Solicited

    Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and 
comments concerning the Navy's request (see ADDRESSES). All input 
related to the Navy's request and NMFS' role in governing the 
incidental taking of marine mammals will be considered by NMFS when 
developing, if appropriate, the most effective regulations governing 
the issuance of an LOA.

    Dated: September 9, 2014.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-21886 Filed 9-12-14; 8:45 am]
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