[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 147 (Friday, July 31, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45642-45643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18790]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC969


Draft Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound 
on Marine Mammal Hearing--Acoustic Threshold Levels for Onset of 
Permanent and Temporary Threshold Shifts

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

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), on behalf of 
NMFS and the National Ocean Service (referred collectively here as the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)), announces the 
availability of a revised version of draft guidance for assessing the 
effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammal species under NOAA's 
jurisdiction. The guidance provides updated received levels, or 
thresholds, above which individual marine mammals are predicted to 
experience changes in their hearing sensitivity (either temporary or 
permanent) for all underwater anthropogenic sound sources. NOAA 
solicits public comment on the revised draft guidance based on updated 
scientific information and comments received during the first public 
comment period.

DATES: Comments must be received by September 14, 2015.

ADDRESSES: The revised draft guidance is available in electronic form 
via the Internet at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/acoustics/.
    You may submit comments, which should be identified with NOAA-NMFS-
2013-0177, by any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
    Mail: Send comments to: Chief, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle 
Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-
3226, Attn: Acoustic Guidance.
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without 
change. All Personal Identifying Information (e.g., name, address, 
etc.) voluntarily

[[Page 45643]]

submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit 
Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected 
information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required 
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to 
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF 
file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Scholik-Schlomer, Office of 
Protected Resources, 301-427-8449, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA has developed draft guidance for 
assessing the effects of anthropogenic sound on the hearing of marine 
mammal species under NOAA's jurisdiction (i.e., whales, dolphins, 
porpoises, seals and sea lions). Specifically, the guidance identifies 
the received levels, or thresholds, above which individual marine 
mammals are predicted to experience changes in their hearing 
sensitivity (either temporary or permanent) for all underwater 
anthropogenic sound sources. This guidance is intended to be used by 
NOAA analysts and managers and other relevant user groups and 
stakeholders, including other federal agencies, when seeking to 
determine whether and how their activities are expected to result in 
particular types of impacts to marine mammals via acoustic exposure. 
The document outlines NOAA's updated acoustic threshold level, 
describes in detail how the thresholds were developed, and explains how 
they will be updated in the future. NOAA published a Federal Register 
Notice on December 27, 2013, announcing the availability of the draft 
guidance and a 30-day public comment period (78 FR 78822), which was 
extended another 45 days based upon public request on January 29, 2014 
(79 FR 4672). Please refer to these Federal Register Notices for 
additional background about the draft guidance.
    While NOAA was in the process of evaluating and addressing public 
comments, the U.S. Navy updated its methodology for the development of 
marine mammal auditory weighting functions and acoustic threshold 
levels. NOAA evaluated the proposed methodology and preliminarily 
determined that it reflects the best available science. Accordingly, we 
have incorporated it into our draft guidance. NOAA also re-evaluated 
its methods for defining threshold usage for sources characterized as 
``impulsive'' or ``non-impulsive'' based on comments received during 
the initial public comment period. As a result, NOAA is now soliciting 
public comment, via this second public comment period, on this revised 
version of the draft guidance that incorporates these changes.
    Updated sections can be found in the following locations: (1) A 
summary of the updated draft acoustic threshold levels and marine 
mammal auditory weighting functions is in the main body of the 
document, with additional details provided in Appendix A (Navy 
Technical Report); (2) NOAA's proposed methodology for defining 
threshold usage for sources characterized as ``impulsive'' or ``non-
impulsive'' is in Section 2.3.1 of the main document, with additional 
details in Appendix C; (3) a new appendix identifying research 
recommendations and data gaps in response to comments submitted during 
the initial public comment period is Appendix D; and a new appendix 
providing optional alternative methodology for user groups unable to 
apply the guidance's more complex acoustic threshold levels and 
auditory weighting functions is Appendix E.
    Before the guidance is finalized, NOAA will address substantive 
public comments received from the initial public comment period, as 
well as from this second public comment period. Therefore, NOAA 
encourages the public to currently focus comments on the revised and 
new sections of the document. We are particularly interested in 
identification of any additional datasets for inclusion in the 
assessment, comments on our proposed methodology for transitioning from 
``impulsive'' to ``non-impulsive'' acoustic threshold levels, and 
evaluation of the methodology associated with updated marine mammal 
auditory weighting functions and acoustic thresholds.
    The guidance is classified as a Highly Influential Scientific 
Assessment by the Office of Management and Budget. As such, independent 
peer review is required prior to broad public dissemination by the 
Federal Government. NOAA recently conducted two independent peer 
reviews in association with the revised draft guidance (in addition to 
the peer review on the first draft of the guidance). Details of both 
peer reviews can be found within the draft guidance and at the 
following Web site: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/acoustics/.

    Dated: July 27, 2015.
Perry F. Gayaldo,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-18790 Filed 7-30-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P