[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11344-11345]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-03410]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE271


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Bravo Wharf Recapitalization 
Project

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

ACTION: Notice; revision of an incidental harassment authorization.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that we have revised an incidental 
harassment authorization (IHA) issued to the U.S. Navy (Navy) to 
incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, one species of marine 
mammal during construction activities associated with a wharf 
recapitalization project at Naval Station Mayport, Florida. The project 
has been delayed and the effective dates revised accordingly.

DATES: This authorization is now effective from March 13, 2017, through 
March 12, 2018.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On July 21, 2015, we received a request from the Navy for 
authorization of the taking, by Level B harassment only, of marine 
mammals incidental to pile driving in association with the Bravo Wharf 
Recapitalization Project at Naval Station Mayport, Florida (NSM). A 
final version, which we deemed adequate and complete, was submitted on 
November 17, 2015. We published notice of a proposed IHA and request 
for comments on December 7, 2015 (80 FR 75978), and subsequently 
published final notice of our issuance of the IHA on August 9, 2016 (81 
FR 52637). In-water work associated with the project was expected to be 
completed within

[[Page 11345]]

the one-year timeframe of the IHA (effective dates originally December 
1, 2016 through November 30, 2017). One species of marine mammal is 
expected to be affected by the specified activities: Bottlenose dolphin 
(Tursiops truncatus truncatus). This species may occur year-round in 
the action area. On January 23. 2017, the Navy informed us that no work 
had been performed relevant to the specified activity considered in the 
MMPA analysis and requested that the dates of the IHA be revised.

Summary of the Activity

    The purpose of the project is to complete necessary repairs at an 
existing general purpose berthing wharf at NSM. The wharf is one of 
NSM's two primary deep-draft berths and is one of the primary ordnance 
handling wharves, and is in an advanced state of deterioration 
resulting in load restrictions. Construction of the replacement pier 
will require vibratory pile installation, with impact pile driving as a 
contingency. The entire project is expected to require a maximum of 130 
in-water workdays over two phases within a 24-month period. This IHA 
would be valid from December 1, 2016 through November 30, 2017.
    In order to rehabilitate Bravo Wharf, the Navy proposes to install 
a new steel sheet pile bulkhead at Bravo Wharf, requiring approximately 
880 single sheet piles (Phase I--berths B-2 and B-3: 590; Phase II--
berth B-1: 290). Vibratory driving will be the primary method of 
installation for all piles, although impact driving may be required as 
a contingency in the case of difficult subsurface driving conditions.
    Effects to marine mammals from the specified activity are expected 
to result from underwater sound produced by vibratory and impact pile 
driving. In order to assess project impacts, the Navy used thresholds 
recommended by NMFS. The Navy assumed practical spreading loss and used 
empirically-measured source levels from representative pile driving 
events to estimate potential marine mammal exposures. The calculations 
predict that only Level B harassment would occur associated with pile 
driving activities, and required mitigation measures further ensure 
that no more than Level B harassment would occur.

Findings

    Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)--As required by the MMPA, in 
order to issue an IHA, we determined that (1) the required mitigation 
measures are sufficient to reduce the effects of the specified 
activities to the level of least practicable impact; (2) the authorized 
takes will have a negligible impact on the affected marine mammal 
species; (3) the authorized takes represent small numbers relative to 
the affected stock abundances; and (4) the Navy's activities will not 
have an unmitigable adverse impact on taking for subsistence purposes 
as no relevant subsistence uses of marine mammals are implicated by 
this action.
    National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)--The Navy prepared an 
Environmental Assessment analyzing the project. We reviewed the EA and 
the public comments received and determined that it was appropriate to 
adopt the document in order to assess the impacts to the human 
environment of issuance of an IHA to the Navy. We signed a Finding of 
No Significant Impact on July 25, 2016.
    Endangered Species Act (ESA)--There are no ESA-listed marine 
mammals expected to occur in the action area. Therefore, the Navy did 
not request authorization of the incidental take of ESA-listed species 
and no such authorization was issued; therefore, no consultation under 
the ESA was required.

Summary of the Revision

    Construction activities have been delayed for the project due to 
delays from construction activities at another wharf in NSM, where they 
are allowed to only have one out-of-service wharf at a time. No in-
water work has occurred, including all aspects of the specified 
activity considered in our issuance of the IHA. The IHA, as issued, is 
a one-year IHA with no consideration of seasonality in timing any 
component of the specified activity. Therefore, shifting the effective 
dates of the IHA to accommodate the Navy's delayed schedule for this 
project has no effect on our analysis of project impacts and does not 
affect our findings. NOAA's new acoustic guidance was published in the 
Federal Register on August 4, 2016 (81 FR 51693) after the original IHA 
was issued. We are not considering this information here; the change to 
the effective dates is the only change to this IHA. No other new 
information is available that would substantively affect our analyses 
under the MMPA, NEPA, or ESA. All mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 
measures described in our notice of issuance of the IHA remain in 
effect. The species for which take was authorized and the numbers of 
incidences of take authorized are unchanged.
    As a result of the foregoing, we have revised the IHA issued to the 
Navy to conduct the specified activities in Naval Station Mayport, FL. 
Originally valid for 1 year, from December 1, 2013, through November 
30, 2014, the IHA now becomes effective on March 13, 2017, and is valid 
for one year, until March 12, 2018.

    Dated: February 16, 2017.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-03410 Filed 2-21-17; 8:45 am]
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