[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41938-41939]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18752]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF665


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment on the 
Issuance of Incidental Take Authorizations in Cook Inlet, Alaska

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service announces its intent to 
prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the environmental 
impacts of issuing annual incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) 
pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) for the taking of 
marine mammals incidental to anthropogenic activities in the waters of 
Cook Inlet, Alaska, for the 2018 season; and its intent to continue an 
annual cycle for issuing MMPA IHAs in Cook Inlet such that companies 
planning to submit IHA applications for work to be conducted in Cook 
Inlet in 2018 do so by no later than October 1, 2017. We refer 
prospective applicants to our 2016 Technical Guidance for Assessing the 
Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing (http://

[[Page 41939]]

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/acoustics/guidelines.htm).

DATES: Applicants should submit applications to the Permits and 
Conservation Division in the Office of Protected Resources by October 
1, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Applications 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 applications is 
[email protected]. Applications sent via email, including all 
attachments, must not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. NMFS is not 
responsible for applications sent to addresses other than those 
provided here.
    Instructions: All applications received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm. 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: Sara Young, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8484.

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 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 for a period of one year or less, a notice of 
proposed authorization is provided to the public for review. The term 
``take'' under the MMPA means ``to harass, hunt, capture or kill, or 
attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill.'' 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].''
    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.''

Concern for Cook Inlet Beluga Whales

    Cook Inlet is a semi-enclosed tidal estuary located in southcentral 
Alaska and home to the Cook Inlet beluga whale, a small resident 
population that was designated as depleted under the MMPA and listed as 
an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2008. 
The stock has not recovered, despite implementation of subsistence 
hunting regulations in 1999, and cessation of hunting in 2007. In May 
2015, NMFS unveiled its ``Species in the Spotlight: Survive to Thrive'' 
initiative. This initiative includes targeted efforts vital for 
stabilizing eight species--including the Cook Inlet beluga whale--
identified among the most at risk for extinction. The approach involves 
intensive human efforts to stabilize these species, with the goal that 
they will become candidates for recovery. NMFS issued a Federal 
Register Notice in January 2017 announcing availability of its ESA 
Recovery Plan for the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale (82 FR 1325; January 5, 
2017).
    Due to the reduced number of ITA requests in the region, combined 
with current funding constraints, NMFS' intention of preparing an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for oil and gas activities in Cook 
Inlet has been postponed (79 FR 61616; October 14, 2014). Should the 
number of ITA requests, or anticipated requests, noticeably increase, 
NMFS will re-evaluate whether preparation of an EIS is necessary.

MMPA Authorization Cycle (Application Deadlines)

    To support NMFS' efforts to prepare an EA that covers multiple MMPA 
incidental harassment authorizations for the 2018 open water season, 
NMFS is continuing an application cycle for incidental harassment 
authorizations that include Cook Inlet beluga whales. NMFS requests 
prospective MMPA incidental harassment authorization applicants for the 
2018 open water season to submit their applications by October 1, 2017 
(unless the activity is scheduled to occur before May, in which case 
they should be submitted earlier). Receipt of those MMPA applications 
by October 1, 2017, will aid NMFS in the development of an EA to 
support timely and well-informed MMPA incidental harassment 
authorizations.

    Dated: August 30, 2017.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-18752 Filed 9-1-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P