[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 11, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15556-15557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07465]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF843


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project in Cook Inlet

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 Alaska Gasline 
Development Corporation (AGDC) for authorization to take, by 
harassment, marine mammals incidental to constructing an integrated 
liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Cook Inlet, Alaska, beginning 
November 2019 and continuing through October 2024. Pursuant to the 
implementing regulations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), 
NMFS is announcing our receipt of the AGDC's request for regulations 
governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and inviting 
information, suggestions, and comments on the AGDC's application and 
request.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than May 11, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to Jolie 
Harrison, Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office 
of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-
West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3225. The mailbox address for 
providing email comments is [email protected].
    Instructions: 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 10-megabyte file size. All 
comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be 
posted to www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental/construction.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: Shane Guan, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability

    An electronic copy of the AGDC's application may be obtained online 
at: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental/energy_other.htm.

Background

    Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
of 1972, as amended (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct the Secretary 
of Commerce (Secretary) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not 
intentional taking of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a 
specified activity (other than commercial fishing) if certain findings 
are made and regulations are issued or, if the taking is limited to 
harassment, 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 taking 
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).
    The use of sound sources such as those described in the application 
(e.g., pile driving) may result in the take of marine mammals through 
disruption of behavioral patterns or may cause auditory injury of 
marine mammals. Therefore, incidental take authorization under the MMPA 
is warranted.

Summary of Request

    On April 18, 2017, NMFS received an application from the AGDC 
requesting authorization to take a small number of humpback whale, 
beluga whale, killer whale, harbor porpoise, and harbor seal, by Level 
B harassment, incidental to

[[Page 15557]]

noise exposure resulting from constructing LNG facilities in Cook 
Inlet, Alaska from 2019 to 2023. AGDC's request is for take of five 
species of marine mammals, by Level B harassment only. Neither AGDC nor 
NMFS expects injury, serious injury, or mortality to result from this 
activity. NMFS provided questions and comments to AGDC after receiving 
the initial application regarding the scope of the project and impact 
analysis. AGDC submitted a modified request on February 23, 2018 and 
NMFS deemed the application adequate and complete on March 14, 2018.

Description of the Specified Activity

    AGDC proposes to construct facilities to transport and offload LNG 
in Cook Inlet, AK, for export. The Project activities include:
     Construction of the proposed Marine Terminal in Cook 
Inlet, including construction of a temporary Material Offloading 
Facility (MOF) and a permanent Product Loading Facility (PLF).
     Construction of the Mainline across Cook Inlet, including 
the potential construction of a Mainline MOF on the west side of Cook 
Inlet.
    Components of proposed construction activities in Cook Inlet that 
have the potential to expose marine mammals to received acoustic levels 
that could result in take include:
     Vibratory and impact pile driving associated with MOF and 
PLF construction.
     Anchor handling associated with pipelay across the Cook 
Inlet.
    For pile driving over the project duration, a total of 130 48-inch 
(-in) and 201 60-in steel piles would be installed using impact hammers 
for the PLF construction. A total of 7 24-in and 28 48-in steel piles 
would be installed using impact hammers and 66 18-in and 35 60-in steel 
piles using vibratory hammers for the MOF construction. In addition, 
approximately 6,700 feet and 670 feet of sheet pile would be installed 
using a vibratory and impact hammer, respectively, for the MOF 
construction.
    For anchor handling, a total of 5.75 and 13.25 hours of activities 
are assessed for mooring/pipe trenching and pipelaying in Seasons 3 and 
4, respectively.
    The LNG facility construction activities are anticipated to begin 
in late 2019 and take approximately four years to complete. However, 
the rule will cover a five-year period to encompass additional time 
should delays occur.
    A suite of proposed mitigation and monitoring measures for marine 
mammals that could potentially be taken during in-water construction 
activities includes: (1) Establishing and monitoring Level A and Level 
B zones with protected species observers (PSOs), (2) establishing a 
100-m shutdown zone and implementing shutdown measures when an animal 
is detected to approaching the shutdown zone, and (3) limiting pile 
driving activities to daylight hours only.

Information Solicited

    Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and 
comments concerning the AGDC's request (see ADDRESSES). NMFS will 
consider all information, suggestions, and comments related to the 
AGDC's request and NMFS' potential development and implementation of 
regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals by the 
AGDC's LNG facility construction in Cook Inlet.

    Dated: April 6, 2018.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-07465 Filed 4-10-18; 8:45 am]
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