[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32726-32727]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14530]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG994
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Ice Road and Ice Trail Construction and Maintenance on
Alaska's North Slope
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 Hilcorp Alaska, LLC (Hilcorp)
and Eni US Operating Co. Inc. (Eni) for authorization to take small
numbers of marine mammals incidental to ice road and ice trail
construction, maintenance, and operation in Alaska's North Slope over
the course of five years from the date of issuance. Pursuant to
regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS
is announcing receipt of the Hilcorp and Eni's joint request for the
development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental
taking of marine mammals. NMFS invites the public to provide
information, suggestions, and comments on Hilcorp and Eni's application
and request.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than August
8, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the applications should be addressed to Jolie
Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. Physical comments should
be sent to 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and
electronic comments should be sent to [email protected].
Instructions: NMFS is not responsible for comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the
end of the comment period. Comments received electronically, including
all attachments, must not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. Attachments
to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel or
Adobe PDF file formats only. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/node/23111 without change. All personal
identifying information (e.g., name,
[[Page 32727]]
address) 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. An electronic copy of Hilcorp and
Eni's application may be obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-oil-and-gas. In case of problems accessing these
documents, please call the contact listed above.
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 (as delegated to NMFS) 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, a notice of a proposed
authorization is provided to the public for review.
An incidental take authorization 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.
The MMPA states that the term ``take'' means to harass, hunt,
capture, kill or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine
mammal.
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).
Summary of Request
On December 2, 2018, NMFS received a joint application from Hilcorp
and Eni requesting authorization for take of marine mammals incidental
to construction activities related to ice roads and ice trails in North
Slope, Alaska. The requested regulations would be valid for five years,
from approximately December 1, 2019 through November 30, 2024. Hilcorp
and Eni plan to conduct necessary work, including use of heavy
machinery on ice, to facilitate access to North Slope offshore oil and
gas facilities. The proposed action may incidentally expose marine
mammals occurring in the vicinity to elevated levels of sound, human
presence on ice habitat, and interactions with heavy machinery, thereby
resulting in incidental take, by Level B harassment and serious injury
or mortality. NMFS provided questions and comments to Hilcorp and Eni
after receiving the initial application regarding the scope of the
project and impact analysis. Hilcorp and Eni submitted a modified
request on May 21, 2019 and NMFS deemed the application adequate and
complete on May 31, 2019.
Specified Activities
Hilcorp and Eni conduct oil and gas operations at Northstar
Production Facility (Northstar) and Spy Island Drillsite (SID),
respectively, in coastal Beaufort Sea waters, Alaska. Ice roads and ice
trails are constructed yearly to connect and allow access to offshore
facilities. The process of constructing ice roads includes clearing of
snow, drilling holes in the ice, pumping seawater to the surface, and
the operation of tracked and wheeled vehicles. Construction of ice
trails and maintenance of ice roads generally requires the presence of
vehicles and personnel with snow blowing equipment.
Each year, Hilcorp will construct and maintain an estimated 11.7
kilometer (km) ice road and approximately 21.9 kms of ice trails to
their Northstar Island and West Dock facilities. Each year, Eni will
construct and maintain an estimated 6.8 km of ice roads and 6.8 km of
ice trails related to their SID facility, and an additional 8.9 to 11.2
km of ice roads related to their Oooguruk activities.
Construction of ice roads and ice trails generally begins in late
December and the process takes approximately six weeks. These roads and
trails and used and maintained until Mid-May when the ice becomes too
unstable to access. Ringed seals (Phoca hispida hispida) are the only
marine mammal species expected to occur in the action area during
construction, use, and maintenance activity.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning Hilcorp and Eni's request (see ADDRESSES). NMFS
will consider all information, suggestions, and comments related to the
request during the development of proposed regulations governing the
incidental taking of marine mammals by Hilcorp and Eni, if appropriate.
Dated: July 3, 2019.
Donna Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-14530 Filed 7-8-19; 8:45 am]
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