[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2403-2408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00470]



[[Page 2403]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XR077]


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Gustavus Ferry Terminal 
Improvements Project

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

ACTION: Notice; proposed issuance of an Incidental Harassment 
Authorization; request for comments on proposed authorization and 
possible renewal.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from the Alaska Department of 
Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) for authorization to 
take marine mammals incidental to pile driving and construction 
associated with the Gustavus Ferry Terminal Improvements Project in 
Gustavus, Alaska. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), 
NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental 
harassment authorization (IHA) to incidentally take marine mammals 
during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a 
possible one-year renewal that could be issued under certain 
circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request 
for Public Comments at the end of this notice. NMFS will consider 
public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of 
the requested MMPA authorizations, and agency responses will be 
summarized in the final notice of our decision.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than February 
14, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments 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/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities without change. All 
personal identifying information (e.g., name, 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: Robert Pauline, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401. Electronic copies of the application 
and supporting documents, as well as a list of the references cited in 
this document, may be obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities. In case of problems 
accessing these documents, please call the contact listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The MMPA prohibits the ``take'' of marine mammals, with certain 
exceptions. 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 incidental take authorization may be 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) and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of the species or stock(s) for taking for subsistence uses 
(where relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods 
of taking and other ``means of effecting the least practicable adverse 
impact'' on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, paying 
particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar 
significance, and on the availability of such species or stocks for 
taking for certain subsistence uses (referred to in shorthand as 
``mitigation''); and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, 
monitoring and reporting of such takings are set forth.
    The definitions of all applicable MMPA statutory terms cited above 
are included in the relevant sections below.

National Environmental Policy Act

    To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 
42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6A, 
NMFS must review our proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an 
incidental harassment authorization) with respect to potential impacts 
on the human environment. This action is consistent with categories of 
activities identified in Categorical Exclusion B4 (incidental 
harassment authorizations with no anticipated serious injury or 
mortality) of the Companion Manual for NOAA Administrative Order 216-
6A, which do not individually or cumulatively have the potential for 
significant impacts on the quality of the human environment and for 
which we have not identified any extraordinary circumstances that would 
preclude this categorical exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS has 
preliminarily determined that the issuance of the proposed IHA 
qualifies to be categorically excluded from further NEPA review.
    We will review all comments submitted in response to this notice 
prior to concluding our NEPA process or making a final decision on the 
IHA request.

History of Request

    On November 20, 2019, NMFS received a request from the ADOT&PF for 
an IHA to take marine mammals incidental to in-water construction in 
Gustavus, Alaska. NMFS previously issued an IHA to ADOT&PF to 
incidentally take seven species of marine mammal, by Level A and Level 
B harassment, during construction activities associated with the 
Gustavus Ferry Terminal Improvements project. The IHA, issued on April 
4, 2017 (82 FR 17209; April 10, 2017), had effective dates of December 
15, 2017 through December 14, 2018. However, ADOT&PF was unable to 
conduct any of the work and, therefore, requested a new IHA. NMFS 
issued a second IHA with effective dates of December 15, 2018 through 
December 14, 2019 (83 FR 55348; November 11, 2018) to cover the 
incidental take analyzed and authorized in the first IHA. There were 
minor modifications to the number of piles driven but these had no 
effect on authorized take numbers, monitoring requirement, or reporting 
measures, which remained the same as stated in the original 2017-2018 
IHA.

[[Page 2404]]

    ADOT&PF was unable to meet the fall pile driving window (September 
1 through November 30, 2019) as originally anticipated. Due to this 
setback, construction is planned to begin in spring 2020. ADOT&PF 
submitted an addendum to the original application requesting that a 
supplementary two-week timeframe be included in the spring window from 
February 15 through May 31, 2020. During this two-week timeframe, the 
contractor would begin vibratory removal of structures in order to get 
ahead of schedule while also accommodating for one last sailing of the 
ferry to the community before the ferry terminal's closure for the 
remainder of construction. The only difference between this proposed 
and previously issued IHAs is a construction start date of February 15 
instead of March 1. The proposed IHA would be effective from February 
15, 2020 through February 14, 2021. Take numbers would be the same as 
authorized previously, and the mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 
requirements would remain the same as authorized for the 2018-2019 IHA 
referenced above. The specified activities are expected to result in 
the take of seven species of marine mammals including harbor seal 
(Phoca vitulina), Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), harbor 
porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), 
killer whale (Orcinus orca), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), 
and minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata).

Description of the Proposed Activity and Anticipated Impacts

    The proposed 2020-2021 IHA would cover the same construction 
associated with the modernization of the Gustavus Ferry Terminal as 
described in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 IHAs. NMFS refers the reader 
to the documents related to the previously issued IHAs for more 
detailed description of the project activities. These previous 
documents include the Federal Register notice of the issuance of the 
2018-2019 IHA (83 FR 55348; November 11, 2018) for the Gustavus Ferry 
Terminal Improvements project; the Federal Register notice of the 
issuance of the 2017-2018 IHA (82 FR 17209; April 10, 2017); ADOT&PF's 
application; the addendum from ADOT&PF dated November 20, 2019; and all 
associated references and documents, which may be found at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities. A detailed description of 
the proposed vibratory and impact pile driving activities at the ferry 
terminal improvements project is found in these documents. These 
descriptions remain accurate with the exception of moving up the 
construction start date by two weeks to February 15, 2020 during the 
spring work window instead of starting on March 1, 2020.

Detailed Description of the Action

    Differences between the issued 2017-2018 IHA and the issued 2018-
2019 IHA are shown in Table 1, for historical reference, but the 
proposed 2020-2021 IHA would be identical to the 2018-2019 IHA. Because 
the fullest detailed description of the activity was included in the 
materials describing the 2017-2018 IHA, we highlight the difference 
between the current 2020-2021 IHA and that one. Pile driving and 
removal would occur over the same number of days (50) with installation 
and removal of 16 additional piles over 21 additional hours. These 
changes represent a 3.5 percent increase in the number of piles 
installed and a 21.9 percent increase in the number of piles removed. 
The duration of impact driving would remain the same while the time 
spent vibratory driving would increase by 18.4 percent. The additional 
time required for vibratory driving is due to the increase in 
anticipated number of piles removed. Note that these proposed changes 
would have a nominal impact on the calculated Level A harassment 
isopleths and no effect on Level B harassment isopleths. Therefore, the 
sizes of the Level A harassment and Level B harassment zones would 
remain unchanged.

      Table 1--Gustavus Ferry Pile Installation and Removal Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Number of piles--
                                   Number of piles--  2018-2019 and 2020-
       Pile size (inches)            2017-2018 IHA     2021 proposed IHA
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
30..............................  14................  18.
24..............................  40................  34 install/12
                                                       remove.
18..............................  0.................  4 remove.
16..............................  0.................  4 install/4
                                                       remove.
12.75...........................  3 install/16        3 install/9
                                   remove.             remove.
                                 ---------------------------------------
    Total installed/total Piles.  57/73.............  59/89.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Driving time duration             2017-2018 IHA.....  2018-2019 proposed
                                  (hours)...........   IHA
                                                      (hours)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Impact Driving..................  57................  57.
Vibratory Driving...............  114...............  135.
                                 ---------------------------------------
    Total.......................  171...............  192.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Description of Marine Mammals

    Marine mammals expected to occur near the project area are shown in 
Table 2. A description of the marine mammals in the area of the 
activities is found in these previous documents, which remains 
applicable to the proposed 2020-2021 IHA as well. In addition, NMFS has 
reviewed recent draft Stock Assessment Reports, information on relevant 
Unusual Mortality Events, and recent scientific literature, and 
determined that no new information affects our original analysis of 
impacts under the 2017-2018 IHA.

[[Page 2405]]



                                                 Table 2--Marine Mammals Occurrence in the Project Area
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                                                                                       ESA/ MMPA status;   Stock abundance (CV,
             Common name                  Scientific name               Stock           strategic (Y/N)      Nmin, most recent        PBR      Annual M/
                                                                                              \1\          abundance survey) \2\                SI \3\
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                                          Order Cetartiodactyla--Cetacea--Superfamily Mysticeti (baleen whales)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Balaenopteridae (rorquals):
    Minke Whale.....................  Balaenoptera             Alaska................  -, -, N            N/A (see SAR, N/A, see         UND           0
                                       acutorostrata.                                                      SAR).
    Humpback Whale..................  Megaptera novaeangliae.  Central N Pacific       -, -, Y            10,103 (0.3, 7,891,             83        * 25
                                                                (Hawaii and Mexico                         2006) (Hawaii DPS
                                                                DPS).                                      9,487,\a\ Mexico DPS
                                                                                                           606 \a\).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Superfamily Odontoceti (toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Delphinidae:
    Killer Whale....................  Orcinus orca...........  Gulf of Alaska          -, -, N            587 c (N/A, 587, 2012)         5.9           1
                                                                Transient.
                                                               Northern Resident.....  -, -, N            302 c (N/A, 302, 2018)       * 2.2       * 0.2
                                                                                                           *.
                                                               West Coast Transient..  -, -, N            243 c (N/A, 243, 2009)         2.4           0
Family Phocoenidae (porpoises):
    Dall's Porpoise.................  Phocoenoides dalli.....  AK....................  -, -, N            83,400 (0.097, N/A,            UND          38
                                                                                                           1991).
    Harbor Porpoise.................  Phocoena phocoena......  Southeast Alaska......  -, -, Y            see SAR (see SAR, see    * See SAR          34
                                                                                                           SAR, 2012).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Order Carnivora--Superfamily Pinnipedia
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Family Otariidae (eared seals and
 sea lions):
    Steller Sea Lion................  Eumetopias jubatus.....  Western DPS...........  E, D, Y            53,624 (see SAR,             * 322         247
                                                                                                           53,624, 2018) *.
                                                               Eastern DPS...........  T, D, Y            43,201 (see SAR,           * 2,592       * 113
                                                                                                           43,201, 2017) *.
Family Phocidae (earless seals):
    Harbor Seal.....................  Phoca vitulina.........  Glacier Bay/Icy Strait  -, -, N            7,455 (see SAR, 6,680,       * 120         104
                                                                                                           2017) *.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Endangered Species Act (ESA) status: Endangered (E), Threatened (T)/MMPA status: Depleted (D). A dash (-) indicates that the species is not listed
  under the ESA or designated as depleted under the MMPA. Under the MMPA, a strategic stock is one for which the level of direct human-caused mortality
  exceeds PBR or which is determined to be declining and likely to be listed under the ESA within the foreseeable future. Any species or stock listed
  under the ESA is automatically designated under the MMPA as depleted and as a strategic stock.
\2\ NMFS marine mammal stock assessment reports online at: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/sars/. CV is coefficient of variation; Nmin is the minimum estimate of
  stock abundance. In some cases, CV is not applicable [explain if this is the case].
\3\ These values, found in NMFS's SARs, represent annual levels of human-caused mortality plus serious injury from all sources combined (e.g.,
  commercial fisheries, ship strike). Annual M/SI often cannot be determined precisely and is in some cases presented as a minimum value or range. A CV
  associated with estimated mortality due to commercial fisheries is presented in some cases.
Note: Italicized species are not expected to be taken or proposed for authorization.
\a\ Under the MMPA humpback whales are considered a single stock (Central North Pacific); however, we have divided them here to account for distinct
  population segments (DPSs) listed under the ESA. Using the stock assessment from Muto et al. 2019 for the Central North Pacific stock (10,103) and
  calculations in Wade et al. 2016, 93.9% of the humpback whales in Southeast Alaska are expected to be from the Hawaii DPS and 6.1% are expected to be
  from the Mexico DPS.
* Updated information from Muto et al. 2019. Draft Alaska Marine Mammal Stock Assessments, 2019. Available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/draft-marine-mammal-stock-assessment-reports.

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals

    A description of the potential effects of the specified activities 
on marine mammals and their habitat may be found in these previous 
documents, which remains applicable to the issuance of the proposed 
2020-2021 IHA. There is no new information on potential effects.

Estimated Take

    A detailed description of the methods and inputs used to estimate 
authorized take is found in these previous documents. The methods of 
estimating take for the proposed 2020-2021 IHA are identical to those 
used in the 2017-2018 IHA. The source levels also remain unchanged from 
the previously issued IHAs. Observational data was used to calculate 
daily take rates in the absence of density data. Since the number of 
pile-driving days (50) planned for the 2017-2018 IHA, 2018-2019 IHA and 
proposed 2020-2021 IHA are the same, the total estimated take 
projections will be identical. Additionally, marine mammal occurrences 
are more frequent in the late spring near the Gustavus ferry terminal. 
Moving the start date forward by two weeks would reduce the amount of 
in-water construction occurring later in the spring when animal 
occurrences are elevated. Therefore, the total recorded take amounts 
may be reduced. Note that since abundance estimates of some stocks have 
been updated in the Draft 2019 SAR (Muto et al. 2019) the percentage of 
stock taken has also changed. These changes are shown in Table 3.

[[Page 2406]]



           Table 3--Estimated Number of Instances of Exposures That May Be Subject to Level A and Level B Harassment and Percentage of Stocks
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                                              Level A         Level B     Total proposed
                 Species                    authorized      authorized      authorized        Stock(s) abundance       Instances of take as a percentage
                                               takes           takes           takes               estimate                     of total stock
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steller Sea Lion........................               0             709             709  53,624 (western distinct    1.3 */1.6*.
                                                                                           population segment in
                                                                                           Alaska)/43,201 (eastern
                                                                                           stock).
Humpback whale..........................               0    600/(36 \1\)    600/(36 \1\)  10,103 (Central North       5.9/1.1.
                                                                                           Pacific Stock)/3,264
                                                                                           (Mexico DPS).
Harbor Seal.............................              38             616             654  7,455 (Glacier Bay/Icy      8.7*.
                                                                                           Strait).
Harbor Porpoise.........................              26             127             153  11,146 (Southeast Alaska).  1.37.
Killer whale............................               0             126             126  302 (Northern resident)/    41.7 */21.4/51.8.
                                                                                           587 (Gulf of Alaska
                                                                                           transient)/243 (West
                                                                                           Coast transient).
Minke whale.............................               0              42              42  Unknown...................  Unknown.
Dall's Porpoise.........................               7              35              42  83,400....................  <0.01.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 6.1 percent of humpbacks whales in southeast Alaska (36) are from Mexico DPS (Wade et al. 2016).
* Updated information from Muto et al. 2019. Draft Alaska Marine Mammal Stock Assessments, 2019. Available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/draft-marine-mammal-stock-assessment-reports.

Description of Proposed Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measures

    A description of proposed mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 
measures is found in the previous documents, which are identical to 
those contained in this proposed 2020-2021 IHA. The following measures 
would apply to ADOT&PF's mitigation requirements:
     Implementation of Shutdown Zone--For all pile driving 
activities, ADOT&PF will implement a shutdown zone. The purpose of a 
shutdown zone is generally to define an area within which shutdown of 
activity would occur upon sighting of a marine mammal (or in 
anticipation of an animal entering the defined area). In this case, 
shutdown zones (Table 4) are intended to contain areas in which sound 
pressure levels (SPLs) equal or exceed acoustic injury criteria for 
some authorized species, based on NMFS' acoustic technical guidance 
(NMFS 2018).
     Implementation of Monitoring Zones--ADOT&PF must monitor 
Level A harassment zones as shown in Table 4. These zones are areas 
beyond the shutdown zones where animals may be exposed to sound levels 
that could result in permanent threshold shift (PTS). ADOT&PF must also 
monitor the Level B harassment disturbance zones as shown in Table 4 
which are areas where SPLs equal or exceed 160 dB rms for impact 
driving and 120 dB rms during vibratory driving. Observation of 
monitoring zones enables observers to be aware of and communicate the 
presence of marine mammals in the project area and outside the shutdown 
zone and thus prepare for potential shutdowns of activity, and also 
allows for the collection of marine mammal and effects data. NMFS has 
established monitoring protocols described in the Federal Register 
notice of the issuance (82 FR 17209; April 10, 2017) which are based on 
the distance and size of the monitoring and shutdown zones. These same 
protocols are contained in this proposed 2020-2021 IHA.

      Table 4--Shutdown, Injury and Behavioral Harassment Isopleths From Impact and Vibratory Pile Driving
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Level A         Level B
                                                                  Shutdown zone--   harassment      harassment
                             Species                                  impact/      zone--impact    zone--impact/
                                                                   vibratory (m)        (m)        vibratory (m)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steller Sea Lion................................................           25/10             n/a     2,090/3,265
Humpback whale..................................................          550/20             n/a     2,090/3,265
Harbor Seal.....................................................          100/10             285     2,090/3,265
Harbor Porpoise.................................................          100/20             630     2,090/3,265
Killer whale....................................................           25/10             n/a     2,090/3,265
Minke whale.....................................................          550/20             n/a     2,090/3,265
Dall's Porpoise.................................................          100/20             630     2,090/3,265
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Temporal and Seasonal Restrictions--Work may only occur 
during daylight hours, when visual monitoring of marine mammals can be 
conducted and all in-water construction will be limited to the periods 
February 15 through May 31, 2020, and September 1 through November 30, 
2020.
     Soft Start--The use of a soft-start procedure is believed 
to provide additional protection to marine mammals by providing warning 
and/or giving marine mammals a chance to leave the area prior to the 
hammer operating at full capacity. For impact pile driving, contractors 
will be required to implement soft start procedures. Soft Start is not 
required during vibratory pile driving and removal activities.
     Visual Marine Mammal Observation--Monitoring must be 
conducted by qualified marine mammal observers (MMOs), who are trained 
biologists, with minimum qualifications described in the Federal 
Register notice of the issuance of the 2017-2018 IHA (82 FR 17209; 
April 4, 2017). In order to effectively monitor the pile driving 
monitoring zones, two MMOs must be positioned at the best practical 
vantage point(s). If waters exceed a sea-state which restricts the 
observers' ability to make observations within the shutdown zone (e.g., 
excessive wind or fog), pile installation and removal will cease. Pile

[[Page 2407]]

driving will not be initiated until the entire shutdown zone is 
visible. MMOs shall record specific information on the sighting forms 
as described in the Federal Register notice of the issuance of the 
2017-2018 IHA (82 FR 17209; April 10, 2017). At the conclusion of the 
in-water construction work, ADOT&PF will provide NMFS with a monitoring 
report, which includes summaries of recorded takes and estimates of the 
number of marine mammals that may have been harassed.
     ADOT&PF must conduct sound source verification (SSV) 
testing of impact and vibratory pile driving for this project within 
seven days after underwater pile driving work is initiated. An acoustic 
monitoring plan must be submitted to NMFS for review and approval. The 
SSV testing must be conducted by an acoustical firm with prior 
experience conducting SSV tests in Alaska. Results must be sent to NMFS 
no later than 14 days after field testing has been completed. If 
necessary, the shutdown, Level A, and Level B harassment zones will be 
adjusted to meet MMPA requirements within 7 days of NMFS receiving 
results.

Determinations

    ADOT&PF proposes to conduct activities similar to those covered in 
the previous 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 IHAs. As described above, the 
number of estimated takes of the same stocks of marine mammals are the 
same as those authorized in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 IHAs that were 
found to meet the negligible impact and small numbers standards. Our 
analysis showed that less than 9 percent of the populations of affected 
stocks, with the exception of minke and killer whales, could be taken 
by harassment. For Northern resident and West Coast transient killer 
whales, the percentages, when instances of take are compared to 
abundance, are 41.7 percent and 51.8 percent, respectively. However, 
the takes estimated for these stocks (up to 126 instances assuming all 
takes are accrued to a single stock) are not likely to represent unique 
individuals. Instead, we anticipate that there will be multiple takes 
of a smaller number of individuals.
    The Northern resident killer whale stock are most commonly seen in 
the waters around the northern end of Vancouver Island, and in 
sheltered inlets along British Columbia's Central and North Coasts. 
They also range northward into Southeast Alaska in the winter months. 
Pile driving operations are not permitted from December through 
February. It is unlikely that such a large portion of Northern resident 
killer whales with ranges of this magnitude would be concentrated in 
and around Icy Passage.
    NMFS believes that small numbers of the West coast transient killer 
whale stock would be taken based on the limited region and duration of 
exposure in comparison with the known distribution of the transient 
stock. The West coast transient stock ranges from Southeast Alaska to 
California, while the proposed project activity would be stationary. A 
notable percentage of West coast transient whales have never been 
observed in Southeast Alaska. Only 155 West coast transient killer 
whales have been identified as occurring in Southeast Alaska according 
to Dahlheim and White (2010). The same study identified three pods of 
transients, equivalent to 19 animals that remained almost exclusively 
in the southern part of Southeast Alaska (i.e. Clarence Strait and 
Sumner Strait). This information indicates that only a small subset of 
the entire West coast Transient stock would be at risk for take in the 
Icy Passage area because a sizable portion of the stock has either not 
been observed in Southeast Alaska or consistently remains far south of 
Icy Passage.
    There is no current abundance estimate for minke whale since 
population data on this species is dated. However, the proposed take of 
42 minke whales may be considered small. A visual survey for cetaceans 
was conducted in the central-eastern Bering Sea in July-August 1999, 
and in the southeastern Bering Sea in 2000. Results of the surveys in 
1999 and 2000 provide provisional abundance estimates of 810 and 1,003 
minke whales in the central-eastern and southeastern Bering Sea, 
respectively (Moore et al., 2002). Additionally, line-transect surveys 
were conducted in shelf and nearshore waters in 2001-2003 from the 
Kenai Fjords in the Gulf of Alaska to the central Aleutian Islands. 
Minke whale abundance was estimated to be 1,233 for this area (Zerbini 
et al., 2006). However, these estimates cannot be used as an estimate 
of the entire Alaska stock of minke whales because only a portion of 
the stock's range was surveyed. (Allen and Anglis 2012). Clearly, 42 
authorized takes should be considered a small number, as it constitutes 
only 5.2 percent of the smallest abundance estimate generated during 
the surveys just described and each of these surveys represented only a 
portion of the minke whale range.
    Note that the numbers of animals authorized to be taken for all 
species, with the exception of Northern resident and West coast 
transient killer whales, would be considered small relative to the 
relevant stocks or populations even if each estimated taking occurred 
to a new individual--an extremely unlikely scenario.
    The proposed 2020-2021 IHA includes mitigation, monitoring, and 
reporting requirements that are identical to those depicted in the 
2017-2018 and 2018-2019 IHAs, and there is no new information 
suggesting that our analysis or findings should change.
    Based on the information contained here and in the referenced 
documents, NMFS has determined the following: (1) The required 
mitigation measures will effect the least practicable impact on marine 
mammal species or stocks and their habitat; (2) the authorized takes 
will have a negligible impact on the affected marine mammal species or 
stocks; (3) the authorized takes represent small numbers of marine 
mammals relative to the affected stock abundances; and (4) ADOT&PF'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.

Endangered Species Act (ESA)

    Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA: 16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal agency insure that any 
action it authorizes, funds, or carries out is not likely to jeopardize 
the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or 
result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated 
critical habitat. To ensure ESA compliance for the issuance of IHAs, 
NMFS consults internally whenever we propose to authorize take for 
endangered or threatened species.
    In order to comply with the ESA, NMFS Alaska Regional Office (AKR) 
Protected Resources Division issued a Biological Opinion on March 21, 
2017 under section 7 of the ESA, on the issuance of an IHA to ADOT&PF 
under section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA. This consultation concluded 
that the project was likely to adversely affect but unlikely to 
jeopardize the continued existence of the threatened Mexico DPS of 
humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) or the endangered western DPS 
of Steller sea lion (Eumatopias jubatus), or adversely modify 
designated critical habitat for Steller sea lions. In a memo dated June 
13, 2018, NMFS AKR concluded that re-initiation of section 7 
consultation was not necessary for the issuance of the 2018-2019 IHA. 
NMFS PR1 has been in contact with AKR Protected Resources Division and 
expects a similar outcome for the proposed 2020-2021 IHA. The only 
modification to the project is a

[[Page 2408]]

time shift of approximately one year and moving the spring start date 
forward by approximately two weeks. No additional take has been 
requested by ADOT&PF or is proposed for authorization by NMFS. All 
mitigation measures described in the Biological Opinion would be 
implemented to reduce harassment of marine mammals and document take of 
marine mammals. For these reasons, we anticipate no new or changed 
effects of the action beyond what was considered in the 2017 Biological 
Opinion. NMFS will conclude the ESA consultation prior to reaching a 
determination regarding the proposed issuance of the authorization.

Proposed Authorization and Request for Public Comments

    As a result of these preliminary determinations, NMFS proposes to 
issue an IHA to ADOT&PF for conducting pile driving and removal 
activities as part of the Gustavus Ferry Terminal Improvements Project 
for a period of one year from February 15, 2020 through February 14, 
2021, provided the previously mentioned mitigation, monitoring, and 
reporting requirements from the 2018-2019 IHA are incorporated. We 
request comment on our analyses and the proposed issuance of the IHA 
which would be identical to the previous IHA with the exception of a 
construction start date of February 15 instead of March 1. A draft of 
the proposed IHA can be found at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/incidental-take-authorizations-under-marine-mammal-protection-act.

Request for Public Comments

    We request comment on our analyses, the proposed authorization, and 
any other aspect of this Notice of Proposed IHA for the proposed 
ADOT&PF project. We also request at this time comment on the potential 
renewal of this proposed IHA as described in the paragraph below. 
Please include with your comments any supporting data or literature 
citations to help inform decisions on the request for this IHA or a 
subsequent Renewal.
    On a case-by-case basis, NMFS may issue a one-year Renewal IHA 
following notice to the public providing an additional 15 days for 
public comments when (1) up to another year of identical or nearly 
identical, or nearly identical, activities as described in the 
Specified Activities section of this notice is planned or (2) the 
activities as described in the Specified Activities section of this 
notice would not be completed by the time the IHA expires and a Renewal 
would allow for completion of the activities beyond that described in 
the Dates and Duration section of this notice, provided all of the 
following conditions are met:
     A request for renewal is received no later than 60 days 
prior to the needed Renewal IHA effective date (recognizing that the 
Renewal IHA expiration date cannot extend beyond one year from 
expiration of the initial IHA).
     The request for renewal must include the following:
    (1) An explanation that the activities to be conducted under the 
requested Renewal IHA are identical to the activities analyzed under 
the initial IHA, are a subset of the activities, or include changes so 
minor (e.g., reduction in pile size) that the changes do not affect the 
previous analyses, mitigation and monitoring requirements, or take 
estimates (with the exception of reducing the type or amount of take); 
and
    (2) A preliminary monitoring report showing the results of the 
required monitoring to date and an explanation showing that the 
monitoring results do not indicate impacts of a scale or nature not 
previously analyzed or authorized.
     Upon review of the request for Renewal, the status of the 
affected species or stocks, and any other pertinent information, NMFS 
determines that there are no more than minor changes in the activities, 
the mitigation and monitoring measures will remain the same and 
appropriate, and the findings in the initial IHA remain valid.

    Dated: January 9, 2020.
Catherine Marzin,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-00470 Filed 1-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P