[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 119 (Friday, June 19, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37064-37070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13101]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA155]


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Chevron Richmond Refinery Long 
Wharf Maintenance and Efficiency Project in San Francisco Bay, 
California

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of renewal incidental harassment 
authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, notification is hereby given 
that NMFS has issued a Renewal incidental harassment authorization 
(IHA) to Chevron Products Company (Chevron) to incidentally harass 
marine mammals incidental to the Long Wharf Maintenance and Efficiency 
Project (LWMEP) in San Francisco Bay, California.

DATES: This Renewal IHA is valid from June 15, 2020 through May 31, 
2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bonnie DeJoseph, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401. Electronic copies of the original 
application, Renewal request, and supporting documents (including NMFS 
Federal Register notices of the original proposed and final 
authorizations, and the previous IHA), as well as a list of the 
references cited in this document, may be obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/incidental-take-authorizations-under-marine-mammal-protection-act. In case of problems accessing these 
documents, please call the contact listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Marine Mammal Protection Act (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 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) 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 here as ``mitigation 
measures''). Monitoring and reporting of such takings are also 
required. The meaning of key terms such as ``take,'' ``harassment,'' 
and ``negligible impact'' can be found in section 3 of the MMPA (16 
U.S.C. 1362) and the agency's regulations at 50 CFR 216.103.
    NMFS' regulations implementing the MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e) 
indicate that IHAs may be renewed for additional periods of time not to 
exceed one year for each reauthorization. In the notice of proposed IHA 
for the initial authorization, NMFS described the circumstances under 
which we would consider issuing a Renewal for this activity, and 
requested public comment on a potential Renewal under those 
circumstances. Specifically, on a case-by-case basis, NMFS may issue a 
one time 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, activities as described in the 
Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts section 
of this notice is planned or (2) the activities as described in the 
Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts 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 the initial

[[Page 37065]]

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).
    (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.
    An additional public comment period of 15 days (for a total of 45 
days), with direct notice by email, phone, or postal service to 
commenters on the initial IHA, is provided to allow for any additional 
comments on the proposed Renewal. A description of the Renewal process 
may be found on our website at: www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-harassment-authorization-renewals.
    The NDAA (Pub. L. 108-136) removed the ``small numbers'' and 
``specified geographical region'' limitations indicated above and 
amended the definition of ``harassment'' as it applies to a ``military 
readiness activity.''

History of Request

    On June 19, 2019, NMFS issued an IHA to Chevron to take marine 
mammals incidental to Chevron Richmond Refinery Long Wharf Maintenance 
and Efficiency Project (LWMEP) in in San Francisco Bay, California (84 
FR 28474; June 19, 2019), effective from June 1, 2019 through May 31, 
2020. On January 30, 2020, NMFS received an application for the Renewal 
of that initial IHA. As described in the application for Renewal, the 
activities for which incidental take is requested consist of activities 
that are covered by the initial 2019 IHA but will not be completed 
prior to its expiration. As required, the applicant also provided a 
preliminary monitoring report (available at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-chevron-long-wharf-maintenance-and-efficiency-project-san-0) which confirms 
that the applicant has implemented the required mitigation and 
monitoring, and which also shows that no impacts of a scale or nature 
not previously analyzed or authorized have occurred as a result of the 
activities conducted.

Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts

    Chevron will be unable to complete all of the planned work in the 
2019 IHA at the Richmond Refinery Long Wharf (Long Wharf) before the 
expiration date of May 31, 2020 and, therefore, they have requested a 
Renewal IHA to authorize take of marine mammals for the subset of the 
initially planned work that could not be completed. These planned 
construction activities would allow Chevron to comply with Marine Oil 
Terminal Engineering and Maintenance Standards (MOTEMS) and to improve 
safety and efficiency at the Long Wharf. The work will be identical to 
a subset of the activities analyzed in the 2019 IHA and include both 
vibratory and impact pile driving for removal and installation of 
piles. Chevron installed 46 piles and removed 10 piles (of which 8 were 
temporary and removed shortly after installation) over approximately 18 
construction days under the 2019 IHA, leaving 69 piles remaining to be 
installed and up to 109 piles to be removed in the June 1 to November 
30, 2020 construction window. Similarly, the mitigation and monitoring 
will be identical to that included in the 2019 IHA. All documents 
associated with the 2019 IHA (i.e., the IHA application, proposed IHA, 
final IHA, public comments, monitoring reports, etc.) can be found on 
NMFS's website, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-chevron-long-wharf-maintenance-and-efficiency-project-san-0. All documents associated with the 2018 IHA (which are sometimes 
referenced in the Federal Register notices supporting the 2019 IHA) can 
be found at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-chevron-long-wharf-maintenance-and-efficiency-project-san.
    Anticipated impacts, which will include both Level A and Level B 
harassment of marine mammals, will also be identical to those analyzed 
and authorized in the 2019 IHA (though fewer, since from a subset of 
activities). Species with the expected potential to be present during 
all or a portion of the in-water work window include the Gray whale 
(Eschrichtius robustus), Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates), 
harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), California sea lion (Zalophus 
californianus), Northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus), Pacific harbor 
seal (Phoca vitulina richardii), and Northern elephant seal (Mirounga 
angustirostris). Monitoring results of the 2019 construction activities 
indicate that observed exposures above Level A and Level B harassment 
thresholds (see monitoring report) were below the amount authorized in 
association with the amount of work conducted; thus, the subset of 
Level A and Level B take remaining from that authorized under the 2019 
IHA will be sufficient to cover the 2020 pile installation and removal 
activities.

Detailed Description of the Activity

    A detailed description of the construction activities for which 
take is authorized here may be found in the notices of the proposed and 
final IHAs for the 2019 authorization. The work will be identical to a 
subset of the activities analyzed in the 2019 IHA and include both 
vibratory and impact pile driving for removal and installation of 
piles.
    All piles for which take was authorized in the 2019 IHA were 
expected to be installed/removed during the 2019 in-water work window 
from June 1 to November 30, 2019. However, due to construction schedule 
delays, designated work was only conducted on 18 of the estimated 67 
days of pile driving activity planned in the 2019 IHA. Table 1 shows 
the work completed in 2019 and the remaining subset of work covered 
under this Renewal. Identical to the 2019 IHA, pile driving activities 
will be timed to occur within the standard NMFS work windows for 
Endangered Species Act (ESA)- listed fish species (June 1 through 
November 30). This Renewal IHA is effective for a period of one year 
from the date of issuance.

[[Page 37066]]



                       Table 1--Pile Installations Completed in 2019 and Remaining Subset Planned for the 2020 Construction Window
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                             Number of
                                                                                             Number of         piles          Number         Number of
                Pile type                         Pile driver type           Number of         piles       requested in     installed/     driving days
                                                                          piles 2019 IHA   completed in    2020 renewal     removed per        2020
                                                                                               2019         application      day 2020
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60-inch steel pipe piles.................  Impact.......................               8               0               8               1               8
36-inch steel template pile (Installation  Vibratory....................               8               8               0  ..............               0
 and removal).
20-inch steel template pile (Installation  Vibratory....................               8               8               0  ..............               0
 and removal).
22-inch concrete pile removal............  Vibratory....................               5               2               3               5               1
24-inch square concrete..................  Impact.......................              39              30               9               2               5
12-inch composite piles..................  Vibratory....................              52               0              52               5              11
Timber pile removal......................  Vibratory....................             106               0             106              12               9
                                                                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total................................  .............................             226            * 48             178              NA              34
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* 46 piles were installed and 2 other piles were removed. Eight of the 46 piles were temporary and removed shortly after installation. Thus, a total of
  48 piles were utilized in construction activities during 2019, in which 46 pile installations and 10 pile removals were monitored, as required by the
  initial IHA.

Description of Marine Mammals

    A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities 
for which take is authorized here, including information on abundance, 
status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the notices of the 
proposed and final IHAs for the 2019 authorization. NMFS has reviewed 
the monitoring data from the 2019 IHA, recent draft Stock Assessment 
Reports, information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and other 
scientific literature, and determined that neither this nor any other 
new information affects which species or stocks have the potential to 
be affected or the pertinent information in the Description of the 
Marine Mammals in the Area of Specified Activities contained in the 
supporting documents for the 2019 IHA. The only change from the 2019 
IHA is a reduction of the San Francisco-Russian River harbor porpoise 
and the U.S. California sea lion estimated stocks from 9,886 to 7,524 
and 296,750 to 257,606, respectively (Carretta et al. 2019). NMFS 
determined that these updates do not change our findings.

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat

    A description of the potential effects of the specified activity on 
marine mammals and their habitat for the activities for which take is 
authorized here may be found in the Federal Register notice of the 
issuance of the 2018 IHA for Chevron's Long Wharf Maintenance and 
Efficiency project (83 FR 27548; June 13, 2018) and the Federal 
Register notice of the proposed IHA (83 FR 18802; April 30, 2018). NMFS 
has reviewed the monitoring data from the 2019 IHA, recent draft Stock 
Assessment Reports, information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events, 
other scientific literature, and the public comments, and determined 
that neither this nor any other new information affects our initial 
analysis of impacts on marine mammals and their habitat.

Estimated Take

    As stated above in the Description of the Specified Activities and 
Anticipated Impacts section, the purpose of this Renewal IHA is to 
authorize take of marine mammals for the subset of the initially 
planned work that could not be completed before the expiration of the 
2019 IHA, May 31, 2020. The subset of work completed in 2019 and that 
left to be completed during the 2020 construction window is listed in 
Table 1.
    A detailed description of the methods and inputs used to estimate 
take for the specified activity are found in the notices of the 
proposed and final IHAs for the 2019 authorization. Specifically, the 
source levels, in-water construction window, and marine mammal density 
data applicable to this authorization remain unchanged from the 
previously issued IHA, just the new, lesser, remaining levels of 
activity have been applied. Similarly, the stocks taken, methods of 
take, and types of take remain unchanged from the previously issued 
IHA.

                              Table 2--Authorized Take of Stocks, Renewal IHA 2020
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                                                                                    Authorized      Authorized
                    Species                                   Stock                Level A take    Level B take
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Harbor seal...................................  California......................           * 513           5,114
California sea lion...........................  Eastern U.S.....................  ..............             302
Harbor porpoise...............................  San Francisco-Russian River.....             * 4             321
Northern elephant seal........................  California Breeding.............  ..............              11
Gray whale....................................  Eastern North Pacific...........  ..............               2
Northern fur seal.............................  California......................  ..............              10
Bottlenose Dolphin............................  California Coastal..............  ..............              17
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* Level A take is associated with impact pile driving of 60-inch steel pipe, which was not conducted in 2019 as
  planned and is part of the subset of work to be completed in 2020.


[[Page 37067]]

Description of Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measures

    The authorized mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures 
included as requirements in this authorization are identical to those 
included in the Federal Register notice announcing the issuance of the 
2019 IHA, and the discussion of the least practicable adverse impact 
included in that document remains accurate. The following measures are 
proposed for this renewal:

Proposed Mitigation

    Time Restrictions--For all in-water pile driving activities, 
Chevron must operate only during daylight hours (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.).
    Attenuation Devices--Chevron must implement the use of bubble 
curtains during impact driving of 60-inch steel piles and 24-inch 
square concrete piles and operate it in a manner consistent with the 
following performance standards: (1) The bubble curtain must distribute 
air bubbles around 100 percent of the piling perimeter for the full 
depth of the water column. (2) The lowest bubble ring must be in 
contact with the mudline for the full circumference of the ring, and 
the weights attached to the bottom ring must ensure 100 percent mudline 
contact. No parts of the ring or other objects shall prevent full 
mudline contact. (3) Air flow to the bubblers must be balanced around 
the circumference of the pile.
    Establishment of Shutdown Zone--For all pile driving and extraction 
activities Chevron must implement and monitor shutdown zones. See Table 
3 for minimum radial distances required for shutdown zones.

                                   Table 3--Radial Distance to Shutdown Zones
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                                                              Shutdown zones meters
Project element requiring pile ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         installation            Low-frequency   Mid-frequency   High- frequency      Phocid          Otariid
                                   cetaceans       cetaceans        Cetaceans        pinnipeds       pinnipeds
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 Attenuated Impact Driving (with bubble curtain)
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60-inch steel pipe............             840              30                50              30              35
24-inch square concrete.......              20              10                50              15              10
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                                    Impact Pile Proofing (no bubble curtain)
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36-inch steel pipe pile.......             100              10                80              30              10
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                                          Vibratory Driving/Extraction
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12-inch Composite Barrier Pile              20              10                50              15              10
36-inch steel pipe pile.......              20              10                50              15              10
20-inch steel pipe pile.......              10              10                50              10              10
Wood and concrete pile                      10              10                50              10              10
 extraction...................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Establishment of Monitoring Zones for Level A and Level B--Chevron 
must establish and monitor Level A harassment zones during impact 
driving for harbor seal extending to 450 meters (m) and for harbor 
porpoise extending to 990 m. Chevron must also establish and monitor 
Level B harassment zones as depicted in Table 4.

              Table 4--Radial Distances to Monitoring Zones
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Distance to threshold
                   Pile type                      160/120 dB RMS (Level
                                                       B) in meters
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Attenuated Impact Driving (with bubble curtain)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
60[dash]inch steel pipe (1 per day)............                      740
24[dash]inch square concrete (1-2 per day).....                       75
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Impact Pile Proofing (no bubble curtain)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
36-inch steel pipe pile (2 total)..............                    1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Vibratory Driving/Extraction
------------------------------------------------------------------------
12-Inch Composite Barrier Piles (5 per day)....                   15,850
36-inch steel pipe pile (4 per day)............                   21,545
20-inch steel pipe pile (4 per day)............                    7,360
Wood and concrete pile extraction (12 per day).                    1,360
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Soft Start--Chevron must use soft start techniques when impact pile 
driving. Chevron must provide an initial set of strikes at reduced 
energy, followed by a 30-second waiting period, then two subsequent 
reduced energy strike sets. Soft start must be implemented at the start 
of each day's impact pile driving and at any time

[[Page 37068]]

following cessation of impact pile driving for a period of 30 minutes 
or longer.
    Pre-Activity Monitoring--Pre-activity monitoring must take place 
from 30 minutes prior to initiation of pile driving activity and post-
activity monitoring must continue through 30 minutes post-completion of 
pile driving activity. Pile driving may commence at the end of the 30-
minute pre-activity monitoring period, provided observers have 
determined that the shutdown zone is clear of marine mammals, which 
includes delaying start of pile driving activities if a marine mammal 
is sighted in the zone, as described below.
    If a marine mammal approaches or enters the shutdown zone during 
activities or pre-activity monitoring, all pile driving activities at 
that location must be halted or delayed, respectively. If pile driving 
is halted or delayed due to the presence of a marine mammal, the 
activity may not resume or commence until either the animal has 
voluntarily left and been visually confirmed beyond the shutdown zone 
or 15 minutes have passed without re-detection of the animal. Pile 
driving activities include the time to install or remove a single pile 
or series of piles, as long as the time elapsed between uses of the 
pile driving equipment is no more than thirty minutes.
    10-Meter Shutdown Zone--During the in-water operation of heavy 
machinery (e.g., barge movements), a 10-m shutdown zone for all marine 
mammals must be implemented. If a marine mammal comes within 10 m, 
operations must cease and vessels must reduce speed to the minimum 
level required to maintain steerage and safe working conditions.
    Non-authorized Take Prohibited--If a species for which 
authorization has not been granted or a species for which authorization 
has been granted but the authorized takes are met, is observed 
approaching or within the monitoring zone, pile driving and removal 
activities must shut down immediately using delay and shut-down 
procedures. Activities must not resume until the animal has been 
confirmed to have left the area or an observation time period of 15 
minutes without re-sighting has elapsed.

Proposed Monitoring Measures

    Visual Marine Mammal Observation--the following visual monitoring 
measures must be implemented:
    Baseline biological monitoring must occur within one week before 
the project's start date.
    Monitoring distances, in accordance with the identified shutdown 
zones, Level A and Level B zones, must be determined by using a range 
finder, scope, hand-held global positioning system (GPS) device or 
landmarks with known distances from the monitoring positions.
    Monitoring locations must be established at locations offering best 
views of the monitoring zone. One protected species observer (PSO) must 
be stationed at the north end of the wharf monitoring the entire 
observable area with a special focus on the section between Castro 
Rocks and the wharf.
    At least two PSOs must be actively scanning the monitoring zone 
during all pile driving activities.
    Observers must record all incidents of marine mammal occurrence, 
regardless of distance from activity, and must document any behavioral 
reactions in concert with distance from piles being driven or removed.
    Monitoring must be continuous unless the contractor takes a break 
longer than 2 hours from active pile and sheet pile driving, in which 
case monitoring must be required 30 minutes prior to restarting pile 
installation.
    For in-water pile driving, under conditions of fog or poor 
visibility that might obscure the presence of a marine mammal within 
the shutdown zone or Level A zone, the pile in progress must be 
completed and then pile driving suspended until visibility conditions 
improve.
    Monitoring of pile driving must be conducted by qualified PSOs, who 
must have no other assigned tasks during monitoring periods. Chevron 
must adhere to the following conditions when selecting observers: (1) 
Independent PSOs must be used (i.e., not construction personnel); (2) 
At least one PSO must have prior experience working as a marine mammal 
observer during construction activities; (3) Other PSOs may substitute 
education (degree in biological science or related field) or training 
for experience; and (4) Chevron must submit PSO curriculum vitaes for 
approval by NMFS.
    Chevron must ensure that observers have the following additional 
qualifications: (1) Ability to conduct field observations and collect 
data according to assigned protocols; (2) Experience or training in the 
field identification of marine mammals, including the identification of 
behaviors; (3) Sufficient training, orientation, or experience with the 
construction operation to provide for personal safety during 
observations; (4) Writing skills sufficient to prepare a report of 
observations including but not limited to the number and species of 
marine mammals observed; dates and times when in-water construction 
activities were conducted; dates, times, and reason for implementation 
of mitigation (or why mitigation was not implemented when required); 
and marine mammal behavior; and (5) Ability to communicate orally, by 
radio or in person, with project personnel to provide real-time 
information on marine mammals observed in the area as necessary.
    Hydroacoustic Monitoring--Sound Source Verification (SSV) testing 
must be conducted as stipulated in the Hydroacoustic Monitoring Plan. 
Acoustic monitoring must be conducted on the following: (1) Acoustic 
monitoring for at least two timber piles (vibratory); (2) Acoustic 
monitoring for at least four 24-inch square concrete piles (impact); 
(3) Acoustic monitoring for at least two 20-inch steel piles 
(vibratory); (4) Acoustic monitoring for at least two 36-inch steel 
piles (vibratory); (5) Acoustic monitoring for at least two 60-inch 
steel piles (impact); and (6) Acoustic monitoring of two 12-inch 
composite piles (vibratory).
    Testing must be conducted by an acoustical firm with prior 
experience conducting SSV testing. Final results must be sent to NMFS 
and may be used to establish shutdown and monitoring isopleths. Any 
alterations to the shutdown or monitoring zones based on testing data 
must be approved by NMFS.

Reporting

    Marine Mammal Monitoring--A draft marine mammal monitoring report 
must be submitted to NMFS within 90 days after the completion of pile 
driving and removal activities or a minimum of 60 days prior to any 
subsequent IHAs. A final report must be prepared and submitted to NMFS 
within 30 days following receipt of comments on the draft report from 
NMFS.
    The report must include an overall description of work completed, a 
narrative regarding marine mammal sightings, and associated marine 
mammal observation data sheets. Specifically, the report must include: 
(1) Dates and times (begin and end) of all marine mammal monitoring; 
(2) Construction activities occurring during each daily observation 
period, including how many and what type of piles were removed or 
driven and by what method (i.e., impact, vibratory, drilling); (3) 
Weather parameters and water conditions during each monitoring period 
(e.g., wind speed, percent cover, visibility, sea state); (4) The 
number of marine mammals observed, by species, relative to the pile 
location and if pile

[[Page 37069]]

removal or installation was occurring at time of sighting; (5) Age and 
sex class, if possible, of all marine mammals observed; (6) PSO 
locations during marine mammal monitoring; (7) Distances and bearings 
of each marine mammal observed to the pile being removed or driven for 
each sighting (if pile removal or installation was occurring at time of 
sighting); (8) Description of any marine mammal behavior patterns 
during observation, including direction of travel; (9) Number of 
individuals of each species (differentiated by month as appropriate) 
detected within the monitoring zone, and estimates of number of marine 
mammals taken, by species; (10) Detailed information about any 
implementation of any mitigation triggered (e.g., shutdowns and 
delays), a description of specific actions that ensued, and resulting 
behavior of the animal, if any; (11) Description of attempts to 
distinguish between the number of individual animals taken and the 
number of incidences of take, such as ability to track groups or 
individuals; and (12) Level B harassment exposures recorded by PSOs 
must be extrapolated based upon the number of observed takes and the 
percentage of the Level B harassment zone that was not visible.
    Injury, Serious Injury, or Mortality--In the unanticipated event 
that the specified activity clearly causes the take of a marine mammal 
in a manner prohibited by the IHA, such as an injury, serious injury or 
mortality, Chevron would immediately cease the specified activities and 
report the incident to the Chief of the Permits and Conservation 
Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS (301-427-8701), and the 
West Coast Regional Stranding Coordinator (562-980-3230). The report 
must include the following: (1) Description of the incident; (2) 
Environmental conditions (e.g., Beaufort sea state, visibility); (3) 
Description of all marine mammal observations in the 24 hours preceding 
the incident; (4) Species identification or description of the 
animal(s) involved; (5) Fate of the animal(s); and (6) Photographs or 
video footage of the animal(s) (if equipment is available).
    Activities would not resume until NMFS is able to review the 
circumstances of the prohibited take. NMFS would work with Chevron to 
determine what is necessary to minimize the likelihood of further 
prohibited take and ensure MMPA compliance. Chevron would not be able 
to resume their activities until notified by NMFS via letter, email, or 
telephone.
    In the event that Chevron discovers an injured or dead marine 
mammal, and the lead PSO determines that the cause of the injury or 
death is unknown and the death is relatively recent (e.g., in less than 
a moderate state of decomposition as described in the next paragraph), 
Chevron would immediately report the incident to the Chief of the 
Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 
and the West Coast Regional Stranding Coordinator. The report would 
include the same information identified in section above. Activities 
would be able to continue while NMFS reviews the circumstances of the 
incident. NMFS would work with Chevron to determine whether 
modifications in the activities are appropriate.
    In the event that Chevron discovers an injured or dead marine 
mammal and the lead PSO determines that the injury or death is not 
associated with or related to the activities authorized in the IHA 
(e.g., previously wounded animal, carcass with moderate to advanced 
decomposition, or scavenger damage), Chevron would report the incident 
to the Chief of the Permits and Conservation Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, NMFS, and the West Coast Regional Stranding 
Coordinator within 24 hours of the discovery. Chevron would provide 
photographs or video footage (if available) or other documentation of 
the stranded animal sighting to NMFS and the Marine Mammal Stranding 
Network.

Public Comments

    A notice of NMFS' proposal to issue a Renewal IHA to Chevron was 
published in the Federal Register on May 6, 2020 (85 FR 26962). That 
notice either described, or referenced descriptions of, the Chevron's 
activity, the marine mammal species that may be affected by the 
activity, the anticipated effects on marine mammals and their habitat, 
proposed amount and manner of take, and proposed mitigation, monitoring 
and reporting measures. NMFS received a comment letter from one entity, 
the Marine Mammal Commission (Commission). The comments and our 
responses are summarized below.
    Comment 1: The Commission recommended that NMFS ensure that Chevron 
is aware that it must abide by requirement 5(a)(iii) in the final 
authorization, and ensures that the far-field observer is stationed at 
the north, not the south end of the wharf, focuses on the area between 
Castro Rocks and the wharf, and documents any reactions and takes of 
the seals hauled out at Castro Rocks.
    Response: NMFS has clarified with Chevron that at least two PSOs 
are required to actively scan the shutdown and monitoring zones during 
all pile driving activities; one PSO is required to be stationed at the 
north end of the wharf monitoring the entire observable area with a 
special focus on the section between Castro Rocks and the wharf.
    Comment 2: The Commission recommends that NMFS ensure that its 
internal acoustics expert reviews the hydroacoustic monitoring report 
and underlying data before the report is accepted as final and before 
any revised Level A or B harassment zones are used, including for 
enumerating takes in the annual monitoring report.
    Response: NMFS will ensure that the hydroacoustic monitoring report 
is reviewed as needed prior to being accepted as final or being used as 
a basis for revising harassment zones. However, NMFS does not concur 
that Dr. Shane Guan must review every hydroacoustic report, as 
suggested by the Commission. It is not appropriate for the Commission 
to dictate the use of NMFS staff resources and NMFS will manage staff 
review of hydroacoustic report based on the content and complexity of 
the report, as well as the purpose of the review.
    Comment 3: The Commission recommends that NMFS ensure that Chevron 
uses the appropriate extents of the various Level B harassment zones 
for extrapolation.
    Response: NMFS will ensure that Chevron uses appropriate Level B 
harassment zones for the purposes of extrapolating estimated Level B 
harassment take in their final report.
    Comment 4: The Commission recommends that NMFS ensure that Chevron 
reports those animals that were observed and considered taken based on 
when pile driving and removal is occurring and where the animals are 
located.
    Response: NMFS has made clear to Chevron that only marine mammals 
observed during the monitoring period(s) defined in the Monitoring 
Measures section of the IHA should be used to record the estimated 
take, and that marine mammals observed in the vicinity of pile driving 
prior to or after active pile driving occurs should be included in the 
notes.
    Comment 5: The Commission recommends that NMFS ensure that Chevron 
reports the distances only in meters.
    Response: NMFS has confirmed that Chevron will provide their 
reporting data in meters.
    Comment 6: The Commission recommends that NMFS ensure that Chevron 
extrapolates the number(s) of each species taken based on the

[[Page 37070]]

number(s) observed and the extent of the unobserved portion of the 
Level B harassment zone on each day and sums the daily extrapolated 
takes across the authorization period.
    Response: Chevron will average their take across days and then 
apply the extrapolation factor to correct for the unobserved portion of 
the Level B zone. However, NMFS has confirmed that Chevron will 
differentiate their extrapolation of take calculations by pile driving 
type (i.e., zone size) and then sum the extrapolated takes from the 
different types, which should alleviate the concerns raised by the 
Commission.
    Comment 7: The Commission recommends that NMFS review all 
monitoring reports, including having its acoustic expert review all 
hydroacoustic monitoring reports, before accepting them as final to 
ensure that the action proponent has abided by the monitoring and 
reporting requirements under each incidental take authorization.
    Response: NMFS acknowledges the need for a thorough review of all 
monitoring reports and will ensure that hydroacoustic monitoring 
reports are reviewed as needed prior to being accepted as final to 
ensure that the action proponent has abided by the monitoring and 
reporting requirements under each incidental take authorization.
    Comment 8: The Commission recommends that NMFS refrain from issuing 
renewals for any authorization and instead use its abbreviated Federal 
Register notice process which is similarly expeditious and fulfills 
NMFS's intent to maximize efficiencies.
    Response: NMFS does not agree with the Commission and, therefore, 
does not adopt the Commission's recommendation. NMFS will provide a 
detailed explanation of its decision within 120 days, as required by 
section 202(d) of the MMPA.
    Comment 9: If NMFS continues to propose to issue renewals, the 
Commission recommends that it (1) stipulate that a renewal is a one-
time opportunity (a) in all Federal Register notices requesting 
comments on the possibility of a renewal, (b) on its web page detailing 
the renewal process, and (c) in all draft and final authorizations that 
include a term and condition for a renewal and, (2) if NMFS declines to 
adopt this recommendation, explain fully its rationale for not doing 
so.
    Response: NMFS agrees with the Commission's recommendation and has 
instituted this change.

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 IHA) 
with respect to potential impacts on the human environment.
    This action is consistent with categories of activities identified 
in Categorical Exclusion B4 (IHA 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 determined 
that the issuance of the Renewal IHA qualifies to be categorically 
excluded from further NEPA review.

Determinations

    The authorized action of this Renewal IHA, both vibratory and 
impact pile driving for removal and installation of piles, will be 
identical to a subset of the activities analyzed in the 2019 IHA, as 
listed in Table 2. Based on the analysis detailed in the notice of the 
final IHA for 2019 authorization, of the likely effects of the 
specified activity on marine mammals and their habitat, and taking into 
consideration the implementation of the monitoring and mitigation 
measures, NMFS found that the total marine mammal take from the 
activity will have a negligible impact on all affected marine mammal 
species or stocks.
    NMFS has concluded that there is no new information suggesting that 
our analysis or findings should change from those reached for the 2019 
IHA. This includes consideration of the estimated abundance of harbor 
porpoise and California sea lion stock decreasing slightly. Based on 
the information and analysis contained here and in the referenced 
documents, NMFS has determined the following: (1) The required 
mitigation measures will affect 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; (4) Chevron'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, and; (5) appropriate monitoring and 
reporting requirements are included.

Endangered Species Act

    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.
    No incidental take of ESA-listed species is proposed for 
authorization or expected to result from this activity. Therefore, NMFS 
has determined that formal consultation under section 7 of the ESA is 
not required for this action.

Renewal

    NMFS has issued a Renewal IHA to Chevron for the take of marine 
mammals incidental to conducting vibratory and impact pile driving for 
removal and installation of piles at the Long Wharf in San Francisco 
Bay, California during the in-water construction window of June 1 
through November 30, 2020.

    Dated: June 12, 2020.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-13101 Filed 6-18-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P