[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4158-4161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01245]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC659]


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Pile Driving for the Long Beach 
Cruise Terminal Improvement Project

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of renewal Incidental Harassment Authorization 
(IHA).

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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 IHA to Carnival Corporation & GHD 
(Carnival) to harass marine mammals incidental to pile driving for the 
Long Beach Cruise Terminal improvement project at the Port of Long 
Beach, California.

DATES: This renewal IHA is valid from January 18, 2023 through December 
9, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Cockrell, 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 proposed 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, or nearly identical, activities as 
described in the Detailed Description of Specified Activities section 
of the initial IHA issuance notice is planned or (2) the activities as 
described in the Detailed Description of Specified Activities section 
of the initial IHA issuance notice would not be completed by the time 
the initial IHA expires and a renewal would allow for completion of the 
activities beyond that described in the DATES section of the initial 
IHA issuance, provided all of the following conditions are met:
    (1) A request for renewal is received no later than 60 days prior 
to the needed renewal IHA effective date (recognizing

[[Page 4159]]

that the renewal IHA expiration date cannot extend beyond 1 year from 
expiration of the initial IHA).
    (2) The request for renewal must include the following:
     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).
     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.
    (3) 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.

History of Request

    On November 19, 2019, NMFS issued an IHA to Carnival to take marine 
mammals incidental to pile driving for the Long Beach Cruise Terminal 
improvement project in Long Beach, California (84 FR 64833), effective 
from November 19, 2019 through November 18, 2020. The original IHA was 
reissued in 2020 (85 FR 81452) and again in 2021 (86 FR 54943), with 
the latter of these referred to herein as the ``initial IHA'' for 
purposes of this renewal IHA. On November 30, 2022, NMFS received an 
application for the renewal of that original IHA. As described in the 
application for renewal IHA, the activities for which incidental take 
is requested are nearly identical to those covered through the initial 
authorization. No activity has yet been conducted under any of the 
issued IHAs and, therefore, there are no monitoring results to report. 
The notice of the proposed renewal IHA was published on December 29, 
2023 (87 FR 80173).

Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts

    Carnival was issued an initial authorization for take of marine 
mammals incidental to in-water construction activities associated with 
the Port of Long Beach Cruise Terminal Improvement Project in Long 
Beach, California. The purpose of the project is to make improvements 
to its existing berthing facilities at the Long Beach Cruise Terminal 
at the Queen Mary located at Pier H in the Port of Long Beach, in order 
to accommodate a new, larger class of cruise ships. As described in 
detail in the notice of proposed IHA for the original IHA (October 11, 
2019; 84 FR 54867), in-water construction will include installation of 
a maximum of 49 permanent, 36-inch (91.4 centimeters (cm)) steel pipe 
piles using impact and vibratory pile driving. A minor change to the 
in-water construction activities was described in the renewal request 
by Carnival. In addition to the 49 permanent piles, 30 24-inch 
temporary steel pipe piles will be placed to provide a template for 
placement of the permanent piles. Vibratory driving and removal will be 
used for the temporary piles. Pile driving activities were initially 
expected to occur over a period of approximately 26 days. Including the 
aforementioned minor change to the proposed construction activities, 
pile driving activities are likely to occur over a longer total 
duration. Sounds produced by these activities may result in take, by 
Level A harassment and Level B harassment, of marine mammals located in 
Long Beach, California. In addition, related dredging activities will 
occur for approximately 30 days. No take of marine mammals is 
anticipated to occur incidental to the planned dredging. No work has 
been completed under the original IHA or subsequent reissuances.
    Incidental takes to the in-water pile driving and removal and 
dredging in this renewal will be at the same level as authorized in the 
initial IHA. Five marine mammal species are expected to experience 
Level B harassment and one species has the potential for Level A 
harassment (see Estimated Take).
    All documents related to the original and initial IHAs are 
available on our website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-cruise-terminal-improvement-project-port-long-beach-ca.

Detailed Description of the Activity

    A detailed description of the activity is available in the proposed 
IHA renewal notice (December 29, 2022; 87 FR 80173).
    This renewal IHA is effective for a period of one year from the 
date of expiration of the initial IHA.

Description of Marine Mammals

    A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities 
for which authorization of take is proposed here, including information 
on abundance, status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the 
notices of the proposed and final IHAs for the original authorization. 
NMFS has reviewed the recent draft Stock Assessment Reports (SARs), 
information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events (UME), 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 original IHA.
    It should be noted that the Final 2021 NMFS' Marine Mammal SARs 
updated stock abundances for short-beaked common dolphins and long-
beaked common dolphins (Carretta et al., 2022). For short-beaked common 
dolphins the abundance increased slightly from the original IHA stock 
abundance estimate of 969,861 individuals to 1,056,308 individuals. For 
long-beaked common dolphins the abundance decreased from the initial 
IHA stock abundance estimate of 101,305 individuals to 83,379 
individuals. None of these population trends impact the findings made 
in support of the original IHA. Additional information on all stocks 
affected by this action is available in the NMFS' U.S. Pacific SARs 
(available online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-stock-assessments).

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 the 
authorization of take is proposed here may be found in the notices of 
the proposed and final IHAs for the initial authorization. NMFS has 
reviewed recent draft SARs, information on relevant UME, and other 
scientific literature, and determined that neither this nor any other 
new information affects our initial analysis of impacts on marine 
mammals and their habitat.

[[Page 4160]]

Estimated Take

    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 original authorization. Specifically, 
the source levels and marine mammal density/occurrence data applicable 
to this authorization remain unchanged from the previously issued IHA. 
Similarly, the stocks taken, methods of take, and types of take remain 
unchanged from the previously issued IHA, as do the number of takes, 
which are indicated below in Table 1.

    Table 1--Estimated Take by Level A and Level B Harassment, by Species and Stock, Resulting From Proposed
                                           Carnival Project Activities
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                                                                                                   Proposed take
              Common name                         Stock            Level A take   Total proposed   as percentage
                                                                                       take          of stock
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Short-beaked common dolphin...........  CA/OR/WA................               0             942            0.10
Long-beaked common dolphin............  California..............               0             942            0.92
Common bottlenose dolphin.............  Coastal California......               0             122           26.93
California sea lion...................  U.S.....................               0           2,232            0.87
Harbor seal...........................  California..............               5             984            3.18
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Description of Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measures

    The proposed 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 
original IHA, and the discussion of the least practicable adverse 
impact included in that document and the notice of the proposed IHA 
remains accurate. The following standard mitigation measures are 
proposed for this renewal.
     Conduct briefings between construction supervisors and 
crews and the marine mammal monitoring team prior to the start of all 
pile driving activity, and when new personnel join the work, to explain 
responsibilities, communication procedures, marine mammal monitoring 
protocol, and operational procedures;
     For in-water heavy machinery work other than pile driving 
(e.g., standard barges, etc.), if a marine mammal comes within 10 m, 
operations shall cease and vessels shall reduce speed to the minimum 
level required to maintain steerage and safe working conditions. This 
type of work could include the following activities: (1) movement of 
the barge to the pile location; or (2) positioning of the pile on the 
substrate via a crane (i.e., stabbing the pile);
     Work may only occur during daylight hours, when visual 
monitoring of marine mammals can be conducted;
     For those marine mammals for which Level B harassment take 
has not been requested, in-water pile driving will shut down 
immediately if such species are observed within or entering the 
monitoring zone (i.e., Level B harassment zone); and,
     If take reaches the authorized limit for an authorized 
species, pile installation will be stopped as these species approach 
the Level B harassment zone to avoid additional take.
    Additional mitigation measures proposed for this renewal are as 
follows.
     Shutdown zones as specified in the proposed IHA vibratory 
pile driving will be implemented.
     The use of seven protected species observers (PSO) that 
will be placed on vessels at entrances to the Port of Long Beach 
outside the breakwaters to observe marine mammals traveling into the 
shutdown zones.
     Soft start procedures for impact pile driving consisting 
of an initial set of strikes from the hammer at reduced energy, with 
each strike followed by a 30-second waiting period.
     The use of a marine pile-driving energy attenuator (i.e., 
air bubble curtain system) will be implemented by Carnival during 
impact and vibratory pile driving of all steel pipe piles.
     Prior to the start of daily in-water construction 
activity, or whenever a break in pile driving of 30 minutes or longer 
occurs, PSOs will observe the shutdown and monitoring zones for a 
period of 30 minutes.
     Carnival will only conduct pile driving activities during 
daylight hours.
    Monitoring and reporting requirements associated with this renewal 
are as follows.
     A total of seven PSOs will be based on land and vessels 
will monitor pile driving 30 minutes before, during, and 30 minutes 
after pile driving activities.
     Observers will be required to use approved data forms.
     A draft report will be submitted to NMFS within 90 days of 
the completion of marine mammal monitoring. The report will include 
marine mammal observations pre-activity, during-activity, and post-
activity during pile driving days (and associated PSO data sheets).

Comments and Responses

    NMFS received no public comments on the proposed Renewal IHA.

Determinations

    The construction activities are nearly identical to those analyzed 
for the original IHA, as are the method of taking and the effects of 
the action. The addition of the 30 temporary 24-inch steel piles does 
not increase the size of the Level A and Level B harassment zones. In 
analyzing the effects of the activities for the original IHA, NMFS 
determined that the Carnival's activities will have a negligible impact 
on the affected species or stocks and that the authorized take numbers 
of each species or stock were small relative to the relevant stocks 
(e.g., less than one-third of the abundance of all stocks). Although 
some marine mammal abundances have changed since the original IHA, none 
of this new information affects NMFS' determinations supporting 
issuance of the original and initial IHAs. The mitigation measures and 
monitoring and reporting requirements as described above are identical 
to the initial IHA.
    NMFS has concluded that there is no new information suggesting that 
our analysis or findings should change from those reached for the 
initial IHA. This includes consideration of the estimated abundance of 
short-beaked common dolphins and long-beaked common dolphins 
decreasing/increasing 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 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

[[Page 4161]]

mammals relative to the affected stock abundances; (4) Carnival'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.

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., issuance of an IHA renewal) 
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 determined that the issuance of the initial IHA 
qualified to be categorically excluded from further NEPA review. NMFS 
has preliminarily determined that the application of this categorical 
exclusion remains appropriate for this renewal IHA.

Endangered Species Act

    No incidental take of ESA-listed species is authorized 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 Carnival for the take of marine 
mammals incidental to conducting pile driving for the Long Beach Cruise 
Terminal improvement project at the Port of Long Beach, California from 
January 18, 2023 to December 9, 2023.

    Dated: January 18, 2023.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-01245 Filed 1-23-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P