[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 58 (Monday, March 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18126-18127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06286]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC739]


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Geophysical Surveys Related to Oil and Gas Activities in 
the Gulf of Mexico

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

ACTION: Notice of modification to expiration date of Letter of 
Authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as 
amended, its implementing regulations, and NMFS' MMPA Regulations for 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Geophysical Surveys Related to Oil 
and Gas Activities in the Gulf of Mexico, notification is hereby given 
that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to Anadarko Petroleum Corporation 
(Anadarko), for the take of marine mammals incidental to geophysical 
survey activity in the Gulf of Mexico, has been modified to reflect a 
new expiration date.

DATES: This Letter of Authorization is effective April 1, 2023 through 
June 1, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The LOA, LOA request, and supporting documentation are 
available online at: www.fisheries.noaa.gov/marine-mammal-protection/issued-letters-authorization-oil-and-gas-industry-geophysical-survey. 
In case of problems accessing these documents, please call the contact 
listed below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Wachtendonk, Office of 
Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) 
direct the Secretary of Commerce to allow, upon request, the 
incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine 
mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than 
commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region if certain 
findings are made and either regulations are issued or, if the taking 
is limited to harassment, a notice of a proposed authorization is 
provided to the public for review.
    An authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS 
finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or 
stock(s), will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where 
relevant), and if the permissible methods of taking and requirements 
pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of such takings 
are set forth. NMFS has defined ``negligible impact'' in 50 CFR 216.103 
as an impact resulting from the specified activity that cannot be 
reasonably expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, adversely 
affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of 
recruitment or survival.
    Except with respect to certain activities not pertinent here, the 
MMPA defines ``harassment'' as: any act of pursuit, torment, or 
annoyance which (i) has the potential to injure a marine mammal or 
marine mammal stock in the wild (Level A harassment); or (ii) has the 
potential to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild 
by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not 
limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or 
sheltering (Level B harassment).
    On January 19, 2021, we issued a final rule with regulations to 
govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to 
geophysical survey activities conducted by oil and gas industry 
operators, and those persons authorized to conduct activities on their 
behalf (collectively ``industry operators''), in Federal waters of the 
U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM) over the course of 5 years (86 FR 5322; 
January 19, 2021). The rule was based on our findings that the total 
taking from the specified activities over the 5-year period will have a 
negligible impact on the affected species or stock(s) of marine mammals 
and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of 
those species or stocks for subsistence uses. The rule became effective 
on April 19, 2021.
    Our regulations at 50 CFR 217.180 et seq. allow for the issuance of 
LOAs to industry operators for the incidental take of marine mammals 
during geophysical survey activities and prescribe the permissible 
methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable 
adverse impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat 
(often referred to as mitigation), as well as requirements pertaining 
to the monitoring and reporting of such taking. Under 50 CFR 
217.186(e), issuance of an LOA shall be based on a determination that 
the level of taking will be consistent with the findings made for the 
total taking allowable under these regulations and a determination that 
the amount of take authorized under the LOA is of no more than small 
numbers.
    NMFS issued an LOA to Anadarko on September 27, 2022, for the take 
of marine mammals incidental to one of the following vertical seismic 
profile (VSP) survey types: Zero Offset, Two-Dimensional (2D), or 
Three-Dimensional (3D) in the vicinity of the Horn Mountain field in 
the Mississippi Canyon area, around block MC-81. Please see the Federal 
Register notice of issuance (87 FR 59783; October 3, 2022) for 
additional detail regarding the LOA and the survey activity.
    Anadarko initially anticipated that the activity would occur at 
some point between October 1, 2022 and April 1, 2023. Anadarko 
subsequently informed NMFS that a shift in their drillship schedule is 
likely to cause the associated VSP survey to occur later than 
previously expected. Anadarko has requested modification to the 
effectiveness end date of the LOA (from April 1, 2023, to June 1, 2023) 
to

[[Page 18127]]

account for any potential delays. There are no other changes to 
Anadarko's planned activity. Since issuance of the LOA, no survey work 
has occurred.

Authorization

    NMFS has changed the effectiveness end date of the LOA from April 
1, 2023, to June 1, 2023. Consistent with 50 CFR 217.187, the specified 
activity and mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures, as well as 
the anticipated impacts, are the same as those described and analyzed 
for the regulations. There are no other changes to the LOA as described 
in the October 1, 2022, Federal Register notice of issuance (87 FR 
59783): the survey activity, estimated take by incidental harassment; 
and small numbers analysis and determination remain unchanged from the 
original LOA and are herein incorporated by reference.

    Dated: March 22, 2023.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-06286 Filed 3-24-23; 8:45 am]
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