[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 93 (Monday, May 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41391-41392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10419]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD900]


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind 
Energy Project Offshore of Rhode Island

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

ACTION: Notice; modification 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 Construction of the Revolution Wind 
Project Offshore of Rhode Island, notification is hereby given that 
upon request from Revolution Wind, LLC (Revolution Wind), NMFS has 
modified a Letter of Authorization (LOA) issued to Revolution Wind for 
the take of marine mammals incidental to activities associated with 
construction of the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Energy Project 
(hereafter known as the ``Project'') in Federal and State waters 
offshore Rhode Island. Specifically, NMFS has removed the requirement 
that each real-time passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data stream must 
be monitored by separate PAM operators. NMFS has determined that this 
modification to the aforementioned monitoring requirement does not 
change the findings made for the regulations and does not result in any 
change in the total estimated number of takes of marine mammals.

[[Page 41392]]


DATES: The modified LOA is valid through November 19, 2028.

ADDRESSES: The issued modified LOA may be obtained online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-revolution-wind-llc-construction-revolution-wind-energy.

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

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 
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, regulations are promulgated (when 
applicable), and public notice and an opportunity for public comment 
are provided.
    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). If such findings are made, 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 as ``mitigation''); and requirements pertaining to the 
monitoring and reporting of such takings.
    NMFS promulgated a final rule in the Federal Register on October 
20, 2023 (88 FR 72562), which governs the incidental take of marine 
mammals incidental to Revolution Wind's construction of the Project in 
Federal and State waters offshore Rhode Island, specifically within the 
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease of Submerged 
Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf 
(OCS) Lease Area OCS-A-0486 and along two export cable routes to sea-
to-shore transition points. The rule became effective on November 20, 
2023, and is valid through November 19, 2028. The regulations allow 
NMFS to approve requests for modification to the LOA's specified 
activity or the mitigation, monitoring, or reporting measures if NMFS 
determines the requested change does not change the findings made for 
promulgation of the regulations and does not result in more than a 
minor change in the total estimated number of takes (see 50 CFR 
217.277(b)).
    NMFS issued a LOA to Revolution Wind on November 20, 2023, and 
published a notice of issuance in the Federal Register on November 27, 
2023 (88 FR 82834). The LOA authorized Revolution Wind to take, by 
harassment, marine mammals incidental to specified construction 
activities, specifically impact pile driving of wind turbine generator 
and offshore substation monopile foundations, UXO/MEC detonations, 
vibratory pile driving of cofferdams and goal posts, pneumatic 
hammering of casing pipes, and high-resolution geophysical vessel-based 
site characterization surveys, within the specified geographical 
region.

Summary of Request and Analysis

    On March 7, 2024, NMFS received a request from Revolution Wind to 
remove the ``per acoustic data stream'' requirement from LOA measure 
4(c)(2) (``Concurrently, at least one PAM operator per acoustic data 
stream (equivalent to the number of acoustic buoys) must be actively 
monitoring for marine mammals. . .''). Revolution Wind requested other 
LOA modifications in their March letter; however, NMFS is not making 
these modifications at this time because solutions to the challenges 
have been identified. In support of its acoustic data stream request, 
Revolution Wind cited challenges that had not adequately been 
considered prior to promulgation of the regulations. Specifically, 
Revolution Wind cited limited vessel space, the financial burden of 
employing multiple PAM operators, and the limited pool of qualified 
candidates as concerns associated with the need to maintain a rotation 
of four on-duty PAM operators. The regulations and LOA allow for PAM 
operators to monitor from a shoreside location; however, the PAM system 
Revolution Wind is using is configured such that PAM operators must be 
located on the foundation installation vessel. Moreover, Revolution 
Wind highlighted that some functionalities of the PAM software planned 
for use (e.g., the ability to localize on the position of an acoustic 
detection) are optimized when a single PAM operator evaluates the 
software data products for all acoustic buoy data streams rather than 
having multiple PAM operators view separate data streams. NMFS' 
evaluation indicated that the requested modification would alleviate 
concerns that were not fully considered by Revolution Wind previously 
while also allowing for potential improvement in localization efficacy. 
NMFS expects PAM operators to acoustically detect marine mammals within 
the applicable zones with the same level of efficacy and in accordance 
with a NMFS-approved PAM Plan. Furthermore, NMFS did not incorporate 
mitigation and monitoring measures, other than 10-decibel sound 
attenuation and seasonal restrictions, into the estimated take 
analysis. Therefore, NMFS has determined that the requested 
modification of measure 4(c)(2) does not change the findings made for 
the regulations and does not result in changes in the total estimated 
take numbers.
    NMFS has removed the language requiring that each acoustic data 
stream must be monitored by a separate PAM operator from the modified 
LOA. The modified LOA specifies that at least one on-duty PAM operator 
must monitor acoustic data streams prior to, during, and following 
foundation installations.

Authorization

    NMFS has issued a modified LOA to Revolution Wind authorizing the 
take, by harassment, of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to 
specified construction activities associated with the Project, which 
includes the modified monitoring measure discussed herein.

    Dated: May 6, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-10419 Filed 5-10-24; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P