[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 143 (Thursday, July 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60356-60358]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16411]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE074]


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the New England Wind Project, 
Offshore Massachusetts

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of letter of authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as 
amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given 
that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to Avangrid 
Renewables, LLC (Avangrid), the parent company of the original 
applicant, Park City Wind, LLC (Park City Wind), LLC, for the taking of 
marine mammals incidental to the construction of the New England Wind 
Project (hereafter known as the ``Project'').

DATES: The LOA is effective from March 27, 2025, through March 26, 
2030.

ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting documentation are available 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 below.

[[Page 60357]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karolyn Lock, 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 
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, regulations are 
promulgated (when applicable), and public notice and an opportunity for 
public comment are provided.
    An authorization for incidental taking 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; ``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 
the species or stocks for taking for certain subsistence uses (referred 
to as ``mitigation''); and requirements pertaining to the monitoring 
and reporting of such takings. The MMPA defines ``take'' to mean 
harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or 
kill any marine mammal (16 U.S.C. 1362(13); 50 CFR 216.103). Level A 
harassment is defined as any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance 
which has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal 
stock in the wild (16 U.S.C. 1362(18); 50 CFR 216.3). Level B 
harassment is defined as any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance 
which 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 (16 U.S.C. 1362(18); 50 CFR 216.3). Section 
101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA and the implementing regulations at 50 CFR 
part 216, subpart I authorize NMFS to propose and, if appropriate, 
promulgate regulations and issue associated LOA(s).
    On June 21, 2024, NMFS promulgated a final rule (89 FR 52222) 
responding to a request from the applicant for authorization to take 
small numbers of marine mammals (39 species comprising 39 stocks). 
After reviewing the request and making the required findings, NMFS is 
authorizing the take, by harassment only, of 38 species, representing 
38 stocks (19 species by Level A harassment and all 38 species by Level 
B harassment) incidental to select construction activities occurring in 
Federal and State waters off of Massachusetts, specifically within and 
around 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 0534, OCS-A 0561, the 
southwest (SW) portion of Lease Area OCS-A 0501 (collectively referred 
to as the Lease Area), and along an export cable routes to sea-to-shore 
transition points (collectively, the Project Area) over the course of 5 
years (March 27, 2025 through March 26, 2030). The specified activities 
are impact pile driving, vibratory pile driving, and drilling of wind 
turbine generator (WTG) and electrical service platform (ESP) 
foundations; high-resolution geophysical (HRG) site characterization 
surveys; detonation of unexploded ordnances (UXOs) or munitions and 
explosives of concern (MECs); fisheries and benthic monitoring surveys; 
placement of scour protection; trenching, laying, and burial activities 
associated with the installation of the export cable from the ESP(s) to 
shore based converter stations and inter-array cables between WTG 
foundations; vessel transit within the specified geographical region to 
transport crew, supplies, and materials; and WTG operations.
    Marine mammals exposed to elevated noise levels during foundation 
pile driving and/or UXO/MEC detonation, may be taken by Level A 
harassment (limited to blue whales, fin whales, humpback whales, minke 
whales, sei whales, sperm whales, dwarf sperm whale, pygmy sperm whale, 
Atlantic spotted dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, common 
bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, long-finned pilot whales, short-
finned pilot whale, Risso's dolphin, harbor porpoise, gray seal, harbor 
seal, and harp seal). Marine mammals exposed to elevated noise levels 
during impact pile driving, vibratory pile driving, and drilling during 
foundation installation, UXO/MEC detonation, and site characterization 
surveys may be taken by Level B harassment (all 38 stocks). For reasons 
described in the final rule, no mortality or serious injury of any 
marine mammal is anticipated to occur or authorized. Further, for 
reasons described in the final rule, no take by Level A harassment of 
several species, including the North Atlantic right whale, is expected 
to occur or authorized.

Authorization

    In accordance with the final rule (89 FR 52222, June 21, 2024; see 
50 CFR 217.326), we have issued a LOA to Avangrid authorizing the take, 
by harassment, of marine mammals incidental to specified activities 
within the specified geographical region. As previously stated, no 
mortality or serious injury of any marine mammal species is anticipated 
to occur or authorized. The incidental takes authorized herein are the 
same as those analyzed in the final rule (89 FR 52222, June 21, 2024). 
Takes of marine mammals will be minimized through the following planned 
mitigation and monitoring measures, as applicable for each specified 
activity: (1) implementation of spatio-temporal work restrictions; (2) 
use of multiple NMFS-approved Protected Species Observers (PSOs) to 
visually observe for marine mammals (with any detection within 
specifically designated zones triggering a delay or shutdown, as 
applicable); (3) use of NMFS-approved passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) 
operators to acoustically detect marine mammals during foundation 
installation activities, with a focus on detecting baleen whales (with 
any detection within designated zones triggering a delay or shutdown, 
as applicable); (4) implementation of clearance and shutdown zones; (5) 
use of soft-start prior to the start of foundation impact pile driving; 
(6) use of noise attenuation technology; (7) use of situational 
awareness monitoring for marine mammal presence; (8) conducting sound 
field verification during foundation installation and UXO/MEC 
detonation; (9) use of ramp-up acoustic sources during HRG surveys; and 
(10) implementation of several vessel strike avoidance measures (e.g., 
speed and separation distance measures) to reduce the risk of a vessel 
interaction with a marine mammal. Additionally, Avangrid is required to 
submit reports frequently to NMFS. Through adaptive management, NMFS 
may modify the LOA's mitigation, monitoring, or reporting measures, 
based on new information, when appropriate.
    As described in the preamble of the final rule, NMFS has determined 
that the take authorized in the LOA is of small numbers of marine 
mammals, will

[[Page 60358]]

have a negligible impact on marine mammal stocks, will not have an 
unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the affected marine 
mammal stock for subsistence uses, and the mitigation measures provide 
a means of affecting the least practicable adverse impact on the 
affected stocks and their habitat.

    Dated: July 22, 2024.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-16411 Filed 7-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P