§ 217.115 - Requirements for monitoring and reporting.

§ 217.115 Requirements for monitoring and reporting.

(a) The Holder of the Letter of Authorization issued pursuant to §§ 216.106 and 217.117 of this chapter for activities described in § 217.110(c) is required to conduct the monitoring and reporting measures specified in this section and § 217.114 and any additional monitoring measures contained in the Letter of Authorization.

(b) The Holder of the Letter of Authorization is required to cooperate with the National Marine Fisheries Service, and any other Federal, state or local agency monitoring the impacts of the activity on marine mammals. Unless specified otherwise in the Letter of Authorization, the Holder of the Letter of Authorization must notify the Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, or designee, by letter or telephone [phone]), at least 2 weeks prior to any modification to the activity identified in § 217.110(c) that has the potential to result in the serious injury, mortality or Level A or Level B harassment of a marine mammal that was not identified and addressed previously.

(c) Monitoring Procedures for PSW Missions:

(1) The Holder of this Authorization must:

(i) Designate qualified on-site individual(s) to record the effects of mission launches on marine mammals that inhabit the northern Gulf of Mexico;

(ii) Have on-site individuals, approved in advance by the National Marine Fisheries Service, to conduct the mitigation, monitoring and reporting activities specified in this subpart and in the Letter of Authorization issued pursuant to §§ 216.106 and 217.117 of this chapter.

(iii) Conduct aerial surveys to reduce impacts on protected species. The aerial survey/monitoring team will consist of two experienced marine mammal observers, approved in advance by the Southeast Region, National Marine Fisheries Service. The aircraft will also have a data recorder who would be responsible for relaying the location, the species if possible, the direction of movement, and the number of animals sighted.

(iv) Conduct shipboard monitoring to reduce impacts to protected species. Trained observers will conduct monitoring from the highest point possible on each mission or support vessel(s). The observer on the vessel must be equipped with optical equipment with sufficient magnification (e.g., 25x power “Big-Eye” binoculars).

(2) The aerial and shipboard monitoring teams will maintain proper lines of communication to avoid communication deficiencies. The observers from the aerial team and operations vessel will have direct communication with the lead scientist aboard the operations vessel.

(3) Pre-mission Monitoring: Approximately 5 hours prior to the mission, or at daybreak, the appropriate vessel(s) would be on-site in the primary test site near the location of the earliest planned mission point. Observers onboard the vessel will assess the suitability of the test site, based on visual observation of marine mammals and sea turtles, the presence of large Sargassum mats, seabirds and jellyfish aggregations and overall environmental conditions (visibility, sea state, etc.). This information will be relayed to the lead scientist.

(4) Three Hours Prior to Mission:

(i) Approximately three hours prior to the mission launch, aerial monitoring will commence within the test site to evaluate the test site for environmental suitability. Evaluation of the entire test site would take approximately 1 to 1.5 hours. The aerial monitoring team will begin monitoring the safety zone and buffer zone around the target area.

(ii) Shipboard observers will monitor the safety and buffer zone, and the lead scientist will enter all marine mammals and sea turtle sightings, including the time of sighting and the direction of travel, into a marine animal tracking and sighting database.

(5) One to 1.5 Hours Prior to Mission Launch:

(i) Depending upon the mission, aerial and shipboard viewers will be instructed to leave the area and remain outside the safety area. The aerial team will report all marine animals spotted and their directions of travel to the lead scientist onboard the vessel.

(ii) The shipboard monitoring team will continue searching the buffer zone for protected species as it leaves the safety zone. The surface vessels will continue to monitor from outside of the safety area until after impact.

(6) Post-mission monitoring:

(i) The vessels will move into the safety zone from outside the safety zone and continue monitoring for at least two hours, concentrating on the area down current of the test site.

(ii) The holder of the Letter of Authorization will closely coordinate mission launches with marine animal stranding networks.

(iii) The monitoring team will document any dead or injured marine mammals or turtles and, if practicable, recover and examine any dead animals.

(d) Monitoring Procedures for A–S Gunnery Missions:

(1) In addition to the monitoring requirements in 217.114(c), the holder of the Letter of Authorization must:

(i) Cooperate with the National Marine Fisheries Service and any other Federal, state or local agency monitoring the impacts of the activity on marine mammals.

(ii) Require aircrews to initiate the post-mission clearance procedures beginning at the operational altitude of approximately 15,000 to 20,000 ft (4572 to 6096 m) elevation, and then initiate a spiraling descent down to an observation altitude of approximately 6,000 ft (1,829 m) elevation. Rates of descent will occur over a 3- to 5-minute time frame.

(iii) Track their use of the EGTTR for test firing missions and marine mammal observations, through the use of mission reporting forms.

(iv) Coordinate air-to-surface gunnery exercises with future flight activities to provide supplemental post-mission observations of marine mammals in the operations area of the exercise.

(2) [Reserved]

(e) In accordance with provisions in § 217.118(b)(2), the Holder of the Letter of Authorization must conduct the research required under the Letter of Authorization.

(f) Reporting:

(1) Unless specified otherwise in the Letter of Authorization, the Holder of the Letter of Authorization must conduct all of the monitoring and reporting required under the LOA and submit an annual report to the Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service by a date certain specified in the LOA. This

Navy shall submit a Marine Mammal Monitoring Plan to NMFS for approval in advance of construction. Marine mammal monitoring must be conducted in accordance with the conditions in this section and the NMFS-approved Marine Mammal Monitoring Plan.

(b) Monitoring must be conducted by qualified, NMFS-approved PSOs, in accordance with the following conditions:

(1) PSOs must be independent of the activity contractor (for example, employed by a subcontractor) and have no other assigned tasks during monitoring periods.

(2) At least one PSO must have prior experience performing the duties of a PSO during construction activity pursuant to a NMFS-issued incidental take authorization.

(3) Other PSOs may substitute other relevant experience, education (degree in biological science or related field), or training for prior experience performing the duties of a PSO during construction activity pursuant to a NMFS-issued incidental take authorization.

(4) One PSO must be designated as lead PSO or monitoring coordinator. The lead PSO must have prior experience performing the duties of a PSO during construction activity pursuant to a NMFS-issued incidental take authorization.

(5) PSOs must be approved by NMFS prior to beginning any activity subject to any issued LOA.

(6) For all pile driving activities, a minimum of two PSOs shall be stationed at the best vantage points practicable to monitor for marine mammals and implement shutdown/delay procedures.

(7) For all pile driving activities, a minimum of two PSOs shall be stationed at the active pile driving site, docks, or piers to monitor the harassment and shutdown zones, and as described in the Marine Mammal Monitoring Plan. For shutdown zones exceeding 1,000 m, a minimum of three PSOs shall be stationed appropriately, as described in the Marine Mammal Monitoring Plan, to monitor the entire shutdown zone.

(8) The Navy shall monitor the harassment zones to the extent practicable and the entire shutdown zones. The Navy shall monitor at least a portion of the Level B harassment zone on all pile driving days.

(9) The Navy shall conduct hydroacoustic data collection in accordance with a Marine Mammal Monitoring Plan that must be approved by NMFS in advance of construction.

(10) The shutdown/monitoring zones may be modified with NMFS' approval following NMFS' acceptance of an acoustic monitoring report.

(11) The Navy must submit a draft monitoring report to NMFS within 90 calendar days of the completion of each construction year. A draft comprehensive 5-year summary report must also be submitted to NMFS within 90 days of the end of the project. The reports must detail the monitoring protocol and summarize the data recorded during monitoring. Final annual reports and the final comprehensive report must be prepared and submitted within 30 days following resolution of any NMFS comments on the draft report. If no comments are received from NMFS within 30 days of receipt of the draft report, the report must be considered final. If comments are received, a final report addressing NMFS comments must be submitted within 30 days after receipt of comments. The reports must, at minimum, contain the informational elements described below (as well as any additional information described in the Marine Mammal Monitoring Plan), including:

(i) Dates and times (begin and end) of all marine mammal monitoring;

(ii) Construction activities occurring during each daily observation period, including the number and type of piles that were driven or removed and by what method (i.e., impact, vibratory or drilling), total duration of driving time for each pile (vibratory and drilling) and number of strikes for each pile (impact);

(iii) PSO locations during marine mammal monitoring;

(iv) Environmental conditions during monitoring periods (at beginning and end of PSO shift and whenever conditions change significantly), including Beaufort sea state and any other relevant weather conditions including cloud cover, fog, sun glare, and overall visibility to the horizon, and estimated observable distance;

(v) Upon observation of a marine mammal, the follow information:

(A) Name of PSO who sighted the animal(s) and PSO location and activity at time of sighting;

(B) Time of sighting;

(C) Identification of the animal(s) (e.g., genus/species, lowest possible taxonomic level, or unidentified), PSO confidence in identification, and the composition of the group if there is a mix of species;

(D) Distance and location of each observed marine mammal relative to the pile being driven for each sighting;

(E) Estimated number of animals (min/max/best estimate);

(F) Estimated number of animals by cohort (adults, juveniles, neonates, group composition, etc.); and

(G) Animal's closest point of approach and estimated time spent within the harassment zone.

(vi) Description of any marine mammal behavioral observations (e.g., observed behaviors such as feeding or traveling), including an assessment of behavioral responses thought to have resulted form the activity (e.g., no response or changes in behavioral state such as ceasing feeding, changing direction, flushing, or breaching);

(vii) Number of marine mammals detected within the harassment zones, by species; and

(viii) Detailed information about implementation of any mitigation (e.g., shutdown and delays), a description of specific actions that ensued, and resulting changes in behavior of the animal(s), if any.

(12) The Holder must submit all PSO datasheets and/or raw sighting data within the draft report.

(13) All draft and final monitoring reports must be submitted to [e-mail] and [e-mail].

(14) The Navy must report hydroacoustic data collected as required by a LOA issued under §§ 216.106 of this chapter and 217.116 and as discussed in the Navy's Marine Mammal Monitoring Plan approved by NMFS.

(15) In the event that personnel involved in the construction activities discover an injured or dead marine mammal, the Navy shall report the incident to the Office of Protected Resources, NMFS and to the Greater Atlantic Region New England/Mid-Atlantic Regional Stranding Coordinator as soon as feasible. If the death or injury was clearly caused by the specified activity, the Navy must immediately cease the specified activities until NMFS is able to review the circumstances of the incident and determine what, if any, additional measures are appropriate to ensure compliance with the terms of the authorization. The Navy must not resume their activities until notified by NMFS. The report must include the following information:

(i)

Date and time of each PSW/air-to-surface gunnery exercise

Time, date, and location (latitude/longitude) of the first discovery (and updated location information if known and applicable);

(ii)

A complete description of the pre-exercise and post-exercise activities related to mitigating and monitoring the effects of PSW/air-to-surface gunnery exercises on marine mammal populations

Species identification (if known) or description of the animal(s) involved;

(iii)

Results

Condition of the

monitoring program, including numbers by species/stock of any marine mammals noted injured or killed as a result of the training exercises and number of marine mammals (by species if possible) that may have been harassed due to presence within the applicable safety zone;

(iv) A detailed assessment of the effectiveness of sensor-based monitoring in detecting marine mammals in the area of air-to-surface gunnery operations; and

(v) Results of coordination with coastal marine mammal stranding networks.

(2) The final comprehensive report on all marine mammal monitoring and research conducted during the applicability period of this subpart must be submitted to the Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service at least 240 days prior to expiration of applicability of this subpart or 240 days after the expiration of applicability of this subpart if new regulations will not be requested

animal(s) (including carcass condition if the animal is dead);

(iv) Observed behaviors of the animal(s), if alive;

(v) If available, photographs or video footage of the animal(s); and

(vi) General circumstances under which the animal was discovered.