§ 218.170 - Specified activity and specified geographical area and effective dates.

(a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the U.S. Navy for the taking of marine mammals that occur in the area outlined in paragraph (b) of this section and that occur incidental to the activities described in paragraph (c) of this section.

(b) These regulations apply only to the taking of marine mammals by the Navy that occurs within the Keyport Range Complex Action Area, which includes the extended Keyport Range Site, the extended Dabob Bay Range Complex (DBRC) Site, and the extended Quinault Underwater Tracking Range (QUTR) Site, as presented in the Navy's LOA application. The NAVSEA NUWC Keyport Range Complex is divided into open ocean/offshore areas and in-shore areas:

(1) Open Ocean Area—air, surface, and subsurface areas of the NAVSEA NUWC Keyport Range Complex Extension that lie outside of 12 nautical miles (nm) from land.

(2) Offshore Area—air, surface, and subsurface ocean areas within 12 nm of the Pacific Coast.

(3) In-shore—air, surface, and subsurface areas within the Puget Sound, Port Orchard Reach, Hood Canal, and Dabob Bay.

(c) These regulations apply only to the taking of marine mammals by the Navy if it occurs incidental to the following activities, or similar activities, and sources, or similar sources (estimate amounts of use below):

(1) Range Activities Using Active Acoustic Devices:

(i) General range tracking: Narrow frequency output between 10 to 100 kHz with source levels (SL) between 195-203 dB re 1 microPa @ 1 m—up to 504.5 hours per year.

(ii) UUV Payloads: Operating frequency of 10 to 100 kHz with SLs less than 195 dB re 1 microPa @ 1 m at all range sites—up to 166 hours per year.

(iii) Torpedo Sonars: Operating frequency from 10 to 100 kHz with SL under 233 dB re 1 microPa @ 1 m—up to 21 hours per year.

(iv) Range Targets and Special Test Systems: 5 to 100 kHz frequency range with a SL less than 195 dB re 1 microPa @ 1 m at the Keyport Range Site and SL less than 238 dB re microPa @ 1 m at the DBRC and QUTR sites—up to 9 hours per year.

(v) Special Sonars (non-Navy, shore/pire static testing, diver activities) and Fleet Aircraft (active sonobuoys and dipping sonars): Frequencies vary from 100 to 2,500 kHz with SL less than 235 dB re 1 microPa @ 1 m—up to 321 hours per year.

(vi) Side Scan Sonar: Multiple frequencies typically at 100 to 700 kHz with SLs less than 235 dB re 1 microPa @ 1 m—up to 166 hours per year.

(vii) Other Acoustic Sources:

(A) Acoustic Modems: Emit pulses at frequencies from 10 to 300 kHz with SLs less than 210 dB re 1 microPa @ 1 m—up to 166 hours per year.

(B) Sub-bottom Profilers: Operate at 2 to 7 kHz at SLs less than 210 dB re 1 microPa @ 1 m, and 35 to 45 kHz at SLs less than 220 dB re 1 microPa @ 1 m—up to 192 hours per year.

(C) Target simulator (surface vessels, submarines, torpedoes, and UUV engine noise): Acoustic energy from engines usually from 50 Hz to 10 kHz at SLs less than 170 dB re 1 microPa @ 1 m—up to 24.5 hours per year.

(2) Increased Tempo and Activities due to Range Extension: Estimates of annual range activities and operations are listed in the following table, but may vary provided that the variation does not result in exceeding the amount of take indicated in §218.171(c):

Range activity	Platform/system used	Proposed number of activities/year1
		Keyport range site	DBRC site	QUTR site
Test Vehicle Propulsion	Thermal propulsion systems Electric/Chemical propulsion systems	5 55	130 140	30 30
Other Testing Systems and Activities	Submarine testing Inert mine detection, classification and localization	0 5	45 20	15 10
	Non-Navy testing	5	5	5
	Acoustic & non-acoustic sensors (magnetic array, oxygen)	20	10	5
	Countermeasure test	5	50	5
	Impact testing	0	10	5
	Static in-water testing	10	10	6
	UUV test	45	120	40
	Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) test	0	2	2
Fleet Activities2 (excluding RDT&E)	Surface Ship activities	1	10	10
	Aircraft activities	0	10	10
	Submarine activities	0	30	30
	Diver activities	45	5	15
Deployment Systems (RDT&E)	Range support vessels:
	Surface launch craft	35	180	30
	Special purpose barges	25	75	0
	Fleet vessels3	15	20	20
	Aircraft (rotary and fixed wing)	0	10	20
	Shore and pier	45	30	30

¹There may be several activities in 1 day. These numbers provide an estimate of types of range activities over the year.

²Fleet activities in the NAVSEA NUWC Keyport Range Complex do not include the use of surface ship and submarine hull-mounted active sonars.

³As previously noted, Fleet vessels can include very small craft such as SEAL Delivery Vehicles.

(d) Amended regulations are effective February 1, 2012, through April 11, 2016.

(e) The taking of marine mammals may be authorized in an LOA for the activities and sources listed in §218.170(c) should the amounts (e.g., hours, number of exercises) vary from those estimated in §218.170(c), provided that the variation does not result in exceeding the amount of take indicated in §218.171(c).

[76 FR 20274, Apr. 12, 2011, as amended at 77 FR 4925, Feb. 1, 2012]