2023-24105. Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Tillamook South Jetty Repairs in Tillamook Bay, Oregon

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice; issuance of incidental harassment authorization.

SUMMARY:

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Portland District (Corps), for the re-issuance of a previously issued incidental harassment authorization (IHA) with the only change being to the effective dates. The initial IHA authorized take of five species of marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to construction associated with the Tillamook South Jetty Repairs in Tillamook Bay, Oregon. The project has been delayed and none of the work covered in the initial IHA has been conducted. The scope of the activities and anticipated effects remain the same, authorized take numbers are not changed, and the required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting remains the same as included in the initial IHA. NMFS is, therefore, issuing a second identical IHA to cover the incidental take analyzed and authorized in the initial IHA.

DATES:

This authorization is effective from November 1, 2023, through October 31, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

An electronic copy of the final 2022 IHA previously issued to the Corps, the Corps' application, and the Federal Register notices proposing and issuing the initial IHA may be obtained by visiting https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/​action/​incidental-take-authorization-us-army-corps-engineers-tillamook-south-jetty-repairs. 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 Marine Mammal Protection Act (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 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.

The MMPA states that the term “take” means to harass, hunt, capture, kill or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal.

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).

Summary of Request

On August 18, 2022, NMFS published final notice of our issuance of an IHA authorizing take of marine mammals incidental to the Tillamook South Jetty Repairs Project (87 FR 50836). The effective dates of that IHA were November 1, 2022, through October 31, 2023. On October 16, 2023, the Corps informed NMFS that the project was delayed. None of the work identified in the initial IHA ( e.g., pile driving) has occurred. The Corps submitted a request that we reissue an identical IHA that would be effective from November 1, 2023, through October 31, 2024, in order to conduct the construction work that was analyzed and authorized through the previously issued IHA. Therefore, re-issuance of the IHA is appropriate.

Summary of Specified Activity and Anticipated Impacts

The planned activities (including mitigation, monitoring, and reporting), authorized incidental take, and anticipated impacts on the affected stocks are the same as those analyzed and authorized through the previously issued IHA.

The Corps constructed, and continues to maintain, two jetties at the entrance of Tillamook Bay, Oregon to provide reliable navigation into and out of the bay. A Major Maintenance Report (MMR) was completed in 2003 to evaluate wave damage to the jetties and provide design for necessary repairs. Some repairs to the North Jetty were completed in 2010, and further repairs to the North Jetty root and trunk began in January 2022. The Tillamook South Jetty Repairs Project ( i.e., the “proposed activities”) would complete critical repairs to the South Jetty, as described in the MMR, with a focus on rebuilding the South Jetty head. Work would consist of repairs to the existing structures within the original jetty footprints ( i.e., trunk repairs and the construction of a 100-foot cap to repair the South Jetty Head), with options to facilitate land- and water-based stone transport, storage, and placement operations. The location, timing, and nature of the activities, including the types of equipment planned for use, are identical to those described in the initial IHA. The mitigation and monitoring are also as prescribed in the initial IHA.

Species that are expected to be taken by the planned activity include harbor porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena), California sea lion ( Zalophus californianus), Steller sea lion ( Eumetopias jubatus), harbor seal ( Phoca vitulina), and northern elephant seal ( Mirounga angustirostris). A description of the methods and inputs used to estimate take anticipated to occur and, ultimately, the take that was authorized is found in the previous documents referenced above. The data inputs and methods of estimating take are identical to those used in the initial IHA. NMFS has reviewed recent Stock Assessment Reports, information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and recent scientific literature, and determined that no new information affects our original analysis of impacts or take estimate under the initial IHA.

We refer to the documents related to the previously issued IHA, which include the Federal Register notice of the issuance of the initial 2022 IHA for the Corps' construction work (87 FR 50836), the Corps' application, the Federal Register notice of the proposed IHA (87 FR 38116), and all associated references and documents.

Determinations

The Corps will conduct activities as analyzed in the initial 2022 IHA. As described above, the number of authorized takes of the same species and stocks of marine mammals are identical to the numbers that were found to meet the negligible impact and small numbers standards and authorized under the initial IHA and no new information has emerged that would change those findings. The re-issued 2023 IHA includes identical required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures as the initial IHA, and there is no new information suggesting that our analysis or findings should change.

Based on the information contained here and in the referenced documents, NMFS has determined the following: (1) the required mitigation measures will effect the least practicable impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat; (2) the authorized takes will have a negligible impact on the affected marine mammal species or stocks; (3) the authorized takes represent small numbers of marine mammals relative to the affected stock abundances; and (4) the Corps' activities will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on taking for subsistence purposes as no relevant subsistence uses of marine mammals are implicated by this action.

National Environmental Policy Act

To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216–6A, NMFS must review our proposed action with respect to environmental consequences on the human environment.

This action is consistent with categories of activities identified in CE B4 of the Companion Manual for NOAA Administrative Order 216–6A, which do not individually or cumulatively have the potential for significant impacts on the quality of the human environment and for which we have not identified any extraordinary circumstances that would preclude this categorical exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS has determined that categorical exclusion from further NEPA review remains appropriate for reissuance of this IHA.

Endangered Species Act (ESA)

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal agency insure that any action it authorizes, funds, or carries out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat. No incidental take of ESA-listed species is authorized or expected to result from this activity. Therefore, NMFS has determined that formal consultation under section 7 of the ESA is not required for this action.

Authorization

NMFS has issued an IHA to the Corps for in-water construction activities associated with the specified activity from November 1, 2023, through October 31, 2024. All previously described mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements from the initial 2022 IHA are incorporated.

Dated: October 27, 2023.

Kimberly Damon-Randall,

Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.