Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Maintenance and Rehabilitation of the Bellingham Shipping Terminal

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 and either regulations are promulgated or, if the taking is limited to harassment, an incidental harassment authorization is issued.

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). Further, 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 here as “mitigation measures”). NMFS must also prescribe requirements pertaining to monitoring and reporting of such takings. The definition of key terms such as “take,” “harassment,” and “negligible impact” can be found in the MMPA and NMFS's implementing regulations (see 16 U.S.C. 1362; 50 CFR 216.103).

NMFS' regulations implementing the MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e) indicate that IHAs may be renewed for additional periods of time not to exceed 1 year for each reauthorization. In the notice of proposed IHA for the initial IHA, NMFS described the circumstances under which we would consider issuing a renewal for this activity, and requested public comment on a potential renewal under those circumstances. Specifically, on a case-by-case basis, NMFS may issue a one-time 1-year renewal IHA following notice to the public providing an additional 15 days for public comments when (1) up to another year of identical, or nearly identical, activities as described in the Detailed Description of Specified Activities section of the initial IHA issuance notice is planned or (2) the activities as described in the Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts section of the initial IHA issuance notice will not be completed by the time the initial IHA expires and a renewal will allow for completion of the activities beyond that described in the DATES section of the notice of issuance of the initial IHA, provided all of the following conditions are met:

1. A request for renewal is received no later than 60 days prior to the needed renewal IHA effective date (recognizing that the renewal IHA expiration date cannot extend beyond 1 year from expiration of the initial IHA);

2. The request for renewal must include the following:

• An explanation that the activities to be conducted under the requested renewal IHA are identical to the activities analyzed under the initial IHA, are a subset of the activities, or include changes so minor (e.g., reduction in pile size) that the changes do not affect the previous analyses, mitigation and monitoring requirements, or take estimates (with the exception of reducing the type or amount of take); and
• A preliminary monitoring report showing the results of the required monitoring to date and an explanation showing that the monitoring results do not indicate impacts of a scale or nature not previously analyzed or authorized; and

3. Upon review of the request for renewal, the status of the affected species or stocks, and any other pertinent information, NMFS determines that there are no more than minor changes in the activities, the mitigation and monitoring measures will remain the same and appropriate, and the findings in the initial IHA remain valid.

An additional public comment period of 15 days (for a total of 45 days), with direct notice by email, phone, or postal service to commenters on the initial IHA, is provided to allow for any additional comments on the proposed renewal. A description of the renewal process may be found on our website at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-harassment-authorization-renewals.

History of Request

On November 6, 2023, NMFS issued an IHA to the Port of Bellingham to take marine mammals incidental to the Maintenance and Rehabilitation of the Bellingham Shipping Terminal Project in Bellingham, WA (88 FR 77972, November 11, 2023), effective from November 6, 2023 through November 6, 2024. On September 20, 2024, NMFS received an application for the renewal of that initial IHA. As described in the application for renewal IHA, the activities for which incidental take is requested are nearly identical to those covered in the initial authorization and will not be completed prior to its expiration. Under the initial IHA a number of piles have been removed but no pile installations have occurred. As required, the Port of Bellingham also provided preliminary monitoring data, which confirms that the Port of Bellingham had implemented the required mitigation and monitoring, and also showed that no impacts of a scale or nature not previously analyzed or authorized have occurred as a result of the activities conducted. The notice of the proposed renewal incidental harassment authorization was published on October 4, 2024 (89 FR 80890). There are no changes from the proposed renewal IHA to the final renewal IHA.

Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts

The purpose of the project at the Bellingham Shipping Terminal is to repair some of the failing wharf and pier structures of the terminal. As described in detail in the notice for the initial IHA (88 FR 77972, November 11, 2023), in-water construction will include both pile removal and installation of a multiple types of piles with vibratory and impact hammers. A minor change to the activities conducted by the Port of Bellingham was requested in the renewal letter. The initial IHA noted that the Port of Bellingham would limit vibratory pile driving time to 90 minutes per day. The Port of Bellingham will increase the vibratory pile driving time to 360 minutes per day for this renewal period. This change will increase the size of the Level A harassment zones and shutdown zones associated with vibratory pile driving and removal as compared with those analyzed in the initial IHA (see Description of Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measures). The increase to shutdown zones follows the same goals for mitigation articulated in the notice of the initial proposed IHA, i.e., the shutdown zones are equal to the estimated Level A harassment zones, and there is no increase to the estimated take numbers. Therefore, NMFS has determined that this change is minor and that the action is eligible for renewal. The construction is still expected to occur for 87 non-consecutive days. Sounds produced by these activities may result in take, by Level A harassment and Level B harassment, of marine mammals located in Bellingham Bay.

Incidental take resulting from the in-water pile driving and removal in this renewal will be at the same level as authorized in the initial IHA. Four marine mammal species are expected to experience Level B harassment and one of these species additionally has the potential for Level A harassment (see Estimated Take).

All documents related to the initial IHA are available on our website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-port-bellinghams-bellingham-shipping-terminal-bellingham.

Detailed Description of the Activity

A detailed description of the demolition and construction activities for which take is authorized here may be found in the Notices of the Proposed and Final IHAs for the initial authorization. The location, timing, and nature of the activities, including the types of equipment planned for use, are identical to those described in the previous notices.

Description of Marine Mammals

A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities for which take is authorized, including information on abundance, status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the notices of the proposed and final IHAs for the initial authorization. NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data from the initial IHA, recent draft Stock Assessment Reports, information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and other scientific literature, and determined there is no new information that affects which species or stocks have the potential to be affected or the pertinent information in the Description of the Marine Mammals in the Area of Specified Activities contained in the supporting documents for the initial IHA.

It should be noted that the draft 2023 NMFS' Marine Mammal Stock Assessment Reports (SARs) updated stock abundances for the Eastern Distinct Population Segment for Steller sea lions ( Eumetopias jubatus) and harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina) (Carretta et al. 2023). For Steller sea lions, the abundance decreased slightly from the initial IHA stock abundance estimate of 43,201 individuals to 36,308 individuals. During the development of the initial IHA the Washington Northern Inland Waters stock of harbor seals had an unknown abundance. Since then, the abundance estimate in the draft 2023 SARs has been updated to 16,451 individuals. None of these population changes impact the findings made in support of the initial IHA. Additional information on all stocks affected by this action is available in the NMFS' U.S. Pacific SARs (available online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-stock-assessment-reports ).

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat

A description of the potential effects of the specified activity on marine mammals and their habitat for the activities for which take is authorized may be found in the notices of the proposed and final IHAs for the initial authorization. NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data from the initial IHA, recent draft SARs, information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and other scientific literature, and determined that there is no new information that affects our initial analysis of impacts on marine mammals and their habitat.

Estimated Take

A detailed description of the methods and inputs used to estimate take for the specified activity are found in the notices of the proposed and final IHAs for the initial authorization. Specifically, the source levels, days of operation, and marine mammal occurrence data applicable to this authorization remain unchanged from the previously issued IHA. Similarly, the stocks taken, methods of take, and types of take remain unchanged from the previously issued IHA, as do the number of takes, which are indicated below in table 1.