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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 64 / Thursday, April 2, 2020 / Notices
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.
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).

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Summary of Request
On February 24, 2020, we issued a
final rule upon request from the Navy
for authorization to take marine
mammals incidental to construction
activities (85 FR 10312). The Navy plans
to construct a new ammunition pier at
Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. This
construction will include use of impact
and vibratory pile driving, including
installation and removal of steel,
concrete, and timber piles. The use of
both vibratory and impact pile driving
is expected to produce underwater
sound at levels that have the potential
to result in behavioral harassment of
marine mammals.
Authorization
We have issued a LOA to Navy
authorizing the take of marine mammals
incidental to construction activities, as
described above. Take of marine
mammals will be minimized through
the implementation of the following
planned mitigation measures: (1)
Required monitoring of the construction
area to detect the presence of marine
mammals before beginning construction
activities; (2) shutdown of construction
activities under certain circumstances to
avoid injury of marine mammals; and
(3) soft start for impact pile driving to
allow marine mammals the opportunity
to leave the area prior to beginning
impact pile driving at full power.

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Additionally, the rule includes an
adaptive management component that
allows for timely modification of
mitigation or monitoring measures
based on new information, when
appropriate. The Navy will submit
reports as required.
Based on these findings and the
information discussed in the preamble
to the final rule, the activities described
under this LOA will have a negligible
impact on marine mammal stocks and
will not have an unmitigable adverse
impact on the availability of the affected
marine mammal stock for subsistence
uses.
Dated: March 30, 2020.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020–06897 Filed 4–1–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
The Department of Commerce will
submit to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for clearance the
following proposal for collection of
information under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35).
Agency: National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Title: Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Environmental Literacy Indicator Tool.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0753.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular (revision of
an existing collection).
Number of Respondents: 685.
Average Hours per Response: 1 hour.
Burden Hours: 229 hours.
Needs and Uses: The Chesapeake Bay
Watershed Agreement of 2014 required
monitoring of progress toward the
environmental literacy goal: ‘‘Enable
students in the region to graduate with
the knowledge and skills needed to act
responsibly to protect and restore their
local watersheds.’’ NOAA, on behalf of
the Chesapeake Bay Program, will ask
the state education agencies for
Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Virginia, West Virginia, and the District
of Columbia to survey their local
education agencies (LEAs) to determine:
(1) LEA capacity to implement a
comprehensive and systemic approach
to environmental literacy education, (2)
student participation in Meaningful
Watershed Educational Experience

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during the school year, (3) sustainability
practices at schools, and (4) LEA needs
for improving environmental literacy
education programming. LEAs
(generally school districts, in some cases
charter school administration) are asked
to complete the survey on the status of
their LEA on a set of key indicators for
the four areas listed above. One
individual from each LEA is asked to
complete their survey once every two
years. The results of the biennial ELIT
survey will be analyzed and reported to
the internal stakeholders of the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.
Participating states will receive a
summarized report of findings for the
full watershed, a summary of findings
for their state, and comparisons of
results between states. These aggregated
results will be used by the state agencies
to understand progress of their school
districts over time, and to inform
decision-making about strategies and
priorities for future work with school
districts. The biennial reporting will
also be used by the Chesapeake Bay
Program to understand progress of
school districts in the watershed,
understand differences between
jurisdictions, and guide strategy for
providing targeted support in each state.
The instrument has undergone minor
changes since its last PRA approval
process which include the removal of a
number of questions. These changes
result in a reduction in the time burden
from 90 minutes to 60 minutes per
response.
Affected Public: One representative
from 685 local education agencies.
Frequency: Biennially.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: U.S. Code: 42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq. Name of Law: National
Environmental Policy Act.
This information collection request
may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov.
Follow the instructions to view the
Department of Commerce collections
currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function and

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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 64 / Thursday, April 2, 2020 / Notices

entering either the title of the collection
or the OMB Control Number 0648–0573.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
[FR Doc. 2020–06873 Filed 4–1–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XR083]

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to
Specified Activities; Taking Marine
Mammals Incidental to City and
Borough of Juneau Downtown
Waterfront Improvement Project
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; modification of an
incidental harassment authorization.
AGENCY:

On December 19, 2019, NMFS
received a request from the City and
Borough of Juneau (CBJ) to modify an
incidental harassment authorization
(IHA) that was issued to CBJ on May 16,
2019 to take small numbers of harbor
seals, by harassment, incidental to the
Juneau dock and harbor waterfront
improvement project. Pursuant to the
Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments
on its proposal to modify the IHA. This
modification includes changes to the
prescribed mitigation and to the amount
of authorized take by Level A
harassment. The total amount of
authorized taking remains the same.
There are no changes to the activity,
NMFS’ findings, the effective dates of
the issued IHA, or any other aspect of
the IHA. NMFS will consider public
comments prior to making any final
decision on the requested modification
of the authorization and agency
responses will be summarized in the
final notice of our decision.
DATES: This modified IHA is effective
from the date of issuance through July
14, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Shane Guan, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401.
Electronic copies of the application and
supporting documents, as well as the
issued IHA, may be obtained online at:
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/
incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-protection-act. In case

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SUMMARY:

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of problems accessing these documents,
please call the contact listed above.
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
issued or, if the taking is limited to
harassment, a notice of a proposed
incidental take authorization may be
provided to the public for review.
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 in shorthand as
‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements
pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring
and reporting of such takings are set
forth.
The definitions of all applicable
MMPA statutory terms cited above are
included in the relevant sections below.
History of Request
On October 25, 2018, CBJ submitted a
request to NMFS requesting an IHA for
the possible harassment of small
numbers of harbor seals incidental to
the City of Juneau Dock and Harbor
waterfront improvement project in
Juneau, Alaska. On March 5, 2019,
NMFS published a Federal Register
notice (84 FR 7880) for the proposed
IHA. On May 16, 2019, NMFS issued an
IHA to CBJ. On May 28, 2019, NMFS
published a Federal Register notice (84
FR 24490) announcing the issuance of
the IHA, which is valid from July 15,
2019, through July 14, 2020.
On December 19, 2019, NMFS
received a request from CBJ to modify
the 2019 IHA. CBJ subsequently
submitted a revised IHA modification
request on January 22, 2019, which

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NMFS determined to be adequate and
complete. In the original IHA issued to
CBJ, NMFS authorized 72 takes by Level
A harassment and 3,454 takes by Level
B harassment for harbor seals, and
prescribed a shutdown distance of 130
m for impact driving of steel pipe piles.
Prior to the start of in-water impact pile
driving, CBJ conducted marine mammal
abundance survey effort in the vicinity
of the project area and found that there
were significantly greater numbers of
harbor seals present within the
immediate vicinity of the construction
site than previously estimated. The
close proximity of the seals to the pile
driving locations would preclude
impact pile driving, due to the
requirement to clear the 130-m
shutdown zone prior to starting up. In
addition, CBJ has determined that the
high occurrence of harbor seals within
the immediate vicinity of the
construction site is likely lead to
excessive shutdowns during pile
driving, which would compromise the
timely completion of CBJ’s dock and
harbor waterfront improvement project
on time. CBJ asserts that this renders the
prescribed 130-m shutdown zone
impracticable, and on the basis of the
new information provided by CBJ,
NMFS concurs with this determination.
Therefore, CBJ requested to reduce the
shutdown distance for impact pile
driving from 130 m (as prescribed in the
original IHA) to 25 m. As a direct result
of this requested change, CBJ
determined it necessary to request an
increase in the amount of authorized
incidents of take by Level A harassment
from 72 to 324, while the total amount
of authorized taking by harassment
remains the same. The original 130-m
shutdown zone was designed to avoid
most Level A harassment, and was
therefore based on the size of Level A
harassment radius for impact pile
driving. During construction conducted
to date, CBJ has not exceeded the
authorized amounts of take.
The scope of the project and potential
effects to marine mammals in the area
remain the same as analyzed previously
for the issuance of the IHA in 2019 (84
FR 24490; May 28, 2019).
Comments and Responses
A notice of NMFS’ proposal to modify
the IHA was published in the Federal
Register on February 7, 2020 (85 FR
7289). During the 30-day public
comment period, NMFS received a
comment letter from the Marine
Mammal Commission (Commission).
Specific comments and responses are
provided below.
Comment 1: The Commission states
that it is concerned that CBJ did not

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