[Federal Register: December 19, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 244)]
[Notices]
[Page 77750-77752]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19de02-30]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 111202A]
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine
MammalsIncidental to Construction and Operation of Offshore Oil and Gas
Facilities in the Beaufort Sea
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of issuance of a letter of authorization.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as
amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given
that a letter of authorization (LOA) to take a small number of marine
mammals incidental to the production of offshore oil and gas at the
Northstar development in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska has been issued to
BP Exploration (Alaska), Anchorage, AK (BPXA).
DATES: This LOA is effective from December 9, 2002, until December 9,
2003.
ADDRESSES: A copy of BPXA's letter and/or the LOA may be obtained by
writing to the Office of Protected
[[Page 77751]]
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or by
telephoning one of the contacts listed here.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Hollingshead (301) 713-
2055, ext. 128, or Bradley Smith (907) 271-5006.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C.
1361 et seq.) directs NMFS to allow, on 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 by NMFS and regulations are issued. Under the MMPA, the term
``taking'' means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill or to attempt to
harass, hunt, capture or kill marine mammals.Permission may be granted
for periods up to 5 years if NMFS finds, after notification and
opportunity for public comment, that the taking will have a negligible
impact on the species or stock(s) of marine mammals, will not have an
unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or
stock(s) of marine mammals for subsistence uses, and if regulations are
prescribed setting forth the permissible methods of taking and the
requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.
Regulations governing the taking of marine mammals incidental to
construction and operation of the offshore oil and gas facility at
Northstar in the Beaufort Sea were published and made effective on May
25, 2000 (65 FR 34014), and remain in effect until May 25, 2005.
Summary of Request
On September 25, 2002, NMFS received a request from BPXA for a
renewal of an LOA issued on September 28, 2000 (65 FR 58265) and
reissued on December 14, 2001 (66 FR 65923, December 21, 2001), for the
taking of marine mammals incidental to oil production operations at
Northstar, under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA. This request
contained information in compliance with 50 CFR 216.209, which updated
information provided in BPXA's original application for takings
incidental to construction and operations at Northstar. The current LOA
for the taking of marine mammals incidental to oil production at the
Northstar facility will expire on November 30, 2002.
Impacts on marine mammals may occur through noise from barge,
helicopter traffic, drilling, and other noise sources on the platform.
Impacts may also result if there is an oil spill resulting from
production. While noise impacts on marine mammals will be low (this
structure will make less noise than standard jack-up rigs, the concrete
island drilling structure, or seismic activity), bowhead whales will
likely hear the noise at distances up to 10 km (6.2 mi) from the
island. In addition, there may be some harassment, injury, or mortality
of ringed seals during ice road construction. Noise impacts may result
in the harassment of approximately 215 bowheads, 5 gray whales and 15
beluga whales. Year-round operations at Northstar may result in the
harassment of up to approximately 95 ringed seals and 1 bearded seal
being harassed and the incidental mortality of up to 5 ringed seal
pups.
As oil spills are highly unlikely, impacts on marine mammals from
an oil spill are also unlikely to take place. However, in order to
mitigate the potential for impacts on bowheads and the subsistence use
of bowheads, BPXA has confirmed to NMFS that it will not drill into
oil-bearing strata during periods of open water or broken ice,
essentially the time period between June 13 and ending with the
presence of 18 inches of continuous ice cover for one-half mile in all
directions. This mitigation is due to the present lack of adequate
ability to clean up after an oil spill has occurred. Additional
mitigation has been proposed by BPXA to the North Slope Borough native
community to ensure that, in the event that an oil spill did occur, it
would not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the subsistence use of
the bowhead whale.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
In accordance with section 6.01 of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrative Order 216-6
(Environmental Review Procedures for Implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act , May 20, 1999), NMFS has analyzed both the
context and intensity of this action and determined, based on a
programmatic NEPA assessment conducted on the impact of NMFS'
rulemaking for the issuance of IHAs (61 FR 15884; April 10, 1996); the
Corps of Engineers' 1998 Final Environmental Impact Statement for
Northstar construction and oil production; and the contents, results,
and analyses of BP's marine mammal monitoring program from 1999 through
October, 2002, will not individually or cumulatively result in a
significant impact on the quality of the human environment as defined
in 40 CFR 1508.27. Therefore, based on this analysis, the action of
issuing an LOA governing the incidental taking of marine mammals, by
harassment for this activity meets the definition of a ``Categorical
Exclusion'' as defined under NOAA Administrative Order 216-6 and is
exempted from further environmental review.
Endangered Species Act
On March 4, 1999, NMFS concluded consultation, under the Endangered
Species Act, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on permitting the
construction and operation at the Northstar site. The finding of that
consultation was that construction and operation at Northstar is not
likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the bowhead whale
stock. Because issuance of a small take authorization to BPXA under
section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA is a Federal action, NMFS has
completed section 7 consultation on this action. The finding of this
consultation was that the issuance of the subject small take
authorization was unlikely to adversely affect the bowhead whale.
Determinations
In NMFS' final 5-year rule notice published on May 25, 2000 (63 FR
32207), and in the notice published on December 21, 2001 (66 FR 65923)
regarding the LOA for oil production at Northstar and in internal
supporting documentation, NMFS has determined, that the taking of
marine mammals incidental to oil production operations at the Northstar
offshore oil and gas facility in state and federal waters, will not
result in more than the incidental taking of small numbers of bowhead
whales, beluga whales, ringed seals, and, possibly California gray
whales, bearded seals and spotted seals. NMFS noted in addition, that
the taking will have only a negligible impact on these marine mammal
stocks, would not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of these species or stocks for taking for subsistence
uses, and would result in the least practicable impact on these stocks.
As the results from the monitoring program carried out since 1999 have
not indicated that the determinations made in 2000 and 2001 were in
error, nor that estimated levels of incidental harassment have been
exceeded, and as the activity that was reviewed in 2001 (oil production
activities) has not changed, these determinations remain valid.
[[Page 77752]]
Dated: December 9, 2002.
Laurie K. Allen,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-31982 Filed 12-18-02; 8:45 am]
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