84 FR 32726 - Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Ice Road and Ice Trail Construction and Maintenance on Alaska's North Slope

NMFS has received a request from Hilcorp Alaska, LLC (Hilcorp) and Eni US Operating Co. Inc. (Eni) for authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals incidental to ice road and ice trail construction, maintenance, and operation in Alaska's North Slope over the course of five years from the date of issuance. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of the Hilcorp and Eni's joint request for the development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals. NMFS invites the public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on Hilcorp and Eni's application and request.

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32726-32727]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14530]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG994


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Ice Road and Ice Trail Construction and Maintenance on 
Alaska's North Slope

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for Letter of Authorization; 
request for comments and information.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from Hilcorp Alaska, LLC (Hilcorp) 
and Eni US Operating Co. Inc. (Eni) for authorization to take small 
numbers of marine mammals incidental to ice road and ice trail 
construction, maintenance, and operation in Alaska's North Slope over 
the course of five years from the date of issuance. Pursuant to 
regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS 
is announcing receipt of the Hilcorp and Eni's joint request for the 
development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental 
taking of marine mammals. NMFS invites the public to provide 
information, suggestions, and comments on Hilcorp and Eni's application 
and request.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than August 
8, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the applications should be addressed to Jolie 
Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. Physical comments should 
be sent to 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and 
electronic comments should be sent to [email protected].
    Instructions: NMFS is not responsible for comments sent by any 
other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the 
end of the comment period. Comments received electronically, including 
all attachments, must not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. Attachments 
to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel or 
Adobe PDF file formats only. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/node/23111 without change. All personal 
identifying information (e.g., name,

[[Page 32727]]

address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Guan, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401. An electronic copy of Hilcorp and 
Eni's application may be obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-oil-and-gas. In case of problems accessing these 
documents, please call the contact listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    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 
authorization is provided to the public for review.
    An incidental take authorization 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 December 2, 2018, NMFS received a joint application from Hilcorp 
and Eni requesting authorization for take of marine mammals incidental 
to construction activities related to ice roads and ice trails in North 
Slope, Alaska. The requested regulations would be valid for five years, 
from approximately December 1, 2019 through November 30, 2024. Hilcorp 
and Eni plan to conduct necessary work, including use of heavy 
machinery on ice, to facilitate access to North Slope offshore oil and 
gas facilities. The proposed action may incidentally expose marine 
mammals occurring in the vicinity to elevated levels of sound, human 
presence on ice habitat, and interactions with heavy machinery, thereby 
resulting in incidental take, by Level B harassment and serious injury 
or mortality. NMFS provided questions and comments to Hilcorp and Eni 
after receiving the initial application regarding the scope of the 
project and impact analysis. Hilcorp and Eni submitted a modified 
request on May 21, 2019 and NMFS deemed the application adequate and 
complete on May 31, 2019.

Specified Activities

    Hilcorp and Eni conduct oil and gas operations at Northstar 
Production Facility (Northstar) and Spy Island Drillsite (SID), 
respectively, in coastal Beaufort Sea waters, Alaska. Ice roads and ice 
trails are constructed yearly to connect and allow access to offshore 
facilities. The process of constructing ice roads includes clearing of 
snow, drilling holes in the ice, pumping seawater to the surface, and 
the operation of tracked and wheeled vehicles. Construction of ice 
trails and maintenance of ice roads generally requires the presence of 
vehicles and personnel with snow blowing equipment.
    Each year, Hilcorp will construct and maintain an estimated 11.7 
kilometer (km) ice road and approximately 21.9 kms of ice trails to 
their Northstar Island and West Dock facilities. Each year, Eni will 
construct and maintain an estimated 6.8 km of ice roads and 6.8 km of 
ice trails related to their SID facility, and an additional 8.9 to 11.2 
km of ice roads related to their Oooguruk activities.
    Construction of ice roads and ice trails generally begins in late 
December and the process takes approximately six weeks. These roads and 
trails and used and maintained until Mid-May when the ice becomes too 
unstable to access. Ringed seals (Phoca hispida hispida) are the only 
marine mammal species expected to occur in the action area during 
construction, use, and maintenance activity.

Information Solicited

    Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and 
comments concerning Hilcorp and Eni's request (see ADDRESSES). NMFS 
will consider all information, suggestions, and comments related to the 
request during the development of proposed regulations governing the 
incidental taking of marine mammals by Hilcorp and Eni, if appropriate.

    Dated: July 3, 2019.
Donna Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-14530 Filed 7-8-19; 8:45 am]
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