82 FR 1702 - Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Long Range Strike Weapons Systems Evaluations Program

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 4 (January 6, 2017)

NMFS has received a request from the United States Air Force (USAF), 86 Fighter Weapons Squadron (86 FWS) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to conducting munitions testing for their Long Range Strike Weapons Systems Evaluation Program (LRS WSEP) over the course of five years, from September 1, 2017 through August 31, 2022. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of the 86 FWS's request for the development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and inviting information, suggestions, and comments on the 86 FWS's application and request.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 4 (Friday, January 6, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1702-1703]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31947]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF024


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Long Range Strike Weapons Systems Evaluations Program

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 the United States Air Force 
(USAF), 86 Fighter Weapons Squadron (86 FWS) for authorization to take 
marine mammals incidental to conducting munitions testing for their 
Long Range Strike Weapons Systems Evaluation Program (LRS WSEP) over 
the course of five years, from September 1, 2017 through August 31, 
2022. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of the 86 FWS's request for the 
development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental 
taking of marine mammals and inviting information, suggestions, and 
comments on the 86 FWS's application and request.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than February 
6, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to Jolie 
Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. 1315 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3225 and electronic comments should be sent 
[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 sent via email, 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 to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/military.htm without change. All personal identifying 
information (for example, name, address, etc.) 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: Laura McCue, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability

    An electronic copy of the 86 FWS's application may be obtained 
online at: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental/military.htm. In 
case of problems accessing the document, please call the contact listed 
above.

Background

    Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) 
direct the Secretary of Commerce to allow, upon request, the 
incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine 
mammals of a species or population stock, 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 for marine mammals 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

[[Page 1703]]

requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring, and reporting of 
such taking 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 NDAA of 2004 (Pub. L. 108-136) removed the ``small numbers'' 
and ``specified geographical region'' limitations indicated earlier and 
amended the definition of harassment as it applies to a ``military 
readiness activity'' to read as follows (Section 3(18)(B) of the MMPA): 
(i) Any act that injures or has the significant potential to injure a 
marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild (Level A Harassment); 
or (ii) any act that disturbs or is likely to disturb a marine mammal 
or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of natural 
behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, 
surfacing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering, to a point where 
such behavioral patterns are abandoned or significantly altered (Level 
B Harassment). 86 FWS has identified LRS WSEP missions as military 
readiness activities.
    On September 27, 2016, NMFS issued an incidental harassment 
authorization (IHA), similar to this request, for takes of marine 
mammals incidental to Long Range Strike Weapons System Evaluation 
Program (LRS WSEP) activities in the BSURE area of the PMRF off Kauai, 
Hawaii. 86 FWS complied with all conditions of the IHA issued, 
including submission of final reports. Based on these reports, NMFS has 
determined that impacts to marine mammals were not beyond those 
anticipated.

Summary of Request

    On December 21, 2016, NMFS received an adequate and complete 
application from the 86 FWS requesting authorization for the take of 
marine mammals incidental to LRS WSEP activities in the Barking Sands 
Underwater Range Expansion (BSURE) area of the Pacific Missile Range 
Facility (PMRF) off Kauai, Hawaii for a period of five years. LRS WSEP 
activities have the potential to result in take of marine mammals in 
the waters of the PMRF. Therefore, 86 FWS requests authorization to 
take 16 species of marine mammals that may occur in this area.

Specified Activities

    86 FWS proposes actions that include LRS WSEP test missions that 
involve the use of multiple types of live and inert munitions (bombs 
and missiles) detonated above, at, or slightly below the water surface. 
The ordnance may be delivered by multiple types of aircraft, including 
bombers and fighter aircraft. The actions include air-to-surface test 
missions of the Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile/Joint Air-to-
Surface Stand-off Missile-Extended Range (JASSM/JASSM-ER), Small 
Diameter Bomb-I/II (SDB-I/II), High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile 
(HARM), Joint Direct Attack Munition/Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition 
(JDAM/LJDAM), and Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD). Net explosive 
weight of the live munitions ranges from 23 to 300 pounds. 86 FWS 
anticipates the ability to test approximately 110 munitions per year.

Information Solicited

    Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and 
comments concerning 86 FWS's request (see ADDRESSES). Comments should 
be supported by data or literature citations as appropriate. We will 
consider all relevant information, suggestions, and comments related to 
the request during the development of proposed regulations governing 
the incidental taking of marine mammals by 86 FWS, if appropriate.

    Dated: December 27, 2016.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-31947 Filed 1-5-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P