83 FR 24977 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Casitas Pier Fender Pile Replacement

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 105 (May 31, 2018)

NMFS has received a request from Venoco, LLC, (Venoco) and Chevron USA, Inc., (Chevron) to transfer, from Venoco to Chevron, a Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) one-year Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to the Casitas Pier Fender Pile Replacement Project, following the sale of Casitas Pier to Chevron. No other changes are proposed. NMFS is inviting comments on the proposed transfer of the Casitas Pier IHA to Chevron.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 105 (Thursday, May 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24977-24978]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11660]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF603


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Casitas Pier Fender Pile 
Replacement

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

ACTION: Notice; proposed revised incidental harassment authorization; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from Venoco, LLC, (Venoco) and 
Chevron USA, Inc., (Chevron) to transfer, from Venoco to Chevron, a 
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) one-year Incidental Harassment 
Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental 
to the Casitas Pier Fender Pile Replacement Project, following the sale 
of Casitas Pier to Chevron. No other changes are proposed. NMFS is 
inviting comments on the proposed transfer of the Casitas Pier IHA to 
Chevron.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than July 2, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments 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

[[Page 24978]]

identifying information (e.g., name, 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: Sara Young, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401. Electronic copies of Venoco's original 
IHA, may be obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/node/23111. 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 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.

Summary of Request

    On October 27, 2017, NMFS issued an IHA to Venoco to take marine 
mammals, by Level B harassment, incidental to the Casitas Pier Fender 
Pile Replacement Project, effective from November 1, 2017, through 
October 31, 2018 (82 FR 55579). On January 1, 2018, Chevron succeeded 
Venoco as the owner and operator of Carpinteria Gas Plant, including 
Casitas Pier.
    Chevron subsequently submitted a written request to transfer the 
current IHA from Venoco to Chevron. With the transfer of the Casitas 
Pier IHA, Chevron agrees to comply with the associated terms, 
conditions, stipulations, and restrictions of the original Casitas Pier 
IHA. No other changes were requested. The revised IHA, if issued, would 
remain effective through October 31, 2018.
    This Federal Register notice sets forth only a proposed change in 
the Casitas Pier IHA holder's name. There are no other changes to the 
current IHA as described in the November 22, 2017, Federal Register 
notice of a final IHA (82 FR 55579): The specified activity; 
description of marine mammals in the area of the specified activity; 
potential effects on marine mammals and their habitat; mitigation and 
related monitoring used to implement mitigation; reporting; estimated 
take by incidental harassment; negligible impact and small numbers 
analyses and determinations; impact on availability of affected species 
or stocks for subsistence uses and the period of effectiveness remain 
unchanged and are herein incorporated by reference.

Proposed Revisions to the Casitas Pier IHA

    NMFS is proposing a change in the name of the holder of the Casitas 
Pier IHA from ``Venoco, LLC'' to ``Chevron USA, Inc''.

Request for Public Comments

    NMFS invites comment on the proposed change to the current IHA. 
Please include with your comments any supporting data or literature 
citations to help inform our final decision on Venoco and Chevron's 
request for transfer of the Casitas Pier authorization.

    Dated: May 25, 2018.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-11660 Filed 5-30-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P