Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Gustavus Ferry Terminal Improvements Project

NMFS has received a request from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) for activities that were not conducted under an existing IHA. NMFS previously issued an IHA to ADOT&PF to incidentally take seven species of marine mammal, by Level A and Level B harassment, during construction activities associated with the Gustavus Ferry Terminal Improvements project in Gustavus, Alaska. The IHA, issued on April 4, 2017 (82 FR 17209; April 10, 2017), is valid from December 15, 2017 through December 14, 2018. However, ADOT&PF was unable to conduct any of the work and, therefore, has requested that NMFS re-issue the IHA with the dates changed to accommodate the analyzed work with minor modifications to the number of piles driven. The proposed IHA would authorize work for the ferry improvements project between December 15, 2018 and December 14, 2019. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on the proposed issuance of an IHA to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. Take numbers would be the same as authorized previously, and the mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements would remain the same as authorized for the 2017-2018 IHA referenced above.