[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11205-11206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4539]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XA254
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Construction and Operation of a Liquefied Natural Gas
Deepwater Port in the Gulf of Mexico
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 Port Dolphin Energy LLC (Port
Dolphin) for authorization for the take, by Level B harassment, of
marine mammals incidental to construction and operation of the Port
Dolphin Deepwater Port (Port) off the Gulf coast of Florida for the
period June 2012-June 2017. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection
Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of Port Dolphin's request for
the development and implementation of 5-year regulations governing the
incidental taking of marine mammals and inviting information,
suggestions, and comments on Port Dolphin's application and request.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than March
31, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to Michael
Payne, Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. The mailbox address for providing e-
mail comments is [email protected]. NMFS is not responsible for e-
mail comments sent to addresses other than the one provided here.
Comments sent via e-mail,
[[Page 11206]]
including all attachments, must not exceed a 10-megabyte file size.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.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: Candace Nachman, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2289, ext. 156.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability
A copy of Port Dolphin's application may be obtained by writing to
the address specified above (ADDRESSES), calling the contact listed
above (FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT), or visiting the Internet at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm. The U.S. Coast
Guard's and U.S. Maritime Administration's Final Environmental Impact
Statement was made available to the public on July 9, 2009.
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 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.
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. 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.''
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 February 1, 2011, NMFS received a complete application from Port
Dolphin requesting authorization for the take of two marine mammal
species incidental to construction and operation of a liquefied natural
gas (LNG) deepwater port off the Gulf coast of Florida over the course
of 5 years, which would necessitate the promulgation of 5-year
regulations. Port Dolphin plans to build the LNG Port off the western
coast of Florida, approximately 42 mi (68 km) from Port Manatee,
Florida. Once built, Port Dolphin anticipates up to 46 shuttle
regasification vessel (SRV) unloadings per year during the first
several years of operation. Noise produced during Port installation and
construction activities and Port operations have the potential to take
marine mammals. Port Dolphin requests authorization to take two
cetacean species by Level B harassment only: Atlantic spotted dolphin
and bottlenose dolphin. Injury or mortality is unlikely during the
proposed activities, and take by Level A harassment (including injury)
or mortality is not requested in Port Dolphin's application.
Specified Activities
In the application submitted to NMFS, Port Dolphin requests
authorization to take marine mammals incidental to construction and
operation of the LNG Port off the Gulf coast of Florida. Construction
activities, which would take approximately 11 months to complete,
include: buoy installation; offshore hammering; horizontal directional
drilling (HDD); HDD vibratory; pipeline laying offshore; pipeline
laying inshore; offshore plowing; and inshore plowing. Operational
activities include: SRV maneuvering and docking and regasification.
Sections 1 and 2 of Port Dolphin's application describe the full suite
of activities, as well as the location and duration of activity.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning Port Dolphin's request (see ADDRESSES). All
information, suggestions, and comments related to Port Dolphin's
request and NMFS' potential development and implementation of
regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals by Port
Dolphin's activities will be considered by NMFS in developing, if
appropriate, the most effective regulations governing the issuance of
letters of authorization.
Dated: February 23, 2011.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-4539 Filed 2-28-11; 8:45 am]
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