Quiero saber acerca de...

8596

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 24 / Monday, February 8, 2021 / Notices
construction of the temporary mooring dolphins 120 piles at Portal Island No.
1 and 60 piles at Portal Island No. 2
and will be installed and removed using a vibratory hammer. However, should refusal be encountered prior to design tip elevation when driving with the vibratory hammer an impact hammer will be used to drive the remainder of the pile length. No bubble curtains will be utilized for the installation of the timber piles;
Construction of temporary Omega trestle: 28 in-water 36-inch diameter steel pipe piles will be installed at Portal Island 2;
Construction of two engineered berms requiring 202 36-inch steel interlocked pipe piles 81 on west side;
121 on east side for Portal Island 1 and 246 piles of the same size and type 124
piles on west side; 122 on east side for Portal Island 2. Construction methods will include impact pile driving as well as casing advancement by DTH hammer.
Interlocked pipe piles will be installed through the use of DTH drilling equipment. Once the pipes are advanced through the rock layer using the DTH technology, they are driven to final grade via traditional impact driving methods; and Vibratory installation and removal of 12 36-inch steel pipe piles at Portal Island 1 and 16 piles at Portal Island 2
on both sides of the new tunnel alignment for settlement mitigation, support of excavation, and to facilitate flowable fill placement.
Some in-water construction activities would occur simultaneously. A detailed description of the construction activities for which authorization of take is proposed here may be found in the Federal Register notice of proposed IHA
for the 2020 authorization 84 FR 64847;

November 25, 2019. Location, timing e.g., seasonality, and nature of the pile driving operations, including the type and size of piles and the methods of pile driving, are identical to those analyzed in the initial IHA. The proposed IHA
Renewal would be effective for a period of one year.
Description of Marine Mammals A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities for which authorization of take is proposed here, including information on abundance, status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the Federal Register notice for the proposed IHA for the initial authorization 84 FR 64847; November 25, 2019. Updated information regarding stock abundance was provided in the Federal Register notice announcing issuance of the initial IHA
85 FR 16061; March 20, 2020. NMFS
has reviewed recent draft Stock Assessment Reports, information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and other scientific literature. The draft 2020
Stock Assessment Report states that estimated abundance has increased for the Gulf of Maine stock of humpback whales, from 1,380 CV = 0 to 1,393
CV = 0.15. NMFS has preliminarily determined that neither this nor any other new information affects which species or stocks have the potential to be affected or the pertinent information in the Description of the Marine Mammals in the Area of Specified Activities contained in the supporting documents for the initial IHA.
Potential Effects on Marine Mammals and their Habitat A description of the potential effects of the specified activity on marine mammals and their habitat for the
activities for which take is proposed here may be found in the Federal Register notice for the proposed initial IHA 84 FR 64847; November 25, 2019.
NMFS has reviewed recent draft Stock Assessment Reports, information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and other scientific literature, and determined that neither this nor any other new information affects our initial analysis of impacts on marine mammals and their habitat.
Estimated Take A detailed description of the methods and inputs used to estimate take for the specified activity are found in the Federal Register notice for the proposed and final initial IHAs 84 FR 64847;
November 25, 2019 and 85 FR 16061;
March 20, 2020. Specifically, the source levels and marine mammal occurrence data applicable to this authorization remain unchanged from the previously issued IHA, with the exception of the small amount of work completed. CTJV conducted approximately 64 days of the planned work and has eliminated a small number of originally planned piles, reducing the approximate total number of operational days for this proposed Renewal IHA. However, because the take numbers developed for most species for which take is proposed for authorization involve qualitative elements and because the reduction in total days would not result in a substantive decrease in the take number for bottlenose dolphin, we carry forward the take numbers unchanged for this proposed Renewal IHA. The stocks taken, methods of take, and types of take remain unchanged from the previously issued IHA, as do the number of takes, which are indicated below in Table 1.

TABLE 1ESTIMATED TAKE PROPOSED FOR AUTHORIZATION AND PROPORTION OF POPULATION POTENTIALLY AFFECTED
Species
Stock
Level A takes
Humpback whale
Harbor porpoise
Bottlenose dolphin

Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy
WNA Coastal, Northern Migratory
WNA Coastal, Southern Migratory
NNCES
Western North Atlantic
Western North Atlantic

5 142
142
2 1,296
1

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES

Harbor seal
Gray seal

Description of Proposed Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measures The proposed mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures included as requirements in this authorization are identical to those included in the Federal Register notice announcing the issuance of the initial IHA 85 FR 16061;

VerDate Sep<11>2014

20:48 Feb 05, 2021

Jkt 253001

March 20, 2020, and the discussion of the least practicable adverse impact included in that document remains accurate. The following measures are proposed for this renewal:

PO 00000

Frm 00019

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

Level B takes 12
7 14,095
14,095
198
2,124
3

Percentage of stock 0.9 <0.01
<33
<33
24
4.5 <0.01

Proposed Mitigation Requirements In summary, mitigation includes implementation of shutdown procedures if any marine mammal approaches or enters the established shutdown zones. Shutdown zones for species authorized for take are as follows: 100 meters for harbor porpoise
E:FRFM08FEN1.SGM

08FEN1