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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 24 / Monday, February 8, 2021 / Notices and bottlenose dolphin; 15 meters for harbor seal and gray seal. For humpback whale, shutdown distances correspond with the estimated Level A harassment zones and are dependent on activity type. For in-water heavy machinery work other than pile driving, if a marine mammal comes within 10 m, operations must cease and vessels must reduce speed to the minimum level required to maintain steerage and safe working conditions. One trained observer must monitor to implement shutdowns and collect information at each active pile driving location whether vibratory or impact driving of steel or concrete piles.
Soft start procedures must be implemented at the start of each days impact pile driving and at any time following cessation of impact driving for a period of thirty minutes or longer. Use of an air bubble curtain system will be implemented by the CTJV during impact driving of 36-inch steel piles except in water less than 10 ft in depth.

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Proposed Monitoring Requirements The CTJV will be required to station between two and four PSOs at locations offering the best available views of the monitoring zones. At least two PSOs will be required to monitor before, during, and after the pile-driving and -removal activities. At least one PSO
must be located in close proximity to each pile driving rig during active operation of single or multiple, concurrent driving devices. At least one additional PSO is required at each active driving rig or other location providing best possible view if the Level B harassment zone and shutdown zones cannot reasonably be observed by one PSO.
Proposed Reporting Requirements A draft report will be submitted to NMFS within 90 days of the completion of marine mammal monitoring, or 60
days prior to the requested date of issuance of any future IHA for projects at the same location, whichever comes first. The report will include marine mammal observations pre-activity, during-activity, and post-activity during pile driving days and associated PSO
data sheets, and will also provide descriptions of any behavioral responses to construction activities by marine mammals and a complete description of all mitigation shutdowns and the results of those actions and an extrapolated total take estimate based on the number of marine mammals observed during the course of construction. A final report must be submitted within 30 days following resolution of comments on the draft report.

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Public Comments As noted previously, NMFS published a notice of a proposed IHA 84 FR
64847; November 25, 2019 and solicited public comments on both our proposal to issue the initial IHA for CTJVs construction activities and on the potential for a Renewal IHA, should certain requirements be met.
All public comments were addressed in the notice announcing the issuance of the initial IHA 85 FR 16061; March 20, 2020. Below, we describe how we have addressed, with updated information where appropriate, any comments received that specifically pertain to the Renewal of the initial IHA.
Comment: The Marine Mammal Commission expressed continuing concern with NMFS use of the Renewal process.
Response: In prior responses to comments about IHA Renewals e.g., 84
FR 52464; October 02, 2019 and 85 FR
53342; August 28, 2020, NMFS has explained how the Renewal process, as implemented, is consistent with the statutory requirements contained in section 101a5D of the MMPA, provides additional efficiencies beyond the use of abbreviated notices, and, further, promotes NMFS goals of improving conservation of marine mammals and increasing efficiency in the MMPA compliance process.
Therefore, we intend to continue implementing the Renewal process.
Preliminary Determinations The construction activities proposed by CTJV are identical to and a subset of those analyzed in the initial IHA, as are the method of taking and the effects of the action. The planned number of days of activity will be slightly reduced given the completion of a small portion of the originally planned work. The potential effects of CTJVs activities are limited to Level A and Level B
harassment in the form of auditory injury and behavioral disturbance. In analyzing the effects of the activities in the initial IHA, NMFS determined that CTJVs activities would have a negligible impact on the affected species or stocks and that the authorized take numbers of each species or stock were small relative to the relevant stocks e.g., less than one-third of the abundance of all stocks. The mitigation measures and monitoring and reporting requirements as described above are identical to the initial IHA.
NMFS has preliminarily concluded that there is no new information suggesting that our analysis or findings should change from those reached for the initial IHA. Based on the
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information and analysis contained here and in the referenced documents, NMFS
has determined the following: 1 The required mitigation measures will effect the least practicable impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat; 2 the authorized takes will have a negligible impact on the affected marine mammal species or stocks; 3
the authorized takes represent small numbers of marine mammals relative to the affected stock abundances; 4
CTJVs activities will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on taking for subsistence purposes as no relevant subsistence uses of marine mammals are implicated by this action, and; 5
appropriate monitoring and reporting requirements are included.
Endangered Species Act Section 7a2 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ESA: 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq. requires that each Federal agency insure that any action it authorizes, funds, or carries out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat. No incidental take of ESA-listed marine mammal species is expected to result from this activity, and none would be authorized. Therefore, NMFS has determined that consultation under section 7 of the ESA is not required for this action.
Proposed Renewal IHA and Request for Public Comment As a result of these preliminary determinations, NMFS proposes to issue a Renewal IHA to CTJV for conducting in-water construction activities associated with the PTST in Virginia Beach, Virginia, from the date of issuance for a period of one year, provided the previously described mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements are incorporated. A draft of the proposed and final initial IHA can be found at www.fisheries.noaa.gov/
national/marine-mammal-protection/
incidental-take-authorizationsconstruction-activities. We request comment on our analyses, the proposed Renewal IHA, and any other aspect of this notice. Please include with your comments any supporting data or literature citations to help inform our final decision on the request for MMPA
authorization.

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