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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 86 / Thursday, May 6, 2021 / Rules and Regulations their objectives. The Navy would submit an acoustic monitoring plan to NMFS
for approval prior to implementation of the plan. Upon review of the Navys SSV results, NMFS may update the Level A and Level B harassment zone sizes and the associated shutdown zones, as appropriate.

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Reporting The Navy will submit a draft report to NMFS within 45 workdays of the completion of required monitoring for each MPU project. The report will detail the monitoring protocol and summarize the data recorded during monitoring.
Specifically, the report must include:
Dates and times begin and end of all marine mammal monitoring;
Construction activities occurring during each daily observation period, including how many and what type of piles were driven or removed and by what method i.e., impact or vibratory;
Environmental conditions during monitoring periods at beginning and end of PSO shift and whenever conditions change significantly, including Beaufort sea state and any other relevant weather conditions including cloud cover, fog, sun glare, and overall visibility to the horizon, and estimated observable distance if less than the harassment zone distance;
The number of marine mammals observed, by species, relative to the pile location and if pile driving or removal was occurring at time of sighting;
Age and sex class, if possible, of all marine mammals observed;
PSO locations during marine mammal monitoring;
Distances and bearings of each marine mammal observed to the pile being driven or removed for each sighting if pile driving or removal was occurring at time of sighting;
Description of any marine mammal behavior patterns during observation, including direction of travel and estimated time spent within the Level A
and Level B harassment zones while the source was active;
Number of marine mammals detected within the harassment zones, by species;
Detailed information about any implementation of any mitigation triggered e.g., shutdowns and delays, a description of specific actions that ensued, and resulting behavior of the animal, if any;
Description of attempts to distinguish between the number of individual animals taken and the number of incidences of take, such as ability to track groups or individuals;
and
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Estimated percentage of the Level B
harassment zone that was not visible.
If no comments are received from NMFS within 30 days, the draft report will constitute the final report. If comments are received, a final report addressing NMFS comments must be submitted within 30 days after receipt of comments.
In the event that personnel involved in the construction activities discover an injured or dead marine mammal, the Navy shall report the incident to the Office of Protected Resources OPR
3014278401, NMFS and to the Greater Atlantic Region New England/
Mid-Atlantic Regional Stranding Coordinator as soon as feasible. If the death or injury was clearly caused by the specified activity, the Navy must immediately cease the specified activities until NMFS is able to review the circumstances of the incident and determine what, if any, additional measures are appropriate to ensure compliance with the terms of the authorization. The Navy must not resume their activities until notified by NMFS.
The report must include the following information:
i. Time, date, and location latitude/
longitude of the first discovery and updated location information if known and applicable;
ii. Species identification if known or description of the animals involved;
iii. Condition of the animals including carcass condition if the animal is dead;
iv. Observed behaviors of the animals, if alive;
v. If available, photographs or video footage of the animals; and vi. General circumstances under which the animal was discovered.
Negligible Impact Analysis and Determination NMFS has defined negligible impact 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 50 CFR 216.103. A negligible impact finding is based on the lack of likely adverse effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival i.e., populationlevel effects. An estimate of the number of takes alone is not enough information on which to base an impact determination. In addition to considering estimates of the number of marine mammals that might be taken through harassment, NMFS considers other factors, such as the likely nature of any responses e.g., intensity,
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duration, the context of any responses e.g., critical reproductive time or location, migration, as well as effects on habitat, and the likely effectiveness of the mitigation. We also assess the number, intensity, and context of estimated takes by evaluating this information relative to population status. Consistent with the 1989
preamble for NMFSs implementing regulations 54 FR 40338; September 29, 1989, the impacts from other past and ongoing anthropogenic activities are incorporated into this analysis via their impacts on the environmental baseline e.g., as reflected in the regulatory status of the species, population size and growth rate where known, ongoing sources of human-caused mortality, or ambient noise levels.
To avoid repetition, this introductory discussion of our analyses applies to all of the species listed in Table 1, given that many of the anticipated effects of this project on different marine mammal stocks are expected to be relatively similar in nature. Where there are meaningful differences between species or stocks in anticipated individual responses to activities, impact of expected take on the population due to differences in population status, or impacts on habitat, they are described independently in the analysis below.
Pile driving activities associated with the project, as outlined previously, have the potential to disturb or displace marine mammals. Specifically, the specified activities may result in take, in the form of Level B harassment from underwater sounds generated by pile driving. Potential takes could occur if marine mammals are present in zones ensonified above the thresholds for Level B harassment, identified above, while activities are underway.
No serious injury or mortality would be expected even in the absence of the required mitigation measures. For all species other than humpback whale, no Level A harassment is anticipated given the nature of the activities. For humpback whale, no Level A
harassment is anticipated due to the required mitigation measures, which we expect the Navy will be able to effectively implement given the small Level A harassment zone sizes and high visibility of humpback whales.
The Navys planned pile driving activities and associated impacts will occur within a limited portion of the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay area.
Localized noise exposures produced by project activities may cause short-term behavioral modifications in affected cetaceans and pinnipeds. However, as described previously, the mitigation and monitoring measures are expected to
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