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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 116 / Monday, June 21, 2021 / Notices
Dated: June 8, 2021.
Delores Barber, Director, Information Technology and Resources Management Division, Office of Program Support.
FR Doc. 202113065 Filed 61721; 4:15 am BILLING CODE 656050P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RTID 0648XB160

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the U.S. Navy Target and Missile Launch Activities on San Nicolas Island National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of an incidental harassment authorization.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act MMPA as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization IHA to the U.S. Navy Navy to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during target and missile launch activities on San Nicolas Island SNI, California. The Navys activities are considered military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004
NDAA.
DATES: This Authorization is effective from June 12, 2021 through June 11, 2022.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephanie Egger, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 301 4278401.
Electronic copies of the original application and supporting documents including NMFS Federal Register notices of the original proposed and final authorizations, and the previous IHA, as well as a list of the references cited in this document, may be obtained online at: https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/
incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-protection-act. In case of problems accessing these documents, please call the contact listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background The MMPA prohibits the take of marine mammals, with certain
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exceptions. Sections 101a5A and D of the MMPA 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq. direct the Secretary of Commerce as delegated to NMFS 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 incidental take authorization may be 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 stocks and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or stocks for taking for subsistence uses where relevant. Further, NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, paying particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance, and on the availability of such species or stocks for taking for certain subsistence uses referred to in shorthand as mitigation; and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of such takings are set forth.
The NDAA Pub. L. 108136
removed the small numbers and specified geographical region limitations indicated above and amended the definition of harassment as it applies to a military readiness activity. The activity for which incidental take of marine mammals is being requested addressed here qualifies as a military readiness activity.
History of Request On March 1, 2021, NMFS received an adequate and complete application from the Navy, requesting the take of marine mammals incidental to target and missile launch activities on SNI. NMFS
previously issued an IHA for this activity on June 12, 2019 84 FR 28462;
June 19, 2019 as well as a renewal IHA
on June 19, 2020 85 FR 38863; June 29, 2020. The activities for which incidental take is authorized are identical to those covered under the previous IHAs.
Navy complied with all the requirements e.g., mitigation, monitoring, and reporting of the previous authorizations and information regarding their monitoring results may be found in the Potential Effects of Specified Activity on Marine Mammals
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and their Habitat and Estimated Take section of the previous authorization 84
FR 28462; June 19, 2019 as well https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-military-readinessactivitiesactive-authorizations. This IHA would cover 1 year of an on-going activity for which Navy obtained prior authorizations, specifically continuation of target and missile launches on SNI.
Of note, the Navy also submitted a revised and complete application on August 28, 2020 for a 7-year rulemaking and Letter of Authorization LOA for the same target and missile launch activities on SNI, as well as other Navy testing and training activities in the same area. On September 4, 2020, NMFS published a notice of receipt of application in the Federal Register 85
FR 55257 requesting comments and information related to the Navys request. However, NMFS is unable to make determinations regarding the requested LOA prior to the expiration of the currently active renewal IHA, which would leave a lapse in coverage for the Navy for target and missile launch activities on SNI after it expires on June 11, 2021. This IHA is intended to provide coverage during this period and is valid for one year from June 12, 2021
through June 11, 2022.
Description of the Planned Activity and Anticipated Impacts The Navy plans to continue a target and missile launch program on SNI, located in Southern California and part of the Channel Islands, which is identical to the program covered under the previous authorizations. The Navy has been conducting this program since 2001, which supports testing and training activities associated with operations on the Point Mugu Sea Range PMSR. The PMSR is used by the U.S.
and allied military services to test and evaluate sea, land, and air weapon systems; to provide realistic training opportunities; and to maintain operational readiness of these forces.
Missiles vary from tactical and developmental weapons to target missiles used to test defensive strategies and other weapons systems. Some launch events involve a single missile, while others involve the launch of multiple missiles in quick succession and are launched from two launch sites on SNI. As before, the Navy proposes to conduct up to 40 missile launch events from SNI, but the total may be less than 40 depending on operational requirements. Launch timing will be determined by operational, meteorological, and logistical factors.
Up to 10 of the 40 launches may occur
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