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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 24 / Monday, February 8, 2021 / Notices
Independent PSOs i.e., not construction personnel who have no other assigned tasks during monitoring periods must be used;
Other PSOs may substitute education degree in biological science or related field or training for experience; and WADOT must submit PSO
Curriculum Vitae for approval by NMFS
prior to the onset of pile driving.
PSOs must have the following additional qualifications:
Ability to conduct field observations and collect data according to assigned protocols;
Experience or training in the field identification of marine mammals, including the identification of behaviors;
Sufficient training, orientation, or experience with the construction operation to provide for personal safety during observations;
Writing skills sufficient to prepare a report of observations including but not limited to the number and species of marine mammals observed; dates and times when in-water construction activities were conducted; dates, times, and reason for implementation of mitigation or why mitigation was not implemented when required; and marine mammal behavior; and Ability to communicate orally, by radio or in person, with project personnel to provide real-time information on marine mammals observed in the area as necessary.
Up to four PSOs will be employed.
PSO locations will provide an unobstructed view of all water within the shutdown zone, and as much of the Level A and Level B harassment zones as possible. PSO locations are as follows:
1 At the pile driving/removal site or best vantage point practicable to monitor the shutdown zones and the small area north into Burley Lagoon;
2 At Purdy Spit Park to monitor the Level B harassment zone near the project site in Henderson Bay; and 3 For the smaller Level B harassment zone associated with H pile driving/
removal, an additional PSOs will be located on the southeast end of the level B harassment zone see Monitoring Plan Figure 4;
4 For the larger Level B harassment zone associated with sheetpile driving/
removal PSOs will be at the pile/driving removal site and Purdy Spit park as described above. Two additional PSOs will be located further south in Henderson Bay see Monitoring Plan Figure 2: One at Kopachuck State Park to monitor the southern end of the Level B harassment zone and one further
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south at Penrose Point State Park to monitor the approaches into Henderson Bay, especially for killer and humpback whales and other large whales not authorized for take.
Monitoring will be conducted 30
minutes before, during, and 30 minutes after pile driving/removal activities. In addition, observers shall record all incidents of marine mammal occurrence, regardless of distance from activity, and shall document any behavioral reactions in concert with distance from piles being driven or removed. Pile driving activities include the time to install or remove a single pile or series of piles, as long as the time elapsed between uses of the pile driving or drilling equipment is no more than 30 minutes.
Reporting A draft marine mammal monitoring report will be submitted to NMFS
within 90 days after the completion of pile driving and removal activities, or 60 days prior to a requested date of issuance of any future IHAs for projects at the same location, whichever comes first. The report will include an overall description of work completed, a narrative regarding marine mammal sightings, and associated PSO data sheets. 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 and if other removal methods were used;
Weather parameters and water conditions during each monitoring period e.g., wind speed, percent cover, visibility, sea state;
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 individuals of each species differentiated by month as
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appropriate detected within the monitoring zone, and estimates of number of marine mammals taken, by species a correction factor may be applied to total take numbers, as appropriate;
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; and 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.
If no comments are received from NMFS within 30 days, the draft final 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.
Reporting Injured or Dead Marine Mammals In the event that personnel involved in the construction activities discover an injured or dead marine mammal, WADOT shall report the incident to the Office of Protected Resources OPR, NMFS and to the regional stranding coordinator as soon as feasible. If the death or injury was clearly caused by the specified activity, WADOT 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 IHA.
The IHA-holder must not resume their activities until notified by NMFS. The report must include the following information:
Time, date, and location latitude/
longitude of the first discovery and updated location information if known and applicable;
Species identification if known or description of the animals involved;
Condition of the animals including carcass condition if the animal is dead;
Observed behaviors of the animals, if alive;
If available, photographs or video footage of the animals; and 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
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