29364 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 103 / Tuesday, June 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041– potential and documented Industry 3803. effects on these species; natural history Fish and Wildlife Service • Electronic submission: Federal and conservation status information of eRulemaking Portal at: http:// these species; and data reported from 50 CFR Part 18 www.regulations.gov. Follow the Alaska Native subsistence hunters. We [Docket No. FWS–R7–ES–2021–0037; instructions for submitting comments to have prepared a draft environmental FXES111607MRG01–212–FF07CAMM00] Docket No. FWS–R7–ES–2021–0037. assessment in conjunction with this We will post all comments at http:// rulemaking, which is also available for RIN 1018–BF13 www.regulations.gov. You may request public review and comment. that we withhold personal identifying The proposed regulations include Marine Mammals; Incidental Take information from public review; permissible methods of nonlethal During Specified Activities; North however, we cannot guarantee that we taking; mitigation measures to ensure Slope, Alaska will be able to do so. See Request for that Industry activities will have the AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Public Comments for more information. least practicable adverse impact on the Interior. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: species or stock, their habitat, and their ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of Marine Mammals Management, U.S. availability for subsistence uses; and availability of draft environmental Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 East requirements for monitoring and assessment; and request for comments. Tudor Road, MS–341, Anchorage, AK reporting. Compliance with this rule, if 99503, Telephone 907–786–3844, or finalized, is not expected to result in SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Email: [email protected]. significant additional costs to Industry, Wildlife Service, in response to a Persons who use a telecommunications and any costs are minimal in request from the Alaska Oil and Gas device for the deaf (TDD) may call the comparison to those related to actual oil Association, propose to issue Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1–800– and gas exploration, development, and regulations authorizing the nonlethal, 877–8339, 24 hours a day, 7 days a production operations. incidental, unintentional take by week. harassment of small numbers of polar Background bears and Pacific walruses during year- SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the Marine round oil and gas industry activities in Executive Summary Mammal Protection Act (MMPA; 16 the Beaufort Sea (Alaska and the Outer U.S.C. 1371(a)(5)(A)) gives the Secretary In accordance with the Marine Continental Shelf) and adjacent of the Interior (Secretary) the authority Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of northern coast of Alaska. Take may to allow the incidental, but not 1972, as amended, and its implementing result from oil and gas exploration, intentional, taking of small numbers of regulations, we, the U.S. Fish and development, production, and marine mammals, in response to Wildlife Service (Service or we), transportation activities occurring for a requests by U.S. citizens (as defined in propose incidental take regulations period of 5 years. These activities are 50 CFR 18.27(c)) engaged in a specified (ITR) that, if finalized, would authorize similar to those covered by the previous activity (other than commercial fishing) the nonlethal, incidental, unintentional 5-year Beaufort Sea incidental take within a specified geographic region. take of small numbers of Pacific regulations effective from August 5, The Secretary has delegated authority walruses (Odobenus rosmarus 2016, through August 5, 2021. This for implementation of the MMPA to the divergens) and polar bears (Ursus proposed rule would authorize take by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. maritimus) during oil and gas industry harassment only. No lethal take would According to the MMPA, the Service (hereafter referred to as ‘‘Industry’’) be authorized. If this rule is finalized, shall allow this incidental taking if we activities in the Beaufort Sea and we will issue Letters of Authorization, find the total of such taking for a 5-year adjacent northern coast of Alaska, not upon request, for specific proposed period or less: including lands within the Arctic activities in accordance with this (1) Will affect only small numbers of National Wildlife Refuge, for a 5-year proposed regulation. Therefore, we marine mammals of a species or period. Industry operations include request comments on these proposed population stock; similar types of activities covered by the regulations. (2) will have no more than a previous 5-year Beaufort Sea ITRs negligible impact on such species or DATES: Comments on these proposed effective from August 5, 2016, through stocks; incidental take regulations and the August 5, 2021 and found in title 50 of (3) will not have an unmitigable accompanying draft environmental the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) adverse impact on the availability of assessment will be accepted on or before in part 18, subpart J. such species or stocks for taking for July 1, 2021. This proposed rule is based on our subsistence use by Alaska Natives; and ADDRESSES: You may view this draft findings that the total takings of (4) we issue regulations that set forth: proposed rule, the associated draft Pacific walruses (walruses) and polar (a) Permissible methods of taking; environmental assessment, comments bears during proposed Industry (b) other means of effecting the least received, and other supporting material activities will impact no more than practicable adverse impact on the at http://www.regulations.gov under small numbers of animals, will have a species or stock and its habitat, and on Docket No. FWS–R7–ES–2021–0037, or negligible impact on these species or the availability of such species or stock these documents may be requested as stocks, and will not have an unmitigable for subsistence uses; and described under FOR FURTHER adverse impact on the availability of (c) requirements for monitoring and INFORMATION CONTACT. You may submit these species or stocks for taking for reporting of such taking. comments on the proposed rule by one subsistence uses by Alaska Natives. We If final regulations allowing such of the following methods: base our draft findings on past and incidental taking are issued, we may • U.S. mail: Public Comments proposed future monitoring of the then subsequently issue Letters of Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R7– encounters and interactions between Authorization (LOAs), upon request, to ES–2021–0037, U.S. Fish and Wildlife these species and Industry; species authorize incidental take during the Service; MS: PRB (JAO/3W); 5275 research; oil spill risk assessments; specified activities. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:20 May 28, 2021 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\01JNP2.SGM 01JNP2 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS2 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 103 / Tuesday, June 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules 29365 The term ‘‘take,’’ as defined by the The term ‘‘least practicable adverse subcontractors and subsidiaries that MMPA, means to harass, hunt, capture, impact’’ is not defined in the MMPA or plan to conduct oil and gas operations or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, its enacting regulations. For this in the specified geographic region. capture, or kill any marine mammal (16 proposed ITR, we ensure the least Members of AOGA represented in the U.S.C. 1362(13)). Harassment, as practicable adverse impact by requiring Request include: Alyeska Pipeline defined by the MMPA, for activities mitigation measures that are effective in Service Company, BlueCrest Energy, other than military readiness activities reducing the impact of Industry Inc., Chevron Corporation, or scientific research conducted by or activities but are not so restrictive as to ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. (CPAI), Eni on behalf of the Federal Government, make Industry activities unduly U.S. Operating Co. Inc. (Eni Petroleum), means ‘‘any act of pursuit, torment, or burdensome or impossible to undertake ExxonMobil Alaska Production Inc. annoyance which (i) has the potential to and complete. (ExxonMobil), Furie Operating Alaska, injure a marine mammal or marine In this proposed ITR, the term LLC, Glacier Oil and Gas Corporation mammal stock in the wild’’ (the MMPA ‘‘Industry’’ includes individuals, (Glacier), Hilcorp Alaska, LLC (Hilcorp), defines this as Level A harassment); or companies, and organizations involved Marathon Petroleum, Petro Star Inc., ‘‘(ii) has the potential to disturb a in exploration, development, Repsol, and Shell Exploration and marine mammal or marine mammal production, extraction, processing, Production Company (Shell). stock in the wild by causing disruption transportation, research, monitoring, Non-AOGA companies represented in of behavioral patterns, including, but and support services of the petroleum the Request include: Alaska Gasline not limited to, migration, breathing, industry. Industry activities may result Development Corporation (AGDC), nursing, breeding, feeding, or in the incidental taking of Pacific Arctic Slope Regional Corporation sheltering’’ (the MMPA defines this as walruses and polar bears. (ASRC) Energy Services, Oil Search Level B harassment) (16 U.S.C. The MMPA does not require Industry (Alaska), LLC, and Qilak LNG, Inc. If 1362(18)). to obtain an incidental take authorization; however, any taking that finalized, these regulations would