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Vol. 81 Tuesday, No. 75 April 19, 2016 Part III Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the Southeast Pacific Ocean, 2016–2017; Notice VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:45 Apr 18, 2016 Jkt 238001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\19APN2.SGM 19APN2 asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 23118 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2016 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE [email protected]. Please include monitoring and reporting of such taking. 0648–XE451 in the subject line. NMFS has defined ‘‘negligible impact’’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Comments sent via email, including all in 50 CFR 216.103 as ‘‘an impact Administration attachments, must not exceed a 25 resulting from the specified activity that RIN 0648–XE451 megabyte file size. NMFS is not cannot be reasonably expected to, and is responsible for email comments sent to not reasonably likely to, adversely affect Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to addresses other than the one provided the species or stock through effects on Specified Activities; Marine here. annual rates of recruitment or survival.’’ Geophysical Survey in the Southeast Instructions: All submitted comments Except with respect to certain Pacific Ocean, 2016–2017 are part of the public record, and NMFS activities not pertinent here, the MMPA will post them to http:// defines ‘‘harassment’’ as: Any act of AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ pursuit, torment, or annoyance which (i) Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and incidental/research.htm without has the potential to injure a marine Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), change. All Personal Identifying mammal or marine mammal stock in the Department of Commerce. Information (for example: name, wild [Level A harassment]; or (ii) has ACTION: Notice; proposed Incidental address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the potential to disturb a marine Harassment Authorization; request for the commenter may also be publicly mammal or marine mammal stock in the comments. accessible. Do not submit confidential wild by causing disruption of behavioral business information or otherwise patterns, including, but not limited to, SUMMARY: NMFS has received an sensitive or protected information. migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, application from the Lamont-Doherty To obtain an electronic copy of feeding, or sheltering [Level B Earth Observatory (Lamont-Doherty) in Lamont-Doherty’s application, NSF’s harassment]. collaboration with the National Science draft environmental analysis, NMFS’ Summary of Request Foundation (NSF), for an Incidental draft environmental assessment (EA), Harassment Authorization and a list of the references used in this On January 19, 2016, NMFS received (Authorization) to take marine document, write to the previously an application from Lamont-Doherty mammals, by harassment only, mentioned address, telephone the requesting that NMFS issue an incidental to conducting three marine contact listed below (see FOR FURTHER Authorization for the take of marine geophysical (seismic) surveys in the INFORMATION CONTACT), or visit the mammals, incidental to Oregon State southeast Pacific Ocean, in the latter internet at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ University (OSU) and University of half of 2016 and/or the beginning half pr/permits/incidental/research.htm. Texas (UT) conducting seismic surveys of 2017. The proposed dates are FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: in the southeast Pacific Ocean, in the between June 2016 and June 2017, to Jordan Carduner, NMFS, Office of latter half of 2016 and/or the first half account for logistical and scheduling Protected Resources, NMFS (301) 427– of 2017. NMFS considered the needs of the applicant. Per the Marine 8401. application and supporting materials Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), we adequate and complete on March 21, SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: are requesting comments on our 2016. proposal to issue an Authorization to Background Lamont-Doherty proposes to conduct Lamont-Doherty to incidentally take, by Section 101(a)(5)(D) of the Marine three two-dimensional (2–D) surveys on level B harassment, 44 species of marine the R/V Marcus G. Langseth (Langseth), mammal during the specified activity Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et a vessel owned by NSF and operated on and to incidentally take, by Level A its behalf by Columbia University’s harassment, 26 species of marine seq.) directs the Secretary of Commerce to allow, upon request, the incidental, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory mammals. Although considered primarily in international waters of the unlikely, any Level A harassment but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals of a southeast Pacific Ocean, with a small potentially incurred would be expected portion of the surveys occurring within to be in the form of some smaller degree species or population stock, by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified the territorial waters of Chile. All of permanent hearing loss due in part to proposed surveys will be conducted the required monitoring measures for activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region within the exclusive economic zone detecting marine mammals and required (EEZ) of Chile. mitigation measures for power downs or if, after NMFS provides a notice of a proposed authorization to the public for Increased underwater sound shut downs of the airgun array if any generated during the operation of the animal is likely to enter the Level A review and comment: (1) NMFS makes certain findings; and (2) the taking is seismic airgun array is the only aspect exclusion zone. NMFS does not expect of the proposed activity that is likely to any serious injury, mortality, or limited to harassment. An Authorization shall be granted for result in the take of marine mammals. deafness to occur in marine mammals as We anticipate that take, by Level B a result of this proposed survey. the incidental taking of small numbers of marine mammals if NMFS finds that harassment, of 44 species of marine DATES: NMFS must receive comments the taking will have a negligible impact mammals could result from the and information on or before May 19, on the species or stock(s), and will not specified activity. Although unlikely, 2016. have an unmitigable adverse impact on NMFS also anticipates that a small ADDRESSES: Address comments on the the availability of the species or stock(s) amount of take by Level A harassment application to Jolie Harrison, Chief, for subsistence uses (where relevant). of 26 species of marine mammals could Permits and Conservation Division, The Authorization must also set forth occur during the proposed survey. Office of Protected Resources, National the permissible methods of taking; other Description of the Specified Activity Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East- means of effecting the least practicable West Highway, Silver Spring, MD adverse impact on the species or stock Overview 20910. The mailbox address for and its habitat (i.e., mitigation); and Lamont-Doherty plans to use one providing email comments is requirements pertaining to the source vessel, the Langseth, with an VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:45 Apr 18, 2016 Jkt 238001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\19APN2.SGM 19APN2 asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2016 / Notices 23119 array of 36 airguns as the energy source boundary thrust fault that can produce at any time during the proposed with a total volume of approximately some of the world’s largest earthquakes authorized period of June 2016 to June 6,600 cubic inches (in 3). The receiving and tsunamis. This survey will image 2017; however the proposed southern system would consist of 64 ocean the characteristics of the plate-boundary survey would most likely not occur bottom seismometers (OBSs) and a thrust, sediment subduction, and upper between February and April. single hydrophone streamer between 8 plate structure within the 2010 Maule NMFS refers the reader to the Detailed and 15 kilometers (km) (4.9 and 9.3 rupture segment and the 1960 Valdivia miles [mi]) in length. In addition to the rupture area. Description of Activities section later in operations of the airgun array, a this notice for more information on the Dates and Duration multibeam echosounder (MBES) and a scope of the proposed activities. sub-bottom profiler (SBP) would also be The surveys off Chile are proposed for Specified Geographic Region operated continuously throughout the 2016/2017 and would take proposed surveys. A total of approximately 60 days with the The proposed survey off northern approximately 9,633 km (5,986 mi) of potential for an additional increase in Chile would occur within the area transect lines would be surveyed in the number of days by 25 percent as a located at approximately 70.2–73.2° W., southeast Pacific Ocean. contingency for equipment failures, 18.3–22.4° S., the central proposed The primary purpose of the northern resurveys, or other operational needs. survey would occur within survey is to image the structure of the The surveys may occur at any time approximately 71.8–73.4° W., 30.1– upper and lower plates in the region during the proposed authorized period 33.9° S., and the southern proposed that slipped during the 2014 Pisagua/ of June 2016 to June 2017. The proposed survey would occur within survey off northern Chile would consist Iquique earthquake sequence and approximately 72.2–76.1° W., 33.9– of approximately 45 days of science immediately to the south, where an 44.1° S. historic seismic gap remains unruptured operations that include approximately in order to better understand how 28 days of seismic operations, Representative survey tracklines are geologic structure controlled the approximately 13 days of ocean bottom shown in Figure 1 in this notice and initiation, propagation, and termination seismometer (OBS) deployment/ described further in Lamont-Doherty’s of this rupture sequence.