Small Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taurus Space Launch Vehicles at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 091396A]

Small Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;

Taurus Space Launch Vehicles at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of issuance of an incidental harassment authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection

Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that an Incidental

Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of seals and sea

lions by harassment incidental to launches of Taurus space launch

vehicles (Taurus SLV) at Launch Support Complex 576E (LSC- 576E),

Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA (Vandenberg) has been issued to the U.S.

Air Force for a period of 1 year.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This authorization is effective from January 1, 1997,

through December 31, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The application and authorization are available for review

in the following offices: Marine Mammal Division, Office of Protected

Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and

the Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90802.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth Hollingshead, Marine Mammal

Division, Office of Protected Resources at 301-713-2055, or Irma

Lagomarsino, Southwest Regional Office at 301-980-4016.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs

NMFS to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional,

taking 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 regulations are

issued. Permission may be granted if NMFS finds that the taking will

have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s), will not have an

unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or

stock(s) for subsistence uses, and the permissible methods of taking

and requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such

taking are set forth.

Subsection 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA established an expedited

process by which U.S. citizens can apply for an authorization to

incidentally take small numbers of marine mammals by harassment for a

period of up to 1 year. The MMPA defines ``harassment'' as:

* * *any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which (a) has

the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in

the wild; or (b) has the potential to disturb a marine mammal or

marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral

patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing,

nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.

Summary of Request

On August 14, 1996, NMFS received a revised application from the

U.S. Air Force, Vandenberg, requesting an authorization for the

harassment of small numbers of harbor seals and possibly California sea

lions and northern elephant seals, incidental to launches of Taurus

SLVs at LSC-576E, Vandenberg. These launches would place commercial

payloads into earth orbit. Because LSC-576E is located north of most

other launch complexes at Vandenberg and because there are oil

production platforms located off the coast to the south of LSC-576E,

missions flown from LSC-576E do not fly directly on their final

southward course. The normal trajectory for a LSC-576E launch is in a

general west-south-west direction away from the coastline. The flight

paths for each 1997 launch will proceed on an initial azimuth of

205 deg. until approximately 24 kilometers (km )(15 miles (mi)) west of

the shoreline. The Taurus SLV will then perform a dogleg maneuver left

to a final mission-specific azimuth of between 180 deg. and 197 deg..

No Taurus SLV launch from LSC-576E will proceed southeast, overflying

San Miguel or Santa Rosa islands. Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC

1996) anticipates launching two Taurus SLVs during the 1-year period of

validity for this proposed authorization.

As a result of the noise associated with the launch itself and the

resultant sonic boom, there is the potential to cause a startle

response to those harbor seals that haul out on the coastline south and

southwest of Vandenberg and may be detectable to marine mammals in

waters off Vandenberg and to the west of the Channel Islands. Launch

noise would be expected to occur over the coastal habitats in the

vicinity of LSC-576E while a low-level sonic boom may be heard west of

the Channel Islands.

A notice of receipt of the Taurus SLV application and the proposed

authorization was published on September 25, 1996 (61 FR 50276) and a

30-day public comment period was provided on the application and

proposed authorization.

Comments and Responses

During the 30-day comment period, one letter was received. The

comments contained in this letter are addressed below. Other than

information necessary to respond to the comments, additional background

information on the activity and request can be found in the proposed

authorization notice and needs not be repeated here.

Comment 1: The Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) requested

confirmation that the Air Force would be applying for a programmatic 5-

year authorization under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA. The MMC

believes that, because of the possible cumulative effects of launches

at Vandenberg, a 5-year authorization is appropriate.

Response: NMFS anticipates that this 1-year authorization for

Taurus SLV launches, along with others issued previously for Lockheed

launch vehicles (61 FR 38437, July 24, 1996), McDonnell Douglas Delta

II launch vehicles (61 FR 59218, November 21, 1996), and Titan II and

IV (61 FR 64337, December 4, 1996) will be replaced by a new set of

regulations, under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA, governing

incidental takes of marine mammals by launches of all rocket types from

Vandenberg. An application for a small take authorization under section

101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA is under development by the Air Force.

Comment 2: The MMC recommends that, before issuing the requested

authorization, NMFS review the results of monitoring done to date to

determine (1) if there may have been cumulative effects on the haul-out

patterns, abundance, or productivity of harbor seals that reside in the

Vandenberg area, and (2) whether the current monitoring program is

sufficient to detect such effects.

Response: By limiting incidental harassment authorizations to a

single year as opposed to multi-year authorizations for Letters of

Authorization (LOAs) issued under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA,

NMFS does not believe that Congress intended NMFS to make negligible

impact assessments on activities for periods greater than the period of

the authorization, nor to require holders of IHAs to monitor for

periods greater than the authorization. As a result, monitoring for

most activities holding IHAs are designed to be event specific, that

is, for a period of time prior to the event, during the event, and

after

[[Page 735]]

completion of the activity. Although this precludes the applicability

of monitoring under a single IHA for determining long-term cumulative

effects, in those cases where holders of IHAs request continuing

authorizations, monitoring, over time and in conjunction with other

measurements of population trends and abundances, provides information

sufficient to make the necessary negligible impact determinations under

section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA. This is what was done for the

negligible impact determination for this authorization.

Recognizing that short-term monitoring leaves unanswered the effect

from cumulative impacts, the U.S. Air Force is designing research to

investigate this concern. This research will use launches of Titan IVs

(the rocket presumed to be having the greatest impact since it is the

largest rocket launched from Vandenberg) to provide information vital

for assessing long-term impacts on the physiology, behavior and

survival of pinnipeds from launch noise and sonic booms. This research,

which will be conducted under an MMPA section 104 research permit, is

expected to begin within a year.

Therefore, while no long-term studies are currently underway on the

effects on pinnipeds from launch noises or sonic booms, monitoring at

Vandenberg for Titan IV and other rocket launches in the past has

provided the baseline information on long-term and cumulative impacts.

This information and the fact that the haul-outs along the Vandenberg

coast remain active indicate that there are no immediately evident

long-term, cumulative impacts. Launch noises are infrequent enough and

divided between North and South Vandenberg so that these impacts are

presumed to be less significant, cumulatively, than human, wildlife and

pet disturbances including motorized vessels.

Comment 3: The MMC states that it should be made clear that the

authorization is automatically rescinded if a marine mammal is killed

as a result of the authorized activity.

Response: No marine mammals are anticipated to be killed or

seriously injured as a result of launchings of Taurus SLV rockets.

However, while section 101(a)(5)(D)(iv) of the MMPA provides NMFS

authority to modify, suspend, or revoke an authorization if it is found

that the provisions of the section are not being met, for IHA

suspensions, NMFS follows procedures established for suspension of LOAs

under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA. In that regard, an IHA may be

suspended without notice and comment if emergency conditions exist that

pose a significant risk to the well-being of the marine mammal stock,

or if holder of an IHA is not in compliance with the conditions of the

IHA. However, prior to revocation of an IHA, NMFS must satisfy the

statutory notice and comment requirement. Therefore, section

101(a)(5)(B) allows NMFS to withdraw (revoke) or ``suspend for a time

certain'' an LOA, subsequent to notice and comment, while section

101(a)(5)(C) allows a waiver of the notice and comment requirement for

emergency suspensions, but not for revocations. Conditions for

suspension or withdrawal of an LOA or IHA are described in 50 CFR

216.106 and 216.107.

Conclusion

Based upon the information provided in the proposed authorization,

NMFS has determined that the short-term impact of the launching of

Taurus SLV rockets is expected to result at worst, in a minor,

temporary reduction in utilization of the haulout as seals or sea lions

leave the beach for the safety of the water. These launchings are not

expected to result in any reduction in the number of pinnipeds and they

are expected to continue to occupy the same area. In addition, there

will not be any impact on the habitat itself. Based upon studies

conducted for previous space vehicle launches at Vandenberg,

significant long-term impacts on pinnipeds at Vandenberg and the

northern Channel Islands are unlikely.

Therefore, since NMFS is assured that the taking will not result in

more than the harassment (as defined by the MMPA Amendments of 1994) of

a small number of harbor seals, California sea lions, and northern

elephant seals; would have only a negligible impact on the species, and

would result in the least practicable impact on the stock, NMFS

determined that the requirements of section 101(a)(5)(D) had been met

and the incidental harassment authorization was issued.

Dated: December 27, 1996.

Ann D. Terbush,

Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97-180 Filed 1-3-97; 8:45 am]

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