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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 043097B]

Small Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;

Lockheed 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 to take small numbers of harbor seals by

harassment incidental to launches of Lockheed-Martin's launch vehicles

(LMLVs) at Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6), Vandenberg Air Force Base,

CA (Vandenberg) has been issued.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This authorization is effective from July 18, 1997,

through July 17, 1998.

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, Office of

Protected Resources at 301-713-2055, or Irma Lagomarsino, Southwest

Regional Office at 310-980-4016.

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.

The MMPA Amendments of 1994 established an expedited process by

which citizens of the United States can apply for an authorization to

incidentally take small numbers of marine mammals by harassment. 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.

New subsection 101(a)(5)(D) establishes a 45-day time limit for

NMFS review of an application followed by a 30-day public notice and

comment period on any proposed authorizations for the incidental

harassment of small numbers of marine mammals. Within 45 days of the

close of the comment period, NMFS must either issue or deny issuance of

the authorization.

Summary of Request

On March 21, 1997, NMFS received an application from the U.S. Air

Force, Vandenberg, requesting continuation of an authorization for the

harassment of small numbers of harbor seals incidental to launches of

LMLVs at SLC-6, Vandenberg. These launches would place commercial

payloads into low earth orbit. Because of the requirements for

circumpolar trajectories of the LMLV and its payloads, the use of SLC-6

is the only feasible alternative for LMLV launches within the United

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

the resultant sonic boom, these noises have the potential to cause a

startle response to those harbor seals which haul out on the coastline

south and southwest of Vandenberg and may be detectable to marine

mammals west of the Channel Islands. Launch noise would be expected to

occur over the coastal habitats in the vicinity of SLC-6 while low-

level sonic booms could be heard west of the Channel Islands.

Background information on the activity, the authorization request,

and affected marine mammals can be found in the proposed authorization

notice (62 FR 26779, May 15, 1997) and previous notices (60 FR 24840,

May 10, 1995; 60 FR 38308, July 26, 1995) on LMLV launches. Therefore

this information is not repeated here. These documents are available

from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

Comments and Responses

A notice of receipt of the application and the proposed

authorization was published on May 15, 1997 (62 FR 26779) and a 30-day

public comment period was provided on the application and proposed

authorization. No comments were received during the comment period.

Conclusion

For reasons discussed in the notice of proposed authorization,

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, would have only a negligible impact on the

species, and would result in the least practicable impact on the stock,

NMFS has determined that the requirements of

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section 101(a)(5)(D) have been met and the authorization can be issued.

Authorization

For the above reasons, NMFS has issued an incidental harassment

authorization for 1 year for the above described activity provided

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements described in the IHA

are undertaken.

Dated: July 15, 1997.

Patricia A. Montanio,

Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97-19793 Filed 7-25-97; 8:45 am]

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