Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Rocket Launches

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 080599C]

Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals

Incidental to Rocket Launches

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

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed modification to a letter of authorization;

request for comments.

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SUMMARY: On August 3, 1999, the 30th Space Wing, U.S. Air

Force, requested a modification to the Letter of Authorization (LOA)

issued to it on April 2, 1999. The letter requests that a new rocket,

the Minotaur, be added to the list of rockets authorized to take harbor

seals and California sea lions incidental to rocket launches from

Vandenberg Air Force Base (Vandenberg) in California. Under the Marine

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its

proposal to amend the LOA issued to the 30th Space Wing to

authorize this new rocket type. The U.S. Air Force has not requested,

and NMFS does not propose, to increase the number of annual launches

from Vandenberg that are authorized to take marine mammals under the

LOA.

DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than

September 2, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to Donna

Wieting, Chief, Marine Mammal Division, Office of Protected Resources,

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3225. A copy of

the request for modification, the LOA and the supporting documentation

are available for review during regular business hours in the following

offices: Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway,

Silver Spring, MD 20910, and the Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean

Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Hollingshead, Office of

Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2055, or Christina Fahy, NMFS,

(562) 980-4023.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C.

1361 et seq.) directs NMFS to allow, on request, the incidental, but

not intentional, taking of small numbers 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. Under the MMPA, the term ``taking''

means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt,

capture or kill marine mammals.

Permission may be granted for periods up to 5 years if NMFS finds,

after notification and opportunity for public comment, that the taking

will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) of marine

mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the

availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses. In

addition, NMFS must prescribe regulations that include permissible

methods of taking and other means effecting the least practicable

adverse impact on the species and its habitat and on the availability

of the species for subsistence uses, paying particular attention to

rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance. The

regulations must include requirements pertaining to the monitoring and

reporting of such taking. Regulations governing the taking of seals and

sea lions incidental to missile and rocket launches, aircraft flight

test operations, and helicopter operations at Vandenberg were published

on March 1, 1999 (64 FR 9925), and remain in effect until December 31,

2003.

In accordance with the MMPA, as amended, and implementing

regulations, a 1-year LOA to take small numbers of seals and sea lions

was issued on April 2, 1999, to the 30th Space Wing (64 FR

17145, April 8, 1999). On August 3, 1999, the 30th Space

Wing requested NMFS to amend the LOA to include a new rocket, the

Minotaur, to the list of rockets authorized to take harbor seals and

California sea lions incidental to activities at Vandenberg.

Discussion and Analysis

Spaceport Systems International (SSI) wants to begin launching the

OSP Space Launch Vehicle, the Minotaur rocket, from the California

Commercial Spaceport (CCS) on Vandenberg. The Minotaur contains 2

segments of Minuteman II solid-fuel motors and 2 Orion upperstage

motors. According to SSI, the sound emitted during the launch should be

no more than what a Minuteman II would emit.

Because this is a new launch vehicle, it was not included in the

LOA issued to Vandenberg on April 2, 1999. Therefore, in order for NMFS

to authorize the takings by harassment incidental to this new rocket,

NMFS must be assured that the takings will not exceed the level of

incidental harassment considered when it made its negligible impact

finding on March 1, 1999 (64 FR 9925). First, Vandenberg is authorized

to harass pinnipeds incidental to 10 missile launches from North

Vandenberg and 20 rocket launches annually from South Vandenberg. This

authorized level of launches for incidental takes of marine mammals

will not be modified by NMFS to add this additional rocket to the LOA.

Second, as mentioned previously, the Minotaur rocket consists of the

first two segments of Minuteman II solid-fuel motors and two Orion

upperstage motors. For incidental takes of pinnipeds on the Vandenberg

coastline, only the first one or two motors are important for assessing

impacts along the California coast. The Minotaur, like the Minuteman II

missiles launched from North Vandenberg, use Thiokol first-stage rocket

motor with 202,600 pounds (lbs) of thrust and a second-stage motor made

by Aerojet with 60,000 lbs of thrust. As a result, launch noises would

be similar to those expected at North Vandenberg during a Minuteman II

launch.

Third, Vandenberg has requested a small take of harbor seals (and

possibly a few California sea lions) by incidental harassment for this

rocket launched

[[Page 44894]]

from the CCS, an area close to Space Launch Complex (SLC)-6. While the

CCS was identified in the 30th Space Wing's July 11, 1997,

application for a small take authorization and in the U.S. Air Force's

Programmatic Operations Environmental Assessment for small takes of

marine mammals, because the CCS was under construction at the time, no

rocket types were identified for launching at that time of the

application to NMFS. As a result, an incidental take assessment could

not be made for this location by either NMFS or the 30th

Space Wing during the rulemaking. However, impacts to pinnipeds from

launches at nearby SLC-6 by Lockheed Martin's family of Athena rockets

was analyzed on July 21, 1998 (63 FR 39055) and previously (see 60 FR

24840, May 10, 1995).

Finally, because the Minotaur rocket's first stage solid-fuel

booster is half the size of the first-stage booster of the Athena 1

launched from SLC-6, it can be expected to impact the nearby harbor

seal haulouts to a lesser, but unknown, level than the Athena. NMFS

estimated that the Athena rocket would, under typical conditions,

result in a sound pressure level (SPL) of 127 dB (107 dBA) re 20

Pa at the harbor seal haulouts at Rocky Point, which are about

1.5 mi (2.4 km) to the south and southwest of SLC-6. This level is

sufficient to cause harbor seals to leave the beach at Point Arguello,

Rocky Point, and Boathouse Flats. However, because the CCS is only 1

mile (1.6 km) from the closest haulout at Rocky Point whereas SLC-6 is

approximately 2.5 mi (4.0 km) away from the nearest haulout, NMFS

expects that SPLs from the launch of the Minotaur will be similar to

levels expected from the Athena rocket at the Rocky Point haulout.

Because the addition of the Minotaur rocket to the launch list at

Vandenberg will not result in an increase in the number of launches

authorized to take pinnipeds under the LOA, NMFS does not expect

additional cumulative impacts to occur and therefore, NMFS has

preliminarily determined that the takes will remain small and not have

more than a negligible impact on seals and sea lions at Vandenberg.

Monitoring and Reporting

Under an amended LOA, if issued, the 30th Space Wing

would be required to monitor the impacts of the Minotaur launches at

CCS. Because this is a new launch vehicle, the 30th Space

Wing would be required under the LOA to measure the noise profiles from

the rocket at the time of its first launch and to monitor impacts on

marine mammals at nearby active, pinniped haulouts.

Information Solicited

NMFS requests interested persons to submit comments, and

information, concerning this request (see ADDRESSES). Issuance of a

modified LOA will be based on a finding that the total takings will

have no more than a negligible impact on the seal and sea lion

populations off the Vandenberg coast and on the Northern Channel

Islands.

Dated: August 12, 1999.

Art Jeffers,

Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 99-21469 Filed 8-17-99; 8:45 am]

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