0648-BL97 202304 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 0648 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA 0600 Department of Commerce DOC Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Construction of the Empire Wind Project offshore of New York

Based on NMFS’s receipt of an application from Equinor for incidental take regulations and a Letter of Authorization (LOA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, this action proposes regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to construction activities for an offshore wind energy facility, located off the coast of New York. Construction activities include: impact installation of monopiles for wind turbine generators (WTG) foundations and offshore sub-station (OSS) foundations; vibratory driving and removal of temporary cofferdams to support horizontal directional drilling; site characterization surveys using a range of frequencies; and export cable trenching, laying, and burial, and vessel use. The proposed regulations would set forth the permissible methods of taking, means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the affected species or stocks and their habitats (i.e., mitigation), and if applicable, on their availability for taking for subsistence uses ; and requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.

]]> Substantive, Nonsignificant First Time Published in The Unified Agenda Final Rule Stage No No 50 CFR 217 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq. No NPRM 04/13/2023 88 FR 22696 NPRM Comment Period End 05/15/2023 Final Action 12/00/2023 No No None No No No Kim Damon-Randall Director, Office of Protected Resources 0648 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA 301 427-8400 kimberly.damon-randall@noaa.gov 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring MD 20910