Biological Opinion Crowley Fuels Dock Expansion and Upgrade (POA-2018-00199)

For this document, the action agencies are the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the NMFS Office of Protected Resources, Permits and Conservation Division (PR1). The Corps proposes to permit the renovation of Crowley Fuels’ dock in Kotzebue, AK. PR1 plans to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) pursuant to section 101(a)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (MMPA) (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) for harassment of marine mammals incidental to the proposed activities (83 FR 40234). When issued, the IHA will be valid from June 1, 2020 through September 2020. The IHA will authorize the incidental harassment of two ESA-listed pinniped species, the threatened Beringia Distinct Population Segment (DPS) bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus nauticus) and threatened Arctic ringed sea (Phoca hispida hispida). The Corps determined that there will be no effect to the endangered bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), the endangered fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), the threatened Mexico DPS humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), or the endangered Western North Pacific DPS humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). 

The consulting agency for this proposal is NMFS’s Alaska Region. This document represents our biological opinion on the proposed actions and their effects on endangered and threatened species.