Technical Assistance

Providing a complete and detailed project description is the most important thing an Action Agency can do to streamline the ESA section 7 consultation process. If an Action Agency finds that it cannot adequately describe a project for NOAA Fisheries to analyze the effects of the project on ESA-listed species and/or designated critical habitat, then the project is probably not ready for consultation. Once NOAA Fisheries knows the primary details of a project and how it may affect listed species and critical habitat, the remainder of the consultation process typically proceeds quickly. Example questions that NOAA Fisheries often ask of Action Agencies include:

• WHO: Who is the lead Action Agency? Who is the designated non-Federal representative?
  • Lead Action Agency: When an action or project involves more than one Action Agency, one Action Agency may take the lead for the consultation (50 C.F.R. § 402.07). However, the designation of a lead agency does not obviate the section 7 obligations of any other Federal agencies (co-action agencies) that will be authorizing, funding, or carrying out an action that is a component of the broader Federal action. NOAA Fisheries must be notified in writing of the designation of the lead Action Agency. The other Action Agencies may need to supplement the consultation package to describe the action(s) under the agencies’ purview and the effects on listed species and critical habitat.
  • Designated Non-Federal Representative: An Action Agency may designate a non-Federal representative to conduct an ESA section 7 informal consultation or prepare a biological assessment on their behalf (50 CFR § 402.08); however, the Action Agency remains responsible for the scope and content of the biological assessment and consultation request package as well as for compliance with ESA section 7. 
• WHAT: What are you building? Blueprints, drawings, and figures are extremely helpful. For what purpose is this project being undertaken? What are the dimensions? What are the potential stressors of the project? What changes in local vessel traffic patterns/volume will result? What are all of the project’s stressors to listed species? What are the sound source levels for each stressor? What vessels, equipment, and tools will be used?
• WHEN: When are you building it? Specifying dates within a year is usually more important than specifying the year. When will you start and stop construction each day? When will the project and its indirect effects stop affecting listed species? For example, when will the mine be decommissioned?
• WHERE: Where is it (geographic coordinates are preferred)? Where and how far will the effects of the project extend out to? Where are the project vessels coming from?
• HOW: How loud are your component actions? How will you reduce the impacts of the action? How well do the details of this description align with the project description elsewhere (in the projects Biological Assessment, Environmental Assessment, Environmental Impact Statement, and  Incidental Take Authorization application)?

The simplified depictions above illustrate how various project effects can expand the action area well beyond the immediate project area. The action area is defined as all areas to be affected directly or indirectly by the Federal action and not merely the immediate area involved in the action.

To determine the action area, we recommend that you first break the action down into its components, for example, construction actions (e.g., dredging, operations, maintenance, pile driving). Determine the stressors that are expected to result from each project component. For example, sound levels from machinery or pile driving may be detectable hundreds of feet, thousands of feet, or even miles away. Use these distances when delineating the extent of your action area.

In addition to direct project effects, you must consider the consequences of other activities that are caused by your proposed action. A consequence is considered to be caused by the proposed action if it would not occur but for the proposed action and it is reasonably certain to occur. The activity does not need to be under the Action Agency’s legal control or jurisdiction – if it produces consequences for listed species or critical habitat, it must be included in the effects of the action. Effects of the action may occur later in time and outside the immediate area involved in the action (e.g., fishing activities off a fishing pier, vessel operations for a new or expanded marina or port, or changes in water quality/quantity from construction of a water control structure).

For more information on how to determine the scope of the action area, please consult the definition of “effects of the action” (50 CFR § 402.02).

There are online tools to help identify the ESA-listed species and designated critical habitat which may overlap with the action area of the proposed project.

National ESA critical habitat mapper - Use the ESA critical habitat mapper to identify critical habitat in your action area.

Alaska ESA and Critical Habitat mapper - We have created an Alaska Endangered Species and Critical Habitat Mapper, to assist Action Agencies in identifying the NOAA Fisheries-managed ESA-listed species and critical habitat in their project action area. Within the ESA Mapper, we have included data layers that represent our best estimate of the spatial and temporal range of listed species' life stages, behaviors, and critical habitat in our Region. Use of this ESA Mapper does NOT replace the section 7 consultation process. We are providing the ESA Mapper as a technical assistance tool and expect Action Agencies will use it as a first step in determining if a proposed Federal action overlaps with listed species or critical habitat. 

Instructions on how to use to ESA mapper

NOAA Fisheries provides a list of all species under the agency’s authority that are endangered, threatened, and/or candidate species and reside in the Alaska region (Endangered, Threatened, and Candidate Species in Alaska). This webpage provides the common and scientific name, status under the ESA, and whether critical habitat has been designated. Further, links are provided to NOAA Fisheries species pages, which provide details on biology and population status, conservation and management, and information on key actions and documents, including links to Recovery Plans, Incidental Take Authorizations, and Biological Opinions.

The identification and evaluation of potential stressors to listed species and critical habitat resulting from a proposed action informs whether the ESA section 7 consultation will follow an informal or formal process.  In evaluating these potential impacts of an action, the Action Agency should consider all possible stressors.

Common project stressors for actions occurring in Alaska include, but are not limited to: underwater sound, habitat alterations (e.g., loss of habitat, improvement or degradation of habitat), vessel traffic and associated impacts, effects to prey populations, and entanglement in project-associated lines.

NOAA Fisheries has developed several guidance documents to assist Action Agencies as they evaluate sound. Links to those resources are provided below. Reviewing existing Biological Opinions is also recommended, as it provides Action Agencies with insight into identifying and evaluating both sound and other project stressors, as well as examples of how to successfully approach impact evaluation.

Defining Areas of Potential Sound Effects

For activities that produce sound above marine mammal acoustic thresholds (see section below), it is necessary to evaluate sound propagation from the source and estimate the area(s) within which sound levels are above the acoustic threshold(s). Propagation of sound in the sea is a complex science. Two components of sound that are regularly used to evaluate the distance to acoustic thresholds is sound source level (SSL) and transmission loss. The sound source level is the amount of sound radiated by a sound source and is defined as the intensity of the radiated sound at a distance of 1 meter from the source. Transmission loss is the decrease in acoustic intensity (due to spreading and/or attenuation) as an underwater sound wave propagates outwards from a source.

Transmission loss is highly variable and depends on bathymetry, water temperature, salinity, and presence of ice. Hydroacoustic data are needed to accurately estimate spreading and attenuation loss. Spreading loss represents a regular weakening of sound as it spreads from the source, and can be expressed as dB loss per doubling of distance. Spreading loss is a geometric effect that is either spherical or cylindrical. Attenuation loss includes the effects of absorption and scattering, among other effects. If there is no information available to determine the transmission loss in a project area, NOAA Fisheries uses a 15log transmission to conservatively estimate acoustic thresholds (see section below). 

The Alaska Region encourages the collection of acoustic data to inform transmission loss estimates, and review of previous sound propagation studies in the area that may be applicable to the project site. Knowledge of the background sound in the sea is also important to evaluate whether a sound source is audible over the background sound level.

Marine Mammal Acoustic Thresholds

NOAA Fisheries updated its Technical Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Noise on Marine Mammal Hearing in July of 2018. The Technical Guidance is a document that compiles, interprets, and synthesizes scientific literature to produce updated acoustic thresholds to assess how anthropogenic, or human-caused, sound affects the hearing of all marine mammals under NOAA Fisheries’ jurisdiction. The updated acoustic thresholds cover the onset of both temporary (TTS) and permanent hearing threshold shifts (PTS) for Level A Harassment (PTS or other types of non-serious injury), though not yet for Level B Harassment (behavioral disturbance or TTS).

Acoustic thresholds refer to the levels of sound that, if exceeded, will likely result in temporary or permanent changes in marine mammal hearing sensitivity. Notably, the Technical Guidance's updated acoustic thresholds do not represent an entire impact assessment. Instead, they serve as one tool to help evaluate the effects of a proposed action on marine mammals and make findings required by various statutes, including the ESA.

NOAA Fisheries In-water Acoustic Thresholds

In addition, NMFS uses the following thresholds for in-air sound pressure levels from broadband sounds that cause Level B behavioral disturbance under of the MMPA:

• 100 dBrms re 20μPa for non-harbor seal pinnipeds

Through consultation with NOAA Fisheries staff, the 120 dB rms threshold may be adjusted if background sound is at or above this level. In the absence of background sound data, in-water acoustic effect thresholds should be used to define areas of potential sound effects. NOAA Fisheries has developed marine mammal acoustic technical guidance for use in marine mammal ESA consultations and MMPA permit applications.

Informal Consultations Frequently Asked Questions and Checklist (PDF, 4 pages)

Multi-Species Pile Driving Calculator (xlsx download)

As part of the Section 7 consultation process, the Action Agency assesses the need for conservation and mitigation measures. The proposed mitigation measures are part of the consultation package submitted for both informal and formal consultations. NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region has standard mitigation measures developed to address common project stressors. This document is broad covering multiple stressors that may not be present in all proposed projects. This document should be the starting point for developing mitigation measures specific for the proposed Federal action and additional project-specific mitigation measures will usually be needed. Mitigation measures are part of the proposed action and NOAA Fisheries assumes the measures will be implemented as described. Changes to mitigation measures may trigger reinitiation of consultation under 40 C.F.R. § 402.16.

The standard mitigation measures document includes Protected Species Observer (PSO) related measures, including observer requirements and general data collection and reporting guidelines, which can be helpful for developing a marine mammal observation plan. A marine mammal observation plan is a common part of mitigation measures for projects with potential sound effects.  Additional resources for developing mitigation measures are provided below:

AKR Recommended Mitigation Measures (embedded in request template)

Examples of Marine Mammal Monitoring Observation Forms

• Informal Consultation Marine Mammal Monitoring Observation Forms (Printable PDF, 5 pages)  - This document allows you to print datasheets that are ready to be used for an informal consultation where take of an ESA-listed species is not expected to occur.
• Informal Marine Mammal Monitoring Observation Forms (Excel Format) - This document allows you access to the informal datasheet to make any project specific updates and manually enter data into spreadsheets for submission. 
• Formal Consultation Marine Mammal Monitoring Observation Forms (Printable PDF, 5 pages)  - This document allows you to print datasheets that are ready to be used for a formal consultation where take of an ESA-listed species is expected to occur.
• Formal Consultation Marine Mammal Monitoring Observation Forms (Excel Format) - This document allows you access to the informal datasheet to make any project specific updates and manually enter data into spreadsheets for submission.

Typically consultations are completed with a reporting requirement, which requires a report be submitted to NOAA Fisheries within 90 days of project completion outlining the marine mammal sightings, project activities, and mitigation measures implemented during in-water project activities. A full list of recommended reporting criteria can be found in the AKR recommended mitigation measures (coming soon). Providing reports to NOAA Fisheries on the presence and/or absence of marine mammals in the action area helps NOAA Fisheries evaluate impacts on listed species and effectiveness of mitigation measures. This information is critical to assist with future ESA Section 7 consultations. All reports should be sent to akr.prd.records@noaa.gov (please include NMFS AKRO tracking number in subject line).

Examples of Monitoring Reports 

• Monthly Monitoring Report (PDF, 13 pages) - Example of the level of content for a monthly monitoring  report.
• Informal Final Monitoring Report (PDF, 82 pages) - Example of an informal consultation final monitoring report. 
• Formal Final Monitoring Report (PDF, 90 pages) - Example of a formal consultation final monitoring report.