(a) When conducting the specified activities identified in § 217.11(b), POA must implement the mitigation measures contained in this section and any LOA issued under § 216.106 of this chapter and § 217.17. These mitigation measures include, but are not limited to:

(1) A copy of any issued LOA must be in the possession of the POA, its designees, and work crew personnel operating under the authority of the issued LOA;

(2) The POA must ensure that construction supervisors and crews, the monitoring team and relevant POA staff are trained prior to the start of all pile driving so that responsibilities, communication procedures, monitoring protocols, and operational procedures are clearly understood. New personnel joining during the project must be trained prior to commencing work; and

(3) The POA must employ Protected Species Observers (PSO) and establish monitoring locations pursuant to § 217.16 and as described in a NMFS-approved Marine Mammal Monitoring and Mitigation Plan;

(i) For all pile driving activities, land-based PSOs must be stationed at the best vantage points practicable to monitor for marine mammals and implement shutdown/delay procedures. A minimum of 4 locations must be used to monitor the designated harassment zones to the maximum extent possible based on daily visibility conditions. Additional PSOs must be added if warranted by site conditions and/or the level of marine mammal activity in the area. PSOs must be able to implement shutdown or delay procedures when applicable through communication with the equipment operator;

(ii) If during pile driving activities, PSOs can no longer effectively monitor the entirety of the Cook Inlet beluga whale (CIBW) shutdown zone due to environmental conditions (e.g., fog, rain, wind), pile driving may continue only until the current segment of the pile is driven; no additional sections of pile or additional piles may be driven until conditions improve such that the shutdown zone can be effectively monitored. If the shutdown zone cannot be monitored for more than 15 minutes, the entire zone must be cleared again for 30 minutes prior to reinitiating pile driving;

(4) Pre-start clearance monitoring must take place from 30 minutes prior to initiation of pile driving activity (i.e., pre-start clearance monitoring) through 30 minutes post-completion of pile driving activity;

(i) Pre-start clearance monitoring must be conducted during periods of visibility sufficient for the lead PSO to determine that the shutdown zones are clear of marine mammals;

(ii) Pile driving may only commence if, following 30 minutes of observation, it is determined by the lead PSO that the shutdown zones are clear of marine mammals and for CIBW, any observed whale(s) is at least 100 meters (m) past the shutdown zone and on a path away from the zone or the whale has not been re-sighted for 30 minutes;

(5) For all pile driving activity, the POA must implement shutdown zones with radial distances as identified in a LOA issued under § 216.106 of this chapter and § 217.17;

(i) If a marine mammal is observed entering or within the shutdown zone, all pile driving activities, including soft starts, at that location must be halted. If pile driving is halted or delayed due to the presence of a marine mammal, the activity may not commence or resume until either the animal has voluntarily left and has been visually confirmed beyond the shutdown zone or 15 minutes (for non-CIBWs) or 30 minutes (for CIBWs) have passed without re-detection of the animal. Specific to CIBW, if a CIBW(s) is observed within or on a path towards the shutdown zone, pile driving activities, including soft starts, must shut down and not re-commence until the whale has traveled at least 100 m beyond the shutdown zone and is on a path away from such zone or until no CIBW has been observed in the shutdown zone for 30 minutes;

(ii) In the event of a delay or shutdown of activity resulting from marine mammals in the shutdown zone, animal behavior must be monitored and documented;

(iii) If work ceases for more than 30 minutes, the shutdown zones must be cleared again for 30 minutes prior to reinitiating pile driving. A determination that the shutdown zone is clear must be made during a period of good visibility;

(iv) If a shutdown procedure should be initiated but human safety is at risk, as determined by the best professional judgment of the vessel operator or project engineer, the in-water activity, including pile driving, is allowed to continue until the risk to human safety has dissipated. In this scenario, pile driving may continue only until the current segment of the pile is driven; no additional sections of pile or additional piles may be driven until the lead PSO has determined that the shutdown zones are clear of marine mammals and, for CIBW, any observed whale(s) is at least 100 m past the shutdown zone and on a path away from the zone;

(v) For in-water construction activities other than pile driving (e.g., barge positioning; use of barge-mounted excavators; dredging), if a marine mammal comes within 10 m, POA must cease operations and reduce vessel speed to the minimum level required to maintain steerage and safe working conditions. If human safety is at risk, as determined by the best professional judgment of the vessel operator or project engineer, the in-water activity is allowed to continue until the risk to human safety has dissipated;

(6) The POA must use soft start techniques when impact pile driving. Soft start requires the POA to conduct 3 sets of strikes (3 strikes per set) at reduced hammer energy with a 30-second waiting period between each set. A soft start must be implemented at the start of each day's impact pile driving and at any time following cessation of impact pile driving for a period of 30 minutes or longer;

(7) The POA must use bubble curtains for all permanent piles (72-inch (in) diameter) during both vibratory and impact pile driving in waters deeper than 3 m in all months. The bubble curtain must be operated to achieve optimal performance. At a minimum, the bubble curtain must comply with the following:

(i) The bubble curtain must distribute air bubbles around 100 percent of the piling perimeter for the full depth of the water column;

(ii) The lowest bubble ring must be in contact with the mudline and/or rock bottom for the full circumference of the ring, and the weights attached to the bottom ring shall ensure 100 percent mudline and/or rock bottom contact. No parts of the ring or other objects shall prevent full mudline and/or rock bottom contact;

(iii) Air flow to the bubblers must be balanced around the circumference of the pile;

(8) Pile driving activity must be halted upon observation of a species entering or within the harassment zone for either a species for which incidental take is not authorized or a species for which incidental take has been authorized but the authorized number of takes has been met;

(b) [Reserved]