Permits/Authorizations

In order to retain in place and reuse the power cable and sound source that was installed and used by the Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) Project, NPAL underwent a complete environmental review. As part of that review, an Environmental Impact Statement was prepared for the project:

Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Hawaii Environmental Impact Statement Law, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Scripps, with the cooperation of NOAA Fisheries and the State of Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources, prepared a joint federal/state Environmental Impact Statement for the NPAL project. The FEIS Notice of Availability was published in the Federal Register on May 25, 2001. The FEIS was accepted by DLNR on July 6, 2001.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Office of Naval Research received the following permits/authorizations:

Letter of Authorization for the Incidental Take of Marine Mammals
In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Scripps received a Letter of Authorization to take by harassment certain species of marine mammals. NOAA Fisheries published the notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on 22 December 2000 and the final rule on 17 August 2001. The Letter of Authorization was issued on 15 January 2002.

NMFS Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation
In accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, formal consultation between the Navy and NMFS was completed on 11 December 2001 with the issuance of an amended Incidental Take Statement for the National Marine Fisheries Service's 26 April 2001 Biological Opinion on the continued use of the NPAL sound source off of Kauai. NOAA Fisheries concluded that the NPAL project would not jeopardize the continued existence of any protected species.

Conservation District Use Permit
The Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources approved Scripps' request for a Conservation District Use Permit (CDUP) on 26 October 2001. The CDUP allows Scripps to retain in place and re-use the source power cable installed on the seafloor within the state conservation district.

Hawaii Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Program Federal Consistency Review
In accordance with the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Hawaii Office of Planning reviewed the NPAL project for consistency with the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program (HCZMP). They concluded that the project is consistent with the HCZMP and issued a consistency certification on 23 July 2001.

Department of the Navy
The Record of Decision (ROD) announcing the Department of the Navy's decision to conduct the NPAL project was signed on 23 January 2002. The ROD was the final authorization that the NPAL researchers needed to proceed with project operations.

Kauai Source Permitting

NPAL Project Permits/Authorizations