# 2026-16329: OK to Harass Whales for Washington Park Dock Upgrades?

2026-16329, Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission's Marine Facilities Replacement Program in North Puget Sound, Washington, is a Federal Register proposed rule from Commerce Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published 2026-08-11, effective Comments and information must be received no later than September 10, 2026.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16329
- As of: 2026-08-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-16329
- Title: Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission's Marine Facilities Replacement Program in North Puget Sound, Washington
- Type: Proposed Rule
- Agencies: Commerce Department; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Citation: 91 FR 51884
- Published: 2026-08-11
- Effective: Comments and information must be received no later than September 10, 2026.
- Comments close: 2026-09-10
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: 0648-BO18
- Last updated: 2026-08-18

## In one line

OK to Harass Whales for Washington Park Dock Upgrades?

## Summary

Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS has received a request from the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (State Parks) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Marine Facilities Replacement Program (MFRP) in North Puget Sound in Western Washington (WA) over the course of 5 years from the date of effectiveness. NMFS is proposing incidental take regulations setting forth permissible methods of taking, other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on such marine mammal stocks (i.e., mitigation measures), and requirements pertaining to monitoring and reporting such takes, and requests comments on the proposed regulations. NMFS will consider public comments before making any final decision on promulgating the requested MMPA regulations.

## Effects PRIA read

- Five-year Take Authorization: benefit, low. NMFS is proposing 5-year incidental-take regulations for Washington State Parks' Marine Facilities Replacement Program that would be valid from 2026 to 2031 and would authorize Level A and Level B harassment (but not serious injury or mortality) for 10 marine mammal species in North Puget Sound.
- Required Construction Mitigation: cost, medium. If you are a contractor working on these projects in North Puget Sound, you must implement mitigation measures including mandatory monitoring to detect marine mammals before work begins, establishment of shutdown zones, use of bubble curtains for impact pile driving, and a "soft start" for impact p…
- Timing and Work-hour Limits: cost, medium. Construction in-water work is restricted to specific annual windows at each site (e.g., Reid Harbor and Bowman Bay between September 1, 2026 and February 15, 2027) and pile driving/removal may occur only during daylight hours up to 14 hours per day. Across all six projects the rule estimates up to…

## Related documents

- [2026-14204](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-14204): Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary; Delay of Effective Date, 2026-07-15
- [2026-14195](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-14195): Rescinding the Definition of “Harm” Under the Endangered Species Act, 2026-07-14
- [2026-07536](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-07536): Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Geophysical Surveys in the Gulf of America, 2026-04-17
- [2026-05599](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-05599): Deep Seabed Mining: Notice of Receipt of Applications for Deep Seabed Mining Exploration Licenses and Announcement of Public Comment Period…, 2026-03-23
- [2026-04256](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-04256): Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Spatial Fisheries Management; Amendment 15 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fi…, 2026-03-04
- [2025-06746](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-06746): Rescinding the Definition of “Harm” Under the Endangered Species Act, 2025-04-17

## Sources
- [2026-16329 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/11/2026-16329/takes-of-marine-mammals-incidental-to-specified-activities-taking-marine-mammals-incidental-to-the)
- [2026-16329 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-08-11/pdf/2026-16329.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2026-16317, Television Broadcasting Services St. George, Utah](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16317)
- [Next: 2026-16330, Air Plan Approval; New Hampshire; Repeal of Motor Vehicle Inspection and Mainte…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16330)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16329 (as of 2026-08-18).