Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 247 / Thursday, December 27, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 66631 

entries ‘Infrastructure Requirements— 

2012 PM2.5 NAAQS’ and ‘Infrastructure 

Requirements—1997, 2006, and 2012 

PM2.5 NAAQS’ after entry ‘Infrastructure 

Requirements—2010 SO2 NAAQS’ ’’. 

In FR Doc. 2018–25681, published 

November 27, 2018 (83 FR 60769), make 

the following correction: 

§ 52.70 [Corrected] 

■ 1. On page 60773, in the right column, 

in the amendatory instruction for 

§ 52.70, amendatory instruction 2.b. is 

corrected to read ‘‘Adding entries 

‘‘Infrastructure Requirements—2012 

PM2.5 NAAQS’’ and ‘‘Infrastructure 

Requirements—1997, 2006, and 2012 

PM2.5 NAAQS’’ after entry 

‘‘Infrastructure Requirements—2010 

SO2 NAAQS’’ ’’. 

Dated: December 13, 2018. 

Chris Hladick, 

Regional Administrator, Region 10. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27909 Filed 12–26–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 81 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2018–0368; EPA–R05– 

OAR–2018–0556; FRL–9988–38–Region 5] 

Air Plan Approval; Illinois; Indiana; 

Revised Designation of Illinois and 

Indiana 2012 PM2.5 Unclassifiable 

Areas 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is approving Illinois’ May 

8, 2018 request to revise the designation 

for the entire State of Illinois from 

unclassifiable to unclassifiable/ 

attainment and Indiana’s July 3, 2018 

request to revise the designation for the 

Indiana portions of the Chicago IL–IN 

and Louisville KY–IN areas from 

unclassifiable to unclassifiable/ 

attainment for the 2012 primary and 

secondary annual fine particulate matter 

(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards (NAAQS). EPA is approving 

these requests because valid, qualityassured, and certified ambient air 

monitoring data show that the PM2.5

monitors in the areas are meeting the 

2012 primary and secondary annual 

PM2.5 NAAQS. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

January 28, 2019. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–R05–OAR–2018–0368 

(Illinois) or EPA–R05–OAR–2018–0556 

(Indiana). All documents in the docket 

are listed on the www.regulations.gov 

website. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, i.e., Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available either through 

www.regulations.gov or at the 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 

West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 

Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, excluding Federal holidays. We 

recommend that you telephone Michelle 

Becker, Life Scientist, at (312) 886–3901 

before visiting the Region 5 office. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michelle Becker, Life Scientist, at (312) 

886–3901, Attainment Planning and 

Maintenance Section, Air Programs 

Branch (AR–18J), Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 

Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 

60604, (312) 886–3901, 

becker.michelle@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

EPA. This supplementary information 

section is arranged as follows: 

I. Background 

II. What action is EPA taking? 

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background 

On December 14, 2012, EPA revised 

the primary annual NAAQS for PM2.5 to 

a level of 12 micrograms per cubic meter 

(mg/m3), based on a 3-year average of 

annual mean PM2.5 concentrations. See 

78 FR 3085 (January 15, 2013). EPA 

established the standard based on 

significant evidence and numerous 

health studies demonstrating that 

serious health effects are associated 

with exposures to particulate matter. 

The process for designating areas 

following promulgation of a new or 

revised NAAQS is contained in section 

107(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). 

On January 15, 2015 (80 FR 2206) and 

April 7, 2015 (80 FR 18535), EPA 

designated areas across the country as 

nonattainment, unclassifiable, or 

unclassifiable/attainment for the PM2.5

NAAQS based upon air quality 

monitoring data from monitors for 

calendar years 2011–2013 or 2012–2014. 

In the first action, EPA designated the 

entire State of Illinois, including the 

multi-State areas of Chicago, IL–IN and 

St. Louis, MO–IL as unclassifiable 

because the ambient air quality 

monitoring sites lacked complete data 

for the relevant periods, which were 

from 2011–2013. Therefore, EPA could 

not determine, based on available 

information, whether those areas were 

meeting the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA 

also designated the Louisville, KY–IN 

area as nonattainment, based on 

monitoring data for Indiana counties 

Clark and Floyd for 2011–2013 showing 

that a monitor in Clark County had a 

design value above the standard. 

However, in the April 7, 2015 (80 FR 

18535) action, EPA changed the 

designation for Louisville, KY–IN area 

from nonattainment to unclassifiable 

due to invalid monitoring data for 

Jefferson County, Kentucky. 

On May 8, 2018, Illinois submitted a 

request to revise the designation for the 

entire State of Illinois from 

unclassifiable to unclassifiable/ 

attainment and on July 3, 2018 Indiana 

submitted a request to revise the 

designation for the Indiana portions of 

the Chicago IL–IN and Louisville KY–IN 

areas from unclassifiable to 

unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 

annual PM2.5 NAAQS. 

In a notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM) published on October 9, 2018 

(83 FR 50556), EPA proposed to approve 

Illinois’ request to revise the entire State 

of Illinois from unclassifiable to 

unclassifiable/attainment, and Indiana’s 

request to similarly revise the 

designation for the Indiana portions of 

the Chicago IL–IN and Louisville KY– 

IN, for the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. 

The details of Illinois’ and Indiana’s 

submittals and the rationale for EPA’s 

actions are further explained in the 

NPRM. EPA did not receive any adverse 

comments on the proposed action. 

II. What action is EPA taking? 

EPA is approving Illinois’ May 8, 

2018 request to revise the designation of 

the entire State from unclassifiable to 

unclassifiable/attainment as well as 

Indiana’s July 3, 2018 request to 

similarly revise the designation of the 

Indiana portions of the Louisville and 

Chicago areas for the 2012 annual PM2.5

NAAQS. The revised designations 

change the legal designation, found at 

40 CFR part 81, for the Illinois and 

Indiana counties of Lake, Porter, Clark, 

and Floyd from unclassifiable to 

unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 

annual PM2.5 NAAQS. 

III. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 


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66632 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 247 / Thursday, December 27, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

that complies with the provisions of the 

CAA and applicable Federal regulations. 

42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 

Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, 

EPA’s role is to approve state choices, 

provided that they meet the criteria of 

the CAA. Accordingly, this action 

merely approves state law as meeting 

Federal requirements and does not 

impose additional requirements beyond 

those imposed by state law. For that 

reason, this action: 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to review by the Office of 

Management and Budget under 

Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011); 

• Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 

FR 9339, February 2, 2017) regulatory 

action because SIP approvals are 

exempted under Executive Order 12866; 

• Does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• Is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• Does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• Does not have Federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• Is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• Is not subject to requirements of 

section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act; 

and 

• Does not provide EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, the SIP is not approved 

to apply on any Indian reservation land 

or in any other area where EPA or an 

Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 

tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 

Indian country, the rule does not have 

tribal implications and will not impose 

substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 

The Congressional Review Act, 5 

U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides 

that before a rule may take effect, the 

agency promulgating the rule must 

submit a rule report, which includes a 

copy of the rule, to each House of the 

Congress and to the Comptroller General 

of the United States. EPA will submit a 

report containing this action and other 

required information to the U.S. Senate, 

the U.S. House of Representatives, and 

the Comptroller General of the United 

States prior to publication of the rule in 

the Federal Register. A major rule 

cannot take effect until 60 days after it 

is published in the Federal Register. 

This action is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as 

defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, 

petitions for judicial review of this 

action must be filed in the United States 

Court of Appeals for the appropriate 

circuit by February 25, 2019. Filing a 

petition for reconsideration by the 

Administrator of this final rule does not 

affect the finality of this action for the 

purposes of judicial review nor does it 

extend the time within which a petition 

for judicial review may be filed, and 

shall not postpone the effectiveness of 

such rule or action. This action may not 

be challenged later in proceedings to 

enforce its requirements. (See section 

307(b)(2)). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Particulate matter. 

Dated: December 12, 2018. 

Cathy Stepp, 

Regional Administrator, Region 5. 

40 CFR part 81 is amended as follows: 

PART 81—DESIGNATION OF AREAS 

FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING 

PURPOSES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 81 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq. 

■ 2. Section 81.314 is amended by 

removing the table entitled ‘‘Illinois— 

2012 24-Hour PM2.5 NAAQS’’ and 

adding the table entitled ‘‘Illinois—2012 

Annual PM2.5 NAAQS’’ in its place to 

read as follows: 

§ 81.314 Illinois. 

* * * * * 

ILLINOIS—2012 ANNUAL PM2.5 NAAQS 

[Primary] 

Designated area 1

Designation Classification 

Date 2 Type Date 2 Type 

Chicago, IL–IN: 

Cook County ......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

DuPage County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Grundy County (part) ............................................ Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Goose Lake and Aux Sable Townships ............... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Kane County ......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Kendall County (part) ........................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Oswego Township ................................................ Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Lake County ......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

McHenry County ................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Will County ........................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IL: 

Rock Island County .............................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Henry County ........................................................ Unclassifiable/Attainment. 


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ILLINOIS—2012 ANNUAL PM2.5 NAAQS—Continued 

[Primary] 

Designated area 1

Designation Classification 

Date 2 Type Date 2 Type 

Mercer County ...................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

St. Louis, MO–IL: 

Madison County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Monroe County ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Randolph County (part) ........................................ Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Baldwin Village ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

St. Clair County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Rest of State: 

Adams County ...................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Alexander County ................................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Bond County ......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Boone County ....................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Brown County ....................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Bureau County ...................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Calhoun County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Carroll County ....................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Cass County ......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Champaign County ............................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Christian County ................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Clark County ......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Clay County .......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Clinton County ...................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Coles County ........................................................ Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Crawford County ................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Cumberland County .............................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

DeKalb County ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

De Witt County ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Douglas County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Edgar County ........................................................ Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Edwards County ................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Effingham County ................................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Fayette County ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Ford County .......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Franklin County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Fulton County ....................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Gallatin County ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Greene County ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Grundy County (remainder) .................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Hamilton County ................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Hancock County ................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Hardin County ....................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Henderson County ................................................ Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Iroquois County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Jackson County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Jasper County ...................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Jefferson County .................................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Jersey County ....................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Jo Daviess County ............................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Johnson County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Kankakee County ................................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Kendall County (remainder) ................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Knox County ......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

La Salle County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Lawrence County .................................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Lee County ........................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Livingston County ................................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Logan County ....................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

McDonough County .............................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

McLean County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Macon County ...................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Macoupin County .................................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Marion County ...................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Marshall County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Mason County ...................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Massac County ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 


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66634 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 247 / Thursday, December 27, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

ILLINOIS—2012 ANNUAL PM2.5 NAAQS—Continued 

[Primary] 

Designated area 1

Designation Classification 

Date 2 Type Date 2 Type 

Menard County ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Montgomery County ............................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Morgan County ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Moultrie County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Ogle County .......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Peoria County ....................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Perry County ......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Piatt County .......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Pike County .......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Pope County ......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Pulaski County ...................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Putnam County ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Randolph County (remainder) .............................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Richland County ................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Saline County ....................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Sangamon County ................................................ Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Schuyler County ................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Scott County ......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Shelby County ...................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Stark County ......................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Stephenson County .............................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Tazewell County ................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Union County ........................................................ Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Vermilion County .................................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Wabash County .................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Warren County ..................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Washington County .............................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Wayne County ...................................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

White County ........................................................ Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Whiteside County ................................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Williamson County ................................................ Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Winnebago County ............................................... Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

Woodford County .................................................. Unclassifiable/Attainment. 

1 Includes Indian Country located in each county or area, except as otherwise specified. 

2This date is January 28, 2019, unless otherwise noted. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Section 81.315 is amended by 

revising the entries ‘‘Louisville, KY– 

IN:’’ and ‘‘Chicago Area, IL–IN:’’ in the 

table entitled ‘‘Indiana—2012 Annual 

PM2.5 NAAQS’’ to read as follows: 

§ 81.315 Indiana. 

* * * * * 

INDIANA—2012 ANNUAL PM2.5 NAAQS 

[Primary] 

Designated area 1

Designation Classification 

Date 2 Type Date 2 Type 

Louisville, KY–IN: 

Clark County ........................................... 1/28/2018 Unclassifiable/Attainment..

Floyd County ........................................... 1/28/2018 Unclassifiable/Attainment..

Chicago Area, IL–IN: 

Lake County ............................................ 1/28/2018 Unclassifiable/Attainment..

Porter County .......................................... 1/28/2018 Unclassifiable/Attainment..

*******

1 Includes areas of Indian country located in each county or area, except as otherwise specified. 

2This date is April 15, 2015, unless otherwise noted. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 247 / Thursday, December 27, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 66635 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2018–27903 Filed 12–26–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 73 

[MB Docket No. 18–320; RM–11817; DA 18– 

1242] 

Digital Television Broadcast Stations 

(Morehead and Richmond, Kentucky) 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: At the request of ION Media 

Lexington License, Inc. (ION), licensee 

of television station WUPX–TV, channel 

21, Morehead, Kentucky (WUPX), the 

Commission amends the DTV Table of 

Allotments to reallot channel 21 from 

Morehead, Kentucky, to Richmond, 

Kentucky. 

DATES: Effective December 27, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Darren Fernandez, Media Bureau, at 

Darren.Fernandez@fcc.gov; or Joyce 

Bernstein, Media Bureau, at 

Joyce.Bernstein@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Report and Order in MB 

Docket No. 18–320; RM–11817; DA 

18–1242, adopted December 11, 2018, 

and released December 11, 2018. The 

full text of this document is available for 

public inspection and copying during 

normal business hours in the FCC’s 

Reference Information Center at Portals 

II, CY–A257, 445 12th Street SW, 

Washington, DC 20554, or online at 

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/. To request 

materials in accessible formats (braille, 

large print, computer diskettes, or audio 

recordings), please send an email to 

FCC504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & 

Government Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (VOICE), (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 

This document does not contain 

information collection requirements 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995, Public Law 104–13. In addition, 

therefore, it does not contain any 

proposed information collection burden 

‘‘for small business concerns with fewer 

than 25 employees,’’ pursuant to the 

Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 

2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4). Provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601– 

612, do not apply to this proceeding. 

The Commission will send a copy of 

this Report and Order in a report to be 

sent to Congress and the Government 

Accountability Office pursuant to the 

Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 

801(a)(1)(A). 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73 

Television. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Thomas Horan, 

Chief of Staff, Media Bureau. 

Final Rule 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission amends 47 CFR part 73 as 

follows: 

PART 73—RADIO BROADCAST 

SERVICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 73 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 155, 301, 303, 

307, 309, 310, 334, 336, 339. 

§ 73.622 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 73.622(i), the PostTransition Table of DTV Allotments 

under Kentucky, by removing 

Morehead, channel 21, and adding, in 

alphabetical order, Richmond, channel 

21. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27865 Filed 12–26–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 140819687–5583–02] 

RIN 0648–XG697 

2018–2019 Commercial Trip Limit 

Reduction for Spanish Mackerel in the 

Atlantic Southern Zone 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; trip limit 

reduction. 

SUMMARY: NMFS reduces the 

commercial trip limit of Atlantic 

migratory group Spanish mackerel in or 

from the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) 

in the Atlantic southern zone to 1,500 

lb (680 kg), in round or gutted weight, 

per day. This commercial trip limit 

reduction is necessary to maximize the 

socioeconomic benefits of the fishery. 

DATES: This temporary rule is effective 

from 6 a.m., local time, on December 26, 

2018, until 12:01 a.m., local time, on 

March 1, 2019. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mary Vara, NMFS Southeast Regional 

Office, telephone: 727–824–5305, or 

email: mary.vara@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

fishery for coastal migratory pelagic fish 

includes king mackerel, Spanish 

mackerel, and cobia, and is managed 

under the Fishery Management Plan for 

the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources 

of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic 

Region (FMP). The FMP was prepared 

by the Gulf of Mexico and South 

Atlantic Fishery Management Councils 

and is implemented by NMFS under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622. All 

weights for the Atlantic migratory group 

of Spanish mackerel (Atlantic Spanish 

mackerel) described apply as either 

round or gutted weight, and the fishing 

year is March through the end of 

February. 

Framework Amendment 1 to the FMP 

(79 FR 69058, November 20, 2014) 

implemented a commercial annual 

catch limit (equal to the commercial 

quota) of 3.33 million lb (1.51 million 

kg) for Atlantic Spanish mackerel. 

Atlantic Spanish mackerel are divided 

into a northern and southern zone for 

management purposes. The southern 

zone consists of Federal waters off 

South Carolina, Georgia, and the east 

coast of Florida. The southern zone 

boundaries for Atlantic Spanish 

mackerel extend from the border of 

North Carolina and South Carolina 

(which is a line extending southeast in 

a direction of 135°34′55′′ from true north 

beginning at 33°51′07.9′′ N lat. and 

78°32′32.6′′ W long. to the intersection 

point with the outward boundary of the 

EEZ) to the border of Miami-Dade and 

Monroe Counties, Florida (at 25°20′24′′ 

N lat.). Framework Amendment 2 to the 

FMP (80 FR 40936, July 14, 2015) 

revised the commercial trip limits for 

Atlantic Spanish mackerel in the 

southern zone to streamline the 

commercial trip limit system and 

increase the social and economic 

benefits of the fishery. 

The southern zone commercial quota 

for Atlantic Spanish mackerel is 

2,667,330 lb (1,209,881 kg). Seasonally 

variable trip limits are based on an 

adjusted commercial quota of 2,417,330 

lb (1,096,482 kg). The adjusted 

commercial quota is calculated to allow 

continued harvest in the southern zone 

at a set rate for the remainder of the 

current fishing year, through February 

28, 2019, in accordance with 50 CFR 

622.385(b)(2). 


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