Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 113 / Monday, June 12, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 36795

action merely approves for the purpose

of RCRA 4005(c) those existing State

requirements.

Compliance With the Congressional

Review Act

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 today’s document 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 today’s action in the

Federal Register. Today’s action is not

a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by section 5

U.S.C. 804(2).

Compliance With the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public

Law 104–4, establishes requirements for

federal agencies to assess the effects of

their regulatory actions on state, local,

and tribal governments and the private

sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA,

EPA generally must prepare a written

statement, including a cost-benefit

analysis, for proposed and final rules

with ‘‘federal mandates’’ that may result

in expenditures to state, local, and tribal

governments, in the aggregate, or to the

private sector, of $100 million or more

in any one year.

Before promulgating an EPA rule for

which a written statement is needed,

section 205 of the UMRA generally

requires EPA to identify and consider a

reasonable number of regulatory

alternatives and adopt the least costly,

most cost-effective or least burdensome

alternative that achieves the objectives

of the rule. The provisions of section

205 do not apply when they are

inconsistent with applicable law.

Moreover, section 205 allows EPA to

adopt an alternative other than the least

costly, most cost-effective or least

burdensome alternative if the

Administrator publishes with the final

rule an explanation why that alternative

was not adopted. Before EPA establishes

any regulatory requirements that may

significantly or uniquely affect small

governments, including tribal

governments, it must have developed

under section 203 of the UMRA a small

government agency plan. The plan must

provide for notifying potentially

affected small governments, enabling

officials of affected small governments

to have meaningful and timely input in

the development of EPA regulatory

proposals with significant federal

intergovernmental mandates, and

informing, educating, and advising

small governments on compliance with

the regulatory requirements.

EPA has determined that section 202

and 205 requirements do not apply to

today’s action because this rule does not

contain a federal mandate that may

result in annual expenditures of $100

million or more for State, local, and/or

tribal governments in the aggregate, or

the private sector. Costs to State, local

and/or tribal governments already exist

under the West Virginia program, and

today’s action does not impose any

additional obligations on regulated

entities. In fact, EPA’s approval of state

programs generally may reduce, not

increase, compliance costs for the

private sector. Further, as it applies to

the State, this action does not impose a

federal intergovernmental mandate

because UMRA does not include duties

arising from participation in a voluntary

federal program.

The requirements of section 203 of

UMRA also do not apply to today’s

action because this rule contains no

regulatory requirements that might

significantly or uniquely affect small

governments. Although small

governments may own or operate

municipal solid waste landfills, they are

already subject to the regulatory

requirements under the existing State

laws that are being approved by EPA,

and, thus, are not subject to any

additional significant or unique

requirements by virtue of this program

approval.

Paperwork Reduction Act

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act,

44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., federal agencies

must consider the paperwork burden

imposed by any information request

contained in a proposed rule or a final

rule. This rule will not impose any

information requirements upon the

regulated community.

Compliance With the National

Technology Transfer and Advancement

Act

Section 12(d) of the National

Technology Transfer and Advancement

Act of 1995 (‘‘NTTAA’’), Public Law

104–113, section 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272

note) directs EPA to use voluntary

consensus standards in its regulatory

activities unless to do so would be

inconsistent with applicable law or

otherwise impractical. Voluntary

consensus standards are technical

standards (e.g., materials specifications,

test methods, sampling procedures, and

business practices) that are developed or

adopted by voluntary consensus

standards bodies. The NTTAA directs

EPA to provide Congress, through OMB,

explanations when the Agency decides

not to use available and applicable

voluntary consensus standards. This

action does not involve technical

standards. Therefore, EPA did not

consider the use of any voluntary

consensus standards.

Authority: This notice is issued under the

authority of section 2002, 4005 and 4010(c)

of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended,

42 U.S.C. 6912, 6945 and 6949(a).

Dated:

Bradley M. Campbell,

Regional Administrator, Region III.

[FR Doc. 00–14164 Filed 6–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 000119015–0015–01; I.D.

010500A]

RIN 0648–AM32

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Steller Sea Lion

Protection Measures for the Pollock

Fisheries Off Alaska

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Emergency interim rule;

extension of expiration date; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS extends the expiration

date of an emergency interim rule that

implemented reasonable and prudent

alternatives to avoid the likelihood that

the pollock fisheries off Alaska will

jeopardize the continued existence of

the western population of Steller sea

lions, or adversely modify their critical

habitat. The emergency interim rule that

is effective from January 20, 2000,

through July 19, 2000, is extended

through December 31, 2000. This

emergency action is necessary to

continue to implement reasonable and

prudent alternatives until permanent

rulemaking is implemented.

DATES: The expiration date of the

emergency interim rule published

January 25, 2000 (65 FR 3892), is

extended to December 31, 2000.

Comments must be received by July 12,

2000.

36796 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 113 / Monday, June 12, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to

Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O.

Box 21668, Juneau, AK, 99802, Attn:

Lori Gravel, or delivered to room 401 of

the Federal Building, 709 West 9th

Street, Juneau, AK. Copies of the

Biological Opinion (BiOp) on the

pollock fisheries of the Bering Sea and

Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and Gulf of

Alaska (GOA) and the Atka mackerel

fishery of the Aleutian Islands subarea,

the Revised Final Reasonable and

Prudent Alternatives (RFRPAs), and the

Environmental Assessment/Regulatory

Impact Review prepared for the

emergency interim rule may be obtained

from the same address. The BiOp and

the RFRPAs are also available on the

Alaska Region home page at http://

www.fakr.noaa.gov. Comments will not

be accepted if submitted via e-mail or

Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shane Capron, 907–586–7228 or

shane.capron@noaa.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS

issued a BiOp dated December 3, 1998,

and revised December 16, 1998, on the

pollock fisheries of the BSAI and GOA,

and the Atka mackerel fishery of the

Aleutian Islands Subarea. The BiOp

concluded that the BSAI and GOA

pollock trawl fisheries, as previously

prosecuted, were likely to jeopardize the

continued existence of the western

population of Steller sea lions, and

adversely modify its critical habitat.

The BiOp concluded that, to avoid the

likelihood of jeopardizing the continued

existence of the western population of

Steller sea lions, or adversely modifying

its critical habitat, reasonable and

prudent alternatives to the existing

pollock trawl fisheries in the BSAI and

GOA must accomplish three basic

principles: (1) Temporal dispersion of

fishing effort, (2) spatial dispersion of

fishing effort, and (3) pollock trawl

exclusion zones around Steller sea lion

rookeries and haulouts.

NMFS published an emergency

interim rule implementing the RFRPAs

in the Federal Register on January 25,

2000 (65 FR 3892), amended on

February 10, 2000 (65 FR 6561), and is

effective through July 19, 2000.

At its April 2000 meeting, the North

Pacific Fishery Management Council

(Council) voted to recommend

extension of the emergency rule. The

preamble to the original emergency

interim rule provides a detailed

description of the purpose and need for

the action. This action extends the

expiration date of the emergency

interim rule establishing Steller sea lion

conservation measures (65 FR 3892,

January 25, 2000) from July 19, 2000, to

December 31, 2000.

NMFS intends to initiate proposed

and final rulemaking later in 2000 to

permanently implement Steller sea lion

conservation measures as required by

the BiOp and the RFRPAs, and as

recommended by the Council at its June

1999 meeting. This extension of an

emergency interim rule is necessary to

prosecute the remainder of the 2000

pollock fishery after July 19, 2000.

Details concerning the basis for this

action are contained in the initial

emergency interim rule and are not

repeated here.

The comments received on the initial

emergency interim rule and this

emergency rule extension will be

responded to later this year in NMFS’

final rulemaking to permanently

implement Steller sea lion conservation

measures. Also, there will be an

additional opportunity for comments

when the proposed rule is published

prior to final rulemaking.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et

seq., and 3631 et seq.

Dated: June 6, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–14776 Filed 6–9–00; 8:45 am]

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