70680 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 234 / Wednesday, December 6, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

■ 11. Amend § 87.187 by revising 

paragraphs (p), (q), and (x) and adding 

paragraph (ff) to read as follows: 

§ 87.187 Frequencies. 

* * * * * 

(p) The frequency band 1435–1525 

MHz is available on a primary basis and 

the frequency band 1525–1535 MHz is 

available on a secondary basis for 

telemetry and telecommand associated 

with the flight testing of aircraft, 

missiles, or related major components. 

This includes launching into space, 

reentry into the earth’s atmosphere and 

incidental orbiting prior to reentry. The 

following frequencies are shared with 

flight telemetry mobile stations: 1444.5, 

1453.5, 1501.5, 1515.5, and 1524.5 MHz. 

See § 87.303(d). 

Note to paragraph (p): Aeronautical 

telemetry operations must protect mobilesatellite operations in the 1525–2535 MHz 

band and maritime mobile-satellite 

operations in the 1530–1535 MHz band. 

(q) The frequencies in the band 

1545.000–1559.000 MHz and 1646.500–

1660.500 MHz are authorized for use by 

the Aeronautical Mobile-Satellite (R) 

Service. The use of the bands 1544.000–

1545.000 MHz (space-to-Earth) and 

1645.500–1646.500 MHz (Earth-tospace) by the Mobile-Satellite Service is 

limited to distress and safety operations. 

In the frequency bands 1549.500–

1558.500 MHz and 1651.000–1660.000 

MHz, the Aeronautical Mobile-Satellite 

(R) requirements that cannot be 

accommodated in the 1545.000–

1549.500 MHz, 1558.500–1559.000 

MHz, 1646.500–1651.000 MHz, and 

1660.000–1660.500 MHz bands shall 

have priority access with real-time 

preemptive capability for 

communications in the Mobile-Satellite 

Service. Systems not interoperable with 

the Aeronautical Mobile-Satellite (R) 

Service shall operate on a secondary 

basis. Account shall be taken of the 

priority of safety-related 

communications in the Mobile-Satellite 

Service. 

* * * * * 

(x) The frequency bands 24450–24650 

MHz, 24750–25050 MHz and 32300–

33400 MHz are available for airborne 

radionavigation devices. 

* * * * * 

(ff) The frequency 978 MHz is 

authorized for Universal Access 

Transceiver data transmission. 

■ 12. Amend § 87.345 by adding 

paragraph (f) to read as follows: 

§ 87.345 Scope of service. 

* * * * * 

(f) Transmissions by aeronautical 

utility mobile stations for Universal 

Access Transceiver service are 

authorized. 

■ 13. Amend § 87.349 by adding 

paragraph (e) to read as follows: 

§ 87.349 Frequencies. 

* * * * * 

(e) The frequency 978.0 MHz is 

authorized for Universal Access 

Transceiver data transmission. 

■ 14. Amend § 87.421 by revising 

paragraph (c) to read as follows: 

§ 87.421 Frequencies. 

* * * * * 

(c) Frequencies listed in the 

introductory paragraph of this section 

are available to control towers and RCOs 

for communications with ground 

vehicles and aircraft on the ground. The 

antenna heights shall be restricted to the 

minimum necessary to achieve the 

required coverage. Channel spacing is 

25 kHz. 

* * * * * 

■ 15. Amend § 87.475 by adding 

paragraph (b)(9) and revising paragraphs 

(c)(1) and (c)(2) to read as follows: 

§ 87.475 Frequencies. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(9) 978.0 MHz is authorized for 

Universal Access Transceiver service. 

(c) * * * 

(1) The frequencies set forth in 

§ 87.187(c), (e) through (j), (r), (t), and 

(ff) and § 87.475(b)(6) through (b)(10), 

and (b)(12) may be assigned to 

radionavigation land test stations for the 

testing of aircraft transmitting 

equipment that normally operate on 

these frequencies and for the testing of 

land-based receiving equipment that 

operate with airborne radionavigation 

equipment. 

(2) The frequencies available for 

assignment to radionavigation land test 

stations for the testing of airborne 

receiving equipment are 108.000 and 

108.050 MHz for VHF omni-range; 

108.100 and 108.150 MHz for localizer; 

334.550 and 334.700 MHz for glide 

slope; 978 and 979 MHz (X channel)/ 

1104 MHz (Y channel) for DME; 978 

MHz for Universal Access Transceiver; 

1030 MHz for air traffic control radar 

beacon transponders; and 5031.0 MHz 

for microwave landing systems. 

Additionally, the frequencies in 

paragraph (b) of this section may be 

assigned to radionavigation land test 

stations after coordination with the 

FAA. The following conditions apply: 

(i) The maximum power authorized 

on the frequencies 108.150 and 334.550 

MHz is 1 milliwatt. The maximum 

power authorized on all other 

frequencies is one watt. 

(ii) The pulse repetition rate (PRR) of 

the 1030 MHz ATC radar beacon test set 

will be 235 pulses per second (pps) 

±5pps. 

(iii) The assignment of 108.000 MHz 

is subject to the condition that no 

interference will be caused to the 

reception of FM broadcasting stations 

and stations using the frequency are not 

protected against interference from FM 

broadcasting stations. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 06–9541 Filed 12–5–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 060425111–6315–03; I.D. 

041906B] 

RIN 0648–AN09 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Vessel 

Monitoring Systems; Amendment 18A 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective 

date. 

SUMMARY: NMFS delays the December 7, 

2006, effective date of two sections of a 

final rule, published August 9, 2006, 

until March 7, 2007. The amendments 

to those sections will require owners/ 

operators of vessels with Gulf reef fish 

commercial vessel permits to install a 

NMFS-approved vessel monitoring 

system (VMS) and will make 

installation of VMS a prerequisite for 

permit renewal or transfer. This delay of 

the effective date will provide 

additional time for affected fishers to 

come into compliance with the VMS 

requirements. 

DATES: The effective date of the 

amendments to §§ 622.9(a)(2) and 

622.4(m)(1) published August 9, 2006 

(71 FR 45428), is delayed until March 7, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements referred to in this final 

rule may be submitted in writing to 

Jason Rueter, NMFS, Southeast Regional 

Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. 

Petersburg, FL 33701; telephone 727–

824–5305; fax 727–824–5308; e-mail 

mstockstill on PROD1PC61 with RULES

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 234 / Wednesday, December 6, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 70681 

Jason.Rueter@noaa.gov and to David 

Rostker, Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB), by e-mail at 

David_Rostker@omb.eop.gov, or by fax 

to 202–395–7285. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Peter Hood, telephone 727–824–5305, 

fax 727–824–5308, e-mail 

Peter.Hood@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The final rule to implement 

Amendment 18A to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico 

(Amendment 18A) (71 FR 45428, 

August 9, 2006) included a provision, 

§ 622.9(a)(2), requiring owners or 

operators of a vessel with a commercial 

vessel permit for Gulf reef fish, 

including charter/headboats with 

commercial reef fish vessel permits even 

when under charter, to be equipped 

with an operating VMS approved by 

NMFS for the Gulf of Mexico reef fish 

fishery. Additionally, § 622.4(m)(1) 

required proof of purchase, installation, 

activation, and operational status of an 

approved VMS for renewal or transfer of 

a commercial vessel permit for Gulf reef 

fish. 

Subsequent to the publication of the 

final rule, NMFS published a notice 

listing VMS approved by NMFS for use 

in the Gulf reef fish fishery (71 FR 

54472, September 15, 2006). On October 

31, 2006, NMFS published a notice (71 

FR 63753), announcing availability of 

grant funds to reimburse owners and 

operators of vessels subject to the VMS 

requirements of Amendment 18A for the 

equivalent cost of purchasing the least 

expensive VMS approved by NMFS for 

the Gulf reef fish fishery. 

Delay of Effective Date 

NMFS is delaying, until March 7, 

2007, the effective date of § 622.9(a)(2), 

the VMS requirement, and 

§ 622.4(m)(1), the provision requiring 

VMS as a condition of renewing or 

transferring a commercial vessel permit 

for Gulf reef fish. NMFS is concerned 

that some fishers may have delayed 

purchasing VMS because of uncertainty 

regarding reimbursement by NMFS. 

Although NMFS published the notice 

announcing availability of funds for 

reimbursement on October 31, 2006, the 

current December 7, 2006, effective date 

for VMS compliance may not provide 

adequate time for all affected fishers and 

approved VMS vendors to purchase, 

install, and activate a NMFS-approved 

VMS. NMFS also believes that some 

affected fishers, particularly those with 

minimal red snapper or reef fish 

landings, may be deferring a decision on 

purchasing a VMS until they receive 

information about their initial red 

snapper IFQ share and allocation under 

the Gulf red snapper IFQ program and, 

thus, can better evaluate their overall 

profitability versus the overall costs of 

VMS. NMFS anticipates that initial red 

snapper IFQ share/allocation 

information will be available by midNovember—less than a month prior to 

the current effective date for the VMS 

requirements. Finally, the overall VMS 

costs, including installation and 

continuing operational costs, may be a 

factor in some part-time or marginal reef 

fish fishers’ decision to remain in the 

fishery. A delay in the effective date of 

the provision requiring VMS as a 

condition of permit renewal or transfer 

would provide more time for such 

fishers to make a reasoned business 

decision and to renew and/or transfer 

their permit prior to the VMS effective 

date if they so choose. For all of these 

reasons, NMFS is delaying the effective 

date of §§ 622.9(a)(2) and 622.4(m)(1) 

until March 7, 2007. 

Classification 

The Administrator, Southeast Region, 

NMFS, (RA) has determined that 

delaying the effective date of VMS 

requirements for vessels with 

commercial vessel permits for Gulf reef 

fish is necessary for management of the 

fishery and to minimize adverse social 

and economic impacts. The RA has also 

determined that this rule is consistent 

with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act and 

other applicable laws. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 533(b)(B), there 

is good cause to waive prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment on this 

action as notice and comment would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This final rule merely delays 

the effective date of the VMS 

requirements and VMS-related permit 

renewal requirements set forth in the 

regulations implementing Amendment 

18A. Delaying the effective date of these 

provisions will provide affected vessel 

owners and operators additional time to 

come into compliance with the VMS 

requirements. Some owners and 

operators may have delayed purchase 

and installation of required VMS units 

because of uncertainty regarding 

possible reimbursement by NMFS. 

NMFS has recently implemented a 

reimbursement program applicable to 

these VMS requirements. Delaying the 

effective date will allow affected owners 

and operators more time to make an 

informed business decision regarding 

which approved VMS system would be 

best for them given the available 

reimbursement. In addition, those 

owners and operators with relatively 

small landings of reef fish, including red 

snapper landings, may need to consider 

the overall costs of VMS, including 

installation and operating costs, relative 

to the owner’s profitability, including 

their potential red snapper individual 

fishing quota (IFQ) share and allocation 

under the proposed red snapper IFQ 

program. Some of these fishers may 

choose to sell their commercial vessel 

permit for Gulf reef fish and exit the 

fishery. Delaying the effective date of 

the provision that requires a VMS as a 

condition of renewing or transferring a 

permit would facilitate that option. A 

delay in the effective date of these two 

provisions will provide such owners 

and operators more time to make wellreasoned business decisions regarding 

overall VMS costs and their future in 

the reef fish fishery. For these same 

reasons, there is good cause to waive the 

30-day delayed effectiveness provision 

of the APA for these measures pursuant 

to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). Failure to waive 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment or failure to waive the 30-day 

delayed effectiveness provision of the 

APA for these measures would result in 

these measures becoming effective on 

December 7, 2006, rather than providing 

affected fishers additional time to come 

into compliance with these measures as 

intended by this rule. 

This final rule is exempt from the 

procedures of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act because the rule is issued without 

opportunity for prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment. 

This rule refers to collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and 

which have been approved by OMB 

under Control Number 0648–0544. 

Public reporting for these requirements 

is estimated to average 4 hours for VMS 

installation, 15 minutes for completion 

and submission of certification of VMS 

installation and activation, 24 seconds 

for transmission of position reports, 2 

hours for annual maintenance of VMS, 

10 minutes for submission of requests 

for power-down exemptions, and 15 

minutes for annual renewal of all 

permits. These estimates include the 

time for reviewing instructions, 

searching existing data sources, 

gathering and maintaining the data 

needed, and completing and reviewing 

the collection of information. Send 

comments regarding these burden 

estimates or any other aspect of this data 

collection, including suggestions for 

reducing burden hours, to NMFS (see 

mstockstill on PROD1PC61 with RULES

70682 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 234 / Wednesday, December 6, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

ADDRESSES) and by e-mail to 

David_Rostker@omb.eop.gov, or fax to 

202–395–7285. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of law, no person is required to respond 

to, and no person shall be subject to 

penalty for failure to comply with, a 

collection of information subject to the 

requirements of the PRA, unless that 

collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

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

Dated: December 1, 2006. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–9570 Filed 12–4–06; 1:11 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 051128313–6029–02; I.D. 

112006F] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 

Commercial Quota Harvested for 

Rhode Island 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Closure of commercial fishery. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Atlantic bluefish commercial quota 

available to Rhode Island has been 

harvested. Vessels issued a commercial 

Federal fisheries permit for the Atlantic 

bluefish fishery may not land bluefish 

in Rhode Island for the remainder of 

calendar year 2006, unless additional 

quota becomes available through a 

transfer. Regulations governing the 

Atlantic bluefish fishery require 

publication of this notification to advise 

Rhode Island that the quota has been 

harvested and to advise vessel permit 

holders and dealer permit holders that 

no commercial quota is available for 

landing bluefish in Rhode Island. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours, December 

6, 2006 through 2400 hours, December 

31, 2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Potts, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9341 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the Atlantic 

bluefish fishery are found at 50 CFR part 

648. The regulations require annual 

specification of a commercial quota that 

is apportioned on a percentage basis 

among the coastal states from Florida 

through Maine. The process to set the 

annual commercial quota and the 

percent allocated to each state is 

described in § 648.160. 

The initial total commercial quota for 

Atlantic bluefish for the 2006 calendar 

year was set equal to 4,215,802 lb (1,912 

mt) (71 FR 9472, February 24, 2006). 

The initial commercial quota was 

adjusted by transferring 3,865,294 lb 

(1,753 mt) from the recreation 

allocation, resulting in a total 

commercial quota of 8,081,096 lb (3,666 

mt). The percent allocated to vessels 

landing bluefish in Rhode Island is 

6.8081 percent, resulting in a 

commercial quota of 550,169 lb (249,555 

kg). The 2006 allocation was reduced to 

542,101 (245,893 kg) (71 FR 13777, 

March 17, 2006) due to research setaside. 

Section 648.161(b) requires the 

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 

(Regional Administrator) to monitor 

state commercial quotas and to 

determine when a state’s commercial 

quota has been harvested. NMFS then 

publishes a notification in the Federal 

Register to advise the state and to notify 

Federal vessel and dealer permit holders 

that, effective upon a specific date, the 

state’s commercial quota has been 

harvested and no commercial quota is 

available for landing bluefish in that 

state. The Regional Administrator has 

determined, based upon dealer reports 

and other available information, that 

Rhode Island has harvested its quota for 

2006. 

The regulations at § 648.4(b) provide 

that Federal permit holders agree, as a 

condition of the permit, not to land 

bluefish in any state that the Regional 

Administrator has determined no longer 

has commercial quota available. 

Therefore, effective 0001 hours, 

December 6, 2006, further landings of 

bluefish in Rhode Island by vessels 

holding Atlantic bluefish commercial 

Federal fisheries permits are prohibited 

for the remainder of the 2006 calendar 

year, unless additional quota becomes 

available through a transfer and is 

announced in the Federal Register. 

Effective 0001 hours, December 6, 2006, 

federally permitted dealers are also 

notified that they may not purchase 

bluefish from federally permitted 

vessels that land in Rhode Island for the 

remainder of the calendar year, or until 

additional quota becomes available 

through a transfer. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: November 30, 2006. 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–9553 Filed 12–1–06; 2:50 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

mstockstill on PROD1PC61 with RULES