Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 61475 

disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

on minority, low-income or indigenous 

populations because it does not affect 

the level of protection provided to 

human health or the environment. As 

discussed in section I.C. of the preamble 

to this action, the NPL is a list of 

national priorities. The NPL is intended 

primarily to guide the EPA in 

determining which sites warrant further 

investigation to assess the nature and 

extent of public health and 

environmental risks associated with a 

release of hazardous substances, 

pollutants or contaminants. The NPL is 

of only limited significance as it does 

not assign liability to any party. Also, 

placing a site on the NPL does not mean 

that any remedial or removal action 

necessarily need be taken. 

K. Congressional Review Act 

This action is subject to the CRA, and 

the EPA will submit a rule report to 

each House of the Congress and to the 

Comptroller General of the United 

States. This action is not a ‘‘major rule’’ 

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

Provisions of the Congressional 

Review Act (CRA) or section 305 of 

CERCLA may alter the effective date of 

this regulation. Under 5 U.S.C. 

801(b)(1), a rule shall not take effect, or 

continue in effect, if Congress enacts 

(and the President signs) a joint 

resolution of disapproval, described 

under section 802. Another statutory 

provision that may affect this rule is 

CERCLA section 305, which provides 

for a legislative veto of regulations 

promulgated under CERCLA. Although 

INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919,103 S. Ct. 

2764 (1983), and Bd. of Regents of the 

University of Washington v. EPA, 86 

F.3d 1214,1222 (D.C. Cir. 1996), cast the 

validity of the legislative veto into 

question, the EPA has transmitted a 

copy of this regulation to the Secretary 

of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 

of Representatives. 

If action by Congress under either the 

CRA or CERCLA section 305 calls the 

effective date of this regulation into 

question, the EPA will publish a 

document of clarification in the Federal 

Register. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Chemicals, Hazardous 

substances, Hazardous waste, 

Intergovernmental relations, Natural 

resources, Oil pollution, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Superfund, Water 

pollution control, Water supply. 

Barry N. Breen, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, 

Office of Land and Emergency Management. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, title 40, chapter I, part 300, of 

the Code of Federal Regulations is 

amended as follows: 

PART 300—NATIONAL OIL AND 

HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES 

POLLUTION CONTINGENCY PLAN 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 300 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.; 42 

U.S.C. 9601–9657; E.O. 13626, 77 FR 56749, 

3 CFR, 2013 Comp., p. 306; E.O. 12777, 56 

FR 54757, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 

12580, 52 FR 2923, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 

193. 

■ 2. Amend table 1 of appendix B to 

part 300 by adding entries for ‘‘IN, 

Federated Metals Corp Whiting’’, ‘‘LA, 

Capitol Lakes’’, and ‘‘OK, Fansteel 

Metals/FMRI’’ in alphabetical order by 

State to read as follows: 

Appendix B to Part 300—National 

Priorities List 

TABLE 1—GENERAL SUPERFUND SECTION

State Site name City/county Notes a

*******

IN ................................... Federated Metals Corp Whiting ............................ Hammond.

*******

LA .................................. Capitol Lakes ........................................................ Baton Rouge.

*******

OK ................................. Fansteel Metals/FMRI ........................................... Muskogee ............................................................. S 

* * * * * * * 

aA = Based on issuance of health advisory by Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (if scored, HRS score need not be greater 

than or equal to 28.50). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2023–19114 Filed 9–6–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 230831–0208] 

RIN 0648–BM37 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Coastal 

Migratory Pelagic Resources in the 

Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region; 

Framework Amendment 12 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to 

implement a management measure 

described in Framework Amendment 12 

under the Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic 

(CMP) Resources of the Gulf of Mexico 

and Atlantic Region (CMP FMP), as 

prepared and submitted by the Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Council 

(Gulf Council). This final rule and 

Framework Amendment 12 modify the 

Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) migratory group of 

king mackerel (Gulf king mackerel) 

gillnet component commercial fishing 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
61476 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

season. The purpose of this final rule 

and Framework Amendment 12 is to 

allow the Gulf king mackerel gillnet 

component of the CMP fishery to fish 

without interruption from the season 

start date until NMFS determines that 

the gillnet quota has been met. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

October 10, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of 

Framework Amendment 12, which 

includes a regulatory impact review, 

may be obtained from the Southeast 

Regional Office website at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

framework-12-modificationscommercial-gulf-king-mackerel-gillnetfishing-season. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kelli O’Donnell, telephone: 727–824– 

5305, or email: Kelli.ODonnell@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Gulf king 

mackerel is managed under the CMP 

FMP prepared by the Gulf and South 

Atlantic Fishery Management Councils 

and implemented through regulations at 

50 CFR part 622 under the authority of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

On July 17, 2023, NMFS published a 

proposed rule for Framework 

Amendment 12 and requested public 

comment (88 FR 45384, July 17, 2023). 

The proposed rule and Framework 

Amendment 12 outline the rationale for 

the actions contained in this final rule. 

A summary of the management 

measures described in Framework 12 

and implemented by this final rule is 

provided below. 

Background 

Under the CMP FMP, the Gulf 

Council has the authority to develop 

framework amendments specific to 

fishing for the Gulf migratory group of 

king mackerel, which is found in 

Federal waters from Texas to the Florida 

Monroe/Miami-Dade County boundary. 

Fishing by the Gulf king mackerel 

gillnet component is allowed only in the 

Gulf king mackerel southern zone as 

described in 50 CFR 622.369(a)(1)(iii). 

The current Gulf king mackerel gillnet 

component fishing season starts 

annually in January on the Tuesday 

after the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal 

holiday. The first weekend after the 

fishing season starts is open to gillnet 

fishing, but all subsequent weekends 

and holidays are closed to gillnet fishing 

while the season remains open. The 

current fishing season structure was 

established in a 1999 Framework 

Amendment to the CMP FMP (64 FR 

45457, August 20, 1999). This fishing 

season structure formalized a private 

agreement between the small number of 

gillnet participants, which was to wait 

until January to fish to reduce the 

chance of a quota overage for the gillnet 

component. After the season and first 

weekend opening, subsequent weekends 

and holidays were closed to fishing 

because the gillnet component could 

rapidly harvest the fish and NMFS did 

not have the ability to monitor landings 

and process an inseason closure during 

weekends and holidays. However, for 

the last 10 years, gillnet fishers have 

cooperated with NMFS and voluntarily 

stopped fishing when landings are close 

to reaching the gillnet component 

annual catch limit (ACL; component 

quota). The gillnet fishers then wait for 

NMFS to determine if there is remaining 

quota available to harvest or if the 

season will be closing. Due to the low 

number of participants in the Gulf king 

mackerel gillnet component, and their 

consistent cooperation with NMFS, 

NMFS expects this practice to continue 

to be successful. This cooperation also 

helps ensure that landings do not 

exceed the commercial gillnet 

component ACL, which would result in 

a reduction of the component ACL in 

the following fishing year (50 CFR 

622.388(a)(1)(iii)). 

In 2022, the Council received a 

request from Gulf king mackerel 

commercial gillnet component 

fishermen to remove the weekend and 

holiday seasonal closures during the 

fleet’s open season. The request stated 

that the removal of the weekend and 

holiday closures would allow the gillnet 

component to be more efficient by 

allowing participants to harvest the 

gillnet component quota as quickly as 

possible and so that they may then 

return to harvesting other species. The 

Council agreed that the weekend and 

holiday closures are no longer 

necessary. 

Management Measure Contained in 

This Final Rule 

For the Gulf king mackerel 

commercial gillnet component, this 

final rule revises the fishing season. The 

current fishing season for the Gulf king 

mackerel gillnet component starts the 

Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. 

Federal holiday. The first weekend after 

the fishing season starts is open, but all 

subsequent weekends and holidays are 

closed to fishing while the season 

remains open. Through this final rule, 

the revised fishing season will still start 

the Tuesday after the Martin Luther 

King Jr. Federal holiday but with all 

subsequent weekends and holidays 

remaining open to fishing while the 

season remains open. 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS received four comments on the 

proposed rule for Framework 

Amendment 12, including comments 

from individuals and a commercial 

fishing organization. One comment 

supported the measure to modify the 

Gulf king mackerel commercial gillnet 

component fishing season. The rest of 

the comments suggested a change to 

management measures that are outside 

the scope of Framework Amendment 12 

and the proposed rule; specifically 

prohibiting commercial harvest of king 

mackerel by gillnet. These comments 

are not addressed further. No changes 

have been made to this final rule as a 

result of public comment. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this final rule is consistent with 

Framework Amendment 12, the CMP 

FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and 

other applicable laws. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides 

the statutory basis for this rule. No 

duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting 

Federal rules have been identified. A 

description of this final rule, why it is 

being implemented, and the purpose of 

this final rule are contained in the 

SUMMARY and SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION sections of this final rule. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration during 

the proposed rule stage that this action 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for the 

certification was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

No comments were received regarding 

this certification. As a result, a 

regulatory flexibility analysis was not 

required and none was prepared. 

This final rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622 

Commercial, Fisheries, Fishing, Gulf 

of Mexico, King mackerel. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 61477 

Dated: August 31, 2023. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS amends 50 CFR part 

622 as follows: 

PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE 

CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND 

SOUTH ATLANTIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 622 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 622.378, revise paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 622.378 Seasonal closures of the Gulf 

migratory group king mackerel gillnet 

fishery. 

(a) Seasonal closure of the gillnet 

component for Gulf migratory group 

king mackerel. The gillnet component 

for Gulf migratory group king mackerel 

in or from the southern zone is closed 

each fishing year from July 1 until 6 

a.m. eastern standard time on the day 

after the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal 

holiday. During the closure, a person 

aboard a vessel using or possessing a 

gillnet with a stretched-mesh size of 

4.75 inches (12.1 cm) or larger in the 

southern zone may not fish for or 

possess Gulf migratory group king 

mackerel. (See § 622.369(a)(1)(iii) for a 

description of the southern zone.) 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2023–19253 Filed 9–6–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 2021–27773; RTID 0648–XD333] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Scup Fishery; Adjustment to 

the 2023 Winter II Quota 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; in-season 

adjustment. 

SUMMARY: NMFS adjusts the 2023 

Winter II commercial scup quota and 

per-trip Federal landing limit. This 

action is necessary to comply with 

regulations implementing Framework 

Adjustment 3 to the Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery 

Management Plan that established the 

rollover of unused commercial scup 

quota from the Winter I to Winter II 

period. This notification is intended to 

inform the public of this quota and trip 

limit change. 

DATES: Effective October 1, 2023, 

through December 31, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laura Deighan, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9184; or 

Laura.Deighan@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

published a final rule for Framework 

Adjustment 3 to the Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery 

Management Plan in the Federal 

Register on November 3, 2003 (68 FR 

62250), implementing a process to 

increase the Winter II (October 1 

through December 31) commercial scup 

quota by the amount of the Winter I 

(January 1 through April 30) underharvest and to adjust the Winter II 

possession limits consistent with the 

amount of the quota increase, based on 

the possession limits established 

through the annual specificationssetting process. 

For 2023, the initial Winter II quota is 

2,233,194 lb (1,012,960 kg). The best 

available landings information through 

June 28, 2023, indicates that 804,630 lb 

(364,974 kg) remain of the 6,319,911 lb 

(2,866,663 kg) Winter I quota. 

Consistent with Framework 3, the full 

amount of unused 2023 Winter I quota 

is being transferred to Winter II, 

resulting in a revised 2023 Winter II 

quota of 3,037,824 lb (1,377,934 kg). 

Because the amount transferred is 

between 0.5 and 1 million lb (226,796 

and 453,592 kg), the Federal per-trip 

possession limit will increase from 

12,000 lb (5,443 kg) to 13,500 lb (6,123 

kg), as outlined in the final rule that 

established the possession limit and 

quota rollover procedures for this year, 

published on January 3, 2023 (88 FR 

11). The new possession limit will be 

effective October 1 through December 

31, 2023. The possession limit will 

revert back to 12,000 lb (5,443 kg) at the 

start of the next fishing year, which 

begins January 1, 2024. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

648.122(d), which was issued pursuant 

to section 304(b), and is exempted from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there 

is good cause to waive prior notice and 

an opportunity for public comment on 

this action, as notice and comment 

would be contrary to the public interest. 

This action transfers unused quota from 

the Winter I Period to the Winter II 

Period to make it accessible to the 

commercial scup fishery and increase 

fishing opportunities. If the 

implementation of this in-season action 

is delayed to solicit prior public 

comment, the objective of the fishery 

management plan to achieve the 

optimum yield from the fishery could be 

compromised. Deteriorating weather 

conditions during the latter part of the 

fishing year may reduce fishing effort, 

and could also prevent the annual quota 

from being fully harvested. If this action 

is delayed, it would reduce the amount 

of time vessels have to realize the 

benefits of this quota increase, which 

would result in negative economic 

impacts on vessels permitted to fish in 

this fishery. Moreover, the rollover 

process being applied here is routine 

and formulaic and was the subject of 

notice and comment rulemaking, and 

the range of potential trip limit changes 

were outlined in the final 2023 scup 

specifications that were published on 

January 3, 2023, which were developed 

through public notice and comment. 

The benefit of soliciting additional 

public comment on this formulaic 

adjustment would not outweigh the 

benefits of making this additional quota 

available to the fishery as quickly as 

possible. Based on these considerations, 

there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delayed 

effectiveness period for the reasons 

stated above. 

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

Dated: September 1, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19309 Filed 9–6–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[RTID 0648–XC845] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Snow Crab 

Rebuilding Plan in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of agency decision. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1