75532 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

populations from meaningful 

involvement in decision making. 

No Takings Implications 

The Forest Service has analyzed this 

proposed rule in accordance with the 

principles and criteria in E.O. 12630, 

Governmental Actions and Interference 

with Constitutionally Protect Property 

Rights. The Forest Service has 

determined that the proposed rule 

would not pose the risk of a taking of 

private property. 

Energy Effects 

The Forest Service has reviewed this 

proposed rule under E.O. 13211, 

Actions Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use. The Forest Service 

has determined that the proposed rule 

would not constitute a significant 

energy action as defined in E.O. 13211. 

Civil Justice Reform 

The Forest Service has analyzed this 

proposed rule in accordance with the 

principles and criteria in E.O. 12988, 

Civil Justice Reform. After adoption of 

this proposed rule, (1) all State and local 

laws and regulations that conflict with 

this proposed rule or that impede its full 

implementation would be preempted; 

(2) no retroactive effect would be given 

to this proposed rule; and (3) it would 

not require administrative proceedings 

before parties may file suit in court 

challenging its provisions. 

Unfunded Mandates 

Pursuant to Title II of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

1531–1538), signed into law on March 

22, 1995, the Forest Service has assessed 

the effects of the proposed rule on State, 

local, and Tribal governments and the 

private sector. This proposed rule 

would not compel the expenditure of 

$100 million or more by any State, 

Tribal, or local government or anyone in 

the private sector. Therefore, a 

statement under section 202 of the act 

is not required. 

Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the 

Public 

The proposed rule does not contain 

any recordkeeping or reporting 

requirements or other information 

collection requirements as defined in 5 

CFR part 1320 that are not already 

required by law or not already approved 

for use and therefore imposes no 

additional paperwork burden on the 

public. Accordingly, the review 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and 

its implementing regulations at 5 CFR 

part 1320 do not apply. 

List of Subjects in 36 CFR Part 251 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Alaska, Electric power, 

Mineral resources, National forests, 

Public lands-rights-of-way, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, and 

Water resources. 

Therefore, for the reasons set forth in 

the preamble, the Forest Service 

proposes to amend 36 CFR part 251 as 

follows: 

PART 251—LAND USES 

Subpart B—Special Uses 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 251, 

subpart B, continues to read: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 460l-6a, 460l-6d, 472, 

497b, 497c, 551, 580d, 1134, 3210; 30 U.S.C. 

185; 43 U.S.C. 1740, 1761–1772. 

■ 2. Amend § 251.51 by adding a 

definition in alphabetical order for 

‘‘Carbon capture and storage’’ to read as 

follows: 

* * * * * 

Carbon capture and storage—the 

capture, transportation, injection, and 

storage of carbon dioxide in subsurface 

pore spaces in such a manner as to 

qualify the carbon dioxide stream for 

the exclusion from classification as a 

‘‘hazardous waste’’ pursuant to United 

States Environmental Protection Agency 

regulations at 40 CFR 261.4(h). 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 251.54 by revising 

paragraph (e)(1)(iv) to read as follows. 

§ 251.54 Proposal and application 

requirements and procedures. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iv) The proposed use will not create 

an exclusive or perpetual right of use or 

occupancy, provided that the Forest 

Service may authorize exclusive and 

perpetual use and occupancy for carbon 

capture and storage in subsurface pore 

spaces. 

* * * * * 

Andrea Delgado Fink, 

Chief of Staff, Natural Resources and 

Environment. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24341 Filed 11–2–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 27 

[WT Docket No. 21–333; DA 23–999; FR ID 

181482] 

Mongoose Works, Ltd., 3.7–4.2 GHz 

Band Transition Clearinghouse 

Dispute Referrals and Appeals 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notification of hearing. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau 

(Bureau) of the Federal Communications 

Commission (Commission) grants 

Mongoose Works, Ltd.’s (Mongoose) 

Petition for De Novo Review (Petition), 

and commences a hearing in connection 

with the 3.7–4.2 GHz Band (C-band) 

Transition Relocation Payment 

Clearinghouse’s (RPC or clearinghouse) 

decision which adjusted downward part 

of Mongoose’s reimbursement claim 

based upon its August 12, 2020 lump 

sum election. The issues designated for 

hearing are whether the Bureau erred in 

determining that Mongoose had not met 

its burden of proof to demonstrate that 

the RPC erred in its classification of, 

and reimbursement for, the two 

antennas at issue; whether the Bureau 

erred in separately determining that the 

RPC properly classified the two 

antennas at issue based on Commission 

guidance; and whether the reimbursed 

amount of $33,994 for the two antennas 

at issue should be adjusted to restore the 

disallowed amount of $69,686. 

DATES: Mongoose shall file a written 

appearance by November 9, 2023, 

stating its intention to appear on the 

date fixed for the hearing and present 

evidence on the issues specified in the 

Hearing Designation Order. 

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications 

Commission, 45 L St. NE, Washington, 

DC 20554. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information on this 

proceeding, contact Susan Mort of the 

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, 

at (202) 418–2429 or Susan.Mort@

fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Hearing 

Designation Order, in WT Docket No. 

21–333, DA 23–999, adopted and 

released on October 20, 2023. The full 

text of this document is available for 

public inspection online at https://

docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-23- 

999A1.pdf. 

1. By this Hearing Designation Order, 

pursuant to §§ 0.131, 0.331, and 


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27.1421(c) of the Commission’s rules, 

the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, and the 

RPC Appeals Procedures Public Notice, 

the Wireless Telecommunications 

Bureau (Bureau) grants a Petition for De 

Novo Review (Petition), filed on 

September 14, 2023, by Mongoose 

Works, Ltd. (Mongoose), and designates 

this case to be tried as a written 

proceeding under the Commission’s 

rules for hearing proceedings, with the 

Administrative Law Judge serving as the 

presiding officer. As discussed below, 

the issues designated for hearing relate 

to the 3.7–4.2 GHz Band (C-band) 

Transition Relocation Payment 

Clearinghouse’s (RPC or clearinghouse) 

decision which adjusted downward part 

of Mongoose’s reimbursement claim 

based upon its August 12, 2020 lump 

sum election. 

2. In the 3.7 GHz Report and Order, 

the Commission adopted rules to make 

280 megahertz of mid-band spectrum 

available for flexible use throughout the 

contiguous United States by 

transitioning existing services out of the 

lower portion of the band and into the 

upper 200 megahertz of the C-band. The 

Commission required new 3.7 GHz 

Service licensees to reimburse the 

reasonable relocation costs of eligible 

Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) space 

station operators, incumbent FSS earth 

station operators, and incumbent Fixed 

Service licensees (collectively, 

incumbents) to transition out of the 

band. The 3.7 GHz Report and Order 

also specified that incumbent FSS earth 

station operators may accept either: (1) 

reimbursement for their actual, 

reasonable relocation costs; or (2) a 

lump sum reimbursement ‘‘based on the 

average, estimated costs of relocating all 

of their incumbent earth stations’’ to the 

upper 200 megahertz of the C-band. 

3. The 3.7 GHz Report and Order 

further provided for the creation of an 

independent clearinghouse to 

administer, subject to the Commission’s 

rules and oversight, the cost-related 

aspects of the transition in a fair and 

transparent manner, ‘‘to mitigate 

financial disputes among stakeholders, 

and to collect and distribute payments 

in a timely manner.’’ To provide the 

clearinghouse, incumbents, and new 3.7 

GHz Service licensees with a range of 

reasonable transition costs, the 3.7 GHz 

Report and Order directed the Bureau to 

establish a cost catalog of the types of 

expenses that incumbents were likely to 

incur. Further, incumbent FSS earth 

station operators opting to receive a 

lump sum amount were required to 

make an irrevocable election and 

accompanying certification with the 

Commission by September 14, 2020 

with the proviso that the information 

contained in such election would be 

‘‘subject to verification as part of the 

[c]learinghouse’s role to prevent waste, 

fraud, and abuse’’ through its claims 

review process. 

4. All reimbursement claims— 

whether for actual costs or lump sum 

amounts—must be submitted to the 

clearinghouse for review pursuant to 

§ 27.1416 of the Commission’s rules. 

The clearinghouse ‘‘will determine in 

the first instance whether costs 

submitted for reimbursement are 

reasonable’’ and whether they comply 

with the requirements adopted in the 

3.7 GHz Report and Order. To the extent 

a claimant or one or more responsible 

3.7 GHz Service licensees wish to 

dispute the clearinghouse’s 

determination with respect to a 

submitted claim, they must file a notice 

of objection as required by § 27.1421(a) 

of the Commission’s rules. The 

clearinghouse may in the first instance 

mediate any disputes or refer the 

disputant parties to alternative dispute 

resolution fora. Subsequent appeals to 

the Bureau may be submitted pursuant 

to the procedures set forth in the RPC 

Appeals Procedures Public Notice. 

Following a Bureau decision in either a 

single-party or multi-party dispute, any 

party to a specific matter wishing to 

appeal that decision may do so by filing 

with the Commission, within ten (10) 

days of the effective date of the Bureau 

decision, a petition for de novo review, 

whereupon the Commission will set the 

matter for an evidentiary hearing before 

an Administrative Law Judge. 

5. Mongoose’s Lump Sum Election 

and RPC Claim. Mongoose is an earth 

station operator with multiple antennas 

registered with the Commission under 

callsign E191601, which appear on the 

incumbent earth station list for purposes 

of the C-band transition. Mongoose filed 

a lump sum election with the 

Commission on August 12, 2020 for 

eight incumbent earth station antennas, 

and on August 16, 2021, filed a claim 

with the RPC seeking $356,052 as its 

lump sum payment. Specifically, 

Mongoose requested a lump sum 

payment for six Small Multi-beam (2–4 

beams) Earth Station Antennas 

(SMBEAs) at $42,062 each and two 

Large Multi-beam (5+ beams) Earth 

Station Antennas (LMBEAs) at $51,840 

each. After review of Mongoose’s claim 

and supplemental information provided 

by the claimant, the RPC Decisional 

Memorandum was issued on June 1, 

2022, fully approving Mongoose’s claim 

for six SMBEAs. The RPC classified the 

two remaining antennas as ReceiveOnly ES Multi-feed Antennas rather 

than LMBEAs and adjusted Mongoose’s 

claim amount for those antennas from 

$103,680 down to $33,994. Mongoose 

filed a notice of objection with the RPC 

for the downward adjusted portion of its 

claim on June 25, 2022, seeking 

restoration of the full amount. On July 

7, 2022, Mongoose received payment for 

the undisputed amount of $286,366. 

6. Mongoose’s Appeal to the Bureau. 

Mongoose filed a single-party appeal of 

the RPC decision on July 31, 2022, 

asking the Bureau to order the RPC to 

restore the disallowed amount of 

$69,686. The RPC filed its response on 

August 22, 2022. Mongoose filed its 

reply on August 29, 2022, and the RPC 

supplemented its response with an 

attestation on September 2, 2022. The 

instant matter arises from the Bureau’s 

denial of Mongoose’s appeal of the 

RPC’s decision. 

7. Specifically, the Bureau noted that 

the RPC’s underlying Decisional 

Memorandum determined that two of 

the earth stations included in 

Mongoose’s lump sum election, for 

which it sought reimbursement as 

LMBEAs, were properly classified as 

Receive-Only ES Multi-feed Antennas 

pursuant to the Final Cost Catalog 

Public Notice as the two relevant 

antennas each had only one C-band 

feed, and as such, Mongoose was not 

eligible for the higher lump sum 

payment for LMBEAs. The Bureau 

decision denied Mongoose’s appeal, 

finding that it had not met its burden of 

proof in demonstrating that the RPC 

erred in its classification of, and 

reimbursement for, the two antennas at 

issue. The Bureau separately and 

independently found that the RPC both 

correctly interpreted the relevant 

Commission rules, guidance, and 

policies and applied them to the 

antennas in question. The Bureau also 

found that Mongoose’s procedural 

arguments were unavailing. 

8. The RPC Appeals Procedures 

Public Notice allows any party to a 

specific single-party or multi-party 

dispute to appeal a Bureau decision on 

disputed issues relating to an RPC 

reimbursement decision by petitioning 

for an evidentiary hearing before an 

Administrative Law Judge. The petition 

for a hearing must be filed within ten 

(10) days of the effective date of the 

Bureau order. 

9. Mongoose filed its appeal of the 

Bureau’s decision within ten (10) days 

of the effective date thereof, and we thus 

find that the Petition satisfies the 

requirements of the RPC Appeals 

Procedures Public Notice. Therefore, the 

Petition is hereby granted, and the 

disputed issues are designated for 

hearing. 

10. Written Hearings Report and 

Order. The Commission recently 


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supplemented its formal hearing 

processes by adopting rules that, inter 

alia, expand the use of a hearing 

procedure that relies in appropriate 

cases on written submissions and 

documentary evidence. These hearing 

proceedings shall be resolved on a 

written record consisting of affirmative 

case, responsive case, and reply case 

submissions, along with all associated 

evidence in the record, including 

stipulations and agreements of the 

parties and official notice of material 

facts. Based on that record, the 

presiding officer will issue an Initial 

Decision pursuant to section 409(a) of 

the Communications Act and §§ 1.267 

and 1.274(c) of the Commission’s rules. 

The Bureau finds that this is an 

appropriate case for use of those 

procedures. 

11. Notice of Appearance. Parties to 

this matter who wish to avail 

themselves of the opportunity to 

participate in the hearing proceeding 

must file a written appearance 

consistent with § 1.221(d) and (e) of the 

Commission’s rules. The written 

appearance must be filed within twenty 

(20) days of the mailing of this Hearing 

Designation Order and must state, 

among other things, that they will 

present evidence on the matters 

specified in this order, and, if required, 

appear before a presiding officer at a 

time and place to be determined (which 

shall be no earlier than thirty (30) days 

after receipt of this order). 

12. Initial Case Order. After release of 

this Hearing Designation Order, the 

presiding officer shall promptly release 

an Initial Case Order. The Initial Case 

Order shall put all parties on notice that 

they are expected to be fully cognizant 

of part 1 of the Commission’s rules 

concerning Practice and Procedure, 47 

CFR part 1, subparts A and B. The 

Initial Case Order shall also set a date 

for the initial status conference and a 

date by which each party should file a 

pre-conference submission that would 

include: (a) whether discovery is 

expected in this case, and if so, a 

proposed discovery schedule; (b) any 

preliminary motions they are intending 

to file; and (c) a proposed case schedule. 

The parties’ pre-conference submissions 

should also indicate whether they 

request that a Protective Order be 

entered in this case. 

13. Initial Status Conference and 

Initial Status Conference Order. The 

presiding officer shall set the case 

schedule, including any deadlines by 

which the parties should submit the 

motions they identified in their preconference submissions. The presiding 

officer shall also set the deadlines for 

the parties’ affirmative case, responsive 

case, and reply case submissions in 

accordance with §§ 1.371 through 1.375 

of the Commission’s rules. If the parties 

have requested the entrance of a 

Protective Order, the presiding officer 

shall also set a deadline by which a joint 

proposed Protective Order shall be 

submitted for consideration. In 

accordance with § 1.248(b) of the 

Commission’s rules, the presiding 

officer may adopt the case schedule 

during the status conference or in an 

order following the conference. 

14. Additional status conferences may 

be scheduled throughout the course of 

the proceeding at the request of the 

parties and/or at the discretion of the 

presiding officer. Any request by a party 

for a status conference must be made in 

writing to the presiding officer and shall 

be copied on all other parties. 

15. Transcripts. In accordance with 

§ 1.248 of the Commission’s rules, an 

official transcript of all case conferences 

shall be made, unless the parties and the 

presiding officer agree to forego a 

transcript. Transcripts shall be made 

available to the public as part of the 

official record in the Commission’s 

Electronic Comment Filing System 

(ECFS) in WT Docket No. 21–333. 

16. Requests for Admissions. In 

accordance with § 1.246 of the 

Commission’s rules, any party may 

serve upon any other party written 

requests for the admission of the 

genuineness of any relevant documents 

or of the truth of any relevant matters 

of fact. Such requests shall be served 

within twenty (20) days after the 

deadline for filing a notice of 

appearance unless the presiding officer 

sets a different time frame. 

17. Available Discovery Methods. 

Sections 1.311 through 1.325 of the 

Commission’s rules set forth procedures 

that may be used for the discovery of 

relevant facts and/or for the production 

and preservation of evidence for use in 

the hearing proceeding. These sections 

of the Commission’s rules provide, inter 

alia, for the taking of depositions, for 

interrogatories, and for the production 

of documents and things. 

18. Evidentiary Rules. In the Written 

Hearings Report and Order, the 

Commission amended § 1.351 of the 

Commission’s rules to adopt the 

evidentiary standard set forth in the 

formal APA hearing requirements. In 

relevant part, § 1.351 of the 

Commission’s rules now states, ‘‘any 

oral or documentary evidence may be 

adduced, but the presiding officer shall 

exclude irrelevant, immaterial, or 

unduly repetitious evidence.’’ The 

parties remain free to make evidentiary 

arguments based on the Federal Rules of 

Evidence. 

19. Petitions to Intervene. Any person 

or entity seeking status as a party in 

interest in this proceeding must file a 

petition to intervene in accordance with 

§ 1.223(a) of the Commission’s rules. 

Any person or entity seeking to 

participate in this proceeding as a party 

may file a petition for leave to intervene 

in accordance with § 1.223(b) of the 

Commission’s rules. 

20. Motions to Enlarge, Change or 

Delete Issues. Motions to enlarge, 

change, or delete issues to be considered 

in this proceeding shall be allowed, 

consistent with § 1.229 of the 

Commission’s rules. 

21. Restricted Proceeding. This 

hearing proceeding is a ‘‘restricted’’ 

proceeding pursuant to § 1.1208 of the 

Commission’s rules and thus ex parte 

presentations to or from Commission 

decision-making personnel, including 

the presiding officer and her staff and 

staff of the Commission’s Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau, are 

prohibited, except as otherwise 

provided in the Commission’s rules. 

22. Electronic Filing of Documents. 

All written submissions such as 

motions, letters, discovery requests and 

objections and written responses 

thereto, excluding confidential and/or 

other protected material, must be filed 

in WT Docket No. 21–333 using ECFS. 

ECFS shall also act as the repository for 

records of actions taken in this 

proceeding, excluding confidential and/ 

or other protected material, by the 

presiding officer and the Commission. 

Documents responsive to any party’s 

requests for production of documents 

should not be filed in ECFS. Such 

responsive documents shall be served 

directly on counsel for the party 

requesting the documents and produced 

either in hard copy or in electronic form 

(e.g., hard drive, thumb drive) with files 

named in such a way as it is clear how 

the documents are organized. 

23. Case Caption. The caption of any 

pleading filed in this proceeding, as 

well as all letters, documents, or other 

written submissions including 

discovery requests and objections and 

responses thereto, shall indicate 

whether it is to be acted upon by the 

Commission or the presiding officer. 

The presiding officer shall be identified 

by name. 

24. Service. All documents submitted 

in this proceeding must also be served 

on all other parties in accordance with 

§ 1.211 of the Commission’s rules and 

shall be accompanied by a proof of 

service. Service on the Enforcement 

Bureau shall be made using the 

following email address: EBHearings@

fcc.gov. 


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25. Confidential and/or Otherwise 

Protected Materials. To the extent any 

party to this proceeding wishes to 

submit materials or information that it 

would like withheld from the public 

record, it may do so in accordance with 

the procedures set forth in § 1.314 of the 

Commission’s rules. The parties may 

also enter into a Protective Order. As 

stated above, requests for a Protective 

Order should be made in the parties’ 

pre-conference submission in 

accordance with the schedule set forth 

in the Initial Case Order. 

26. Initial Decision. The presiding 

officer shall issue an Initial Decision on 

the issues set forth herein, as well as 

any other issues designated for hearing 

in the course of the proceeding. This 

Initial Decision shall contain, at a 

minimum, findings of fact and 

conclusions of law, as well as the 

reasons or basis therefor, and the 

appropriate rule or order or policy and 

the sanction, relief or denial thereof, as 

appropriate. 

27. Accordingly, it is ordered that the 

Petition for De Novo Review, filed on 

September 14, 2023, by Mongoose, is 

granted. 

28. it is further ordered that, pursuant 

to the RPC Appeals Procedures Public 

Notice, this matter, as described above, 

is designated for hearing before an 

Administrative Law Judge, at a time and 

place to be specified in a subsequent 

order, on the following issues: 

a. To determine whether the Bureau 

erred in determining that Mongoose had 

not met its burden of proof to 

demonstrate that the RPC erred in its 

classification of, and reimbursement for, 

the two antennas at issue; 

b. To determine whether the Bureau 

erred in separately determining that the 

RPC properly classified the two 

antennas at issue based on Commission 

guidance; and 

c. To determine whether the 

reimbursed amount of $33,994 for the 

two antennas at issue should be 

adjusted to restore the disallowed 

amount of $69,686. 

29. it is further ordered that the 

burden of proceeding with the 

introduction of evidence and the burden 

of proof with respect to all issues 

specified herein SHALL BE UPON 

Mongoose. 

30. it is further ordered, that 

Mongoose Works, Ltd. (Mongoose) is 

made a party to the proceeding pursuant 

to § 1.221(d) of the Commission’s rules, 

47 CFR 1.221(d). To avail itself of the 

opportunity to be heard, pursuant to 

§ 1.221(e) of the Commission’s rules, 

Mongoose, in person or by its attorneys, 

shall file a written appearance, stating 

its intention to appear on the date fixed 

for the hearing and present evidence on 

the issues specified in this Hearing 

Designation Order. Such written 

appearance shall be filed within twenty 

(20) days of the mailing of this Order 

pursuant to Paragraph 32 below. If 

Mongoose fails to file an appearance 

within the time specified, it shall, 

unless good cause for such failure is 

shown, forfeit its hearing rights. 

31. it is further ordered that the Chief, 

Enforcement Bureau, SHALL BE MADE 

A PARTY to this proceeding without the 

need to file a written appearance. 

32. it is further ordered that a copy of 

this Hearing Designation Order shall be 

sent, via Certified Mail—Return Receipt 

Requested to: Mongoose Works, Ltd., c/ 

o Mark Derbyshire, 4950 S El Camino 

Dr, Cherry Hills Village, CO 80111. 

33. it is further ordered that a copy of 

each document filed in this proceeding 

subsequent to the date of adoption of 

this Hearing Designation Order shall be 

served on the counsel of record 

appearing on behalf of the Chief, 

Enforcement Bureau. Parties may 

inquire as to the identity of such 

counsel by calling the Investigations & 

Hearings Division of the Enforcement 

Bureau at (202) 418–1420. Electronic 

service on counsel of record for the 

Enforcement Bureau shall be made 

using the following email address: 

EBHearings@fcc.gov. 

34. it is further ordered that this 

Hearing Designation Order or a 

summary thereof SHALL BE 

PUBLISHED at the earliest practicable 

date in the Federal Register. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Amy Brett, 

Acting Chief of Staff, Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23788 Filed 11–2–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[RTID 0648–XD197] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone off Alaska; Scallop Specification 

Process Flexibility 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery 

management plan amendment; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) 

submitted Amendment 18 to the Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) for the Scallop 

Fishery off Alaska (Scallop FMP) to the 

Secretary of Commerce for review. If 

approved, Amendment 18 would revise 

timing requirements for Stock 

Assessment and Fishery Evaluation 

(SAFE) reports to allow more flexibility 

for non-annual assessments and to set 

scallop harvest specifications less 

frequently than on an annual basis. This 

would reduce the burden on staff and 

provide more time for the development 

of new stock assessment methods. 

Amendment 18 is intended to promote 

the goals and objectives of the 

Magnuson–Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Scallop 

FMP, and other applicable laws. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than January 2, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2023–0094, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

NOAA–NMFS–2023–0094 in the Search 

box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Gretchen Harrington, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 

Records Office. Mail comments to P.O. 

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on https://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). 

Electronic copies of proposed 

Amendment 18 and the draft Analysis 

prepared for this action may be obtained 

from https://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Megan Mackey, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that 

each regional fishery management 


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