75238 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 211 / Thursday, November 2, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

the amended rule is now fully 

approvable, relief from sanctions should 

be provided as quickly as possible. 

Therefore, the EPA is invoking the good 

cause exception under the 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in 

not providing an opportunity for 

comment before this action takes effect 

(5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)). However, by this 

action, the EPA is providing the public 

with a chance to comment on the EPA’s 

determination after the effective date, 

and the EPA will consider any 

comments received in determining 

whether to reverse such action. 

The EPA believes that notice-andcomment rulemaking before the 

effective date of this action is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. The EPA has reviewed the 

State’s submittal and, through its 

proposed action, is indicating that it is 

more likely than not that the State has 

submitted a revision to the SIP that 

corrects deficiencies under part D of the 

Act that were the basis for the action 

that started the sanctions clocks. 

Therefore, it is not in the public interest 

to impose sanctions. The EPA believes 

that it is necessary to use the interim 

final rulemaking process to defer 

sanctions while the EPA completes its 

rulemaking process on the approvability 

of the State’s submittal. Moreover, with 

respect to the effective date of this 

action, the EPA is invoking the good 

cause exception to the 30-day notice 

requirement of the APA because the 

purpose of this notice is to relieve a 

restriction (5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1)). 

III. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

This action defers sanctions and 

imposes no additional requirements. 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); 

• 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. 

In addition, the SIP is not approved 

to apply on any Indian reservation land 

or in any other area where the 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). 

Executive Order 12898 (Federal 

Actions to Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 

Feb. 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies 

to identify and address 

‘‘disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects’’ 

of their actions on minority populations 

and low-income populations to the 

greatest extent practicable and 

permitted by law. The EPA defines 

environmental justice (EJ) as ‘‘the fair 

treatment and meaningful involvement 

of all people regardless of race, color, 

national origin, or income with respect 

to the development, implementation, 

and enforcement of environmental laws, 

regulations, and policies.’’ The EPA 

further defines the term fair treatment to 

mean that ‘‘no group of people should 

bear a disproportionate burden of 

environmental harms and risks, 

including those resulting from the 

negative environmental consequences of 

industrial, governmental, and 

commercial operations or programs and 

policies.’’ 

The State did not evaluate 

environmental justice considerations as 

part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and 

applicable implementing regulations 

neither prohibit nor require such an 

evaluation. The EPA did not perform an 

EJ analysis and did not consider EJ in 

this action. Consideration of EJ is not 

required as part of this action, and there 

is no information in the record 

inconsistent with the stated goal of E.O. 

12898 of achieving environmental 

justice for people of color, low-income 

populations, and Indigenous peoples. 

This action is subject to the 

Congressional Review Act, 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). 

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 January 2, 2024. Filing a 

petition for reconsideration by the EPA 

Administrator of this final rule does not 

affect the finality of this rule for the 

purpose of judicial review nor does it 

extend the time within which 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 CAA 

section 307(b)(2)). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Volatile organic 

compounds. 

Dated: October 19, 2023. 

Martha Guzman Aceves, 

Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23608 Filed 11–1–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 230523–0136; RTID 0648– 

XD467] 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2023 

Tribal Fishery Allocations for Pacific 

Whiting; Reapportionment Between 

Tribal and Non-Tribal Sectors 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Inseason reapportionment of 

tribal Pacific whiting allocation. 

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

reapportionment of 45,000 metric tons 

of Pacific whiting from the tribal 

allocation to the non-tribal commercial 

fishery sectors via automatic action on 

September 27, 2023. This 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 211 / Thursday, November 2, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 75239 

reapportionment is to allow full 

utilization of the Pacific whiting 

resource. 

DATES: The reapportionment of Pacific 

whiting went into effect at 12 p.m. local 

time, September 27, 2023, and is 

effective through December 31, 2023. 

Comments will be accepted through 

November 17, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2023–0130 

by the following method: 

Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

NOAA–NMFS–2023–0130 in the Search 

box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

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. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address, etc.), 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). Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats 

only. 

Electronic Access 

This notification is accessible online 

at the Office of the Federal Register’s 

website at https://

www.federalregister.gov. Background 

information and documents are 

available at the NMFS West Coast 

Region website at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/westcoast. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Colin Sayre, West Coast Region, NMFS, 

(206) 526–4656, Colin.Sayre@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Pacific Whiting 

Pacific whiting (Merluccius 

productus) is a very productive species 

with highly variable recruitment (the 

biomass of fish that mature and enter 

the fishery each year) and a relatively 

short life span compared to other 

groundfish species. Pacific whiting has 

the largest annual allowable harvest 

levels (by volume) of the more than 90 

groundfish species managed under the 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP), which governs 

the groundfish fishery off Washington, 

Oregon, and California. The coastwide 

Pacific whiting stock is managed jointly 

by the United States and Canada, and 

mature Pacific whiting are commonly 

available to vessels operating in U.S. 

waters from April through December. 

Background on the stock assessment, 

and the establishment of the 2023 Total 

Allowable Catch (TAC), for Pacific 

whiting was provided in the final rule 

for the 2023 Pacific whiting harvest 

specifications, published May 31, 2023 

(88 FR 34783). Pacific whiting is 

allocated to the Pacific Coast treaty 

tribes (tribal fishery) and to three nontribal commercial sectors: the catcher/ 

processor cooperative (C/P Co-op), the 

mothership cooperative (MS Co-op), and 

the Shorebased Individual Fishery 

Quota (IFQ) Program. 

This notification announces the 

reapportionment of 45,000 metric tons 

(mt) of Pacific whiting from the tribal 

allocation to the non-tribal commercial 

sectors. This reapportionment was 

effective on September 27, 2023. 

Regulations at 50 CFR 660.131(h) 

contain provisions that allow the 

Regional Administrator to reapportion 

Pacific whiting from the tribal 

allocation, specified at 50 CFR 660.50, 

that will not be harvested by the end of 

the fishing year to other sectors. 

Pacific Whiting Reapportionment 

For 2023, the Pacific Coast treaty 

tribes were allocated 80,806 mt of 

Pacific whiting. The best available 

information on September 15, 2023, 

indicated that at least 45,000 mt of the 

tribal allocation would not be harvested 

by December 31, 2023. As required 

under the 2017 Endangered Species Act 

section 7(a)(2) biological opinion on the 

effects of the Pacific Coast Groundfish 

Fishery Management Plan on listed 

salmonids, NMFS considered the 

number and bycatch rate of Chinook 

salmon taken by the Pacific whiting 

fishery sectors prior to reapportionment. 

Based on the best available information 

in September 2023, NMFS determined 

there is low risk that the 

reapportionment will cause the Pacific 

whiting sector fisheries to exceed both 

the guideline limit of 11,000 and reserve 

of 3,500 Chinook salmon under current 

regulations and practices. At the time of 

this notification, incidental take of 

Chinook salmon by the non-tribal 

sectors is 37 percent of the guideline 

limit. NMFS will continue to monitor 

Chinook salmon bycatch as part of 

inseason management. 

To allow for increased utilization of 

the resource, on September 27, 2023, 

NMFS reapportioned 45,000 mt from 

the tribal allocation to the Shorebased 

IFQ Program, C/P Co-op, and MS Co-op 

in proportion to each sector’s original 

allocation. Reapportioning this amount 

is expected to allow for greater 

attainment of the TAC while not 

limiting tribal harvest opportunities for 

the remainder of the year. NMFS 

provided notice of the reapportionment 

on September 27, 2023, via emails sent 

directly to fishing businesses and 

individuals. Reapportionment was 

effective the same day as the notice. 

The amounts of Pacific whiting 

available for 2023 before and after the 

reapportionment are described in Table 

1 below. 

TABLE 1—2023 PACIFIC WHITING

ALLOCATIONS

Sector 

Initial 2023 

allocation 

(mt) 

Final 2023 

allocation 

(mt) 

Tribal ......... 80,806 35,806 

C/P Coop .. 129,266 144,566 

MS Coop ... 91,246 102,047 

Shorebased 

IFQ Program ...... 159,681 178,581 

Classification 

NOAA’s Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries (AA) finds that good cause 

exists for this notification to be issued 

without affording prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), because 

such notification would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. As previously noted, NMFS 

provided actual notice of the 

reapportionment to fishery participants 

at the time of the action. Prior notice 

and opportunity for public comment on 


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75240 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 211 / Thursday, November 2, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

this reapportionment was impracticable 

because NMFS had insufficient time to 

provide prior notice between the time 

the information about the progress of 

the fishery needed to make this 

determination became available and the 

time at which fishery modifications had 

to be implemented in order to allow 

fishery participants access to the 

available fish during the remainder of 

the fishing season. For the same reasons, 

the AA also finds good cause to waive 

the 30-day delay in effectiveness for 

these actions, required under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). 

These actions are authorized by 50 

CFR 660.55(i), 660.60(d), and 660.131(h) 

and are exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

U.S.C. 7001 et seq. 

Dated: October 30, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24205 Filed 11–1–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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