29460 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 122 / Monday, June 25, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

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; 

and 

• Does not provide EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, this rulemaking does not 

apply on any Indian reservation land or 

in any other area where 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). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Administrative 

practice and procedure, Carbon 

monoxide, Intergovernmental relations, 

Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate 

matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur oxides, Waste 

treatment and disposal. 

Dated: June 18, 2018. 

Alexandra Dunn, 

Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1. 

Part 62 of chapter I, title 40 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations is amended 

as follows: 

PART 62—APPROVAL AND 

PROMULGATION OF STATE PLANS 

FOR DESIGNATED FACILITIES AND 

POLLUTANTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 62 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Subpart EE—New Hampshire 

■ 2. Add an undesignated center 

heading and § 62.7465 to subpart EE to 

read as follows: 

Air Emissions From Existing Sewage 

Sludge Incineration Units 

§ 62.7465 Identification of plan— 

delegation of authority. 

(a) Letter from the New Hampshire 

Department of Environmental Services 

(NH DES), submitted November 14, 

2017, requested delegation of authority 

from the EPA to implement and enforce 

the Federal Plan Requirements for 

Sewage Sludge Incineration Units 

Constructed on or before October 14, 

2010 (SSI Federal Plan). The SSI Federal 

Plan will be administered by both the 

NH DES and the EPA pursuant to 40 

CFR part 62 subpart LLL. 

(b) Identification of sources. The SSI 

Federal Plan applies to owners or 

operators of existing facilities that meet 

all three of the following criteria: 

(1) The SSI unit(s) commenced 

construction on or before October 14, 

2010; 

(2) The SSI unit(s) meets the 

definition of an SSI unit as defined in 

§ 62.16045; and 

(3) The SSI unit(s) is not exempt 

under § 62.15860. 

(c) On December 18, 2017 Mr. Robert 

R. Scott, Commissioner of NH DES, 

signed the Memorandum of Agreement 

(MoA) which defines the policies, 

responsibilities, and procedures by 

which the SSI Federal Plan will be 

administered. On December 22, 2017, 

Mr. Ken Moraff, as Acting Regional 

Administrator of EPA Region 1, signed 

the MoA. 

(d) The delegation is fully effective as 

of December 22, 2017. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13552 Filed 6–22–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 216 

RIN 0648–XG306 

Extension of Opening Date for 

Subsistence Taking of Northern Fur 

Seals on the Pribilof Islands; St. 

George Island 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; extension of 

opening date. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is extending the 

opening date of the subsistence use 

season of the Eastern Pacific stock of 

northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) 

by opening the season on June 20, 2018, 

in response to a request from the 

Traditional Council of St. George Island, 

Tribal Government. The subsistence use 

regulations at 50 CFR 216.72(a) 

authorize the extension of the northern 

fur seal harvest earlier than the 

scheduled opening date of June 23. The 

opening of the season three days earlier 

is intended to provide meat for the 

community of St. George Island in 

response to the unavailability of food in 

the community store due to unforeseen 

flight cancellations and the complete 

consumption of fur seal meat from 

harvests in 2017. 

DATES: The opening for the sub-adult 

male fur seal harvest is effective at 12:01 

a.m., Alaska local time, June 20, 2018, 

until 11:59 p.m., Alaska local time, 

August 8, 2018, per the regulations at 50 

CFR 216.72(d)(1). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Williams, NMFS Alaska 

Region, 907–271–5117, 

michael.williams@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

St. George Island is a remote island 

located in the Bering Sea populated by 

Alaska Native residents who rely upon 

marine mammals as a major food source 

and cornerstone of their culture. 

Regulations issued under the authority 

of the Fur Seal Act authorize 

Pribilovians to take fur seals on the 

Pribilof Islands if such taking is for 

subsistence uses and not accomplished 

in a wasteful manner (50 CFR 216.71). 

The residents of St. George Island are 

currently authorized by regulations 

under the FSA Section 105 (16 U.S.C. 

1155) to harvest male fur seals 124.5 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 122 / Monday, June 25, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 29461 

centimeters or less in length for 

subsistence use each year from June 23 

to August 8. The regulation at 50 CFR 

216.72(a) includes the provision that the 

harvests of seals on St. Paul and St. 

George Islands shall be treated 

independently for the purposes of this 

section. Any suspension, termination, or 

extension of the harvest is applicable 

only to the island for which it is issued. 

The Traditional Council of St. George 

Island, Tribal Government (Traditional 

Council) has requested that NMFS 

extend the opening date of the 

subsistence use season for sub-adult 

male fur seals earlier than the scheduled 

opening date of June 23 (50 CFR 

216.72(d)(1)). The extension of the 

opening date is intended to respond to 

this emergency request. The extension 

will ensure additional days to conduct 

the subsistence harvest in order provide 

meat for the community of St. George 

Island in response to the unavailability 

of food in the community store due to 

unforeseen flight cancellations and the 

complete consumption of fur seal meat 

from harvests in 2017. NMFS has 

determined that the extension of the 

harvest to an earlier date is permissible 

and should be authorized. 

On July 31, 1992 (57 FR 33900) NMFS 

issued a final rule removing the option 

to extend the harvest past August 8, but 

authorized the harvest to start on June 

23 rather than June 30. NMFS 

anticipated in the notice (57 FR 33901, 

July 31, 1992) that there would be no 

adverse impacts on the population from 

an earlier June harvest because subadult males dominate the harvest areas 

on the hauling grounds at this time of 

year, and few if any female seals have 

returned to St. George Island in June. In 

extending the opening date for the 2018 

season, NMFS does not expect that 

female fur seals would be accidentally 

killed during the few early days of the 

sub-adult male harvest, and there is no 

evidence from prior commercial or 

subsistence harvests that females were 

accidentally taken prior to mid-July 

(NMFS unpublished data). The 

subsistence use suspension and 

termination provisions based on female 

mortality remain in effect (50 CFR 

216.72(f)(1)(iv) & (g)(3)). 

All other regulatory controls 

applicable to the subsistence use of subadult males on St. George Island at 50 

CFR 216.72(d)(1)–(5) still apply, 

including the total number of fur seals 

(500) that may be harvested per year on 

St. George Island (82 FR 39044, August 

17, 2017). 

Classification 

This action responds to the urgent 

subsistence need of the Pribilovians on 

St. George Island. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, 

(AA), determined that this rule is 

consistent with the Fur Seal Act (16 

U.S.C. 1155) and regulations (50 CFR 

216.71–216.74). The AA finds good 

cause to waive the requirement to 

provide prior notice and opportunity for 

public comment pursuant to the 

authority set forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B). 

Allowing prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment on the extension of 

the opening date is unnecessary because 

the rule establishing the extension of the 

opening procedures has already been 

subject to notice and comment, and all 

that remains is to notify the public of 

the extension of the opening date. 

Additionally, allowing for prior notice 

and opportunity for public comment for 

this extension of the opening date is 

contrary to the public interest because it 

requires time, thus delaying the removal 

of a restriction and thereby reducing 

socio-economic benefits to community 

of St. George Island. In the absence of 

this action, the residents of St. George 

Island would be prohibited from 

harvesting fur seals currently necessary 

to subsistence uses due to unforeseen 

events prior to the scheduled opening of 

the subsistence use season. For the 

aforementioned reasons, it is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest to delay for 30 days the effective 

date of this action, and, accordingly, the 

AA also finds good cause to waive the 

30-day delay in effectiveness of this 

action under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) and to 

make this action effective on the date 

specified herein. This action is 

authorized by 50 CFR 216.72(a) and is 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. Because prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment are 

waived under 5 U.S.C. 553, the 

analytical requirements of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601– 

612, are inapplicable. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1155(a). 

Dated: June 20, 2018. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13576 Filed 6–20–18; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 180320301–8551–02] 

RIN 0648–XG121 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; 

Annual Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this rule to 

implement annual management 

measures and catch limits for the 

northern subpopulation of Pacific 

sardine, for the fishing year lasting from 

July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019. 

This action includes a prohibition on 

directed commercial fishing for Pacific 

sardine off the U.S. West Coast, except 

in the live bait, tribal, or minor directed 

fisheries. This action is intended to 

conserve and manage the Pacific sardine 

stock off the U.S. West Coast. 

DATES: Effective July 1, 2018, through 

June 30, 2019. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joshua Lindsay, West Coast Region, 

NMFS, (562) 980–4034, joshua.lindsay@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the Pacific sardine fishery in 

the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) 

off the West Coast (California, Oregon, 

and Washington) in accordance with the 

Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP). The FMP and 

its implementing regulations require 

NMFS to set annual catch levels for the 

Pacific sardine fishery based on the 

annual specification framework and 

control rules in the FMP. These control 

rules include the harvest guideline (HG) 

control rule, which, in conjunction with 

the overfishing limit (OFL) and 

acceptable biological catch (ABC) rules 

in the FMP, are used to manage harvest 

levels for Pacific sardine, in accordance 

with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). Annual 

specifications published in the Federal 

Register establish these catch limits and 

management measures for each Pacific 

sardine fishing year. 

The purpose of this final rule is to 

implement the annual catch levels and 

reference points for the 2018–2019 

fishing year. This final rule adopts, 

without changes, the catch levels and 


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