Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 2012 / Proposed Rules 11477 

delegation of specific national emission 

standards for hazardous air pollutants 

(NESHAP) to the Nevada Division of 

Environmental Protection on October 6, 

2011. EPA is proposing to revise the 

Code of Federal Regulations to reflect 

the current delegation status of NESHAP 

in Nevada. 

DATES: Any comments on this proposal 

must arrive by March 28, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, 

identified by docket number EPA–R09– 

OAR–2012–0117, by one of the 

following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 

instructions. 

2. Email: steckel.andrew@epa.gov. 

3. Mail or deliver: Andrew Steckel 

(AIR–4), U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 

San Francisco, CA 94105–3901. 

Instructions: All comments will be 

included in the public docket without 

change and may be made available 

online at www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided, unless the comment includes 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Information that 

you consider CBI or otherwise protected 

should be clearly identified as such and 

should not be submitted through 

www.regulations.gov or email. 

www.regulations.gov is an ‘‘anonymous 

access’’ system, and EPA will not know 

your identity or contact information 

unless you provide it in the body of 

your comment. If you send email 

directly to EPA, your email address will 

be automatically captured and included 

as part of the public comment. If EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. 

Docket: The index to the docket for 

this action is available electronically at 

www.regulations.gov and in hard copy 

at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 

San Francisco, California. While all 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the index, some information may be 

publicly available only at the hard copy 

location (e.g., copyrighted material), and 

some may not be publicly available in 

either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the 

hard copy materials, please schedule an 

appointment during normal business 

hours with the contact listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rynda Kay, EPA Region IX, (415) 947– 

4118, kay.rynda@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document concerns the delegation of 

unchanged NESHAP to the Nevada 

Division of Environmental Protection. In 

the Rules and Regulations section of this 

Federal Register, EPA is amending 

regulations to reflect the current 

delegation status of NESHAP in Nevada. 

EPA is taking direct final action without 

prior proposal because the Agency 

believes this action is not controversial. 

If we receive adverse comments, 

however, we will publish a timely 

withdrawal of the direct final rule and 

address the comments in a subsequent 

action based on this proposed rule. 

Please note that if we receive adverse 

comment on an amendment, paragraph, 

or section of this rule and if that 

provision may be severed from the 

remainder of the rule, we may adopt as 

final those provisions of the rule that are 

not the subject of an adverse comment. 

We do not plan to open a second 

comment period, so anyone interested 

in commenting should do so at this 

time. If we do not receive adverse 

comments, no further activity is 

planned. For further information, please 

see the direct final action. 

Dated: February 13, 2012. 

Deborah Jordan, 

Director, Air Division, Region IX. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4568 Filed 2–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

RIN 0648–BA52 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery off the Southern 

Atlantic States; Amendment 24 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) has 

submitted Amendment 24 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the SnapperGrouper Fishery of the South Atlantic 

Region (FMP) for review, approval, and 

implementation by NMFS. Amendment 

24 proposes actions to revise definitions 

of management thresholds for South 

Atlantic red grouper; establish a 

rebuilding plan; establish red grouper 

sector annual catch limits (ACLs) based 

on allocation decisions, a recreational 

annual catch target (ACT), and sector 

accountability measures (AMs); and 

remove the combined gag, black 

grouper, and red grouper ACLs and 

AMs. The intent of Amendment 24 is to 

implement a rebuilding plan for red 

grouper to help achieve optimum yield 

(OY) for the red grouper resource in 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before April 27, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the amendment identified by 

NOAA–NMFS–2011–0298 by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic submissions: Submit 

electronic comments via the Federal 

e-Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Rick DeVictor, Southeast 

Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

To submit comments through the 

Federal e-rulemaking portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov, click on ‘‘submit a 

comment,’’ then enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS– 

2011–0298’’ in the keyword search and 

click on ‘‘search.’’ To view posted 

comments during the comment period, 

enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2011–0298’’ in 

the keyword search and click on 

‘‘search.’’ NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

field if you wish to remain anonymous). 

You may submit attachments to 

electronic comments in Microsoft Word, 

Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 

formats only. 

Comments received through means 

not specified in this rule will not be 

considered. 

Electronic copies of the amendment 

may be obtained from the Southeast 

Regional Office Web site at http:// 

sero.nmfs.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick 

DeVictor, telephone: 727–824–5305, or 

email: rick.devictor@noaa.gov. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

11478 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

snapper-grouper fishery of the South 

Atlantic is managed under the FMP. The 

FMP was prepared by the Council and 

is implemented through regulations at 

50 CFR part 622 under the authority of 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. The MagnusonStevens Act also requires that NMFS, 

upon receiving a plan or amendment, 

publish an announcement in the 

Federal Register notifying the public 

that the plan or amendment is available 

for review and comment. 

Background 

The red grouper stock in the South 

Atlantic was assessed through the 

Southeast, Data, Assessment, and 

Review (SEDAR) process in 2010. The 

assessment indicates that the stock is 

experiencing overfishing and is 

overfished. Overfishing occurs when 

either fishing mortality rate exceeds the 

maximum fishing mortality threshold or 

catch exceeds the overfishing limit. 

Overfishing may lead to an overfished 

condition. A stock is overfished when 

its biomass has declined below a level 

that jeopardizes the capacity of the stock 

to produce the maximum sustainable 

yield (MSY) on a continuing basis. The 

level is referred to as the minimum 

stock size threshold (MSST). 

As directed by the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, the Council must implement a 

rebuilding plan, through an FMP 

Amendment or proposed regulations, 

which ends overfishing immediately 

and provides for rebuilding the fishery. 

The intent of a rebuilding plan is to 

increase biomass of overfished stocks to 

a sustainable level within a specified 

period of time. A plan should achieve 

conservation goals, while minimizing to 

the extent practicable adverse 

socioeconomic impacts. NMFS notified 

the Council of the stock status on June 

9, 2010; the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

specifies that measures to end 

overfishing and rebuild the stock must 

be implemented within 2 years of 

notification. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires 

that ACLs and AMs be implemented to 

prevent overfishing and achieve the OY 

from a fishery. An ACL is the level of 

annual catch of a stock in pounds or 

numbers of fish that, if exceeded, 

triggers AMs. AMs are management 

controls to prevent ACLs from being 

exceeded and to correct overages of 

ACLs if they do occur. Two examples of 

AMs include an in-season closure if 

catch approaches the ACL and reducing 

the ACL by an overage that occurred the 

previous fishing year. 

The Council and NMFS are 

implementing a division of the red 

grouper ACL into sector-ACLs based 

upon allocation decisions. The Council 

and NMFS have determined that sectorACLs and sector-AMs are important 

components of red grouper management 

as each sector differs in scientific and 

management uncertainty. 

Actions Contained in the Amendment 

The amendment proposes to revise 

definitions of management thresholds 

for South Atlantic red grouper; establish 

a rebuilding plan; establish red grouper 

sector-ACLs based on allocation 

decisions, a recreational ACT, and 

sector AMs; and remove the combined 

gag, black grouper, and red grouper 

ACLs and AMs. 

Modify the Current Definitions for 

Management Thresholds 

Definitions of MSY, OY, and MSST 

were set for red grouper in Amendment 

11 to the FMP. The Council is revising 

the definitions based on the most recent 

scientific information. MSY would 

equal the yield produced by FMSY or the 

FMSY proxy; MSY and FMSY would be 

recommended by the most recent 

SEDAR or the Council’s Scientific and 

Statistical Committee (SSC). 

Amendment 24 would specify the MSY 

value for red grouper equal to 1.11 

million lb (503,488 kg) until modified 

by further scientific information. The 

OY would be set equal to the acceptable 

biological catch (ABC) and ACL. The 

MSST, which is the overfished 

definition, would be changed from (1– 

M) x BMSY, where M equals natural 

mortality and B equals biomass, to 75 

percent of SSBMSY, where SSBMSY

equals spawning stock biomass at MSY. 

The change would relieve an 

administrative burden by expanding the 

buffer between MSST and SSBMSY and 

avoid unwarranted designation of an 

overfished status. 

Red Grouper Rebuilding Plan 

The Council selected a 10-year 

rebuilding plan for red grouper in 

Amendment 24. This is the maximum 

time frame allowed under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. However, 

because the Council intends to manage 

the stock using the FOY yield stream, the 

stock is projected to have an 81 percent 

chance of rebuilding, which is greater 

than the 70 percent recommended by 

the Council’s SSC. Given management 

uncertainties and uncertainties 

regarding stock assessment projections 

more than a few years in the future, a 

10-year rebuilding plan would allow for 

fluctuations in catches and provide 

flexibility to address the needs of 

fishing communities when setting catch 

levels and management measures. 

Red Grouper Sector-ACLs, Recreational 

ACT, and AMs 

The current combined gag, black 

grouper, and red grouper ACLs were 

implemented through Amendment 17B 

to the FMP (75 FR 82280, December 30, 

2010), before black grouper and red 

grouper stock assessments were 

completed through SEDAR. The 

Council, through Amendment 24, 

proposes to remove the combined gag, 

black grouper, and red grouper 

commercial and recreational ACLs as 

the ACLs are not based upon the best 

scientific information. Amendment 24 

would implement red grouper ACLs. 

The gag ACL, implemented through 

Amendment 16 to the FMP, will remain. 

The Comprehensive ACL Amendment 

will specify the ACL for black grouper. 

The Council decided to define the red 

grouper ACL equal to ABC. The SSC’s 

recommendation for ABC is the 

projected yield stream with a 70 percent 

probability of rebuilding success. The 

Council chose to define the rebuilding 

yield stream at the equivalent of OY (75 

percent of FMSY). The resultant ACLs 

proposed in Amendment 24, in round 

weight, are 647,000 lb (293,474 kg) for 

2012, 718,000 lb (325,679 kg) for 2013, 

and 780,000 lb (353,802 kg) for 2014 

and subsequent fishing years. In terms 

of AMs, if the ACLs, as estimated by the 

Southeast Fisheries Science Center 

(SEFSC) are exceeded in a fishing year, 

then during the following fishing year, 

the Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries (AA) will file a notification 

with the Office of the Federal Register 

to state that both the commercial and 

recreational sectors will not have an 

increase in their respective sector ACLs 

during that following fishing year. The 

ABCs, ACLs, and ACTs selected by the 

Council may be revised through future 

stock assessments. 

The allocation of red grouper between 

the commercial and recreational sectors 

is 44 percent and 56 percent, 

respectively. Amendment 24 would 

implement ACLs for the red grouper 

commercial and recreational sectors 

based on this allocation. 

The recreational ACTs would be equal 

to the recreational ACL*(1–PSE) or 

ACL*0.5, whichever is greater, where 

PSE equals the proportional standard 

error from the Marine Recreational 

Information Plan data source. The ACT 

is an amount of annual catch of a stock 

or stock complex that is the 

management target of the fishery, and 

accounts for management uncertainty in 

controlling the actual catch at or below 

the ACL. ACTs are recommended in the 

system of accountability measures so 

that ACL is not exceeded. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 2012 / Proposed Rules 11479 

The commercial ACLs, in round 

weight, would be 284,680 lb (129,129 

kg) for 2012, 315,920 lb (143,299 kg) for 

2013, and 343,200 lb (155,673 kg) for 

2014 and subsequent fishing years. The 

recreational ACLs, in round weight, 

would be 362,320 lb (164,346 kg) for 

2012, 402,080 lb (182,380 kg) for 2013, 

and 436,800 lb (198,129 kg) for 2014 

and subsequent fishing years. The 

recreational ACTs, in round weight, 

would be 271,740 lb (123,259 kg) for 

2012, 301,560 lb (136,785 kg) for 2013, 

and 327,600 lb (148,597 kg) for 2014 

and subsequent fishing years. 

AMs 

The Council intends to remove the 

combined gag, black grouper, and red 

grouper commercial and recreational 

AMs established through Amendment 

17B. Gag and black grouper AMs, 

implemented through Amendment 16 to 

the FMP and the Comprehensive ACL 

Amendment, respectively, will remain. 

Amendment 24 would add in-season 

commercial and recreational AMs for 

red grouper. If commercial or 

recreational landings for red grouper 

reach or are projected to reach the 

applicable ACL as estimated by the 

SEFSC, the AA will file a notification 

with the Office of the Federal Register 

to close the commercial or recreational 

sector for the remainder of the fishing 

year. 

Amendment 24 would specify overage 

adjustments for red grouper. If 

commercial or recreational landings for 

red grouper, as estimated by SEFSC, 

exceed the applicable ACL, the AA 

would file a notification with the Office 

of the Federal Register, to reduce the 

applicable ACL the following fishing 

year by the amount of the overage in the 

prior fishing year. Overage adjustments 

are needed particularly for red grouper 

to follow guidance for stocks and stock 

complexes in rebuilding plans that 

ensure rebuilding occurs within the 

specified timeframe. 

A proposed rule that would 

implement measures outlined in 

Amendment 24 has been drafted. In 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, NMFS is evaluating Amendment 24 

to determine whether it is consistent 

with the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and other applicable law. If the 

determination is affirmative, NMFS will 

publish the proposed rule in the Federal 

Register for public review and 

comment. 

Consideration of Public Comments 

The Councils submitted Amendment 

24 for Secretarial review, approval, and 

implementation. NMFS’ decision to 

approve, partially approve, or 

disapprove Amendment 24 will be 

based, in part, on consideration of 

comments, recommendations, and 

information received during the 

comment period on this notice of 

availability. 

Public comments received by 5 p.m. 

eastern time, on April 27, 2012, will be 

considered by NMFS in the approval/ 

disapproval decision regarding 

Amendment 24. 

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

Dated: February 22, 2012. 

Steven Thur, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4508 Filed 2–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS