Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 25, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 78255 

1 89 FR 54748. 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 3.1709 Transportation expenses for 

burial. 

(a) General. VA will pay the 

transportation expenses, subject to 

paragraph (d) of this section, of a 

veteran’s remains to the place of burial 

for a veteran described in paragraph (b) 

of this section or for burial in a national 

cemetery or a covered veterans’ 

cemetery, as defined in § 3.1700(b)(2), 

for a veteran described in paragraph (c) 

of this section. 

(b) Eligibility for transportation to the 

place of burial under 38 U.S.C. 2303(a). 

VA will pay the expense incurred to 

transport an eligible veteran’s remains 

to the place of burial, subject to 

paragraph (d) of this section, where the 

death occurs within a State and the 

place of burial is in the same State or 

any other State. 

(1) A veteran described in this 

paragraph is a deceased veteran who 

meets any of the following criteria: 

(i) A veteran covered under 38 CFR 

3.1705(b), or a veteran who died of a 

service-connected disability and who 

also satisfies the criteria listed under 38 

CFR 3.1705(b)). 

(ii) A veteran covered under 38 CFR 

3.1706(b). 

(iii) A veteran covered under 38 CFR 

3.1708(b). 

(2) A payment authorized under 

paragraph (b) of this section shall not 

duplicate any payment authorized 

under paragraph (c) of this section. 

(c) Eligibility for transportation 

benefit under 38 U.S.C. 2308. For a 

veteran described below, VA will pay 

for the expense incurred, subject to 

paragraph (d) of this section, to 

transport a veteran’s remains for burial 

in a national cemetery or a covered 

veterans’ cemetery, as defined in 38 CFR 

3.1700(b)(2). 

(1) A veteran described in this 

paragraph is a deceased veteran who: 

(i) Died as the result of a serviceconnected disability and who is not 

eligible for the transportation benefit 

under paragraph (b) of this section; or 

(ii) Died outside of a State. 

(2) The amount payable under this 

paragraph (c) will not exceed the cost of 

transporting the remains to the national 

cemetery closest to the veteran’s last 

place of residence in which burial space 

is available and is subject to the 

limitations set forth in paragraph (d) of 

this section. 

(3) A payment authorized under this 

paragraph (c) shall not duplicate any 

payment authorized under paragraph (b) 

of this section. 

* * * * * 

■ 12. Amend § 3.1711 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (a) introductory 

text; 

■ b. Removing the citation ‘‘38 U.S.C. 

2302’’ and adding in its place ‘‘38 U.S.C. 

2303’’ In paragraph (b)(1); and 

■ c. Revising the authority citation at 

the end of the section. 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 3.1711 Effect of contributions by 

government, public, or private 

organizations. 

(a) Contributions by government or 

employer. With respect to claims for a 

plot or interment allowance under 

§ 3.1707, if VA has evidence that the 

U.S., a State, any agency or political 

subdivision of the U.S. or of a State, 

Tribal organization, or the employer of 

the deceased veteran has paid or 

contributed payment to the veteran’s 

plot or interment expenses, VA will pay 

the claimant up to the lesser of: 

* * * * * 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 2303) 

[FR Doc. 2024–21864 Filed 9–24–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2024–0197; FRL–11981– 

02–R9] 

Air Plan Revisions; California; 

Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality 

Management District 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is taking final action to 

approve State implementation plan 

(SIP) revisions from the Sacramento 

Metropolitan Air Quality Management 

District (SMAQMD or ‘‘District’’) to 

address Clean Air Act (CAA or ‘‘Act’’) 

requirements related to the 2008 8-hour 

ozone national ambient air quality 

standards (NAAQS or ‘‘standards’’). 

These revisions concern emissions of 

oxides of nitrogen (NOX) from boilers, 

gas turbines, and miscellaneous 

(‘‘misc’’) combustion units as well as 

reasonably available control technology 

(RACT) requirements for major sources 

of NOX in the portion of the Sacramento 

Metro, CA, nonattainment area that is 

subject to SMAQMD jurisdiction. 

DATES: This rule is effective October 25, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–R09–OAR–2024–0197. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the https://www.regulations.gov 

website. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available through https://

www.regulations.gov, or please contact 

the person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section for 

additional availability information. If 

you need assistance in a language other 

than English or if you are a person with 

a disability who needs a reasonable 

accommodation at no cost to you, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Eugene Chen, EPA Region IX, 75 

Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 

94105. By phone: (415) 947–4304 or by 

email at chen.eugene@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ 

and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. Proposed Action 

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses 

III. EPA Action 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Proposed Action 

On July 2, 2024, the EPA proposed to 

approve the California Air Resources 

Board’s (CARB) submittal of a SIP 

revision adopted by the SMAQMD.1 As 

discussed in our proposed action, this 

SIP revision adopted portions of several 

permits issued under the District’s SIPapproved New Source Review (NSR) 

permit program (‘‘District Permits’’) for 

submittal into the SIP. These District 

Permits are relied upon to implement 

RACT for major sources of NOX, and we 

proposed to determine that these 

District Permits would comply with the 

EPA’s Startup, Shutdown, and 

Malfunction (SSM) policy and other 

applicable Clean Air Act (CAA or 

‘‘Act’’) requirements. Based on our 

review, we proposed to determine that 

these District Permits, in conjunction 

with the SIP-approved NOX limits 

already established in Rule 411 (NOX

from Boilers, Process Heaters and Steam 

Generators) and Rule 413 (Stationary 

Gas Turbines), implement RACT for 

each major NOX source in the District. 

We therefore also proposed to approve 


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78256 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 25, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

the major source NOX RACT element of 

the 2017 RACT SIP for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS. 

the 2017 RACT SIP for the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS. 

TABLE 1—SUBMITTED DOCUMENTS

Local agency Document/ 

rule No. Document title Adopted Submitted 

SMAQMD .................................. ........................ Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) Permits for 

Major Stationary Sources of Nitrogen Oxides.

03/28/2024 04/11/2024 

A list of individual permits contained 

in this submittal is included in Table 2 

below. 

TABLE 2—DISTRICT PERMITS INCLUDED IN APRIL 11, 2024 SUBMITTAL

Source name Permit No. Unit name/ID Unit size 

(MMBtu/hr) Unit type 

Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber and 

Composites.

24611 ....................

25925 ....................

Oxidation Oven 1 ....................

Oxidation Oven 2 ....................

2 

2 

Misc Combustion Unit. 

Misc Combustion Unit. 

24613 .................... Oxidation Oven 3 .................... 2 Misc Combustion Unit. 

24614 .................... Oxidation Oven 4 .................... 2 Misc Combustion Unit. 

27336 .................... Oxidation Oven—Line 31 ....... 3 Misc Combustion Unit. 

27337 .................... Oxidation Oven—Line 31 ....... 3 Misc Combustion Unit. 

27338 .................... Cleaver Brooks Boiler ............. 6 Boiler. 

UC Davis Medical Center ...................... 17549 .................... Combined Cycle Turbine ........ 260 Gas Turbine. 

20216 .................... Boiler 1 ................................... 32 Boiler. 

20217 .................... Boiler 2 ................................... 32 Boiler. 

20218 .................... Boiler 3 ................................... 32 Boiler. 

20219 .................... Boiler 4 ................................... 32 Boiler. 

Sacramento Metropolitan Utility District 

(SMUD) Procter & Gamble Power 

Plant.

27140 ....................

27141 and 27132 ..

27142 and 27133 ..

Babcock & Wilcox Boiler ........

Gas Turbine 1A ......................

Gas Turbine 1B ......................

109 

583 

583 

Boiler. 

Gas Turbine and Duct Burner.a

Gas Turbine and Duct Burner.a

27143 .................... Gas Turbine 1C ...................... 500 Gas Turbine. 

27144 .................... Boiler 1B ................................. 109 Boiler. 

SMUD Cosumnes Power Plant ............. 25801 ....................

25800 ....................

Turbine 2 ................................

Turbine 3 ................................

2,200 

2,200 

Gas Turbine. 

Gas Turbine. 

SMUD Campbell Power Plant ............... 27118 and 27116 .. Gas Turbine ............................ 1,410 Gas Turbine and Duct Burner.a

SMUD Carson Power Plant ................... 27151 and 27153 .. Gas Turbine ............................ 600 Gas Turbine and Duct Burner.a

27154 .................... Cleaver Brooks Boiler ............. 100 Boiler. 

27156 .................... Turbine 27156 ........................ 450 Gas Turbine. 

aThese units are combined cycle gas turbines, which consist of a simple cycle gas turbine combined with a duct burner, and are listed under 

the same permit document with separate permit numbers. For clarity, we are including the duct burner permit number in addition to the turbine 

permit number. 

II. Public Comments and EPA 

Responses 

The EPA’s proposed action provided 

a 30-day public comment period. During 

this period, we received no comments. 

III. EPA Action 

No comments were submitted on the 

proposed action, and there is no change 

to our assessment of the SIP revision as 

described in our proposed action. 

Therefore, as authorized in section 

110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is 

approving these District Permits into the 

California SIP. In addition, we are 

approving the major source NOX

element for SMAQMD’s RACT 

obligation for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. 

This approval corrects all deficiencies 

identified in our June 30, 2023 partial 

disapproval of the major NOX element 

of the 2017 RACT SIP (88 FR 42248), 

permanently stopping all sanction 

clocks associated with that partial 

disapproval. Moreover, this approval 

corrects the final remaining deficiency 

identified in our February 3, 2017 

finding of failure to submit action for 

the SMAQMD’s 2008 ozone NAAQS 

RACT SIP obligation (82 FR 9158). In 

addition, it terminates the EPA’s 

obligation to promulgate a Federal 

Implementation Plan in response to that 

action. 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

In this rule, the EPA is finalizing 

regulatory text that includes 

incorporation by reference. In 

accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 

51.5, the EPA is finalizing the 

incorporation by reference of the 

District Permits contained in the 

submitted SIP revision and listed in 

Table 2 of this preamble, which 

establish NOX emission limits for 

specific major sources in the District. 

The EPA has made, and will continue 

to make, these documents available 

through https://www.regulations.gov 

and at the EPA Region IX Office (please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this preamble for more information). 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the Clean Air Act, the 

Administrator is required to approve a 

SIP submission that complies with the 

provisions of the Act and applicable 

federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 

40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP 

submissions, the EPA’s role is to 

approve State choices, provided that 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 25, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 78257 

they meet the criteria of the Clean Air 

Act. Accordingly, this action merely 

approves State law as meeting federal 

requirements and does not impose 

additional requirements beyond those 

imposed by State law. 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 14094 (88 FR 

21879, April 11, 2023); 

• 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 subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) 

because it approves a State program; 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); and 

• 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, 

February 16, 1994) directs Federal 

agencies to identify and address 

‘‘disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects’’ 

of their actions on communities with 

environmental justice (EJ) concerns to 

the greatest extent practicable and 

permitted by law. The EPA defines 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 District did not evaluate EJ 

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. 

Due to the nature of the action being 

taken here, this action is expected to 

have a neutral to positive impact on the 

air quality of the affected area. 

Consideration of EJ is not required as 

part of this action, and there is no 

information in the record inconsistent 

with the stated goals of Executive Order 

12898 of achieving EJ for communities 

with EJ concerns. 

This action is subject to the 

Congressional Review Act (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). 

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean 

Air Act, petitions for judicial review of 

this action must be filed in the United 

States Court of Appeals for the 

appropriate circuit by November 25, 

2024. Filing a petition for 

reconsideration by the Administrator of 

this final rule does not affect the finality 

of this rule for the purposes of judicial 

review, nor does it extend the time 

within which a 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 section 

307(b)(2)). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

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

Dated: September 18, 2024. 

Martha Guzman Aceves, 

Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Environmental Protection 

Agency amends part 52, chapter I, title 

40 of the Code of Federal Regulations as 

follows: 

PART 52—APPROVAL AND 

PROMULGATION OF 

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

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

Subpart F—California 

■ 2. Section 52.220 is amended by 

adding paragraphs (c)(599)(ii)(A)(2) and 

(c)(617) to read as follows: 

§ 52.220 Identification of plan-in part. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(599) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(A) * * * 

(2) The Reasonably Available Control 

Technology (RACT) determination for 

non-CTG major sources of NOX as 

contained in the RACT State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) for the 2008 

8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards (NAAQS) 

(‘‘Demonstration of Reasonably 

Available Control Technology for the 

2008 Ozone NAAQS’’), as adopted on 

March 23, 2017. 

* * * * * 

(617) The following regulations and 

materials were submitted electronically 

on April 11, 2024, by the Governor’s 

designee as an attachment to a letter 

dated April 10, 2024. 

(i) Incorporation by reference. (A) 

Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality 

Management District. 

(1) Permit to Operate No. 24611— 

Eisenmann Oxidation Oven 1, issued to 

Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber & 

Composites, Inc., as revised on February 

23, 2024. 

(2) Permit to Operate No. 25925— 

Maxon Oxidation Oven 2, issued to 

Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber & 

Composites, Inc., as revised on February 

23, 2024. 

(3) Permit to Operate No. 24613— 

Eisenmann Oxidation Oven 3, issued to 

Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber & 

Composites, Inc., as revised on February 

23, 2024. 

(4) Permit to Operate No. 24614— 

Eisenmann Oxidation Oven 4, issued to 

Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber & 

Composites, Inc., as revised on February 

23, 2024. 

(5) Permit to Operate No. 27336— 

Despatch Oxidation Oven Line 31, 

issued to Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon 

Fiber and Composites Inc., as revised on 

February 23, 2024. 

(6) Permit to Operate No. 27337— 

Despatch Oxidation Oven Line 31, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
78258 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 25, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

issued to Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon 

Fiber and Composites Inc., as revised on 

February 23, 2024. 

(7) Permit to Operate No. 27338— 

Cleaver Brooks Boiler, issued to 

Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber and 

Composites Inc., as revised on February 

23, 2024. 

(8) Permit to Operate No. 17549— 

General Electric Gas Turbine, issued to 

UCD Medical Center, as revised on 

February 23, 2024. 

(9) Permit to Operate No. 20216— 

Johnston Boiler Company Boiler 1, No. 

20217—Johnston Boiler company Boiler 

2, No. 20218—Johnston Boiler Company 

Boiler 3, No. 20219—Johnston Boiler 

Company Boiler 4, issued to UCD 

Medical Center, as revised on February 

23, 2024. 

(10) Permit to Operate No. 27140— 

Babcock & Wilcox Boiler, issued to 

Sacramento Municipal Utility District 

Financing Authority DBA Procter and 

Gamble Power Plant, as revised on 

February 23, 2024. 

(11) Permit to Operate No. 27141— 

General Electric Gas Turbine 1A and 

No. 27132—Duct Burner 1A, issued to 

Sacramento Municipal Utility District 

Financing Authority DBA Procter and 

Gamble Power Plant, as revised on 

February 23, 2024. 

(12) Permit to Operate No. 27142— 

General Electric Gas Turbine 1B and No. 

27133—Duct Burner 1B, issued to 

Sacramento Municipal Utility District 

Financing Authority DBA Procter and 

Gamble Power Plant, as revised on 

February 23, 2024. 

(13) Permit to Operate No. 27143— 

General Electric Gas Turbine 1C, issued 

to Sacramento Municipal Utility District 

Financing Authority DBA Procter and 

Gamble Power Plant, as revised on 

February 23, 2024. 

(14) Permit to Operate No. 27144— 

Cleaver Brooks Boiler 1B, issued to 

Sacramento Municipal Utility District 

Financing Authority DBA Procter and 

Gamble Power Plant, as revised on 

February 23, 2024. 

(15) Permit to Operate No. 25801— 

General Electric Gas Turbine 2, issued 

to Sacramento Municipal Utility District 

Financing Authority (SFA)—Cosumnes 

Power Plant, as revised on February 23, 

2024. 

(16) Permit to Operate No. 25800— 

General Electric Gas Turbine 3, issued 

to Sacramento Municipal Utility District 

Financing Authority (SFA)—Cosumnes 

Power Plant, as revised on February 23, 

2024. 

(17) Permit to Operate No. 27118— 

Siemens Gas Turbine and No. 27116— 

Duct Burner, issued to Sacramento 

Municipal Utility District Financing 

Authority DBA Campbell Power Plant, 

as revised on February 23, 2024. 

(18) Permit to Operate No. 27151— 

General Electric Gas Turbine and No. 

27153—Duct Burner, issued to 

Sacramento Municipal Utility District 

Financing Authority DBA Carson Power 

Plant, as revised on February 23, 2024. 

(19) Permit to Operate No. 27154— 

Cleaver Brooks Boiler, issued to 

Sacramento Municipal Utility District 

Financing Authority DBA Carson Power 

Plant, as revised on February 23, 2024. 

(20) Permit to Operate No. 27156— 

General Electric Gas Turbine, issued to 

Sacramento Municipal Utility District 

Financing Authority DBA Carson Power 

Plant, as revised on February 23, 2024. 

(B) [Reserved] 

(ii) Additional materials. (A) 

Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality 

Management District. 

(1) ‘‘State Implementation Plan 

Submittal: Reasonably Available Control 

Technology (RACT) Permits for Major 

Stationary Sources of Nitrogen Oxides,’’ 

dated February 26, 2024. 

(2) [Reserved] 

(B) [Reserved] 

* * * * * 

§ 52.237 [Amended] 

■ 3. Section 52.237 is amended by 

removing and reserving paragraph 

(b)(1)(iii). 

[FR Doc. 2024–21729 Filed 9–24–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 240315–0081; RTID 0648– 

XE321] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Blueline Tilefish Fishery; 2024 

Blueline Tilefish Commercial Quota 

Harvested 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: Federal commercial tilefish 

permit holders are prohibited from 

fishing for, catching, possessing, 

transferring or landing blueline tilefish 

in the Tilefish Management Unit for the 

remainder of the 2024 fishing year. This 

action is required because NMFS has 

determined that 100 percent of the 2024 

total allowable landings have been 

caught. This action is intended to 

prevent over-harvest of blueline tilefish 

for the fishing year. 

DATES: Effective September 23, 2024, 

through December 31, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

douglas.potts@noaa.gov, 978–281–9241. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations for the blueline tilefish 

fishery are at 50 CFR part 648. The 

regulations at § 648.295(b)(2)(ii) require 

that when NMFS projects that blueline 

tilefish catch will reach 100 percent of 

the total allowable landings (TAL), the 

Regional Administrator must close the 

commercial blueline tilefish fishery for 

the remainder of the fishing year. No 

vessel may retain or land blueline 

tilefish in or from the Tilefish 

Management Unit after the announced 

closure date. NMFS monitors the 

blueline tilefish fishery catch based on 

dealer reports, state data, and other 

available information. NMFS must 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

notifying blueline tilefish vessel and 

dealer permit holders of the closure date 

when 100 percent of the TAL is 

projected to be landed. 

The Regional Administrator has 

determined, based on dealer reports and 

other available information, that the 

blueline tilefish commercial fishery has 

caught 100 percent of the TAL. Effective 

September 23, 2024 vessels may not 

retain or land blueline tilefish in or from 

the Tilefish Management Unit through 

December 31, 2024. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

part 648, which was issued pursuant to 

section 304(b), and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

NMFS finds good cause pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) 

to waive prior notice and the 

opportunity for public comment and the 

delayed effectiveness period because it 

would be contrary to the public interest 

and impracticable. Data and other 

information indicating the blueline 

tilefish commercial fishery has landed 

100 percent of the TAL have only 

recently become available. Landings 

data are updated by dealer reports 

dealers on a weekly basis, and NMFS 

monitors data as catch increases toward 

the limit. This action is routine and 

formulaic. The regulations at 

§ 648.295(b)(2)(ii) require such action to 

ensure that blueline tilefish commercial 

vessels do not exceed the 2024 TAL. If 

implementation of this action is 


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