Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 1, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 79777 

delegate) within 24 hours of the 

notification under paragraph (b)(1)(i) of 

this section. 

(iii) As soon as practicable, upon 

receipt of stakeholders’ notice of intent 

to participate in an investigation, FRA 

shall establish clear channels of 

communication with the identified 

stakeholders. These channels may 

include, but are not limited to, email 

correspondence, teleconferences, inperson meetings, and online forums. 

(2) On-site investigation. (i) 

Stakeholders may only gain access to 

the accident site through the incident 

command or on-site railroad personnel. 

When investigations occur on railroad 

property, FRA encourages railroads to 

permit on-site access to stakeholders 

participating in FRA’s investigation 

process and expects that railroads will 

grant such access. However, FRA 

cannot, at its own discretion, provide 

stakeholders’ access to an accident site. 

If a railroad rule prohibits a stakeholder 

from accessing the accident site during 

FRA’s on-site investigation, a railroad 

must promptly notify FRA in writing of 

any such rule, and FRA will 

subsequently communicate the 

substance of the rule to all affected 

stakeholders. In these instances, as 

practicable, FRA may consult with any 

affected stakeholder by other means 

(e.g., through real-time participation in 

on-site meetings via video or conference 

call, off-site in-person meetings, virtual 

meetings, or phone calls). 

(ii) Stakeholders are not actual or 

implied agents of FRA. FRA is not 

responsible for the safety of 

stakeholders. 

(iii) FRA will initiate its on-site 

investigation when FRA staff arrive at 

an accident site, and the FRA 

investigation team will depart the 

accident site upon completion of FRA’s 

on-site investigation activities. FRA will 

not wait for participating stakeholders 

to arrive at the accident site to begin its 

investigation, but FRA will make a 

reasonable effort to provide a 

stakeholder that does not arrive at the 

accident site during the investigation a 

verbal summary of the status of the 

investigation. As needed, FRA will 

advise stakeholder representatives when 

the FRA team expects to leave the 

accident site. 

(iv) Each stakeholder representative 

participating in FRA’s on-site 

investigation must contact the FRA 

Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) upon arrival at 

the accident site and provide photo 

identification to the IIC. At the time of 

a stakeholder’s initial contact with the 

IIC, the IIC or other FRA representatives 

will provide the stakeholder with the 

name and contact information for the 

incident commander and other 

pertinent information related to the 

accident known to the IIC at the time. 

As needed, FRA’s investigation team 

should coordinate meeting(s) with 

stakeholders and provide a verbal 

summary of the status of the 

investigation as stakeholders arrive to 

the accident site. 

(3) Off-site information gathering and 

investigative activities. (i) When 

conducting accident/incident 

investigations under this paragraph, to 

the extent practicable, FRA will 

establish a means to receive and share 

documents and information with 

Stakeholders electronically. Any 

documents or information stakeholders 

submit to FRA’s investigation team must 

be provided to FRA through such 

established system. With the exception 

of confidential information or 

documents or information appropriately 

submitted consistent with paragraph (4) 

of this section, FRA may share 

documents relevant to its investigation 

with Stakeholders. 

(ii) Stakeholders may request 

meetings with representatives of other 

non-FRA stakeholders and request that 

FRA participate in such meetings. FRA 

participation is not guaranteed, and any 

information pertinent to the 

investigation made available through 

these meetings must be documented and 

submitted through the established 

electronic information sharing system. 

(iii) Any stakeholder seeking to 

provide confidential information to 

FRA, or to maintain the confidentiality 

of such stakeholder’s identity, must 

coordinate with the IIC prior to 

submittal of that information and 

submit the information to FRA in 

compliance with 49 CFR 209.11. 

(4) Analysis activities. As appropriate, 

the FRA investigation team will consult 

with stakeholders to review the facts 

gathered during the team’s investigation 

of the accident/incident, FRA’s analysis 

of those facts, and FRA’s inputs and 

outputs of root cause analyses. 

Stakeholders may offer input, raise 

concerns, and participate in discussions 

aimed at identifying root causes and 

potential recommendations to mitigate 

risk or prevent reoccurrence of the 

accident/incident. Stakeholders will not 

be included in FRA deliberations or 

consideration of potential compliance or 

enforcement issues related to an 

accident/incident investigation. 

(5) Confidentiality. (i) FRA recognizes 

the sensitive nature of certain 

information involved in accident or 

incident investigations. In accordance 

with applicable laws and regulations, 

FRA will maintain as confidential any 

personally identifiable information or 

sensitive security information as 

defined in 2 CFR 200.1 and 49 CFR 

1520.5, respectively. Any other 

documents or information a 

participating stakeholder provides to 

FRA as part of that stakeholder’s 

participation in an accident/incident 

investigation under this section, and for 

which a stakeholder claims 

confidentiality, must be submitted in 

accordance with 49 CFR 209.11. 

(ii) FRA shall maintain the 

confidentiality of any stakeholder if: 

(A) such stakeholder requests 

confidentiality; 

(B) such stakeholder was not involved 

in the accident or incident; and 

(C) maintaining such stakeholder’s 

confidentiality does not adversely affect 

an FRA investigation. 

(iii) Until FRA publishes its report on 

the investigation, a stakeholder 

participating in an investigation may 

not disseminate any information or 

comment on an investigation to nonstakeholders through any means. Only 

when necessary for public safety, and 

only with the FRA Chief Safety Officer’s 

written permission, may stakeholders 

release information to non-stakeholders 

if the information is factual, neutral and 

objective in tone, and without purported 

FRA characterization of the matter’s 

contribution to the underlying accident/ 

incident. 

(6) Whistleblower protections. 

Nothing in this paragraph may be 

construed to reduce in any way the 

protections afforded to individuals who 

exercise the conduct protected by 49 

CFR 225.33, Internal Control Plans, and 

49 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 20109, 

Federal Railroad Safety Act, 

Whistleblower Protections. 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

Allison Ishihara Fultz, 

Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22326 Filed 9–30–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 217 

[Docket No. 240524–0146] 

RIN 0648–BL96 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to the New 

England Wind Project, Offshore 

Massachusetts; Correction 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
79778 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 1, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: This document contains 

corrections to a final rule. The 

document being corrected is the 

regulations governing the Takes of 

Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to the New 

England Wind Project, Offshore 

Massachusetts, published on June 21, 

2024. 

DATES: Effective on March 27, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karolyn Lock, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

NMFS published a final rule in the 

Federal Register on June 21, 2024 (89 

FR 52222) announcing the promulgation 

of regulations governing the incidental 

take of marine mammals incidental to 

Avangrid Renewables, LLC’s (Avangrid), 

construction of the New England Wind 

Project in Federal and State waters 

offshore Massachusetts, specifically 

within the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease 

of Submerged Lands for Renewable 

Energy Development on the Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Areas 

(OCS–A 0534 and OCS–A 0561) and the 

southwest (SW) portion of Lease Area 

OCS–A 0501 (collectively referred to as 

the Lease Area), and along an export 

cable routes to sea-to-shore transition 

points (collectively, the Project Area), 

valid for 5 years from the date of 

effectiveness. 

The regulations, which allow for the 

issuance of a Letter of Authorization to 

Avangrid for the incidental take of 

marine mammals during the specified 

activities within the specified 

geographical region during the effective 

dates of the regulations, prescribe the 

permissible methods of taking and other 

means of effecting the least practicable 

adverse impact on marine mammal 

species or stocks and their habitat, as 

well as requirements pertaining to the 

monitoring and reporting of such taking. 

NMFS refers the reader to the final rule 

(89 FR 52222, June 21, 2024) for 

background information concerning the 

regulations. 

The following corrections are being 

made: 

• The regulations contained an 

inconsistency between the headings for 

50 CFR 217.325 wherein the heading in 

the table of contents did not agree with 

the text of the section, necessitating 

relabeling. 

• 50 CFR 217.324(c)(15)(xiv) was 

promulgated twice (i.e., two different 

measures were both designated as 50 

CFR 217.324(c)(15)(xiv), necessitating 

renumbering). 

Correction 

Subpart GG [Corrected] 

■ 1. In rule document 2024–12085 at 89 

FR 52222 in the issue of June 21, 2024, 

on page 52301, in the first column, in 

the table of contents for Subpart GG, 

correct the entry for 50 CFR 217.325 to 

read as 50 CFR 217.325 Monitoring and 

reporting requirements. 

§ 217.324 [Corrected] 

■ 2. On page 52308, in the first column, 

the second paragraph (c)(15)(xiv) is 

corrected to read as follows: (xv) LOA 

Holder must conduct SFV 

measurements during turbine operations 

to estimate turbine operational source 

levels and transmission loss rates, in 

accordance with a NMFS-approved SFV 

Plan. 

Dated: September 24, 2024. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22307 Filed 9–30–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 240924–0251] 

RIN 0648–BL45 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; 

Amendment 23 to the Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Fishery Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This action implements the 

approved trigger for the in-season 

closure accountability measure 

contained in Amendment 23 to the 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Fishery Management Plan. 

Amendment 23 was developed by the 

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council in conjunction with the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission to address the allocationrelated impacts of the significant 

changes in the distribution of black sea 

bass that have occurred since the 

original allocations were implemented. 

This rule implements a measure that 

allows a buffer before triggering a 

closure to the coastwide commercial 

fishery to address negative economic 

impacts of coastwide closures on states 

that have not fully harvested their 

commercial black sea bass state 

allocations. 

DATES: Effective January 1, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 23, 

including the Environmental 

Assessment, the Regulatory Impact 

Review, and the Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis prepared in support of this 

action are available from Dr. 

Christopher M. Moore, Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, Suite 201, 800 

North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. 

The supporting documents are also 

accessible via the internet at: https://

www.mafmc.org/actions/bsbcommercial-allocation. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9116, emily.keiley@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) and the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission (Commission) 

cooperatively manage the black sea bass 

fishery. Amendment 23 considered 

changes to the management of the 

commercial black sea bass fishery. 

Specifically, Amendment 23 

considered: 

1. Adjusting the commercial black sea bass 

state allocations; 

2. Adding the state allocations and payback 

provisions to the Federal fishery management 

plan (FMP) and regulations; and, 

3. Changes to the Federal in-season closure 

regulations for black sea bass. 

The Council and the Commission’s 

Black Sea Bass Board (Board) initially 

approved their respective amendment 

and addendum during a joint meeting 

on February 1, 2021. However, in 

response to a remand from the 

Commission’s Policy Board, the two 

management bodies revisited their 

previous recommendations and voted to 

revise the commercial state quota 

allocations. A notice of availability 

(NOA) for the amendment was 

published in the Federal Register on 

May 4, 2023 (88 FR 28456), with a 

comment period ending on July 3, 2023. 

NMFS published a proposed rule in the 

Federal Register on May 15, 2023 (88 


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