79452 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 189 / Monday, September 30, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

PART 423—VOLUNTARY MEDICARE 

PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT 

■ 4. The authority citation for part 423 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1302, 1306, 1395w– 

101 through 1395w–152, and 1395hh. 

§ 423.153 [Amended] 

■ 5. Amend § 423.153 by: 

■ a. Revising the section heading; 

■ b. In paragraph (a), removing the 

phrase ‘‘an MTMP as described’’ and 

adding in its place the phrase ‘‘an MTM 

program as described’’; 

■ c. In paragraph (d), adding a 

paragraph heading; 

■ d. In paragraph (d)(1)(vi), removing 

the term ‘‘MTMP’’ and adding in its 

place the phrase ‘‘MTM program’’; 

■ e. In paragraph (d)(1)(vii) introductory 

text, removing the term ‘‘MTMP’’ and 

adding in its place the phrase ‘‘MTM 

program’’; 

■ f. In paragraph (d)(6), removing the 

term ‘‘MTMP’’ and adding in its place 

the phrase ‘‘MTM program’’; and 

■ g. Redesignating paragraphs (g)(i) 

through (iii) as paragraphs (g)(1)(i) 

through (iii). 

The revision and addition read as 

follows: 

§ 423.346 Drug utilization management, 

quality assurance, medication therapy 

management (MTM) programs, drug 

management programs, and access to 

Medicare Parts A and B claims data 

extracts. 

* * * * * 

(d) Medication therapy management 

(MTM) program—* * * 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Amend § 423.346, in paragraph 

(e)(2), by removing the phrase 

‘‘contracts that is’’ and adding in its 

place the phrase ‘‘contracts that are’’. 

PART 460—PROGRAMS OF ALLINCLUSIVE CARE FOR THE ELDERLY 

(PACE) 

■ 7. The authority citation for part 460 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1302, 1395, 

1395eee(f), and 1396u–4(f). 

■ 8. Amend § 460.20 by: 

■ a. Redesignating paragraphs (d) and 

(e) as paragraphs (e) and (f); and 

■ b. Adding a new paragraph (d). 

The addition reads as follows: 

§ 460.20 Notice of CMS determination. 

* * * * * 

(d) Additional information requested. 

If CMS determines that an application is 

not complete because it does not 

include sufficient information to make a 

determination, CMS will request 

additional information within 90 days, 

or 45 days for applications set forth in 

§ 460.10(a)(2), after the date of 

submission of the application. 

(1) The time limits in paragraph (a) of 

this section do not begin until CMS 

receives all requested information and 

the application is complete. 

(2) If more than 12 months elapse 

between the date of initial submission of 

the application and the entity’s response 

to the CMS request for additional 

information, the entity must update the 

application to provide the most current 

information and materials related to the 

application. 

* * * * * 

Elizabeth J. Gramling, 

Executive Secretary to the Department, 

Department of Health and Human Services. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22203 Filed 9–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 240514–0138; RTID 0648– 

XE252] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Fishery; 

Extension of 2024 Specifications 

Emergency Measures 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; emergency 

action extended. 

SUMMARY: This emergency action 

extends the 2024 emergency action 

specifications for the spiny dogfish 

fishery through the remainder of the 

2024 fishing year and implements an 

accountability measure consistent with 

the regulations implementing the Spiny 

Dogfish Fishery Management Plan. This 

action is necessary to maintain 

allowable harvest levels for the spiny 

dogfish fishery to prevent overfishing 

while minimizing adverse economic 

impacts on fishing communities, using 

the best scientific information available. 

DATES: Effective November 18, 2024, 

through April 30, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council prepared an 

environmental assessment (EA) for these 

specifications that describes the action, 

other considered alternatives, and 

analyses of the impacts of all 

alternatives. Copies of the specifications 

document, including the EA, are 

available on request from Dr. 

Christopher M. Moore, Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, Suite 201, 800 

North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. 

These documents are also accessible via 

the internet at https://www.mafmc.org/ 

action-archive. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laura Deighan, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9184, laura.deighan@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The implementing regulations for the 

Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) are found at 50 

CFR part 648 subpart L, and require the 

specification of regulatory harvest 

limits, including an acceptable 

biological catch (ABC), annual catch 

limit (ACL), annual catch target (ACT), 

total allowable landings (TAL), and a 

coastwide commercial quota, with each 

fishing year running from May 1 

through April 30. Under the authority of 

section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), NMFS 

issued a temporary emergency rule to 

implement spiny dogfish specifications 

for the first 6 months of the 2024 fishing 

year on May 22, 2024 (89 FR 44924), 

and took public comment on the 

emergency rule through June 21, 2024. 

The Federal Register notification on the 

emergency rule (89 FR 44926) indicated 

that ‘‘[a]fter considering public 

comments on this rule, NMFS may 

extend the interim measures for one 

additional period of not more than 186 

days to maintain these measures for the 

remainder of the 2024 fishing year.’’ The 

emergency rule set the ABC equal to the 

overfishing limit (OFL) of 7,818 mt 

(17.24 million lb), used the Monitoring 

Committee’s recommended model-based 

values for discards, and accounted for 

expected recreational landings, resulting 

in a commercial quota of 5,140 mt 

(11.33 million lb). 

The Mid-Atlantic and New England 

Fishery Management Councils 

(Councils) jointly manage the Atlantic 

Spiny Dogfish FMP, with the MidAtlantic Council acting as the 

administrative lead. NMFS was unable 

to approve the Councils’ recommended 

2024 specifications because they relied 

on a discard estimate that violated 

National Standard 2, which requires 

management measures to be based on 

the best available science. 

Given significant concerns raised by 

the fishing industry about the risk to the 

associated fishing communities if the 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 189 / Monday, September 30, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 79453 

commercial quota were substantially 

reduced, NMFS took emergency action 

to set the 2024 spiny dogfish 

specifications at levels higher than the 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) and Monitoring Committee 

recommendation for 2024. NMFS set the 

2024 specifications with the ABC equal 

to the OFL, resulting in no more than a 

50-percent chance of overfishing, 

consistent with National Standard 1. 

These specifications resulted in a higher 

commercial quota when using the 

model-based discard estimate, which is 

considered the best scientific 

information available. The emergency 

rule responded to concerns under 

National Standard 8 regarding the 

ability of the dogfish industry, and the 

communities that depend upon it, to 

continue to participate in the fishery 

while remaining consistent with the 

provisions of National Standard 1, that 

we prevent overfishing, and National 

Standard 2, that we base management 

measures on the best scientific 

information available. The Federal 

Register notification for the original 

emergency more fully describes the 

rationale for this action. 

The 2023 ACL was 7,751 mt (17.09 

million lb), and data on the dogfish 

fishery’s performance in fishing year 

2023 became available after the 

publication of the initial emergency 

rule. Final catch information indicate 

that total dead catch in fishing year 

2023, including Federal commercial, 

state-only commercial, and recreational 

landings and estimated dead discards, 

was 8,243 mt (18.17 million lb). This 

represents a fishing year 2023 ACL 

overage of 491 mt (1.08 million lb). The 

spiny dogfish regulations at 50 CFR 

648.233(c) require a deduction of the 

exact amount of the ACL overage, by 

weight, from a subsequent singlefishing-year ACL, as soon as possible. 

This action extends the emergency 

specifications through the end of the 

2024 fishing year and reduces the 

remaining ACL and commercial quota to 

account for the 2023 ACL overage, as 

required by the regulations. We could 

not have included this adjustment in the 

initial emergency rule because complete 

data on fishing year 2023 were not yet 

available when that rule was 

promulgated. 

The emergency measures will expire 

on November 18, 2024, under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act’s initial 180-day 

limit on the duration of an emergency 

action. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 

allows an extension of emergency 

actions for up to 186 days, provided that 

the public had an opportunity to 

comment on the emergency action and, 

for Council-recommended actions, the 

Council is actively preparing measures 

to address the emergency. We will 

consider the Councils’ recommended 

specifications for 2025 and 2026 in 

subsequent rulemakings. This 

emergency action is intended to provide 

a 1-year bridge, with a slightly higher 

risk of overfishing (i.e., 50 percent, 

versus the Council-recommended 46 

percent) on a stock above its biomass 

target, to mitigate the potential longterm adverse economic and social 

impact should the fishery lose access to 

its sole remaining commercial 

processor. 

Extending the emergency action 

prevents the spiny dogfish fishery from 

reverting to the 2023 specifications that 

would be in place through a rollover 

provision when the emergency action 

expires. The underlying emergency 

conditions have not changed. The 2023 

specifications included a higher ABC 

and commercial quota, which are not 

consistent with the best available 

scientific information to prevent 

overfishing with at least a 50-percent 

probability. Reverting to the 2023 

specifications would result in an 

increased risk of overfishing. Fishing 

vessel owners and operators have 

changed their fishing behavior in 

anticipation of the emergency action’s 

continuation through the end of the 

fishing year. Therefore, we are 

extending the emergency measures 

through the end of the 2024 fishing year 

(April 30, 2025). For the same reasons 

noted in the May 22, 2024, emergency 

rule, NMFS has determined that 

extending the emergency action to 

maintain the 2024 specifications 

through the end of the fishing year 

meets the criteria for emergency action. 

Application of Accountability Measure 

for 2023 Overage 

This action will extend the 2024 

specifications through the end of the 

fishing year on April 30, 2025, and will 

reduce the ACL and commercial quota 

to pay back an ACL overage in fishing 

year 2023. By operation of the spiny 

dogfish accountability measures, a 

payback for an overage must occur ‘‘as 

soon as possible from a subsequent 

single fishing year ACL.’’ (50 CFR 

648.233(c)). The initial emergency rule 

set the 2024 ACL at 7,782 mt (17.16 

million lb) and the commercial quota at 

5,140 mt (11.33 million lb). When 

accounting for the 491 mt (1.08 million 

lb) overage in fishing year 2023, this 

results in an updated ACL of 7,291 mt 

(16.07 million lb) and a commercial 

quota of 4,649 mt (10.25 million lb) for 

fishing year 2024 (table 1). 

TABLE 1—UPDATED ATLANTIC SPINY DOGFISH SPECIFICATIONS FOR FY2024 

Adjusted specifications Initial specifications 

lb mt lb mt 

OFL .................................................................................................................. 17,235,719 7,818 17,235,719 7,818 

ABC .................................................................................................................. 17,235,719 7,818 17,235,719 7,818 

Canadian Landings .......................................................................................... 79,366 36 79,366 36 

Domestic ABC ................................................................................................. 17,156,353 7,782 17,156,353 7,782 

ACL Reduction (FY2023 Overage) .................................................................. 1,082,487 491 ........................ ........................

ACL .................................................................................................................. 16,073,866 7,291 17,156,353 7,782 

Management Uncertainty Buffer ...................................................................... 0 0 0 0 

Amount of buffer .............................................................................................. 0 0 0 0 

ACT .................................................................................................................. 16,073,866 7,291 17,156,353 7,782 

U.S. Discards * ................................................................................................. 5,577,689 2,530 5,577,689 2,530 

TAL .................................................................................................................. 10,496,177 4,761 11,578,664 5,252 

U.S. Recreational Landings ............................................................................. 246,917 112 246,917 112 

Commercial Quota ........................................................................................... 10,249,260 4,649 11,331,747 5,140 

* This table corrects a typographical error in the U.S. discards, which was published as 5,577,698 lb in the initial emergency rule. 


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79454 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 189 / Monday, September 30, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

Comments and Responses 

The public comment period for the 

original emergency rule ended on June 

21, 2024, and NMFS did not receive any 

comments from the public. 

Classification 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA, has determined that 

this rule is necessary to respond to an 

emergency situation and is consistent 

with the national standards and other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

and other applicable laws. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 

under the authority contained in 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) that it is contrary to the 

public interest and impracticable to 

provide prior notice and opportunity for 

the public to comment. As more fully 

explained above, the reasons justifying 

promulgation of this action on an 

emergency basis, coupled with the fact 

that the public has had the opportunity 

to comment on NMFS’ emergency 

action that this is extending, make 

solicitation of public comment 

unnecessary, impractical, and contrary 

to the public interest. In the interest of 

receiving public input on this action, 

the EA analyzing the impacts of this 

action was made available to the public 

and the original emergency action 

solicited public comment. 

This action is being taken pursuant to 

the emergency provision of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and is exempt 

from review by the Office of 

Management and Budget. 

The analytical requirements of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 

et seq.) are inapplicable to this 

emergency rule extension because 

notice and opportunity for comment are 

not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or 

any other law. Therefore, a regulatory 

flexibility analysis is not required, and 

none has been prepared. 

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

Dated: September 20, 2024. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22373 Filed 9–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 240227–0061] 

RTID 0648–XE228 

Fisheries of the Economic Exclusive 

Zone Off Alaska; Pollock Fishing by 

Vessels Using Trawl Gear in the 

Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of 

Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for pollock by vessels using 

trawl gear in the Central Regulatory 

Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This 

action is necessary to prevent exceeding 

the 2024 Chinook salmon prohibited 

species catch limit established for 

vessels using trawl gear in the Central 

Regulatory Area of the GOA. 

DATES: Effective September 25, 2024, 

through 2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Abby Jahn, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

GOA exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of 

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act). Regulations governing fishing by 

U.S. vessels in accordance with the FMP 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 

and 50 CFR part 679. 

The 2024 Chinook salmon prohibited 

species catch (PSC) limit for vessels 

directed fishing for pollock using trawl 

gear in the Central Regulatory Area of 

the GOA is 18,316 Chinook salmon 

(§ 679.21(h)(2)(ii)). 

In accordance with § 679.21(h)(8)(i), 

the Regional Administrator has 

determined that the 2024 Chinook 

salmon PSC limit established for vessels 

directed fishing for pollock using trawl 

gear in the Central Regulatory Area of 

the GOA has been reached. Therefore, 

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for 

pollock by vessels using trawl gear in 

the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

part 679, which was issued pursuant to 

section 304(b), and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there 

is good cause to waive prior notice and 

an opportunity for public comment on 

this action, as notice and comment 

would be impracticable and contrary to 

the public interest, as it would prevent 

NMFS from responding to the most 

recent fisheries data in a timely fashion 

and would delay closing directed 

fishing for pollock by vessels using 

trawl gear in the Central Regulatory 

Area of the GOA. NMFS was unable to 

publish a notice providing time for 

public comment because the most 

recent, relevant data only became 

available as of September 25, 2024. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA also finds good cause 

to waive the 30-day delay in the 

effective date of this action under 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3). This finding is based 

upon the reasons provided above for 

waiver of prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment. 

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

Dated: September 25, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22378 Filed 9–25–24; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 240304–0068; RTID 0648– 

XE312] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of 

Pacific Cod in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; reallocation. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is reallocating the 

projected unused amount of Pacific cod 

from catcher vessels using trawl gear to 

catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 m) 

length overall (LOA) using hook-andline or pot gear in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands management area 

(BSAI). This action is necessary to allow 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1