87838 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 214 / Tuesday, November 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

82Letter dated June 4, 2024, from Matthew Lakin, 

Director, EPA Region IX to Sherry Cordova, 

Chairwoman, Cocopah Tribe of Arizona, Subject: 

‘‘Invitation to Consult on a Redesignation Request 

and Maintenance Plan from the State of Arizona for 

the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards (NAAQS),’’ and letter dated June 4, 2024 

from Matt Lakin, Director, EPA Region IX to Jordan 

Joaquin, President, Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma 

Indian Reservation, Subject: ‘‘Invitation to Consult 

on a Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan 

from the State of Arizona for the 2015 Ozone 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS).’’ 

the criteria of the CAA. 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 proposed 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 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011); 

• 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 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 

• Will not have disproportionately 

high and adverse human health or 

environmental effects on minority 

populations, low-income populations 

and/or indigenous peoples, as specified 

in Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, 

February 16, 1994), as discussed in 

section VI of this proposal. 

The EPA has identified Tribal areas 

within the Yuma area covered by this 

rulemaking that would be potentially 

affected by this proposed action. 

Specifically, the Cocopah Tribe of 

Arizona and the Quechan Tribe of the 

Fort Yuma Indian Reservation are 

located within the boundaries of the 

Yuma area. 

The EPA has concluded that the final 

rule may have Tribal implications for 

these tribes for the purposes of 

transportation conformity only, as this 

document sets motor vehicle emissions 

budgets for ozone precursors for the 

Yuma area, which includes some Tribal 

roads. The EPA has communicated with 

the potentially affected tribes located 

within the boundaries of the Yuma 

nonattainment area.82

Executive Order 12898 (Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 

Feb. 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. 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.’’ 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 air agency did not evaluate 

environmental justice considerations as 

part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and 

applicable implementing regulations 

neither prohibit nor require such an 

evaluation. 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 goal of E.O. 12898 of 

achieving environmental justice for 

communities with EJ concerns. 

List of Subjects 

40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur 

Dioxide, Volatile organic compounds. 

40 CFR Part 81 

Environmental Protection, Air 

pollution control. 

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

Dated: October 29, 2024. 

Martha Guzman Aceves, 

Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25575 Filed 11–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

[Docket No. 240220–0053240] 

RIN 0648–BM01 

Pacific Island Fisheries; Withdrawal of 

Proposed Rule; Catch and Retention 

Limits for Striped Marlin in the Western 

and Central Pacific Ocean North of the 

Equator 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal. 

SUMMARY: NMFS withdraws the 

proposed rule for ‘‘Catch and Retention 

Limits for Striped Marlin in the Western 

and Central North Pacific Ocean North 

of the Equator’’ that published in the 

Federal Register on February 26, 2024. 

This proposed rule was intended to 

satisfy Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) obligations to 

address U.S. fishing vessels’ relative 

impact on this internationally managed 

stock that, based on a prior stock 

assessment and domestic status 

determination criteria, NMFS 

determined was overfished. NMFS is 

now withdrawing the proposed rule 

because NMFS has determined the stock 

is no longer overfished, not approaching 

an overfished condition, and is 

rebuilding, based on a more recent 

assessment. Thus, the factual and legal 

bases for the proposed rule no longer 

apply. 

DATES: The proposed rule published 

February 26, 2024 (89 FR 14036) is 

withdrawn as of November 5, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Fishery 

Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of 

the Western Pacific (Pelagic FEP) are 

available from the Western Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, 

HI 96813, tel. 808–522–8220, fax 808– 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 214 / Tuesday, November 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules 87839 

522–8226, or https://

www.wpcouncil.org. 

Copies of other supporting documents 

for this action are available from https:// 

www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAANMFS-2022-0148, or from Sarah Malloy, 

Acting Regional Administrator, NMFS 

Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO), 

1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, 

HI 96818. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David O’Brien, PIRO Sustainable 

Fisheries, 808–725–5038. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. How are striped marlin managed? 

NMFS and the Council manage U.S. 

commercial fishing for Pelagic 

Management Unit Species (PMUS), such 

as striped marlin (Kajikia audax), under 

the Pelagic FEP and implementing 

Federal regulations. Although the 

Pelagic FEP indicates that PMUS have 

statutory exemptions from annual catch 

limits (ACLs), the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act authorizes the Council to determine 

ACLs or other catch limits for PMUS if 

such actions are deemed appropriate 

and consistent with the MagnusonStevens Act and other statutory 

mandates. 

Striped marlin are an internationally 

managed species often caught 

incidentally in fisheries primarily 

targeting tuna, but are retained due to 

their economic value. MagnusonStevens Act section 304(i) mandates that 

when the Secretary of Commerce 

(Secretary) determines a fishery is 

overfished or approaching a condition 

of being overfished due to excessive 

international fishing pressure, and if 

there are no management measures to 

end overfishing under an international 

agreement to which the U.S. is a party, 

the Council shall recommend domestic 

regulations to address the relative 

impact of U.S. fishing vessels on the 

stock. 

As described in the proposed rule, the 

Secretary determined the stock was 

overfished in 2020 and informed the 

Council of its requirements under 

Magnuson-Stevens Act section 304(i). 

The Council recommended NMFS 

implement an annual catch limit of 457 

metric tons (t) for Western and Central 

North Pacific Ocean (WCNPO) striped 

marlin caught in all U.S. fisheries and 

a retention limit of 443 t for vessels with 

Hawaii limited entry longline permits. If 

the retention limit were projected to be 

reached, retention of striped marlin by 

Hawaii longline vessels would be 

prohibited for the remainder of the 

calendar year. Additional background 

information on this action is in the 

proposed rule published in the Federal 

Register on February 26, 2024 (89 FR 

14036); we do not repeat it here. 

II. Why is NMFS withdrawing the 

proposed rule? 

Results of a 2023 stock assessment for 

WCNPO striped marlin, considered 

relative to domestic status 

determination criteria in the FEP, 

indicate the stock is experiencing 

overfishing but is no longer overfished. 

In addition, the 2023 assessment 

estimated spawning stock biomass (SSB) 

in the terminal year of the assessment 

(SSB2020 = 1,696 t) had increased by 

nearly 73 percent from the estimate 

from the terminal year in the 2019 

assessment (SSB2017 = 981 t) indicating 

the stock is not approaching a condition 

of being overfished. 

On May 20, 2024, the NMFS Pacific 

Islands Fisheries Science Center and the 

NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science 

Center concluded that the results of the 

2023 stock assessment were the best 

available scientific information for 

judging the status of the stock and for 

use in management, thus superseding 

the prior 2019 assessment. 

On September 5, 2024, considering 

the 2023 assessment and status 

determination criteria defined in the 

Pelagic FEP, the Secretary determined 

that the status of WCNPO striped marlin 

had changed from overfished to not 

overfished-rebuilding. The stock 

remains subject to overfishing. 

We published the proposed rule for 

catch and retention limits to address the 

relative impact of U.S. fishing vessels on 

the WCNPO striped marlin stock 

requirement in Magnuson-Stevens Act 

section 304(i) when the stock had been 

determined to be overfished. The stock 

status no longer meets the statutory 

criteria of overfished or approaching an 

overfished condition; therefore, the 

action cannot proceed. For this reason, 

NMFS is withdrawing the proposed 

rule. 

III. What are the next steps? 

As described in the proposed rule, 

this action on its own would not have 

ended overfishing on the stock, which 

must be addressed at the international 

level. International negotiations at the 

WCPFC have resulted in adoption of a 

rebuilding plan for this stock that 

requires rebuilding to 20 percent of 

unfished biomass with at least 60 

percent probability by 2034. The 

rebuilding plan currently does not 

include catch limits, although it 

acknowledges that catch reductions by 

all member nations are required to 

achieve the rebuilding target. 

The U.S. delegation has brought 

recommendations to the WCPFC and 

continues to pursue revised 

international measures for WCNPO 

striped marlin. We anticipate the 

WCPFC at its upcoming November 2024 

meeting or a subsequent meeting will 

update international management for 

the stock, including updated catch 

limits for U.S. fisheries. If the WCPFC 

takes such action in November 2024, we 

intend to implement consistent 

domestic measures and/or catch limits. 

If the WCPFC does not act in November 

2024, we intend to implement the 457 

t domestic catch limit for WCNPO 

striped marlin as prescribed under the 

prior WCPFC Conservation and 

Management Measure 2010–01. 

Dated: October 29, 2024. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25676 Filed 11–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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