6662 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 80 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Fuel additives, 

Gasoline, Motor vehicle pollution. 

Dated: January 23, 2015. 

Gina McCarthy, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Environmental Protection 

Agency is amending 40 CFR part 80 as 

follows: 

PART 80—REGULATION OF FUELS 

AND FUEL ADDITIVES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 80 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7414, 7521, 7542, 

7545, and 7601(a). 

■ 2. Section 80.70 is amended by adding 

paragraph (n) to read as follows: 

§ 80.70 Covered areas. 

* * * * * 

(n) The areas included in paragraph 

(n) of this section are located within the 

ozone transport region established 

under Clean Air Act section 184(a), are 

not classified as a Marginal, Moderate, 

Serious, or Severe ozone nonattainment 

area, and have opted into the 

reformulated gasoline program. They are 

covered areas for the purposes of 

subparts D, E, and F of this part. 

(1) The southern Maine counties of 

York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, 

Androscoggin, Kennebec, Knox, and 

Lincoln are a covered area beginning 

June 1, 2015. The prohibitions of Clean 

Air Act section 211(k)(5) apply to all 

persons other than retailers and 

wholesale purchaser-consumers in these 

counties beginning May 1, 2015. The 

prohibitions of section 211(k)(5) of the 

Clean Air Act apply to retailers and 

wholesale purchaser-consumers in these 

counties beginning on June 1, 2015. 

(2) [Reserved] 

■ 3. Section 80.72 is amended by adding 

paragraph (c)(8) to read as follows: 

§ 80.72 Procedures for opting out of the 

covered areas. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(8) Notwithstanding any other 

provision of paragraph (c) of this 

section, for an area that opted in 

pursuant to Clean Air Act section 

211(k)(6)(B), the Administrator shall not 

set the effective date for removal of the 

area earlier than four years after the 

commencement date of opt-in. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–02185 Filed 2–5–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 140811659–5070–02] 

RIN 0648–XD437 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; 

Annual Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS implements the annual 

catch limit (ACL), harvest guideline 

(HG), and associated annual reference 

points for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the 

Pacific coast for the fishing season of 

July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015. 

This rule is implemented according to 

the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The 

2014–2015 HG for Pacific mackerel is 

29,170 metric tons (mt). This is the 

primary commercial fishing target level. 

The annual catch target (ACT), which 

will be the directed fishing harvest 

target, is 24,170 mt. If the fishery attains 

the ACT, the directed fishery will close, 

reserving the difference between the HG 

(29,170 mt) and ACT as a 5,000 mt setaside for incidental landings in other 

CPS fisheries and other sources of 

mortality. This final rule is intended to 

conserve and manage the Pacific 

mackerel stock off the U.S. West Coast. 

DATES: Effective March 9, 2015 through 

June 30, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joshua Lindsay, West Coast Region, 

NMFS, (562) 980–4034. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: During 

public meetings each year, the estimated 

biomass for Pacific mackerel is 

presented to the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s (Council) CPS 

Management Team (Team), the 

Council’s CPS Advisory Subpanel 

(Subpanel) and the Council’s Scientific 

and Statistical Committee (SSC), where 

the biomass and the status of the 

fisheries are reviewed and discussed. 

The biomass estimate is then presented 

to the Council along with the calculated 

overfishing limit (OFL), acceptable 

biological catch (ABC), ACL, HG and 

ACT recommendations and comments 

from the Team, Subpanel and SSC. 

Following review by the Council and 

after hearing public comment, the 

Council adopts a biomass estimate and 

makes its catch level recommendations 

to NMFS. 

The purpose of this final rule is to 

implement the 2014–2015 ACL, HG, 

ACT and other annual catch reference 

points, including OFL and an ABC that 

takes into consideration uncertainty 

surrounding the current estimate of 

biomass for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. 

EEZ off the Pacific coast. The CPS FMP 

and its implementing regulations 

require NMFS to set these annual catch 

levels for the Pacific mackerel fishery 

based on the annual specification 

framework in the FMP. This framework 

includes a harvest control rule that 

determines the HG, the primary 

management target for the fishery for the 

current fishing season. The HG is based, 

in large part, on the current estimate of 

stock biomass. The harvest control rule 

in the CPS FMP is HG = 

[(Biomass¥Cutoff) * Fraction * 

Distribution] with the parameters 

described as follows: 

1. Biomass. The estimated stock 

biomass of Pacific mackerel for the 

2014–2015 management season is 

157,106 mt. 

2. Cutoff. This is the biomass level 

below which no commercial fishery is 

allowed. The FMP established this level 

at 18,200 mt. 

3. Fraction. The harvest fraction is the 

percentage of the biomass above 18,200 

mt that may be harvested. 

4. Distribution. The average portion of 

the Pacific mackerel biomass estimated 

in the U.S. EEZ off the Pacific coast is 

70 percent and is based on the average 

historical larval distribution obtained 

from scientific cruises and the 

distribution of the resource according to 

the logbooks of aerial fish-spotters. 

In June 2014 the Council adopted and 

recommended to NMFS for the 2014– 

2015 Pacific mackerel fishing season an 

OFL of 32,992 metric tons (mt), an ABC 

and ACL of 30,138 mt each, a HG of 

29,170 mt, and an ACT of 24,170 mt. 

These catch specifications are based on 

the control rules established in the CPS 

FMP and a biomass estimate of 157,106 

mt; the biomass estimate is the result of 

a 2011 full stock assessment as updated 

with a catch-only projection estimate. 

The annual biomass estimates are an 

explicit part of the various harvest 

control rules for Pacific mackerel, and 

as the estimated biomass decreases or 

increases from one year to the next, the 

resulting allowable catch levels 

similarly trend. The Pacific mackerel 

fishing season runs from July 1 to June 

30. 

Upon attainment of the ACT, directed 

fishing would close, reserving the 

difference between the HG and ACT 

(5,000 mt) as a set-aside for incidental 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 6663 

landings in other CPS fisheries and 

other sources of mortality. For the 

remainder of the fishing year, incidental 

landings would also be constrained to a 

45-percent incidental catch allowance 

when Pacific mackerel are landed with 

other CPS (in other words, no more than 

45 percent by weight of the CPS landed 

per trip may be Pacific mackerel), 

except that up to 1 mt of Pacific 

mackerel could be landed without 

landing any other CPS. Upon attainment 

of the HG (29,170 mt), no retention of 

Pacific mackerel would be allowed in 

CPS fisheries. The purpose of the 

incidental set-aside and allowance of an 

incidental fishery is to allow for the 

restricted incidental landings of Pacific 

mackerel in other fisheries, particularly 

other CPS fisheries, when the directed 

fishery is closed to reduce potential 

discard of Pacific mackerel and allow 

for continued prosecution of other 

important CPS fisheries. 

The NMFS West Coast Regional 

Administrator will publish a notice in 

the Federal Register announcing the 

date of any closure to either directed or 

incidental fishing. Additionally, to 

ensure the regulated community is 

informed of any closure, NMFS will also 

make announcements through other 

means available, including fax, email, 

and mail to fishermen, processors, and 

state fishery management agencies. 

On October 20, 2014, a proposed rule 

was published for this action and public 

comments solicited (79 FR 62590). No 

comments were received. 

Detailed information on the fishery 

and the stock assessment are found in 

the reports ‘‘Pacific Mackerel (Scomber 

japonicus) Stock Assessment for USA 

Management in the 2011–12 Fishing 

Year’’ and ‘‘Pacific Mackerel Biomass 

Projection Estimate for USA 

Management (2014–15)’’ (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

Assistant Administrator, NMFS, has 

determined that this final rule is 

consistent with the CPS FMP, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, and other applicable law. 

These specifications are exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration during 

the proposed rule stage that this action 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for the 

certification was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

No comments were received regarding 

this certification. As a result, a 

regulatory flexibility analysis was not 

required and none was prepared. 

There are no reporting, recordkeeping, 

or other compliance requirements 

required by this rule. Additionally, no 

other Federal rules duplicate, overlap or 

conflict with this rule. 

This action does not contain a 

collection-of-information requirement 

for purposes of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. 

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

Dated: February 3, 2015. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02421 Filed 2–5–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

RIN 0648–XD745 

Pacific Island Fisheries; 2015 Harvest 

Guideline; Northwestern Hawaiian 

Islands Lobster 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of lobster harvest 

guideline. 

SUMMARY: NMFS establishes the annual 

harvest guideline for the commercial 

lobster fishery in the Northwestern 

Hawaiian Islands for calendar year 2015 

at zero lobsters. 

DATES: February 6, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob 

Harman, NMFS PIR Sustainable 

Fisheries, tel 808–725–5170. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) 

commercial lobster fishery is managed 

under the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for 

the Hawaiian Archipelago. The 

regulations at 50 CFR 665.252(b) require 

NMFS to publish an annual harvest 

guideline for lobster Permit Area 1, 

comprised of Federal waters around the 

NWHI. Regulations governing the 

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National 

Monument in the NWHI prohibit the 

unpermitted removal of monument 

resources (50 CFR 404.7), and establish 

a zero annual harvest guideline for 

lobsters (50 CFR 404.10(a)). 

Accordingly, NMFS establishes the 

harvest guideline for the NWHI 

commercial lobster fishery for calendar 

year 2015 at zero lobsters. Thus, no 

harvest of NWHI lobster resources is 

allowed. 

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

Dated: February 3, 2015 

H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02419 Filed 2–5–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 131021878–4158–02] 

RIN 0648–XD758 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific cod by Pot 

Catcher/Processors 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; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Pacific cod by catcher/

processors using pot gear in the Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands management 

area (BSAI). This action is necessary to 

prevent exceeding the A season 

apportionment of the 2015 Pacific cod 

total allowable catch allocated to 

catcher/processors using pot gear in the 

BSAI. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hours, Alaska 

local time (A.l.t.), February 4, 2015, 

through 1200 hours, A.l.t., September 1, 

2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh 

Keaton, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP) prepared by the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council under 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

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 A season apportionment of the 

2015 Pacific cod total allowable catch 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES