Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 8, 2022 / Notices 12941 

Proposed Exemptions 

General Exemptions for Participating 

Vessels 

This EFP would exempt participating 

vessels from the IFM ASM coverage 

requirements at § 648.11(m)(1)(ii). This 

exemption would authorize 

participating vessels to use EM, coupled 

with portside sampling, to satisfy their 

IFM coverage requirements in lieu of 

carrying a human at-sea monitor. 

Slippage Exemptions for Participating 

Vessels Fishing Outside of Groundfish 

Closed Areas 

This EFP would exempt participating 

vessels from the slippage definition at 

§ 648.2 under the following 

circumstance: Participating vessels 

fishing outside of GCAs would be 

authorized to discard fish sorted at the 

grate (with the exception of haddock) in 

view of a camera on trips selected for 

portside sampling. These discards 

would not be considered slippage and 

would not trigger slippage consequence 

measures, but vessels would still be 

required to report them as discards. This 

exemption would not apply when 

vessels are fishing inside GCAs. When 

fishing inside GCAs, fish discarded at 

the grate after sorting would be 

considered slippage and would trigger 

slippage consequence measures. 

Vessels with observer or ASM 

coverage may discard fish at the grate 

after those fish are made available for 

sampling, and those discards are not 

considered slippage. However, fish 

discarded at the grate after sorting are 

considered slippage on vessels selected 

for portside sampling. This exemption 

would resolve operational differences 

resulting from the slippage definition 

and help create equity in vessel 

operations across gear and monitoring 

types. Feedback from industry suggests 

that only small quantities of fish are 

handpicked at the grate, so it is unlikely 

that this exemption would result in high 

volumes of fish being discarded prior to 

catch being sampled portside. 

Observer Exemptions for Participating 

Vessels Fishing Inside of Groundfish 

Closed Areas 

This EFP would exempt participating 

vessels from the Northeast multispecies 

season and area restrictions at 

§ 648.202(b)(1), and from the 

prohibition against fishing in a 

Northeast multispecies closed area 

without an observer on board at 

§ 648.14(r)(2)(v). The EFP would 

authorize participating vessels to use 

EM and portside sampling in lieu of 

carrying a human observer when fishing 

in a GCA on a trip not selected for 

SBRM coverage. Purchasing portside 

sampling coverage to fish in GCAs is 

expected to be less expensive than 

purchasing observer coverage to fish in 

GCAs, so this exemption would provide 

an incentive for vessels to participate in 

the EFP. This exemption would also 

allow NMFS to assess the feasibility of 

using EM and portside sampling to 

monitor midwater trawl herring trips 

fished in GCAs. 

Operational Discarding Exemptions for 

Participating Vessels Fishing Inside of 

GCAs 

This EFP would exempt participating 

vessels from season and area restrictions 

at § 648.202(b)(2) and (4) when 

operationally discarding catch. The EFP 

would authorize participating vessels to 

operationally discard catch in GCAs 

without triggering the consequence 

measures described at § 648.202(b)(4). 

Operational discards in the herring 

fishery are defined as ‘‘small amounts of 

fish that cannot be pumped on board 

and remain in the codend or seine at the 

end of pumping operations.’’ Midwater 

trawl vessels are permitted to 

operationally discard outside of GCAs 

without triggering consequence 

measures, but not inside GCAs. This 

exemption would allow participating 

vessels to maintain operational 

consistency inside and outside of GCAs. 

This exemption would also allow NMFS 

to collect additional information on the 

frequency of operational discards in 

GCAs. This exemption would not 

undermine conservation objectives 

because participating vessels would be 

fully monitored on 100 percent of trips 

and would be fully accountable for their 

catch in GCAs. 

If approved, minor modifications and 

extensions to the EFP may be made 

throughout the year. EFP modifications 

and extensions may be granted without 

further notice if they are deemed 

essential to facilitate completion of the 

proposed research and have minimal 

impacts that do not change the scope or 

impact of the initially approved EFP 

request. Any fishing activity conducted 

outside the scope of the exempted 

fishing activity would be prohibited. 

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

Dated: March 1, 2022. 

Ngagne Jafnar Gueye, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04868 Filed 3–7–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB689] 

Pacific Island Pelagic Fisheries; False 

Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan; 

Trigger for the Southern Exclusion 

Zone Closure Met in 2021 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: In 2021, four observed 

mortalities or serious injuries (M&SI) of 

false killer whales occurred incidental 

to the Hawaii deep-set longline fishery 

within the U.S. Exclusive Economic 

Zone (EEZ) around Hawaii on January 

18, 2021, March 26, 2021, April 17, 

2021, and November 19, 2021. These 

M&SI met the established annual trigger 

of four observed M&SI for closing the 

Southern Exclusion Zone (SEZ) to deepset longline fishing under the False 

Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan (Plan) 

regulations. In accordance with the Plan 

regulations a closure of the SEZ is 

required through the end of the fishing 

year. Because the injury determination 

for the fourth interaction meeting the 

trigger was not available until January 

2022, the timeframe for closing the SEZ 

in 2021 had passed, and the SEZ was 

not closed. In accordance with the Plan 

regulations, the requirements for closure 

of the SEZ were met in 2021, therefore, 

if the trigger is met in 2022, the process 

for closure of the SEZ will follow the 

procedures described in the Plan 

regulations. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by April 7, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2022–0027 by either of the 

following methods: 

Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

NOAA–NMFS–2022–0027 in the search 

box. Click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

Mail: Submit written comments to 

Michael D. Tosatto, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands 

Region (PIR), attention Diana Kramer, 

Protected Resources, 1845 Wasp Blvd., 

Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818. 

Instructions: NMFS may not consider 

comments sent by any other method, to 

any other address or individual, or 


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12942 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 8, 2022 / Notices 

received after the end of the comment 

period. All comments received are a 

part of the public record and will 

generally be posted for public viewing 

on www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential 

business information, or otherwise 

sensitive information submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Diana Kramer, Protected Resources, 

NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office, 

808–725–5167, diana.kramer@noaa.gov; 

or Kristy Long, NMFS Office of 

Protected Resources, 301–427–8402, 

kristy.long@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Plan 

was implemented on December 31, 

2012, pursuant to section 118(f) of the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA) to reduce the level of M&SI of 

the Hawaii pelagic and Hawaii insular 

stocks of false killer whales incidental 

to the Hawaii longline fisheries (77 FR 

71260; November 29, 2012). The Plan, 

based on consensus recommendations 

from the False Killer Whale Take 

Reduction Team (Team), was 

implemented by regulation and created 

the SEZ, which would be closed to 

deep-set longline fishing if a certain 

number (trigger) of false killer whale 

M&SI are observed incidental to the 

deep-set fishery in the EEZ. As 

described in the Plan regulations (50 

CFR 229.37(d)(2)), the SEZ is bounded 

on the east at 154° 30′ W longitude, on 

the west at 165° W longitude, on the 

north by the boundaries of the Main 

Hawaiian Islands Longline Fishing 

Prohibited Area and 

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National 

Monument, and on the south by the EEZ 

boundary (see Figure 1). An SEZ closure 

is triggered if, after expanding the 

number of observed M&SI, the Hawaii 

pelagic stock’s potential biological 

removal (PBR) level has been exceeded. 

On December 15, 2020, NMFS closed 

the SEZ after four observed false killer 

whale M&SI within the EEZ around 

Hawai‘i incidental to the Hawaii deepset longline fishery, following the trigger 

calculations as defined in the Plan (85 

FR 81184; December 15, 2020). 

In 2021, NMFS-certified fishery 

observers documented four false killer 

whale interactions during deep-set trips 

inside the U.S. EEZ around Hawaii on 

the following dates: January 18, 2021, 

March 26, 2021, April 17, 2021, and 

November 19, 2021. Three of these 

interactions resulted in serious injuries 

and one resulted in a mortality. These 

four M&SI met the trigger for closure of 

the SEZ in 2021. NMFS has determined 

that the SEZ trigger (i.e., four M&SI) has 

been met, and closing the SEZ to deepset longline fishing is required until the 

end of the fishing year (December 31) as 

described in 50 CFR 229.37(e)(3). Under 

a plain reading of section 229.37(e)(3), 

NMFS applies the closure in the fishing 

year that the triggering M&SI occurs. 

Because the final injury determination 

for the fourth interaction meeting the 

trigger was not available until January 

2022, the timeframe for closing the SEZ 

in 2021 had passed, and the SEZ was 

not closed in 2021. Therefore, the 

requirements for an SEZ closure under 

50 CFR 229.37(e)(3) were met in 2021 

and if the trigger is met in 2022, NMFS 

will follow the procedure for closing the 

SEZ until the reopening criteria are met 

as described in 50 CFR 229.37(e)(5). 

Classification 

Prior notice and comment is 

unnecessary because the take reduction 

plan final rule (77 FR 71259, November 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 8, 2022 / Notices 12943 

29, 2012) that implements the 

procedures for closing the SEZ (codified 

at 50 CFR 229.37(e)) has already been 

subject to an extensive public process, 

including the opportunity for prior 

notice and comment. All that remains is 

to notify the public that the trigger for 

closing the SEZ under Plan regulations 

at 50 CFR 229.37(e)(3) was met in 2021, 

and that NMFS will proceed with the 

closure procedure under 50 CFR 

229.37(e)(5) should the trigger be met in 

2022. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq. 

Dated: March 2, 2022. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04869 Filed 3–7–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

[Docket No.: ED–2022–SCC–0034] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Comment Request; Cancer 

Treatment Deferment 

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), 

Department of Education (ED). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 

proposing an extension without change 

of a currently approved collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before May 9, 

2022. 

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the 

documents related to the information 

collection listed in this notice, please 

use https://www.regulations.gov by 

searching the Docket ID number ED– 

2022–SCC–0034. Comments submitted 

in response to this notice should be 

submitted electronically through the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://

www.regulations.gov by selecting the 

Docket ID number or via postal mail, 

commercial delivery, or hand delivery. 

If the regulations.gov site is not 

available to the public for any reason, 

ED will temporarily accept comments at 

ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Please include the 

docket ID number and the title of the 

information collection request when 

requesting documents or submitting 

comments. Please note that comments 

submitted by fax or email and those 

submitted after the comment period will 

not be accepted. Written requests for 

information or comments submitted by 

postal mail or delivery should be 

addressed to the PRA Coordinator of the 

Strategic Collections and Clearance 

Governance and Strategy Division, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Ave. SW, LBJ, Room 6W208D, 

Washington, DC 20202–8240. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

specific questions related to collection 

activities, please contact Beth 

Grebeldinger, (202) 377–4018. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department of Education (ED), in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general 

public and Federal agencies with an 

opportunity to comment on proposed, 

revised, and continuing collections of 

information. This helps the Department 

assess the impact of its information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. It also 

helps the public understand the 

Department’s information collection 

requirements and provide the requested 

data in the desired format. ED is 

soliciting comments on the proposed 

information collection request (ICR) that 

is described below. The Department of 

Education is especially interested in 

public comment addressing the 

following issues: (1) Is this collection 

necessary to the proper functions of the 

Department; (2) will this information be 

processed and used in a timely manner; 

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate; 

(4) how might the Department enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (5) how 

might the Department minimize the 

burden of this collection on the 

respondents, including through the use 

of information technology. Please note 

that written comments received in 

response to this notice will be 

considered public records. 

Title of Collection: Cancer Treatment 

Deferment. 

OMB Control Number: 1845–0154. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change of a currently approved 

collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Individuals or Households . 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 5,000. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 833. 

Abstract: The Department of 

Education (Department) is requesting an 

extension of the current Cancer 

Treatment Deferment Form information 

collection, OMB Control Number 1845– 

0154. This collection is used to obtain 

information from federal student loan 

borrowers to determine eligibility for a 

deferment of repayment of their federal 

student loan while receiving cancer 

treatment and for the 6-month period 

after such treatment. Section 309 of the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, 

(Pub. L. 115–245) included a provision 

for the Department to implement this 

circumstance as a basis for deferment. 

Due to the effects of the COVID–19 

pandemic and the suspension of the 

collection of loans, the Department 

lacks sufficient data to allow for updates 

to the usage of these forms. 

Dated: March 3, 2022. 

Kate Mullan, 

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and 

Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division, 

Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of 

Planning, Evaluation and Policy 

Development. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04846 Filed 3–7–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 

Voting System Anomaly Reporting and 

Root Cause Analysis; Survey and 

Submission to OMB of Proposed 

Collection of Information 

AGENCY: U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

EAC announces an information 

collection and seeks public comment on 

the provisions thereof. The EAC intends 

to submit this proposed information 

collection to the Director of the Office 

of Management and Budget for 

approval. The U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC) is publishing two 

information collecting forms for its 

Voting System Testing and Certification 

Program. The information collected is to 

be used to improve the quality of voting 

systems used in federal elections. 

Participation in this program is 

voluntary. The program is mandated by 

the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). 

DATES: Comments should be submitted 

by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent to 

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 

Find this particular information 

collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 

60-day Review—Open for Public 

Comments’’ or by using the search 

function. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

Aumayr, Senior Election Technology 

Specialist, Testing and Certification 

Program, Washington, DC, (301)–563– 

3919. All requests and submissions 

should be identified by the title of the 

information collection. 


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