23680 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 83 /Thursday, April 30, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

identified as substituted phenol (PMNs

P–89–1125, P–91–87, P–92–41, P–92–

511, P–94–1527, and P–94–1755) is

subject to reporting under this section

for the significant new uses described in

paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

(2) The significant new uses are:

(i) Industrial, commercial, and

consumer activities. Requirements as

specified in § 721.80(j) (ingredient in a

photoresist formulation).

(ii) [Reserved]

(b) Specific requirements. The

provisions of subpart A of this part

apply to this section except as modified

by this paragraph.

(1) Recordkeeping. Recordkeeping

requirements as specified in § 721.125

(a), (b), (c), and (i) are applicable to

manufacturers, importers, and

processors of this substance.

(2) Limitations or revocation of

certain notification requirements. The

provisions of § 721.185 apply to this

section.

[FR Doc. 98–11474 Filed 4–29–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

43 CFR Part 2200

[WO–420–1050–00–24 1A]

RIN 1004–AC97

National Forest Exchanges

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) is removing 43 CFR

subpart 2202 in its entirety, and revising

section 2201.1–2(a) to include a

statement about segregative effect.

Subpart 2202 contains material that is

substantially covered by BLM’s general

Exchange regulations at 43 CFR 2201.

The new 43 CFR 2201.1–2(a), as revised

by this final rule, will cover any

additional material from the existing

subpart 2202. As a result, this removal

and revision action will have no impact

on BLM customers or the public at large.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 1998.

ADDRESSES: You may send inquiries or

suggestions to: Administrative Record

(630), Bureau of Land Management,

1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC

20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ted

Milesnick, Lands and Realty Group,

Bureau of Land Management, at (202)

452–7727.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

II. Final Rule as Adopted

III. Responses to Comments

IV. Procedural Matters

I. Background

BLM is removing 43 CFR subpart

2202 because it duplicates sections

contained elsewhere in BLM’s

regulations, at 43 CFR 2201.1–2.

Subpart 2202 requires that exchange

proposals for the consolidation or

extension of national forests be filed

with the appropriate officer of the Forest

Service. It says that a request may be

made to the BLM to segregate the

National Forest System lands involved

in the exchange from appropriation

under the public land laws and the

mineral laws and also that any interests

of the United States in the non-Federal

lands to be acquired may be segregated

from the mineral laws. The period of

these segregations would not exceed 5

years from the date of notation.

Similar language can be found at

section 2201.1–2 (as well as in the

Forest Service regulations at 36 CFR

Part 254, Subpart A); with only two

differences. First, section 2201.1–2 does

not include the authorities section

found at 2202.1(a), or the statement that

proposals for exchange of National

Forest System lands must be filed with

the Forest Service in accordance with 36

CFR 254. However, regulations which

direct people to comply with other valid

regulations are redundant and

unnecessary, and the authorities will be

added to section 2201.1–2.

Second, section 2201.1–2 exists in a

CFR part that defines Federal lands as

those lands administered by BLM, not

National Forest System lands. However,

amending this section to apply its

provisions to National Forest System

lands as well (as the Forest Service’s

regulations already do) will insure that

the removal of 43 CFR 2202 cannot alter

any existing rights or obligations. This

rule accomplishes that amendment by

adding 43 CFR 2201.1–2(e) below,

renders subpart 2202 completely

redundant and unnecessary, and

removes subpart 2202 from the Code of

Federal Regulations.

The final rule published today is a

stage of a rulemaking process that will

complete the removal of 43 CFR subpart

2202 and the revision of 43 CFR 2201.1–

2. This rule was preceded by a proposed

rule which introduced this action and

BLM’s purpose and need. The proposed

rule was published in the Federal

Register on September 11, 1996 (61 FR

47855). This proposed rule was

intended to give anyone who would be

adversely affected by this action an

opportunity to call their concerns to our

attention. The BLM invited public

comments for 30 days and received no

comments.

II. Final Rule as Adopted

This rule will remove all of 43 CFR

subpart 2202—Exchanges: National

Forest Exchanges. In addition, it will

amend 43 CFR 2201.1–2 to enable this

section to perform all of the functions

currently accomplished by 43 CFR

subpart 2202. Therefore, this removal

will not affect existing laws or the rights

of the United States, BLM, or the public

at large.

The new section is designed to extend

the coverage of the general exchange

provisions in 43 CFR section 2201.1–2

to include the National Forest

exchanges conducted in nearly identical

fashion by 43 CFR subpart 2202. Very

few differences exist between the two

sets of regulations, but some of those

differences are substantive in nature and

require the amendment that this rule

promulgates. Therefore, a new

subsection will be added at 43 CFR

2201.1–2(e) which will accomplish

three important tasks. First, it will say

that this section also applies to

proposals to exchange lands under the

National Forest System; until now this

section only applied to exchanges of

BLM lands. Secondly, it will direct that

exchanges of National Forest System

lands be conducted in accordance with

the Forest Service regulations at 36 CFR

part 254. Finally, it will permit the

authorized Forest Service officer to

request the appropriate BLM State

Office to segregate the land at issue by

making a notation on the public land

records. Since amended 43 CFR 2201.1–

2(e) will accomplish these tasks, all of

subpart 2202 will be expendable, and

may be removed at this same time

without any substantive impact on the

United States, BLM, or the public at

large.

43 CFR 2202.1(a) contains the

authorities’ cites for the remainder of

the subpart. This includes statutory

citations and a reference to the

regulations of the U.S. Forest Service

which govern exchanges of National

Forest lands. These citations, as well as

the requirement that proposals shall be

filed in accordance with Forest Service

regulations, will be relocated to 43 CFR

2201.1–2(e) by the amendment

contained in this rule. Therefore,

elimination of this section will have no

substantive effect.

Subsection (b) of 43 CFR 2202.1

largely duplicates the general exchange

provisions found at 43 CFR 2201.1–2(a).

The only substantive difference is that

§ 2201.1–2 applies to segregations of
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 83 /Thursday, April 30, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 23681

‘‘Federal lands,’’ which part 2200

defines as lands administered by BLM

(and therefore excluding National Forest

System lands); while § 2202.1 applies to

‘‘lands reserved * * * for National

Forest System purposes.’’ Again, the

amendment contained in this rule will

render 43 CFR section 2201.1–2

applicable to National Forest System

lands as well as BLM-administered

Federal lands, and ensure that removing

this section will have no substantive

effect.

Subsections (c) and (d) of 43 CFR

2202.1 duplicate the existing regulations

at 43 CFR 2201.1–2(b) and (c), with the

exception of one difference in word

order. Therefore, removing 43 CFR

subsections 2202.1(c) and (d) will have

no substantive effect, since the

corresponding sections in 43 CFR

2201.1–2 already accomplish exactly the

same functions.

III. Responses to Comments

As mentioned above, BLM received

no comments on this proposed rule.

IV. Procedural Matters

National Environmental Policy Act

BLM has determined that this

proposed rule makes no substantive

changes to the Code of Federal

Regulations, because it is limited to

removing provisions which are found in

their entirety elsewhere in Title 43 of

the CFR and are therefore wholly

unnecessary. Therefore, this change is

purely technical in nature and is

categorically excluded from

environmental review under section

102(2)(C) of the National Environmental

Policy Act, pursuant to 516

Departmental Manual (DM), Chapter 2,

Appendix I, Item 1.10. Furthermore, the

rule does not meet any of the 10 criteria

for exceptions to categorical exclusion

listed in 516 DM, Chapter 2, Appendix

2. Pursuant to Council on

Environmental Quality regulations (40

CFR 1508.4) and the environmental

policies and procedures of the

Department of the Interior, the term

‘‘categorical exclusions’’ means a

category of actions that do not

individually or cumulatively have a

significant effect on the human

environment and that have been found

to have no such effect in procedures

adopted by a Federal agency and for

which neither an environmental

assessment nor an environmental

impact statement is required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule does not contain

information collection requirements that

the Office of Management and Budget

must approve under the Paperwork

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

Congress enacted the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (RFA) of 1980, 5 U.S.C.

601 et seq., to ensure that Government

regulations do not unnecessarily or

disproportionately burden small

entities. The RFA requires a regulatory

flexibility analysis if a rule would have

a significant economic impact, either

detrimental or beneficial, on a

substantial number of small entities.

Based on the discussion contained in

the preamble above, this action will not

have significant impact on small

entities. BLM anticipates that this final

rule will not substantially burden any

member of the public at large.

Therefore, BLM has determined under

the RFA that this final rule would not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

Removal of 43 CFR subpart 2202 and

amendment of 43 CFR section 2201.1–

2 will not result in any unfunded

mandate to State, local, or tribal

governments in the aggregate, or to the

private sector, of $100 million or more

in any one year.

Executive Order 12612

The final rule will not have a

substantial direct effect on the States, on

the relationship between the national

government and the States, or on the

distribution of power and

responsibilities among the various

levels of government. Therefore, in

accordance with Executive Order 12612,

BLM has determined that this final rule

does not have sufficient federalism

implications to warrant preparation of a

Federalism Assessment.

Executive Order 12630

The final rule does not represent a

government action capable of interfering

with constitutionally protected property

rights. Section 2(a)(1) of Executive

Order 12630 specifically exempts

actions abolishing regulations or

modifying regulations in a way that

lessens interference with private

property use from the definition of

‘‘policies that have takings

implications.’’ Since the primary

function of the final rule is to abolish

unnecessary regulations, there will be

no private property rights impaired as a

result. Therefore, the Department of the

Interior has determined that the rule

would not cause a taking of private

property or require further discussion of

takings implications under this

Executive Order.

Executive Order 12866

According to the criteria listed in

section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866,

BLM has determined that the final rule

is not a significant regulatory action. As

such, the final rule is not subject to

Office of Management and Budget

review under section 6(a)(3) of the

order.

Executive Order 12988

The Department of the Interior has

determined that this rule meets the

applicable standards provided in

sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive

Order 12988.

Author

The principal author of this rule is

Ted Milesnick, Bureau of Land

Management, 1849 C Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20240; Telephone:

202–452–7727 (Commercial or FTS).

List of Subjects in 43 CFR Part 2200

National forests, Public lands.

For the reasons stated in the

preamble, and under the authority of 43

U.S.C. 1740, part 2200, Group 2200,

Subchapter B, Chapter II of Title 43 of

the Code of Federal Regulations is

amended as set forth below:

Dated: April 17, 1998.

Bob Armstrong,

Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals

Management.

PART 2200—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 2200

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1716, 1740.

2. Section 2201.1–2 is amended by

adding paragraph (e) to read as follows:

§ 2201.1–2 Segregative effect.

* * * * *

(e) The provisions of this section

apply equally to proposals to exchange

National Forest System lands under the

authority and provisions of the Act of

March 20, 1922, 42 Stat. 465, as

amended, 16 U.S.C. 485, and the

Federal Land Policy and Management

Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.,

except that if a proposal is made to

exchange National Forest System lands,

which proposal shall be filed in

compliance with 36 CFR part 254, the

authorized officer may request that the

appropriate BLM State Office segregate

such lands by a notation on the public

land records.
23682 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 83 /Thursday, April 30, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

Subpart 2202—[Removed]

3. Subpart 2202 is removed in its

entirety.

[FR Doc. 98–11499 Filed 4–29–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–84–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 630

[I.D. 042398A]

South Atlantic Swordfish Fishery;

Fishery Reopening

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Reopening of fishery.

SUMMARY: Based on projected landings,

NMFS closed the south Atlantic

swordfish fishery effective April 15,

1998. Actual catch reports tallied since

the closure indicate that the south

Atlantic swordfish quota for the period

December 1, 1997, to May 31, 1998, has

not been reached. NMFS therefore

reopens the South Atlantic swordfish

fishery to allow U.S. fishermen to

harvest the remaining 1997 South

Atlantic quota.

DATES: The reopening is effective on

April 27, 1998, for vessels fishing

Atlantic swordfish south of 5° N. Lat.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill

Stevenson, 301-713-2347, or Buck

Sutter, 813-570-5447.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.

Atlantic swordfish fishery is managed

under the Fishery Management Plan for

Atlantic Swordfish and its

implementing regulations at 50 CFR part

630 under the authority of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act (16

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and the Atlantic

Tunas Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C.

971 et seq.). Regulations issued under

the authority of ATCA carry out the

recommendations of the International

Commission for the Conservation of

Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

ICCAT has divided the Atlantic

swordfish stock into northern and

southern management units. The south

Atlantic swordfish fishery refers to

those swordfish caught in the Atlantic

ocean south of 5° N latitude. ICCAT’s

Standing Committee on Research and

Statistics estimated that the 1995 fishing

mortality rate for south Atlantic

swordfish was greater than the level that

would produce maximum sustainable

yield. To prevent further increases in

fishing mortality, ICCAT recommended

that contracting parties limit catch of

south Atlantic swordfish to levels

harvested in 1993 or 1994, whichever

was greater. On October 24, 1997 (62 FR

55357), consistent with ICCAT’s

recommendations, NMFS established a

U.S. quota for the for the South Atlantic

swordfish fishery of 188 mt dressed

weight(dw), and implemented the same

management measures for the South

Atlantic swordfish fishery as were in

place for the North Atlantic swordfish

fishery (i.e., logbook reporting,

permitting, minimum size, transfer-atsea, etc.).

Regulations governing the south

Atlantic swordfish fishery at § 630.24

divide the annual quota into semiannual

quotas of 94 mt for each of two fishing

periods (June 1 through November 30

and December 1 through May 31).

NMFS is required, under § 630.25(a)(1),

to monitor landings statistics and, on

the basis of these statistics, to project a

date when the catch will equal the

quota, and to announce a closure of the

fishery by publication of a notice in the

Federal Register.

In 1996, ICCAT adopted compliance

measures such that member nations

could be subject to trade restrictions and

reduced quotas equal to a minimum of

125 percent of the excess harvest if

North Atlantic swordfish quotas are

repeatedly exceeded. In 1997, ICCAT

extended these compliance measures to

the South Atlantic swordfish fishery.

Given the compliance

recommendations, it is necessary for

NMFS to closely monitor harvest rate in

the south Atlantic swordfish fishery.

Reporting of swordfish landings by

U.S.-flagged vessels in Atlantic waters

south of 5° N lat. was not required until

the 1997 fishing year; therefore, past

fishing effort was difficult to estimate

for the purpose of projecting a closure

date. However, limited logbook data

from 1996 and 1997 indicated that a

significant increase in landings could be

expected during February and March.

Therefore, NMFS announced that the

directed South Atlantic swordfish

fishery would close at 6 p.m., local time,

on April 15, 1998. The estimate was

conservative to reduce the risk of

exceeding U.S. swordfish quotas, which

could invoke ICCAT penalties.

However, actual reported landings of

swordfish in the South Atlantic

swordfish fishery through March 31,

1998, in the second semiannual season

total 22.5 mt(49,623 lbs) dw.

The ICCAT quota recommendation for

the 1997 fishing year, and the U.S.

regulations to implement it, did not

provide for carryover to the 1998 fishing

year of any unharvested fish. To provide

U.S. vessels additional fishing

opportunity, NMFS reopens the fishery

for Atlantic swordfish south of 5° N.

latitude effective Monday, April 27,

1998. This reopening announcement

provides ample time for vessels to travel

to the south Atlantic fishing areas and

to fish for swordfish prior to the end of

the 1997 season on May 31, 1998.

Vessel operators who resume fishing

for swordfish in the south Atlantic

fishery are reminded that the closure for

the north Atlantic swordfish fishery (63

FR 12687, March 16, 1998) remains in

effect through June 1, 1998. During a

closure of the north Atlantic swordfish

fishery, any vessels north of 5° N

latitude are limited to an incidental

catch of no more than 15 swordfish per

trip. Thus, vessels fishing in the south

Atlantic may not transit north of 5° N.

lat. with more than the incidental catch

limit aboard. Vessels harvesting more

than 15 swordfish in the south Atlantic

must offload in a port south of 5° N. lat.

or offload in the north after June 1,

1998. However, swordfish offloaded

after June 1 will be counted against the

1998 fishing year. Swordfish offloaded

north of 5° N. lat., must be sold to a

permitted swordfish dealer, regardless

of ocean area of catch.

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

630.24 and 50 CFR 630.25(a) and is

exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801

et seq.

Dated: April 24, 1998

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–11470 Filed 4–24–98; 5:10 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F