Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 49 / Monday, March 16, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 11037 

PART 4044—ALLOCATION OF 

ASSETS IN SINGLE-EMPLOYER 

PLANS 

■ 4. The authority citation for part 4044 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1301(a), 1302(b)(3), 

1341, 1344, 1362. 

■ 5. In appendix B to part 4044, a new 

entry for April–June 2009, as set forth 

below, is added to the table. 

Appendix B to Part 4044—Interest 

Rates Used to Value Benefits 

* * * * * 

For valuation dates occurring in the months— 

The values of it are: 

it for t = it for t = it for t = 

* * * * * * * 

April–June 2009 ................................................................ 0.0550 1–20 0.0502 >20 N/A N/A 

Issued in Washington, DC, on this 11th day 

of March 2009. 

Vincent K. Snowbarger, 

Acting Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. E9–5656 Filed 3–13–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7709–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Part 20 

RIN 2900–AM62 

Accreditation of Agents and Attorneys; 

Agents and Attorney Fees; Correction 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Correcting amendments. 

SUMMARY: This document corrects a 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 

final rule that governs the 

representation of claimants for VA 

benefits. This correction removes 

obsolete regulations without making any 

substantive change to the content of the 

final rule. 

DATES: Effective Date: This correction is 

effective March 16, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christa A. Childers, Staff Attorney 

(022N), Office of the General Counsel, 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 

20420, (202) 461–7699. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA 

published a final rule in the Federal 

Register on May 22, 2008 (73 FR 29852) 

that, among other things, transferred 

jurisdiction over agents’ and attorneys’ 

fees from the Board of Veterans’ 

Appeals (Board) to the Office of the 

General Counsel consistent with 

amendments to 38 U.S.C. chapter 59. In 

that document, VA also prescribed that, 

with the exceptions of 38 CFR 20.600 

regarding right to representation before 

the Board and 38 CFR 20.608 regarding 

withdrawal from representation before 

the Board, representation before VA is 

governed exclusively by 38 CFR 14.626 

through 14.637. Except as noted above 

regarding §§ 20.600 and 20.608, the final 

rule superseded all of the Board’s Rules 

of Practice in 38 CFR part 20, subpart 

G. However, in the final rule, VA 

inadvertently failed to remove obsolete 

§§ 20.601 through 20.607. This 

document corrects that error by 

removing and reserving §§ 20.601 

through 20.607 and adding a note to 

advise that former §§ 20.601 through 

20.607 have been superseded by the 

representation provisions in 38 CFR part 

14. 

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 20 

Administrative practices and 

procedure, Claims, Veterans. 

Approved: March 10, 2009. 

William F. Russo, 

Director of Regulations Management. 

■ For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, VA corrects 38 CFR part 20, 

subpart G, as follows. 

PART 20—BOARD OF VETERANS’ 

APPEALS: RULES OF PRACTICE 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 20 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a) and as noted in 

specific sections. 

Subpart G—Representation 

■ 2. Remove the cross-reference 

immediately following the subpart 

heading. 

§§ 20.601 through 20.607 [Removed and 

Reserved] 

■ 3. Remove and reserve §§ 20.601 

through 20.607. 

■ 4. Immediately following §§ 20.612– 

20.699 [Reserved], add a Note at the end 

of subpart G to read as follows: 

Note to subpart G: The representation 

provisions in §§ 14.626 through 14.637 of 

this title replace former §§ 20.601 through 

20.607 concerning representation before the 

Board of Veterans’ Appeals. 

[FR Doc. E9–5547 Filed 3–13–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2008–0884; FRL–8771–1] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; Hawaii; 

Correction 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: Under the Clean Air Act, EPA 

is correcting errors in certain final rules 

approving or compiling the Hawaii state 

implementation plan. These errors 

relate to the title of the plan, removal of 

variance provisions, and compilations 

of federally-enforceable regulations. The 

intended effect is to ensure that the 

Hawaii state implementation plan is 

correctly identified in the applicable 

part of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

DATES: This rule is effective on May 15, 

2009 without further notice, unless EPA 

receives adverse comments by April 15, 

2009. If we receive such comments, we 

will publish a timely withdrawal in the 

Federal Register to notify the public 

that this direct final rule will not take 

effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, 

identified by docket number EPA–R09– 

OAR–2008–088F, by one of the 

following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

on-line instructions. 

2. E-mail:vagenas.ginger@epa.gov. 

3. Mail or deliver: Ginger Vagenas 

(AIR–2), U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 

San Francisco, CA 94105–3901. 

11038 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 49 / Monday, March 16, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

Instructions: All comments will be 

included in the public docket without 

change and may be made available 

online at http://www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided, unless the comment includes 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Information that 

you consider CBI or otherwise protected 

should be clearly identified as such and 

should not be submitted through 

http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. 

The http://www.regulations.gov portal is 

an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, and 

EPA will not know your identity or 

contact information unless you provide 

it in the body of your comment. If you 

send e-mail directly to EPA, your e-mail 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the public 

comment. If EPA cannot read your 

comment due to technical difficulties 

and cannot contact you for clarification, 

EPA may not be able to consider your 

comment. 

Docket: The index to the docket for 

this action is available electronically at 

http://www.regulations.gov and in hard 

copy at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne 

Street, San Francisco, California. While 

all documents in the docket are listed in 

the index, some information may be 

publicly available only at the hard copy 

location (e.g., copyrighted material), and 

some may not be publicly available in 

either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the 

hard copy materials, please schedule an 

appointment during normal business 

hours with the contact listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ginger Vagenas, Plannning Office (AIR– 

2), U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region IX, (415) 972–3964, 

vagenas.ginger@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ 

and ‘‘our’’ refer to EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. Error Correction 

III. Public Comment and Final Action 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background 

Under the Clean Air Act (CAA or 

‘‘Act’’), each state is required to have a 

state implementation plan (SIP) which 

contains the control measures and 

strategies which will be used to attain 

and maintain the national ambient air 

quality standards (NAAQS). The SIP is 

extensive, containing such elements as 

emission inventories, monitoring 

networks, attainment demonstrations, 

and enforcement mechanisms. The 

control measures and strategies must be 

formally adopted by each state after the 

public has had an opportunity to 

comment on them. They are then 

submitted to EPA as SIP revisions on 

which EPA must formally act. 

The SIP is a living document which 

can be revised by the state as necessary 

to address the unique air pollution 

problems in the state. Therefore, EPA 

from time to time must take action on 

SIP revisions which may contain new 

and/or revised regulations as being part 

of the SIP. On May 31, 1972 (37 FR 

10842), EPA approved, with certain 

exceptions, the initial SIPs for 50 states, 

four territories and the District of 

Columbia. Since 1972, each state and 

territory has submitted numerous SIP 

revisions, either on their own initiative, 

or because they were required to as a 

result of various amendments to the 

CAA. EPA codifies its approvals and 

disapprovals of SIPs and SIP revisions 

in 40 CFR part 52 (‘‘Approval and 

promulgation of implementation 

plans’’). 

The Hawaii SIP is identified in 

subpart M (‘‘Hawaii’’) of part 52. As 

with other State SIPs, EPA has taken a 

number of actions since 1972 with 

respect to the Hawaii SIP. In 1997, 

under CAA section 110(k)(6), we 

deleted certain variance-related 

provisions from the Hawaii SIP that we 

determined had been erroneously 

approved by us in the past. See 62 FR 

34641 (June 27, 1997). In so doing, we 

mistakenly identified the variancerelated provision erroneously approved 

on May 31, 1972 as ‘‘Chapter 43, Section 

7.’’ See 62 FR 34641, at 34648. The 

variance-related provision is found in 

section 20 of chapter 43 (Air Pollution 

Control Regulations) rather than section 

7. In addition, we inadvertently 

neglected to remove various other 

variance-related rules and statutory 

provisions from the Hawaii SIP, 

including Air Pollution Control Law, 

Hawaii Revised Statutes, chapter 322, 

part V, section 322–68, approved on 

May 31, 1972 (37 FR 10842); S.B. No. 

1382–72, Act 100, section 7, approved 

on November 8, 1973 (38 FR 30876); 

chapter 43, section 20, approved on May 

14, 1973 (38 FR 12711); and Hawaii 

Statute on Environmental Quality, 

Hawaii Revised Statutes, chapter 342, 

section 342–7 (48 FR 37402), approved 

on August 18, 1983 (48 FR 37402). 

In 2005, we revised the format of 

subpart M (‘‘Hawaii’’) in 40 CFR part 52 

for materials submitted by the State of 

Hawaii that are incorporated by 

reference into the Hawaii SIP. See 70 FR 

44852 (August 4, 2005). In so doing, we 

mistakenly identified the original plan 

as ‘‘Implementation Plan for 

Compliance With the Ambient Air 

Quality Standards for the State of 

Hawaii.’’ Actually, the title of the 

original plan is ‘‘State of Hawaii Air 

Pollution Control Implementation 

Plan.’’ Also, in our 2005 final rule, we 

listed all of the rules that we believed 

to be federally enforceable but neglected 

to list certain rules that had been 

approved in the early 1970s and that 

have never been withdrawn or replaced. 

These include the following sections of 

chapter 43, Air Pollution Control 

Regulations: section 22 (‘‘Hearings and 

Appeals’’) and section 23 

(‘‘Application’’). These rules were 

submitted by the State of Hawaii on 

November 21, 1972 and January 28, 

1972, respectively, and were approved 

by EPA on May 14, 1973 (38 FR 12711) 

and May 31, 1972 (37 FR 10842), 

respectively. 

II. Error Correction 

Section 110(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act, 

as amended in 1990, provides, 

‘‘Whenever the Administrator 

determines that the Administrator’s 

action approving, disapproving, or 

promulgating any plan or plan revision 

(or part thereof), area designation, 

redesignation, classification or 

reclassification was in error, the 

Administrator may in the same manner 

as the approval, disapproval, or 

promulgation revise such action as 

appropriate without requiring any 

further submission from the State. Such 

determination and the basis thereof 

shall be provided to the State and the 

public.’’ 

We interpret this provision to 

authorize the Agency to make 

corrections to a promulgated regulation 

when it is shown to our satisfaction that 

(1) we clearly erred in failing to 

consider or in inappropriately 

considering information made available 

to EPA at the time of the promulgation, 

or the information made available at the 

time of promulgation is subsequently 

demonstrated to have been clearly 

inadequate, and (2) other information 

persuasively supports a change in the 

regulation. See 57 FR 56762, at 56763 

(November 30, 1992). 

In this instance, we find clear errors 

in our 1997 final rule removing certain 

variance-related provisions from the 

Hawaii SIP. The first error involved 

identification of the wrong section 

number, and the second error involved 

the failure to list the other variancerelated provisions in the Hawaii SIP. As 

discussed in our June 27, 1997 final rule 

(see at 62 FR 34641, at 34642), variance 

provisions were rendered without legal 

effect by amendments to the CAA 

enacted by Congress in 1977 and the 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 49 / Monday, March 16, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 11039 

presence of these provisions in the SIPs 

is potentially confusing, and thus, 

harmful to the regulated community, the 

states and EPA. For a more detailed 

discussion of our rationale for removing 

variance provisions from SIPs, see 61 FR 

38664, at 38665 (July 25, 1996). To 

correct these errors, we are correcting 

the section number (for the variance 

provision in chapter 43 as approved in 

May 1972) and deleting the additional 

variance-related provisions approved on 

May 31, 1972, May 14, 1973, November 

8, 1973, and August 18, 1983. 

Second, we find clear errors in our 

2005 final rule re-formatting our 

approvals of submittals of the Hawaii 

SIP and SIP revisions. We erred first by 

incorrectly identifying the title of the 

original Hawaii plan and then by failing 

to list two additional rules approved by 

EPA as part of the Hawaii SIP that were 

never withdrawn or replaced. To correct 

these errors, we are correcting the title 

of the original Hawaii SIP in 40 CFR 

52.622(a) and adding the entries for the 

two additional rules into the table of 

EPA-approved regulations in 40 CFR 

52.620(c). 

III. Public Comment and Final Action 

As authorized in section 110(k)(6) of 

the Act, and for the reasons set forth 

above, EPA is correcting errors in 

certain final rules approving or 

compiling the Hawaii state 

implementation plan. Specifically, we 

are correcting the section number (for 

the variance provision in chapter 43 as 

approved in May 1972) and deleting the 

additional variance-related provisions 

approved on May 31, 1972, May 14, 

1973, November 8, 1973, and August 18, 

1983. We are also revising the title of 

the original Hawaii SIP in 40 CFR 

52.622(a) and adding the entries for the 

two additional rules (chapter 43, 

sections 22 and 23) as approved on May 

14, 1973 and May 31, 1972, 

respectively, into the table of EPAapproved regulations in 40 CFR 

52.620(c). 

We do not think anyone will object to 

this approval, so we are finalizing it 

without proposing it in advance. 

However, in the Proposed Rules section 

of this Federal Register, we are 

simultaneously proposing approval of 

the same action. If we receive adverse 

comments by April 15, 2009, we will 

publish a timely withdrawal in the 

Federal Register to notify the public 

that the direct final approval will not 

take effect and we will address the 

comments in a subsequent final action 

based on the proposal. If we do not 

receive timely adverse comments, the 

direct final approval will be effective 

without further notice on May 15, 2009. 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the Clean Air Act, the 

Administrator is required to approve a 

SIP submission that complies with the 

provisions of the Act and applicable 

Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 

40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP 

submissions, EPA’s role is to approve 

state choices, provided that they meet 

the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 

Accordingly, this action merely corrects 

previous actions approving state law as 

meeting Federal requirements and does 

not impose additional requirements 

beyond those imposed by state law. For 

that reason, this action: 

• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ subject to review by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993); 

• 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 

• Does not provide EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, this rule does not have 

tribal implications as specified by 

Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 

November 9, 2000), because the SIP is 

not approved to apply in Indian country 

located in the state, and EPA notes that 

it will not impose substantial direct 

costs on tribal governments or preempt 

tribal law. 

The Congressional Review Act, 5 

U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides 

that before a rule may take effect, the 

agency promulgating the rule must 

submit a rule report, which includes a 

copy of the rule, to each House of the 

Congress and to the Comptroller General 

of the United States. EPA will submit a 

report containing this action and other 

required information to the U.S. Senate, 

the U.S. House of Representatives, and 

the Comptroller General of the United 

States prior to publication of the rule in 

the Federal Register. A major rule 

cannot take effect until 60 days after it 

is published in the Federal Register. 

This action is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as 

defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean 

Air Act, petitions for judicial review of 

this action must be filed in the United 

States Court of Appeals for the 

appropriate circuit by May 15, 2009. 

Parties with objections to this direct 

final rule are encouraged to file a 

comment in response to the parallel 

notice of proposed rulemaking for this 

action published in the proposed rules 

section of today’s Federal Register, 

rather than file an immediate petition 

for judicial review of this direct final 

rule, so that EPA can withdraw this 

direct final rule and address the 

comment in the proposed rulemaking. 

Filing a petition for reconsideration by 

the Administrator of this final rule does 

not affect the finality of this action for 

the purposes of judicial review nor does 

it extend the time within which a 

petition for judicial review may be filed, 

and shall not postpone the effectiveness 

of such rule or action. This action may 

not be challenged later in proceedings to 

enforce its requirements (see section 

307(b)(2)). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Intergovernmental 

relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: February 25, 2009. 

Jane Diamond, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

■ Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations is amended as 

follows: 

PART 52—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

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

11040 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 49 / Monday, March 16, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

Subpart M—Hawaii 

■ 2. In § 52.620, the table in paragraph 

(c) is amended by revising the table 

heading and adding the entries to the 

beginning of the table for ‘‘Department 

of Health, Public Health Regulations, 

chapter 43, Air Pollution Control 

Regulations,’’ sections 22 and 23 to read 

as follows: 

§ 52.620 Identification of plan. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

EPA APPROVED STATE OF HAWAII REGULATIONS

State citation Title/subject Effective date EPA approval 

date Explanation 

Department of Health, Public Health Regulations, chapter 43, 

Air Pollution Control Regulations: 

Section 22 ......................................................................... Hearings and Appeals ............ 12/26/1972 05/14/1973 38 FR 12711 

Section 23 ......................................................................... Application .............................. 03/28/1972 05/31/1972 37 FR 10842 

* * * * * * * 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Section 52.622 is amended as 

follows: 

■ a. By revising paragraph (a). 

■ b. By revising paragraph (b)(1). 

■ c. By adding paragraph (c)(4)(i) and 

adding and reserving paragraph 

(c)(4)(ii). 

■ d. By adding paragraph (c)(5)(i), and 

adding and reserving paragraph 

(c)(5)(ii). 

■ e. By adding paragraph (c)(15)(i) and 

adding and reserving paragraph 

(c)(15)(ii). The amendments are as 

follows: 

§ 52.622 Original identification of plan. 

(a) This section identified the original 

‘‘State of Hawaii Air Pollution Control 

Implementation Plan’’ and all revisions 

submitted by the State of Hawaii that 

were federally approved prior to June 1, 

2005. 

(b) * * * 

(1) Previously approved on May 31, 

1972 in paragraph (b) of this section and 

now deleted from the SIP without 

replacement Air Pollution Control Law, 

Hawaii Revised Statutes, chapter 322, 

part V, section 322–68 and Public 

Health Regulations, chapter 43, section 

20. 

(c) * * * 

(4) * * * 

(i) Previously approved on November 

8, 1973 in paragraph (c)(4) of this 

section and now deleted from the SIP 

without replacement S.B. No. 1382–72, 

Act 100, section 7. 

(ii) [Reserved] 

(5) * * * 

(i) Previously approved on May 14, 

1973 in paragraph (c)(5) of this section 

and now deleted from the SIP without 

replacement chapter 43, section 20. 

(ii) [Reserved] 

* * * * * 

(15) * * * 

(i) Previously approved on August 18, 

1983 in paragraph (c)(15) of this section 

and now deleted from the SIP without 

replacement Hawaii Statute on 

Environmental Quality, Hawaii Revised 

Statutes, chapter 342, section 342–7. 

(ii) [Reserved] 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E9–4802 Filed 3–13–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 09100091344–9056–02] 

RIN 0648–XN84 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pollock in Statistical 

Area 630 in 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 in Statistical Area 

630 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This 

action is necessary to prevent exceeding 

the B season allowance of the 2009 total 

allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for 

Statistical Area 630 in the GOA. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), March 11, 2009, through 

1200 hrs, A.l.t., August 25, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh 

Keaton, 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 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 B season allowance of the 2009 

TAC of pollock in Statistical Area 630 

of the GOA is 1,455 metric tons (mt) as 

established by the final 2009 and 2010 

harvest specifications for groundfish of 

the GOA (74 FR 7333, February 17, 

2009). 

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i), 

the Regional Administrator has 

determined that the B season allowance 

of the 2009 TAC of pollock in Statistical 

Area 630 of the GOA will soon be 

reached. Therefore, the Regional 

Administrator is establishing a directed 

fishing allowance of 1,400 mt, and is 

setting aside the remaining 55 mt as 

bycatch to support other anticipated 

groundfish fisheries. In accordance with 

§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii), the Regional 

Administrator finds that this directed 

fishing allowance has been reached. 

Consequently, NMFS is prohibiting 

directed fishing for pollock in Statistical 

Area 630 of the GOA. 

After the effective date of this closure 

the maximum retainable amounts at 

§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time 

during a trip. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

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 the closure of pollock in