6394 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 24 / Monday, February 7, 2005 / Proposed Rules 

This proposed rule is a result of the 

DFARS Transformation initiative. The 

proposed DFARS changes—

» Update requirements for DoD 

processing of requests for extraordinary 

contract adjustments; and 

» Delete procedures for preparation 

of records and submittal of requests to 

a contract adjustment board. Text on 

this subject will be relocated to the new 

DFARS companion resource, 

Procedures, Guidance, and Information 

(PGI), available at http://

www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/dars/pgi.

This rule was not subject to Office of 

Management and Budget review under 

Executive Order 12866, dated 

September 30, 1993. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

DoD does not expect this rule to have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

within the meaning of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., 

because the rule addresses internal 

administrative DoD procedures for 

processing requests for extraordinary 

contract adjustments. Therefore, DoD 

has not performed an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis. DoD invites 

comments from small businesses and 

other interested parties. DoD also will 

consider comments from small entities 

concerning the affected DFARS subparts 

in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 610. Such 

comments should be submitted 

separately and should cite DFARS Case 

2003–D048.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act does 

not apply because the rule does not 

impose any information collection 

requirements that require the approval 

of the Office of Management and Budget 

under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 250

Government procurement.

Michele P. Peterson, 

Editor, Defense Acquisition Regulations 

System.

Therefore, DoD proposes to amend 48 

CFR Part 250 as follows: 

1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

Part 250 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 41 U.S.C. 421 and 48 CFR 

Chapter 1.

PART 250—EXTRAORDINARY 

CONTRACTUAL ACTIONS 

2. Section 250.105 is revised to read 

as follows:

250.105 Records. 

Follow the procedures at PGI 250.105 

for preparation of records. 

3. Section 250.201–70 is amended by 

revising paragraph (a) and the last 

sentence of paragraph (b) introductory 

text to read as follows:

250.201–70 Delegations. 

(a) Military Departments. The 

Departments of the Army, Navy and Air 

Force will specify delegations and levels 

of authority for actions under the Act 

and the Executive Order in 

departmental supplements or agency 

acquisition guidance. 

(b) * * * The agency supplements or 

agency acquisition guidance shall 

specify the delegations and levels of 

authority.

* * * * *

4. Subpart 250.3 is revised to read as 

follows:

Subpart 250.3—Contract Adjustments

Sec. 

250.303–1 Contractor requests. 

250.305 Processing cases. 

250.306 Disposition.

250.303–1 Contractor requests. 

Requests should be filed with the 

procuring contracting officer (PCO). 

However, if filing with the PCO is 

impractical, requests may be filed with 

an authorized representative, an 

administrative contracting officer, or the 

Office of General Counsel of the 

applicable department or agency, for 

forwarding to the cognizant PCO.

250.305 Processing cases. 

(1) At the time the request is filed, the 

activity shall prepare the record 

described at PGI 250.105(1)(i) and 

forward it to the appropriate official 

within 30 days after the close of the 

month in which the record is prepared. 

(2) The officer or official responsible 

for the case shall forward to the contract 

adjustment board, through departmental 

channels, the documentation described 

at PGI 250.305. 

(3) Contract adjustment boards will 

render decisions as expeditiously as 

practicable. The Chair shall sign a 

memorandum of decision disposing of 

the case. The decision shall be dated 

and shall contain the information 

required by FAR 50.306. The 

memorandum of decision shall not 

contain any information classified 

‘‘Confidential’’ or higher. The board’s 

decision will be sent to the appropriate 

official for implementation.

250.306 Disposition. 

For requests denied or approved 

below the Secretarial level, follow the 

disposition procedures at PGI 250.306.

[FR Doc. 05–2173 Filed 2–4–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–08–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 226

[Docket Nos. 030716175–4327–03, 

041123329–4329–01; I.D. Nos. 070303A, 

110904F]

RIN 0648–AQ77, 0648–AO04

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Extension of Public Comment Period 

on Proposed Critical Habitat 

Designations for West Coast 

Salmonids

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of 

public comment period.

SUMMARY: We, the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS), are extending 

the comment period on proposed 

critical habitat designations for 20 

Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) 

of Pacific salmon and O. mykiss

(inclusive of anadromous steelhead and 

resident rainbow trout) listed under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (ESA). The proposed 

designations include habitat areas in 

California, Oregon, Washington, and 

Idaho. A recent court-approved 

Amendment to the Consent Decree, that 

established the schedule for completing 

these designations, extends the 

comment period until March 14, 2005, 

and the date to submit final rules until 

August 15, 2005. These extensions will 

allow the public additional time to 

provide information related to the 

proposed designations and will provide 

NMFS with the time needed to review, 

consider, and respond to comments. We 

are soliciting information and comments 

from the public on all aspects of the 

proposals, including information on the 

economic, national security, and other 

relevant impacts of the proposed 

designations.

DATES: Written comments are due by 5 

p.m. Pacific Standard Time on March 

14, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments pertaining to 

California ESUs must include reference 

to docket number [041123329–4329–01] 

and RIN number [0648–AO04]. 

Comments pertaining to ESUs in 

Washington, Oregon, or Idaho must 

include reference to docket number 

[030716175–4327–03] and RIN number 

[0648–AQ77]. You may submit 

comments by any of the following 

methods:

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 24 / Monday, February 7, 2005 / Proposed Rules 6395

• E-mail: For California ESUs, send email comments to critical 

habitat.swr@noaa.gov. For ESUs in 

Washington, Oregon, or Idaho, send email comments to 

critical.habitat.nwr@noaa.gov. In the 

subject line of your e-mail please 

include the pertinent docket and RIN 

numbers specified above.

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal:

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

instructions for submitting comments.

• Agency Web Site: http://

ocio.nmfs.noaa.gov/ibrm-ssi/

index.shtml. Follow the instructions for 

submitting comments at http://

ocio.nmfs.noaa.gov/ibrm-ssi/

process.shtml.

• Mail: For California ESUs, submit 

written comments and information to: 

Assistant Regional Administrator, 

Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 

501 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 

Beach, CA 90802–4213. For ESUs in 

Washington, Oregon, or Idaho, submit 

written comments and information to: 

Chief, NMFS, Protected Resources 

Division, 525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 

500, Portland, OR 97232–2737. You may 

hand-deliver written comments to our 

offices during normal business hours at 

the addresses given above (although 

after February 18, 2005, the Portland 

address will change to 1201 NE Lloyd 

Blvd., Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97232).

• Fax: Submit fax comments to the 

NMFS Southwest Regional Office at 

562–980–4027, or the NMFS Northwest 

Regional Office at 503–230–5441.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: In 

California, contact Craig Wingert at the 

address above or at 562–980–4021. In 

Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, contact 

Steve Stone at the above address or at 

503–231–2317. The proposed rules, 

maps, and other materials relating to 

these proposals can be found on the 

agency’s Southwest Region website at 

http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/salmon.htm

and the Northwest Region website at 

http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/1salmon/

salmesa/crithab/CHsite.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On December 10 and 14, 2004, NMFS 

published separate critical habitat 

proposed rules addressing 20 ESUs of 

Pacific salmon and O. mykiss (inclusive 

of anadromous steelhead and resident 

rainbow trout) listed under the ESA. 

The first proposed rule (69 FR 71880, 

December 10, 2004) addressed 7 ESUs 

in California and announced a public 

comment period extending through 

February 8, 2005. The second proposed 

rule (69 FR 74572, December 14, 2004) 

addressed 13 ESUs in Washington, 

Oregon, and Idaho, and announced a 

public comment period extending 

through February 14, 2005. The timeline 

for completion of these proposed rules 

was established pursuant to litigation 

between NMFS and the Pacific Coast 

Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, 

Institute for Fisheries Resources, the 

Center for Biological Diversity, the 

Oregon Natural Resources Council, the 

Pacific Rivers Council, and the 

Environmental Protection Information 

Center (PCFFA et al.) and are subject to 

a Consent Decree and Stipulated Order 

of Dismissal (Consent Decree) approved 

by the D.C. District Court.

We received several requests, 

including a request from PCFFA et al., 

to extend the public comment period. 

We recently submitted to the D.C. 

District Court a joint request with 

PCFFA et al. to extend the comment 

period and to modify the schedule for 

submission of final rules designating 

critical habitat for the 20 ESUs to the 

Federal Register established in the 

Consent Decree. The court approved the 

joint request on January 26, 2005. 

Pursuant to that approval we are 

extending the deadline for accepting 

public comments on both proposed 

rules until March 14, 2005. Also, on or 

before August 15, 2005, we will 

complete both rulemakings by 

submitting to the Federal Register for 

publication the final rules designating 

critical habitat for those of the 20 ESUs 

that are included on the lists of 

threatened and endangered species as of 

August 15, 2005. These extensions will 

allow the public additional time to 

provide information related to the 

proposed designations and will provide 

us with the time needed to review, 

consider, and respond to comments.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

Dated: January 1, 2005.

William T. Hogarth,

Assistant Administrator, National Marine 

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 05–2292 Filed 2–4–05; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[Docket No. 050125016–5016–01; I.D. 

011805C]

RIN 0648–AS61

Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch 

Sharing Plan

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to approve 

and implement changes to the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission’s (IPHC) regulatory Area 

2A off Washington, Oregon, and 

California (Area 2A) Pacific Halibut 

Catch Sharing Plan (Plan) to: allow 

remaining quota from Washington’s 

south coast subarea to be used to 

accommodate incidental catch in the 

south coast nearshore fishery; allow 

quota projected to be unused to be 

transferred from Oregon’s central coast 

subarea to another subarea south of 

Leadbetter Point, WA; revise the season 

structure for Oregon’s all-depth spring 

and summer sport fisheries; provide 

more flexibility for Oregon’s inseason 

sport fishery management (triggers for 

additional fishery openings and bag 

limits in the all-depth summer fishery); 

revise the public announcement process 

for Oregon’s all-depth summer sport 

fishery; revise the Columbia River 

subarea quota contributions from 

Oregon/California; remove the 

minimum length requirement in all 

subareas south of Leadbetter Point, WA; 

prohibit retention of all groundfish, 

except sablefish, in Oregon’s and 

possibly Washington’s Columbia River 

fishery on all days and in the Central 

Coast fisheries on ‘‘all-depth’’ days; 

implement a closed area off Oregon’s 

coast; and revise all coordinates from 

degrees minutes seconds to degrees 

decimal minutes. NMFS also proposes 

to revise the coordinates for the closed 

area to Oregon’s central coast 

recreational fishery and to non-treaty 

commercial halibut fishing in Area 2A. 

NMFS is also proposing to implement 

the portions of the Plan and 

management measures that are not 

implemented through the IPHC, which 

includes the sport fishery management 

measures for Area 2A, the flexible 

inseason management provisions in 

Area 2A, fishery election in Area 2A,