29544 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 104 / Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

unilaterally, including but not limited 

to, the use of conditions intended to 

reopen a certification (‘‘reopeners’’). 

Among other issues, EPA is concerned 

that the rule’s prohibition of 

modifications may limit the flexibility 

of certifications and permits to adapt to 

changing circumstances. EPA is 

interested in stakeholder feedback on 

modifications and ‘‘reopeners,’’ 

including but not limited to, whether 

the statutory language in CWA Section 

401 supports modification of 

certifications or ‘‘reopeners,’’ the utility 

of modifications (e.g., specific 

circumstances that may warrant 

modifications or ‘‘reopeners’’), and 

whether there are alternate solutions to 

the issues that could be addressed by 

certification modifications or 

‘‘reopeners’’ that can be accomplished 

through the federal licensing or 

permitting process. 

8. Neighboring jurisdictions. The rule 

addresses the so-called ‘‘neighboring 

jurisdiction’’ process in CWA Section 

401(a)(2), including interpreting the 

timeframe in which a federal agency 

must notify EPA for purposes of Section 

401(a)(2) and providing process 

requirements for the agency’s analysis 

and the neighboring jurisdictions’ 

review and response. EPA is interested 

in stakeholder feedback on the 

neighboring jurisdiction process, 

including but not limited to, whether 

the agency should elaborate in 

regulatory text or preamble on 

considerations informing its analysis 

under CWA Section 401(a)(2), whether 

the agency’s decision whether to make 

a determination under CWA Section 

401(a)(2) is wholly discretionary, and 

whether the agency should provide 

further guidance on the Section 

401(a)(2) process that occurs after EPA 

makes a ‘‘may affect’’ determination. 

9. Data and other information. EPA is 

interested in receiving any data or 

information from stakeholders about the 

application of the 401 Certification 

Rule, including but not limited to, 

impacts of the rule on processing 

certification requests, impacts of the 

rule on certification decisions, and 

whether any major projects are 

anticipated in the next few years that 

could benefit from or be encumbered by 

the 401 Certification Rule’s proceedural 

requirements. Additionally, EPA is 

interested in stakeholder feedback about 

existing state CWA Section 401 

procedures, including whether the 

agency should consider the extent to 

which any revised rule might conflict 

with existing state CWA Section 401 

procedures and place a burden on those 

states to revise rules in the future. 

10. Implementation coordination. 

EPA is interested in hearing from 

stakeholders about facilitiating 

implementation of any rule revisions. 

For example, given the relationship 

between federal provisions and state 

processes for water quality certification, 

should EPA consider specific 

implementation timeframes or effective 

dates to allow for adoption and 

integration of water quality provisions 

at the state level. Similarly, EPA is 

interested in receiving feedback on 

whether concomitant regulatory changes 

should be proposed and finalized 

simultaneously by relevant federal 

agencies (e.g., the Army Corps of 

Engineers, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission) so that implementation of 

revised water certification provisions 

would be more effectively coordinated 

and would avoid circumstances where 

regulations could be interpreted as 

inconsistent with one another. 

Outreach 

EPA is aware that CWA Section 401 

and the 401 Certification Rule are of 

interest to many states, tribes, federal 

agencies, project proponents, and the 

public because of the relationship 

between water quality certifications and 

federal licensing and permitting 

processes. As a result, EPA wants to 

ensure that it has the opportunity to 

consider stakeholder input prior to 

revising the 401 Certification Rule. EPA 

intends to have multiple webinar-based 

listening sessions to solicit feedback on 

potential approaches to revise the 401 

Certification Rule. During these 

listening sessions, EPA will provide 

background information on the prior 

rulemaking effort. Stakeholders will 

have the opportunity to provide input to 

EPA on the topics provided above and 

any other relevant information on the 

401 Certification Rule for the agency’s 

consideration. Information on the 

listening session dates, times, and 

registration instructions will be made 

available on EPA’s website, located at 

https://www.epa.gov/cwa-401. Persons 

or organizations wishing to provide 

verbal input during a listening session 

will be selected on a first-come, firstserved basis, with consideration given 

to hearing from different stakeholder 

groups. Due to the expected number of 

participants, individuals will be asked 

to limit their oral presentation to three 

minutes. Further instructions on signing 

up and participating in listening 

sessions will be made available on 

EPA’s website above at a later date. 

Supporting materials and written 

feedback from those who do not have an 

opportunity to speak can be submitted 

to the docket as described above. 

Michael S. Regan, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11513 Filed 6–1–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[RTID 0648–XA696] 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; West 

Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment 

21 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery 

Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Announcement of availability of 

fishery management plan amendment; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) has 

submitted Amendment 21 to the Pacific 

Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce for 

review. If approved, Amendment 21 

would set an annual Chinook salmon 

abundance threshold below which the 

Council and NMFS would implement 

specific management measures, through 

the annual ocean salmon management 

measures, to limit ocean salmon fishery 

impacts on the availability of Chinook 

salmon as prey for endangered Southern 

Resident killer whales (SRKW). 

DATES: Comments on Amendment 21 

must be received by August 2, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2021–0006, by the following 

method: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA– 

NMFS–2021–0006 in the Search box. 

Click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete 

the required fields, and enter or attach 

your comments. 

Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted by the above method to 

ensure that the comments are received, 

documented, and considered by NMFS. 

Comments sent by any other method, to 

any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period, may not be considered. All 

comments received are a part of the 

public record and will generally be 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 104 / Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / Proposed Rules 29545 

1The SRKW Workgroup’s risk assessment report 

can be found on the Council’s website: https://

www.pcouncil.org/documents/2020/05/e-2-srkwworkgroup-report-1-pacific-fishery-managementcouncil-salmon-fishery-management-plan-impactsto-southern-resident-killer-whales-risk-assessmentelectronic-only.pdf/. 

posted for public viewing on 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

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

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

The draft FMP, as amended through 

Amendment 21, with notations showing 

how Amendment 21 would change the 

FMP, if approved, is available on the 

NMFS website at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

amendment-21-pacific-coast-salmonfishery-management-plan. 

The Council and NMFS prepared a 

draft Environmental Assessment. An 

electronic copy of this document may be 

obtained from the West Coast Regional 

Office website at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/ 

laws-and-policies/west-coast-regionnational-environmental-policy-actdocuments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeromy Jording at 360–763–2268. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The ocean salmon fisheries in the 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (3–200 

nautical miles) (5.6–370.4 kilometers) 

off Washington, Oregon, and California 

are managed under the Pacific Coast 

Salmon Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP). The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(MSA) requires that each regional 

fishery management council submit any 

FMP or plan amendment it prepares to 

NMFS for review and approval, 

disapproval, or partial approval by the 

Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). The 

MSA also requires that NMFS, upon 

receiving an FMP or amendment, 

immediately publish a notice that the 

FMP or amendment is available for 

public review and comment. This 

document announces that proposed 

Amendment 21 to the FMP is available 

for public review and comment. NMFS 

will consider the public comments 

received during the comment period 

described above in determining whether 

to approve, partially approve, or 

disapprove Amendment 21 to the FMP. 

Amendment 21 was developed by the 

Council to address impacts of the 

fisheries managed under the FMP on 

Chinook salmon as prey for the SRKW 

distinct population segment of Orcinus 

orca, which is listed as endangered 

under the Endangered Species Act 

(ESA). The development of Amendment 

21 was informed by the risk assessment 

prepared by the Council’s ad hoc SRKW 

Workgroup.1 The risk assessment 

identified Chinook salmon as the 

primary prey of SRKW. Chinook 

salmon, as well as coho salmon, are 

targeted in ocean salmon fisheries 

managed under the FMP. The 

Workgroup also identified a range of 

potential management measure the 

Council could take to limit ocean 

salmon fishery impacts to Chinook 

salmon prey availability for SRKW. The 

Council considered the Workgroup 

recommendations in the development of 

Amendment 21. 

If approved, Amendment 21 would 

establish a threshold for annual Chinook 

salmon abundance below which 

additional management measures would 

be implemented to limit the effects of 

the fisheries on SRKW. This low 

abundance threshold is defined as 

October 1 projections of Chinook 

salmon abundance in the area from the 

U.S./Canada border to Cape Falcon, OR, 

prior to salmon fisheries occurring in 

the EEZ (referred to as time step 1 

(TS1)). If an annual forecast for this 

abundance is less than the arithmetic 

mean of the seven lowest years of TS1 

starting abundance during the period 

1992–2016 (1994–1996, 1998–2000 and 

2007), currently calculated as 966,000 

Chinook salmon, management responses 

would be implemented through the 

annual management measures for ocean 

salmon fisheries. The management 

measures include a limit on the annual 

quota in non-tribal commercial fisheries 

north of Cape Falcon, Oregon, shifting 

quota for Chinook salmon catch north of 

Cape Falcon, Oregon, from the spring 

time period when the available 

information indicates the whales 

experience greater overlap with salmon 

fisheries to the summer time period, and 

time and area closures in times and 

areas for which current data indicate 

greater foraging use by the killer whales 

(see proposed FMP language for detail). 

The goal for the Amendment 21 

management responses is to limit ocean 

salmon fishery impacts on foraging 

opportunities for SRKW on Chinook 

salmon in years of low Chinook salmon 

abundance. Management measures 

implemented under Amendment 21 

would be applied in concert with 

measures designed to meet other 

requirements of the FMP including 

conservation objectives and annual 

catch limits for specific salmon stocks 

and stock complexes. 

Because Amendment 21 will be 

implemented through the annual 

management measures for the ocean 

salmon fishery, NMFS is not 

promulgating an implementing rule at 

this time. 

All comments received by the end of 

the comment period on Amendment 21 

(see DATES and ADDRESSES above) will 

be considered in the Secretary’s 

decision to approve, disapprove, or 

partially approve this amendment. To 

be considered in this decision, 

comments must be received by close of 

business on the last day of the comment 

period; that does not mean postmarked 

or otherwise transmitted by that date. 

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

Dated: May 26, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11540 Filed 6–1–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS