5248 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 21 / Tuesday, February 2, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

levels of government, as specified in 

Executive Order 13132. Thus, the 

requirements of Section 6 of the 

Executive Order do not apply. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995, Public Law No. 104–4, requires 

agencies to prepare a written assessment 

of the cost, benefits and other effects of 

proposed or final rules that include a 

Federal mandate likely to result in the 

expenditure by State, local, or tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of more than $100 

million annually. Because this final rule 

will not have a $100 million effect, no 

Unfunded Mandates assessment will be 

prepared. 

Executive Order 12778 (Civil Justice 

Reform) 

This rule does not have a retroactive 

or preemptive effect. Judicial review of 

this rule may be obtained pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 702. That section does not 

require that a petition for 

reconsideration be filed prior to seeking 

judicial review. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1980, we state that 

there are no requirements for 

information collection associated with 

this rulemaking action. 

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 578 

Imports, Motor vehicle safety, Motor 

vehicles, Rubber and rubber products, 

Tires, Penalties. 

■ In consideration of the foregoing, 49 

CFR Part 578 is amended as set forth 

below. 

PART 578—CIVIL AND CRIMINAL 

PENALTIES 

■ 1. Revise the authority citation for 49 

CFR Part 578 to read as follows: 

Authority: Pub. L. No. 101–410, Pub. L. 

No. 104–134, 49 U.S.C. 30165, 30170, 30505, 

32304A, 32308, 32309, 32507, 32709, 32710, 

32912, and 33115 as amended; delegation of 

authority at 49 CFR 1.50. 

■ 2. In § 578.6, revise paragraphs 

(a)(2)(ii), (c)(2), (d), (f)(1), (g)(1) and 

(g)(2), to read as follows: 

§ 578.6 Civil penalties for violations of 

specified provisions of Title 49 of the United 

States Code. 

(a) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(ii) Violates section 30112(a)(2) of 

Title 49 United States Code, shall be 

subject to a civil penalty of not more 

than $11,000 for each violation. A 

separate violation occurs for each motor 

vehicle or item of motor vehicle 

equipment and for each failure or 

refusal to allow or perform an act 

required by this section. The maximum 

penalty under this paragraph for a 

related series of violations is 

$16,650,000. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) The maximum civil penalty under 

this paragraph (c) for a related series of 

violations is $1,175,000. 

(d) Consumer information—(1) 

Crashworthiness and damage 

susceptibility. A person that violates 49 

U.S.C. 32308(a), regarding 

crashworthiness and damage 

susceptibility, is liable to the United 

States Government for a civil penalty of 

not more than $1,100 for each violation. 

Each failure to provide information or 

comply with a regulation in violation of 

49 U.S.C. 32308(a) is a separate 

violation. The maximum penalty under 

this paragraph for a related series of 

violations is $575,000. 

(2) Consumer tire information. Any 

person who fails to comply with the 

national tire fuel efficiency program 

under 49 U.S.C. 32304A is liable to the 

United States Government for a civil 

penalty of not more than $50,000 for 

each violation. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(1) A person that violates 49 U.S.C. 

Chapter 327 or a regulation prescribed 

or order issued thereunder is liable to 

the United States Government for a civil 

penalty of not more than $3,200 for each 

violation. A separate violation occurs 

for each motor vehicle or device 

involved in the violation. The maximum 

civil penalty under this paragraph for a 

related series of violations is $140,000. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(1) A person that violates 49 U.S.C. 

33114(a)(1)–(4) is liable to the United 

States Government for a civil penalty of 

not more than $1,100 for each violation. 

The failure of more than one part of a 

single motor vehicle to conform to an 

applicable standard under 49 U.S.C. 

33102 or 33103 is only a single 

violation. The maximum penalty under 

this paragraph for a related series of 

violations is $350,000. 

(2) A person that violates 49 U.S.C. 

33114(a)(5) is liable to the United States 

Government for a civil penalty of not 

more than $140,000 a day for each 

violation. 

* * * * * 

Issued on: January 26, 2010. 

David L. Strickland, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2010–1957 Filed 2–1–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 599 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2009–0120; Notice 2] 

RIN 2127–AK67 

Requirements and Procedures for 

Consumer Assistance To Recycle and 

Save Program 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule amends the 

regulations implementing the Consumer 

Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) 

program, published on July 29, 2009 in 

the Federal Register under the CARS 

Act. The rule change allows disposal 

facilities an additional 90 days, for a 

total of 270 days, to crush or shred a 

vehicle traded in under the CARS 

program. This additional time will 

allow the public to benefit from the 

availability of lower cost used vehicle 

parts from vehicles traded in under the 

CARS program and will provide 

disposal facilities with an opportunity 

to derive more revenue from those 

vehicles prior to crushing or shredding. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

February 2, 2010. Petitions: If you wish 

to petition for reconsideration of this 

rule, your petition must be received by 

March 19, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: If you submit a petition for 

reconsideration of this rule, you should 

refer in your petition to the docket 

number of this document and submit 

your petition to: Administrator, 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., West Building, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

The petition will be placed in the 

public docket. Anyone is able to search 

the electronic form of all documents 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

document (or signing the document, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review the complete User notice and 

Privacy Notice for Regulations.gov at 

http://www.regulations.gov/search/ 

footer/privacyanduse.jsp. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 21 / Tuesday, February 2, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 5249 

1A memorandum summarizing the meeting has 

been placed in the docket. (Docket No. NHTSA– 

2009–0120–0020). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions, you may call David Jasinski, 

NHTSA Office of Chief Counsel, at (202) 

366–5552. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Current Rule and Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking 

This final rule amends the regulations 

implementing the Consumer Assistance 

to Recycle and Save (CARS) program, 

published on July 29, 2009 in the 

Federal Register (74 FR 37878) under 

the CARS Act (Pub. L. 111–32). Those 

rules were amended by final rules 

published on August 5, 2009 (74 FR 

38974), and September 28, 2009 (74 FR 

49338). 

On November 27, 2009, NHTSA 

published, in the Federal Register, a 

notice of proposed rulemaking 

(November 27 NPRM) (74 FR 62275). 

The November 27 NPRM proposed a 

rule change that would allow disposal 

facilities an additional 90 days, for a 

total of 270 days, to crush or shred a 

vehicle traded in under the CARS 

program. The additional time would 

allow the public to benefit from the 

availability of lower cost, used vehicle 

parts from CARS trade-in vehicles and 

would provide disposal facilities with 

an opportunity to derive more revenue 

from those vehicles prior to crushing or 

shredding, thereby providing additional 

economic benefit from the CARS 

program. 

Section 1302(c)(2) of the CARS Act 

grants the agency discretion to 

determine the appropriate time period 

by which a disposal facility must crush 

a vehicle. The rule currently requires a 

disposal facility that receives a vehicle 

traded in under the CARS program to 

crush or shred the vehicle within 180 

days of receipt of the vehicle. 49 CFR 

599.401(a)(3). After consulting with 

representatives of disposal facilities, the 

agency determined that 180 days was an 

appropriate amount of time to allow a 

disposal facility to possess a car prior to 

crushing or shredding. This time period 

was based upon an estimate that 

250,000 vehicles would be traded in 

under the CARS program and that the 

program’s duration would be four 

months. 

Due to the enormous popularity of the 

CARS program, the initial $1 billion in 

available funds were quickly depleted 

and, on August 7, 2009, Congress 

provided the CARS program with an 

additional $2 billion (Pub. L. 111–47). 

On August 25, 2009, approximately one 

month after the CARS program began, 

the agency stopped accepting new 

submissions because the additional 

funds were also depleted. By that time, 

nearly 700,000 new vehicles had been 

sold under the CARS program. 

Shortly after CARS program 

transactions ceased and the majority of 

the dealers’ transactions were 

reimbursed by NHTSA, a representative 

of disposal facilities requested a meeting 

with NHTSA officials to discuss the 

possibility of extending the 180-day 

time period for crushing or shredding a 

trade-in vehicle. Although disposal 

facilities initially expected to receive 

250,000 CARS trade-in vehicles spread 

out over four months, disposal facilities 

actually received nearly 700,000 CARS 

trade-in vehicles. Further, the majority 

of the CARS trade-in vehicles were 

received within less than one month. 

At a September 29, 2009, meeting 

with disposal facility representatives,1

agency officials learned that some 

disposal facilities were experiencing 

substantial difficulty processing all of 

the CARS trade-in vehicles that were 

purchased from dealers or salvage 

auctions and that many disposal 

facilities anticipated significant 

difficulty in meeting the 180-day 

deadline to crush and shred these 

vehicles. The representatives also noted 

that the processing problems made it 

difficult for facilities to effectively 

inventory and sell parts from these 

vehicles, as authorized by the CARS 

Act. The disposal facilities suggested 

that, if they were able to hold a vehicle 

for more than 180 days prior to crushing 

or shredding, then consumers would 

have the benefit of cheaper used vehicle 

parts. The disposal facility 

representatives suggested that one year 

(an additional 180 days) would be a 

suitable time to ensure that the public 

received the maximum benefit from 

used vehicle parts while simultaneously 

ensuring that the vehicles are crushed or 

shredded within a reasonable time 

frame. 

In the November 27 NPRM, the 

agency balanced the concerns of the 

disposal facilities and the public’s 

interest in having access to cheaper 

used vehicle parts with two 

considerations that weighed against 

allowing more time to crush or shred 

trade-in vehicles. First, and most 

importantly, the agency was concerned 

about possible fraud. The CARS Act 

contains an explicit Congressional 

instruction to take measures to prevent 

fraud and the statute’s clear 

environmental objective is to ensure 

that the fuel inefficient trade-in vehicles 

are never again used on the highway. 

The risk of fraud related to extending 

the deadline for crushing or shredding 

vehicles is mitigated substantially by 

the requirement that dealers disable the 

vehicles’ engines within seven days 

after receipt of payment for the 

transaction and that vehicles be flagged 

by disposal facilities in the National 

Motor Vehicle Title Information System 

(NMVTIS) as scrap vehicles within 

seven days of receipt. Nevertheless, the 

risk of a vehicle returning to the 

highway is not fully eliminated until the 

vehicle is crushed or shredded. 

The agency was also concerned about 

the additional administrative burden 

that would result from extending the 

deadline for crushing or shredding 

vehicles. The agency is committed to 

enforcing the requirements of the CARS 

program, including the requirements 

that vehicles are not transferred prior to 

crushing or shredding, vehicles’ engine 

blocks are not sold, and vehicles are 

crushed or shredded on site. The longer 

disposal facilities are allowed to keep 

vehicles on their lots prior to crushing, 

the longer the agency must devote 

resources to ensuring that disposal 

facilities comply with the requirements 

of the CARS program. 

After considering the relevant 

interests, the agency proposed to amend 

section 599.401(a)(3) to allow disposal 

facilities an additional 90 days, for a 

total of 270 days, to crush or shred a 

vehicle. The agency stated that the 90 

additional days struck an appropriate 

balance between the public benefit of 

having cheaper used vehicle parts from 

the vehicles traded in under the CARS 

program and the interest in minimizing 

fraud and the administrative burdens on 

the agency. 

As part of the certification forms 

currently required under section 

599.400 and Appendix E, a disposal 

facility must certify that a CARS 

program trade-in vehicle will be 

crushed or shredded within 180 days 

after receipt of the vehicle. Because 

NHTSA had already received the 

majority of the 700,000 Disposal Facility 

Certification Forms, it would be 

unnecessarily burdensome on both 

NHTSA and disposal facilities to require 

disposal facilities to submit new forms 

to NHTSA. Instead, NHTSA stated its 

intent to treat the certifications on the 

forms already submitted as if they 

required disposal facilities to crush or 

shred a vehicle within 270 days of 

receipt. NHTSA also proposed adding 

language to section 599.401 to formalize 

the de facto change to the existing 

certification. 


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5250 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 21 / Tuesday, February 2, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

Summary of Comments Received and 

Agency’s Response 

NHTSA has considered all comments 

received by December 31, 2009. As of 

that date, NHTSA had received 84 

comments on the proposed rule change. 

The overwhelming majority of 

comments received were from disposal 

facilities. NHTSA also received 

comments from a State automobile 

dealers association, State automobile 

recyclers associations, a national 

automobile recyclers association, and a 

national law enforcement support 

organization. 

Of the 84 comments received, 79 

commenters expressed full support for 

the proposal to extend by 90 days the 

deadline for disposal facilities to crush 

or shred a CARS trade-in vehicle. The 

commenters cited many reasons for 

supporting the rule. The most often 

cited reason for favoring the proposed 

extension was the economic benefit of 

having cheaper used vehicle parts 

available to consumers. Commenters 

also cited the environmental benefits of 

the proposed rule associated with more 

re-use of used vehicle parts. 

Commenters also noted, as did NHTSA 

in the November 27 NPRM, that the 

original rule was based on the 

expectation that disposal facilities 

would receive 250,000 vehicles over 

four months. Instead, disposal facilities 

received nearly 700,000 vehicles within 

less than one month. Many commenters 

noted that they hired more workers to 

process CARS trade-in vehicles. Finally, 

commenters supporting the proposed 

rule change also observed that winter 

weather conditions made the transport 

of mobile crushers to some parts of the 

country difficult. 

Four commenters did not fully 

support the proposed rule changes, 

expressing a preference for a longer 

extension of time for crushing or 

shredding CARS trade-in vehicles. The 

New Hampshire Automobile Dealers 

Association and Barger Auto Parts 

simply expressed a preference for 

having a full year to crush or shred a 

vehicle, but both stated that they 

supported the proposed 90-day 

extension. Motor Pro Auto Recycling 

stated that, because the funding for the 

CARS program was tripled, it would be 

unfair not to at least double the amount 

of time required for crushing or 

shredding. One individual observed 

that, in North Dakota, the winter climate 

makes it difficult to move vehicles in 

disposal facilities and that it would be 

ideal if facilities had until the end of the 

summer of 2010 to crush or shred 

vehicles. 

We have made no changes to the 

proposed rule based on these comments. 

Although we considered the reasons 

offered by the commenters in support of 

a longer period by which to crush or 

shred vehicles, nothing has altered the 

balance of interests discussed above and 

in the November 27 NPRM. The 

disposal facilities’ economic interests 

and the public benefits must be 

balanced against the risk of fraud and 

the administrative burden of 

maintaining the CARS program. After 

consideration of all comments, the 

agency still believes that the 90-day 

extension strikes the appropriate 

balance. 

One commenter, Howard Nusbaum, 

Administrator of the National Salvage 

Vehicle Reporting Program, expressed 

support for the 90-day extension as a 

reasoned compromise between the 

interests of the disposal facilities and 

the agency. However, Mr. Nusbaum 

offered two additional comments related 

to the involvement of salvage auctions 

in the disposal process. First, Mr. 

Nusbaum noted that there is no set time 

period by which salvage auctions must 

transfer CARS trade-in vehicles to 

disposal facilities. Mr. Nusbaum 

observed that the CARS program is, 

therefore, open-ended. 

Second, Mr. Nusbaum noted that 

NHTSA does not know what is 

happening to a CARS trade-in vehicle 

between the time it is transferred from 

a dealer to a salvage auction and the 

time it is transferred from the salvage 

auction to the disposal facility. Mr. 

Nusbaum also observed that a salvage 

auction cannot submit a disposal 

facility’s certification form prior to 

selling the vehicle, leaving the 

enforcement of a disposal facility’s 

eligibility to participate in a salvage 

auction up to the auction. According to 

Mr. Nusbaum, the current rules create a 

gap in the audit trail that introduces an 

opportunity for fraud by making it 

difficult for NHTSA to know that a 

salvage auction is properly disposing of 

a vehicle. Mr. Nusbaum recommends 

setting a final end date for the CARS 

program, which would limit the amount 

of time salvage auctions could hold 

CARS trade-in vehicles. 

NHTSA has made no changes to the 

proposed rule based on this comment. 

Mr. Nusbaum expressed support for the 

proposed 90-day extension. The 

remainder of his comments relate to 

issues that are not within the scope of 

the November 27 NPRM. Therefore, we 

will not address them in this 

rulemaking document. However, 

NHTSA will treat Mr. Nusbaum’s 

comments as a petition for rulemaking 

and will address them in a forthcoming 

notice to be published in the Federal 

Register. 

For the reasons discussed above and 

in the November 27 NPRM, and having 

considered all of the comments 

received, NHTSA will adopt without 

change the amendments proposed in the 

November 27 NPRM. 

Statutory Basis for This Action 

This proposed rule would make 

amendments to regulations 

implementing the Consumer Assistance 

to Recycle and Save Act (CARS Act) 

(Pub. L. 111–32), which directs the 

Secretary to issue regulations 

implementing the Act. 

APA Requirements and Effective Date 

Section 1302(d) of the CARS Act 

provides that ‘‘notwithstanding’’ the 

requirements of section 553 of title 5, 

United States Code, the Secretary shall 

promulgate final regulations to 

implement the Program not later than 30 

days after the date of the enactment of 

the CARS Act. The agency considered 

public notice and comment 

impracticable and used the statutory 

authority in the CARS Act to issue the 

CARS program regulations and two 

subsequent amendments. 

In the interest of openness and public 

participation, the agency determined 

that a 20-day public notice and 

comment period was warranted in the 

November 27 NPRM. Because the 

transaction submission portal was 

opened on July 27, 2009, the first 

vehicles would have been received by 

disposal facilities shortly thereafter. 

Therefore, the deadline for crushing or 

shredding some vehicles traded in 

under the CARS program would be as 

soon as approximately February 1, 2010 

under the current regulations. 

Although the agency recognizes that 

some vehicles traded in under the CARS 

program have already been crushed or 

shredded voluntarily well in advance of 

the 180 day deadline, basic fairness 

requires that all vehicles traded in 

under the CARS program and not yet 

crushed or shredded be subject to the 

same deadline for crushing or 

shredding. 

Therefore, to ensure consistency, this 

final rule extending the deadline for 

crushing or shredding a trade in vehicle 

is effective immediately upon 

publication in the Federal Register. The 

90-day extension from 180 days to 270 

days would apply to all vehicles not yet 

crushed or shredded pursuant to the 

CARS program. 

Regulatory Analyses and Notices 

We have considered the impact of this 

rulemaking action under Executive 


erowe on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 21 / Tuesday, February 2, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 5251 

Order 12866 and the Department of 

Transportation’s regulatory policies and 

procedures. This rulemaking document 

was not reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory 

Planning and Review.’’ This action is 

limited to the proposed extension 

contained herein, and has been 

determined to be not ‘‘significant’’ under 

the Department of Transportation’s 

regulatory policies and procedures. 

The agency has discussed the relevant 

requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, Executive Order 13132 

(Federalism), Executive Order 12988 

(Civil Justice Reform), the National 

Environmental Policy Act, the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, and the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act in the 

July 29, 2009 final rule cited above. This 

rule does not change the findings in 

those analyses. 

Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN) 

The Department of Transportation 

assigns a regulation identifier number 

(RIN) to each regulatory action listed in 

the Unified Agenda of Federal 

Regulations. The Regulatory Information 

Service Center publishes the Unified 

Agenda in April and October of each 

year. You may use the RIN contained in 

the heading at the beginning of this 

document to find this action in the 

Unified Agenda. 

Privacy Act 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477–78). 

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 599 

Fuel economy, Motor vehicle safety. 

■ In consideration of the foregoing, 

NHTSA hereby amends 49 CFR part 599 

as set forth below. 

PART 599—REQUIREMENTS AND 

PROCEDURES FOR CONSUMER 

ASSISTANCE TO RECYCLE AND SAVE 

ACT PROGRAM 

■ 1. The authority citation for Part 599 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 32901, Notes; 

delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50. 

■ 2. Section 599.401 is amended by 

revising paragraph (a)(3) and adding 

paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 599.401 Requirements and limitations for 

disposal facilities that receive trade-in 

vehicles under the CARS program. 

(a) * * * 

(3) Crush or shred the trade-in vehicle 

onsite, including the engine block and 

the drive train (unless with respect to 

the drive train, the transmission, drive 

shaft, and rear end are sold separately), 

using its own machinery or a mobile 

crusher, within 270 days after receipt of 

the vehicle from the dealer or salvage 

auction; 

* * * * * 

(d) A completed Disposal Facility 

Certification Form (Appendix E to this 

part) for an individual transaction, 

which includes a certification by the 

disposal facility that the trade-in vehicle 

will be crushed or shredded within 180 

days of receipt by the disposal facility, 

is deemed to be amended to include an 

extension of time such that the trade-in 

vehicle will be crushed or shredded 

within 270 days of receipt by the 

disposal facility. 

Issued on: January 28, 2010. 

David L. Strickland, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2194 Filed 2–1–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 0810141351–9087–02] 

RIN 0648–XU15 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by 

Catcher Vessels Greater Than or Equal 

to 60 Feet (18.3 Meters) Length Overall 

Using Pot Gear in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Pacific cod by pot catcher 

vessels greater than or equal to 60 feet 

(18.3 meters (m)) length overall (LOA) 

in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

management area (BSAI). This action is 

necessary to prevent exceeding the A 

season allowance of the 2010 Pacific 

cod total allowable catch (TAC) 

specified for pot catcher vessels greater 

than or equal to 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA 

in the BSAI. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), January 28, 2010, through 

1200 hrs, A.l.t., September 1, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh 

Keaton, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(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 A season allowance of the 2010 

Pacific cod TAC allocated to pot catcher 

vessels greater than or equal to 60 feet 

(18.3 m) LOA in the BSAI is 6,422 

metric tons as established by the final 

2009 and 2010 harvest specifications for 

groundfish in the BSAI (74 FR 7359, 

February 17, 2010) and inseason 

adjustment (74 FR 68717, December 29, 

2009). 

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

the Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS, has determined that the A 

season directed fishing allowance of the 

2010 Pacific cod TAC allocated to pot 

catcher vessels greater than or equal to 

60 feet (18.3 m) LOA in the BSAI has 

been reached. Consequently, NMFS is 

prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific 

cod by pot catcher vessels greater than 

or equal to 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA in the 

BSAI. 

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 Pacific cod by 

catcher vessels greater than or equal to 

60 ft (18.3 m) LOA using pot gear in the 

BSAI. NMFS was unable to publish a 

notice providing time for public 

comment because the most recent, 


erowe on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with RULES