Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 14, 2015 / Proposed Rules 1881 

address from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 

Monday–Friday, approximately three 

weeks after publication of this notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl 

Harper, Director, Office of Resource 

Access and Partnerships, Indian Health 

Service, 801 Thompson Avenue, 

Rockville, Maryland 20852. Telephone: 

(301) 443–1553. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposed rule would amend Indian 

Health Service (IHS) Purchased and 

Referred Care, formally known as 

Contract Health Services, regulations to 

apply Medicare payment methodologies 

to all physician and other health care 

professional services and non-hospital 

based services that are either authorized 

under such regulations or purchased by 

urban Indian organizations. Specifically, 

it proposes that the health programs 

operated by IHS, Tribe, Tribal 

organization, or urban Indian 

organization will pay the lowest of the 

amount provided for under the 

applicable Medicare fee schedule, 

prospective payment system, or 

Medicare waiver; the amount negotiated 

by a repricing agent, if available; or the 

usual and customary billing rate. 

Repricing agents may be used to 

determine whether IHS may benefit 

from savings by utilizing negotiated 

rates offered through commercial health 

care networks. This proposed rule seeks 

comment on how to establish 

reimbursement that is consistent across 

Federal health care programs, aligns 

payment with inpatient services, and 

enables the IHS to expand beneficiary 

access to medical care. 

This comment period is being 

extended to allow all interested parties 

the opportunity to comment on the 

proposed rule. Therefore, we are 

extending the comment period until 

February 4, 2015. 

Dated: January 7, 2015. 

Yvette Roubideaux, 

Acting Director, Indian Health Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00400 Filed 1–13–15; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

[Docket No. 141110950–4999–01] 

RIN 0648–BE63 

Pacific Island Fisheries; Pacific 

Remote Islands Marine National 

Monument Expansion 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to establish 

requirements for fishing in the Pacific 

Remote Islands Marine National 

Monument Expansion. The proposed 

rule is intended to implement fishery 

management measures consistent with 

Presidential Proclamation 9173. 

DATES: NMFS must receive comments 

on the proposed rule by February 13, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this proposed rule, identified by 

NOAA–NMFS–2014–0142, by either of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014- 

0142, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Send written comments to 

Michael D. Tosatto, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands 

Region (PIR), 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 

176, Honolulu, HI 96818. 

Instructions: 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 by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

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

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous), and will accept 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF 

file formats only. 

You may review Presidential 

Proclamation 9173 (establishing the 

Pacific Remote Islands Marine National 

Monument Expansion) (PRI Monument 

Expansion), Presidential Proclamation 

8663 (establishing the Pacific Remote 

Islands Marine National Monument) 

(PRI Monument), and the PRI 

Monument fishing requirements 

established in Amendment 2 to the 

Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the Pacific 

Remote Island Areas published in 2013, 

available from www.regulations.gov. 

Amendment 2 is also available from the 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council), 1164 Bishop St., 

Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 

808–522–8220, fax 808–522–8226, or 

from www.wpcouncil.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob 

Harman, NMFS PIR Sustainable 

Fisheries, tel 808–725–5170. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and 

the Council manage Pacific Island 

fisheries through fishery ecosystem 

plans (FEP) for American Samoa, the 

Mariana Archipelago (Guam and the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands (CNMI)), the Pacific Remote 

Island Areas (PRIA), Hawaii, and 

western Pacific pelagic fisheries. 

Fishing regulations for the Pacific 

Islands are found mainly in 50 CFR part 

665. 

In 2009, President Bush issued 

Presidential Proclamations that 

established three Marine National 

Monuments in the Pacific Islands under 

the authority of the Antiquities Act: The 

Marianas Trench Marine National 

Monument (Proclamation 8335), the 

Pacific Remote Islands Marine National 

Monument (PRI Monument, 

Proclamation 8336), and the Rose Atoll 

Marine National Monument 

(Proclamation 8337). The Proclamations 

directed the Secretaries of the Interior 

and Commerce to take appropriate 

action pursuant to their respective 

authorities under the Antiquities Act, 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and such 

other authorities as may be available to 

implement the Proclamations, to 

regulate fisheries, including allowing for 

traditional indigenous fishing practices, 

and to ensure proper care and 

management of the monuments. 

In 2013, the Council incorporated the 

Proclamations’ fishery management 

provisions into its FEPs. With respect to 

the PRI Monument, the Council adopted 

Amendment 2 to the Fishery Ecosystem 

Plan for the Pacific Remote Island Areas 

establishing (a) the boundaries of the 

PRI Monument and various 

management units, (b) the prohibition 

on commercial fishing, and (c) 

management measures for nonVerDate Sep<11>2014 12:23 Jan 13, 2015 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\14JAP1.SGM 14JAP1

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1882 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 14, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

commercial and recreational fishing. 

The Secretary of Commerce approved 

Amendment 2 on May 2, 2013. NMFS 

then implemented a final rule that, 

among other things, established a new 

subpart H in 50 CFR part 665 for the PRI 

Monument, based on the Council’s 

recommendations in Amendment 2 (78 

FR 32996, June 3, 2013). Specifically, 

the rule codified the Monument’s 

boundaries and prohibited commercial 

fishing throughout the Monument. It 

further established management 

measures for non-commercial and 

recreational fishing (i) prohibiting all 

fishing within 12 nm of islands in the 

PRI Monument, subject to U.S. Fish & 

Wildlife Service authority to allow noncommercial fishing in consultation with 

NMFS and the Council; (ii) requiring 

federal permits and reporting for noncommercial and recreational charter 

fishing to aid in monitoring of fishing 

activities; (iii) prohibiting sale or 

exchange through barter or trade of fish 

caught by a recreational charter boat and 

all customary exchange; and (iv) 

prohibiting commercial fishing outside 

the Monument and non-commercial 

fishing within the Monument during the 

same trip. 

On September 27, 2014, President 

Obama issued Presidential Proclamation 

9173 titled ‘‘Pacific Remote Islands 

Marine National Monument Expansion’’ 

(PRI Monument Expansion). The PRI 

Monument Expansion includes the 

waters and submerged lands of Jarvis 

and Wake Islands and Johnston Atoll 

that lie from the PRI Monument 

boundary established in Proclamation 

8336 to the seaward limit of the U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone (U.S. EEZ) (as 

established in Proclamation 5030 of 

March 10, 1983). The additional area is 

approximately 308,316 square nautical 

miles. The intent of the PRI Monument 

Expansion was to provide expanded 

protection to objects of scientific 

interest, including seamounts, deep sea 

corals, sea turtles, seabirds, and other 

migratory species. 

Proclamation 9173 prohibited 

commercial fishing in the PRI 

Monument Expansion and directed the 

Secretaries of the Interior and 

Commerce to ensure that recreational 

and non-commercial fishing continue to 

be managed as sustainable activities in 

the PRI Monument and Monument 

Expansion. Nothing in Proclamation 

9173 changed the management of the 

PRI Monument, and it did not affect the 

management or change the boundaries 

of any island or atoll in the PRI 

Monument. 

At its 161st meeting held from 

October 20–23, 2014, in Honolulu, the 

Council recommended amending the 

FEP regulations to implement the PRI 

Monument Expansion at Jarvis Island, 

Wake Island and Johnston Atoll as 

directed in Proclamation 9173. The 

Council further recommended that the 

regulations that now apply within the 

PRI Monument would be applicable 

within the PRI Monument Expansion. In 

this proposed action, and consistent 

with the existing requirements in the 

PRI Monument, commercial fishing 

would be prohibited within the PRI 

Monument Expansion, and managed 

non-commercial fishing would be 

allowed within the Monument 

Expansion as described above. 

Consistent with the Proclamation and 

Council recommendations, this rule 

would amend regulations at 50 CFR part 

665, subpart H. The fishing 

requirements for the Monument 

Expansion would include, among other 

things, the following: 

• Prohibition of commercial fishing; 

• Permit and reporting requirements 

for non-commercial and recreational 

fishing; 

• Prohibition of conduct involving 

commercial fishing outside the PRI 

Monument and Monument Expansion 

and non-commercial fishing within the 

PRI Monument and Monument 

Expansion during the same trip; and 

• Administrative housekeeping 

changes made in the 2013 final rule to 

the Federal permit and reporting 

requirements at §§ 665.13 and 665.14, 

and the vessel identification 

requirements at § 665.16. 

Additional background information 

on this action is found in 78 FR 32996 

(June 3, 2013), 78 FR 39583 (July 2, 

2013), and 79 FR 58645 (September 29, 

2014), and is not repeated here. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed rule is consistent 

with the Fishery Ecosystem Plans for 

the Pacific Remote Island Areas and 

western Pacific pelagic fisheries, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and other applicable law, subject to 

further consideration after public 

comment. 

Executive Order 12866 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. A 

description of the action, why it is being 

considered, and the legal basis for this 

action are contained in the preamble to 

this proposed rule. 

In January 2009, President Bush 

established, by Presidential 

Proclamation, the PRI Monument. 

NMFS implemented a final rule that 

codified the PRI Monument boundaries, 

prohibited commercial fishing in the 

PRI Monument, and established 

measures for managing non-commercial 

and recreational fishing in the 

Monument. 

In September 2014, President Obama 

issued Presidential Proclamation 9173 

that expanded the PRI Monument 

around Jarvis Island, Wake Island, and 

Johnston Atoll to the seaward limit of 

the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone 

(EEZ). The additional area is 

approximately 308,315 square nautical 

miles, which, when combined with the 

PRI Monument, is an area of 

approximately 339,960 square nautical 

miles. This proposed rule would codify 

the PRI Monument Expansion 

boundaries and extend the existing 

fishing management measures, 

including those that apply to noncommercial fishing, to the expanded 

area. 

The proposed rule would apply to the 

following categories of small entities: 

Commercial fishing vessels (NAICS 

code 114111) and recreational charter 

fishing vessels (NAICS code 487210). 

NMFS believes that almost all 

businesses operating as commercial and 

recreational charter vessels in the U.S. 

territories and in Hawaii would be 

considered small entities, with annual 

revenues below $7.5 million and $20.5 

million, respectively. The proposed rule 

would apply to hundreds of fishing 

vessels, regardless of gear type and size, 

many of which are primarily noncommercial fishing vessels that 

occasionally sell fish or take clients out 

on charter fishing trips. However, as 

discussed below, the rule will likely 

have little effect on overall commercial 

fishing and charter fishing activities 

relative to the status quo. 

Fishing interest and activity in the 

PRIA, even before the PRI Monument 

was created, and including fishing 

within EEZ waters outside of PRI 

Monument boundaries that were 

recently included in the expanded 

boundary around three PRI islands and 

an atoll, has been low. As of November 

2014, the type and number of PRIA 

fishing permits issued are as follows: 

Western Pacific pelagic squid (0), troll 

handline (7), bottomfish (2), crustaceans 

(0), precious corals (0), coral reef 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 14, 2015 / Proposed Rules 1883 

ecosystem (0), and Marine National 

Monument fishing (0). Even though 

NMFS issued several permits, fishing 

has been limited. In addition to the 

above permits, some commercial 

longline and purse seine fishing has also 

occurred in the EEZ around the PRIA in 

recent years, outside of PRI Monument 

waters. Within the EEZ around the 

PRIA, based on anecdotal information, a 

small amount of recreational fishing 

may be occurring by charter vessels 

visiting Palmyra Atoll from Hawaii, and 

this low amount of voyaging and fishing 

could extend to the PRI Monument 

Expansion areas around Jarvis. With the 

limited interest, activity, and 

information on commercial, noncommercial, and recreational fishing in 

and near the PRI Monument, NMFS 

estimates that up to 15 vessels would 

each make one trip annually to the PRI 

Monument, and most of these trips 

would be to Palmyra Atoll, which has 

facilities to support visitors. 

This proposed rule would extend all 

existing PRI Monument requirements to 

the Monument Expansion areas. 

Proclamation 9173 prohibits 

commercial fishing in the Monument 

Expansion, so this proposed rule would 

codify that prohibition. This proposed 

rule could affect businesses operating 

commercial fishing and charter fishing 

vessels choosing to operate in the 

Monument Expansion. This is because 

the proposed rule prohibits the engaging 

in commercial fishing outside the 

Monument Expansion and noncommercial fishing inside the 

Monument Expansion during the same 

trip. Fishermen who wish to sell fish 

caught during their trip would not be 

able to fish non-commercially inside the 

Monument Expansion boundaries; this 

applies to all fishing vessels, as well as 

charter fishing vessels. This is likely to 

have little to no effect on revenues, as 

fishermen whose primary trip goal is to 

earn revenue, however modest, will 

choose not to fish non-commercially in 

the Monument. 

Recreational charter vessel owners 

and operators would continue to be 

allowed to fish in the Monument 

Expansion under a Monument permit, 

but they may not sell, barter, or trade 

fish caught in the Monument 

Expansion, nor may they supplement 

trip fee revenues by selling fish caught 

outside the Monument Expansion on 

the same fishing trip in which they, 

their customers, or guests, conducted 

non-commercial or recreational fishing 

in the Monument Expansion. 

In general, the primary revenue 

sources for charter fishing vessels are 

charter fees paid by customers and any 

revenue earned from selling fish would 

supplement trip fees. The restriction on 

supplemental fish sales is not expected 

to have a significant impact to small 

charter fishing entities because the 

overall number of recreational fishing 

trips to the PRI Monument is likely to 

be less than ten to fifteen each year; 

indeed, none have been made in 2013– 

2014 within the Monument Expansion 

area. The potential overall number of 

recreational fishing trips to the newly 

Monument Expansion is likely to be 

very small relative to the total annual 

number of charter fishing trips taken by 

affected vessels outside the Monument 

Expansion. 

The proposed rule does not duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with other Federal 

rules and is not expected to have a 

significant impact on small entities (as 

discussed above), organizations or 

government jurisdictions. There do not 

appear to be disproportionate economic 

impacts from the proposed rule based 

on home port, gear type, or relative 

vessel size primarily because the remote 

distances required to be traveled by 

non-commercial fishing vessels is likely 

to reduce interest in fishing by most 

fishermen, except for fishermen who 

were already destined to visit the area 

(such as would occur at Palmyra Atoll 

Monument). The rule will not result in 

a benefit to any one class of vessel 

owners relative to home port, gear type, 

or relative vessel size: All vessels are 

welcome to apply for non-commercial 

permits, and only authorized gear types 

would be allowed to be used in the 

Monument Expansion. The proposed 

rule also will not place a substantial 

number of small entities, or any segment 

of small entities, at a significant 

competitive disadvantage to large 

entities. As such, an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis is not required and 

none has been prepared. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) 

In 2013, the Council prepared an 

environmental assessment (EA, April 

30, 2013) that described the impact on 

the human environment that would 

result from implementation of the 

fishing requirements for the three 

monuments. Based on the EA, 

Regulatory Impact Review, evaluation of 

the economic impacts under the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, review of the 

NEPA criteria for significant effects, 

NMFS criteria for significance evaluated 

above, and the information provided in 

the finding of no significant impact 

(FONSI, May 1, 2013), NMFS found that 

there would be no significant impact on 

the human environment as a result of 

the action. For this proposed rule, 

NMFS considered relevant new 

information and circumstances, and 

none of the new information indicated 

that the proposed action would result in 

a change to impacts previously 

considered. Thus, NMFS concluded that 

there is no need to supplement the EA 

or FONSI. 

Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) 

Because this proposed rule would 

occur outside the coastal zone of any 

State and will not have reasonably 

foreseeable effects on any coastal use or 

resource, NMFS is not required to 

coordinate with State agencies under 

section 307 of the CZMA. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Commercial fishing, 

Fisheries, Monuments and memorials, 

Pacific Remote Islands. 

Dated: January 9, 2015. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 

CFR part 665 as follows: 

PART 665—FISHERIES IN THE 

WESTERN PACIFIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for 50 CFR 

part 665 continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. Revise § 665.930 to read as follows: 

§ 665.930 Scope and purpose. 

The regulations in this subpart codify 

certain provisions of the Proclamations, 

and govern the administration of fishing 

in the Monument. 

■ 3. In § 665.931, revise paragraphs (a), 

(c), and (d) to read as follows: 

* * * * * 

§ 665.931 Boundaries. 

(a) Wake Island. The Wake Island unit 

of the Monument includes the waters 

and submerged and emergent lands 

around Wake Island to the seaward limit 

of the U.S. EEZ. 

* * * * * 

(c) Jarvis Island. The Jarvis Island unit 

of the Monument includes the waters 

and submerged and emergent lands 

around Jarvis Island to the seaward limit 

of the U.S. EEZ. 

(d) Johnston Atoll. The Johnston Atoll 

unit of the Monument includes the 

waters and submerged and emergent 

lands around Johnston Atoll to the 

seaward limit of the U.S. EEZ. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 665.932, revise the definition of 

‘‘Monument’’, remove the definition of 


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1884 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 14, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

‘‘Proclamation’’, and add the definition 

of ‘‘Proclamations’’ in alphabetical order 

to read as follows: 

§ 665.932 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Monument means the waters and 

submerged and emergent lands of the 

Pacific Remote Islands Marine National 

Monument and the Pacific Remote 

Islands Marine National Monument 

Expansion, as defined in § 665.931. 

* * * * * 

Proclamations means Presidential 

Proclamation 8336 of January 6, 2009, 

‘‘Establishment of the Pacific Remote 

Islands Marine National Monument,’’ 

and Presidential Proclamation 9173 of 

September 29, 2014, ‘‘Pacific Remote 

Islands Marine National Monument 

Expansion.’’ 

[FR Doc. 2015–00444 Filed 1–13–15; 8:45 am] 

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