39976 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

Dated: August 15, 2017. 

Jeffrey Martin, 

Office Program Manager, Office of Regulation 

Policy & Management, Office of the Secretary, 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 8 

Life insurance, Veterans. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, VA proposes to amend 38 

CFR part 8 as set forth below: 

PART 8—NATIONAL SERVICE LIFE 

INSURANCE 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 8 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 1901–1929, 

1981–1988, unless otherwise noted. 

■ 2. Adding new section 8.34 to read as 

follows: 

§ 8.34 Ineligibility for insurance under 

section 1922A of title 38, U.S.C. 

(supplemental Service-Disabled Veterans’ 

Insurance) if person insured under section 

1922(b) of title 38, U.S.C. 

A person who is granted ServiceDisabled Veterans’ Insurance under 38 

U.S.C. 1922(b) is not eligible for 

supplemental Service-Disabled 

Veterans’ Insurance under 38 U.S.C. 

1922A. 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1912, 1922, 1922A) 

[FR Doc. 2017–17587 Filed 8–22–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 86 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2015–0827; FRL–9966–91– 

OAR] 

Public Hearing for Reconsideration of 

the Final Determination of the Mid-term 

Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas 

Emissions Standards for Model Years 

2022–2025 Light-Duty Vehicles 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Announcement of public 

hearing. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is announcing a public 

hearing to be held in Washington, DC on 

September 6, 2017 for the notice 

‘‘Request for Comment on 

Reconsideration of the Final 

Determination of the Mid-term 

Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas 

Emissions Standards for Model Years 

2022–2025 Light-duty Vehicles; Request 

for Comment on Model Year 2021 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards’’ 

announced August 10, 2017 and 

projected to be published on August 21, 

2017. In the document signed on August 

10, 2017, EPA announced that it is 

reconsidering whether the light-duty 

vehicle greenhouse gas standards 

previously established for model years 

2022–2025 are appropriate under 

section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act and 

invited stakeholders to submit any 

comments, data, and information they 

believe are relevant to the 

Administrator’s reconsideration of the 

January 2017 Mid-term Evaluation Final 

Determination and in particular, 

highlight any new information. EPA 

also requested comment on the separate 

question of whether the light-duty 

vehicle greenhouse gas standards 

established for model year 2021 remain 

appropriate, regardless of the agency’s 

decision on the Mid-term Evaluation. 

DATES: The public hearing will be held 

on September 6, 2017, at the location 

noted below under ADDRESSES. The 

hearing will begin at 9 a.m. and end 

when all parties present who wish to 

speak have had an opportunity to do so. 

Parties wishing to testify at the hearing 

should notify EPA by August 30, 2017, 

by sending an email to Hearing 

RegistrationlASD@epa.gov or by 

contacting the contact person listed 

below under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Additional information 

regarding the hearing appears below 

under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:. 

Any updates made to any aspect of the 

hearing, including any change to the 

location of the hearing, will be posted 

online at https://www.epa.gov/ 

regulations-emissions-vehicles-andengines/midterm-evaluation-light-dutyvehicle-ghg-emissions. The EPA does 

not intend to publish a notice in the 

Federal Register announcing any such 

updates. Please go to https://

www.epa.gov/regulations-emissionsvehicles-and-engines/midtermevaluation-light-duty-vehicle-ghgemissions for more information on the 

public hearing. 

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held at 

the following location: Renaissance 

Washington, DC Downtown Hotel, 999 

Ninth Street NW., Washington, DC, 

USA, 20001 (phone number 202–898– 

9000). A complete set of documents 

related to the Mid-term Evaluation are 

available for public inspection through 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// 

www.regulations.gov, Docket 

Identification No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2015– 

0827. Documents can also be viewed at 

the EPA Docket Center, located at 1301 

Constitution Avenue NW., Room 3334, 

Washington, DC between 8:30 a.m. and 

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

excluding legal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher Lieske, Office of 

Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ), 

Assessment and Standards Division 

(ASD), U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 2000 Traverwood Drive, Ann 

Arbor MI 48105; telephone number: 

(734) 214–4584; fax number: (734) 214– 

4816; email address: Hearing 

RegistrationlASD@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the public hearing is to 

provide the public an opportunity to 

present oral comments related to the 

notice ‘‘Request for Comment on 

Reconsideration of the Final 

Determination of the Mid-term 

Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas 

Emissions Standards for Model Years 

2022–2025 Light-duty Vehicles; Request 

for Comment on Model Year 2021 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards’’ 

projected to be published on August 21, 

2017. Once EPA learns how many 

people have registered to speak at the 

public hearing, we will allocate an 

appropriate amount of time to each 

participant, allowing time for necessary 

breaks. In addition, we will reserve a 

block of time for anyone else in the 

audience who wants to give testimony. 

For planning purposes, each speaker 

should anticipate speaking for no more 

than five minutes, although we may 

need to shorten that time if there is a 

large turnout. We request that you bring 

two copies of your statement or other 

material for the EPA panel. 

EPA will conduct the hearings 

informally, and technical rules of 

evidence will not apply. We will 

arrange for a written transcript of the 

hearing and keep the official record for 

the notice open until the close of the 

comment period to allow speakers to 

submit supplementary information. You 

may make arrangements for copies of 

the transcripts directly with the court 

reporter. Panel members may ask 

clarifying questions during the oral 

statements but will not respond to the 

statements at that time. Written 

statements and supporting information 

submitted during the comment period 

will be considered with the same weight 

as oral comments and supporting 

information presented at the public 

hearing. Written comments must be 

received by the last day of the comment 

period. 

How can I get copies of this document 

and other related information? 

You may learn more about the Midterm Evaluation by visiting EPA’s Web 

site https://www.epa.gov/regulationsemissions-vehicles-and-engines/ 

midterm-evaluation-light-duty-vehicleVerDate Sep<11>2014 16:50 Aug 22, 2017 Jkt 241001 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\23AUP1.SGM 23AUP1

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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2017 / Proposed Rules 39977 

greenhouse-gas-ghg or by searching the 

Mid-term Evaluation Docket 

Identification No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2015– 

0827 at www.regulations.gov. 

Dated: August 18, 2017. 

Ben Hengst, 

Acting Director, Office of Transportation and 

Air Quality, Office of Air and Radiation. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17866 Filed 8–22–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 141222999–7741–01] 

RIN 0648–BE77 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries 

Management Plan; Adjustments to the 

Pacific Sardine Harvest Guideline 

Control Rule 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: Under the framework 

procedures of the Coastal Pelagic 

Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP), NMFS proposes to revise the 

FRACTION parameter of the Pacific 

sardine harvest guideline (HG) control 

rule to use a 3-year average of ocean 

temperature data from the California 

Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries 

Investigations (CalCOFI) survey that 

takes place off southern and central 

California, rather than temperatures 

measured from the end of the Scripps 

Institution of Oceanography (SIO) Pier, 

and revise the upper bound of fraction 

from 15 percent to 20 percent. These 

changes are intended to better reflect the 

best available science and to better 

conserve and manage the northern 

subpopulation of Pacific sardine off the 

U.S. West Coast managed under the CPS 

FMP. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

September 22, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2015–0044 by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2015- 

0044, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Barry A. Thom, Regional Administrator, 

West Coast Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand 

Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115– 

0070; Attn: Joshua Lindsay. 

Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted by one of the above methods 

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 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. 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). Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats 

only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joshua Lindsay, West Coast Region, 

NMFS, (562) 980–4034. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The HG 

control rule, in conjunction with the 

overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable 

biological catch (ABC) control rules in 

the FMP, are used to set annual harvest 

levels for the northern subpopulation of 

Pacific sardine (hereafter, simply Pacific 

sardine), in accordance with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1801 et seq. The HG formula for 

Pacific sardine is HG = [(BiomassCUTOFF) * FRACTION * 

DISTRIBUTION] and was first 

established by Amendment 8 to the CPS 

FMP. FRACTION, expressed as a 

percentage, is dependent on 

oceanographic conditions, specifically 

ocean temperature, and is a proxy for 

EMSY (the exploitation rate for 

deterministic equilibrium maximum 

sustainable yield (MSY)). The value 

used for FRACTION in the control rule 

is calculated annually and varies with 

water temperature (a higher fraction for 

warmer ocean temperatures and a lower 

fraction for cooler temperatures). The 

rationale for setting FRACTION in the 

HG in this manner is that the 

productivity of the sardine stock is 

correlated to ocean temperatures, with 

sardines being more productive during 

times of higher ocean temperatures. 

FRACTION under the FMP is currently 

bounded between 5 and 15 percent, 

meaning that although the calculated 

EMSY estimate for any given year may be 

higher or lower, FRACTION is bounded 

and is never allowed to be higher than 

15 percent or lower than 5 percent. 

Since 1999, the formula prescribed in 

the FMP used for calculating 

FRACTION has been based on an 

average 3-year sea surface temperature 

measured at the SIO Pier and an 

estimate of the relationship between 

Pacific sardine EMSY and ocean 

temperatures of: 

FRACTION = 0.248649805 

T2¥8.190043975 T + 67.4558326 

where T is the average three season sea 

surface temperature at SIO during the 

three preceding seasons. 

In 2010, new research by scientists at 

the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science 

Center (SWFSC) called into question the 

original relationship between SIO 

temperature and productivity used in 

the analysis to establish the existing 

FRACTION parameter and control rule 

in the FMP. In February 2013, the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council) and the SWFSC convened a 

workshop to further examine the 

temperature-recruitment relationship 

used to inform FRACTION. The 

scientists at this workshop found that 

although a temperature-recruitment 

correlation based on SIO was still 

scientifically valid, a temperature index 

based on data from the California 

Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries 

Investigations (CalCOFI) survey (a 

compilation of temperatures measured 

throughout the southern California 

bight, from now on referred to as 

CalCOFI index) explained a more 

significant amount of sardine 

recruitment variability and success than 

the SIO index and was generally better 

aligned with ocean temperatures in the 

primary habitat of Pacific sardine 

(PFMC 2013). 

Based on this new information, and a 

recommendation from their Scientific 

and Statistical Committee (SSC) that the 

CalCOFI index represented the best 

available science for Pacific sardine 

management, the Council adopted the 

use of the CalCOFI temperature index 

and a new temperature-recruitment 

relationship as follows: 

EMSY= 0.248649805 T2¥8.190043975 

T + 67.4558326 

This was adopted at their March 2014 

meeting for use in the Pacific sardine 

OFL and ABC calculations and the 

Council stated their intent to also use 

the CalCOFI index in the calculation of 


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