Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 44537 

year transition period, CARB-approved 

TPCs may continue to certify composite 

wood products under TSCA Title VI 

provided the TPC maintains its CARB 

approval, follows the requirements 

under this part, submits to EPA 

documentation from CARB supporting 

their eligibility for reciprocity and has 

received EPA recognition as an EPA 

TSCA Title VI TPC. All TPCs that are 

certifying products as compliant with 

TSCA Title VI, both during and after the 

transition period, are subject to 

enforcement actions for any violations 

of TSCA Title VI or these regulations. 

(e) Beginning December 12, 2018, all 

manufacturers (including importers), 

fabricators, suppliers, distributors, and 

retailers of composite wood products, 

and component parts or finished goods 

containing these materials, must comply 

with this part, subject to the following: 

(1) Beginning December 12, 2018, 

laminated product producers must 

comply with the requirements of this 

part that are applicable to fabricators. 

(2) Beginning March 22, 2024, 

producers of laminated products must 

comply with the requirements of this 

part that are applicable to hardwood 

plywood panel producers (in addition to 

the requirements of this part that are 

applicable to fabricators) except as 

provided at § 770.4. 

(3) Beginning March 22, 2024, 

producers of laminated products that, as 

provided at § 770.4, are exempt from 

the definition of ‘‘hardwood plywood’’ 

must comply with the recordkeeping 

requirements in § 770.40(c) and (d) (in 

addition to the requirements of this part 

that are applicable to fabricators). 

(4) Composite wood products 

manufactured (including imported) 

before December 12, 2018 may be sold, 

supplied, offered for sale, or used to 

fabricate component parts or finished 

goods at any time. 

■ 3. In § 770.3 the term ‘‘laminated 

product producer’’ is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 770.3 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Laminated product producer means a 

manufacturing plant or other facility 

that manufactures (excluding facilities 

that solely import products) laminated 

products on the premises. Laminated 

product producers are fabricators and, 

beginning March 22, 2024, laminated 

product producers are also hardwood 

plywood panel producers except as 

provided at § 770.4. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 770.7, paragraph (d)(1) 

introductory text is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 770.7 Third-party certification. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(1) During transitional period. The 

transitional period is defined as the 

period beginning on December 12, 2016 

and ending on March 22, 2019. TPCs 

already approved by CARB and TPCs 

subsequently approved by CARB during 

the transitional period must apply for 

EPA recognition in accordance with 

§ 770.8 before they can certify any 

products under this part. Once 

recognized by EPA, CARB-approved 

TPCs become EPA TSCA Title VI TPCs 

and may certify composite wood 

products under TSCA Title VI until 

March 22, 2019, as long as they: 

* * * * * 

■ 5. In § 770.10, paragraph (a) is revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 770.10 Formaldehyde emission 

standards. 

(a) Except as otherwise provided in 

this part, the emission standards in this 

section apply to composite wood 

products sold, supplied, offered for sale, 

or manufactured (including imported) 

on or after December 12, 2018 in the 

United States. These emission standards 

apply regardless of whether the 

composite wood product is in the form 

of a panel, a component part, or 

incorporated into a finished good. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. In § 770.12, paragraph (a) is revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 770.12 Stockpiling. 

(a) The sale of stockpiled inventory of 

composite wood products, whether in 

the form of panels or incorporated into 

component parts or finished goods, is 

prohibited after December 12, 2018. 

* * * * * 

■ 7. In § 770.15, paragraph (a) and (e) 

are revised to read as follows: 

§ 770.15 Composite wood product 

certification. 

(a) Beginning December 12, 2018, 

only certified composite wood products, 

whether in the form of panels or 

incorporated into component parts or 

finished goods, are permitted to be sold, 

supplied, offered for sale, or 

manufactured (including imported) in 

the United States, unless the product is 

specifically exempted by this part. 

* * * * * 

(e) If a product is certified by a CARBapproved TPC that is also recognized by 

EPA, the product will also be 

considered certified under TSCA Title 

VI until March 22, 2019 after which the 

TPC needs to comply with all the 

requirements of this part as an EPA 

TSCA Title VI TPC under Section 

770.7(d) in order for the product to 

remain certified. 

* * * * * 

■ 8. In § 770.30, paragraphs (b) 

introductory text, (c), and (d) are revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 770.30 Importers, fabricators, 

distributors, and retailers. 

* * * * * 

(b) Importers must demonstrate that 

they have taken reasonable precautions 

by maintaining, for three years, bills of 

lading, invoices, or comparable 

documents that include a written 

statement from the supplier that the 

composite wood products, component 

parts, or finished goods are TSCA Title 

VI compliant or were produced before 

December 12, 2018 and by ensuring the 

following records are made available to 

EPA within 30 calendar days of request: 

* * * * * 

(c) Fabricators, distributors, and 

retailers must demonstrate that they 

have taken reasonable precautions by 

obtaining bills of lading, invoices, or 

comparable documents that include a 

written statement from the supplier that 

the composite wood products, 

component parts, or finished goods are 

TSCA Title VI compliant or that the 

composite wood products were 

produced before December 12, 2018. 

(d) Beginning March 22, 2019, 

importers of articles that are regulated 

composite wood products, or articles 

that contain regulated composite wood 

products, must comply with the import 

certification regulations for ‘‘Chemical 

Substances in Bulk and As Part of 

Mixtures and Articles,’’ as found at 19 

CFR 12.118 through 12.127. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2017–19455 Filed 9–22–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 161020985–7181–02] 

RIN 0648–XF707 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Longnose Skate in 

the Western Regulatory Area of the 

Gulf of Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with RULES
44538 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting retention 

of longnose skate in the Western 

Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska 

(GOA). This action is necessary because 

the 2017 total allowable catch of 

longnose skate in the Western 

Regulatory Area of the GOA will be 

reached. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hours, Alaska 

local time (A.l.t.), September 20, 2017, 

through 2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, 

2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh 

Keaton, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

GOA exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of 

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens 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 2017 total allowable catch (TAC) 

of longnose skate in the Western 

Regulatory Area of the GOA is 61 metric 

tons (mt) as established by the final 

2017 and 2018 harvest specifications for 

groundfish of the GOA (82 FR 12032, 

February 27, 2017). 

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(2), the 

Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS 

(Regional Administrator), has 

determined that the 2017 TAC of 

longnose skate in the Western 

Regulatory Area of the GOA will be 

reached. Therefore, NMFS is requiring 

that longnose skate in the Western 

Regulatory Area of the GOA be treated 

as prohibited species in accordance 

with § 679.21(b). 

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 prohibiting the retention of 

longnose skate in the Western 

Regulatory Area of the GOA. NMFS was 

unable to publish a notice providing 

time for public comment because the 

most recent, relevant data only became 

available as of September 15, 2017. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based upon 

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

This action is required by § 679.20 

and § 679.21 and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: September 20, 2017. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–20428 Filed 9–20–17; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with RULES