46748 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993); 

• does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• does not have Federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• is not subject to requirements of 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act; 

and 

• does not provide the EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, this rule does not have 

tribal implications as specified by 

Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 

November 9, 2000), because the SIP is 

not approved to apply in Indian country 

located in the state, and the EPA notes 

that it will not impose substantial direct 

costs on tribal governments or preempt 

tribal law. 

The Congressional Review Act, 5 

U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides 

that before a rule may take effect, the 

agency promulgating the rule must 

submit a rule report, which includes a 

copy of the rule, to each House of the 

Congress and to the Comptroller General 

of the United States. The EPA will 

submit a report containing this action 

and other required information to the 

U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 

Representatives, and the Comptroller 

General of the United States prior to 

publication of the rule in the Federal 

Register. A major rule cannot take effect 

until 60 days after it is published in the 

Federal Register. This action is not a 

‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 

804(2). 

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean 

Air Act, petitions for judicial review of 

this action must be filed in the United 

States Court of Appeals for the 

appropriate circuit by December 11, 

2017. Filing a petition for 

reconsideration by the Administrator of 

this final rule does not affect the finality 

of this action for the purposes of judicial 

review nor does it extend the time 

within which a petition for judicial 

review may be filed, and shall not 

postpone the effectiveness of such rule 

or action. This action may not be 

challenged later in proceedings to 

enforce its requirements. (See section 

307(b)(2).) 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Dated: September 6, 2017. 

Catherine R. McCabe, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 2. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21521 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2016–0121; 

4500030113] 

RIN 1018–BB46 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; 6-Month Extension of Final 

Determination on the Proposed 

Threatened Status for the Louisiana 

Pinesnake 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of the 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 

6-month extension of the final 

determination of whether to list the 

Louisiana pinesnake (Pituophis 

ruthveni) as a threatened species. We 

also reopen the comment period on the 

proposed rule to list the species for an 

additional 30 days. We are taking this 

action based on substantial 

disagreement regarding available 

information related to the interpretation 

of the available survey data used to 

determine the Louisiana pinesnake’s 

status and trends. Comments previously 

submitted need not be resubmitted as 

they are already incorporated into the 

public record and will be fully 

considered in the final rule. We will 

submit a final listing determination to 

the Federal Register for publication on 

or before April 6, 2018. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

proposed rule published October 6, 

2016 (81 FR 69454), is reopened. We 

will accept comments received or 

postmarked on or before November 6, 

2017. If you comment using the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES), 

you must submit your comments by 

11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing 

date. 

ADDRESSES: Document availability: You 

may obtain copies of the proposed rule 

on the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov at Docket No. 

FWS–R4–ES–2016–0121. Copies of the 

proposed rule are also available at 

https://www.fws.gov/southeast/ 

lafayette/. 

Comment submission: You may 

submit comments by one of the 

following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, 

enter the docket number for this 

proposed rule, which is FWS–R4–ES– 

2016–0121. Then click on the Search 

button. You may submit a comment by 

clicking on ‘‘Comment Now!’’ Please 

ensure that you have found the correct 

rulemaking before submitting your 

comment. 

2. U.S. mail or hand delivery: Public 

Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 

FWS–R4–ES–2016–0121; U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC; 5275 

Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041– 

3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joseph Ranson, Field Supervisor, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Louisiana 

Ecological Services Office, 646 

Cajundome Blvd., Suite 400, Lafayette, 

LA; telephone 337–291–3101. Persons 

who use a telecommunications device 

for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Relay Service at 800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On October 6, 2016 (81 FR 69454), we 

published under the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 

16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), a proposed rule 

to add the Louisiana pinesnake as a 

threatened species to the List of 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in 

title 50 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (50 CFR 17.11(h)). That 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Proposed Rules 46749 

proposal had a 60-day comment period, 

ending December 5, 2016. We also 

solicited and received independent 

scientific review of the information 

contained in the proposed rule from 

peer reviewers with expertise in the 

Louisiana pinesnake or similar species, 

in accordance with our July 1, 1994, 

peer review policy (59 FR 34270). For a 

description of previous Federal actions 

concerning the Louisiana pinesnake, 

please refer to the proposed listing rule. 

Section 4(b)(6) of the Act and its 

implementing regulations at 50 CFR 

424.17(a) require that we take one of 

three actions within 1 year of a 

proposed listing and concurrent 

proposed designation of critical habitat: 

(1) Finalize the proposed rule; (2) 

withdraw the proposed rule; or (3) 

extend the final determination by not 

more than 6 months, if there is 

substantial disagreement regarding the 

sufficiency or accuracy of the available 

data relevant to the determination. 

Since the publication of the October 

6, 2016, proposed listing rule (81 FR 

69454), there has been substantial 

disagreement regarding available 

information related to the interpretation 

of the available survey data used to 

determine the Louisiana pinesnake’s 

status and trends. Specifically, during 

the public comment period, we received 

multiple comments on the proposed 

listing and the sufficiency or accuracy of 

the available data used to support it. In 

particular, the comments reflected 

significant disagreement, including from 

one of the peer reviewers, regarding the 

interpretation of the available data used 

to determine the Louisiana pinesnake’s 

status and trends, including the current 

conservation status of the Louisiana 

pinesnake in Louisiana and, 

particularly, in Texas. Therefore, in 

consideration of these disagreements, 

we have determined that a 6-month 

extension of the final determination for 

this rulemaking is necessary, and we are 

hereby extending the final 

determination for 6 months in order to 

solicit and consider additional 

information that will help to clarify 

these issues and to fully analyze data 

that are relevant to our final listing 

determination. With this 6-month 

extension, we will make a final 

determination on the proposed rule no 

later than April 6, 2018. 

Information Requested 

We will accept written comments and 

information during this reopened 

comment period on our proposed listing 

rule. We will consider information and 

recommendations from all interested 

parties. We intend that any final action 

resulting from the proposal be as 

accurate as possible and based on the 

best available scientific and commercial 

data. 

We are particularly interested in new 

information and comments regarding: 

(1) The interpretation of scientific 

literature in the proposed rulemaking, 

and whether we overlooked any 

scientific literature in our analysis. In 

particular, some commenters expressed 

concern that there is insufficient 

scientific information (survey data in 

particular) to adequately assess the 

conservation status of the species, while 

others expressed concern that the 

available scientific information supports 

an endangered determination. 

(2) Additional survey information, 

including maps, throughout the 

Louisiana pinesnake’s range, especially 

for Texas. 

(3) Trapping results to determine the 

Louisiana pinesnake’s estimated 

occupied habitat areas (EOHAs). During 

the peer review period, peer reviewers 

were critical of methods used to 

determine EOHAs and questioned the 

interpretation that resulted from our 

analysis. 

If you previously submitted 

comments or information on the 

October 6, 2016, proposed rule (81 FR 

69454), please do not resubmit them. 

We have incorporated previously 

submitted comments into the public 

record, and we will fully consider them 

in the preparation of our final 

determination. Our final determination 

concerning the proposed listing will 

take into consideration all written 

comments and any additional 

information we receive. 

You may submit your comments and 

materials concerning the proposed rule 

by one of the methods listed in 

ADDRESSES, above. We request that you 

send comments only by the methods 

described in ADDRESSES. 

If you submit information via http:// 

www.regulations.gov, your entire 

submission—including any personal 

identifying information—will be posted 

on the Web site. If your submission is 

made via a hardcopy that includes 

personal identifying information, you 

may request at the top of your document 

that we withhold this information from 

public review. However, we cannot 

guarantee that we will be able to do so. 

We will post all hardcopy submissions 

on http://www.regulations.gov. 

Comments and materials we receive, 

as well as supporting documentation we 

used in preparing the proposed rule, 

will be available for public inspection 

on http://www.regulations.gov, or by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Louisiana Ecological Services 

Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT). 

Authority: The authority for this action is 

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Dated: August 30, 2017. 

James W. Kurth, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21591 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

RIN 0648–BF82 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; Essential 

Fish Habitat 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery 

management plan amendment; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery 

Management Council has submitted the 

Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat 

Amendment 2, incorporating an 

Environmental Impact Statement, for 

review by the Secretary of Commerce. 

NMFS is requesting comments from the 

public on the Omnibus Amendment, 

which was developed by the Council to 

revise the essential fish habitat 

designations for each Council-managed 

species, designate Habitat Areas of 

Particular Concern, revise the system of 

essential fish habitat management areas, 

address seasonal groundfish spawning 

spatial management, establish Dedicated 

Habitat Research Areas, and identify 

actions that can be modified by 

framework and other administrative 

concerns relating to the Amendment. 

The intended effect of this action is to 

ensure the Council’s fishery 

management plans comply with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act’s 

requirements to routinely review and 

update essential fish habitat 

designations and to continue to 

minimize to the extent practicable the 

adverse effects of fishing on such 

designated habitat. 

DATES: Public comments must be 

received on or before December 5, 2017. 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with PROPOSALS