Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 250 / Monday, December 31, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 67495

procedure is impracticable,

unnecessary, or contrary to the public

interest and incorporates a statement of

the finding and its reasons in the rule

issued.

We normally provide a delay of 30

days in the effective date of a final rule.

However, if adherence to this procedure

would be impracticable, unnecessary, or

contrary to the public interest, we may

waive the delay in the effective date. We

find that a 30-day delay in the effective

date of this regulation would be both

impracticable and contrary to the public

interest. In addition, although this is an

ongoing final rule proceeding, we

nevertheless have good cause to waive

notice and comment. As we have

discussed above, the rates that are

scheduled to go into effect on January 1,

2002 reflect inadvertent technical errors

that have major consequences. We,

therefore, do not believe it is

appropriate to implement the new rates

on January 1, 2002. To proceed with

making payments on the basis of

significantly incorrect rates would be

imprudent and contrary to the public

interest. These errors were discovered

within 30 days of the January 1, 2002

effective date. Therefore, there is an

urgent need to proceed with a delay in

the effective date of the 2002 rates, and

there is not sufficient time to provide

notice of proposed rulemaking and a 30-

day notice of the delay.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program No. 93.773, Medicare—Hospital

Insurance; and Program No. 93.774,

Medicare—Supplementary Medical

Insurance Program)

Dated: December 18, 2001.

Thomas A. Scully,

Administrator, Centers for Medicare &

Medicaid Services.

Approved: December 21, 2001.

Tommy G. Thompson,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–32091 Filed 12–27–01; 8:55 am]

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Parts 223 and 224

[Docket No.010607150–1264–02;

I.D.091200F]

RIN 0648–AN64

Sea Turtle Conservation; Restrictions

Applicable to Fishing and Scientific

Research Activities

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS is amending the sea

turtle handling and resuscitation

regulation. Recent scientific and

technical information indicates that the

current procedures need to be updated.

This measure is necessary to improve

the handling of sea turtles that are

incidentally captured during scientific

research or fishing activities.

DATES: This rule is effective December

31, 2001.

ADDRESSES:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Therese A. Conant (301) 713–1401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The taking

of sea turtles is governed by regulations

implementing the Endangered Species

Act (ESA) at 50 CFR parts 222 and 223

(see 64 FR 14051, March 23, 1999, final

rule consolidating and reorganizing ESA

regulations). Generally, the taking of sea

turtles is prohibited. However, the

incidental take of turtles during shrimp

and summer flounder fishing in areas of

the Atlantic Ocean and in the Gulf of

Mexico is excepted from the taking

prohibition pursuant to sea turtle

conservation regulations at 50 CFR

223.206, which include a requirement to

have a NMFS-approved turtle excluder

device (TED) installed in each net rigged

for fishing. Other exceptions to the

taking prohibition include incidental

take that is authorized for ESA scientific

research permits, incidental take

permits, and section 7 incidental take

statements. All take excepted from the

prohibitions requires safe handling and

resuscitation of incidentally caught sea

turtles as specified at 50 CFR 223.206

(d)(1).

Sea turtles are air breathers and may

drown under conditions of forced

submergence. To minimize the impact

of forced submergence, NMFS

developed protocols to handle comatose

turtles (FR 43 32801, July 28, 1978) and

subsequently updated the protocols (57

FR 57354, December 4, 1992). New

scientific and technical information has

been collected since the last update. For

example, the practice of stepping on the

plastron to revive the turtle may

actually do more harm than good.

Plastral pumping may cause the airway

to block, thus prohibiting air from

entering the lungs. Pumping the

plastron while a turtle is on its back also

causes the viscera to compress the lungs

which are located dorsally, thereby

hindering lung ventilation. Recent

physiological studies on the effects of

trawl capture on small sea turtles show

that high stress levels are developed

during short-duration forced

submergences and that the turtles may

require from 3.5 up to 24 hours to

recover from the stress effects.

Resuscitation techniques have been

refined over the years as biologists have

developed effective ways to test for

reflexes in order to determine the status

of the turtle.

NMFS published a proposed rule (66

FR 32787, June 18, 2001) requesting

comment on the following proposed

changes: Eliminate stepping on the

plastron as a method for resuscitation;

provide a more defined criteria to

determine dead versus comatose turtles;

increase the minimum elevation of the

hindquarters; add carapace movement

and a reflex test to the resuscitation

methods; and add several minor

changes to clarify the guidance for

keeping a turtle moist. No comments

were received. The proposed changes

are adopted as final.

Classification

The AA has determined that this final

rule is consistent with the ESA and with

other applicable law.

This action has been determined to be

not significant for purposes of Executive

Order 12866.

The AA prepared an environmental

impact statement (EIS) for the 1978

listing determination, establishing the

handling and resuscitation requirements

and prepared an environmental

assessment (EA) for the 1992 updated of

the requirements. The proposed rule

was determined to be a Categorical

Exclusion under the National

Environmental Policy Act since the

changes did not constitute a new action

and individually or cumulatively have a

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment.

A memorandum was prepared for the

Chief Counsel for Regulation of the

Department of Commerce who certified

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration stating

that the proposed rule would not have

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

None of the changes will result in

additional economic effects, since

NMFS already requires fishermen and

scientific researchers to safely handle

and attempt resuscitation on sea turtles

as necessary. The changes are limited to

protocols for monitoring the turtle and

make minor changes to the treatment

that would require no additional

material beyond what is already

generally available onboard a vessel (e.g.

elevating the sea turtles’ hindquarters

can be done with a tackle box or

bumper). No comments were received

regarding this certification. Thus, the

67496 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 250 / Monday, December 31, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

factual basis for the certification has not

changed. As such, a final regulatory

flexibility analysis is not required, and

none has been prepared.

This final rule does not contain a

collection-of-information requirement

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.

This final rule does not contain

policies with federalism implications as

that term is defined in Executive Order

13132.

List of Subjects

50 CFR Part 223

Endangered and threatened species,

Exports, Imports, Marine mammals,

Transportation.

50 CFR Part 224

Administrative practice and

procedure, Endangered and threatened

species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: December 20, 2001.

Rebecca Lent,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for

Regulatory Programs, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR parts 223 and 224 are

amended as follows:

PART 223—THREATENED MARINE

AND ANADROMOUS SPECIES

1. The authority citation for part 223

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531-1543; subpart B;

16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.et seq.

2. In § 223.206, paragraph (d)(1) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 223.206 Exceptions to prohibitions

relating to sea turtles

* * * * *

(d) * * *

(1) Handling and resuscitation

requirements. (i) Any specimen taken

incidentally during the course of fishing

or scientific research activities must be

handled with due care to prevent injury

to live specimens, observed for activity,

and returned to the water according to

the following procedures:

(A) Sea turtles that are actively

moving or determined to be dead as

described in paragraph (d)(1)(i)(C) of

this section must be released over the

stern of the boat. In addition, they must

be released only when fishing or

scientific collection gear is not in use,

when the engine gears are in neutral

position, and in areas where they are

unlikely to be recaptured or injured by

vessels.

(B) Resuscitation must be attempted

on sea turtles that are comatose, or

inactive, as determined in paragraph

(d)(1) of this section, by:

(1) Placing the turtle on its bottom

shell (plastron) so that the turtle is right

side up and elevating its hindquarters at

least 6 inches (15.2 cm) for a period of

4 up to 24 hours. The amount of the

elevation depends on the size of the

turtle; greater elevations are needed for

larger turtles. Periodically, rock the

turtle gently left to right and right to left

by holding the outer edge of the shell

(carapace) and lifting one side about 3

inches (7.6 cm) then alternate to the

other side. Gently touch the eye and

pinch the tail (reflex test) periodically to

see if there is a response.

(2) Sea turtles being resuscitated must

be shaded and kept damp or moist but

under no circumstance be placed into a

container holding water. A water-soaked

towel placed over the head, carapace,

and flippers is the most effective

method in keeping a turtle moist.

(3) Sea turtles that revive and become

active must be released over the stern of

the boat only when fishing or scientific

collection gear is not in use, when the

engine gears are in neutral position, and

in areas where they are unlikely to be

recaptured or injured by vessels. Sea

turtles that fail to respond to the reflex

test or fail to move within 4 hours (up

to 24, if possible) must be returned to

the water in the same manner as that for

actively moving turtles.

(C) A turtle is determined to be dead

if the muscles are stiff (rigor mortis)

and/or the flesh has begun to rot;

otherwise the turtle is determined to be

comatose or inactive and resuscitation

attempts are necessary.

(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of

paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this section, a

person aboard a pelagic longline vessel

in the Atlantic issued an Atlantic permit

for highly pelagic species under 50 CFR

635.4, must follow the handling and

resuscitation requirements in 50 CFR

635.21.

(iii) Any specimen taken incidentally

during the course of fishing or scientific

research activities must not be

consumed, sold, landed, offloaded,

transshipped, or kept below deck.

* * * * *

PART 224—ENDANGERED MARINE

AND ANADROMOUS SPECIES

3. The authority citation for part 224

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C.1531–1543 and 16

U.S.C.1361 et seq.

4. Section 224.104 is revised by

adding a new paragraph (d) to read as

follows:

§ 224.104 Special requirements for fishing

activities to protect endangered sea turtles.

* * * * *

(d) Special handling and resuscitation

requirements are specified at § 223.206

(d)(1).

[FR Doc. 01–31976 Filed 12–28–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S