54782 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 198 / Friday, October 11, 2019 / Rules and Regulations 

where State Highway 17 departs from 

State Highway 9; then 

(22) Proceed east along State Highway 

17 approximately 0.25 mile, crossing 

over the Connecticut River, to the 

highway’s intersection with State 

Highway 17A; then 

(23) Proceed north along State 

Highway 17A approximately 3 miles to 

its intersection with State Highway 17; 

then 

(24) Proceed north along State 

Highway 17 approximately 8 miles to its 

intersection with State Highway 94; 

then 

(25) Proceed east along State Highway 

94 approximately 4 miles to its 

intersection with State Highway 83; 

then 

(26) Proceed north along State 

Highway 83 approximately 25 miles, 

returning to the beginning point. 

Signed: July 9, 2019. 

Mary G. Ryan, 

Acting Administrator. 

Approved: September 23, 2019. 

Timothy E. Skud, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax, Trade, and 

Tariff Policy). 

[FR Doc. 2019–22265 Filed 10–10–19; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–31–P 

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH 

REVIEW COMMISSION 

29 CFR Part 2700 

Simplified Proceedings 

AGENCY: Federal Mine Safety and Health 

Review Commission. 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Mine Safety and 

Health Review Commission (the 

‘‘Commission’’) is an independent 

adjudicatory agency that provides 

hearings and appellate review of cases 

arising under the Federal Mine Safety 

and Health Act of 1977. On December 

28, 2010, the Commission published a 

final rule which set forth procedures for 

simplified proceedings. The 

Commission implemented the 

simplified proceedings rule as a pilot 

program. After evaluating the pilot 

program, the Commission has 

determined that withdrawal of the 

simplified proceedings rule is necessary 

at this time. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

November 25, 2019 without further 

action, unless adverse comment is 

received by November 12, 2019. If 

adverse comment is received, the 

Commission will publish a timely 

withdrawal of this direct final rule in 

the Federal Register while the 

Commission considers appropriate 

action with respect to its simplified 

proceedings rule. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be mailed to Michael A. McCord, 

General Counsel, Office of the General 

Counsel, Federal Mine Safety and 

Health Review Commission, 1331 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 520N, 

Washington, DC 20004–1710. Electronic 

comments should state ‘‘Comments on 

Simplified Proceedings’’ in the subject 

line and be sent to RulesComments@

fmshrc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Stewart, Deputy General Counsel, 

Office of the General Counsel, Federal 

Mine Safety and Health Review 

Commission, at (202) 434–9935. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

On December 28, 2010 (75 FR 81459), 

the Commission published in the 

Federal Register a final rule to simplify 

the procedures for handling certain civil 

penalty proceedings. The Commission 

explained that since 2006, the number 

of new cases filed with the Commission 

had dramatically increased. The 

simplified procedures were intended to 

help the Commission manage its 

burgeoning caseload by streamlining the 

administrative process for the 

Commission’s simplest cases. The 

Commission implemented the rule as a 

pilot program. 

In evaluating the efficacy of the pilot, 

the Commission determined that the 

simplified proceedings rule has not 

operated as intended. The Commission 

had anticipated that streamlined 

procedures would better support 

settlement. For instance, discovery is 

not permitted under the simplified 

proceedings rule, except as ordered by 

a Judge. 29 CFR 2700.107. Rather, the 

simplified procedures require a 

mandatory disclosure of information by 

parties (29 CFR 2700.105), followed by 

a mandatory pre-hearing conference that 

requires in part a discussion of 

settlement of the case. 29 CFR 2700.106. 

It appears, however, that simplified 

proceedings settle at essentially the 

same rate as other civil penalty 

proceedings governed by conventional 

procedures. 

Moreover, the Commission 

determined that the compressed 

timeframes set forth in the simplified 

proceedings rule had unintended 

negative consequences. The simplified 

proceedings rule sets forth timeframes 

that are more abbreviated than those set 

forth in conventional proceedings for 

such matters as the disclosure of 

information by the parties, the 

conducting of a pre-hearing conference, 

and the conducting of a hearing. As a 

consequence of meeting these 

requirements, the Commission’s 

simplest cases, which were designated 

as simplified proceedings, were often 

given priority over more complex cases, 

which were not designated as simplified 

proceedings. In addition, the 

Commission’s resources were 

disproportionately diverted to its 

simplest cases. 

Based upon its evaluation of the 

simplified proceedings pilot program, 

the Commission has reconsidered the 

utility of a special set of procedures for 

its simplest cases at the present time. 

The Commission’s overall caseload has 

significantly decreased since the 

simplified proceedings rule was 

promulgated. Moreover, parties may 

request on a case-by-case basis that the 

Commission adapt the Commission’s 

conventional procedures as necessary to 

expedite or simplify the processing of a 

case. 

B. Notice and Public Procedure 

1. Executive Orders 

The Commission is an independent 

regulatory agency under section 3(b) of 

Executive Order (‘‘E.O.’’) 12866 (Sept. 

30, 1993), 58 FR 51735 (Oct. 4, 1993); 

E.O. 13563 (Jan. 18, 2011), 76 FR 3821 

(Jan. 21, 2011); E.O. 13771 (Jan. 30, 

2017), 82 FR 9339 (Feb. 3, 2017); E.O. 

13777 (Feb. 24, 2017), 82 FR 12285 

(Mar. 1, 2017); and E.O. 13132 (Aug. 4, 

1999), 64 FR 43255 (Aug. 10, 1999). 

The Commission has determined that 

this rulemaking does not have ‘‘takings 

implications’’ under E.O. 12630 (Mar. 

15, 1988), 53 FR 8859 (Mar. 18, 1988). 

The Commission has determined that 

these regulations meet all applicable 

standards set forth in E.O. 12988 (Feb. 

5, 1996), 61 FR 4729 (Feb. 7, 1996). 

2. Statutory Requirements 

Although notice-and-comment 

rulemaking requirements under the 

Administrative Procedure Act (‘‘APA’’) 

do not apply to rules of agency 

procedure (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(A)), the 

Commission invites members of the 

interested public to submit comments 

on this final rule. The Commission will 

accept public comment until November 

12, 2019. 

The Commission has determined that 

this rulemaking is exempt from the 

requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (‘‘RFA’’) (5 U.S.C. 601 et 

seq.), because the proposed rule would 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 198 / Friday, October 11, 2019 / Rules and Regulations 54783 

The Commission has determined that 

this rule is not a ‘‘major rule’’ under the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act (‘‘SBREFA’’) (5 U.S.C. 

804(2)). 

The Commission has determined that 

the Paperwork Reduction Act (‘‘PRA’’) 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) does not apply 

because these rules do not contain any 

information collection requirements that 

require the approval of the OMB. 

The Commission has determined that 

the Congressional Review Act (‘‘CRA’’) 

(5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) does not apply 

because, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(C), 

these rules are rules of agency 

procedure or practice that do not 

substantially affect the rights or 

obligations of non-agency parties. 

The Commission has determined that 

this rulemaking is not a major Federal 

action significantly affecting the quality 

of the human environment requiring an 

environmental assessment under the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(‘‘NEPA’’) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

The Commission is an independent 

regulatory agency, and as such, is not 

subject to the requirements of the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(‘‘UMRA’’) (2 U.S.C. 1532 et seq.). 

List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 2700 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Mine safety and health, 

Penalties, Whistleblowing. 

Accordingly, 29 CFR part 2700 is 

amended as follows: 

PART 2700—PROCEDURAL RULES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 2700 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 815, 820, 823, and 

876. 

Subpart J—[Removed and Reserved] 

■ 2. Subpart J, consisting of §§ 2700.100 

through 2700.110, is removed and 

reserved. 

Dated: October 7, 2019. 

Marco M. Rajkovich, Jr., 

Chairman, Federal Mine Safety and Health 

Review Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2019–22257 Filed 10–10–19; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6735–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 165 

[Docket No. USCG–2019–0819] 

RIN 1625–AA00 

Safety Zone; Monte Foundation 

Fireworks Display, Soquel Cove, 

Capitola, CA 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Temporary final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is 

establishing a temporary safety zone on 

the navigable waters of Soquel Cove 

near the Capitola Wharf in support of 

the Monte Foundation Fireworks 

Display on October 13, 2019. This safety 

zone is necessary to protect personnel, 

vessels, and the marine environment 

from the dangers associated with 

pyrotechnics. Unauthorized persons or 

vessels are prohibited from entering 

into, transiting through, or remaining in 

the safety zone without permission of 

the Captain of the Port San Francisco or 

a designated representative. 

DATES: This rule is effective from 7:30 

p.m. to 8:50 p.m. on October 13, 2019. 

ADDRESSES: To view documents 

mentioned in this preamble as being 

available in the docket, go to https://

www.regulations.gov, type USCG–2019– 

0819 in the ‘‘SEARCH’’ box and click 

‘‘SEARCH.’’ Click on Open Docket 

Folder on the line associated with this 

rule. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions on this rule, call or 

email Lieutenant Jennae Cotton, 

Waterways Management, U.S. Coast 

Guard; telephone (415) 399–3585, email 

SFWaterways@uscg.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Table of Abbreviations 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

COTP Captain of the Port San Francisco 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

§ Section 

U.S.C. United States Code 

II. Background Information and 

Regulatory History 

The Coast Guard is issuing this 

temporary rule without prior notice and 

opportunity to comment pursuant to 

authority under section 4(a) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 

U.S.C. 553(b)). This provision 

authorizes an agency to issue a rule 

without prior notice and opportunity to 

comment when the agency for good 

cause finds that those procedures are 

‘‘impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

to the public interest.’’ Under 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(B), the Coast Guard finds that 

good cause exists for not publishing a 

notice of proposed rulemaking with 

respect to this rule because it is 

impracticable. The Coast Guard did not 

receive final details for this event until 

September 23, 2019. It is impracticable 

to go through the entire notice of 

proposed rulemaking process because 

the Coast Guard must establish this 

temporary safety zone by October 13, 

2019 and lacks sufficient time to 

provide a reasonable comment period 

and consider those comments before 

issuing the rule. 

Under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Coast 

Guard finds that good cause exists for 

making this rule effective less than 30 

days after publication in the Federal 

Register. For similar reasons as stated 

above, notice and comment procedures 

would be impracticable in this instance 

due to the short notice provided for this 

event. 

III. Legal Authority and Need for Rule 

The Coast Guard is issuing this rule 

under authority 46 U.S.C. 70034 

(previously 33 U.S.C. 1231). The 

Captain of the Port San Francisco has 

determined that potential hazards 

associated with the Monte Foundation 

Fireworks Display on October 13, 2019, 

will be a safety concern for anyone 

within a 350-foot radius of the fireworks 

display site starting 30 minutes before 

the fireworks display is scheduled to 

commence and ending 30 minutes after 

the conclusion of the fireworks display. 

For this reason, this temporary safety 

zone is needed to protect personnel, 

vessels, and the marine environment in 

the navigable waters around the 

fireworks firing site during the fireworks 

display. 

IV. Discussion of the Rule 

This rule establishes a safety zone 

around the fireworks firing site for the 

Monte Foundation Fireworks Display. 

At 7:30 p.m. on October 13, 2019, 30 

minutes prior to the commencement of 

the 20-minute fireworks display, the 

safety zone will encompass the 

navigable waters of Soquel Cove, from 

surface to bottom, within a circle 

formed by connecting all points 350 feet 

out from the fireworks firing site located 

on the Capitola Wharf at approximate 

position 36°58′10′′ N, 121°57′12′′ W 

(NAD 83). The safety zone will 

terminate at 8:50 p.m. on October 13, 

2019. 

This regulation is needed to keep 

spectators and vessels away from the 

immediate vicinity of the fireworks 

firing site to ensure the safety of 


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