1600 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 6 / Tuesday, January 9, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

FEDERAL EMERGENCY

MANAGEMENT AGENCY

44 CFR Part 65

[Docket No. FEMA–P–7600]

Changes in Flood Elevation

Determinations

AGENCY: Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA).

ACTION: Interim rule.

SUMMARY: This interim rule lists

communities where modification of the

Base (1-percent-annual-chance) Flood

Elevations is appropriate because of

new scientific or technical data. New

flood insurance premium rates will be

calculated from the modified Base Flood

Elevations for new buildings and their

contents.

DATES: These modified Base Flood

Elevations are currently in effect on the

dates listed in the table below and

revise the Flood Insurance Rate Map(s)

in effect prior to this determination for

the listed communities.

From the date of the second

publication of these changes in a

newspaper of local circulation, any

person has ninety (90) days in which to

request through the community that the

Associate Director for Mitigation

reconsider the changes. The modified

elevations may be changed during the

90-day period.

ADDRESSES: The modified Base Flood

Elevations for each community are

available for inspection at the office of

the Chief Executive Officer of each

community. The respective addresses

are listed in the table below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Matthew B. Miller, P.E., Chief, Hazards

Study Branch, Mitigation Directorate,

500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC

20472, (202) 646–3461 or (e-mail)

matt.miller@fema.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

modified Base Flood Elevations are not

listed for each community in this

interim rule. However, the address of

the Chief Executive Officer of the

community where the modified Base

Flood Elevation determinations are

available for inspection is provided.

Any request for reconsideration must

be based on knowledge of changed

conditions or new scientific or technical

data.

The modifications are made pursuant

to section 201 of the Flood Disaster

Protection Act of 1973, 42 U.S.C. 4105,

and are in accordance with the National

Flood Insurance Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C.

4001 et seq., and with 44 CFR part 65.

For rating purposes, the currently

effective community number is shown

and must be used for all new policies

and renewals.

The modified base flood elevations

are the basis for the floodplain

management measures that the

community is required to either adopt

or to show evidence of being already in

effect in order to qualify or to remain

qualified for participation in the

National Flood Insurance Program

(NFIP).

These modified elevations, together

with the floodplain management criteria

required by 44 CFR 60.3, are the

minimum that are required. They

should not be construed to mean that

the community must change any

existing ordinances that are more

stringent in their floodplain

management requirements. The

community may at any time enact

stricter requirements of its own, or

pursuant to policies established by other

Federal, State, or regional entities.

The changes in Base Flood Elevations

are in accordance with 44 CFR 65.4.

National Environmental Policy Act.

This rule is categorically excluded from

the requirements of 44 CFR part 10,

Environmental Consideration. No

environmental impact assessment has

been prepared.

Regulatory Flexibility Act. The

Associate Director for Mitigation

certifies that this rule is exempt from

the requirements of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act because modified base

flood elevations are required by the

Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973,

42 U.S.C. 4105, and are required to

maintain community eligibility in the

NFIP. No regulatory flexibility analysis

has been prepared.

Regulatory Classification. This

interim rule is not a significant

regulatory action under the criteria of

Section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 of

September 30, 1993, Regulatory

Planning and Review, 58 FR 51735.

Executive Order 12612, Federalism.

This rule involves no policies that have

federalism implications under Executive

Order 12612, Federalism, dated October

26, 1987.

Executive Order 12778, Civil Justice

Reform. This rule meets the applicable

standards of Section 2(b)(2) of Executive

Order 12778.

List of Subjects in 44 CFR Part 65

Flood insurance, Floodplains,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Accordingly, 44 CFR Part 65 is

amended to read as follows:

PART 65—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for Part 65

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.;

Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978, 3 CFR,

1978 Comp., p. 329; E.O. 12127, 44 FR 19367,

3 CFR, 1979 Comp., p. 376.

§ 65.4 [Amended]

2. The tables published under the

authority of § 65.4 are amended as

follows:

State and county Location

Dates and name of

newspaper where notice was published

Chief executive officer

of community

Effective date of

modification Community No.

Missouri: St.

Louis.

(Incorporated

Areas).

November 1, 2000,

November 8, 2000,

St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The Honorable Buzz Westfall,

St. Louis County Executive,

41 South Central Avenue,

Clayton, Missouri 63105.

January 31, 2000 ...... 290327

Texas:

Dallas &

Collin.

City of Garland October 12, 2000, October 19, 2000, Garland News.The Honorable Jim Spence,

Mayor, City of Garland, 200

North 5th Street, Garland,

Texas 75046–9002.

September 8, 2000 ... 485471

Denton &

Tarrant.

Town of

Westlake.

December 8, 2000,

December 15, 2000,

Denton Record

Chronicle.

The Honorable Scott Bradley,

Mayor, Town of Westlake, 3

Village Circle, Suite 207,

Westlake, Texas 76262.

March 16, 2001 ......... 480614

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 6 / Tuesday, January 9, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 1601

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No.

83.100, ‘‘Flood Insurance’’)

Dated: December 12, 2000.

Michael J. Armstrong,

Associate Director for Mitigation.

[FR Doc. 01–468 Filed 1–8–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6718–04–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 223

[Docket No.980331080-0286-03; I.D.

092100A]

RIN 0648-AK66

Sea Turtle Conservation; Shrimp

Trawling Requirements

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The National Marine

Fisheries Service (NMFS) is issuing this

final rule to amend the regulations that

require most shrimp trawlers to use

Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in the

waters of the Atlantic and Gulf Areas of

the United States, to reduce the

incidental capture of endangered and

threatened sea turtles during shrimp

trawling. Specifically, NMFS is

permanently approving the Parker soft

TED for use in the waters of the Atlantic

and Gulf Areas of the United States.

DATES: This final rule is effective

January 9, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Chief, Endangered Species

Division, Office of Protected Resources,

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver

Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Charles A. Oravetz, 727-570-5312.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

All sea turtles that occur in U.S.

waters are listed as either endangered or

threatened under the Endangered

Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The Kemp’s

ridley (Lepidochelys kempii),

leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and

hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) are

listed as endangered. Loggerhead

(Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia

mydas) turtles are listed as threatened,

except for breeding populations of green

turtles in Florida and on the Pacific

coast of Mexico, which are listed as

endangered.

The incidental take and mortality of

these species as a result of shrimp

trawling activities has been documented

in the Gulf of Mexico and along the

Atlantic seaboard. Under the ESA and

its implementing regulations, taking sea

turtles is prohibited, with exceptions

identified in 50 CFR 223.206. Existing

sea turtle conservation regulations (50

CFR 223.206 and 223.207) require most

shrimp trawlers operating in the Gulf

and Atlantic Areas, defined at 50 CFR

222.102, to have a NMFS-approved TED

installed in each net rigged for fishing,

year- round. TEDs currently approved

by NMFS for shrimp trawling include

single-grid hard TEDs and hooped hard

TEDs conforming to a generic

description, and two types of special

hard TEDs. One type of soft TED–the

Parker soft TED - was approved through

October 13, 2000.

NMFS approved the Parker TED for

use in the waters of the Atlantic and

Gulf Areas of the United States through

an interim final rule (63 FR 17948, April

13, 1998). The interim final rule was set

to expire on October 13, 1999. At that

time, NMFS determined that while there

was sufficient information on the use

and effectiveness of the Parker TED to

continue to allow its use, there was

insufficient information to permanently

approve it. Also, industry expressed

interest in the testing for approval of

variations of the Parker soft TED design.

Therefore, NMFS extended its approval

for 1 year (64 FR 55434, October 13,

1999), to allow time for the collection of

additional data on the use and

effectiveness of the Parker TED and to

allow time for the shrimp industry to

tests new soft TED designs. The

extension expired on October 13, 2000.

NMFS looked at many aspects of the

Parker soft TED’s performance over the

past 30 months in both the Gulf of

Mexico and the South Atlantic.

Observers placed aboard commercial

trawlers have documented sea turtle

capture rates and finfish bycatch

reduction. Intensive law enforcement

efforts have ensured and documented

compliance with the technical

requirements for using the Parker TED.

NMFS’ gear specialists provided initial

training to net shops and trawler fleets

in the proper installation and use of the

Parker TED. Follow-up assistance was

also provided to fishermen and net

makers as they adapted to using the new

soft TED.

Observer Information

NMFS’ observer information generally

shows that the rate of sea turtle capture

in the Parker soft TED is comparable to

hard TEDs. In 1997-1998 in the

southeastern Atlantic, observers

documented three turtle captures in nets

equipped with Parker TEDs. A total of

190 tows were observed, for 515 hours

of trawling. The resulting turtle catch

rate (‘‘Catch per unit effort,’’ or ‘‘CPUE’’)

was 0.005 turtles per 100 ft (30.5 m)

headrope-hour. During the same time

period, observers documented 1 turtle

capture in nets equipped with hard

TEDs. A total of 62 tows were observed,

for 161 hours of trawling, for a CPUE of

0.005 turtles per 100 ft (30.5 m)

headrope-hour. Observations in the Gulf

of Mexico revealed a similar situation,

although turtle catch rates in the Gulf

are much lower overall. In 1998, no

turtle captures were documented by

observers in 133 tows using Parker

TEDs, totaling 1,352 hours of trawling.

During the same time period, 2 turtle

captures were documented by observers

in nets equipped with hard TEDs. A

total of 2,081 tows were observed, for a

total of 9,632 hours of trawling,

representing a CPUE of 0.0001. All of

these observed catch rates for shrimp

trawlers using hard TEDs and Parker

TEDs are small and it is therefore

difficult to make definitive

comparisons.

Shrimp loss in the Parker TED was

also a concern, therefore observer data

was collected to test the Parker TED’s

reliability catching shrimp. Observer

data from the Gulf and South Atlantic

Fisheries Development Foundation and

South Carolina Department of Natural

Resources showed that nets equipped

with a Parker TED experienced an 11.9

and 8.4 percent reduction in shrimp

catch, respectively, compared to a hard

TED-equipped net.

Observations by Law Enforcement

The Protected Resources Enforcement

Team (PRET) is a specially-equipped

team of NMFS law enforcement officers

that focus enforcement attention on

protected resources issues primarily

TEDs– in the southeastern United

States. In 1998, the PRET’s first year in

operation, the team logged 488 hours of

at-sea patrols, boarding 261 vessels as

part of the TED compliance project.

PRET boardings in 1998 focused on

nearshore shrimping grounds along the

coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and

South Carolina. A large portion of the

PRET’s efforts in 1999 had been

dedicated to patrols along the Texas

coast, due to the continuing concern

over the number of dead sea turtles that

strand on Texas beaches. From March

16, 1999, through August 19, 1999, the

PRET boarded 241 vessels along the

Texas and Louisiana coasts.

Enforcement efforts in the South

Atlantic prior to October 1999 also

indicated that use of the Parker TED in

the shrimp fleet was very low. The

PRET only encountered one trawler