[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 30, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31224-31225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-15466]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 600
[Docket No. 080102007-81097-01]
RIN 0648-AW18
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act;
Regional Fishery Management Councils; Operations
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule, extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: NMFS extends the comment period for proposed regulations that
address the operations and administration of regional fishery
management councils (Councils).
DATES: Comments must be received by November 2, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``RIN 0648-AW18,''
by any one of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
Fax: 301-713-1175.
Mail: Alan Risenhoover, Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway,
SSMC3, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Please mark the outside of the envelope
``Council Operations.''
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter n/a in the required
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe pdf file formats only.
Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this
proposed rule may be submitted to the Office of Sustainable Fisheries
at the mailing address or fax number specified above and by e-mail to
[email protected], or fax to (202) 395-7285.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William D. Chappell, 301-713-2337.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 302 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act
includes provisions for the establishment and administration of the
Councils. The Magnuson-Stevens Act was reauthorized on January 12,
2007, with amendments throughout, and this proposed rule would
implement some of the changes that were made to Section 302.
Additionally, several issues regarding Council operations and
membership have prompted proposed changes to the regulations. Key
aspects of this proposed rule are: requirements relative to the Council
Coordinating Committee; requirements for Scientific and Statistical
Committees (SSCs) and financial interest reporting for SSC members; an
update of Council and committee meeting announcement
[[Page 31225]]
requirements; a requirement for Councils to have procedures for
proposed regulations; designation of an alternate for the Indian tribal
representative of the Pacific Fishery Management Council; requirements
for nominating individuals to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council; revisions to the process and deadline for governors to submit
Council member nominations to the Secretary; restrictions on direct or
indirect lobbying by Council members, Council staff, and contractors;
addition of lobbying and advocacy as types of financial interest
activities that must be reported by affected individuals; and the
requirement for new Council members to attend a training course.
Additionally, this proposed rule would implement several minor changes
in Magnuson-Stevens Act section 302, as well as a number of technical
changes and minor corrections, unrelated to the reauthorization of the
Act. Many of the key aspects of this proposed rule reiterate statutory
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. NMFS is including this
statutory text in regulations so that relevant Council process
provisions both statutory and regulatory are presented together for
ease of reference.
On March 27, 2009 (74 FR 13386), NMFS published this proposed rule
with a comment period ending July 6, 2009. Because this proposed rule
primarily affects the Councils, their input is critical in ensuring
that questions regarding the requirements of this proposed rule are
raised and responded to prior to a final rule being published. The
original comment period allowed enough time for almost all Councils to
have a meeting and discuss this proposed rule during the comment
period. The Councils have now requested that the comment period be
extended to allow all Councils to have two meetings during the comment
period. NMFS agrees with this request and extends the comment period
until November 2, 2009 to allow the Councils and the public adequate
time to understand this proposed rule, discuss its effects on their
circumstances, and provide their comments.
Dated: June 24, 2009.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-15466 Filed 6-29-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S