Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Western Pacific Pelagic Fisheries; Control Date; Northern Mariana Islands Pelagic Longline Fishery, 42769-42770 [E8-16843]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 23, 2008 / Proposed Rules
shippers of anhydrous ammonia but from car
manufacturers as well. The timeline for
compliance, the lack of focus by the Volpe
Center on an ammonia concept car, and the
action by the Association of American
Railroads (AAR) to put into effect CPC 1187,
are examples of the concerns raised. Our
specific concerns were detailed in comments
submitted to the docket on June 2. In our
comments we point out that car builders and
leasing companies have not been willing to
renew current leases due to this confusion.
As a result, an unintentional consequence of
the proposal will create a serious shortage of
cars needed in the near future for anhydrous
ammonia. Unless this situation is addressed,
it could result in a switch to truck or
business interruptions.
TFI has reviewed the petition for an
interim standard for tank cars used to
transport toxic-by-inhalation (TIH) materials
submitted by the American Chemistry
Council, American Short Line and Regional
Railroad Association, Association of
American Railroads, The Chlorine Institute
and the Railway Supply Institute.
TFI supports an interim standard for tank
cars and many aspects of the petition filed by
the above associations. However, since
attempts to include stipulations for an
interim anhydrous ammonia tank car could
not be agreed to by some of the associations
above, TFI submits this petition for an
interim tank car standard for anhydrous
ammonia to DOT for consideration.
The Current Anhydrous Ammonia Tank Car
The ammonia industry has specific reasons
for requesting an accommodation for the
current 112J340W car:
• Making an accommodation will also
allow more time for infrastructure upgrades
to handle the eventual 286,000 pound car.
Without an appropriate phase-in schedule,
there could be serious business interruptions
in the marketplace or a switch to truck
transportation.
• The 112J340W cars in ammonia service
are on average only 10–12 years old. Without
an extended life, there will be reluctance for
these car companies to remain in the
ammonia market. Some leasing companies
have already indicated that they will not
renew leases upon expiration of the current
lease agreements for the 112J340W ammonia
tank cars due, in part, to uncertainties
surrounding this NPRM. This could cause a
shortage of ammonia cars available for lease
and force ammonia shippers to find alternate
sources of transportation.
• The tank cars involved in the Minot,
N.D. accident were 105J300W nonnormalized cars with half head shields
welded to the jacket, tank and head thickness
of .5625, and equipped with F double shelf
couplers. The typical 112J340W car, the
current ammonia car, built since 1989 has
improved TC–128B normalized steel
specifications that include in excess of .608
heads and shells that proved themselves in
the Minot derailment. In response to the
Car type
Not in production .........................................................................
Until Jan. 1, 2009 ........................................................................
400/500 .........
DOT ..............
Jan. 1, 2009 until DOT final rule ................................................
Effective date of final rule ...........................................................
Ammonia shippers are voluntarily
removing pre-1989 non-normalized steel cars
from their fleet and this has come at
considerable expense. The current 112J340W
car has a full head shield and the ammonia
industry has voluntarily implemented a five
year, rather than ten year mandated,
requalification test schedule.
This overall plan is reasonable, makes
sound business sense and accomplishes the
smooth transition of the ammonia car fleet.
TFI and its ammonia shipper members
respectively request approval of our request.
D. Purpose of the Notice
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
Minot derailment, ammonia shippers
voluntarily modernized their fleet of
ammonia tank cars, swapping out nonnormalized steel cars (pre-1989 built) for
normalized steel cars (post-1989 built).
Ammonia shippers have already spent
considerable effort to change out their fleet
from the pre-1989 built car to the current
112J340W. These shippers had the
understanding that this effort would be
considered with the NPRM.
Interim Standard for Tank Cars in
Anhydrous Ammonia Service
TFI’s petition requests that DOT consider
the following for tank cars in anhydrous
ammonia service as an interim standard:
• Require the retirement of all ammonia
pre-1989 non-normalized steel cars by Dec.
31, 2010;
• Authorize the use of 112J340W ammonia
cars built prior to 2001 until Dec. 31, 2021;
• Authorize the use of 112J340W ammonia
cars built after 2001 for a life of 20 years; and
• Authorize the use of an 112J400 pound
car enhanced with a thicker jacket for
ammonia service beginning Jan. 1, 2009, with
a 25 year service life from the date of the
final ruling.
Summary
In conclusion, the TFI suggests that the
following timeline concerning the design of
anhydrous ammonia cars be considered:
Date car can be built
Pre-1989 .......
340 ................
The purpose of this Notice is to solicit
comments on the merit of petitions for
rulemaking filed by Petitioner Group
and TFI. Both petitions request PHMSA
to issue interim standards for tank cars
used for the transportation of TIH
hazard material by railroad tank car.
The safety implications of the proposals
in the petitions will be given careful
consideration as we determine whether
regulatory action is needed.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:30 Jul 22, 2008
Jkt 214001
Service life
Until December 31, 2010.
Pre-2001 built: To December 31, 2021.
Post-2001 built: 20 years from built date.
25 years from date of DOT final rule.
Full life.
Issued in Washington, DC on July 15, 2008
under authority delegated in 49 CFR part
106.
Theodore L. Willke,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous
Materials Safety.
[FR Doc. E8–16535 Filed 7–22–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–60–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 665
[Docket No. 080702817–8838–01]
RIN 0648–AX00
Fisheries in the Western Pacific;
Western Pacific Pelagic Fisheries;
Control Date; Northern Mariana Islands
Pelagic Longline Fishery
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
AGENCY:
PO 00000
Frm 00046
42769
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed
rulemaking; notification of control date;
request for comments.
SUMMARY: NMFS announces that anyone
who enters the pelagic longline fishery
in the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands (CNMI) after June 19,
2008 (the ‘‘control date’’), is not
guaranteed future participation in the
fishery if the Western Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council)
recommends, and NMFS approves, a
program that limits entry into the
fishery, or other fishery management
measures. The Council is concerned
about potentially-uncontrolled
expansion of the CNMI-based pelagic
longline fishery and the potential
resultant interactions with and impacts
on small-boat pelagic fisheries and
localized depletion of pelagic fish
stocks.
Comments must be submitted in
writing by September 22, 2008.
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\23JYP1.SGM
23JYP1
42770
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 23, 2008 / Proposed Rules
You may submit comments
on this action, identified by 0648–AX00,
to either of the following addresses:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal
www.regulations.gov; or
• Mail: William L. Robinson,
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Pacific
Islands Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani
Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814–
4700.
Instructions: All comments received
are a part of the public record and will
generally be posted to
www.regulations.gov without change.
All personal identifying information
(e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted
voluntarily by the commenter may be
publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NMFS will accept
anonymous comments. Attachments to
electronic comments will be accepted in
Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect,
or Adobe PDF file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brett Wiedoff, NMFS PIR, 808–944–
2272.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At its
142nd meeting held from June 16–19,
2008, the Council adopted a control date
of June 19, 2008, applicable to persons
who are contemplating entering the
CNMI-based longline fishery for pelagic
fishes. The purpose of the control date
is to notify fishermen that after June 19,
2008, they may not be guaranteed access
to the fishery if the Council
recommends, and NMFS approves,
establishing a limited entry program or
other measures to manage the fishery.
The Council has not yet recommended
limiting new entry or imposing any
other management measures in this
fishery.
This control date addresses the
Council’s concern over the potential for
rapid and uncontrolled expansion of the
CNMI longline fishery. This concern is
based on previous rapid and
uncontrolled expansions of the pelagic
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
ADDRESSES:
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:30 Jul 22, 2008
Jkt 214001
longline fisheries in Hawaii and
American Samoa, and the resulting
concerns about localized deletion of
resources and impacts on small-boat
fisheries. In Hawaii from 1988 to 1990,
the longline fleet doubled from 50 to
100 vessels. In American Samoa from
1996 to 1997, the fleet tripled from 7 to
21 vessels. To control these previous
rapid expansions, the Council
recommended and NMFS implemented
limited entry programs in both of these
fisheries (in 1993 and 2004,
respectively). The Council adopted the
June 19, 2008, control date to notify
current and potential fishery
participants that it may also consider
limiting participation in the CNMIbased longline fishery, if necessary.
Two domestic longline vessels began
fishing in U.S. EEZ waters around CNMI
in 2007, and other longline vessel
operators have expressed interest in
fishing there. Some of these other
operators already hold the necessary
general longline permits issued by
NMFS allowing them to participate in
the open-access CNMI fishery. If a rapid
expansion of the fishery were to occur,
there is a potential for gear conflicts
between the longline fishery and the
CNMI small-boat pelagic troll fishery,
which harvests many of the same
species targeted by longline vessels. A
large and uncontrolled longline fishery
could cause localized depletion of
pelagic fish stocks, which would
jeopardize the sustainability of the small
trolling fleet. There is also a potential
for longline vessels to fish at the CNMI’s
offshore seamounts. The seamounts are
important to the pelagic trolling fleet,
and localized depletion of fish stocks at
the seamounts would have significant
negative impacts on the troll fishery.
The Council established a control date
of June 2, 2005, for pelagic longline and
purse seine fisheries in the U.S. EEZ of
the western Pacific (70 FR 47782,
August 15, 2005) in response to
concerns about overfishing of bigeye
tuna Pacific-wide and yellowfin tuna in
the central and western Pacific. The
PO 00000
Frm 00047
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
June 19, 2008, control date supersedes
the previous control date, as it applies
to the CNMI longline fishery.
The Council and NMFS seek public
comment about whether or not a control
date is needed, whether this is an
appropriate control date, and how the
control date might be applied to a future
management program for the CNMIbased pelagic longline fishery, if such a
program is developed by the Council
and NMFS.
Control dates are intended to
discourage speculative entry into
fisheries, as new participants entering
the fisheries after the control date are
put on notice that they are not
guaranteed future participation in the
fisheries. Establishment of this control
date does not commit the Council or
NMFS to any particular management
regime or criteria for entry into the
CNMI pelagic longline fishery.
Fishermen are not guaranteed future
participation in the fishery, regardless of
their level of participation before or
after the control date. The Council may
choose a different control date, or it may
choose a management regime that does
not involve a control date. Other
criteria, such as documentation of
landings or sales, may be used to
determine eligibility for participation in
a limited access fishery. The Council or
NMFS also may choose to take no
further action to control entry or access
to the fishery, in which case the control
date may be rescinded.
Classification
This advance notice of proposed
rulemaking has been determined to be
not significant for the purposes of
Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: July 17, 2008.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8–16843 Filed 7–22–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
E:\FR\FM\23JYP1.SGM
23JYP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 23, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42769-42770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16843]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 665
[Docket No. 080702817-8838-01]
RIN 0648-AX00
Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Western Pacific Pelagic
Fisheries; Control Date; Northern Mariana Islands Pelagic Longline
Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; notification of control
date; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces that anyone who enters the pelagic longline
fishery in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)
after June 19, 2008 (the ``control date''), is not guaranteed future
participation in the fishery if the Western Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) recommends, and NMFS approves, a program that limits
entry into the fishery, or other fishery management measures. The
Council is concerned about potentially-uncontrolled expansion of the
CNMI-based pelagic longline fishery and the potential resultant
interactions with and impacts on small-boat pelagic fisheries and
localized depletion of pelagic fish stocks.
DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing by September 22, 2008.
[[Page 42770]]
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this action, identified by 0648-
AX00, to either of the following addresses:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov; or
Mail: William L. Robinson, Regional Administrator, NMFS,
Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110,
Honolulu, HI 96814-4700.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to www.regulations.gov without change. All
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted
voluntarily by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to
electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel,
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brett Wiedoff, NMFS PIR, 808-944-2272.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At its 142nd meeting held from June 16-19,
2008, the Council adopted a control date of June 19, 2008, applicable
to persons who are contemplating entering the CNMI-based longline
fishery for pelagic fishes. The purpose of the control date is to
notify fishermen that after June 19, 2008, they may not be guaranteed
access to the fishery if the Council recommends, and NMFS approves,
establishing a limited entry program or other measures to manage the
fishery. The Council has not yet recommended limiting new entry or
imposing any other management measures in this fishery.
This control date addresses the Council's concern over the
potential for rapid and uncontrolled expansion of the CNMI longline
fishery. This concern is based on previous rapid and uncontrolled
expansions of the pelagic longline fisheries in Hawaii and American
Samoa, and the resulting concerns about localized deletion of resources
and impacts on small-boat fisheries. In Hawaii from 1988 to 1990, the
longline fleet doubled from 50 to 100 vessels. In American Samoa from
1996 to 1997, the fleet tripled from 7 to 21 vessels. To control these
previous rapid expansions, the Council recommended and NMFS implemented
limited entry programs in both of these fisheries (in 1993 and 2004,
respectively). The Council adopted the June 19, 2008, control date to
notify current and potential fishery participants that it may also
consider limiting participation in the CNMI-based longline fishery, if
necessary.
Two domestic longline vessels began fishing in U.S. EEZ waters
around CNMI in 2007, and other longline vessel operators have expressed
interest in fishing there. Some of these other operators already hold
the necessary general longline permits issued by NMFS allowing them to
participate in the open-access CNMI fishery. If a rapid expansion of
the fishery were to occur, there is a potential for gear conflicts
between the longline fishery and the CNMI small-boat pelagic troll
fishery, which harvests many of the same species targeted by longline
vessels. A large and uncontrolled longline fishery could cause
localized depletion of pelagic fish stocks, which would jeopardize the
sustainability of the small trolling fleet. There is also a potential
for longline vessels to fish at the CNMI's offshore seamounts. The
seamounts are important to the pelagic trolling fleet, and localized
depletion of fish stocks at the seamounts would have significant
negative impacts on the troll fishery.
The Council established a control date of June 2, 2005, for pelagic
longline and purse seine fisheries in the U.S. EEZ of the western
Pacific (70 FR 47782, August 15, 2005) in response to concerns about
overfishing of bigeye tuna Pacific-wide and yellowfin tuna in the
central and western Pacific. The June 19, 2008, control date supersedes
the previous control date, as it applies to the CNMI longline fishery.
The Council and NMFS seek public comment about whether or not a
control date is needed, whether this is an appropriate control date,
and how the control date might be applied to a future management
program for the CNMI-based pelagic longline fishery, if such a program
is developed by the Council and NMFS.
Control dates are intended to discourage speculative entry into
fisheries, as new participants entering the fisheries after the control
date are put on notice that they are not guaranteed future
participation in the fisheries. Establishment of this control date does
not commit the Council or NMFS to any particular management regime or
criteria for entry into the CNMI pelagic longline fishery. Fishermen
are not guaranteed future participation in the fishery, regardless of
their level of participation before or after the control date. The
Council may choose a different control date, or it may choose a
management regime that does not involve a control date. Other criteria,
such as documentation of landings or sales, may be used to determine
eligibility for participation in a limited access fishery. The Council
or NMFS also may choose to take no further action to control entry or
access to the fishery, in which case the control date may be rescinded.
Classification
This advance notice of proposed rulemaking has been determined to
be not significant for the purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: July 17, 2008.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-16843 Filed 7-22-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
