Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska; Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program, 1709-1711 [2019-00995]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 24 / Tuesday, February 5, 2019 / Notices
risk of extinction due to threats from
demographic variation, local
environmental variation, and genetic
diversity changes over a 100-year time
frame’’ based on the status of the MPGs,
DIPs, and supporting ecosystems
(McElhany et al. 2000). A self-sustaining
viable population has a negligible risk of
extinction due to reasonably foreseeable
changes in circumstances affecting its
abundance, productivity, spatial
structure, and diversity characteristics
and achieves these characteristics
without dependence upon artificial
propagation. The proposed viability
criteria for Puget Sound steelhead
require that all three MPGs be viable
because the three MPGs differ
substantially in key biological and
habitat characteristics that contribute in
distinct ways to the overall viability,
diversity and spatial structure of the
DPS.
The proposed listing factor criteria are
based on the five listing factors found in
the ESA section 4(a)(1). Before NMFS
can remove the DPS from protection
under the ESA, the factors that led to
ESA listing need to have been reduced
or eliminated to the point where federal
protection under the ESA is no longer
needed, and there is reasonable
certainty that the relevant regulatory
mechanisms are adequate to protect
Puget Sound steelhead viability. NMFS’
listing factor criteria for Puget Sound
steelhead address pressures from
freshwater habitat degradation,
hatcheries, and other factors that led to
the species’ listing and continue to
affect their viability.
The Proposed Plan also describes
specific information on the following:
Current status of Puget Sound steelhead;
pressures (limiting factors) and threats
throughout the life cycle that have
contributed to the species’ decline;
recovery strategies to address the threats
based on the best available science; sitespecific actions with timelines; and a
proposed adaptive management
framework for focusing needed research
and evaluations, and revising our
recovery strategies and actions. The
Proposed Plan also summarizes time
and costs required to implement
recovery actions. NMFS is particularly
interested in comments on the proposed
strategies and actions for steelhead
recovery, and in gaining additional
information regarding scale, scope, and
costs of these actions. We are also
interested in comments on establishing
appropriate forums to coordinate
implementation of the recovery plan.
Public Comments Solicited
We are soliciting written comments
on the Proposed Plan. All substantive
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17:22 Feb 04, 2019
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comments received by the date specified
above will be considered and
incorporated, as appropriate, prior to
our decision whether to approve the
plan. While we invite comments on all
aspects of the Proposed Plan, we are
particularly interested in comments on
developing specific scenarios to address
the placeholder recovery scenario,
comments on the cost of recovery
actions for which we have not yet
determined implementation costs, and
comments on establishing an
appropriate implementation forum for
the plan. We will issue a news release
announcing the adoption and
availability of the final plan. We will
post on the NMFS West Coast Region
website (www.wcr.noaa.gov) a summary
of, and responses to, the comments
received, along with electronic copies of
the final plan and its appendices.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.
Dated: January 30, 2019.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office
of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–00941 Filed 2–4–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XG746
North Pacific Fishery Management
Council; Public Meeting
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
AGENCY:
The North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) Scallop
Plan Team will meet on February 20,
2019 in Kodiak, AK.
DATES: The meeting will be held on
Wednesday, February 20, 2019, from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. Alaska Standard Time.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
the Alaska Department of Fish and
Game Office, 351 Research Ct, Kodiak,
AK 99615.
Council address: North Pacific
Fishery Management Council, 605 W.
4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK
99501–2252; telephone: (907) 271–2809.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim
Armstrong, Council staff; telephone:
(907) 271–2809.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
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Agenda
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
The Council’s Scallop Plan Team will
update the status of the Statewide
Scallop Stocks and Stock Assessment
and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report,
including catch specification
recommendations for the 2019 fishing
year. Additionally, there will be
discussion of survey results and the
scallop assessment program, survey
plans for 2019, and a review and update
of scallop research priorities. The
agenda is subject to change and will be
posted at https://www.npfmc.org/.
Public Comment
Public comment letters will be
accepted and should be submitted either
electronically via the eCommenting
portal at: meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/
Details/449 or through the mail: North
Pacific Fishery Management Council,
605 W. 4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage,
AK 99501–2252. Oral public testimony
will be accepted at the discretion of the
chair.
Special Accommodations
The meeting is physically accessible
to people with disabilities. Requests for
sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to
Shannon Gleason at (907) 271–2809 at
least 7 working days prior to the
meeting date.
Dated: January 31, 2019.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–01051 Filed 2–4–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XG673
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Groundfish of the
Gulf of Alaska; Central Gulf of Alaska
Rockfish Program
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of standard prices
and fee percentage.
AGENCY:
NMFS publishes the standard
ex-vessel prices and fee percentage for
cost recovery under the Central Gulf of
Alaska Rockfish Program. This action is
intended to provide participants in a
rockfish cooperative with the standard
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 24 / Tuesday, February 5, 2019 / Notices
prices and fee percentage for the 2018
fishing year, which was authorized from
May 1 through November 15. The fee
percentage is 2.86 percent. The fee
payments are due from each rockfish
cooperative on or before February 15,
2019.
DATES: Valid on: February 5, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl
Greene, 907–586–7105.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The rockfish fisheries are conducted
in Federal waters near Kodiak, AK, by
trawl and longline vessels. Regulations
implementing the Central Gulf of Alaska
(GOA) Rockfish Program (Rockfish
Program) are set forth at 50 CFR part
679. Exclusive harvesting privileges are
allocated as quota share under the
Rockfish Program for rockfish primary
and secondary species. Each year,
NMFS issues rockfish primary and
secondary species cooperative quota
(CQ) to rockfish quota shareholders to
authorize harvest of these species. The
rockfish primary species are northern
rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and dusky
rockfish. In 2012, dusky rockfish
replaced the pelagic shelf rockfish
species group in the GOA Groundfish
Harvest Specifications (77 FR 15194,
March 14, 2012). The rockfish
secondary species include Pacific cod,
rougheye rockfish, shortraker rockfish,
sablefish, and thornyhead rockfish.
Rockfish cooperatives began fishing
under the Rockfish Program on May 1,
2012.
The Rockfish Program is a limited
access privilege program established
under the provisions of section 303A of
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act). Sections 303A
and 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act
require NMFS to collect fees to recover
the actual costs directly related to the
management, data collection and
analysis, and enforcement of any
limited access privilege program.
Therefore, NMFS is required to collect
fees for the Rockfish Program under
sections 303A and 304(d)(2) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. Section
304(d)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act
also limits the cost recovery fee so that
it may not exceed 3 percent of the exvessel value of the fish harvested under
the Rockfish Program.
Standard Prices
NMFS calculates cost recovery fees
based on standard ex-vessel value
prices, rather than actual price data
provided by each rockfish CQ holder.
Use of standard ex-vessel prices is
allowed under sections 303A and
304(d)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
NMFS generates a standard ex-vessel
price for each rockfish primary and
secondary species on a monthly basis to
determine the average price paid per
pound for all shoreside processors
receiving rockfish primary and
secondary species CQ.
Regulations at § 679.85(b)(2) require
the Regional Administrator to publish
rockfish standard ex-vessel values
during the first quarter of each calendar
year. The standard prices are described
in U.S. dollars per pound for rockfish
primary and secondary species CQ
landings made during the previous year.
Fee Percentage
NMFS assesses a fee on the standard
ex-vessel value of rockfish primary
species and rockfish secondary species
CQ harvested by rockfish cooperatives
in the Central GOA and waters adjacent
to the Central GOA when rockfish
primary species caught by a cooperative
are deducted from the Federal total
allowable catch. The rockfish entry level
longline fishery and trawl vessels that
opt out of joining a cooperative are not
subject to cost recovery fees because
those participants do not receive
rockfish CQ. Specific details on the
Rockfish Program’s cost recovery
provision may be found in the
implementing regulations set forth at
§ 679.85.
NMFS informs—by letter—each
rockfish cooperative of the fee
percentage applied to the previous
year’s landings and the total amount
due. Fees are due on or before February
15 of each year. Failure to pay on time
will result in the permit holder’s
rockfish quota share becoming nontransferable, and the person will be
ineligible to receive any additional
rockfish quota share by transfer. In
addition, cooperative members will not
receive any rockfish CQ the following
year until full payment of the fee is
received by NMFS.
NMFS calculates and publishes in the
Federal Register the fee percentage in
the first quarter of each year according
to the factors and methods described in
Federal regulations at § 679.85(c)(2).
NMFS determines the fee percentage
that applies to landings made in the
previous year by dividing the total
Rockfish Program management, data
collection and analysis, and
enforcement costs (direct program costs)
during the previous year by the total
standard ex-vessel value of the rockfish
primary species and rockfish secondary
species for all rockfish CQ landings
made during the previous year (fishery
value). NMFS captures the direct
program costs through an established
accounting system that allows staff to
track labor, travel, contracts, rent, and
procurement. Fee collections in any
given year may be less than, or greater
than, the direct program costs and
fishery value for that year, because, by
regulation, the fee percentage is
established in the first quarter of the
calendar year based on the program
costs and the fishery value of the
previous calendar year.
Using the fee percentage formula
described above, the estimated
percentage of program costs to value for
the 2018 calendar year is 2.86 percent
of the standard ex-vessel value. The fee
percentage for 2018 is an increase from
the 2017 fee percentage of 2.04 percent
(83 FR 2964, January 22, 2018). Program
costs for 2018 increased over costs
accrued in 2017. The value of the
fishery also increased by 10% in 2018,
relative to the 2017 fishery value. The
majority of the 2018 costs come from
direct personnel and overhead costs,
which has been consistent across all
years of the program.
TABLE 1—STANDARD EX-VESSEL PRICES BY SPECIES FOR THE 2018 ROCKFISH PROGRAM SEASON IN KODIAK, ALASKA
Standard
ex-vessel price
per pound
($)
Species
Period ending
Dusky rockfish * .......................................................................
May 31 .....................................................................................
June 30 ....................................................................................
July 31 .....................................................................................
August 31 ................................................................................
September 30 ..........................................................................
October 31 ...............................................................................
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0.18
0.18
0.18
0.18
0.18
0.18
1711
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 24 / Tuesday, February 5, 2019 / Notices
TABLE 1—STANDARD EX-VESSEL PRICES BY SPECIES FOR THE 2018 ROCKFISH PROGRAM SEASON IN KODIAK, ALASKA—
Continued
Species
Standard
ex-vessel price
per pound
($)
Period ending
Northern rockfish .....................................................................
Pacific cod ...............................................................................
Pacific ocean perch .................................................................
Rougheye rockfish ...................................................................
Sablefish ..................................................................................
Shortraker rockfish ...................................................................
Thornyhead rockfish ................................................................
November 30 ...........................................................................
May 31 .....................................................................................
June 30 ....................................................................................
July 31 .....................................................................................
August 31 ................................................................................
September 30 ..........................................................................
October 31 ...............................................................................
November 30 ...........................................................................
May 31 .....................................................................................
June 30 ....................................................................................
July 31 .....................................................................................
August 31 ................................................................................
September 30 ..........................................................................
October 31 ...............................................................................
November 30 ...........................................................................
May 31 .....................................................................................
June 30 ....................................................................................
July 31 .....................................................................................
August 31 ................................................................................
September 30 ..........................................................................
October 31 ...............................................................................
November 30 ...........................................................................
May 31 .....................................................................................
June 30 ....................................................................................
July 31 .....................................................................................
August 31 ................................................................................
September 30 ..........................................................................
October 31 ...............................................................................
November 30 ...........................................................................
May 31 .....................................................................................
June 30 ....................................................................................
July 31 .....................................................................................
August 31 ................................................................................
September 30 ..........................................................................
October 31 ...............................................................................
November 30 ...........................................................................
May 31 .....................................................................................
June 30 ....................................................................................
July 31 .....................................................................................
August 31 ................................................................................
September 30 ..........................................................................
October 31 ...............................................................................
November 30 ...........................................................................
May 31 .....................................................................................
June 30 ....................................................................................
July 31 .....................................................................................
August 31 ................................................................................
September 30 ..........................................................................
October 31 ...............................................................................
November 30 ...........................................................................
0.18
0.16
0.16
0.16
0.16
0.16
0.16
0.16
0.42
0.42
0.42
0.42
0.40
0.45
0.41
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.26
0.20
0.21
0.21
0.29
0.21
0.21
2.21
2.04
1.94
1.90
1.98
1.86
1.71
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.45
0.33
0.36
0.22
0.46
0.31
0.29
* The pelagic shelf rockfish species group has been changed to ‘‘dusky rockfish.’’
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et
seq.; 3631 et seq.; Pub. L. 108–447; Pub. L.
111–281.
Dated: January 30, 2019.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–00995 Filed 2–4–19; 8:45 am]
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:22 Feb 04, 2019
ACTION:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
SUMMARY:
RIN 0648–XG744
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council (MAFMC); Public Meeting
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
AGENCY:
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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Notice; public meeting.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
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The Tilefish Advisory Panel
of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (Council) will
hold a meeting.
The meeting will be held on
Wednesday, February 20, 2019,
beginning at 9 a.m. and conclude by 1
p.m. For agenda details, see
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
DATES:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1709-1711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-00995]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG673
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Groundfish
of the Gulf of Alaska; Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of standard prices and fee percentage.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS publishes the standard ex-vessel prices and fee
percentage for cost recovery under the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish
Program. This action is intended to provide participants in a rockfish
cooperative with the standard
[[Page 1710]]
prices and fee percentage for the 2018 fishing year, which was
authorized from May 1 through November 15. The fee percentage is 2.86
percent. The fee payments are due from each rockfish cooperative on or
before February 15, 2019.
DATES: Valid on: February 5, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Greene, 907-586-7105.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The rockfish fisheries are conducted in Federal waters near Kodiak,
AK, by trawl and longline vessels. Regulations implementing the Central
Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program) are set forth
at 50 CFR part 679. Exclusive harvesting privileges are allocated as
quota share under the Rockfish Program for rockfish primary and
secondary species. Each year, NMFS issues rockfish primary and
secondary species cooperative quota (CQ) to rockfish quota shareholders
to authorize harvest of these species. The rockfish primary species are
northern rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and dusky rockfish. In 2012,
dusky rockfish replaced the pelagic shelf rockfish species group in the
GOA Groundfish Harvest Specifications (77 FR 15194, March 14, 2012).
The rockfish secondary species include Pacific cod, rougheye rockfish,
shortraker rockfish, sablefish, and thornyhead rockfish. Rockfish
cooperatives began fishing under the Rockfish Program on May 1, 2012.
The Rockfish Program is a limited access privilege program
established under the provisions of section 303A of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
Sections 303A and 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act require NMFS to
collect fees to recover the actual costs directly related to the
management, data collection and analysis, and enforcement of any
limited access privilege program. Therefore, NMFS is required to
collect fees for the Rockfish Program under sections 303A and 304(d)(2)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Section 304(d)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act also limits the cost recovery fee so that it may not exceed 3
percent of the ex-vessel value of the fish harvested under the Rockfish
Program.
Standard Prices
NMFS calculates cost recovery fees based on standard ex-vessel
value prices, rather than actual price data provided by each rockfish
CQ holder. Use of standard ex-vessel prices is allowed under sections
303A and 304(d)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. NMFS generates a
standard ex-vessel price for each rockfish primary and secondary
species on a monthly basis to determine the average price paid per
pound for all shoreside processors receiving rockfish primary and
secondary species CQ.
Regulations at Sec. 679.85(b)(2) require the Regional
Administrator to publish rockfish standard ex-vessel values during the
first quarter of each calendar year. The standard prices are described
in U.S. dollars per pound for rockfish primary and secondary species CQ
landings made during the previous year.
Fee Percentage
NMFS assesses a fee on the standard ex-vessel value of rockfish
primary species and rockfish secondary species CQ harvested by rockfish
cooperatives in the Central GOA and waters adjacent to the Central GOA
when rockfish primary species caught by a cooperative are deducted from
the Federal total allowable catch. The rockfish entry level longline
fishery and trawl vessels that opt out of joining a cooperative are not
subject to cost recovery fees because those participants do not receive
rockfish CQ. Specific details on the Rockfish Program's cost recovery
provision may be found in the implementing regulations set forth at
Sec. 679.85.
NMFS informs--by letter--each rockfish cooperative of the fee
percentage applied to the previous year's landings and the total amount
due. Fees are due on or before February 15 of each year. Failure to pay
on time will result in the permit holder's rockfish quota share
becoming non-transferable, and the person will be ineligible to receive
any additional rockfish quota share by transfer. In addition,
cooperative members will not receive any rockfish CQ the following year
until full payment of the fee is received by NMFS.
NMFS calculates and publishes in the Federal Register the fee
percentage in the first quarter of each year according to the factors
and methods described in Federal regulations at Sec. 679.85(c)(2).
NMFS determines the fee percentage that applies to landings made in the
previous year by dividing the total Rockfish Program management, data
collection and analysis, and enforcement costs (direct program costs)
during the previous year by the total standard ex-vessel value of the
rockfish primary species and rockfish secondary species for all
rockfish CQ landings made during the previous year (fishery value).
NMFS captures the direct program costs through an established
accounting system that allows staff to track labor, travel, contracts,
rent, and procurement. Fee collections in any given year may be less
than, or greater than, the direct program costs and fishery value for
that year, because, by regulation, the fee percentage is established in
the first quarter of the calendar year based on the program costs and
the fishery value of the previous calendar year.
Using the fee percentage formula described above, the estimated
percentage of program costs to value for the 2018 calendar year is 2.86
percent of the standard ex-vessel value. The fee percentage for 2018 is
an increase from the 2017 fee percentage of 2.04 percent (83 FR 2964,
January 22, 2018). Program costs for 2018 increased over costs accrued
in 2017. The value of the fishery also increased by 10% in 2018,
relative to the 2017 fishery value. The majority of the 2018 costs come
from direct personnel and overhead costs, which has been consistent
across all years of the program.
Table 1--Standard Ex-Vessel Prices by Species for the 2018 Rockfish
Program Season in Kodiak, Alaska
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standard ex-
Species Period ending vessel price per
pound ($)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dusky rockfish *.............. May 31............... 0.18
June 30.............. 0.18
July 31.............. 0.18
August 31............ 0.18
September 30......... 0.18
October 31........... 0.18
[[Page 1711]]
November 30.......... 0.18
Northern rockfish............. May 31............... 0.16
June 30.............. 0.16
July 31.............. 0.16
August 31............ 0.16
September 30......... 0.16
October 31........... 0.16
November 30.......... 0.16
Pacific cod................... May 31............... 0.42
June 30.............. 0.42
July 31.............. 0.42
August 31............ 0.42
September 30......... 0.40
October 31........... 0.45
November 30.......... 0.41
Pacific ocean perch........... May 31............... 0.20
June 30.............. 0.20
July 31.............. 0.20
August 31............ 0.20
September 30......... 0.20
October 31........... 0.20
November 30.......... 0.20
Rougheye rockfish............. May 31............... 0.26
June 30.............. 0.20
July 31.............. 0.21
August 31............ 0.21
September 30......... 0.29
October 31........... 0.21
November 30.......... 0.21
Sablefish..................... May 31............... 2.21
June 30.............. 2.04
July 31.............. 1.94
August 31............ 1.90
September 30......... 1.98
October 31........... 1.86
November 30.......... 1.71
Shortraker rockfish........... May 31............... 0.20
June 30.............. 0.20
July 31.............. 0.20
August 31............ 0.20
September 30......... 0.20
October 31........... 0.20
November 30.......... 0.20
Thornyhead rockfish........... May 31............... 0.45
June 30.............. 0.33
July 31.............. 0.36
August 31............ 0.22
September 30......... 0.46
October 31........... 0.31
November 30.......... 0.29
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The pelagic shelf rockfish species group has been changed to ``dusky
rockfish.''
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et seq.; 3631 et seq.;
Pub. L. 108-447; Pub. L. 111-281.
Dated: January 30, 2019.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-00995 Filed 2-4-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
