[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 203 (Thursday, October 21, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64987-64988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-26417]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 101014509-0508-01]
RIN 0648-XZ62


Notice of Availability of Draft Policy for the Assessment of 
Civil Administrative Penalties and Permit Sanctions for Public Review 
and Comment

AGENCY: Office of General Counsel (OGC), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 
announces the availability of a draft Policy for the Assessment of 
Civil Administrative Penalties and Permit Sanctions (Penalty Policy) 
for public review and comment.

DATES: The draft Penalty Policy will remain available for public review 
until December 20, 2010. To ensure that comments will be considered, 
NOAA must receive written comments by December 20, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may submit comments by any of the 
following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic public comments 
via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal http://www.regulations.gov or 
[email protected];
     Fax: 301 427-2210; Attn: Frank Sprtel;
     Mail: Office of General Counsel for Enforcement and 
Litigation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 8484 
Georgia Avenue, Suite 400, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Attn: Frank Sprtel.
    The draft Penalty Policy is available electronically at the 
following Web site: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/penaltypolicy.html. 
Commenters may also request a hard copy of the draft Penalty Policy by 
sending a self-addressed envelope (size 8.5 x 11 inches) to the street 
address provided above. Comments submitted in response to this notice 
are a matter of public record. Before including an address, phone 
number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in a 
comment, please be aware that comments--including any personal 
identifying information--can and will be made publicly available. While 
a request can be made to withhold personal identifying information from 
public review, NOAA cannot ensure that it will be able to do so.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Sprtel at the above address or 
by telephone at 301 495-7147.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The draft Penalty Policy is intended to 
provide guidance for the Assessment of civil administrative penalties 
and permit sanctions under the statutes and regulations enforced by 
NOAA. As explained more fully in the text of the draft Penalty Policy, 
the purpose of the Policy is to ensure that: (1) Civil administrative 
penalties and permit sanctions are assessed in accordance with the laws 
that NOAA enforces in a fair and consistent manner; (2) penalties and 
permit sanctions are appropriate for the gravity of the violation; (3) 
penalties and permit sanctions are sufficient to deter both particular 
violators and the regulated community from committing violations; (4) 
economic incentives for noncompliance are eliminated; and (5) 
compliance is expeditiously achieved and maintained to protect natural 
resources. Under this Policy, NOAA expects to improve consistency at a 
national level, provide greater predictability for the regulated 
community and the public, improve

[[Page 64988]]

transparency in enforcement, and more effectively protect natural 
resources.
    Under the proposed penalty policy, penalties and permit sanctions 
are based on three criteria: (1) A base penalty amount and permit 
sanction reflective of the seriousness of the violation; (2) an 
adjustment of the base penalty and permit sanction upward or downward 
to reflect particular circumstances of a specific violation; and (3) an 
additional amount added to the adjusted base penalty to recoup the 
economic benefit of noncompliance. We note that the new penalty policy 
is a departure from NOAA's prior practice of developing detailed 
penalty schedules by region and by specific types of violations with 
broad ranges for both penalty and permit sanctions. The new policy uses 
a simplified approach of one penalty and permit sanction matrix for 
each major statute NOAA enforces, to be applied nationally, with 
narrower penalty and permit sanction ranges. This approach assures that 
NOAA attorneys are provided with greater guidance in recommending 
penalties, and should assure fairness and consistency of approach 
across NOAA statutes, across fisheries, and across the country.
    When finalized, this draft Penalty Policy will supersede previous 
guidance regarding assessment of penalties or permit sanctions and 
previous penalty and permit sanction schedules issued by the NOAA 
Office of the General Counsel. This Penalty Policy provides guidance 
for the NOAA Office of the General Counsel, but does not, nor is it 
intended to, create a right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
enforceable at law or in equity, in any person or company.
    The full penalty policy, along with examples, matrixes, and 
schedules, can be found at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/penaltypolicy.html. NOAA is seeking public comment on all portions of 
the penalty policy, but specifically asks for comment in the following 
areas: (1) The handling of recreational, versus commercial, activity in 
assessing penalties--specifically, whether to create separate matrixes 
and/or schedules for recreational activity in the penalty policy, or to 
leave such distinctions as an ``adjustment'' factor, as currently 
written; (2) the evaluation of prior violations in assessing 
penalties--specifically, whether to create upward penalty assessments 
based on prior charged conduct, or only to consider prior conduct that 
is fully adjudicated; (3) whether the proposed use of permit sanctions 
in the penalty policy is appropriate; (4) whether any additional upward 
or downward ``adjustment'' factors should be considered in assessing 
penalties under the penalty policy; (5) whether the matrixes and 
schedules in the penalty policy (Appendices 2 and 3), adequately 
reflect an appropriate range of penalties for particular violations; 
and (6) whether there should be any change in the proposed method of 
calculating economic benefit in the penalty policy.

    Dated: October 15, 2010.
Lois J. Schiffer,
General Counsel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-26417 Filed 10-15-10; 4:15 pm]
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