[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10776-10777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04195]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD144


Revisions to NOAA's Policy for the Assessment of Civil 
Administrative Penalties and Permit Sanctions

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 draft revisions to NOAA's Policy for the 
Assessment of Civil Administrative Penalties and Permit Sanctions 
(Penalty Policy) for public review and comment. The revisions to the 
policy will improve enforcement consistency nationally, increase 
predictability in enforcement, improve transparency in enforcement, and 
more effectively protect natural resources.

DATES: The draft revisions to the Penalty Policy will remain available 
for public review until April 28, 2014. To ensure that comments will be 
considered, NOAA must receive written comments by April 28, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may submit comments by any of the 
following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic public comments 
to [email protected];
     Fax: 301-427-2211; Attn: Robert Hogan;
     Mail: Enforcement Section, Office of the General Counsel, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1315 East West 
Highway, SSMC-3-15424, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Attn: Robert Hogan.
    The draft revisions to the Penalty Policy are available 
electronically at the following Web site: http://www.gc.noaa.gov/documents/enforcement/draft-penalty-policy.pdf. Commenters may also 
request a hard copy of the draft revisions to the 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, email 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: Robert Hogan at the above address or 
by telephone at 301-427-8283.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The draft revisions to the Penalty Policy 
are intended to provide updated 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 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 the draft revisions to the Penalty Policy, NOAA expects to 
continue to improve consistency at a national level, provide greater 
predictability for the regulated community and the public, improve 
transparency in enforcement, and more effectively protect natural 
resources. The major changes to the existing Penalty Policy made by 
this draft revision include:
    (1) Addition of more detail in some penalty schedules to better 
describe the most commonly-occurring violations;
    (2) Clearer distinctions among multiple-level violations to ensure 
consistent application of the Penalty Policy;
    (3) Revision of the treatment of prior violations so that prior 
adjudicated violations older than 5 years are no longer considered an 
aggravating factor;
    (4) Ensuring consistent application of the Penalty Policy to 
recreational offenses by replacing the commercial/recreational 
distinction as a penalty adjustment factor with additional Level I and 
II penalties that capture recreational violations;
    (5) Creating a new penalty adjustment for ``such other matters as 
justice may require'' by combining the ``Activity After Violation'' 
factor with new considerations.
    When finalized, the revised Penalty Policy will supersede the 
previous

[[Page 10777]]

Penalty Policy regarding the 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 General Counsel's Office in assessing penalties 
but is not intended to create a right or benefit, substantive or 
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, in any person or company. 
NOAA retains discretion to assess the full range of penalties 
authorized by statute in any particular case.
    The full draft revisions to the Penalty Policy, along with 
examples, matrixes, and schedules, can be found at http://www.gc.noaa.gov/documents/enforcement/draft-penalty-policy.pdf. NOAA is 
seeking public comment on all portions of the Penalty Policy, but 
specifically asks for comment on the above identified major changes to 
the existing Penalty Policy.

    Dated: February 21, 2014.
Benjamin Friedman,
Deputy General Counsel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-04195 Filed 2-25-14; 8:45 am]
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