[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 186 (Friday, September 25, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57737-57738]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24364]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[Docket No. 141212999-5843-01]
RIN 0648-BE73


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fishery Management Council 
Freedom of Information Act Requests Regulations; Technical Amendments 
to Regulations

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is hereby making technical amendments without altering 
the substance of the regulations governing the operation of Regional 
Fishery Management Councils (Councils) under the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The 
intent of this action is to update existing Council regulations to 
reflect the current procedure for processing Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA) requests received by Councils. These changes will make our rules 
more internally consistent and easier to use.

DATES: This final rule is effective October 26, 2015.

ADDRESSES: 1315 East West Highway, SSMC3, Room #10843, Silver Spring, 
MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Goodman at 301-427-8732, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Recently, the Department of Commerce (DOC) published a proposed 
rule and a final rule in the Federal Register (79 FR 11025, February 
27, 2014; 79 FR 62553, October 20, 2014) implementing revisions to DOC 
FOIA regulations. The DOC FOIA regulations were revised to clarify, 
update and streamline the language of several procedural provisions, 
including using FOIAonline, a web-based tracking and processing tool 
for FOIA requests. NOAA now uses FOIAonline to receive, securely manage 
and respond to FOIA requests submitted by the public.
    NMFS has existing regulations for handling FOIA requests received 
by the Councils entitled ``Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 
requests.'' 50 CFR 600.155. These regulations provide that the NOAA 
FOIA Officer will prepare a Form CD-244, ``FOIA Request and Action 
Record,'' for FOIA requests received by a Council.

Corrections

    NMFS is revising regulations at Sec.  600.155(a) and (b) to reflect 
the use of FOIAonline. This action specifically amends the regulations 
to remove the requirement to prepare a Form CD-244 and to clarify that, 
after FOIA requests received by a Council are coordinated with the 
appropriate NMFS Regional Office (Region), the Region then forwards the 
request to the NOAA FOIA officer who enters the FOIA request into 
FOIAonline. No other changes are being considered or implemented.

Classification

    The NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this rule is 
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act and other applicable laws.
    This rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of 
Executive Order 12866.
    This rule pertains solely to agency procedure and corrects existing 
regulations to reflect the current practice for processing FOIA 
requests received by a Council. It makes no changes to the substantive 
legal rights, obligations, or interests of affected parties. This rule 
therefore is a ``rule of agency organization, procedure or practice'' 
and is therefore exempt from the notice-and-comment requirements of the 
Administrative Procedure Act at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A).

[[Page 57738]]

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 600

    Administrative practice and procedure, Confidential business 
information, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: September 21, 2015.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS amends 50 CFR part 
600 as follows:

PART 600--MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT PROVISIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 600 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C 561 and 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.


0
2. Section 600.155 is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  600.155  Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

    (a) FOIA requests received by a Council should be coordinated 
promptly with the appropriate NMFS Regional Office. The Region will 
forward the request to the NOAA FOIA Officer to secure a FOIA number 
and log the request into FOIAonline. The Region will also obtain 
clearance from the NOAA General Counsel's Office concerning initial 
determination for denial of requested information.
    (b) FOIA request processing will be controlled and documented in 
the Region. The requests should be forwarded to the NOAA FOIA Officer 
who will enter the request into FOIAonline. The request will be 
assigned an official FOIA number and due date. In the event the Region 
determines that the requested information is exempt from disclosure, in 
full or in part, under the FOIA, the denial letter prepared for the 
Assistant Administrator's signature, along with the ``Foreseeable 
Harm'' Memo and list of documents to be withheld, must be cleared 
through the NMFS FOIA Liaison. Upon completion, a copy of the signed 
letter transmitting the information to the requester should be posted 
to FOIAonline by NMFS.

[FR Doc. 2015-24364 Filed 9-24-15; 8:45 am]
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