[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45929-45930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18486]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
15 CFR Part 922
Plan for Periodic Review of Regulations
AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean
Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice of plan for periodic review of regulations; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) section 610 requires that
NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) periodically review
existing regulations that have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities, such as small businesses, small
organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. The RFA does not
require agencies to periodically review existing regulations that were
originally certified under RFA section 605 as a rule that will not have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. However, an agency may exercise its discretion to review
certified rules to assess whether changed conditions may mean that the
existing rules now have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. This plan describes how ONMS will exercise
its discretion to conduct this assessment for specified rules certified
under RFA section 605 and describes the regulations proposed for review
in 2020.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 3, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NOS-2019-0086, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NOAA. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personally identifiable
information (for example, name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
submitted by the commenter will be publicly accessible. NOAA will
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you
wish to remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Meredith Walz, NOAA Office of National
Marine Sanctuaries, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910,
[email protected], or 240-355-0686.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.,
requires that federal agencies take into account how their regulations
affect ``small entities,'' which the RFA defines to include small
businesses, small governmental jurisdictions and small organizations. 5
U.S.C. 601. For regulations proposed after January 1, 1981, the agency
must either prepare a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis or certify the
regulation, if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities.
Section 610 of the RFA, 5 U.S.C. 610, requires federal agencies to
review existing regulations which have or will have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. It requires
that ONMS publish a plan in the Federal Register explaining how it will
review existing regulations that have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities. Regulations that have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
that became effective after January 1, 1981 must be reviewed within 10
years of the publication date of the final rule. Section 610(c)
requires that ONMS publish in the Federal Register a list of rules it
will review during the succeeding 12 months. The list must describe,
explain the need for, and provide the legal basis for the rules, as
well as invite public comment on the rules.
In addition, section 605 of the RFA provides that if, when a rule
is promulgated, the head of an agency certifies to the Small Business
Administration's Chief Counsel for Advocacy that a rule would not have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities, then initial and final regulatory flexibility analyses do not
need to be prepared for the rule. Guidance on implementing the
requirements of RFA section 610 indicates that agencies may exercise
their discretion to determine if previously changed conditions may mean
that a certified rule now does have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities and, therefore, should be subject
to a full section 610 review. If there is evidence that a previously
certified rule is now having a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities, then the Small Business
Administration recommends that the agency should conduct a section 610
review of the rule.
Criteria for Review of Existing Regulations
The purpose of a section 610 review is to determine whether
existing rules should be left unchanged, or whether they should be
revised or rescinded in order to minimize significant economic impacts
on a substantial number of
[[Page 45930]]
small entities, consistent with the objectives of other applicable
statutes. In deciding whether change is necessary, RFA section 610(b)
establishes five factors that agencies will consider in reviewing
existing regulations for which a regulatory flexibility analysis was
prepared:
(1) Whether the rule is still needed;
(2) What type of public complaints or comments were received
concerning the rule;
(3) How complex is the rule;
(4) How much the rule overlaps, duplicates or conflicts with other
federal rules, and, to the extent feasible, with state and local
governmental rules; and
(5) How long it has been since the rule has been evaluated or how
much the technology, economic conditions, or other factors have changed
in the area affected by the rule.
For rules that were certified under RFA section 605, ONMS is not
required to conduct a review under RFA section 610. However, ONMS may
exercise its discretion to prepare an assessment to determine whether
changed conditions may mean that the existing rules now do have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The assessment of certified rules may further consider whether the
existing rules should be left unchanged, or whether they should be
revised or rescinded to minimize significant economic impacts on a
substantial number of small entities, consistent with the objectives of
other applicable statutes.
Plan for Periodic Review of Rules
ONMS will conduct reviews in such a way as to ensure that all rules
for which a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis was prepared are
reviewed within 10 years of the year in which they were originally
issued. During this same period, ONMS may exercise its discretion to
also review rules certified under RFA section 605 as not having
significant impacts. ONMS may evaluate whether changed conditions may
mean that the existing rules now do have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities and therefore should be
reviewed under RFA section 610. ONMS intends that it will conduct
section 610 reviews on applicable regulations on an annual basis. ONMS
will make RFA Section 610 review reports available at the following
website: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/library/alldocs.html.
ONMS Regulation Requiring Review for 2020
Two rulemakings finalized in 2010 were certified under RFA section
605 and are being assessed by ONMS to determine whether changed
conditions may mean that the existing rules now do have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and therefore
should be reviewed under RFA section 610. The Chief Counsel for
Regulation of the Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel
for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA) that these
rules would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. As a result, a regulatory flexibility
analysis was not required, and none were prepared for the following
actions:
1. ``Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Spearfishing
Regulations''. RIN 0648-AX37 (75 FR 7361; February 19, 2010). This
final rule prohibited the use of spearfishing gear in Gray's Reef
National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS or sanctuary). Possession of
spearfishing gear is also prohibited except for vessels passing through
the sanctuary without interruption. The final rule also facilitated
enforcement of an existing prohibition against the use of powerheads
within the sanctuary.
2. ``Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Discharge
Regulations.'' RIN 0648-AX58 (75 FR 72655; November 26, 2010). This
rule eliminated the exemption that allowed discharges from within the
boundary of the sanctuary of biodegradable effluent incidental to
vessel use and generated by marine sanitation devices (MSDs) approved
under the Clean Water Act (CWA), and required that MSDs be secured to
prevent discharges of treated and untreated sewage.
ONMS invites comments on these rules, and whether any conditions
have changed for any of these rules, or for small business conducting
activities in these areas that would require ONMS to conduct RFA
section 610 review of those regulations. ONMS will evaluate comments on
whether those rules now have a significant impact and therefore should
be reviewed under RFA section 610. Unless we publish a notice stating
otherwise, ONMS will make any reports available at http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/library/alldocs.html.
John Armor,
Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
[FR Doc. 2019-18486 Filed 8-30-19; 8:45 am]
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