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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 7, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
and public hearing required for certain permit actions to read as follows:

52.1170

Identification of plan.

e

EPA-APPROVED MICHIGAN NONREGULATORY AND QUASI-REGULATORY PROVISIONS
Name of nonregulatory SIP provision
Applicable geographic or nonattainment area

2010 Sulfur Dioxide Clean Data Determination.

St. Clair area

BILLING CODE 656050P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 223
Docket No. 2112010248
RIN 0648BK98

Extension of the Authorized Restricted Tow Times in Lieu of Turtle Excluder Devices for an Additional 30 Days by Shrimp Trawlers in Specific Louisiana Waters National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA, Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule.
AGENCY:

NMFS issues this temporary rule for a period of 30 days, to allow shrimp fishers to use limited tow times as an alternative to Turtle Excluder Devices TEDs in specific Louisiana State waters from 9123 West longitude eastward to the Louisiana/
Mississippi border, and seaward out 3
nautical miles 5.6 kilometers. This action is necessary because environmental conditions resulting from Hurricane Ida are preventing fishers from using TEDs effectively.
DATES: Effective from December 7, 2021, through January 5, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Hoffman, 7278245312.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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SUMMARY:

Background All sea turtles that occur in U.S.
waters are listed as either endangered or
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FR Doc. 202126471 Filed 12621; 8:45 am
VerDate Sep<11>2014

State submittal date
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EPA Approval date
Comments

12/7/2021, INSERT
FEDERAL REGISTER CITATION.

EPAs final determination suspends the requirements for EGLE to submit an attainment demonstration and other associated nonattainment planning requirements for the St.
Clair nonattainment area requirements for the nonattainment area for as long as the area continues to attain the 2010 SO2 NAAQS.

threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ESA. The Kemps ridley Lepidochelys kempii, leatherback Dermochelys coriacea, and hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata turtles are listed as endangered. The loggerhead Caretta caretta and green Chelonia mydas turtles are listed as threatened, except for breeding populations of green turtles in Florida and on the Pacific coast of Mexico, which are listed as endangered.
Sea turtles are incidentally taken, and some are killed, as a result of numerous activities, including fishery-related trawling activities in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic seaboard. Under the ESA and its implementing regulations, the taking of sea turtles is prohibited, with exceptions identified in 50 CFR 223.206d, or according to the terms and conditions of a biological opinion issued under section 7 of the ESA, or according to an incidental take permit issued under section 10 of the ESA. The incidental taking of turtles during shrimp or summer flounder trawling is exempted from the taking prohibition of section 9 of the ESA, if the conservation measures specified in the sea turtle conservation regulations 50 CFR part 223 are followed. The regulations require most shrimp trawlers and summer flounder trawlers operating in the southeastern United States Atlantic area, Gulf area, and summer flounder sea turtle protection area, see 50 CFR 223.206 to have a NMFS-approved TED installed in each net that is rigged for fishing to allow sea turtles to escape. TEDs currently approved by NMFS include single-grid hard TEDs and hooped hard TEDs conforming to a generic description, the flounder TED, and one type of soft TEDthe Parker soft TED see 50 CFR
223.207.
TEDs incorporate an escape opening, usually covered by a webbing flap,
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which allows sea turtles to escape from trawl nets. To be approved by NMFS, a TED design must be shown to be 97
percent effective in excluding sea turtles during testing based upon specific testing protocols 50 CFR 223.207e1.
Approved hard TEDs are described in the regulations 50 CFR 223.207a according to generic criteria based upon certain parameters of TED design, configuration, and installation, including height and width dimensions of the TED opening through which the turtles escape.
The regulations governing sea turtle take prohibitions and exemptions provide for the use of limited tow times as an alternative to the use of TEDs for vessels with certain specified characteristics or under certain special circumstances. The provisions of 50
CFR 223.206d3ii specify that the NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries AA may authorize compliance with tow time restrictions as an alternative to the TED requirement if the AA determines that the presence of algae, seaweed, debris, or other special environmental conditions in a particular area makes trawling with TED-equipped nets impracticable.
Namely, TEDs can become clogged with debris, which can prevent target species from passing into the codend of the net and sea turtles from escaping through the TED opening. The provisions of 50
CFR 223.206d3i specify the maximum tow times that may be used when tow time limits are authorized as an alternative to the use of TEDs. Each tow may be no more than 55 minutes from April 1 through October 31 and no more than 75 minutes from November 1
through March 31, as measured from the time that the trawl doors enter the water until they are removed from the water.
For a trawl that is not attached to a door, the tow time begins at the time the codend enters the water and ends at the
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