[Federal Register: March 4, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 42)]
[Notices]
[Page 9970-9976]
[DOCID:fr04mr10-117]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-61588; File No. 4-551]

Program for Allocation of Regulatory Responsibilities Pursuant to
Rule 17d-2; Notice of Filing and Order Approving and Declaring
Effective an Amendment to the Plan for the Allocation of Regulatory
Responsibilities Among the NYSE Amex LLC, BATS Exchange, Inc., C2
Options Exchange, Incorporated, the Chicago Board Options Exchange,
Incorporated, the International Securities Exchange, LLC, Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., the NYSE Arca, Inc., The NASDAQ
Stock Market LLC, NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc., and NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc.
Concerning Options-Related Market Surveillance

February 25, 2010.
    Notice is hereby given that the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') has issued an Order, pursuant to Section 17(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act''),\1\ approving and declaring
effective an amendment to the plan for allocating regulatory
responsibility (``Plan'') filed pursuant to Rule 17d-2 of the Act,\2\
by the NYSE Amex LLC (``Amex''), BATS Exchange, Inc. (``BATS''), C2
Options Exchange, Incorporated (``C2''), the Chicago Board Options
Exchange, Incorporated (``CBOE''), the International Securities
Exchange LLC (``ISE''), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
(``FINRA''), NYSE Arca, Inc. (``Arca''), The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
(``NASDAQ''), NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc. (``BX'') and NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc.
(``Phlx'') (collectively, ``SRO participants'').
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78q(d).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.17d-2.
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I. Introduction

    Section 19(g)(1) of the Act,\3\ among other things, requires every
self-regulatory organization (``SRO'') registered as either a national
securities exchange or national securities association to examine for,
and enforce compliance by, its members and persons associated with its
members with the Act, the rules and regulations thereunder, and the
SRO's own rules, unless the SRO is relieved of this responsibility
pursuant to Section 17(d) \4\ or Section 19(g)(2) \5\ of the Act.
Without this relief, the statutory

obligation of each individual SRO could result in a pattern of multiple
examinations of broker-dealers that maintain memberships in more than
one SRO (``common members''). Such regulatory duplication would add
unnecessary expenses for common members and their SROs.
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    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(g)(1).
    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78q(d).
    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(g)(2).
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    Section 17(d)(1) of the Act \6\ was intended, in part, to eliminate
unnecessary multiple examinations and regulatory duplication.\7\ With
respect to a common member, Section 17(d)(1) authorizes the Commission,
by rule or order, to relieve an SRO of the responsibility to receive
regulatory reports, to examine for and enforce compliance with
applicable statutes, rules, and regulations, or to perform other
specified regulatory functions.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78q(d)(1).
    \7\ See Securities Act Amendments of 1975, Report of the Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to Accompany S.
249, S. Rep. No. 94-75, 94th Cong., 1st Session 32 (1975).
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    To implement Section 17(d)(1), the Commission adopted two rules:
Rule 17d-1 and Rule 17d-2 under the Act.\8\ Rule 17d-1 authorizes the
Commission to name a single SRO as the designated examining authority
(``DEA'') to examine common members for compliance with the financial
responsibility requirements imposed by the Act, or by Commission or SRO
rules.\9\ When an SRO has been named as a common member's DEA, all
other SROs to which the common member belongs are relieved of the
responsibility to examine the firm for compliance with the applicable
financial responsibility rules. On its face, Rule 17d-1 deals only with
an SRO's obligations to enforce member compliance with financial
responsibility requirements. Rule 17d-1 does not relieve an SRO from
its obligation to examine a common member for compliance with its own
rules and provisions of the Federal securities laws governing matters
other than financial responsibility, including sales practices and
trading activities and practices.
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    \8\ 17 CFR 240.17d-1 and 17 CFR 240.17d-2, respectively.
    \9\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 12352 (April 20,
1976), 41 FR 18808 (May 7, 1976).
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    To address regulatory duplication in these and other areas, the
Commission adopted Rule 17d-2 under the Act.\10\ Rule 17d-2 permits
SROs to propose joint plans for the allocation of regulatory
responsibilities with respect to their common members. Under paragraph
(c) of Rule 17d-2, the Commission may declare such a plan effective if,
after providing for notice and comment, it determines that the plan is
necessary or appropriate in the public interest and for the protection
of investors, to foster cooperation and coordination among the SROs, to
remove impediments to, and foster the development of, a national market
system and a national clearance and settlement system, and is in
conformity with the factors set forth in Section 17(d) of the Act.
Commission approval of a plan filed pursuant to Rule 17d-2 relieves an
SRO of those regulatory responsibilities allocated by the plan to
another SRO.
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    \10\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 12935 (October 28,
1976), 41 FR 49091 (November 8, 1976).
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II. The Plan

    On December 11, 2007, the Commission declared effective the SRO
participants' Plan for allocating regulatory responsibilities pursuant
to Rule 17d-2.\11\ On April 11, 2008, the Commission approved an
amendment to the Plan to include NASDAQ as a participant.\12\ On
October 9, 2008, the Commission approved an amendment to the Plan to
clarify that the term Regulatory Responsibility for options position
limits includes examination responsibilities for the delta hedging
exemption.\13\ The Plan is designed to reduce regulatory duplication
for common members by allocating regulatory responsibility for certain
options-related market surveillance matters among the SRO
Participants.\14\ Generally, under the current Plan, an SRO Participant
will serve as the Designated Options Surveillance Regulator (``DOSR'')
for each common member assigned to it and will assume regulatory
responsibility with respect to that common member's compliance with
applicable common rules for certain accounts. When an SRO has been
named as a common member's DOSR, all other SROs to which the common
member belongs will be relieved of regulatory responsibility for that
common member, pursuant to the terms of the Plan, with respect to the
applicable common rules specified in Exhibit A to the Plan.
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    \11\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 56941 (December 11,
2007), 72 FR 71723 (December 18, 2007) (File No. 4-551).
    \12\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57649 (April 11,
2008), 73 FR 20976 (April 17, 2008) (File No. 4-551).
    \13\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 58765 (October 9,
2008), 73 FR 62344 (October 20, 2008) (File No. 4-551).
    \14\ The Plan is wholly separate from the multiparty options
agreement made pursuant to Rule 17d-2 by and among Amex, BSE, CBOE,
ISE, FINRA, New York Stock Exchange LLC, NASDAQ, NYSE Arca, and Phlx
involving the allocation of regulatory responsibilities with respect
to common members for options-related sales practice matters
relating to the conduct of broker-dealers of accounts for listed
options or index warrants. See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos.
57987 (June 18, 2008), 73 FR 36156 (June 25, 2008) (File No. S7-
966).
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III. Proposed Amendment to the Plan

    On February 4, 2010, the parties submitted a proposed amendment to
the Plan. The primary purpose of the amendment is to add BATS Exchange,
Inc. and C2 Options Exchange, Incorporated as SRO participants and to
reflect the name changes of the American Stock Exchange LLC to the NYSE
Amex LLC, and the Boston Stock Exchange, Inc. to the NASDAQ OMX BX,
Inc. The amended agreement replaces the previous agreement in its
entirety. The text of the proposed amended 17d-2 plan is as follows
(additions are italicized; deletions are [bracketed]):
* * * * *
    AGREEMENT BY AND AMONG NYSE AMEX LLC [THE AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE],
BATS EXCHANGE, INC., NASDAQ OMX BX, INC. [THE BOSTON STOCK EXCHANGE],
C2 OPTIONS EXCHANGE, INCORPORATED, THE CHICAGO BOARD OPTIONS EXCHANGE,
INCORPORATED, THE INTERNATIONAL SECURITES EXCHANGE LLC, FINANCIAL
INDUSTRY REGULATORY AUTHORITY, INC, NYSE ARCA, INC., THE NASDAQ STOCK
MARKET LLC, AND NASDAQ OMX PHLX, INC., PURSUANT TO RULE 17D-2 UNDER THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
    This agreement (this ``Agreement''), by and among the NYSE Amex LLC
[American Stock Exchange] (``Amex''), BATS Exchange, Inc., (``BATS''),
the [Boston Stock Exchange, Inc. (``BSE'')] C2 Options Exchange,
Incorporated (``C2''), the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated
(``CBOE''), the International Securities Exchange LLC (``ISE''),
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (``FINRA''), NYSE Arca,
Inc. (``Arca''), The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (``Nasdaq''), the NASDAQ
OMX BX, Inc. (``BX'') and the NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc. (``PHLX''), is made
this 10th day of October 2007, and as amended the 31st day of March
2008, the 1st day of October 2008, and this 3rd day of February 2010
pursuant to Section 17(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the ``Exchange Act''), and Rule 17d-2 thereunder (``Rule 17d-
2''), which allows for a joint plan among self-regulatory organizations
(``SROs'') to allocate regulatory obligations with respect to brokers
or dealers that are members of two or more of the parties to this
Agreement (``Common Members''). The Amex, BATS, C2, [BSE,] CBOE, ISE,
FINRA,

Arca, Nasdaq, BX, and PHLX are collectively referred to herein as the
``Participants'' and individually, each a ``Participant.'' This
Agreement shall be administered by a committee known as the Options
Surveillance Group (the ``OSG'' or ``Group''), as described in Section
V hereof. Unless defined in this Agreement or the context otherwise
requires, the terms used herein shall have the meanings assigned
thereto by the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
    Whereas, the Participants desire to eliminate regulatory
duplication with respect to SRO market surveillance of Common Member
\1\ activities with regard to certain common rules relating to listed
options (``Options''); and
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    \1\ In the case of [the BSE]BX, members are those persons who
are Options Participants (as defined in the Boston Options Exchange
LLC Rules).
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    Whereas, for this purpose, the Participants desire to execute and
file this Agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
``SEC'' or ``Commission'') pursuant to Rule 17d-2.
    Now, therefore, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained
in this Agreement, the Participants agree as follows:
    I. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, each Participant
shall assume Regulatory Responsibility (as defined below) for the
Common Members that are allocated or assigned to such Participant in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement and shall be relieved of
its Regulatory Responsibility as to the remaining Common Members. For
purposes of this Agreement, a Participant shall be considered to be the
Designated Options Surveillance Regulator (``DOSR'') for each Common
Member that is allocated to it in accordance with Section VII.
    II. As used in this Agreement, the term ``Regulatory
Responsibility'' shall mean surveillance, investigation and enforcement
responsibilities relating to compliance by the Common Members with such
Options rules of the Participants as the Participants shall determine
are substantially similar and shall approve from time to time, insofar
as such rules relate to market surveillance (collectively, the ``Common
Rules''). For the purposes of this Agreement the list of Common Rules
is attached as Exhibit A hereto, which may only be amended upon
unanimous written agreement by the Participants. The DOSR assigned to
each Common Member shall assume Regulatory Responsibility with regard
to that Common Member's compliance with the applicable Common Rules for
certain accounts.\2\ A DOSR may perform its Regulatory Responsibility
or enter an agreement to transfer or assign such responsibilities to a
national securities exchange registered with the SEC under Section 6(a)
of the Exchange Act or a national securities association registered
with the SEC under Section 15A of the Exchange Act. A DOSR may not
transfer or assign its Regulatory Responsibility to an association
registered for the limited purpose of regulating the activities of
members who are registered as brokers or dealers in security futures
products.
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    \2\ Certain accounts shall include customer (``C'' as classified
by the Options Clearing Corporation (``OCC'')) and firm (``F'' as
classified by OCC) accounts, as well as other accounts, such as
market maker accounts as the Participants shall, from time to time,
identify as appropriate to review.
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    The term ``Regulatory Responsibility'' does not include, and each
Participant shall retain full responsibility with respect to:
    (a) Surveillance, investigative and enforcement responsibilities
other than those included in the definition of Regulatory
Responsibility;
    (b) Any aspects of the rules of a Participant that are not
substantially similar to the Common Rules or that are allocated for a
separate surveillance purpose under any other agreement made pursuant
to Rule 17d-2. Any such aspects of a Common Rule will be noted as
excluded on Exhibit A.
    With respect to options position limits, the term Regulatory
Responsibility shall include examination responsibilities for the delta
hedging exemption. Specifically, the Participants intend that FINRA
will conduct examinations for delta hedging for all Common Members that
are members of FINRA notwithstanding the fact that FINRA's position
limit rule is, in some cases, limited to only firms that are not
members of an options exchange (i.e., access members). In such cases,
FINRA's examinations for delta hedging options position limit
violations will be for the identical or substantively similar position
limit rule(s) of the other Participant(s). Examinations for delta
hedging for Common Members that are non-FINRA members will be conducted
by the same Participant conducting position limit surveillance. The
allocation of Common Members to DOSRs for surveillance of compliance
with options position limits and other agreed to Common Rules is
provided in Exhibit B. The allocation of Common Members to DOSRs for
examinations of the delta hedging exemption under the options position
limits rules is provided in Exhibit C.
    III. Each year within 30 days of the anniversary date of the
commencement of operation of this Agreement, or more frequently if
required by changes in the rules of a Participant, each Participant
shall submit to the other Participants, through the Chair of the OSG,
an updated list of Common Rules for review. This updated list may add
Common Rules to Exhibit A, shall delete from Exhibit A rules of that
Participant that are no longer identical or substantially similar to
the Common Rules, and shall confirm that the remaining rules of the
Participant included on Exhibit A continue to be identically or
substantially similar to the Common Rules. Within 30 days from the date
that each Participant has received revisions to Exhibit A from the
Chair of the OSG, each Participant shall confirm in writing to the
Chair of the OSG whether that Participant's rules listed in Exhibit A
are Common Rules.
    IV. Apparent violation of another Participant's rules discovered by
a DOSR, but which rules are not within the scope of the discovering
DOSR's Regulatory Responsibility, shall be referred to the relevant
Participant for such action as is deemed appropriate by that
Participant.
    Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained herein shall
preclude a DOSR in its discretion from requesting that another
Participant conduct an investigative or enforcement proceeding
(``Proceeding'') on a matter for which the requesting DOSR has
Regulatory Responsibility. If such other Participant agrees, the
Regulatory Responsibility in such case shall be deemed transferred to
the accepting Participant and confirmed in writing by the Participants
involved. Additionally, nothing in this Agreement shall prevent another
Participant on whose market potential violative activity took place
from conducting its own Proceeding on a matter. The Participant
conducting the Proceeding shall advise the assigned DOSR. Each
Participant agrees, upon request, to make available promptly all
relevant files, records and/or witnesses necessary to assist another
Participant in a Proceeding.
    V. The OSG shall be composed of one representative designated by
each of the Participants (a ``Representative''). Each Participant shall
also designate one or more persons as its alternate representative(s)
(an ``Alternate Representative''). In the absence of the
Representative, the Alternate Representative shall assume the powers,
duties and responsibilities of the Representative. Each Participant may
at any time replace its Representative and/or its Alternate
Representative to the

Group.\3\ A majority of the OSG shall constitute a quorum and, unless
otherwise required, the affirmative vote of a majority of the
Representatives present (in person, by telephone or by written consent)
shall be necessary to constitute action by the Group.
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    \3\ A Participant must give notice to the Chair of the Group of
such a change.
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    The Group will have a Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary. A different
Participant will assume each position on a rotating basis for a one-
year term. In the event that a Participant replaces a Representative
who is acting as Chair, Vice Chair or Secretary, the newly appointed
Representative shall assume the position of Chair, Vice Chair, or
Secretary (as applicable) vacated by the Participant's former
Representative. In the event a Participant cannot fulfill its duties as
Chair, the Participant serving as Vice Chair shall substitute for the
Chair and complete the subject unfulfilled term. All notices and other
communications for the OSG are to be sent in care of the Chair and, as
appropriate, to each Representative.
    VI. The OSG shall determine the times and locations of Group
meetings, provided that the Chair, acting alone, may also call a
meeting of the Group in the event the Chair determines that there is
good cause to do so. To the extent reasonably possible, notice of any
meeting shall be given at least ten business days prior to the meeting
date. Representatives shall always be given the option of participating
in any meeting telephonically at their own expense rather than in
person.
    VII. No less frequently than every two years, in such manner as the
Group deems appropriate, the OSG shall allocate Common Members that
conduct an Options business among the Participants (``Allocation''),
and the Participant to which a Common Member is allocated will serve as
the DOSR for that Common Member. Any Allocation shall be based on the
following principles, except to the extent all affected Participants
consent to one or more different principles:
    (a) The OSG may not allocate a Common Member to a Participant
unless the Common Member is a member of that Participant.
    (b) To the extent practicable, Common Members that conduct an
Options business shall be allocated among the Participants of which
they are members in such manner as to equalize as nearly as possible
the allocation among such Participants, provided that no Common Members
shall be allocated to FINRA. For example, if sixteen Common Members
that conduct an Options business are members only of three
Participants, none of which is FINRA, those Common Members shall be
allocated among the three Participants such that no Participant is
allocated more than six such members and no Participant is allocated
less than five such members. If, in the previous example, one of the
three Participants is FINRA, the sixteen Common Members would be
allocated evenly between the remaining Participants, so that the two
non-FINRA Participants would be allocated eight Common Members each.
    (c) To the extent practicable, Allocation shall take into account
the amount of Options activity conducted by each Common Member in order
to most evenly divide the Common Members with the largest amount of
activity among the Participants of which they are members. Allocation
will also take into account similar allocations pursuant to other plans
or agreements to which the Common Members are party to maintain
consistency in oversight of the Common Members.\4\
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    \4\ For example, if one Participant was allocated a Common
Member by another regulatory group that Participant would be
assigned to be the DOSR of that Common Member, unless there is good
cause not to make that assignment.
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    (d) To the extent practicable, Allocation of Common Members to
Participants will be rotated among the applicable Participants such
that a Common Member shall not be allocated to a Participant to which
that Common Member was allocated within the previous two years. The
assignment of DOSRs pursuant to the Allocation is attached as Exhibit B
hereto, and will be updated from time to time to reflect Common Member
Allocation changes.
    (e) The Group may reallocate Common Members from time-to-time, as
it deems appropriate.
    (f) Whenever a Common Member ceases to be a member of its DOSR, the
DOSR shall promptly inform the Group, which shall review the matter and
allocate the Common Member to another Participant.
    (g) A DOSR may request that a Common Member to which it is assigned
be reallocated to another Participant by giving 30 days written notice
to the Chair of the OSG. The Group, in its discretion, may approve such
request and reallocate the Common Member to another Participant.
    (h) All determinations by the Group with respect to Allocation
shall be made by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Participants
that, at the time of such determination, share the applicable Common
Member being allocated; a Participant shall not be entitled to vote on
any Allocation relating to a Common Member unless the Common Member is
a member of such Participant.
    VIII. Each DOSR shall conduct routine surveillance reviews to
detect violations of the applicable Common Rules by each Common Member
allocated to it with a frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly,
semi-annually or annually as noted on Exhibit A) not less than that
determined by the Group. The other Participants agree that, upon
request, relevant information in their respective files relative to a
Common Member will be made available to the applicable DOSR. In
addition, each Participant shall provide, to the extent not otherwise
already provided, information pertaining to its surveillance program
that would be relevant to FINRA or the Participant(s) conducting
routine examinations for the delta hedging exemption.
    At each meeting of the OSG, each Participant shall be prepared to
report on the status of its surveillance program for the previous
quarter and any period prior thereto that has not previously been
reported to the Group. In the event a DOSR believes it will not be able
to complete its Regulatory Responsibility for its allocated Common
Members, it will so advise the Group in writing promptly. The Group
will undertake to remedy this situation by reallocating the subject
Common Members among the remaining Participants. In such instance, the
Group may determine to impose a regulatory fee for services provided to
the DOSR that was unable to fulfill its Regulatory Responsibility.
    IX. Each Participant will, upon request, promptly furnish a copy of
the report or applicable portions thereof relating to any investigation
made pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement to each other
Participant of which the Common Member under investigation is a member.
    X. Each Participant will routinely populate a common database, to
be accessed by the Group relating to any formal regulatory action taken
during the course of a Proceeding with respect to the Common Rules
concerning a Common Member.
    XI. Any written notice required or permitted to be given under this
Agreement shall be deemed given if sent by certified mail, return
receipt requested, to any Participant to the attention of that
Participant's Representative, to the Participant's principal place of
business or by e-mail at such address as the Representative shall have
filed in writing with the Chair.
    XII. The costs incurred by each Participant in discharging its
Regulatory Responsibility under this Agreement are

not reimbursable. However, any of the Participants may agree that one
or more will compensate the other(s) for costs incurred.
    XIII. The Participants shall notify the Common Members of this
Agreement by means of a uniform joint notice approved by the Group.
Each Participant will notify the Common Members that have been
allocated to it that such Participant will serve as DOSR for that
Common Member.
    XIV. This Agreement shall be effective upon approval of the
Commission. This Agreement may only be amended in writing duly approved
by each Participant. All amendments to this Agreement, excluding
changes to Exhibits A, B and C, must be filed with and approved by the
Commission.
    XV. Any Participant may manifest its intention to cancel its
participation in this Agreement at any time upon providing written
notice to (i) the Group six months prior to the date of such
cancellation, or such other period as all the Participants may agree,
and (ii) the Commission. Upon receipt of the notice the Group shall
allocate, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, those
Common Members for which the canceling Participant was the DOSR. The
canceling Participant shall retain its Regulatory Responsibility and
other rights, privileges and duties pursuant to this Agreement until
the Group has completed the reallocation as described above, and the
Commission has approved the cancellation.
    XVI. The cancellation of its participation in this Agreement by any
Participant shall not terminate this Agreement as to the remaining
Participants. This Agreement will only terminate following notice to
the Commission, in writing, by the then Participants that they intend
to terminate the Agreement and the expiration of the applicable notice
period. Such notice shall be given at least six months prior to the
intended date of termination, or such other period as all the
Participants may agree. Such termination will become effective upon
Commission approval.
    XVII. Participation in the Group shall be strictly limited to the
Participants and no other party shall have any right to attend or
otherwise participate in the Group except with the unanimous approval
of all Participants. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any national
securities exchange registered with the SEC under Section 6(a) of the
Act or any national securities association registered with the SEC
under section 15A of the Act may become a Participant to this Agreement
provided that: (i) Such applicant has adopted rules substantially
similar to the Common Rules, and received approval thereof from the
SEC; (ii) such applicant has provided each Participant with a signed
statement whereby the applicant agrees to be bound by the terms of this
Agreement to the same effect as though it had originally signed this
Agreement and (iii) an amended agreement reflecting the addition of
such applicant as a Participant has been filed with and approved by the
Commission.
    XVIII. This Agreement is wholly separate from the multiparty
Agreement made pursuant to Rule 17d-2 by and among the [Amex, BSE,
CBOE, ISE, NASD, the New York Stock Exchange, LLC, Arca and PHLX]
American Stock Exchange, LLC, the Boston Stock Exchange, Inc., the
Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc., the International Securities
Exchange, LLC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, The NASDAQ
Stock Market LLC, Inc., the New York Stock Exchange, LLC, the NYSE
Arca, Inc., and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc. involving the
allocation of regulatory responsibilities with respect to common
members for compliance with common rules relating to the conduct by
broker-dealers of accounts for listed options or index warrants entered
into on [December 1, 2006] June 5, 2008, and as may be amended from
time to time.
Limitation of Liability
    No Participant nor the Group nor any of their respective directors,
governors, officers, employees or representatives shall be liable to
any other Participant in this Agreement for any liability, loss or
damage resulting from or claimed to have resulted from any delays,
inaccuracies, errors or omissions with respect to the provision of
Regulatory Responsibility as provided hereby or for the failure to
provide any such Regulatory Responsibility, except with respect to such
liability, loss or damages as shall have been suffered by one or more
of the Participants and caused by the willful misconduct of one or more
of the other Participants or its respective directors, governors,
officers, employees or representatives. No warranties, express or
implied, are made by the Participants, individually or as a group, or
by the OSG with respect to any Regulatory Responsibility to be
performed hereunder.
Relief From Responsibility
    Pursuant to Section 17(d)(1)(A) of the Exchange Act and Rule 17d-2,
the Participants join in requesting the Commission, upon its approval
of this Agreement or any part thereof, to relieve the Participants that
are party to this Agreement and are not the DOSR as to a Common Member
of any and all Regulatory Responsibility with respect to the matters
allocated to the DOSR.

Common Rules

    Violation I--Expiring Exercise Declarations (EED)--For Listed Equity Options Expiring: The Third Saturday
                  Following the Third Friday of a Month, Quarterly, and For Listed FLEX Options
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              SRO                       Description of rule         Exchange rule number    Frequency of review
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NYSE Amex......................  Exercise of Options Contracts...  Rule 980..............  At Expiration.
BATS...........................  Exercise of Options Contracts...  Rule 23.1.............  At Expiration.
BOX............................  Exercise of Options Contracts...  Chapter VII, Section 1  At Expiration.
C2.............................  Exercise of Options Contracts...  Rule 11.1.............  At Expiration.
CBOE...........................  Exercise of Options Contracts...  Rule 11.1.............  At Expiration.
FINRA..........................  Exercise of Options Contracts...  Rule 2360(b)(23)......  At Expiration.
ISE............................  Exercise of Options Contracts...  Rule 1100.............  At Expiration.
Nasdaq.........................  Exercise of Options Contracts...  Nasdaq Chapter VIII,    At Expiration.
                                                                    Sec.1.
NYSE Arca......................  Exercise of Options Contracts...  Rule 6.24.............  At Expiration.
NASDAQ OMX PHLX................  Exercise of Equity Options        Rule 1042.............  At Expiration
                                  Contracts.
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 Violation II--Position Limits (PL)--For Listed Equity Options Expiring: The Third Saturday Following the Third
                                          Friday of a Month, Quarterly
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                                  Description of rule (for review
              SRO                       as they apply to PL)          Exchange rule number   Frequency of review
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NYSE Amex......................  Position Limits..................  Rule 904...............  Daily.
                                 Liquidating Positions............  Rule 907...............  As Needed.
BOX............................  Position Limits..................  Chapter III, Section 7.  Daily.
                                 Exemptions from Position.........  Chapter III, Section 8.  As Needed.
                                 Liquidation Positions............  Chapter III, Section 11  As Needed.
BATS...........................  Position Limits..................  Rule 18.7..............  Daily.
                                 Exemptions from Position Limits..  Rule 18.8..............  As Needed.
                                 Liquidation Positions............  Rule 18.11.............  As Needed.
C2.............................  Position Limits..................  Rule 4.11..............  Daily.
                                 Liquidation of Positions.........  Rule 4.14..............  As Needed.
CBOE...........................  Position Limits..................  Rule 4.11..............  Daily.
                                 Liquidation of Positions.........  Rule 4.14..............  As Needed.
FINRA..........................  Position Limits..................  Rule 2360(b)(3)........  Daily.
                                 Liquidation of Positions and       Rule 2360(b)(6)........  As Needed.
                                  Restrictions on Access.
ISE............................  Position Limits..................  Rule 412...............  Daily.
                                 Exemptions from Position Limits..  Rule 413...............  As Needed.
                                 Liquidating Positions............  Rule 416...............  As Needed.
Nasdaq.........................  Position Limits..................  Nasdaq Rule Chapter III  Daily.
                                                                     Section 7.
                                 Exemptions from Position Limits..  Nasdaq Rule Chapter III  As Needed.
                                                                     Section 8.
                                 Liquidating Positions............  Nasdaq Rule Chapter III  As Needed.
                                                                     Section 11.
NYSE Arca......................  Position Limits..................  Rule 6.8...............  Daily.
                                 Liquidation of Position..........  Rule 6.7...............  As Needed.
NASDAQ OMX PHLX................  Position Limits..................  Rule 1001..............  Daily.
                                 Liquidation of Positions.........  Rule 1004..............  As Needed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

             Violation III--Large Options Position Report (LOPR)--for Listed Equity and ETF Options
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Description of rule (for review
              SRO                      as they apply to LOPR)         Exchange rule number   Frequency of review
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NYSE Amex......................  Reporting of Options Positions...  Rule 906...............  Yearly.
BATS...........................  Reports Related to Position        Rule 18.10.............  Yearly.
                                  Limits.
BOX............................  Reports Related to Position        Chapter III, Section 10  Yearly.
                                  Limits.
C2.............................  Reports Related to Position        Rule 4.13(a),..........  Yearly.
                                  Limits.
                                 Reports Related to Position        Rule 4.13(b)...........  Yearly.
                                  Limits.
                                 Reports Related to Position        Rule 4.13(d)...........  Yearly.
                                  Limits.
CBOE...........................  Reports Related to Position        Rule 4.13(a),..........  Yearly.
                                  Limits.
                                 Reports Related to Position        Rule 4.13(b)...........  Yearly.
                                  Limits.
                                 Reports Related to Position        Rule 4.13(d)...........  Yearly.
                                  Limits.
FINRA..........................  Options..........................  Rule 2360(b)(5)........  Yearly.
ISE............................  Reports Related to Position        Rule 415...............  Yearly.
                                  Limits.
Nasdaq.........................  Reports Related to Position        Chapter III Section 10.  Yearly.
                                  Limits.
NYSE Arca......................  Reporting of Options Positions...  Rule 6.6...............  Yearly.
NASDAQ OMX PHLX................  Reporting of Options Positions...  Rule 1003..............  Yearly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       Violation IV--Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) Adjustment Process
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Description of rule (as they
                                  apply to OCC Adjustments/By-laws
              SRO                 Article VI, Section 1 .01(a) and    Exchange rule number   Frequency of review
                                               .02))
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NYSE Amex......................  Contract made on Acceptance of     Rule 965NY.............  Yearly.
                                  Bid or Offer.
BATS...........................  Adherence to Law.................  Rule 18.1..............  Yearly.
BOX............................  Adherence to Law.................  Chapter III, Section 1.  Yearly.
C2.............................  Adherence to Law.................  Rule 4.2...............  Yearly.
CBOE...........................  Adherence to Law.................  Rule 4.2...............  Yearly.
FINRA..........................  Violation of By-Laws and Rules of  Rule 2360(b)(21).......  Yearly.
                                  FINRA or The OCC.
ISE............................  Adherence to Law.................  Rule 401...............  Yearly.
Nasdaq.........................  Adherence to Law.................  Chapter III, Section 1.  Yearly.
NYSE Arca......................  Adherence to Law and Good          Rule 11.1..............  Yearly.
                                  Business Practice.
NASDAQ OMX PHLX................  Violation of By-Laws and Rules of  Rule 1050..............  Yearly.
                                  OCC.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing. Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://
www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an e-mail to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Please include
File Number 4-551 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number 4-551. This file number
should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To help the
Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, please
use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the
Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml).
Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written
statements with respect to the proposed plan that are filed with the
Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed
plan between the Commission and any person, other than those that may
be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5
U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and printing in the
Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC
20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3
p.m. Copies of the plan also will be available for inspection and
copying at the principal offices of Amex, BATS, C2, CBOE, ISE, FINRA,
Arca, NASDAQ, BX and Phlx. All comments received will be posted without
change; the Commission does not edit personal identifying information
from submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to
make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number 4-
551 and should be submitted on or before March 25, 2010.

V. Discussion

    The Commission continues to believe that the Plan, as proposed to
be amended, is an achievement in cooperation among the SRO
participants, and will reduce unnecessary regulatory duplication by
allocating to the designated SRO the responsibility for certain
options-related market surveillance matters that would otherwise be
performed by multiple SROs. The Plan promotes efficiency by reducing
costs to firms that are members of more than one of the SRO
participants. In addition, because the SRO participants coordinate
their regulatory functions in accordance with the Plan, the Plan
promotes, and will continue to promote, investor protection.
    Under paragraph (c) of Rule 17d-2, the Commission may, after
appropriate notice and comment, declare a plan, or any part of a plan,
effective. In this instance, the Commission believes that appropriate
notice and comment can take place after the proposed amendment is
effective. The purpose of the amendment is to add BATS Exchange, Inc.
and C2 Options Exchange, Incorporated as SRO participants and to
reflect the name changes of Amex and BX. By declaring it effective
today, the amended Plan can become effective and be implemented without
undue delay. In addition, the Commission notes that the prior version
of this Plan was published for comment, and the Commission did not
receive any comments thereon.\15\ Finally, the Commission does not
believe that the amendment to the Plan raises any new regulatory issues
that the Commission has not previously considered.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ See supra note 13 (citing to Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 58765).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VI. Conclusion

    This order gives effect to the amended Plan submitted to the
Commission that is contained in File No. 4-551.
    It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 17(d) of the Act,\16\
that the Plan, as amended by and between the Amex, BATS, C2, CBOE, ISE,
FINRA, Arca, NASDAQ, BX and Phlx filed with the Commission pursuant to
Rule 17d-2 on February 4, 2010 is hereby approved and declared
effective.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ 15 U.S.C. 78q(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It is further ordered that those SRO participants that are not the
DOSR as to a particular common member are relieved of those regulatory
responsibilities allocated to the common member's DOSR under the
amended Plan to the extent of such allocation.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(34).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-4455 Filed 3-3-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81078-81079]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25706]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP24-15-000]

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Request Under Blanket
Authorization and Establishing Intervention and Protest Deadline

    Take notice that on November 6, 2023, Columbia Gas Transmission,
LLC (Columbia), 700 Louisiana Street, Suite 1300, Houston, Texas 77002-
2700, filed in the above referenced docket, a prior notice request
pursuant to sections 157.205 and 157.208 of the Commission's
regulations under the Natural Gas Act (NGA), and Columbia's blanket
certificate issued in Docket No. CP83-76-000, for authorization to
modify the existing Line D322 pipeline at various locations, including
the installation of two bi-directional launching and receiving stations
for in-line inspection (ILI) devices, and other appurtenant facilities.
All of the above facilities are located in Morrow, Marion, Hardin, and
Allen Counties, Ohio (Line D322 East ILI Project). The project will
allow Columbia to enable the bi-directional in-line inspection, or
pigging, of its 16-inch-diameter Line D322. The estimated cost for the
project is $16.4 million, all as more fully set forth in the request
which is on file with the Commission and open to public inspection.
    In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the
internet through the Commission's Home Page (www.ferc.gov) using the
``eLibrary'' link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three
digits in the docket number field to access the document. At this time,
the Commission has suspended access to the Commission's Public
Reference Room. For assistance, contact the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission at [email protected] or call toll-free, (886) 208-
3676 or TTY<PHONE_NUMBER>.
    Any questions concerning this request should be directed to David
A. Alonzo, Manager, Project Authorizations, Columbia Gas Transmission,
LLC, 700 Louisiana Street, Suite 1300, Houston, Texas 77002-2700, at
(832) 320-5477 or [email protected].

Public Participation

    There are three ways to become involved in the Commission's review
of this project: you can file a protest to the project, you can file a
motion to intervene in the proceeding, and you can file comments on the
project. There is no fee or cost for filing protests, motions to
intervene, or comments. The deadline for filing protests, motions to
intervene, and comments is 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 16, 2024.
How to file protests, motions to intervene, and comments is explained
below.
    The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners,
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access
publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For
public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is
encouraged to contact OPP at<PHONE_NUMBER> or [email protected].

Protests

    Pursuant to section 157.205 of the Commission's regulations under
the NGA,\1\ any person \2\ or the Commission's staff may file a protest
to the request. If no protest is filed within the time allowed or if a
protest is filed and then withdrawn within 30 days after the allowed
time for filing a protest, the proposed activity shall be deemed to be
authorized effective the day after the time allowed for protest. If a
protest is filed and not withdrawn within 30 days after the time
allowed for filing a protest, the instant request for authorization
will be considered by the Commission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 18 CFR 157.205.
    \2\ Persons include individuals, organizations, businesses,
municipalities, and other entities. 18 CFR 385.102(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Protests must comply with the requirements specified in section
157.205(e) of the Commission's regulations,\3\ and must be submitted by
the protest deadline, which is January 16, 2024. A protest may also
serve as a motion to intervene so long as the

protestor states it also seeks to be an intervenor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ 18 CFR 157.205(e).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interventions

    Any person has the option to file a motion to intervene in this
proceeding. Only intervenors have the right to request rehearing of
Commission orders issued in this proceeding and to subsequently
challenge the Commission's orders in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal.
    To intervene, you must submit a motion to intervene to the
Commission in accordance with Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of
Practice and Procedure \4\ and the regulations under the NGA \5\ by the
intervention deadline for the project, which is January 16, 2024. As
described further in Rule 214, your motion to intervene must state, to
the extent known, your position regarding the proceeding, as well as
your interest in the proceeding. For an individual, this could include
your status as a landowner, ratepayer, resident of an impacted
community, or recreationist. You do not need to have property directly
impacted by the project in order to intervene. For more information
about motions to intervene, refer to the FERC website at https://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ 18 CFR 385.214.
    \5\ 18 CFR 157.10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    All timely, unopposed motions to intervene are automatically
granted by operation of Rule 214(c)(1). Motions to intervene that are
filed after the intervention deadline are untimely and may be denied.
Any late-filed motion to intervene must show good cause for being late
and must explain why the time limitation should be waived and provide
justification by reference to factors set forth in Rule 214(d) of the
Commission's Rules and Regulations. A person obtaining party status
will be placed on the service list maintained by the Secretary of the
Commission and will receive copies (paper or electronic) of all
documents filed by the applicant and by all other parties.

Comments

    Any person wishing to comment on the project may do so. The
Commission considers all comments received about the project in
determining the appropriate action to be taken. To ensure that your
comments are timely and properly recorded, please submit your comments
on or before January 16, 2024. The filing of a comment alone will not
serve to make the filer a party to the proceeding. To become a party,
you must intervene in the proceeding.

How to File Protests, Interventions, and Comments

    There are two ways to submit protests, motions to intervene, and
comments. In both instances, please reference the Project docket number
CP24-15-000 in your submission.
    (1) You may file your protest, motion to intervene, and comments by
using the Commission's eFiling feature, which is located on the
Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under the link to Documents and
Filings. New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on
``eRegister.'' You will be asked to select the type of filing you are
making; first select ``General'' and then select ``Protest'',
``Intervention'', or ``Comment on a Filing''; or \6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ Additionally, you may file your comments electronically by
using the eComment feature, which is located on the Commission's
website at www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings.
Using eComment is an easy method for interested persons to submit
brief, text-only comments on a project.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (2) You can file a paper copy of your submission by mailing it to
the address below. Your submission must reference the Project docket
number CP24-15-000.

To file via USPS: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426
To file via any other method: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland
20852

    The Commission encourages electronic filing of submissions (option
1 above) and has eFiling staff available to assist you at (202) 502-
8258 or [email protected].
    Protests and motions to intervene must be served on the applicant
either by mail or email (with a link to the document) at: David A.
Alonzo, Manager, Project Authorizations, Columbia Gas Transmission,
LLC, 700 Louisiana Street, Suite 1300, Houston, Texas 77002-2700, or at
[email protected]. Any subsequent submissions by an intervenor
must be served on the applicant and all other parties to the
proceeding. Contact information for parties can be downloaded from the
service list at the eService link on FERC Online.

Tracking the Proceeding

    Throughout the proceeding, additional information about the project
will be available from the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at
(866) 208-FERC, or on the FERC website at www.ferc.gov using the
``eLibrary'' link as described above. The eLibrary link also provides
access to the texts of all formal documents issued by the Commission,
such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.
    In addition, the Commission offers a free service called
eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances
and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time
you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with
notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to
the documents. For more information and to register, go to
www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.

    Dated: November 15, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-25706 Filed 11-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


SC10079 Memorandum To: Lynne Tudor, Debbi Hart, Deborah Nagle, and Tom Wall, U. S. EPA From: Bob Raucher, Dave Cacela, and Marca Hagenstad, Stratus Consulting Inc.

Date: July 16, 2002 Subject: Responses to Riverkeeper Questions on § 316( b) Phase II Case Study Benefits Analyses Tufts First Questions for EPA:

Q1. Flow data: are you able to provide information on: a) water flow at each of the case study facilities and/ or b) total flow at all of the facilities in each of the five categories EPA uses in its extrapolations ( non gulf estuary, gulf estuary, rivers, ocean, great lakes)?

Answer:

Sum of Operational Flows Per Waterbody Type ( MGD) Estuary/ Tidal River ( Non Gulf) 39,183 Estuary/ Tidal River ( Gulf) 13,793 Freshwater Systems 144,764 Great Lakes 4,617 Oceans 13,457 Q2. Percent of losses valued in each case study:

a) In all the case studies where commercial or recreational losses are taken into account in the final analysis, we would like to know what percentage of the age 1 equivalent fish lost to I& E were assigned a monetary value. Often it seems that only the fraction that would have been caught by commercial or recreational fishing are valued. In some cases, this percentage is clear from the information provided. In other cases, it is ambiguous.

Can you tell us the percentage of I& E losses that were valued at each site?

Answer: The following text gives the percentages or references to the § 316( b) Phase II Case Study Document ( DCN 4 0003): ° For the Delaware case study analysis, this information is provided on pages B6 3 and B6 4. ° For the Ohio River case study analysis, the distribution of entrainment losses by species category are: forage fish: 84.21%; commercial and recreational fish valued: 0.22%; and commercial and recreational fish unvalued: 15.57%. The distribution of impingement Stratus Consulting Memorandum ( 7/ 3/ 2002)

Page 2 SC10079 losses by species category are: forage fish: 97.67%; commercial and recreational fish valued: 0.01%; and commercial and recreational fish unvalued: 2.24 %. ° For the Tampa Bay case study analysis, this information is provided on pages D6 3 and D6 4. ° For the San Francisco Bay case study analysis, the distribution of impingement losses by species category are: recreational fish valued: 8.34%; recreational fish unvalued: 79.53%; and special status species: 12.13%. The distribution of entrainment losses by species category are: recreational fish valued: 4.72%; recreational fish unvalued: 70.14%; and special status species 25.14%. ° For the Brayton Point Station case study analysis, this information is provided on pages F6 4 and F6 5. ° For the Seabrook case study analysis, this information is provided on pages G6 3 and G6 4. ° For the Pilgrim case study analysis, this information is provided on pages G6 6 and G6 7. ° For the J. R. Whiting case study analysis, this information is provided on pages H6 3 and H6 4. ° For the Monroe case study analysis, this information is provided on pages I6 3 and I6 4.

b) In the Ohio River and the Big Bend case studies, EPA provides values for " pounds of production foregone" and " pounds of fishery yield lost." Can you define these terms? Does " pounds of production foregone" refer to the weight of the total number of year 1 equivalent fish lost through I& E, or does it refer to something else? Does " pounds of fishery yield lost" refer to the fraction of the total losses to which EPA is assigning a monetary value?

Answer: Foregone production and foregone fishery yield are both derived measures of resources that are unavailable due to the fact that impingement or entrainment occurred. In contrast to actual I& E rates, which are direct measures, foregone production and foregone fishery yield cannot be literally measured. Instead, they are derived from actual I& E using modeling procedures that reflect biological processes such as growth and mortality.

Briefly, foregone production is the total biomass ( expressed as pounds) that a fish killed by I& E would have produced in its subsequent lifetime, had it not been killed. The model used to calculate foregone production includes consideration of both growth and mortality during all life stages. Conceptually, the biomass that is considered is accumulated at all life stages subsequent to the time of death.

Briefly, foregone fishery yield is an estimate of fish harvest ( expressed in pounds of as numbers of individuals) that would have occurred at some time in the future, had I& E not occurred. The model used to calculate foregone fishery yield considers natural ( non fishing) mortality rates, fishing mortality rates, and the weight ( as pounds) of harvested fish. Stratus Consulting Memorandum ( 7/ 3/ 2002)

Page 3 SC10079 The metric " age 1 equivalent" is also a derived measure of fish that are " absent" at a future time due to the fact that impingement or entrainment occurred. As a general rule, most fish killed by I& E are less than 1 year old. The metric age 1 equivalent depicts the numbers of fish killed by I& E that would have survived until they reached age 1 by considering mortality rates of young fish. The metric is in terms of numbers of fish ( not pounds).

Although these three metrics share some conceptual similarities, they are not strictly dependent on each other. In particular, neither foregone production nor foregone fishery yield is derived from the estimate of age 1 equivalent losses.

Age 1 equivalents, foregone production and foregone fishery yield are all formally defined in Chapter A5 of the Case Study Document ( docket number DCN4  0003). Please refer to this chapter for a more complete discussion.

EPA's monetary valuation of losses involves consideration of foregone fishery yield, which is the major driving factor for scaling the economic losses. All of the losses that EPA has quantified flow from the estimates of foregone fishery yield, but the economic benefits include disparate kinds of economic benefits such as the dockside value of commercially harvested fish, the revealed value recreation fishing experiences, consumer surplus derived from fishing activities, and non use values.

c) On p. D4 4, tables D4 5 and D4 6, EPA lists losses in pounds, then multiplies these losses by a value per fish to obtain total valued losses. There appears to be an error in these tables, perhaps only in labelling: either the losses are actually numbers of fish ( not pounds), or the values are actually values per pound ( not per fish). If the figures in both of these columns are correct, then the figures in the final column are wrong, because they are the product of " pounds of fish" multiplied by " value per fish." Can you clarify the calculations in these tables?

Answer: The relevant column heading in Tables D4 5 and D4 6 should read " Commercial Value/ lb" instead of " Commercial Value/ Fish."

d) Also on p. D4 4, in a footnote to table D4 6, EPA notes that the value of black drum entrainment losses is capped at $ 137,756, a small fraction of the value that would be calculated without the cap. What is the rationale for setting a cap on this number? Were similar caps applied to calculated values elsewhere in the analysis of this or other case studies?

Answer: To represent realistic losses to the commercial fishery, it was decided to cap the losses of black drum at double the landings when the black drum fishery was healthy. This was the only case in which estimated impingement and entrainment losses appeared unreasonably high, and therefore this was not done in other case studies. This step was taken in the Tampa Bay case study because of the unique features we noticed in the Tampa Bay fish community. Stratus Consulting Memorandum ( 7/ 3/ 2002)

Page 4 SC10079 Q3. Values chosen as " baseline" for extrapolations:

What is the rationale for using HRC values as the basis for extrapolations for the ocean and great lake categories, while using the midpoint between the high and low cost estimates for other categories where HRC analysis was conducted? Why were HRC figures not used in all cases where they were available, if EPA considers them more indicative of true costs than the figures obtained through other methodologies?

Answer: See Federal Register Tuesday, April 9, 2002 / Vol. 67, No. 68 / page 17205, for explanation. The following paragraph is an excerpt from this citatation: " For oceans and the Great Lakes, EPA developed national scale estimates using its HRC based loss estimates, because EPA was able to develop HRC estimates for these sites, and because these HRC values are more comprehensive than the values derived using the more traditional benefits transfer approach. The HRC estimates cover losses for a much larger percentage of fish lost due to impingement and entrainment, whereas the benefits transfer approach addressed losses only for a small share of the impacted fish. Since recreational fish impacts were an extremely small share of the total fish impacts at these sites, EPA extrapolated the HRC findings using only the MGD based index ( i. e., the angler based index was not relevant)."


[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 54 (Monday, March 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16084-16085]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05941]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2022-0019]

Renewal of Information Collection (OMB No. 2105-0520); Agency
Requests for Reinstatement of a Previously Approved Information
Collection(s): Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and
Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments and for Grants
and Cooperative Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, and
Other Nonprofit Organizations

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation (DOT) invites public comments
about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) approval for a previously approved information collection. These
forms include Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424), Federal
Financial Report (SF-425), Request for Advance or Reimbursement (SF-
270) and Outlay Report and Request for Reimbursement for Construction
Programs (SF-271).
    We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by May 20, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. DOT-OST-
2022-0019 through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except on Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Audrey Clarke, Associate Director of
the Financial Assistance Policy and Oversight Division, M-65, Office of
the Senior Procurement Executive, Office of the Secretary, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590,

(202) 366-4268. Refer to OMB Control Number 2105-0520.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 2105-0520.
    Title: Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.
    Form Numbers: SF-424, SF-425, SF-270, and SF-271.
    Type of Review: Revision of a previously approved collection.
    Background: This is to request the Office of Management and
Budget's (OMB) renewed three-year approved clearance for the
information collection, entitled, ``Uniform Administrative
Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal
Awards'' OMB Control No 2105-0520, which is currently due to expire on
July 31, 2022. This information collection involves the use of various
forms necessary because of management and oversight responsibilities of
the agency imposed by OMB Circular 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative
Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal
Awards. The May 31, 2015 OMB Control Number is titled: Uniform
Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements
for Federal Awards (OMB 2 CFR 200). These guidelines cover the
following data collection standard forms (SF): Application for Federal
Assistance (SF-424); Federal Financial Report (SF-425); Request for
Advance or Reimbursement (SF-270); and Outlay Report & Request for
Reimbursement for Construction Programs (SF-271).
    The following adjustments have been made to the burden estimates.
In 2019, the Department estimated a combined total of 1,758 respondents
and 123,060 burden hours. The updated burden estimates have changed due
to the Coronavirus AID Relief and Economic Security Act, the American
Rescue Plan Act as well as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
    Respondents: Grantees.
    Number of Respondents: 2,936.
    Number of Responses: 11,740.
    Total Annual Burden: 205,520.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including (a) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the Department's
performance; (b) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for the
Department to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the
information collection; and (d) ways that the burden could be minimized
without reducing the quality of the collected information.
    The agency will summarize and/or include your comments in the
request for OMB's clearance of this information collection.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13;
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1:48.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 16, 2022.
Audrey Clarke,
Associate Director, Financial Assistance Policy and Oversight, Office
of the Senior Procurement Executive.
[FR Doc. 2022-05941 Filed 3-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P