🌊NOAA's Information Collection for Marine Mammal Protection Act
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
Learn More🌊Permit Issued for Pillar Coral Restoration in Puerto Rico
Notice is hereby given that the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER), San Jos[eacute] Industrial Park, 1375 Ave. Ponce de Le[oacute]n, San Juan, PR 00926 (Responsible Party: Nilda Jimenez-Marrero, Ph.D.) has been issued a permit to take pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) for purposes of enhancement.
Learn More🦜Public Comment Period on Scarlet Macaw Regulatory Explanation
In response to an order by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are opening a public comment period related to a specific issue regarding our listing determination under the Endangered Species Act (Act) for the northern distinct population segment (DPS) of the southern subspecies of the scarlet macaw (Ara macao macao). We seek comments on the explanation presented in this document regarding why we did not conduct an analysis under section 4(e) of the Act pertaining to the DPS.
Learn More⚖️EPA Civil Penalty Inflation Adjustment Effective January 2025
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promulgating this final rule to adjust the level of the maximum and minimum statutory civil monetary penalty amounts under the statutes the EPA administers. This action is mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended through the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 ("the 2015 Act"). The 2015 Act prescribes a formula for annually adjusting the statutory maximum and minimum amount of civil monetary penalties to reflect inflation, maintain the deterrent effect of statutory civil monetary penalties, and promote compliance with the law. The rule does not establish specific civil monetary penalty amounts the EPA may seek in particular cases. The EPA calculates those amounts, as appropriate, based on the facts of particular cases and applicable agency penalty policies. The EPA's civil penalty policies, which guide enforcement personnel on how to exercise the EPA's discretion within statutory penalty authorities, take into account a number of fact-specific considerations, e.g., the seriousness of the violation, the violator's good faith efforts to comply, any economic benefit gained by the violator as a result of its noncompliance, and the violator's ability to pay.
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