Department of Commerce 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a four-day meeting.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a three-day meeting to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Notice is hereby given of a meeting via web conference call of the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee (Committee). The web conference calls are open to the public, and participants can dial in to the calls. Participants who choose to use the web conferencing feature in addition to the audio will be able to view the presentations as they are being given.

NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) for commercial king mackerel in the western zone of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) through this temporary final rule. NMFS has determined that the commercial quota for king mackerel in the western zone of the Gulf EEZ will be reached by November 17, 2015. Therefore, NMFS closes the western zone of the Gulf EEZ to commercial king mackerel fishing on November 17, 2015. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.

This notice announces receipt of an exempted fishing permit (EFP) application from the Alaska Seafood Cooperative (AKSC). If granted, this permit would allow up to five AKSC-member Amendment 80 vessels to conduct experimental fishing in two subareas of the Bering Sea that are closed to fishing with trawl gear. Under the permit, experimental fishing with non-pelagic trawl gear would be authorized in Reporting Area 516 of Zone 1 that is otherwise closed to all trawl gear and the Red King Crab Savings Area (RKCSA) that is otherwise closed to non-pelagic trawl gear. The AKSC would collect data on crab prohibited species catch (PSC) rates during commercial groundfish fishing operations inside the Area 516 seasonal closure, the RKCSA, and adjacent areas that are currently open to non-pelagic trawling. The objective of the EFP is to evaluate PSC rates and overall catch of target species in the above-mentioned closed areas compared with the areas currently open to fishing with trawl gear. This experiment has the potential to promote the objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Secretary of Commerce, through the International Trade Administration, Office of Trade and Economic Analysis (OTEA), has received an application for an amended Export Trade Certificate of Review (``Certificate'') from CPEC. This notice summarizes the proposed amendment and seeks public comments on whether the amended Certificate should be issued.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) and the International Trade Commission (the ITC) have determined that revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) orders on carbazole violet pigment (CVP-23) from the People's Republic of China (PRC) and India would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and material injury to an industry in the United States. The Department and the ITC have also determined that revocation of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on CVP-23 from India would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of net countervailable subsidies and material injury to an industry in the United States. Therefore, the Department is publishing a notice of continuation for these AD and CVD orders.

On September 24, 2015, the Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') published its preliminary results of a changed circumstances review \1\ of the antidumping duty (``AD'') order on multilayered wood flooring (``MLWF'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'').\2\ The Department preliminarily determined that Sino- Maple (JiangSu) Co., Ltd. (``Sino-Maple'') is the successor-in-interest to Jiafeng Wood (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (``Jiafeng'') for purposes of the AD order on MLWF from the PRC and, as such, is entitled to Jiafeng's cash deposit rate with respect to entries of subject merchandise. We invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary Results. As no parties submitted comments, and there is no other information or evidence on the record calling into question our Preliminary Results, the Department is making no changes to the Preliminary Results.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is seeking public comments on the impact that implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), through the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act (CWCIA) and the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations (CWCR), has had on commercial activities involving ``Schedule 1'' chemicals during calendar year 2015. The purpose of this notice of inquiry is to collect information to assist BIS in its preparation of the annual certification to the Congress on whether the legitimate commercial activities and interests of chemical, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical firms are being harmed by such implementation. This certification is required under Condition 9 of Senate Resolution 75, April 24, 1997, in which the Senate gave its advice and consent to the ratification of the CWC.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for yellowfin sole in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) for vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery. This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2015 allocation of yellowfin sole total allowable catch for vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery in the BSAI.

In this interim final rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to make certain items subject to the EAR and to impose on those items a license requirement for export and reexport to all destinations, except Canada. Specifically, this rule classifies the specified XBS Epoxy System under Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) 0C521 on the Commerce Control List (CCL). As described in the final rule that established the 0Y521 series and that was published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2012, items are added to the 0Y521 series upon a determination by the Department of Commerce, with the concurrence of the Departments of Defense and State, that the items should be controlled for export because the items provide at least a significant military or intelligence advantage to the United States or foreign policy reasons justify control. The items identified in this rule are controlled for regional stability (RS) Column 1 reasons. The only license exception available for these items is for exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) made by or consigned to a department or agency of the U.S. Government. In this rule, BIS also removes technology and software related to aircraft wing folding systems.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will convene a meeting of a multistakeholder process concerning the collaboration between security researchers and software and system developers and owners to address security vulnerability disclosure on December 2, 2015.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 111 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). The proposed rule would reduce bycatch limits, also known as prohibited species catch (PSC) limits, for Pacific halibut in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) groundfish fisheries by specific amounts in four groundfish sectors: The Amendment 80 sector (non-pollock trawl catcher/processors); the BSAI trawl limited access sector (all non-Amendment 80 trawl fishery participants); the non-trawl sector (primarily hook-and-line catcher/ processors); and the Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program (CDQ Program, also referred to as the CDQ sector). This action is necessary to minimize halibut bycatch in the BSAI groundfish fisheries to the extent practicable and to achieve, on a continuing basis, optimum yield from the BSAI groundfish fisheries. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws.

Notice is hereby given that a major amendment to Permit No. 17670-02 has been issued to NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 (Responsible Party: William Karp, Ph.D.).

This notice announces a public meeting of the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (Committee). The Committee provides advice to the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on spectrum management policy matters.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will hold a one- day meeting of its Coastal Migratory Pelagics (CMP) Advisory Panel (AP).

The Department of Commerce (Department) amends its regulations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act (PA) to reflect an organizational change in the Department's Office of General Counsel (OGC). Specifically, this action removes from the provisions on FOIA appeals and the PA all references to the position of Assistant General Counsel for Administration, and replaces them with references to the new ``Assistant General Counsel for Litigation, Employment, and Oversight.'' The Department's OGC recently eliminated the position ``Assistant General Counsel for Administration,'' and this amendment updates the rules to implement that change. The rule also reflects that the Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Litigation, Employment, and Oversight will be conducting FOIA appeals and responding to requests for corrective action or review under the PA for the Department. This action merely makes a nomenclature change; the change has no substantive impact to the public, because the OGC has in the past and will continue to handle the FOIA and PA actions described above.