September 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (the Act), Public Law 109-58 (H.R. 6), enacted August 8, 2005, directs the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, and the Interior (the Agencies) to designate under their respective authorities corridors on Federal land in the 11 Western States for oil, gas and hydrogen pipelines and electricity transmission and distribution facilities (energy corridors). The Agencies have determined that designating corridors as required by Section 368 of the Act constitutes a major Federal action which may have a significant impact upon the environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). For this reason, the Agencies intend to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) entitled, ``Designation of Energy Corridors on Federal Land in the 11 Western States'' (DOE/EIS-0386) to address the environmental impacts from the proposed action and the range of reasonable alternatives. DOE and BLM will be co-lead agencies for this effort, with the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service (FS) participating as a cooperating agency. The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to inform the public about the proposed action, announce plans to conduct 11 public scoping meetings, invite public participation in the scoping process, and solicit public comments for consideration in establishing the scope and content of the PEIS. Because the proposed action may involve actions in a floodplain or wetland, the draft PEIS will include a floodplain and wetlands assessment and the final PEIS or Record of Decision will include a floodplain statement of findings. The Agencies will prepare the PEIS in accordance with NEPA, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations, 40 CFR 1500-1508, DOE's regulations developed pursuant to NEPA, 10 CFR 1021, BLM's planning regulations 43 CFR 1600 and applicable FS planning regulations to amend land use plans.

NMFS issues this temporary rule for a period of 30 days, to allow shrimp fishermen to use limited tow times as an alternative to Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in state and Federal waters from the Florida/Alabama border, westward to the boundary of Cameron Parish, Louisiana (approximately 92[deg] 37' W. long.), and extending offshore 50 nautical miles. This action is necessary because environmental conditions resulting from Hurricane Katrina are preventing some fishermen from using TEDs effectively.

NMFS has determined that the daily retention limit for Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) in the General category should be adjusted to allow maximum utilization of the General category October-January time period. In addition, NMFS is prohibiting the retention of school BFT less than 47 inches (119 cm) in the recreational fishery for the remainder of the fishing year to ensure that U.S. BFT harvest is consistent with recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) pursuant to the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA).

The Department of Commerce (the Department) has received requests to conduct administrative reviews of various antidumping and countervailing duty orders and findings with August anniversary dates. In accordance with the Department's regulations, we are initiating those administrative reviews. The Department also received a request to revoke two countervailing duty orders in part.

On June 13, 2005, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') published the final results of its administrative review of the antidumping duty order on fresh garlic from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') for the period from November 1, 2002, through October 31, 2003, in the Federal Register. See Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Fresh Garlic from the People's Republic of China, 69 FR 34082, and accompanying ``Issues and Decision Memorandum,'' dated June 6, 2005 (``Final Results''). We released the disclosure documents to the respondents on June 14, 2005, and to the petitioners\1\ on June 16, 2005. On June 20, 2005, the following parties filed timely allegations that the Department made various ministerial errors in the Final Results: Jinan Yipin Corporation Ltd. (``Jinan Yipin''), Linshu Dading Private Agricultural Co., Ltd. (``Linshu Dading''), Sunny Import and Export Co., Ltd. (``Sunny''), Taian Fook Huat Tong Kee Foodstuffs Co., Ltd. (``FHTK''), Taiyan Ziyang Food Co., Ltd. (``Ziyang''), and Zhengzhou Harmoni Spice Co., Ltd. (``Harmoni''). On June 23, 2005, the petitioners submitted rebuttal comments to one of the ministerial error allegations filed collectively by Jinan Yipin, Linshu Dading, Sunny, and Harmoni. In addition, when examining the ministerial error allegations raised by FHTK and Ziyang, the Department found other ministerial errors. Ziyang and FHTK filed complaints with the Court of International Trade (``CIT''), challenging the final results of review on June 14, and June 15, 2005, respectively. On July 26, 2005, Harmoni, Jinan Yipin, Linshu Dading, and Sunny filed similar complaints with the CIT, challenging the final results of review. On August 9 and August 10, 2005, Jinxiang Dongyun Freezing Storage Co. Ltd. and the petitioners, respectively, also filed complaints with the CIT, challenging the final results of review. When the interested parties noted above filed their complaints with the CIT the Department no longer had jurisdiction to correct the ministerial errors. Therefore, the Department requested leave from the CIT to correct these errors. On September 15, 2005, the CIT granted the Department leave to correct the errors.

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Act of October 19, 1965 (79 Stat. 985; 22 U.S.C. 2459), Executive Order 12047 of March 27, 1978, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 6501 note, et seq.), Delegation of Authority No. 234 of October 1, 1999, and Delegation of Authority No. 236 of October 19, 1999, as amended, and Delegation of Authority No. 257 of April 15, 2003 [68 FR 19875], I hereby determine that the objects to be included in the exhibition ``Saint Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are imported pursuant to a loan agreement with the foreign lender. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at The Gallery at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center, San Antonio, TX from on or about October 15, 2005 to on or about January 8, 2006, The Milwaukee Public Museum from on or about February 4, 2006 to on or about May 7, 2006, and at possible additional venues yet to be determined, is in the national interest. Public Notice of these determinations is ordered to be published in the Federal Register. For further information contact: For further information, including a list of the exhibit objects, contact Carol B. Epstein, Attorney- Adviser, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State, (telephone: 202 453-8048). The address is Department of State, SA-44, 301 4th Street, SW., Room 700, Washington, DC 20547-0001.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision for the State of Texas. This action removes a provision from the Texas SIP which provided public notice for concrete batch plants which were constructed under a permit by rule (PBR). On September 1, 2000, Texas replaced the PBR for concrete batch plants with a standard permit for concrete batch plants. The standard permit for concrete batch plants also requires public notice for concrete batch plants subject to the standard permit. Texas maintained the public notice requirements of its PBR to assure that proper procedures were followed for concrete batch plants that were permitted under the PBR prior to the effective date of the standard permit. All authorization requests for concrete batch plants which were constructed under the PBR have now been resolved and the public notice and comment provisions under the PBR are no longer needed.

Notice is hereby given that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated, in accordance with 40 CFR part 53, a new equivalent method for measuring concentrations of particulate matter as PM10 in the ambient air.

EPA issued a final rule in the Federal Register of February 18, 1998, to streamline procedures used to reimburse local governments for emergency response costs. Local governments may be reimbursed for certain costs they incur in taking temporary emergency measures related to releases of hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants. This document is being issued to correct the address to mail the completed application and supporting data provided and the telephone numbers listed in Appendix II to the regulations.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) initiated a new proceeding to examine whether its roaming requirements applicable to these CMRS providers should be modified, expanded, or eliminated given the current state of the CMRS market. In a related Memorandum Opinion and Order, the FCC terminated a pending proceeding without the adoption of rules concerning roaming requirements applicable to certain Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) providers because the record in that proceeding had become stale.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is providing notice of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Food and Drug Administration and the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The purpose of this MOU is to assign responsibilities to FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and NLM for the distribution of product labeling.

The following applicants have applied for scientific research permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended.