Department of Commerce June 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is publishing final interpretive standards for systemic compensation discrimination under Executive Order 11246, as amended. This document sets forth the final interpretive standards and discusses comments that OFCCP received in response to proposed interpretive standards published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2004.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), 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 the continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

NMFS issues this final rule to implement the bag limit provisions of a regulatory amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule will establish a recreational bag limit for Gulf red grouper of one fish per person per day and prohibit the captain and crew of a vessel operating as a charter vessel or headboat from retaining any Gulf grouper, i.e., establish a zero bag limit for captain and crew. The intended effect of this final rule is to help maintain recreational landings at levels consistent with the red grouper rebuilding plan.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), propose to designate critical habitat for the Southern Resident killer whale (Orcinus orca) distinct population segment (DPS), which was recently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Three specific areas are proposed for designation: The Summer Core Area in Haro Strait and waters around the San Juan Islands; Puget Sound; and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which comprise approximately 2,564 square miles (6,641 sq km) of marine habitat. We propose to exclude 18 military sites, comprising approximately 112 square miles (291 sq km), because of national security impacts. We are soliciting comments from the public on all aspects of the proposal, including information on the economic, national security, and other relevant impacts of the proposed designation, as well as the benefits to Southern Resident killer whales from designation. A draft economic analysis, biological report, and Section 4(b)(2) report conducted in support of this proposal are also available for public review and comment.

The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary (MNMS or Sanctuary) is seeking applicants for the Maritime Museum seat on its Sanctuary Advisory Council (Council). Applicants are chosen based upon their particular expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying; community and professional affiliations; philosophy regarding the protection and management of marine resources; and possibly the length of residence in the area affected by the Sanctuary. Applicants who are chosen as members should expect to serve 2-year terms, pursuant to the Council's Charter.

NMFS is announcing a public meeting to provide information about the draft Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan (PLTRP) and potential research and monitoring activities that may be initiated this summer in the Mid-Atlantic Bight involving the pelagic longline fishery.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has, in response to recent case law, revised its guidelines to be used by USPTO personnel in their review of patent applications to determine whether the claims in a patent application are directed to patent eligible subject matter. The USPTO published a notice requesting comments from the public regarding these interim examination guidelines. The USPTO is extending the period for comment on these interim examination guidelines. Comment Deadline Date: To be ensured of consideration, written comments must be received on or before July 31, 2006. No public hearing will be held.

This rule revises Section 756.2 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to authorize the Under Secretary for Industry and Security to designate any employee of the Department of Commerce to be the appeals coordinator for appeals of administrative actions taken under part 756 of the EAR. Such designation of employees from outside the Bureau of Industry and Security shall require the concurrence of the head of the operating unit in which that employee is employed. Prior to publication of this rule, only a ``BIS official'' might have been designated as appeals coordinator.

In preparation for the 2006 ICCAT meeting, the AdvisoryCommittee to the U.S. Section to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) will have a summer meeting. There will be an open session the morning of Monday June 26, 2006, beginning at 9 am. The remainder of the meeting will be closed to the public.

The John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program (Prescott Grant Program) provides funding to eligible marine mammal stranding network participants to fund the recovery or treatment (i.e., rescue and rehabilitation) of stranded marine mammals, data collection from living or dead stranded marine mammals for scientific research regarding marine mammal health, and facility operations directly related to the recovery or treatment of stranded marine mammals and collection of data from living or dead stranded marine mammals. The Prescott Grant Program is administered through the NMFS Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP). As stranding services have become unavailable in the crucial geographic area of the main Hawaiian Islands, the Prescott Grant Program is making this special announcement to inform the public of the availability of funding up to $200,000 for marine mammal stranding response and rehabilitation activities in this area. The annual competitive cycle of the Prescott Grant Program will be announced separately.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), 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 the continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

NMFS is closing directed fishing for yellowfin sole by vessels using trawl gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the third seasonal allowance of the 2006 halibut bycatch allowance specified for the trawl yellowfin sole fishery category in the BSAI.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for species that comprise the shallow-water species fishery by vessels using trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the second seasonal apportionment of the 2006 Pacific halibut bycatch allowance specified for the shallow-water species fishery in the GOA.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publish this notice to announce the availability of draft Prospectuses for three of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) Synthesis and Assessment Products (Products) for public comment. These draft Prospectuses address the following CCSP Topics: Product 4.4 Preliminary Review of Adaptation Options for Climate- Sensitive Ecosystems and Resources; Product 4.6 Analyses of the Effects of Global Change on Human Health and Welfare and Human Systems; and Product 5.2 Best Practice Approaches for Characterizing, Communicating and Incorporating Scientific Uncertainty in Climate Decision Making. After consideration of comments received on the draft Prospectuses, the final Prospectuses along with the comments received will be published on the CCSP web site.

On May 16, 2006, the Court of International Trade (CIT) sustained the Department of Commerce's (Department's) redetermination regarding the 2002-2003 antidumping duty administrative review of certain welded carbon steel pipes and tubes (pipes and tubes) from Thailand. Pursuant to the Court's remand order, in its redetermination the Department deducted section 201 duties from export price in accordance with 19 U.S.C. Sec. 1677a(c)(2)(A). Consistent with the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) in The Timken Company v. United States and China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation, 893 F.2d 337 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (Timken), the Department is publishing this notice of the CIT's decision which is not in harmony with the Department's determination in the 2002-2003 antidumping duty administrative review of pipes and tubes from Thailand.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is publishing this final rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to expand export and reexport controls on certain biological agents and toxins (referred to, herein, as ``select agents and toxins'') that have been determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), U.S. Department of Agriculture, to have the potential to pose a severe threat to human, animal and plant life, as well as certain sectors of the U.S. economy (e.g., agriculture). Prior to the publication of this rule, twenty-two of these agents were not listed on the Commerce Control List (CCL) and one of these agents was incompletely specified therein. By amending the EAR to add a new CCL entry that controls CDC and/or APHIS select agents and toxins (including associated genetic elements, recombinant nucleic acids, and recombinant organisms) not previously specified on the CCL, this rule complements the controls that CDC and AHPIS have imposed on the possession, use, and transfer of these select agents and toxins within the United States. The addition of these items to the CCL is expected to have a minimal impact on U.S. industry, since the volume of exports and reexports is extremely limited. This rule also amends the EAR to clarify controls on certain medical products containing AG-controlled toxins, other than ricin or saxitoxin, by revising the definition of such products to clearly indicate that they include pharmaceutical formulations, prepackaged for distribution as clinical or medical products, that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as an ``Investigational New Drug'' (IND). Specifically, this rule clarifies that FDA-approved IND products containing AG-controlled toxins (except ricin or saxitoxin) are considered to be ``medical products'' as described in the CCL entry that controls vaccines, immunotoxins, medical products, and diagnostic and food testing kits. BIS is making this clarification because the previous revision to the definition of medical products inadvertently failed to specify that such products include IND items. Furthermore, this clarification is consistent with the language in the AG exemption for clinical and medical products containing botulinum toxins and conotoxins, since the AG exemption applies when such products are designed for ``testing,'' as well as human administration, in the treatment of medical conditions. In addition, this rule removes the license requirements for exports and reexports to St. Kitts and Nevis of items that require a license for export or reexport only to countries of concern for chemical and biological weapons proliferation (CB) reasons. This change is being made because St. Kitts and Nevis is not listed in Country Group D:3. As a result of this change, there is now a one-to-one correspondence between the countries included in Country Group D:3 and the countries for which a license requirement is indicated under CB Column 3 of the Commerce Country Chart. Finally, this rule updates the list of countries that currently are States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) by adding Antigua and Barbuda, Bhutan, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, and Vanuatu, which recently became States Parties. As a result of this change, the CW (Chemical Weapons) license requirements and policies in the EAR that apply to these countries now conform with those applicable to other CWC States Parties.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain softwood lumber products from Canada for the period May 1, 2004, to April 30, 2005 (the POR). We preliminarily determine that sales of subject merchandise made by Blanchette & Blanchette Inc. (Blanchette), International Forest Products Ltd. (Interfor), Rene Bernard Inc. (Rene Bernard), Tembec Inc. (Tembec), Tolko Industries Ltd. (Tolko), West Fraser Mills Ltd. (West Fraser), Western Forest Products Inc. (WFP) and Weyerhaeuser Company Limited \1\ (Weyerhaeuser) have been made below normal value. In addition, based on the preliminary results for these respondents selected for individual review, we have preliminarily determined a weighted-average margin for those companies for which a review was requested, but that were not selected for individual review. If these preliminary results are adopted in our final results, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess antidumping duties on appropriate entries. Furthermore, twenty-eight companies have reported no shipments during the period of review. If we determine that the companies did not ship subject merchandise to the United States during the POR, we will rescind the review for these companies for the final results. Finally, requests for review of the antidumping order for thirty-two companies were withdrawn. Because the withdrawal requests were timely and there were no other requests for review of the companies, we are rescinding the review for these companies. See 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1). Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results and partial rescission.