Department of Commerce November 24, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS publishes this notice to re-open the solicitation period for the Chesapeake Bay to provide the public more time to submit proposals.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is publishing this final rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the understandings reached at the June 2006 plenary meeting of the Australia Group (AG). Specifically, this final rule amends the EAR to reflect changes to the AG ``Control List of Biological Agents'' by revising the Commerce Control List (CCL) entry that controls certain human and zoonotic pathogens and toxins to add certain fungi (i.e., Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii) and toxins (i.e., Shiga-like ribosome inactivating proteins other than verotoxin). Verotoxin continues to be listed under this CCL entry. Prior to the publication of this rule, the fungi Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii and Shiga-like ribosome inactivating proteins other than verotoxin were listed under the CCL entry containing unilaterally controlled select agents and toxins not included on any of the AG Common Control Liststhis rule removes these items from that CCL entry. As a result of the addition of Shiga-like ribosome inactivating proteins other than verotoxin to the CCL entry that controls certain human and zoonotic pathogens and toxins, this rule makes conforming changes to two additional CCL entries (i.e., the CCL entry that controls certain AG-listed genetic elements and genetically modified organisms and the CCL entry that controls vaccines, immunotoxins, medical products, and diagnostic and food testing kits). This rule also amends the EAR to reflect changes to the AG ``Control List of Dual-Use Chemical Manufacturing Facilities and Equipment and Related Technology'' by expanding the scope of the CCL entry that controls certain chemical manufacturing facilities and equipment to include equipment in which all surfaces that come in direct contact with the chemical(s) being processed or contained are made from niobium (columbium) or niobium alloys. In addition, this final rule corrects errors in two CCL entries that were amended by a final rule that BIS published on December 29, 2004. This rule corrects a typographical error involving a Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number in the CCL entry that controls AG-listed precursor chemicals. This rule also corrects an error in the CCL entry that controls certain Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Schedule 2 or Schedule 3 chemicals not included on any of the AG Common Control Lists by removing the Schedule 3 chemical ethyldiethanolamine. The December 29, 2004, final rule added ethyldiethanolamine to the CCL entry that controls AG-listed precursor chemicals, but failed to remove it from the aforementioned entry. This rule also amends the EAR provisions describing AG-related license requirements and licensing policies to remind applicants that, even if an AG-related item is licensed by ``$ value'' (e.g., human and zoonotic pathogens and toxins, plant pathogens, genetic elements and genetically modified organisms, and select agents and toxins), the EAR still require that the unit of quantity commonly used in the trade be shown on the license application. Finally, this rule updates the list of countries that currently are States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) by adding the Central African Republic and Comoros, 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.

NMFS, upon application from Eglin Air Force Base (Eglin AFB), is issuing regulations to govern the unintentional takings of marine mammals incidental to conducting Precision Strike Weapons (PSW) testing and training in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Issuance of regulations and Letters of Authorization (LOAs) under these regulations governing the unintentional incidental takes of marine mammals in connection with particular activities is required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) when the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), after notice and opportunity for comment, finds, as here, that such takes will have a negligible impact on the species and stocks of marine mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of them for subsistence uses. These regulations do not authorize Eglin AFB's PSW activities as such authorization is not within the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Rather, NMFS' regulations together with a Letter of Authorization (LOA) authorize the unintentional incidental take of marine mammals in connection with this activity and prescribe methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species and their habitat, and on the availability of the species for subsistence uses.

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) will publish North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) State Plane Coordinate (SPC) grid values in both meters and U.S. Survey Feet (1 ft = 1200/3937 m) in Kansas, for all well defined geodetic survey control monuments maintained by NGS in the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) and computed from various geodetic positioning utilities. The adoption of this standard is implemented in accordance with NGS policy and a request from the Kansas Department of Transportation, the Kansas Society of Land Surveyors, and the Kansas Information technology Office.