Department of Commerce March 28, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Artificial Reef Plan (NOAA Technical Memorandum, NMFS OF-6) was originally published in November 1985, in fulfillment of a requirement under the National Fishing Enhancement Act of 1984. NMFS worked in partnership with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission to update and revise this plan. A revised version has been completed, entitled the ``National Artificial Reef Plan (as Amended): Guidelines for siting, construction, development, and assessment of artificial reefs.'' This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives outlined in the National Fishing Enhancement Act.

On December 14, 2005, the Department of Commerce (the Department) received from the National Candle Association (NCA) an allegation of circumvention of the antidumping duty order on petroleum wax candles from the People's Republic of China (PRC). Pursuant to that allegation, the Department initiated an anticircumvention inquiry on May 11, 2006, with respect to four importers. We preliminarily determine that the importation by, or sale to, three U.S. importers (DECOR-WARE, Inc.; A&M Wholesalers, Inc.; and Albert E. Price) of wickless petroleum wax forms from the PRC, which subsequently undergo insertion of a wick and clip assembly in the United States, constitutes circumvention of the aforementioned order, within the meaning of section 781(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Because NCA withdrew its allegation with respect to the fourth importer, Northern Lights Enterprises, the Department is terminating the inquiry with respect to Northern Lights Enterprises.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) has received requests to conduct administrative reviews of various antidumping and countervailing duty orders and findings with February anniversary dates. In accordance with the Department's regulations, we are initiating those administrative reviews.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received an application for a permit from Zachary Larson, Crescent City, CA (Permit 1606). This permit would affect Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). This document serves to notify the public of the availability of the permit application for review and comment before a final approval or disapproval is made by NMFS.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is publishing this final rule to amend the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations (CWCR) to expedite the collection of information concerning the inspection status of plant sites that produce unscheduled discrete organic chemicals (UDOCs) subject to the declaration requirements of the CWCR, to clarify the scope of the CWCR records review and recordkeeping requirements, and to update the maximum civil penalty that may be imposed for violations of the CWCR restrictions on imports of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 chemicals. The CWCR include requirements to declare certain activities, involving scheduled chemicals and UDOCs, and to provide access for on-site verification by international inspectors of certain declared facilities in the United States. Specifically, this final rule amends the CWCR by revising the annual declaration requirements for UDOCs to allow a ``declared'' plant site currently subject to inspection, which anticipates that its production of UDOCs during the current calendar year will be below the inspection threshold level indicated in the CWCR, to submit a Change in Inspection Status Form to BIS by December 15th of the current calendar year. In addition, any such UDOC plant site containing at least one plant that anticipates producing an individual PSF chemical (i.e., a UDOC containing the elements phosphorus, sulfur or fluorine) in quantities that exceed the declaration threshold for such chemicals will have the option of submitting its Annual Declaration on Past Activities, in lieu of a Change in Inspection Status Form, by December 15th of the current calendar year. Otherwise, the CWCR require that the Annual Declaration on Past Activities be submitted by February 28th of the following year. The information provided to BIS, as a result of this change, will ensure that the plant site is not subject to inspection during the first 90 days of the next calendar year (i.e., the year after the UDOC activities took place), which is the period when the United States compiles its annual declaration on past activities for submission to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). In addition, this information will strengthen the verification regime of the CWC by allowing the OPCW to schedule inspections, on a year-round basis, of those UDOC facilities in the United States that meet or exceed the inspection threshold level indicated in the CWCR. This rule also amends the CWCR by revising the records review provisions to clarify that a facility must provide the OPCW Inspection Team with access to all supporting materials and documentation used by the facility to prepare declarations and to otherwise comply with the CWCR, including records related to activities that have taken place at the facility since the beginning of the previous calendar year (i.e., up to and including the date of the inspection), even if the facility has not submitted its current year Annual Declaration on Past Activities to BIS at the time the inspection takes place. In addition, this rule revises the CWCR records review and recordkeeping requirements to clarify that the types of records that are subject to these requirements include all supporting materials and documentation associated with the movement into, around, and from the facility of declared chemicals and their feedstock or any product chemicals formed from such chemicals and feedstock. The purpose of this clarification is to ensure that the CWCR records review and recordkeeping requirements fully conform with the inspection aims described in the inspection provisions of the CWCR, which include verifying the absence of Schedule 1 chemicals and the non-diversion of Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 chemicals. This rule amends the enforcement provisions of the CWCR to increase the maximum civil penalty that may be imposed for violations of the CWCR restrictions on imports of CWC Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 chemicals from $11,000 to $50,000 to reflect amendments to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) made by the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, which was enacted on March 9, 2006. Finally, this rule updates the list of countries that currently are States Parties to the CWC by adding the Central African Republic and Comoros, which recently became States Parties, and by replacing the listing for Serbia and Montenegro with a separate listing for each country.