Department of Commerce May 11, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that the Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will meet Tuesday, June 5, 2007. The Judges Panel is composed of twelve members prominent in the fields of quality, innovation, and performance excellence and appointed by the Secretary of Commerce. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the Judging process and Judging process changes for 2007; the Judges' survey of applicants; and the Judges' mentoring process. The applications under review by Judges contain trade secrets and proprietary commercial information submitted to the Government in confidence.

In accordance with 15 U.S.C. 1512 and Executive Order 11625, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is soliciting competitive applications from organizations to operate a Native American Business Enterprise Center (NABEC) in the specified locations and geographical service areas (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION). The NABEC operates through the use of business consultants and provides a range of technical assistance services directly to Native American- and other minority-owned businesses. Responsibility for ensuring that applications in response to this competitive solicitation are complete and received by MBDA on time is the sole responsibility of the applicant. Applications submitted must be to operate a NABEC and to provide business consultation to eligible clients. Applications that do not meet these requirements will be rejected. This is not a grant program to help start an individual business.

NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), is proposing to allocate zero trips in the Closed Area (CA) II Yellowtail Flounder Special Access Program (SAP) during the 2007 fishing year (FY) (i.e., May 1, 2007, through April 30, 2008). The Regional Administrator has determined that the available catch of Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder is insufficient to support a minimum level of fishing activity within the CA II Yellowtail Flounder SAP for FY 2007. The intent of this action is to help achieve optimum yield (OY) in the fishery by maximizing the utility of available GB yellowtail flounder TAC throughout FY 2007.

We, NMFS, are issuing a final determination to list the distinct population segment (DPS) of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Puget Sound, Washington, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We intend to issue final protective regulations and propose critical habitat for this DPS in separate rulemakings.