Department of Commerce August 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS has received a request from Union Oil Company of California (UOCC) to change the effective date of its Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) covering the period between May 1 and June 15 to between September 4 and November 15, 2007. NMFS has received a request from Marathon Oil Company (MOC) for an authorization to take small numbers of five marine mammal species incidental to seismic operations in portions of Cook Inlet, Alaska. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to modify the effective dates of the IHA which was issued to UOCC, and to issue a new authorization to MOC to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of these species between October 1 and November 30, 2007.

Notice is hereby given that Eye of the Whale Research (Olga von Ziegesar, Principal Investigator), P.O. Box 15191, Fitz Creek, Alaska, 99603, has been issued a permit to conduct research on humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Salmon Bycatch Workgroup will meet August 29, 2007, in Anchorage, Alaska at the Hawthorn Suites, 1110 West 8th Avenue, Anchorage Alaska.

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS or Sanctuary) is seeking applicants for both primary and alternate members of the following seats on its Sanctuary Advisory Council (Council): Education, Fishing, Hawaii County, Honolulu County, Kauai County, Maui County, Native Hawaiian, and Research. 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.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain hot- rolled carbon steel flat products from Romania. The period of review is November 1, 2005, through October 31, 2006. We preliminarily determine that sales of subject merchandise by Mittal Steel Galati, S.A. (MS Galati), have been made below normal value. 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. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results. Parties that submit comments are requested to submit with each argument (1) A statement of the issue(s) and (2) a brief summary of the argument(s). We will issue the final results no later than 120 days from the publication of this notice.

On August 1, 2006, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') initiated a sunset review of the antidumping duty (``AD'') order on steel concrete reinforcing bars (``rebar'') from South Korea. Pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''), the International Trade Commission (``ITC'') determined that revocation of this order would not be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the United States within a reasonably foreseeable time. Therefore, pursuant to section 751(d)(2) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(i)(1)(iii), the Department is revoking the AD order on rebar from South Korea.

NMFS announces the establishment of a Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force (Task Force) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in response to an application from Oregon, Washington, and Idaho requesting authorization to intentionally take, by lethal methods, individually identifiable California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) that prey on Pacific salmon and steelhead (Onchorhynchus spp.) listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon. The Task Force will be convened at its first meeting, which is open to the public.

NMFS adopts a rule that modifies the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program for the fixed-gear commercial Pacific halibut fishery and sablefish fishery by revising regulations specific to those fisheries. This action is intended to improve the effectiveness of the Halibut and Sablefish IFQ Program (IFQ Program) and is necessary to promote the objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act) with respect to the IFQ fisheries.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2007 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific ocean perch in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher processor vessels using trawl gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2007 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod specified for trawl catcher processors in the BSAI.

In response to timely requests, the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on canned pineapple fruit (CPF) from Thailand for the period of review (POR) July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006. The review covers two respondents, Vita Food Factory (1989) Ltd. (Vita) and Tropical Food Industries Co. Ltd. (Trofco). The domestic interested party for this proceeding is Maui Pineapple Company Ltd. (petitioner). The Department preliminarily determines that Vita and Trofco made sales to the United States at less than normal value (NV). If these preliminary results are adopted in the final results of this administrative review, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess antidumping duties on entries of Vita's and Trofco's merchandise during the POR. The preliminary results are listed below in the section titled ``Preliminary Results of Review.''

Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce is announcing a thirty day public comment period on the revised Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan which will begin on the day this announcement is published. Comments should be sent within the comment period in hard copy or e- mail to Doris Grimm at Doris.Grimm@noaa.gov or NOAA's Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, 10th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910. The Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve was designated in October 1989 pursuant to Section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1461. Pursuant to 15 CFR 921.33(c), a state must revise its management plan every five years. The reserve has been operating under a management plan approved in 1989. The submission of this plan fulfills this requirement and sets a course for successful implementation of the goals and objectives of the reserve. Since the last management plan, the Great Bay Reserve has constructed needed facilities, increased its staff, changed its boundary, implemented several system-wide programs, and acquired key parcels of land. The original boundary included 4,471 acres of open water and salt marsh in Great Bay proper and 1,882 acres of upland. The boundary expansion includes 2,830 acres of additional open and salt marsh in Little Bay and several tidal rivers as well as 1,052 acres of upland. This expansion also includes all of the Federal lands under the Great Bay National Wildlife refuge that was established in 1992. The expanded boundary is a more comprehensive representation of the natural communities within the Southern Gulf of Maine province of the Acadian bio-geographic region of the United States. Great Bay serves as a natural field laboratory for researchers and the boundary expansion will increase and diversify the areas capable of supporting NERRS long- term research and monitoring, including opportunities for extensive upland research. The boundary expansion also increases the Reserve's opportunities for educating the public about the estuarine system. This new management plan serves as the primary guidance document for the operation of the Great Bay Reserve's core and system-wide programs in research and monitoring, education and coastal training, and resource management and stewardship. The plan provides guidance on the acquisition of land to be added to the Reserve and on the construction and renovation of buildings and exhibits that support NERR programs. It also guides the Reserve in important related programs, such as volunteerism and outreach to communities to encourage stewardship of coastal resources in the Great Bay area. The Great Bay Reserve is administered through the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. The Reserve is a part of the Marine Fisheries Division, which is based in Durham, New Hampshire. The Reserve also works closely with the New Hampshire Coastal Program and the New Hampshire Estuaries Project, as well as many other partners, such as the University of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, to meet its goals and objectives.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The Department of Commerce, 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 proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The Department of Commerce, 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 proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

In response to requests from Aqualon Company, a division of Hercules Inc., (Petitioner) and respondents Noviant OY, CP Kelco OY; Noviant Inc., and CP Kelco U.S. Inc. (collectively, CP Kelco), the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on purified carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) from Finland. The review covers exports of the subject merchandise to the United States produced by CP Kelco. The period of review (POR) is December 27, 2004, through June 30, 2006. We preliminarily find that CP Kelco made sales at less than normal value during the POR. If these preliminary results are adopted in our final results of this review, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess antidumping duties based on differences between the export price (EP) or constructed export price (CEP) and normal value (NV).

In response to a request from petitioner Aqualon Company, a division of Hercules Incorporated (Aqualon), a U.S. manufacturer of purified carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on CMC from the Netherlands. This administrative review covers imports of subject merchandise produced and exported by Noviant B.V. and CP Kelco B.V. (collectively, CP Kelco). The period of review (POR) is December 27, 2004, through June 30, 2006. We preliminarily determine that sales of subject merchandise by CP Kelco have been made at less than normal value (NV). 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 based on the difference between the export price (EP) or constructed export price (CEP) and NV. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

In response to a request from Quimica Amtex S.A. de C.V. (Amtex), the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on purified carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) from Mexico. The review covers exports of the subject merchandise to the United States produced and exported by Amtex. We preliminarily find that Amtex made sales at less than fair value during the POR. If these preliminary results are adopted in our final results of this review, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess antidumping duties based on differences between the export price (EP) or constructed export price (CEP) and normal value (NV). Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results. Parties who submit arguments in this proceeding are requested to submit with the arguments: (1) a statement of the issues, (2) a brief summary of the arguments (no longer than five pages, including footnotes) and (3) a table of authorities.

In response to timely requests for review, the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet and strip (PET Film) from India for the period of review (POR) July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006. The review covers one respondent, MTZ Polyfilms, Ltd. (MTZ). The Department preliminarily determines that MTZ did not sell subject merchandise to the United States at less than normal value during the POR. If these preliminary results are adopted in the final results of this administrative review, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to liquidate entries during the POR without regard to antidumping duties. The preliminary results are listed below in the section titled ``Preliminary Results of Review.''

NMFS issues this proposed rule to revise VMS requirements applicable to the commercial reef fish fishery in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and to revise the allowable methods for complying with the advance notification of landing requirement in the Gulf red snapper individual fishing quota (IFQ) program. Regarding the VMS program, this proposed rule would allow commercial reef fish vessel owners or operators to reduce the frequency of VMS transmissions while in port; extend the existing power-down exemption to include reef fish vessels while in port; and add a grandfather clause to address VMS units approved for use in the Gulf reef fish fishery. Regarding the IFQ program, this proposed rule would expand the allowable methods for communicating the required advance notification of landing. The intended effects of this proposed rule are to resolve an unanticipated technological problem with the VMS draining power from vessels that are in port without access to external power sources; provide a grandfather clause for previously approved Gulf reef fish VMS units; and facilitate compliance with the advance notification of landing requirement in the IFQ program.

NMFS issues a final rule to amend vessel identification regulations of the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS). The current regulatory text requires all commercial fishing vessels and recreational charter vessels fishing under the HMS FMP to display their official numbers on the port and starboard sides of the deckhouse or hull, and on an appropriate weather deck (horizontal or flat surface) so as to be visible from enforcement vessels and aircraft. The final rule exempts HMS recreational charter vessels from complying with the vessel identification requirements. The regulation is intended to relieve a restriction for which the costs outweigh the benefits. Current state and Federal (U.S. Coast Guard) marking requirements are sufficient for law enforcement personnel to adequately identify HMS recreational charter vessels at-sea and the added burden to vessel owners of additional vessel marking requirements was deemed unnecessary.