Department of Commerce December 30, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, NMFS, announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list the ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata) as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended (ESA). After a formal review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing of the ribbon seal is not warranted at this time. Although the ribbon seal population abundance is likely to decline gradually for the foreseeable future, primarily from slight but chronic impacts on reproduction and survival caused by reduced frequency of years with sea ice of suitable extent, quality, and duration of persistence, it is not in danger of extinction or likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 92 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area and Amendment 82 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. This proposed action would remove trawl gear endorsements on licenses issued under the license limitation program in specific management areas if those licenses have not been used on vessels that met minimum recent landing requirements using trawl gear. This proposed action would provide exemptions to this requirement for licenses that are used in trawl fisheries subject to certain limited access privilege programs. This proposed action would issue new area endorsements for trawl catcher vessel licenses in the Aleutian Islands if minimum recent landing requirements in the Aleutian Islands were met. This proposed action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Fishery Management Plans, and other applicable law.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India for the period January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007, the period of review (POR). These preliminary results cover one company Essar Steel Ltd. (Essar). For the information on the net subsidy rate for the reviewed company, see the ``Preliminary Results of Review'' section. We are preliminarily rescinding the administrative review regarding Ispat Industries Limited (Ispat), JSW Steel Limited (JSW), and Tata Steel Limited (Tata) due to the fact that they had no shipments during the POR. For more information on Ispat, JSW, and Tata's shipments during the POR, see the ``Background'' section of this notice.

The Department of Commerce (Department) published its preliminary results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on chlorinated isocyanurates (chlorinated isos) from Spain on July 10, 2008. See Chlorinated Isocyanurates from Spain: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 73 FR 39650 (July 10, 2008) (Preliminary Results). The period of review (POR) is June 1, 2006 through May 31, 2007. We invited interested parties to comment on our Preliminary Results. Based on our analysis of the comments received, we have made changes to our calculations. The final dumping margin for this review is listed in the ``Final Results of Review'' section below.

On May 17, 2006, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') revoked in part the antidumping duty order on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products (``hot-rolled steel'') from Thailand with respect to Sahaviriya Steel Industries Public Company Limited (``SSI'') after having determined that SSI sold the merchandise at not less than normal value (``NV'') for a period of at least three consecutive years. See Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from Thailand: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Partial Revocation of Antidumping Duty Order and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 71 FR 28659 (May 17, 2006) (``Revocation''). As the result of an adequate allegation from a domestic interested party in this proceeding, the Department, pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''), is now conducting a changed circumstances review to determine whether SSI has resumed dumping hot-rolled steel and whether the antidumping order should be reinstated for hot-rolled steel from Thailand manufactured and exported by SSI. See Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review: Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from Thailand, 73 FR 18766 (April 7, 2008) (``Initiation Notice''). We preliminarily determine that SSI has sold hot-rolled steel at less than NV and that hot-rolled steel produced and exported by SSI should be reinstated in the antidumping duty order on hot-rolled steel from Thailand. We will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to suspend liquidation of all entries of hot-rolled steel manufactured and exported by SSI and entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a teleconference call meeting of the Council's archipelagic Plan Teams (PTs).

This action extends a temporary final rule initially published on October 18, 2005. The regulations contained in the temporary rule, emergency action, published on October 18, 2005, and subsequently extended several times at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will expire on December 31, 2008. This temporary rule extends a closure of Federal waters through December 31, 2009. The FDA has determined that current oceanographic conditions and alga sampling data suggest that the northern section of the Temporary Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) Closure Area remain closed to the harvest of bivalve molluscan shellfish, with the exception of sea scallop adductor muscles harvested and shucked at sea, and that the southern area remain closed to the harvest of whole or roe-on scallops. NMFS is publishing the regulatory text associated with this closure in this temporary emergency rule in order to ensure that current regulations accurately reflect the codified text that has been modified and extended numerous times, so that the public is aware of the regulations being extended through December 31, 2009.