Department of Commerce 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that individuals and institutions have been issued Letters of Confirmation for activities conducted under the General Authorization for Scientific Research on marine mammals. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for a list of names and address of recipients.

The Department of Commerce (Department) notes the increase in interest among government, technology experts and industry representatives regarding the deployment of Domain Name and Addressing System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) at the root zone level. The Department remains committed to preserving the security and stability of the DNS and is exploring the implementation of DNSSEC in the DNS hierarchy, including at the authoritative root zone level. Accordingly, the Department is issuing this notice to invite comments regarding DNSSEC implementation at the root zone.

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.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Research Steering Committee (Committee), in October, 2008, to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

Section 3009 of the Deficit Reduction Act (Act) requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to implement and administer a program through which each eligible low- power television broadcast station, Class A television station, television translator station, or television booster station may receive reimbursement for equipment to upgrade from analog to digital in eligible rural communities. NTIA will hold public meetings regarding the implementation of this Low-power Television Upgrade Program (Upgrade Program) \1\ in Washington, DC and Las Vegas, Nevada.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Atka mackerel in the Central Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) by vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery. This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2008 total allowable catch (TAC) of Atka mackerel in the Central Aleutian District of the BSAI allocated to vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery.

NMFS suspends the minimum size limit of 4.75 inches (120 mm) for Atlantic surfclams for the 2009 fishing year. This action is taken under the authority of the implementing regulations for this fishery, which allow for the annual suspension of the minimum size limit based upon set criteria. The intended effect is to relieve the industry from a regulatory burden that is not necessary, as the majority of surfclams harvested are larger than the minimum size limit.

Notice is hereby given that the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 75 Virginia Beach Drive Miami, Florida 33149, has been issued a permit to take smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) for purposes of scientific research.

In accordance with 15 U.S.C. Section 1512 and Executive Order 11625, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is soliciting competitive applications from organizations to operate a Minority Business Enterprise Center (MBEC) in Houston, TX. The MBEC operates through the use of business consultants and provides a range of business consulting and technical assistance services directly to eligible minority-owned businesses in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). 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 MBEC and to provide business consultation services to eligible clients. Applications that do not meet these requirements will be rejected. This is not a grant program to help start or to further an individual business.

NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), has determined that the quota for the tilefish Full-time Tier 2 permit category has been exceeded for fishing year (FY) 2008, requiring an adjustment of the Full-time Tier 2 permit category quota for FY 2009. This action complies with the Fishery Management Plan for the Tilefish Fishery (FMP) and is intended to continue the rebuilding program in the FMP by taking into account previous overages of the tilefish quota.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by non- American Fisheries Act (AFA) crab vessels that are subject to sideboard limits catching Pacific cod for processing by the inshore component in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2008 Pacific cod sideboard limit established for non-AFA crab vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the inshore component in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain lined paper products from India with respect to 20 companies. The respondents which the Department selected for individual examination are Kejriwal Paper Limited (``Kejriwal'') and Ria ImpEx Pvt. Ltd. (``Ria'').\1\ The respondents which were not selected for individual examination are listed in the ``Preliminary Results of Review'' section of this notice. This is the first administrative review of this order. The period of review (POR) is April 17, 2006, through August 31, 2007.

NOAA Office of Oceans and Atmospheric Research (OAR) invites applications for a Cooperative Institute (CI) that will collaborate with NOAA scientists to improve weather forecast and warning accuracy; contribute to improvements in water resource forecasting capabilities; provide integrated weather information to meet future aviation and surface transportation needs; advance satellite sensor technology; develop high-performance computing, visualization, and scientific workstation technologies; and enhance environmental literacy to improve understanding. The CI would also conduct research needed to develop multiscale (global to local) data assimilation techniques with a strong satellite data emphasis, and provide the scientific expertise and the necessary computing infrastructure to help NOAA move forward on these issues. Through this competition, NOAA intends to establish competitively a new CI according to the policy and procedures described in NOAA Administrative Order 216-107 and the Cooperative Institute Interim Handbook both available at https://www.nrc.noaa.gov/ ci/. The proposed CI should be within daily commuting distance of NOAA facilities in Boulder and Fort Collins, Colorado. NOAA has identified five research themes that will address identified needs within the NOAA Weather and Water Goal that would benefit from collaborations with the CI. I. Satellite algorithm development, training and education. Research conducted under this theme is associated with development of satellite-based algorithms for weather forecasting, with emphasis on regional and mesoscale meteorological phenomenon. This work includes applications of basic satellite products such as feature track winds, thermodynamic retrievals, sea surface temperature, etc., in combination with model analyses and forecasts, as well as in situ and other remote sensing observations. Applications can be for current or future satellites. Also under this theme, satellite and related training material will be developed and delivered to a wide variety of users, with emphasis on operational forecasters. A variety of techniques can be used, including distance learning methods, Web-based demonstration projects and instructor-led training. II. Regional to Global Scale Modeling Systems. Research conducted under this theme is associated with the improvement of weather/climate models (minutes to months) that simulate and predict changes in the Earth system. Topics include atmospheric and ocean dynamics, radiative forcing, clouds and moist convection, land surface modeling, hydrology, and coupled modeling of the earth system. III. Data Assimilation. Research conducted under this theme will develop and improve techniques to assimilate environmental observations, including satellite, terrestrial, oceanic, and biological observations, to produce the best estimate of the environmental state at the time of the observations for use in analysis, modeling, and prediction activities associated with weather/climate predications (minutes to months) and analysis. IV. Climate-Weather Processes. Research conducted under this theme will focus on using numerical models and environmental data, including satellite observations, to understand processes that are important to creating environmental changes on weather and short-term climate timescales (minutes to months) and the two-way interactions between weather systems and regional climate. V. Data Distribution. Research conducted under this theme will focus on identifying effective and efficient methods of quickly distributing and displaying very large sets of environmental and model data using data networks, using web map services, data compression algorithms, and other techniques. This announcement provides requirements for the proposed CI and includes details for the technical program, evaluation criteria, and competitive selection procedures. Applicants should review CI Interim Handbook (available at https://www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci) prior to preparing a proposal for this announcement.

The NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the NOAA Office of Ocean and Atmospheric Research (OAR) invite applications for the establishment of a cooperative institute (CI) that will focus on the themes of (1) Ecosystem Forecasting, (2) Ecosystem Monitoring, (3) Ecosystem Management, Protection and Restoration of Resources, (4) Sustained Ocean Observations and (5) Climate Research. These 5 themes will be supported by a variety of research activities, which may include: Research on the linkages among productivity, fish and fisheries, pollution, climate change, and ecosystem health; Research to improve the integration and availability of ocean observations across spatial scales, from global to regional and local; Research to distinguish marine resource changes due to human impacts from those resulting from natural forcing, including climate variability and change; Development and application of new tools and approaches for monitoring ecosystem health and forecasting ecosystem change' Examination of the expected increases in socioeconomic benefits accrued from a better understanding of the effects of climate change, food webs, physical-chemical coupling, and ecosystem production dynamics' Collaborative research and education leading to closer linkages between scientific assessments and management actions. This research, conducted within the New England and the Mid- Atlantic regions, is described in the full Federal Funding Opportunity notice. Through this new CI, NOAA also seeks to augment its existing North East Regional climate research with an expanded fisheries forecasting capability, and to develop an integrated capability to research emerging issues from an ecosystem perspective. The CI may consist of one or more research institutions with expertise and capabilities in the NOAA priority areas that contribute to the areas of research described as research themes above. Through this competition, NOAA intends to establish competitively a new CI according to the policy and procedures described in NOAA Administrative Order 216-107 and the Cooperative Institute Interim Handbook both available at https:// www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci/. This announcement provides requirements for the proposed CI and includes details for the technical program, evaluation criteria, and competitive selection procedures. Applicants should review the CI Interim Handbook prior to preparing a proposal for this announcement.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene public meetings.

Based on an affirmative final determination by the Department of Commerce (the Department) and the International Trade Commission (ITC), the Department is issuing the antidumping duty order on electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) from Australia.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by Amendment 80 vessels subject to sideboard limits in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2008 Pacific cod sideboard limit established for Amendment 80 vessels subject to sideboard limits in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

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)).