Department of Commerce May 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of Commerce (the Department) and the International Trade Commission (the ITC), the Department is issuing antidumping duty orders on citric acid and certain citrate salts (citric acid) from Canada and the People's Republic of China (PRC). On May 22, 2009, the ITC notified the Department of its affirmative determinations of material injury to a U.S. industry. See Citric Acid from Canada and China (Investigation Nos. 701-TA-456 and 731-TA-1151-1152 (Final), USITC Publication 4076, May 2009).

The U.S. Department of Commerce will host a two-hour meeting during which senior U.S. government officials will brief the business community on recent developments in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on energy issues, including the APEC Energy Working Group meeting in Santiago, Chile in April 20-24, 2009. The agenda will feature key outcomes from the Santiago meeting, U.S. objectives for APEC in 2009, including trade and investment priorities, and a discussion on industry engagement and advancing industry's priorities in APEC through effective public-private partnerships.

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

NMFS announces the approval of an amended marine conservation plan (MCP) for the Northern Mariana Islands.

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.

NMFS announces approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of collection-of-information requirements contained in regulations implementing Amendment 13 to the Fishery Management Plan for Crustacean Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region. The intent of this final rule is to inform the public that the associated permitting and reporting requirements have been approved by OMB.

NMFS issues regulations to implement Amendment 27 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (FMP). These regulations amend the Crab Rationalization Program to: implement the statutory requirements of section 122(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act that specifically directs NMFS to modify how individual processing quota (IPQ) use caps apply to a person who is custom processing Chionoecetes opilio crab in the North Region; clarify that for other crab fisheries, IPQ crab that is processed at a facility through contractual arrangements with the facility owners will not be applied against the IPQ use cap of the facility owners provided specific conditions are met; and modify IPQ use caps that limit the amount of IPQ that may be used at a facility by persons processing Eastern Aleutian Islands golden king crab and Western Aleutian Islands red king crab. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable law.

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 16, 2009. 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 2009; the role of the Judges Panel in the award process; an overview of scoring data; the 2009 Baldrige Award cycle; the Judges Panel survey of applicants; and the Judges Panel mentoring process. Under each of these categories applicant information may be disclosed. The applications under review by the Judges Panel contain trade secrets and proprietary commercial information submitted to the Government in confidence.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued one-year Letters of Authorization (LOA) to take marine mammals incidental to the explosive removal of offshore oil and gas structures (EROS) in the Gulf of Mexico.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has submitted the Fishery Management Plan for Fish Resources of the Arctic Management Area (Arctic FMP) and Amendment 29 to the FMP for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP). The Arctic FMP and Amendment 29 to the Crab FMP, if approved, would establish sustainable management of commercial fishing in the Arctic Management Area and limit the management area of crab species under the Crab FMP to waters of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) south of Bering Strait. This action is necessary to establish a management framework for commercial fishing of nearly all fish species occurring in the Arctic Management Area before the potential onset of unregulated commercial fishing in the Arctic Management Area. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMPs, and other applicable laws. Comments from the public are encouraged.

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES) was constituted to advise the Secretary of Commerce through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere on matters relating to the U.S. commercial remote sensing industry and NOAA's activities to carry out responsibilities of the Department of Commerce set forth in the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. Secs 5621-5625). The Committee is composed of leaders in the commercial space-based remote sensing industry, space-based remote sensing data users, government (federal, state, local), and academia. The Department of Commerce is seeking up to five highly qualified individuals knowledgeable about the commercial space-based remote sensing industry and uses of space-based remote sensing data to serve on the Committee.

This notice responds to the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act Amendments of 2002, Public Law 107-372, which requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to solicit nominations for membership on the Hydrographic Services Review Panel (the Panel). This advisory committee will advise the Under Secretary on matters related to the responsibilities and authorities set forth in section 303 of the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and such other appropriate matters as the Under Secretary refers to the Panel for review and advice.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council) and its Administrative Committee will hold meetings.

Update to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC). See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional details.

On May 13, 2009, a notice was published in the Federal Register announcing that the NMFS Pacific Islands Region, 1601 Kapiolani Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96814, had applied in due form for a permit to take green (Chelonia mydas), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research. That document inadvertently provided incorrect requested take numbers. This document corrects that oversight.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator), has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application submitted by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MADMF) contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The Assistant Regional Administrator has made a preliminary determination that the activities authorized under this EFP would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Northeast (NE) Multispecies and Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plans (FMPs). However, further review and consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to issue an EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that the Assistant Regional Administrator proposes to recommend that an EFP be issued that would allow one commercial fishing vessel to conduct fishing operations that are otherwise restricted by the regulations governing the fisheries of the Northeastern United States. This EFP, which would enable researchers to study the effects of a spiny dogfish excluder grate within a raised footrope whiting trawl, would grant exemptions from the NE multispecies regulations as follows: Gear restrictions while fishing in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Regulated Mesh Area (RMA); NE multispecies days-at-sea (DAS) effort control measures; GOM Rolling Closure areas; and NE multispecies minimum fish sizes for sampling purposes only.

Under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) is required to adopt such regulations as he deems necessary and advisable for the conservation of species listed as threatened. This proposed ESA 4(d) rule represents the regulations that we, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), believe necessary and advisable to conserve the threatened Southern Distinct Population Segment of North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris; hereafter Southern DPS). We propose to apply the prohibitions listed under ESA sections 9(a)(1)(A) through 9(a)(1)(G) for the Southern DPS, and we highlight specific categories of activities that are likely to result in take of Southern DPS fish. We do not find it necessary and advisable to apply the take prohibitions to certain categories of activities that contribute to conserving the Southern DPS. We also propose a variety of methods by which take of the Southern DPS may be authorized.