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

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is partially rescinding its administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain circular welded non-alloy steel pipe from Mexico for the period November 1, 2007, to October 31, 2008 with respect to four of the eight companies for which the review was initiated. This rescission is based on the timely withdrawal of the request for review by the interested party that requested the review. A complete list of the companies for which the administrative review is being rescinded is provided in the Background section below.

This rule removes the T 37 jet trainer aircraft and specially designed component parts from under the Department of Commerce's licensing jurisdiction on the Commerce Control List (CCL). T 37 jet trainer aircraft appear on the CCL administered by the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). However, the Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) reviews license applications for these aircraft and parts. BIS is removing these aircraft and parts from the CCL to avoid potentially overlapping coverage and reduce the possibility of confusion by the public.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) announces a workshop on Annual Catch Limits, to be held May 21, 22, 2009 in Seattle, WA.

NMFS implements regulations to limit the harvest of Pacific halibut by guided sport charter vessel anglers in International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) Regulatory Area 2C (Area 2C) of Southeast Alaska to one halibut per day. This action is necessary to reduce the halibut harvest in the guided sport charter vessel (guided) sector. The intended effect of this action is to manage the harvest of halibut in Area 2C consistent with an allocation strategy recommended by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for the guided fishery and the commercial fishery. This final rule implements three restrictions for the guided fishery for halibut in Area 2C: a one-fish daily bag limit, no harvest by the charter vessel guide and crew, and a line limit equal to the number of charter vessel anglers onboard, not to exceed six lines.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that there will be a meeting of the Board of Overseers of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award on June 17, 2009. The Board of Overseers is composed of eleven members prominent in the fields of quality, innovation, and performance excellence and appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, assembled to advise the Secretary of Commerce on the conduct of the Baldrige Award. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and review information received from the National Institute of Standards and Technology with the members of the Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The agenda will include: Baldrige Program Strategic Plan, Initiation of Two Contracts, and Baldrige Collaborative and ``Trifecta'' (Baldrige Program, Baldrige Foundation, and the Alliance for Performance Excellence) Activities.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) currently requires the use of chain-mat modified dredge gear in the Atlantic sea scallop fishery south of 41[deg]9.0' North latitude from May 1 through November 30 each year. This gear is necessary to help reduce mortality and injury to endangered and threatened sea turtles captured in this fishery and to conserve sea turtles listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This proposed action would make minor modifications to the current requirements by clarifying where on the dredge the chain mat should be hung; by excluding the sweep from the requirement that the side of each opening in the chain mat be less than or equal to 14 inches (35.5 cm); and by adding definitions of the sweep and the diamonds, which are terms used to describe parts of the scallop dredge gear. Any incidental take of threatened sea turtles in Atlantic sea scallop dredge gear in compliance with the gear modification requirements and all other applicable requirements will be exempted from the ESA prohibition against takes. NMFS is requesting public comment on this action, the focus of which is the minor modifications described here. NMFS is not accepting public comment on the existing chain mat requirements through this proposed rule.

This final rule establishes the 2009 fishery specifications for Pacific whiting in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and state waters off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, as authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). These specifications include the level of the acceptable biological catch (ABC), optimum yield (OY), and allocations for the non-tribal commercial sectors. This final rule also announces the reapportionment of Pacific whiting allocation from the tribal sector to the non-tribal sectors; adjusts bycatch limits for the non-tribal commercial sectors of the Pacific whiting fishery; and corrects the Pacific whiting primary season dates.

With this final rule, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce amend regulations governing interagency cooperation under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). In accordance with the statutory authority set forth in the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 111-8), this rule implements the regulations that were in effect immediately before the effective date of the regulation issued on December 16, 2008, entitled ``Interagency Cooperation Under the Endangered Species Act.''

The Department of Commerce (Department) is conducting six new shipper reviews (NSRs) of the antidumping duty order on fresh garlic from the People's Republic of China (PRC) covering the periods of review (PORs) of November 1, 2007 through April 30, 2008 and November 1, 2007 through June 9, 2008. As discussed below, we preliminarily determine that sales have been made in the United States at prices below normal value (NV) with respect to certain exporters who participated fully and have demonstrated their eligibility for a separate rate in the NSRs. The NSRs for Jinxiang Tianheng Trade Co., Ltd. and Shandong Jinxiang Zhengyang Import & Export Co., Ltd. continue to be preliminarily rescinded. The dumping margins are set forth in the ``Preliminary Results of the Reviews'' section below. If these preliminary results are adopted in our final results of review, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess antidumping duties on entries of subject merchandise during the POR for which importer-specific assessment rates are above de minimis. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results. See ``Comments'' section below.

NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 1 to the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (Amendment 1), incorporating the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), for review by the Secretary of Commerce. NMFS is requesting comments from the public on Amendment 1. The

Notice is hereby given that the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS), P.O. Box 1036,Provincetown, MA 02657, has withdrawn its application for an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 633- 1763.

Several sections of the regulations governing the fisheries of the northeastern United States contain minor inadvertent errors, omissions, and ambiguities. This rule revises the portions of the Northeast (NE) fishery regulations that relate to the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and prohibitions, standardizes the VMS vendor requirements, and adds prohibitions and other regulations to clarify existing policies and requirements.

The Department of Commerce (Department) seeks public comment on any subsidies, including stumpage subsidies, provided by certain countries exporting softwood lumber or softwood lumber products to the United States during the period July 1 through December 31, 2008.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the NOAA Science Advisory Board. The members will discuss and provide advice on issues outlined in the agenda below.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received 19 scientific research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon and green sturgeon. The proposed research is intended to increase knowledge of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications may be viewed on the NMFS website at https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/ previewopenforcomment.cfm.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received an application from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for a direct take permit pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The duration of the proposed permit is ten years. This document serves to notify the public of the availability for comment of the permit application. All comments received will become part of the public record and will be available for review pursuant to the ESA.

The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) will host a meeting of the Council Coordination Committee (CCC), consisting of the eight Regional Fishery Management Council chairs, vice chairs and executive directors on May 19-22, 2009. The intent of this meeting is to discuss issues of relevance to the Councils, including planning, programming and budgeting; implementation of provisions from the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (MSRA); and ecosystem-based management; among others.