Department of Commerce July 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS closes the northern area Angling category fishery for large medium and giant (``trophy'') BFT for the remainder of 2010. Fishing for, retaining, possessing, or landing large medium and giant BFT (measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved fork length or greater) north of 39[deg] 18' N. lat. (off Great Egg Inlet, NJ) is prohibited effective at 11:59 p.m., July 18, 2010. This action is being taken to prevent overharvest of the 2010 Angling category quota northern area subquota for large medium and giant BFT.

NMFS has received a request from the Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge\TM\ L.L.C. (Northeast Gateway or NEG) and its partner, Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC (Algonquin), for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to operating a liquified natural gas (LNG) port facility by NEG and Algonquin, in Massachusetts Bay for the period of August 2010 through August 2011. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an authorization to Northeast Gateway and Algonquin to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of marine mammals for a period of 1 year.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is clarifying its treatment of letters submitted by applicants and patentees stating that the USPTO's patent term adjustment determination indicated on a notice of allowance, issue notification, or patent, is greater than what the applicant or patentee believes is appropriate. The USPTO will place these letters in the file of the application or patent without further review. The USPTO will no longer review these letters or issue certificates of correction on the basis of a review of these letters. If the applicant or patentee wants the USPTO to reconsider its patent term adjustment determination, the applicant or patentee must use the procedures set forth in 37 CFR 1.705 for requesting reconsideration of a patent term adjustment determination. A patentee may also file a terminal disclaimer disclaiming any period considered in excess of the appropriate patent term adjustment. However, the USPTO does not require an applicant or patentee to file either a request for reconsideration under 37 CFR 1.705 or a terminal disclaimer when the patent term adjustment indicated on a notice of allowance, issue notification, or patent is greater than what the applicant or patentee believes is appropriate.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Salmon Technical Team (STT) and Habitat Committee (HC) sub-committees will hold a joint meeting to develop a draft assessment of the factors triggering an overfishing concern for SRFC. The report will include analyses of fishing and non-fishing related factors, and recommendations for stock rebuilding. This meeting of the STT and HC sub-committees is open to the public.

On February 18, 2010, the Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') published its preliminary determination of sales at less than fair value (``LTFV'') in the antidumping duty investigation of narrow woven ribbons with woven selvedge (``narrow woven ribbons'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'').\1\ We invited interested parties to comment on our Preliminary Determination. Based on our analysis of the comments we received, we have made changes from the Preliminary Determination. We determine that narrow woven ribbons from the PRC are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at LTFV as provided in section 735 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``Act''). The final dumping margins for this investigation are listed in the ``Final Determination Margins'' section below.

The Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') has determined that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of narrow woven ribbons with woven selvedge from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). For information on the estimated countervailing duty rates, please see the ``Suspension of Liquidation'' section, below.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Scallop Committee, in August, 2010, 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.

We, NMFS announce a 90-day finding on a petition to revise critical habitat for the endangered leatherback sea turtle under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We find that the petition does not present substantial scientific information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted for leatherback sea turtles and their habitat under our jurisdiction.

This final rule makes inseason adjustments to trawl fishery management measures for petrale sole taken with selective flatfish and multiple trawl gears in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, North of 40[deg] 10.00' N. lat. This action, which is authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), is intended to prevent exceeding the 2010 OY for petrale sole.

On July 7, 2010, the United States Court of International Trade sustained the Department of Commerce's results of redetermination on remand concerning the final results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on ball bearings and parts thereof from Germany. See SKF USA Inc., v. United States, Slip Op. 10-76 (CIT July 7, 2010). The Department is now issuing this notice of court decision not in harmony with the Department of Commerce's determination.

This rule updates and clarifies export and reexport license requirements on striking weapons, restraint devices, shotguns and parts, optical sighting devices, and electric shock devices. It also adds equipment designed for the execution of humans to the Commerce Control List. This rule makes no changes to the longstanding policy of denial of applications to export or reexport specially designed implements of torture. The rule provides additional illustrative examples of such items and adopts a definition of torture used in a U.S. statute that implements the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. BIS is publishing this rule as part of an ongoing review of crime control license requirements and policy.

In response to requests from interested parties, the Department of Commerce (``Department'') is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on silicon metal from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). The period of review (``POR'') is June 1, 2008, through May 31, 2009. This administrative review covers one mandatory respondent and two respondents that claim they did not ship or sell subject merchandise to the United States during the POR.

NMFS is soliciting applications for American Samoa pelagic longline limited entry permits. At least ten permits of various class sizes will be available for 2010. This notice is intended to announce the availability of permits and to solicit applications for the permits.

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 issues a proposed rule that would implement Amendment 94 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). Amendment 94, if approved, would require participants using nonpelagic trawl gear in the directed fishery for flatfish in the Bering Sea subarea to modify the trawl gear to raise portions of the gear off the ocean bottom. Amendment 94 also would change the boundaries of the Northern Bering Sea Research Area to establish the Modified Gear Trawl Zone (MGTZ) and to expand the Saint Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area. Nonpelagic trawl gear also would be required to be modified to raise portions of the gear off the ocean bottom if used in any directed fishery for groundfish in the proposed MGTZ. This action is necessary to reduce potential adverse effects of nonpelagic trawl gear on bottom habitat, to protect additional blue king crab habitat near St. Matthew Island, and to allow for efficient flatfish harvest as the distribution of flatfish in the Bering Sea changes. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws.

The Department of Commerce is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet and strip (PET film) from the Republic of Korea (Korea). This review covers one company, Kolon Industries Inc. (Kolon) and the period June 1, 2008, through May 31, 2009. We preliminarily determine that Kolon has not made sales below normal value (NV). The final results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by the final results of this review and for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.

In accordance with section 304(e) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, as amended, (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has initiated a review of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS or sanctuary) management plan, to evaluate substantive progress toward implementing the goals for the sanctuary, and to make revisions to its management plan and regulations as necessary to fulfill the purposes and policies of the NMSA and the Hawaiian Islands National Marine Sanctuary Act (HINMSA; Title II, Subtitle C, Pub. L. 102-587). The present management plan was written as part of the sanctuary's management plan review process in 2002 and did not contain any regulatory or boundary changes from the implementing regulations that became effective December 29, 1999 (64 FR 63262). NOAA anticipates completion of the revised management plan and concomitant documents will require approximately thirty-six months from the date of publication of this Notice of Intent. The management plan review process occurs concurrently with a public process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). This notice also confirms that NOAA will coordinate its responsibilities under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA, 16 U.S.C. 470) with its ongoing NEPA process, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(a) coordination with NEPAincluding the use of NEPA documents and public and stakeholder meetings to also meet the section 106 requirements.