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

The Manufacturing Council will hold a meeting to discuss and identify the priority issues affecting the U.S. manufacturing industry, which may include increasing exports, supply chain and access to credit, among others. The Council was re-chartered on April 8, 2010, to advise the Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to the U.S. manufacturing industry.

The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS) has developed a draft environmental assessment (EA) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.) to analyze the potential impacts of issuing a research permit that would allow the attraction and approach of white sharks in the sanctuary. The purpose of the proposed study is to improve our knowledge of the full migratory cycle of white sharks by attaching location transmitters to up to eleven (11) white sharks that seasonally visit the sanctuary. The EA is available for download on the web site: https://farallones.noaa.gov/eco/ sharks/pdf/eamcsipermit2009.pdf.

The Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will meet Wednesday, October 13, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday, October 14, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology is composed of fifteen members appointed by the Director of NIST who are eminent in such fields as business, research, new product development, engineering, labor, education, management consulting, environment, and international relations.

On June 2, 2010, the Department of Commerce (the Department) initiated sunset reviews of the antidumping duty orders on purified carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) from Finland, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Sweden, pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). On the basis of the notice of intent to participate, and adequate substantive responses filed on behalf of the domestic and respondent interested parties, the Department is conducting a full sunset review of the antidumping duty order on CMC from Mexico, pursuant to section 751(e)(3)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.218(e)(2)(i). As a result of this sunset review, the Department preliminarily finds that revocation of the antidumping duty order with respect to CMC from Mexico would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping at the levels listed below in the section entitled ``Preliminary Results of Review.''

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act authorizes the Secretary of Commerce through NOAA to pay certain enforcement related costs from sums received as fines, penalties, and forfeitures of property for violations of any marine resource law enforced by the Secretary. Fines, penalties, and forfeitures of property received by NOAA are deposited in an enforcement asset forfeiture fund. The Secretary is proposing a new policy to clearly articulate prohibited and authorized uses of these funds to ensure no conflict of interest- either real or perceived - associated with its use while continuing to promote a sound enforcement program dedicated to conserving and protecting our nation's marine resources. The Secretary requests comments from the public on listed prohibited and authorized uses of the funding and, in particular, expenditures for activities that would promote compliance with regulations promulgated by NOAA.

The Department of Commerce's Internet Policy Task Force is examining issues related to the global free flow of information on the Internet. Specifically, the Department seeks public comment from all stakeholders, including the commercial, academic, and civil society sectors, on government policies that restrict information flows on the Internet. The Task Force seeks to understand why these restrictions have been instituted; what, if any, impact they have had on innovation, economic development, global trade and investment; and how best to address negative impacts. After analyzing the comments responding to this Notice, the Department intends to publish a report which will contribute to the Administration's domestic policy and international engagement on these issues.

The National Advisory Committee on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will hold a meeting via conference call on Tuesday, October 12, 2010. The meeting will be conducted from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will be opened to the public. The Council was chartered on November 10, 2009, to advise the Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to innovation and entrepreneurship in the United States.

Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce has approved the revised management plans of the Arraigns Bay, RI National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Tijuana River, CA National Estuarine Research Reserve. The Arraigns Bay, RI Reserve plan calls for an expansion to their boundary and the Tijuana River, CA Reserve plan calls for a reduction to their boundary. The revised management plan for the Arraigns Bay, RI National Estuarine Research Reserve outlines the administrative structure; the education, training, stewardship, and research goals of the reserve; and the plans for future land acquisition and facility development to support reserve operations. The objectives described in this plan are designed to address the most critical coastal issues in Arraigns Bay such as wastewater and storm water management, coastal and watershed development, and invasive species management. Since the last approved management plan in 1998, the reserve has become fully staffed; added a coastal training program that delivers science-based information to key decision makers; and added significant monitoring of invasive species, water quality, fish and bird populations. In addition to programmatic and staffing advances, the reserve upgraded visiting research facilities, space available for education and storage, and has increased the availability of dock space for research and educational programming. This management plan calls for a boundary expansion of 156 acres. The lands consist of one 128 acre parcel on the northern end of Prudence Island that is adjacent to current reserve property and the addition of the 28 acre Dyer Island. Dyer Island habitats include coastal brush, salt marsh, cobble beaches, and both hard and soft substrate submerged lands. The island is considered a critical bird rookery and hosts an unusual amount of macro algal diversity and rare examples of un ditched salt marsh habitat. The 128 acre Ballard Property on Prudence Island consists of forested land with early succession al shrub land and grassland communities as well as an important freshwater creek and the associated wetlands. The Dyer Island property will provide opportunities for research and passive recreation while the easily accessed Prudence Island parcel will be appropriate for education, recreation, and upland research purposes. This plan can be accessed at https://www.nbnerr.org or nerrs.noaa.gov. The revised management plan for the Tijuana River, CA National Estuarine Research Reserve outlines a framework of overarching goals and program specific objectives that will guide the education, training, stewardship, and research programs of the reserve; updates the reserve boundary; proposes criteria for boundary expansion activities through acquisition and/or mitigation; as well as outlines plans for facility use and development to support reserve operations. The goals described in this plan are designed to provide a framework that supports program integration for collaborative management in a highly urbanized bi-national watershed. Since the last approved management plan in 2000, the reserve has become fully staffed; added a coastal training program that delivers science-based information to key decision makers; developed a robust volunteer program that provides broad support to Reserve programs; added a bi-nationally focused Watershed Program; completed habitat restoration projects to improve estuary function; improved management of sediment delivery to the estuary; and constructed facilities to support essential functions of the reserve including interpretive structures, staff offices, and an on-site laboratory. This management plan amends the boundary of the reserve to be 2,293 acres, 238 acres less, in part as a result of excluding the Border Infrastructure System completed since the last approved management plan. This plan can be accessed at trnerr.org/visitorscenter.html or nerrs.noaa.gov.

On September 13, 2010, the United States Court of International Trade (CIT) sustained the Department of Commerce's (the Department's) results of redetermination pursuant to the CIT's remand in United States Steel Corporation, et al. v. United States et al. and Essar Steel Limited v. United States et al., Slip Op. 09-152, Remand Order (December 30, 2009)(Essar). See Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court Remand, dated July 15, 2010 (found at https:// ia.ita.doc.gov/remands); and United States Steel Corporation, et al. v. United States et al. and Essar Steel Limited v. United States et al., Slip Op. 10-104 (September 13, 2010) (Essar). Consistent with the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) in Timken Co. v. United States, 893 F.2d 337 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (Timken), the Department is notifying the public that the final judgment in this case is not in harmony with the Department's final results of the administrative review of the countervailing duty order on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products (HRCS) from India covering the period of review (POR) of January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2006. See Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from India: Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, 73 FR 40295 (July 14, 2008) (Final Results), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum (I&D Memorandum).

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 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.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), propose to designate approximately 390 square kilometers of critical habitat for the endangered black abalone, pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Specific areas proposed for designation include rocky habitats from the mean higher high water (MHHW) line to a depth of 6 meters (m) within the following areas on the California coast: Del Mar Landing Ecological Reserve to Point Bonita; from the southern point at the mouth of San Francisco Bay to Natural Bridges State Beach; from Pacific Grove to Cayucos; from Monta[ntilde]a de Oro State Park to just south of Government Point; Palos Verdes Peninsula from the Palos Verdes/Torrance border to Los Angeles Harbor; the Farallon Islands; A[ntilde]o Nuevo Island; San Miguel Island; Santa Rosa Island; Santa Cruz Island; Anacapa Island; San Nicolas Island; Santa Barbara Island; Catalina Island; and San Clemente Island. We propose to exclude the following area from designation because the economic benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of inclusion, and exclusion will not result in the extinction of the species: rocky habitats within the MHHW line to a depth of 6 m from Corona Del Mar State Beach to Dana Point, California.

NMFS publishes changes to the regulations that address the operations and administration of the Regional Fishery Management Councils (Councils). The regulatory changes implement the 2006 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) that, among other things, establish the Council Coordinating Committee (CCC), require that the Councils' science and statistical committee (SSC) members disclose their financial interests, and provide for training of Council members and staff. Additionally, this final rule clarifies the Council documents that should be available to the public; the restrictions on lobbying; the procedures for Council member nomination, including timing for submission of nominations; and also requires Councils to provide procedures for deeming regulations necessary and or appropriate for implementing fishery management plans and plan amendments. These regulations also set forth additional financial disclosure requirements for Council members, and revise the security assurance procedures for nominees to and members of the Councils. Finally, this rule makes technical and minor corrections to the regulations unrelated to the most recent Magnuson-Stevens Act amendments.

NMFS publishes this final rule to implement international conservation and management measures that pertain to vessels that have been identified by any one of several regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs), identified below, as having engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities and added to IUU vessel lists. The United States is a member of, and obligated to implement measures adopted by, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), and the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP). This rule provides the NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (Assistant Administrator) with authority to restrict entry into any port or place of the United States of, and access to port services by, foreign vessels on the IUU vessel lists of the aforementioned RFMOs. It also gives the Assistant Administrator authority to prohibit such vessels from engaging in commercial transactions, including, but not limited to, landing and transshipping products. Furthermore, the rule prohibits persons and business entities subject to U.S. jurisdiction from providing certain services to, or engaging in commercial transactions with, such vessels.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California. This action is necessary because the directed harvest allocation total for the third seasonal period (September 15 December 31) is projected to be reached by the effective date of this rule. From the effective date of this rule until January 1, 2011, Pacific sardine can only be harvested as part of the live bait fishery or incidental to other fisheries; the incidental harvest of Pacific sardine is limited to 30-percent by weight of all fish per trip. Fishing vessels must be at shore and in the process of offloading at 12:01 am Pacific Daylight Time on date of closure.

NMFS is reopening the comment period for the proposed rule to Implement Addenda to 17 Fishing Year (FY) 2010 Northeast Multispecies Sector Operations Plans and Contracts. The comment period is being reopened and extended to provide additional opportunity for public comment.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) has determined that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain coated paper suitable for high-quality print graphics using sheet-fed presses (coated paper) from Indonesia. For information on the estimated countervailing duty rates, please see the ``Suspension of Liquidation'' section, below.

The Department of Commerce determines that certain coated paper suitable for high-quality print graphics using sheet-fed presses (certain coated paper) from Indonesia is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair-value (LTFV), as provided in section 735 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The estimated margins of sales at LTFV are shown in the ``Final Determination Margins'' section of this notice.

The SEDAR Steering Committee will meet to discuss the SEDAR assessment schedule, budget, and the SEDAR process. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issues this final rule to remove its regulations to implement and administer the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Program (Coupon Program). The regulations implemented provisions of section 3005 of the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, as subsequently amended. The final coupons were issued on August 12, 2009, and expired on November 9, 2009. NTIA is removing its regulations because the Coupon Program is closed and the regulations are now obsolete.

Notice is hereby given the following applicants have applied in due form for modifications to permits (Permit Nos. 1578 and 1595-03) to take shortnose sturgeon for purposes of scientific research:Maine Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) (Gail S. Wippelhauser, Principal Investigator), 21 State House Station, Augusta, ME, 04333 (Permit No. 1578); and Michael M. Hastings, University of Maine, 5717 Corbett Hall, Orono, ME 04469, (Permit No. 1595-03).