Department of Commerce March 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a series of public hearings regarding Amendment 18 to Coastal Migratory Pelagic Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Region and Amendment 10 to the Spiny Lobster FMP for the Gulf and South Atlantic Region. Public hearings in Duck Key and Key West, Florida are joint hearings with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

In August 2010, NOAA and the Department of the Interior (DOI) invited Federal, State, commonwealth, and territorial MPA programs with potentially eligible existing MPAs to nominate their sites to the national system of MPAs (national system). A total of 39 nominations were received, including seven from the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources and 32 from the California Department of Fish and Game. Following a 30-day public review period, no public comments were received by the National Marine Protected Areas Center (MPA Center). The American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources and the California Department of Fish and Game, as the managing agencies, were asked to make a final determination of sites to nominate to the national system. Finding them to be eligible for the national system, the MPA Center has accepted the nominations for 39 sites and placed them on the List of National System MPAs. The national system and the nomination process are described in the Framework for the National System of Marine Protected Areas of the United States of America (Framework), developed in response to Executive Order 13158 on Marine Protected Areas. The final Framework was published on November 19, 2008, and provides guidance for collaborative efforts among Federal, State, commonwealth, territorial, tribal and local governments and stakeholders to develop an effective and well coordinated national system that includes existing MPAs meeting national system criteria as well as new sites that may be established by managing agencies to fill key conservation gaps in important ocean areas.

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 Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator), has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration and that the activities authorized under this EFP would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). However, further review and consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to issue an EFP. This EFP would grant exemptions from monkfish days-at-sea (DAS) possession limits. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed EFPs.

We, NMFS, are extending the date by which public comments are due concerning the proposed rule to extend the southern boundary of the endangered Central California Coast (CCC) coho salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) southward from its current boundary at the San Lorenzo River to include Soquel and Aptos Creeks in Santa Cruz County, California. On February 4, 2011, we published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to extend the southern boundary of this ESU and announced a public comment period to end on April 5, 2011. Today we extend the public comment period to June 6, 2011.

On October 29, 2010, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published in the Federal Register the preliminary results of the new shipper reviews (NSRs) of the antidumping duty order on certain preserved mushrooms from the People's Republic of China (PRC) for Shandong Fengyu Edible Fungus Corporation, Ltd. (Fengyu) \1\ and Zhangzhou Tongfa Foods Industry Co., Ltd. (Tongfa). See Certain Preserved Mushrooms from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty New Shipper Reviews, 75 FR 66729 (October 29, 2010) (Preliminary Results). We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on the Preliminary Results, and received no comments.

NMFS is seeking information regarding nations whose vessels are engaged in fishing in waters beyond any national jurisdiction that target or incidentally catch sharks. Such information will be reviewed for the purposes of the identification of nations pursuant to the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (Moratorium Protection Act).

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meetings of its Hawaii Advisory Panel (AP), Hawaii Plan Team (PT), Pelagic PT and Regional Ecosystem Advisory Committee (REAC).

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and its Ecosystems and Ocean Planning Committee, its Squid, Mackerel, and Butterfish Committee, its Spiny Dogfish Committee, and its Executive Committee will hold public meetings.

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.

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.

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 is announcing a thirty-day comment period for the revised management plans and boundary amendments of the ACE Basin, SC National Estuarine Research Reserve and Old Woman Creek, OH National Estuarine Research Reserve. The revised management plan for the ACE Basin, SC National Estuarine Research Reserve outlines the administrative structure; the education, training, stewardship, and research programs of the reserve; and the plans for future land acquisition and facility development to support reserve operations. The objectives described in this plan address the most critical coastal issues in ACE Basin related to habitat conservation, water quality, community resilience, and public access. Since the last approved management plan in 1992, the reserve has become fully staffed; added a Coastal Training Program that delivers science-based information to key decisionmakers; and added significant monitoring of emergent marsh vegetation, water quality, and invasive species. In addition to programmatic and staffing advances, the reserve has constructed an interpretive center that houses educational exhibits, classrooms, offices, conference space, trails and dock with public access. A field station with lab facilities, research dock, and accommodations for visiting researchers has also been constructed. This management plan amends the boundary to include 4,687 acres of the Botany Bay Plantation located adjacent to the northeastern corner of Edisto Island in lower Charleston County, SC. The undeveloped coastal habitats of the plantation include maritime forest, coastal shrub, wetlands, tidal marshes and sand beaches. The property provides important habitat for numerous wildlife species, including critical nesting habitat for the Federally threatened loggerhead sea turtle and the State threatened least tern. The lands contain significant cultural resources and list several sites on the National Register of Historic Places. This management plan amends the boundary by also removing 40,089 acres of private lands previously counted in error. In total, the ACE Basin Reserve includes 99,308 acres designated for long term research, education and stewardship. This plan can be accessed for review at https://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/NERR/. The revised management plan for the Old Woman Creek, OH National Estuarine Research Reserve contains the collective vision, mission, goals, and objectives of the reserve; updates the reserve boundary; as well as outlines plans for facility use and development to support reserve operations. The objectives described in this plan address the most critical coastal issues of the reserve related to water quality (non-point source pollution), invasive species, habitat loss and regional ecosystem impacts of climate change. 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 decisionmakers; and developed partnerships to continue to restore and protect land and waters in the Old Woman Creek watershed. In addition to programmatic and staffing advances, the reserve has completed construction of a new dormitory, boathouse, and administrative spaces. This management plan includes a boundary expansion of 2.2 acres. This land was incorporated with the State nature preserve in 2004 and is subject to all protection afforded by Ohio laws governing State nature preserves. The additional parcel is adjacent to the reserve's southwestern boundary and consists of early successional habitat (e.g., various Cornus sp.) and will become an area dominated by mixed hardwoods. Incorporating these lands increases the size of the reserve to 573 acres. This plan can be accessed for review at: https:// www.oldwomancreek.org.

NMFS, upon application from the Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC), is issuing regulations to govern the unintentional taking of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to rocket launches from the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) on Kodiak Island, AK. Issuance of regulations is required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) when the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), after notice and opportunity for comment, finds, as here, that such takes will have a negligible impact on the species and stocks of marine mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on their availability for subsistence uses. These regulations do not authorize the AAC's rocket launch activities; such authorization is not within the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Rather, these regulations govern the issuance of Letters of Authorization (LOAs) for the unintentional and incidental take of marine mammals in connection with this activity and prescribe methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species and their habitat, and on the availability of the species for subsistence uses. In addition, NMFS incorporates reporting and monitoring requirements on these activities.

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

On September 15, 2010, the Department of Commerce (``Department'') published the Preliminary Results of the first administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain steel nails (``steel nails'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'').\1\ We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on the Preliminary Results. Based upon our analysis of the comments and information received, we made changes to the margin calculations for the final results of this review. The final weighted-average margins are listed below in the ``Final Results of the Review'' section of this notice. The period of review (``POR'') is January 23, 2008, through July 31, 2009.

We (NMFS and USFWS; also collectively referred to as the Services) are extending the date by which a final determination will be made regarding the March 16, 2010, proposed rule to list nine Distinct Population Segments (DPS) of loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). We are taking this action because substantial disagreement exists regarding the interpretation of the existing data on status and trends and its relevance to the assessment of risk of extinction to the Northwest Atlantic Ocean DPS of the loggerhead turtle. Additionally, considerable disagreement exists regarding the magnitude and immediacy of the fisheries bycatch threat and measures to reduce this threat to the Northwest Atlantic Ocean DPS of the loggerhead turtle. We are soliciting new information or analyses that will help clarify these issues. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted as they already have been incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered in the final rule. The Services believe that allowing an additional 6 months to evaluate and assess the best scientific and commercial data available would better inform our final determination on the listing status of the nine proposed DPSs of the loggerhead turtle.

The National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) will hold a public workshop on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at the Marriott Hotel, Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center, located at 9751 Washingtonian Boulevard, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. The purpose of the workshop is the exchange of information among NVLAP, the NIST Information Technology Laboratory, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), laboratories interested in seeking NVLAP accreditation to perform Testing of Health Information Technology (HIT) electronic health record technology under the permanent certification program administered under the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS. There is no charge for the workshop; however, advanced registration is necessary. There will be no on-site, same-day registration. The deadline is Wednesday, April 20, 2011.

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)).