Department of Commerce July 13, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for Amendment 4 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) instead an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as previously announced through publication of a Notice of Intent published on May 27, 2008. NMFS intends to prepare the EA under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to assess the potential effects on the human environment of proposed alternatives and actions under Amendment 4 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP. The EA will analyze potential environmental impacts of various alternatives to permitting and reporting requirements for commercial HMS fisheries in U.S. waters of the Caribbean as well as examine management alternatives to improve catch reporting and data collection in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), and other relevant Federal laws.

In this final rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add controls on exports and reexports of U.S.-origin dual-use items to a new nation, the Republic of South Sudan. In January 2011, a referendum was held in the region of Southern Sudan to determine whether that region would remain part of Sudan or become a separate, independent nation. On February 7, 2011, the referendum commission announced that the region of Southern Sudan had voted to become a separate nation, effective July 9, 2011. On February 7, 2011, recognizing this historic milestone in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), President Obama announced the intention of the United States to formally recognize the Republic of South Sudan as a sovereign state in July, 2011. BIS is therefore amending the EAR to reflect the July 9, 2011 formal recognition by adding the new nation, the Republic of South Sudan, to the Commerce Country Chart and including it in Country Group B, which will render the destination eligible for certain export and reexport License Exceptions. The controls that continue to apply to ``Sudan'' under the EAR will not apply to the Republic of South Sudan.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is seeking public comments on the impact of amending the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations (CWCR) to reduce the concentration level at which the CWCR exempt certain mixtures containing Schedule 3 chemicals from the declaration requirements that apply to Schedule 3 chemical production and the reporting requirements that apply to exports and imports of Schedule 3 chemicals under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). BIS is considering amending the CWCR declaration requirements that apply to the production of Schedule 3 chemicals to conform with the low concentration exemption adopted by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in 2003, which applies when the concentration of any single Schedule 3 chemical in a mixture is ``30% or less,'' by weight or volume (whichever yields the lesser percent). Currently, the CWCR do not require the quantity of a Schedule 3 chemical contained in a mixture to be counted for declaration or reporting purposes if the concentration of the Schedule 3 chemical in the mixture is ``less than 80%'' by volume or weight (whichever yields the lesser percent). The current low concentration level was implemented in accordance with requirements set forth in the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act (CWCIA). Accordingly, publication and implementation of regulatory changes affecting this low concentration exemption level would be contingent upon amendment of the CWCIA by the Congress. In addition, consistent with U.S. national discretion, BIS is considering amending the CWCR reporting requirements for exports and imports of Schedule 3 chemicals by reducing the low concentration exemption that applies to certain mixtures containing Schedule 3 chemicals from the current low concentration level of ``less than 80%'' of a Schedule 3 chemical by volume or weight (whichever yields the lesser percent) to a concentration of ``30% or less.''

On March 4, 2011, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published the preliminary results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain frozen warmwater shrimp (shrimp) from India. This review covers 201 producers/exporters \1\ of the subject merchandise to the United States. The period of review (POR) is February 1, 2009, through January 31, 2010.

This request for information (RFI) seeks comments and expressions of interest from the public in providing technical inputs and/or offering assessment capacity on topics related to National Climate Assessment (NCA) regional, sectoral, and cross-cutting topics proposed for the 2013 NCA report and the ongoing NCA process. More information on the NCA process, including the strategic plan, proposed report outline, and information about the National Climate Assessment Development and Advisory Committee (NCADAC), can be found at https:// assessment.globalchange.gov. Teams of experts and/or individuals in climate-related fields (``teams'') interested in providing inputs to the NCA are encouraged to review the ``Potential Technical Inputs and Assessment Capacities'' and ``Suggested Best Practices'' available online at https:// www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment/backgroundprocess/ notices and to prepare a short expression of interest (EOI) describing their anticipated inputs. All EOIs submitted in response to this notice must include a primary point of contact and contact information (phone number, mailing address, e-mail address, Web site if applicable, institutional affiliation(s) if applicable). In addition, it is recommended that EOIs include the specific NCA topic(s) of interest, a short description of the input(s) the team intends to provide, and background information about the team and sponsoring organization. A full draft of the NCA report is anticipated by mid-2012, so that scientific and subject-matter experts and the broader public will have sufficient time to review the draft and provide comments to the NCADAC on its content. A full year is planned to review and revise the report, with a planned release in mid-2013. Technical inputs should be provided well in advance of these deadlines, with target dates for activities and inputs as follows: Now-Summer 2011: Expressions of interest; Initial work plans. Now-Fall 2011: Teams conduct activities (workshops, literature reviews, modeling runs, etc.). December 2011-February 1, 2012: Initial inputs, including draft reports. March 1, 2012: Final inputs, including full reports. After March 1, 2012: Continued development and delivery of ongoing assessment capacity.