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

The U.S. Department of Commerce issued an amended Export Trade Certificate of Review to Northwest Fruit Exporters on August 12, 2011. The Certificate has been amended twenty two times. The previous amendment was issued on August 18, 2010 (75 FR 51980). The original Certificate was issued on June 11, 1984 (49 FR 24581, June 14, 1984).

In this rule, NMFS specifies a quota of 325,000 lb of Deep 7 bottomfish in the main Hawaiian Islands for the 2011-12 fishing year, based on an annual catch limit of 346,000 lb. The expected impact of this action is long-term sustainability of Hawaii bottomfish.

NMFS provides notice of the 2011 Pacific halibut guideline harvest levels (GHLs) for the guided sport fishery in International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) Regulatory Areas 2C (Southeast Alaska) and 3A (Central Gulf of Alaska). This notice is necessary to meet the regulatory requirement to publish notice announcing the GHLs and to inform the public about the 2011 GHLs for the guided sport fishery for halibut. The GHLs are benchmark harvest levels for participants in the guided sport fishery. The 2011 GHLs remain the same as the 2010 GHLs; the Area 2C GHL is 788,000 lbs (357.4 mt); and the Area 3A GHL is 3,650,000 lbs (1,655.6 mt).

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for northern rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and pelagic shelf rockfish for vessels participating in the rockfish entry level fishery in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2011 total allowable catch (TAC) of northern rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and pelagic shelf rockfish allocated to vessels participating in the rockfish entry level fishery in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.

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)).

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 New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) Herring Advisory Panel will hold a meeting to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is issuing this interim final rule to supplement an interim final rule published on February 10, 2011 (Interim Final Rule), which governs the certification of factual information submitted to the Department by a person or his or her representative during antidumping (``AD'') and countervailing duty (``CVD'') proceedings. This supplemental interim final rule concerns the certifications required of foreign governments. By this supplemental interim final rule, foreign governments will be allowed to submit certifications in either the format that was in use prior to the effective date of the Interim Final Rule or in the format provided in the Interim Final Rule. This supplemental interim final rule will remain in effect until such time as a final rule is published. All other aspects of the Interim Final Rule remain in effect and fully apply to all parties and their counsel. Companies should continue to use the company certification provided for in the Interim Final Rule. Representatives of companies or governments should continue to use the representative certification provided for in the Interim Final Rule. The Department is also requesting comments on the appropriateness of requiring foreign governments to submit the certification provided for in the Interim Final Rule, as discussed in more detail below. The Department is not soliciting comments with respect to any other issues concerning the Interim Final Rule as the deadline for such comments has expired.

NMFS revises the reporting requirements for vessels issued Atlantic herring (herring) permits, because more timely catch information is necessary to monitor herring catch against the stock- wide herring annual catch limit (ACL) and herring management area sub- ACLs, to help prevent sub-ACLs overages and the chance of premature fishery closures. This action requires limited access herring vessels to report catch daily via vessel monitoring systems (VMS), open access herring vessels to report catch weekly via the interactive voice response (IVR) system, and all herring-permitted vessels to submit vessel trip reports (VTRs) weekly.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling and revising a public meeting of its Joint Skate/Whiting Committee and Whiting Advisory Panel on September 14, 2011 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.

The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee (RE&EEAC) will hold a meeting to deliver 11 recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce and other U.S. agencies' officials regarding the development and administration of programs and policies to enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, including specific challenges associated with exporting. The Committee will also discuss its workplan for the remainder of its 2011-2012 charter.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) seeks public comments on the effect of existing foreign policy- based export controls in the Export Administration Regulations. BIS requests comments to comply with the requirements of Section 6 of the Export Administration Act (EAA) which requires BIS to consult with industry on the effect of such controls and report to Congress the results of that consultation. Comments from all interested persons are welcome. All comments will be made available for public inspection and copying and included in a report to be submitted to Congress.