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

On November 3, 2011, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published in the Federal Register the amended final results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on polyethylene retail carrier bags from Thailand for the period August 1, 2009, through July 31, 2010. The notice did not include the names and margins of two companies subject to the amended final results of the review. The names and the respective margins are indicated below.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, and implementing regulations, notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to the U.S. Navy (Navy) to take marine mammals incidental to Navy training and research activities to be conducted within the Northwest Training Range Complex (NWTRC), off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and northern California. These activities are considered military readiness activities pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2004 (NDAA).

NMFS announces that the Hudson Canyon Scallop Access Area will close to Limited Access General Category IFQ scallop vessels for the remainder of the 2011 fishing year. As of November 12, 2011, no scallop vessel fishing under Limited Access General Category IFQ regulations may declare its intent to enter or fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Hudson Canyon Scallop Access Area. This action will prevent the allocation of LAGC IFQ trips in the Hudson Canyon Scallop Access Area from being exceeded during the 2011 fishing year.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is currently conducting a new shipper review (NSR) of the antidumping duty order on chlorinated isocyanurates from the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the period of June 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010. As discussed below, we preliminarily determine that the producer and exporter Heze Huayi Chemical Co. Ltd. (Heze Huayi) did not satisfy the regulatory requirements to request a new shipper review; therefore, we are preliminarily rescinding this new shipper review. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results. See ``Comments'' section below. If these preliminary results are adopted in our final results of this review, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate Heze Huayi's entries of subject merchandise during the period of review (POR).

NMFS apportions amounts of the non-specified reserve to the initial total allowable catch of Pacific ocean perch in the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. This action is necessary to allow fishing operations to continue. It is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the fishery management plan for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) publishes this final rule to amend certain requirements in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that apply to the Principality of Liechtenstein (Liechtenstein). In this final rule, BIS aligns license requirements and licensing policy under the EAR for Liechtenstein with those for Switzerland. As a result, for purposes of the EAR, Liechtenstein will be treated the same as Switzerland. By virtue of a Customs Union Treaty with Switzerland, Liechtenstein has adopted the export controls implemented under Swiss law, including controls equivalent to those prescribed under multilateral regimes, and has authorized Switzerland to administer and enforce export controls within Liechtenstein's territory. As a result of this arrangement, Liechtenstein and Switzerland serve as one territory for customs and export purposes. Having recently been made aware of the full scope of this arrangement and its consequences on export controls, BIS has determined that it is appropriate to codify the treatment of Liechtenstein and Switzerland as one territory for purposes of the EAR. This treatment of Liechtenstein is consistent with the effort of the United States to streamline licensing requirements where export controls prescribed by the multilateral regimes are implemented.

NMFS and the Pacific Fishery Management Council announce their intent to prepare an EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 to analyze the impacts on the human (biological, physical, social, and economic) environment of setting harvest specifications (including Overfishing Limits (OFLs), Acceptable Biological Catches (ABCs), and Annual Catch Limits (ACLs)) and management measures for 2013 and 2014, pursuant to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan.

This action serves as a notice that NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), has determined that Pacific ocean perch, (Sebastes alutus), which is managed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council, is in an overfished condition. NMFS notifies the appropriate fishery management council (Council) whenever it determines that overfishing is occurring, a stock is in an overfished condition, or a stock is approaching an overfished condition.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is publishing this notice on behalf of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to announce the availability of and request comments on the technical reports that will be presented at NFPA's 2012 Fall Revision Cycle.

Notice is hereby given that Sea World, Inc., Sea World, Inc., 9205 South Park Center Loop, Suite 400, Orlando, FL 32819 (Brad Andrews, Responsible Party), has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on and enhancement of Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) in permanent captivity.

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 (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Research Steering Committee (Committee), in November, 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 New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) VMS/ Enforcement Committee and Advisory Panel with the United States Coast Guard will hold a Commercial Fishing Gear Stowage Workshop to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

NMFS is updating the anticipated effective date of smoothhound shark management measures implemented in the Final Rule for Amendment 3 to the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) that published on June 1, 2010, and were corrected on August 17, 2010. These measures originally were to be effective around April 2012, before the beginning of the 2012 fishing year. However, the recently enacted Shark Conservation Act of 2010 requires NMFS to re-evaluate its shark management measures. The effective date will therefore be later than originally thought to fully consider the Shark Conservation Act implications and to allow time for the Section 7 consultation under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to be completed. This rule also removes and reserves the smoothhound shark regulations. These sections will be returned, with amendments as needed, in a final rule that implements both the smoothhound shark sections of the Shark Conservation Act and any requirements of the Section 7 consultation regarding smoothhound sharks.

On September 14, 2011, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published in the Federal Register the final results of administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain preserved mushrooms from the People's Republic of China (PRC). See Certain Preserved Mushrooms From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Rescission in Part, 76 FR 56732 (September 14, 2011) (Final Results). The period of review is February 1, 2009, through January 31, 2010. We are amending our final results to correct a ministerial error.

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.

On October 24, 2011, the United States Court of International Trade (``CIT''). sustained the Department of Commerce's (``the Department'') results of redetermination pursuant to the CIT's remand order in Calgon Carbon Corporation, et al. v. United States, Consol. Court No. 09-00524 (February 17, 2011) (``Remand'').\1\

As a result of the determinations by the Department of Commerce (``Department'') and the International Trade Commission (``ITC'') that revocation of the antidumping duty order on artist canvas from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') would likely lead to a continuation or recurrence of dumping and material injury to an industry in the United States, the Department is publishing a notice of continuation of the antidumping duty order.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (MAFMC) Summer Flounder Monitoring Committee, Scup Monitoring Committee, Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee, and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Council's and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisors will hold public meetings.

NMFS received an application from Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to offshore exploration drilling on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leases in the Chukchi Sea, Alaska. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to Shell to take, by Level B harassment only, 12 species of marine mammals during the specified activity.