Department of Commerce April 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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)).

NMFS issues a proposed rule that would implement Amendment 97 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). If approved, Amendment 97 would allow the owners of trawl catcher/processor vessels authorized to participate in the Amendment 80 catch share program to replace these vessels with vessels that meet certain requirements. This proposed action includes management measures that would establish the requirements for replacement vessels, such as a limit on the overall length of replacement vessels, measures to prevent replaced vessels from participating in Federal groundfish fisheries off Alaska that are not Amendment 80 fisheries, and specific catch limits known as Amendment 80 sideboards for replacement vessels. This action is necessary to promote safety-at-sea, by allowing Amendment 80 vessel owners to replace their vessels for any reason at any time and by requiring replacement vessels to meet certain U.S. Coast Guard vessel safety standards, and is intended to facilitate an increase in the processing capabilities of the fleet to improve the retention and utilization of groundfish catch by these vessels. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws.

NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is transferring a portion of its 2012 commercial summer flounder quota to the Commonwealth of Virginia. The State of North Carolina is also retroactively transferring a portion of its 2011 commercial summer flounder quota to the Commonwealth of Virginia. NMFS is adjusting the quotas and announcing the revised commercial quota for each state involved.

The Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO), housed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), announces the first of a series of public workshops entitled ``Designing for Impact: Workshop on Building the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation.'' The workshops will provide a forum for the AMPNO to introduce the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) and its regional components, Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation (IMIs). The workshops will also provide a forum for public discussion of this new initiative, which President Obama announced on March 9, 2012. The discussion will focus on the following topics: Technologies with Broad Impact, Institute Structure and Governance, Strategies for Sustainable Institute Operations, and Education and Workforce Development.

This notice sets forth the schedule and agenda for an open meeting of the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (Board). The agenda may change to accommodate Board business. The final agenda will be posted on the Department of Commerce Web site for the Board at https://tinet.ita.doc.gov/TTAB/TTAB_Home.html, at least one week in advance of the meeting.

This temporary rule implements interim Gulf of Maine (GOM) Atlantic cod (cod) management measures for the 2012 fishing year. This action is necessary to: Establish GOM cod Annual Catch Limits (ACLs); implement recreational management measures that will constrain catch to the recreational sub-ACL; and reduce overfishing occurring on GOM cod in anticipation of further action to end overfishing in fishing year 2013.

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, as amended.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) has received a request for a new shipper review (NSR) of the antidumping duty order on certain preserved mushrooms from the People's Republic of China (PRC). In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.214(d), we are initiating an antidumping duty NSR of Shandong Yinfeng Rare Fungus Co., Ltd. (Yinfeng). The period of review (POR) of this NSR is February 1, 2011, through January 31, 2012.

We, NMFS, announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Upper Klamath and Trinity Rivers Basin (UKTR) as threatened or endangered and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We have reviewed the status of the UKTR Chinook salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) and considered the best scientific and commercial data available, and conclude that the petitioned action is not warranted. In reaching this conclusion, we conclude that spring-run and fall-run Chinook salmon in the UKTR Basin constitute a single ESU. Based on a comprehensive review of the best scientific and commercial data currently available, and consistent with the 1998 status review and listing determination for the UKTR Chinook salmon ESU, the overall extinction risk of the ESU is considered to be low over the next 100 years. Based on these considerations and others described in this notice, we conclude this ESU is not in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, nor is it likely to become so in the foreseeable future.

The Department published the preliminary results of a changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on low enriched uranium (LEU) from France on February 10, 2012,\1\ in which the Department preliminarily determined that it is appropriate to issue, for this entry only, an amendment to the scope of the order to extend by 18 months the deadline otherwise applicable to Eurodif S.A. and AREVA NP Inc. (collectively, AREVA), for the re-exportation of one entry of LEU. We invited parties to comment. Based on comments submitted by the parties, the Department is making no changes to the Preliminary Results.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), are issuing a final rule under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended, that redefines the geographic range of the endangered Central California Coast (CCC) coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) to include all naturally spawned populations of coho salmon that occur in Soquel and Aptos creeks. Information supporting this boundary change includes recent observations of coho salmon in Soquel Creek, genetic analysis of these fish indicating they are derived from other nearby populations in the ESU, and the presence of freshwater habitat conditions and watershed processes in Soquel and Aptos Creeks that are similar to those found in closely adjacent watersheds that support coho salmon populations that are part of the ESU. We have also reassessed the status of this ESU throughout its redefined range and conclude that it continues to be endangered.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is hosting the Council Coordination Committee (CCC) meeting on Tuesday May 1, 2012 through Thursday May 3, 2012, in Hawaii. The purpose of the meeting is to enable NMFS and NOAA officials and others to exchange information with the Regional Fishery Council Chairs and Executive Directors.

This notice is a call for nominees for the U.S. Delegation to the July 2012 International Whaling Commission (IWC) annual meeting. The non-federal representative(s) selected as a result of this nomination process is(are) responsible for providing input and recommendations to the U.S. IWC Commissioner representing the positions of non-governmental organizations. Generally, only one non-governmental position is selected for the U.S. Delegation.

The Department of Commerce (``Department'') is extending the time limit for the preliminary results of the administrative review of certain polyester staple fiber from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). This review covers the period June 1, 2010, through May 31, 2011.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain welded carbon steel standard pipe from Turkey for the period January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010. We preliminarily find that the net subsidy rate for both companies under review is de minimis. See the ``Preliminary Results of Review'' section below. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results. See the ``Public Comment'' section, infra.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels (CVs) using trawl gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2012 Pacific cod total allowable catch apportioned to CVs using trawl gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.