Department of Commerce December 20, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On August 1, 2013, the Department of Commerce (``Department'') initiated a sunset review of the countervailing duty order on certain new pneumatic off-the-road tires (OTR Tires) from the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Department finds that revocation of this countervailing duty order (CVD) would be likely to lead to the continuation or recurrence of net countervailable subsidies at the rates in the ``Final Results of Review'' section of this notice.

On November 25, 2013, the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration published a notice in the Federal Register (78 FR 70275) soliciting applications for membership on the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (Board). The November 25, 2013 notice provided that all applications must be received by the Office of Advisory Committees of the Department of Commerce by close of business on December 18, 2013. This notice extends the deadline for application for membership on the Board through close of business on January 17, 2014. The eligibility and evaluation criteria contained in the November 25, 2013 notice shall continue to apply.

This final rule implements the commercial quotas for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries for 2014, 2015, and 2016. The quotas are unchanged from the quotas for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 fishing years. This action sets allowable harvest levels of Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs, prevents overfishing, and allows harvesting of optimum yield. This action also continues to suspend the minimum shell size for Atlantic surfclams for the 2014 fishing year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invite public comment on the intent of the two agencies to find that Oregon has failed to submit an approvable Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program. The Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments (CZARA) directs states and territories with coastal zone management programs previously approved under Section 306 of the Coastal Zone Management Act to develop and implement coastal nonpoint programs, which must be submitted to NOAA and EPA for approval. Prior to making such a finding, NOAA and EPA invite public input on the two federal agencies' reasoning particularly because, among other things, a finding that a state has failed to submit an approvable program would lead to adverse financial consequences for the State in terms of federal grant funding.