Department of Commerce April 17, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On October 30, 2013, the Department of Commerce (``Department'') initiated a changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on certain new pneumatic off-the-road tires (``OTR tires'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') to determine whether Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd. (``Shandong Linglong'') is the successor-in-interest to Zhaoyuan Leo Rubber Co., Ltd. (``Leo Rubber''), for the purpose of determining antidumping duty liability.\1\ We preliminarily determine that Shandong Linglong is the successor-in-interest to Leo Rubber, and thus entitled to use Leo Rubber's separate rate. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is hosting a forum to receive public feedback from organizations and individuals on its guidance memorandum titled, ``Guidance For Determining Subject Matter Eligibility of Claims Reciting or Involving Laws of Nature, Natural Phenomena, and Natural Products (Laws of Nature/Natural Products Guidance),'' issued on March 4, 2014 and available at www.uspto.gov/patents/announce/myriad-mayo.jsp. The Laws of Nature/Natural Products Guidance implemented a new procedure to address changes in the law relating to subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. 101 in view of recent Supreme Court precedent. The forum will be open for any member of the public to participate. The forum will provide an opportunity for participants to present their interpretation of the impact of Supreme Court precedent on the complex legal and technical issues involved in subject matter eligibility analyses during patent examination. Participants who believe that the Supreme Court decisions could be implemented in an alternative manner from the approach taken in the Laws of Nature/Natural Products Guidance should use the forum to present their alternative approach and the legal rationale for the alternative. The forum also can be used by participants to suggest additional examples for use by the Office to create a more complete picture of the impact of Supreme Court precedent on subject matter eligibility.

On March 18, 2013 (78 FR 16622), NOAA proposed to prohibit the introduction of introduced species into the state waters of Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay national marine sanctuaries (GFNMS and MBNMS, respectively). On March 27, 2014 (79 FR 17073) NOAA proposed to amend the March 2013 proposed rule to allow GFNMS and MBNMS to authorize certain introduced species of shellfish from commercial mariculture projects in all state waters of the sanctuaries. The comment period on this amendment closed on April 11, 2014. In response to significant public interest in this amended proposed action, NOAA is re-opening the public comment period until May 5, 2014.

The NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) announces its intent to evaluate the performance of the Massachusetts, Texas, and Michigan Coastal Management Programs. The Coastal Zone Management Program evaluations will be conducted pursuant to section 312 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended (CZMA) and regulations at 15 CFR part 923, Subpart L. The CZMA requires continuing review of the performance of states with respect to coastal program implementation. Evaluation of a Coastal Management Program requires findings concerning the extent to which a state has met the national objectives, adhered to its Coastal Management Program document approved by the Secretary of Commerce, and adhered to the terms of financial assistance awards funded under the CZMA. The evaluations will include a public meeting, consideration of written public comments and consultations with interested Federal, state, and local agencies and members of the public. When the evaluation is completed, OCRM will place a notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the Final Evaluation Findings. Notice is hereby given of the date, local time, and location of the public meeting. Date and Time: The Massachusetts Coastal Management Program public meeting will be held on Thursday, June 5th at 4:30 p.m. local time at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, 2nd Floor Conference Room D, 100 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114. A picture ID is required for building entry. The Michigan Coastal Management Program public meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 4th, at 5:00 p.m. local time at Lansing Community College-West Campus, 5708 Cornerstone Drive, Room M119Section 1, Lansing, Michigan, 48917. The Texas Coastal Management Program public meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 4th, at 5:00 p.m. local time at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi Natural Resources Center, 6300 Ocean Drive, Room 1003, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412.

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 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposes to amend the Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Plan (BDTRP) and its implementing regulations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The amendment is needed to reduce incidental serious injury and mortality of strategic stocks of bottlenose dolphins in Virginia pound net fishing gear, and to provide consistent state and federal regulations for Virginia pound net fishing gear. This rule proposes the year-round use of modified pound net leaders for offshore Virginia pound nets in specified waters of the lower mainstem Chesapeake Bay and coastal state waters. Virginia pound net-related definitions, gear prohibitions, and non-regulatory measures are also proposed. Both regulatory and non-regulatory measures proposed in this rule are based on the Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Team's (BDTRT) consensus recommendations. For consistency, NMFS also proposes to amend current regulations and definitions for Virginia pound nets under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for sea turtle conservation.