Department of Commerce March 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In this final rule, NMFS establishes requirements for fishing in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument Expansion. This final rule implements fishery management measures required by Presidential Proclamation 9173.

NIST announces the Synthetic Biology Standards Consortium (SBSC)Kick-off Workshop to be held on Tuesday March 31, 2015 from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Pacific time. The SBSC will be convened as a standards setting consortium focused on the shared standards development needs of consortium participants. It will provide safe harbor for collaborative work through the formation of technical standards-setting working groups. Successful working groups will be organized around a clear vision of specific metrology productsstandards, including reference materials, reference data, reference methods, and documentary standardsthat will enable interoperability and reproducibility. The goal of the workshop is to identify several initial working groups with critical mass, leadership teams, and a clear path forward to deliver standards that support the growth of the bioeconomy.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain lined paper products (CLPP) from India.\1\ The period of review (POR) is September 1, 2013, through August 31, 2014, and the Department initiated the review with respect to seven companies.\2\ We are rescinding the review with respect to three companies for which review requests were timely withdrawn.\3\

We, NMFS, announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in the Baltic Sea as an endangered or threatened distinct population segment (DPS) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. We conducted a DPS analysis based on our joint U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NMFS DPS Policy. Based on the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that the harbor porpoise population in the Baltic Sea is not a DPS because it does not meet the criterion for significance outlined by our DPS Policy. Thus, we find this population is not warranted for listing.

On November 24, 2014, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') published in the Federal Register the preliminary results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on magnesium metal from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') covering the period April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014.\1\ This review covers two PRC producer/exporters, Tianjin Magnesium International, Co., Ltd. (``TMI'') and Tianjin Magnesium Metal, Co., Ltd. (``TMM''). The Department gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on the Preliminary Results, but we received no comments. Hence, these final results are unchanged from the Preliminary Results, and we continue to find that TMI and TMM did not have reviewable entries during the period of review (``POR'').

NMFS announces the receipt of an application for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MS DMR). If granted, the EFP would authorize the applicant to collect red drum in Federal waters using state of MS-licensed charter and headboat vessels (for-hire vessels). The purpose of this study is to collect population data specific to the genetics, age and growth, reproduction, and food habits of adult red drum in Federal waters where harvest is currently prohibited. The data would then be used to support future stock assessment information for red drum.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Research Steering Committee.

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 Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. This Exempted Fishing Permit would allow one commercial fishing vessel to fish outside of the limited access scallop days-at-sea program in support of research conducted by the National Fisheries Institute that is investigating scallop incidental mortality in the scallop dredge fishery. Additionally, the Exempted Fishing Permit would exempt participating vessels from the crew size restriction; mesh size restrictions; obstruction in gear restrictions; and possession limits and minimum size requirements for sampling purposes only. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed Exempted Fishing Permits.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold six scoping hearings in April 2015 for an Amendment to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish (MSB). The current focus of the amendment is to consider alternatives to reduce the capacities of the longfin squid and Illex squid fleets as defined by vessels with limited access permits. At the scoping hearings the Council will also take any general comments on MSB fishery management, which could inform future Council actions besides this Amendment. There will also be a separate written comment period for Amendment scoping, which will be described in an upcoming Federal Register announcement as a ``Notice of Intent (NOI)'' to potentially develop an EIS that accompanies the Amendment. That NOI will also contain information regarding these scoping hearings, but to provide the public with sufficient advance notice of the hearings, this notice is being published now since the NOI will likely publish shortly before the scoping hearings.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a meeting of its Habitat and Environmental Protection (Habitat) Advisory Panel (AP) in N. Charleston, SC. The meeting is open to the public.

The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas; hereafter referred to as the green turtle) is currently listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a threatened species, with the exception of the Florida and Mexican Pacific coast breeding populations, which are listed as endangered. We, NMFS and USFWS, find that the green turtle is composed of 11 distinct population segments (DPSs) that qualify as ``species'' for listing under the ESA. We propose to remove the current range-wide listing and, in its place, list eight DPSs as threatened and three as endangered. We also propose to apply existing protective regulations to the DPSs. We solicit comments on these proposed actions. Although not determinable at this time, designation of critical habitat may be prudent, and we solicit relevant information for those DPSs occurring within U.S. jurisdiction. In the interim, we propose to continue the existing critical habitat designation (i.e., waters surrounding Culebra Island, Puerto Rico) in effect for the North Atlantic DPS. This proposed rule also constitutes the 12-month finding on a petition to reclassify the Hawaiian green turtle population as a DPS and to delist that DPS. Although we find the Hawaiian green turtle population to constitute a DPS (referred to in this proposed rule as the Central North Pacific DPS), we do not find delisting warranted. A public hearing will be held in Hawai`i. Interested parties may provide oral or written comments at this hearing.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily determines that de minimis countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of welded line pipe from the Republic of Korea (Korea). The period of investigation is January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2013. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies 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 United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

We are issuing this notice to advise the public that NMFS has prepared a new Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in response to the Makah Tribe's request that NMFS waive the take moratorium of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to allow for treaty right hunting of eastern North Pacific (ENP) gray whales in usual and accustomed grounds off the coast of Washington State. We are requesting written comments on the DEIS and announcing the dates and locations of two public meetings regarding the DEIS.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) publishes this notice to solicit comments on the draft NOAA Education Strategic Plan (Plan). NOAA received broad legislative authority from Congress through the America COMPETES Act (2007, 2010) to conduct, develop, support, promote, and coordinate formal and informal education activities at all levels to enhance public awareness and understanding of ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and atmospheric science and stewardship by the general public and other coastal stakeholders, including underrepresented groups in ocean and atmospheric science and policy careers. The revision of the Plan establishes the goals for NOAA education programs for the next twenty years with revisions to the Plan every five years. NOAA is seeking broad public review of the NOAA Education Strategic Plan, and encourages all stakeholders and users to review the Plan and provide comments. All comments received will be reviewed and considered in the final drafting of the NOAA Education Strategic Plan.

Notice is hereby given that James Shine, Ph.D., Harvard University School of Public Health, 401 Park Drive, 404H West, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, and the NMFS Forensics Office, 219 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, have applied for amendments to their respective permits, Scientific Research Permit Nos. 17278 and 17557.

NMFS has received a request from SAExploration Inc. (SAE) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to a proposed oil and gas exploration seismic survey program in Cook Inlet, Alaska between April 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to SAE to incidentally take marine mammals, by Level B harassment only, during the specified activity.

The Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF) is requesting comment to identify substantive cybersecurity issues that affect the digital ecosystem and digital economic growth where broad consensus, coordinated action, and the development of best practices could substantially improve security for organizations and consumers. The IPTF invites public comment on these issues from all stakeholders with an interest in cybersecurity, including the commercial, academic and civil society sectors, and from relevant federal, state, local, and tribal entities.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes its final Annual Determination (AD) for 2015, pursuant to its authority under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Through the AD, NMFS identifies U.S. fisheries operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific Ocean that will be required to take observers upon NMFS' request. The purpose of observing identified fisheries is to learn more about sea turtle interactions in a given fishery, evaluate measures to prevent or reduce sea turtle takes, and implement the prohibition against sea turtle takes. Fisheries identified on the 2015 AD (see Table 1) will be eligible to carry observers as of January 1, 2015 and will remain on the AD for a five-year period. The fisheries listed on the final determination will be required to carry observers upon NMFS' request until December 31, 2019.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory committees will hold public meetings.