Department of Commerce 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks comments concerning U.S. technical participation in the 15th Conference of the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) held in Strasbourg, France, Wednesday, October 19 through Thursday, October 20, 2016. This conference is held once every four years and was last held in 2012. Interested parties are requested to review and submit comments on the 16 OIML Recommendations and Documents on legal measuring instruments that will be presented for ratification by the Conference. Comments may also be submitted on other issues relevant to the Conference.

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 4314(c)(4), the EDA, NTIA and BIS, Department of Commerce (DOC), announce the appointment of those individuals who have been selected to serve as members of the Performance Review Board. The Performance Review Board is responsible for (1) reviewing performance appraisals and ratings of Senior Executive Service (SES) members and (2) making recommendations to the appointing authority on other performance management issues, such as pay adjustments, bonuses and Presidential Rank Awards for SES members. The appointment of these members to the Performance Review Board will be for a period of twenty-four (24) months.

The International Trade Administration (ITA), Department of Commerce (DOC), announces the appointment of those individuals who have been selected to serve as members of ITA's Performance Review Board. The Performance Review Board is responsible for reviewing performance appraisals and rating of Senior Executive Service (SES) members and making recommendations to the appointing authority on other performance management issues, such as pay adjustments, bonuses and Presidential Rank Awards for SES members. The appointment of these members to the Performance Review Board will be for a period of twenty-four (24) months.

NMFS apportions amounts of the non-specified reserve to the initial total allowable catch (ITAC) of Bering Sea (BS) Pacific ocean perch, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Kamchatka flounder, BSAI ``other flatfish,'' BSAI northern rockfish, BSAI skates, BSAI sculpins, and BSAI squids in the BSAI management area. This action is necessary to allow the fisheries to continue operating. It is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the fishery management plan for the BSAI management area.

We, NMFS, are convening a workshop to solicit facts and information from experts to inform recovery planning for the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) insular false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) Distinct Population Segment (DPS). This workshop will be open to the public. We also request information that might inform the development of the recovery plan. On October 2, 2013, we published a Notice of Intent to prepare a Recovery Plan and Request for Information for this DPS. We received seven public comments in response to that notice, which remain relevant and will be considered in the recovery planning process. Because significant time has elapsed since this last request, we are requesting any additional information that has become available in the interim.

Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of Commerce (the Department) and the International Trade Commission (ITC), the Department is issuing countervailing duty (CVD) orders on certain hot-rolled steel flat products (hot-rolled steel) from Brazil and the Republic of Korea (Korea). In addition, the Department is amending its final affirmative determination with respect to Korea to correct the rate assigned to POSCO.

In accordance with the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''), the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is automatically initiating the five-year review (``Sunset Review'') of the antidumping and countervailing duty (``AD/CVD'') order(s) listed below. The International Trade Commission (``the Commission'') is publishing concurrently with this notice its notice of Institution of Five-Year Review which covers the same order(s).

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC).

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Scientific & Statistical Committee 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 Department of Commerce, 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.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), notification is hereby given that we have issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the U.S. Air Force 86 Fighter Weapons Squadron (86 FWS) to incidentally harass marine mammals during Long Range Strike Weapons System Evaluation Program (LRS WSEP) activities in the Barking Sands Underwater Range Extension (BSURE) area of the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Kauai, Hawaii.

Notice is hereby given that a permit has been issued to the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) Natural History Unit, 23 Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2LR, United Kingdom, commercial and educational photography on California sea lions (Zalophus californianus).

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 4314(c)(4), the Office of the Secretary, Department of Commerce (DOC), announces the appointment of those individuals who have been selected to serve as members of the Performance Review Board. The Performance Review Board is responsible for (1) reviewing performance appraisals and ratings of Senior Executive Service (SES) and Senior Level (SL) members and (2) making recommendations to the appointing authority on other performance management issues, such as pay adjustments, bonuses and Presidential Rank Awards. The appointment of these members to the Performance Review Board will be for a period of twenty-four (24) months.

Through this notice of proposed rulemaking (``NPRM''), the Economic Development Administration (``EDA''), U.S. Department of Commerce (``DOC''), proposes and requests comments on updates to the agency's regulations implementing the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, as amended (``PWEDA''). In particular, through this NPRM EDA is proposing important changes to the regulations governing the Revolving Loan Fund (``RLF'') program that are intended to reflect current best practices and strengthen EDA's efforts to evaluate, monitor, and improve RLF performance by establishing the Risk Analysis System, a risk-based management framework, to evaluate and manage the RLF program. The proposed Risk Analysis System is modeled on the Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System, commonly known as the capital adequacy, assets, management capability, earnings, liquidity, and sensitivity (``CAMELS'') rating system, which has been used since 1979 to assess financial institutions on a uniform basis and to identify those in need of additional attention. EDA also proposes to reorganize the RLF regulations to improve their readability and clarify the requirements that apply to the distinct phases of an RLF award. In addition, EDA proposes specific changes to RLF requirements to make RLF awards more efficient for Recipients to administer and EDA to monitor. In addition, through this NPRM EDA proposes important, but less comprehensive updates to other parts of its regulations, including revising definitions, replacing references to superseded regulations to reflect the promulgation of the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements (2 CFR part 200) (``Uniform Guidance''), streamlining the provisions that outline EDA's application process, and clarifying EDA's property management regulations.

NMFS issues this notice to inform interested parties that the California Pink Shrimp sub-loan in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Capacity Reduction (Buyback) Program has been repaid. Therefore, Buyback fee collections on California Pink Shrimp sub-loan will cease for all landings after August 31, 2016.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a four-day meeting to consider actions affecting the Gulf of Mexico fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

NMFS, in coordination with the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, intends to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to analyze the potential environmental impacts of a proposed Pacific Islands Region aquaculture management program and alternatives. The PEIS would support offshore aquaculture development, including appropriate management unit species for aquaculture, reasonably foreseeable types of offshore aquaculture operations, and permitting and reporting requirements for persons conducting aquaculture activities in Federal waters.

The Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) is giving notice of a meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations (NAC). The NAC will address policy, research, and technical issues relating to a full range of Census Bureau programs and activities, including communications, decennial, demographic, economic, field operations, geographic, information technology, and statistics. The NAC will meet in a plenary session on November 3-4, 2016. Last minute changes to the schedule are possible, which could prevent us from giving advance public notice of schedule adjustments. Please visit the Census Advisory Committees Web site for the most current meeting agenda at: https://www.census.gov/about/cac.html. The meeting will be available via webcast at: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/census- live.html or at https://www.ustream.tv/embed/6504322?wmode=direct.

Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS[supreg]) Advisory Committee (Committee) in Seattle, WA and La Push, WA.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that we have issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, seven species of marine mammals during activities associated with the East Span of the San Francisco- Oakland Bay Bridge (SFOBB) in the San Francisco Bay (SFB), California.

NMFS issues regulations to modify observer coverage requirements for catcher vessels participating in the trawl limited access fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This final rule allows the owner of a trawl catcher vessel to request, on an annual basis, that NMFS place the vessel in the full observer coverage category for all directed fishing for groundfish using trawl gear in the BSAI in the following calendar year. These regulations are necessary to relieve vessel owners who request full observer coverage of the reporting requirements and observer fee liability associated with the partial observer coverage category. Additionally, this final rule makes minor technical corrections to observer program regulations. This final rule is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP), and other applicable laws.