Department of Commerce May 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) for the commercial sector for yellowtail snapper in the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ). NMFS projects that commercial landings of yellowtail snapper will reach the commercial annual catch limit (ACL) for the August 2017 through July 2018 fishing year by June 5, 2018. Therefore, NMFS closes the commercial sector for yellowtail snapper in the South Atlantic EEZ on June 5, 2018, and it will remain closed until August 1, 2018, the start of the August 2018 through July 2019 fishing year. This closure is necessary to protect the South Atlantic yellowtail snapper resource.

The NMFS Assistant Administrator (Assistant Administrator) has issued a five-year affirmative finding for the Government of El Salvador under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). This affirmative finding will allow importation into the United States of yellowfin tuna and yellowfin tuna products harvested in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) in compliance with the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP) by purse seine vessels operating under Salvadoran jurisdiction or exported from El Salvador. NMFS bases the affirmative finding determination on reviews of documentary evidence submitted by the Government of El Salvador and by information obtained from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC).

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.

Notice is hereby given that ABR, Inc. Environmental Research and Services, P.O. Box 80410, Fairbanks, AK 99708, has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on 12 species of marine mammals.

NMFS has received a request from United States Geological Survey (USGS) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to a marine geophysical survey in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorizations, and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

In planning for the future operational environmental satellite system to follow the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite SystemR Series (GOES-R, S, T, and U) and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1, 2, 3, and 4), beginning about 2028, NOAA has conducted a study of the NOAA Satellite Observing System Architecture (NSOSA). The development of a future system presents an opportunity to design a modern architecture by broadly examining instruments, services, platforms, and orbits, driven by user needs, new technology, and exploiting emerging space business models. The NSOSA study team developed and evaluated nearly 100 architecture alternatives, including partner and commercial contributions that are likely to become available. Through https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NESDIS- 2018-0053, the public can view the NOAA Satellite Observing System Architecture Study draft report, submit ideas, review submissions from other parties, and make comments. All comments are welcome. In particular, NOAA would like comments on the following areas: Did NOAA consider a sufficiently broad range of alternatives? Are the opportunities that the analysis identified as deserving of consideration consistent with your knowledge of the state of the space enterprise? Are there outcomes or options that you recommend for further analysis? What suggestions do you have on engagement with industry, including innovative capability development approaches, partnership opportunities, and business models that may inform NOAA's path forward? What suggestions do you have on engagement with the academic and research community and other stakeholders to ensure NOAA makes the best use of the outputs of this study? NOAA previously discussed the NSOSA study at the American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting in January 2018; these presentations are available at https://ams.confex.com/ams/98Annual/ meetingapp.cgi/Session/44459 and https://ams.confex.com/ams/98Annual/ meetingapp.cgi/Session/44460. NOAA will continue to engage the public regarding NOAA's future satellite architecture planning. NOAA will use the results of this public comment period and public event to shape follow-on engagements.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that fine denier polyester staple fiber (fine denier PSF) from the People's Republic of China (China) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair value. The period of investigation is October 1, 2016, through March 31, 2017.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that fine denier polyester staple fiber (fine denier PSF) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2016, through March 31, 2017.

On May 23, 2018, the Secretary of Commerce initiated an investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of automobiles, including cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks, and automotive parts. This investigation has been initiated under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended. Interested parties are invited to submit written comments, data, analyses, or other information pertinent to the investigation to the Department of Commerce by June 22, 2018. Rebuttal comments will be due by July 6, 2018. The Department of Commerce will also hold a public hearing on the investigation on July 19 and 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. This notice identifies the issues on which the Department is interested in obtaining the public's views. It also sets forth the procedures for public participation in the hearing.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) proposes to amend the Rules of Practice in Trademark Cases and the Rules of Practice in Filings Pursuant to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks to mandate electronic filing of trademark applications and submissions associated with trademark applications and registrations, and to require the designation of an email address for receiving USPTO correspondence. This proposed rule would further advance the USPTO's IT strategy to achieve complete end-to-end electronic processing of trademark-related submissions, thereby improving administrative efficiency by facilitating electronic file management, optimizing workflow processes, and reducing processing errors.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Skate 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 is currently seeking applications for membership on the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (Board). The purpose of the Board is to advise the Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to the U.S. travel and tourism industry.

NMFS published a document in the Federal Register on May 22, 2018, and the document contained outdated information and this document has been corrected and is republished in its entirety. NMFS has received a request from Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Seattle Multimodal Project at Colman Dock in Seattle, Washington. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities.

On February 12, 2018, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) published the preliminary results of the 2016-2017 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on light-walled rectangular pipe and tube (LWRPT) from Turkey. Although invited to do so, interested parties did not comment on the preliminary results of this review. Therefore, we have adopted the preliminary results in these final results of the review.

NMFS proposes to implement annual management measures and catch limits for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine (hereafter, Pacific sardine), for the fishing year from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019. The proposed action would prohibit directed commercial fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, except in the live bait, tribal, or minor directed fisheries, or as incidental catch in other fisheries. The incidental harvest of Pacific sardine would initially be limited to 40- percent by weight of all fish per trip when caught with other CPS or up to 2 metric tons (mt) when caught with non-CPS. The proposed annual catch limit (ACL) for the 2018-2019 Pacific sardine fishing year is 7,000 mt. This proposed rule is intended to conserve and manage the Pacific sardine stock off the U.S. West Coast.

On June 1, 2010 NOAA and its co-members of the Portland Harbor Trustee Council (Trustee Council) published the ``Portland Harbor Superfund Site Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan'', which set forward the Trustee Council's approach for assessing natural resource damages at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site in cooperation with potentially responsible parties in order to resolve natural resource damages liability through legal settlements. Through today's notice, NOAA is announcing: (1) An addendum to the plan that provides for additional efforts to complete the assessment of natural resource damages for lost ecological and human use services resulting from releases of hazardous substances and oil to the lower Willamette River in Portland, Oregon; and (2) a provision of a 30-day period for public comment on the addendum.

NMFS announces a public meeting of the Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC) to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) on June 29, 2018.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) has completed the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on polyethylene retail carrier bags from Malaysia for the period of review (POR) August 1, 2016, through July 31, 2017. We continue to find that Euro SME Sdn Bhd (Euro SME) did not have shipments of subject merchandise during the POR.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE), produced in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) using carbon hot-rolled steel (HRS) or cold-rolled steel (CRS) flat products manufactured in the People's Republic of China (China), are circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on CORE from China.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meetings of the following: Personnel Committee (Closed Session); Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) Selection Committee (Closed Session); Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) Committee (Partially Closed Session); Citizen Science Committee (Partially Closed Session); Spiny Lobster Committee; Law Enforcement Commitment; Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-Based Management Committee; Snapper Grouper Committee; Joint Habitat Ecosystem, Shrimp, and Golden Crab Committees; Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Committee; Mackerel Cobia Committee; Standard Operating, Policy, and Procedure (SOPPs) Committee; and the Executive Finance Committee. The Council will meet as a Committee of the Whole to address the Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) Control Rule and have a meeting of the full Council. The Council will also hold an informal Question and Answer Session, a formal public comment session, and take action as necessary. A For- Hire Electronic Reporting Outreach Training Session will also be held.

NMFS reopens the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Georgia in the South Atlantic to trawling for penaeid shrimp, i.e., for brown, pink, and white shrimp. NMFS previously closed penaeid shrimp trawling in the EEZ off Georgia on January 24, 2018. The reopening is intended to maximize harvest benefits while protecting the penaeid shrimp resource.