Department of Commerce February 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that permits or permit amendments or modifications have been issued to the following entities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as applicable.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) hereby publishes a list of scope rulings and anti-circumvention determinations made during the period July 1, 2019 through September 30, 2019. We intend to publish future lists after the close of the next calendar quarter.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meetings of the following: Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-Based Management Committee; Mackerel Cobia Committee; Shrimp Committee; Dolphin Wahoo Committee; Statement of Organization Practices and Procedures (SOPPs) Committee (Closed Session); Executive Finance Committee; and Snapper Grouper Committee. The meeting week will also include a meeting of the Committee of the Whole, a formal public comment session, and a meeting of the Full Council.

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

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) has begun its annual preseason management process for the 2020 ocean salmon fisheries off the U.S. West Coast. This notice informs the public of opportunities to provide comments on the development of 2020 ocean salmon management measures.

NMFS has received a request from Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC (Atlantic Shores) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to marine site characterization surveys off the coasts of New York and New Jersey in the area of the Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS-A 0499) and along potential submarine cable routes to a landfall location in New York or New Jersey. 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 is also requesting comments on a possible one-year renewal that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request for Public Comments at the end of this notice. 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.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that in the countervailing duty investigations on utility scale wind towers (wind towers), critical circumstances exist with respect to imports of wind towers from Indonesia and do not exist with respect to imports of wind towers from Canada or the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam).

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) has completed its administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain tool chests and cabinets (tool chests) from the People's Republic of China (China). The period of review (POR) is September 15, 2017 through December 31, 2018. We have determined that Zhongshan Geelong Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Geelong), the sole producer subject to this administrative review, received countervailable subsidies during the POR.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that Pidilite Industries Limited (Pidilite), a producer/exporter of carbazole violet pigment 23 (CVP 23) from the Republic of India (India) received countervailable subsidies during the period of review (POR) January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

On behalf of the Ocean Policy Committee, Ocean Science and Technology Subcommittee and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) as Co-Chairs of the Ocean Policy Committee, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) requests input from all interested parties on the development of a National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (U.S. EEZ). Through this Request for Information (RFI), the Ocean Policy Committee seeks input from the public on ways to map, explore, and characterize the U.S. EEZ; that is, to reveal the terrain of the ocean floor and identify areas of particular interest, and to identify and evaluate natural and cultural resources within these areas. The public input provided in response to this RFI will inform the Ocean Policy Committee as it works with Federal agencies and other stakeholders to develop the strategy.

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.

On January 9, 2020, the United States Court of International Trade (the Court) sustained the final results of redetermination pertaining to the antidumping duty (AD) investigation of certain carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate (CTL plate) from Taiwan. The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is notifying the public that the final judgment in this case is not in harmony with the Amended Final Determination in the investigation of CTL plate from Taiwan, and that Commerce is amending the Amended Final Determination with respect to the application of partial adverse facts available (AFA) in making our difference-in-merchandise adjustment.

This action corrects errors in the comment identifier and the comments link specified in the ADDRESSES section of the proposed rule to implement permitting and reporting for private recreational tilefish vessel published in the Federal Register on January 29, 2020.

On December 19, 2019, NMFS received a request from the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) to modify an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) that was issued to CBJ on May 16, 2019 to take small numbers of harbor seals, by harassment, incidental to the Juneau dock and harbor waterfront improvement project. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to modify the IHA. This modification includes changes to the prescribed mitigation and to the amount of authorized take by Level A harassment. The total amount of authorized taking remains the same. There are no changes to the activity, NMFS' findings, the effective dates of the issued IHA, or any other aspect of the IHA. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the requested modification of the authorization and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty (AD) order on certain softwood lumber products (softwood lumber) from Canada. The period of review (POR) is June 30, 2017 through December 31, 2018. Commerce preliminarily determines that the producers/exporters subject to this review made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain producers and exporters of certain hardwood plywood products (hardwood plywood) from the People's Republic of China (China) made sales of subject merchandise at prices below normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR) June 23, 2017 through December 31, 2018. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that sales of circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe (CWP) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been made below normal value. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

The Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (ITA), requests nominations for the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (``The Committee''). The Committee was established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The Committee was first chartered on November 21, 2011, and subsequently renewed on November 20, 2013, November 17, 2015, and November 16, 2017. The Department of Commerce most recently renewed the Committee for another two-year term beginning on November 14, 2019. The Committee has functioned effectively, and the Department has an on-going need for consensus advice regarding U.S. supply chain competitiveness. The Committee advises the Secretary on the necessary elements of a comprehensive policy approach to supply chain competitiveness designed to support U.S. export growth and national economic competitiveness, encourage innovation, facilitate the movement of goods, and improve the competitiveness of U.S. supply chains for goods and services in the domestic and global economy; and provides advice to the Secretary on regulatory policies and programs and investment priorities that affect the competitiveness of U.S. supply chains. The Department is seeking nominations for the rechartered Committee.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Highly Migratory Species Advisory Subpanel (HMSAS) and HMS Management Team (HMSMT) will hold a webinar, which is open to the public.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Hawaii Archipelago Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) Advisory Panel (AP), American Samoa FEP AP, Mariana Archipelago FEP- Guam AP, and Mariana Archipelago FEP-Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) AP to discuss and make recommendations on fishery management issues in the Western Pacific Region.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Ecosystem Workgroup (EWG) will hold a webinar, which is open to the public.

Notice is hereby given that Sarah Conner, Wild Space Productions, St. Stephens House, Colston Avenue, Bristol, BS1 4ST, United Kingdom, has applied for an amendment to Permit No. 23467.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) requests comments on proposed revisions to regulations updating policy guidance on Federal agency use of conformity assessment that reflects advancement in conformity assessment concepts, and the evolution in Federal agency strategies and coordination in using and relying on conformity assessment. The provisions are solely intended to be used as guidance for agencies in their use and reliance on conformity assessment to meet agency requirements and do not preempt the agency authority and responsibility to make decisions authorized by statute or required in establishing regulatory, procurement, or programmatic activities.