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

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is rescinding the administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain amorphous silica fabric (silica fabric) from the People's Republic of China (China) for the period January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019, based on the timely withdrawal of the request for review.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of two meetings of the Science Advisory Board (SAB). The members will discuss issues outlined in the section on Matters to be considered.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Herring Advisory Panel via webinar 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 South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a meeting of the South Atlantic Selectivity Workgroup via webinar to address gear selectivity for fishery stock assessments for species managed by the Council.

NMFS solicits nominations for the ``SEDAR Pool,'' also known as the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) Workshops Advisory Panel. The SEDAR Pool is comprised of a group of individuals who may be selected to consider data and advise NMFS regarding the scientific information, including but not limited to data and models, used in stock assessments for oceanic sharks in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea. Nominations are being sought for a 5-year appointment (2021-2026). Individuals with definable interests in the recreational and commercial fishing and related industries, environmental community, academia, and non-governmental organizations will be considered for membership on the SEDAR Pool.

NMFS has received a request from [Oslash]rsted Wind Power North America, LLC, ([Oslash]rsted) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to high-resolution geophysical (HRG) survey activities in coastal waters from New York to Massachusetts in certain areas of the Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). These areas are currently being leased by the Applicant's affiliates, Deepwater Wind New England, LLC, and Bay State Wind, LLC, respectively, and are identified as OCS-A 0486/0517, OCS-A 0487, and OCS-A 0500 (collectively referred to herein as the Lease Area). [Oslash]rsted is also planning to conduct marine site characterization surveys along one or more potential submarine export cable routes (ECRs) originating from the Lease Area and landing along the shore at locations from New York to Massachusetts, between Raritan Bay (part of the New York Bight) to Falmouth, Massachusetts. 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, by Level B harassment only, small numbers of marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible one-time 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.

NMFS announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, to analyze the potential short- and long-term impacts of the proposed action to issue an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP), on the human (biological, physical, social, and economic) environment. This notice of intent to prepare an EIS invites interested parties to provide comments on alternatives to be considered in an EIS, potential terms and conditions to minimize adverse effects to the environment, and to identify potential issues, concerns, and any reasonable additional alternatives that should be considered.

We, NMFS and USFWS, announce a 12-month finding on a petition to identify the Northwest Atlantic population of the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) as a distinct population segment (DPS) and list it as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In response to the petition, we completed a comprehensive status review of the species, which also constitutes the 5-year review of the species, to determine potential DPSs following the Policy Regarding the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate Population Segments Under the ESA and to perform extinction risk analyses. Based on the best scientific and commercial data available, including the Status Review Report, and after taking into account efforts made to protect the species, we conclude that seven populations would meet the discreteness and significance criteria for recognition as DPSs, including the Northwest Atlantic population. However, even if we were to list them separately, all seven DPSs would meet the definition for endangered species (i.e., they are in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range). The species is already listed as endangered throughout its range. We have determined that the listing of DPSs is not warranted, and therefore we do not propose any changes to the existing global listing.

NMFS is delaying the effective date of a final rule that published on February 24, 2020.

The Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Judges Panel) will meet in closed session on Wednesday, August 19, 2020, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. The purpose of this meeting is to review the results of examiners' scoring of written applications. Panel members will vote on which applicants merit site visits by examiners to verify the accuracy of quality improvements claimed by applicants. The meeting is closed to the public in order to protect the proprietary data to be examined and discussed.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council's (Council) District Advisory Panels (DAPs) will hold public virtual meetings to address the items contained in the tentative agenda included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

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

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to incidentally harass, by Level A and Level B harassment, marine mammals during pile driving and pile removal activities associated with the Mukilteo Multimodal Construction Project in Washington State.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is rescinding the administrative review of the countervailing duty order on crystalline silicon photovoltaic products (solar products) from the People's Republic of China (China) for the period of review (POR) January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019, based on the timely withdrawal of the request for review.

This notice announces the availability for public comment of the NOAA Citizen Science draft strategy. This strategy is intended to dramatically expand our application of this emerging science and technology focus area by improving the efficiency, effectiveness and coordination of its development and usage across the agency.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (DARRP) is announcing new indirect cost rates on the recovery of indirect costs for its component organizations involved in natural resource damage assessment and restoration activities for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The indirect cost rates for this fiscal year and date of implementation are provided in this notice. More information on these rates and the DARRP policy can be found at the DARRP website at www.darrp.noaa.gov.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is rescinding its administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain amorphous silica fabric (silica fabric) from the People's Republic of China (China) for the period of review (POR) March 1, 2019 through February 29, 2020.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is amending the final results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty (AD) order on emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber (ESB rubber) from Brazil to correct two ministerial errors.

The Department of Commerce (DOC) will have under OMB review the following proposed Information Collection Request ``Improving Customer Experience (OMB Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation)'' for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. Public comments for this proposed collection were previously requested via the Federal Register on June 1, 2020 (85 FR 33085) during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. Agency: Department of Commerce (DOC). Title: Improving Customer Experience (OMB Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation). OMB Control Number: 0690-NEW. Form Number(s): None. Type of Request: Regular submission. New collection. Estimated Number of Respondents: 752,925. Estimated Time per Response: Varied, dependent upon the activity or the data collection method used. The possible response time to complete a questionnaire or survey may be 3 minutes or up to 2 hours to participate in an interview or focus group. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 55,471. Needs and Uses: A modern, streamlined and responsive customer experience means: Raising government-wide customer experience to the average of the private sector service industry; developing indicators for high-impact Federal programs to monitor progress towards excellent customer experience and mature digital services; and providing the structure (including increasing transparency) and resources to ensure customer experience is a focal point for agency leadership. This proposed information collection activity provides a means to garner customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner in accordance with the Administration's commitment to improving customer service delivery as discussed in Section 280 of OMB Circular A-11 at https://www.performance.gov/cx/a11-280.pdf. As discussed in OMB guidance, agencies should identify their highest-impact customer journeys (using customer volume, annual program cost, and/or knowledge of customer priority as weighting factors) and select touchpoints/ transactions within those journeys to collect feedback. These results will be used to improve the delivery of Federal services and programs. It will also provide government-wide data on customer experience that can be displayed on www.performance.gov to help build transparency and accountability of Federal programs to the customers they serve. As a general matter, these information collections will not result in any new system of records containing privacy information and will not ask questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. DOC will only submit collections if they meet the following criteria. The collections are voluntary. The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on considerations of total burden hours or burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal Government. The collections are non-controversial and do not raise issues of concern to other Federal agencies. Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the near future. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained. Information gathered is intended to be used for general service improvement and program management purposes Upon agreement between OMB and the agency all or a subset of information may be released as part of A-11, Section 280 requirements only on performance.gov. Summaries of customer research and user testing activities may be included in public-facing customer journey maps or summaries. Additional release of data must be done coordinated with OMB. These collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative, and actionable communications between the Agency, its customers and stakeholders, and OMB as it monitors agency compliance on Section 280. These responses will inform efforts to improve or maintain the quality of service offered to the public. If this information is not collected, vital feedback from customers and stakeholders on services will be unavailable. Affected Public: Individuals or households; State, Local, or Tribal government. Frequency: On Occasion; Annually. Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary. Average Number of Respondents per Activity: 1 response per respondent per activity. Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: Approximately five types of customer experience activities such as feedback surveys, focus groups, user testing, and interviews. This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information, to search data sources, to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day ReviewOpen for Public Comments'' or by using the search function and entering either the title of the collection.

The Deepwater Horizon Federal natural resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (Louisiana TIG) have prepared a Final Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (RP/EA #5): Living Coastal and Marine ResourcesMarine Mammals and Oysters. The Final RP/EA #5 describes, and, in conjunction with the associated Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), selects the preferred restoration projects considered by the Louisiana TIG to restore natural resources and ecological services injured or lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Federal Trustees of the Louisiana TIG have determined that the implementation of the Final RP/EA #5 is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the context of the NEPA. They have concluded a FONSI is appropriate, and, therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement will not be prepared.

NMFS is increasing the specifications for the 2020 Illex squid fishery. This rule is required to ensure that the 2020 specifications are based on the best scientific information available. This rule is also intended to inform the public of the changes to increase the specifications for the remainder of the 2020 fishing year. This action will allow Illex squid fishery to benefit from the quota increase and achieve optimal yield.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Habitat Joint Committee and Advisory Panel via webinar 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.