Department of Commerce 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On October 26, 2022, NMFS published a proposed rule, with a 30-day public comment period ending November 25, 2022, in response to a request by Ocean Wind, LLC (Ocean Wind) for regulations and associated Letter of Authorization (LOA), pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), that would authorize the take of marine mammals, by Level A harassment and Level B harassment, incidental to the Ocean Wind Offshore Wind Energy Project (Ocean Wind 1), offshore of New Jersey. In response to a request, NMFS is announcing an extension of the public comment period by an additional 15 days ending on December 10, 2022.

NMFS issues a proposed rule to implement Amendment 124 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) and Amendment 112 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP). First, this proposed rule would amend regulations for the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) and Community Development Quota (CDQ) Programs for pot gear configurations, pot gear tending and retrieval requirements, pot limits, and associated recordkeeping and reporting requirements. These changes would increase operational efficiency and flexibility for IFQ holders and CDQ groups. Second, this proposed rule would authorize jig gear as a legal gear type for harvesting sablefish IFQ and CDQ, increasing opportunities for entry-level participants. Third, this proposed rule would temporarily remove the Adak community quota entity (CQE) residency requirement for a period of five years. These actions are intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the BSAI FMP, GOA FMP, and other applicable laws.

This final rule announces approval of, and implements management measures contained in, Amendment 20 to the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council developed these measures to limit the amount of surfclam or ocean quahog individual transferable quota share or annual allocation in the form of cage tags that an individual or their family members are permitted to hold. These changes are intended to ensure the management plan is consistent with requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and to improve the management of these fisheries.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that the producer and/or exporter subject to this administrative review made sales of large diameter welded pipe from Canada in the United States at prices below normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR), May 1, 2020, through April 30, 2021.

As a result of this sunset review, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) finds that revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) order on certain cased pencils (pencils) from the People's Republic of China (China) would be likely to lead to the continuation or recurrence of dumping at the level indicated in the ``Final Results of Review'' section of this notice.

In response to a request from Golden Well International (HK), Ltd. (Golden Well) and Zhangzhou XMB Home Technology Co., Ltd. (Zhangzhou XMB), the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is initiating a changed circumstances review (CCR) of the antidumping duty (AD) order on wooden bedroom furniture (WBF) from the People's Republic of China (China) to determine whether Zhangzhou XMB is the successor- in-interest to Zhangzhou XYM Furniture Product Co., Ltd. (Zhangzhou XYM).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651- 0033 Post Allowance and Reissue. The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of the information collection to OMB.

The Groundfish Subcommittee of the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold a virtual meeting to update the Accepted Practices Guidelines for Groundfish Stock Assessments document. The SSC Groundfish Subcommittee meeting is open to the public.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites 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. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) is proposing to amend the regulations for the Population Estimates Challenge Program which provides eligible general-purpose governmental entities (units) with the opportunity to file requests for the review of their population estimates for 2021 and subsequent years in forthcoming estimates series, beginning with the Vintage 2022 series that is scheduled to be published in 2023. Under this program, a governmental unit may file a challenge to its official population estimate by submitting additional data to the Census Bureau for evaluation, or by identifying a technical error in processing input data or producing the estimates. Specifically, the Census Bureau is proposing to amend its regulations to: update references to the input data used to produce the official population estimates and revise the evidence required to support a challenge.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites 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. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing antidumping duty (AD) orders on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Argentina, Mexico, and the Russian Federation (Russia). In addition, Commerce is amending its final determination with respect to OCTG from Russia to correct a ministerial error.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites 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. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the proposed revision to the Automated Export System Program prior to the submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites 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. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the proposed new survey, the Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES), prior to the submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) hereby publishes a list of scope rulings and circumvention determinations made during the period July 1, 2022, through September 30, 2022. We intend to publish future lists after the close of the next calendar quarter.

Based on a request from Advanced Extrusion, Inc., Good Natured Products, IL dba Ex-Tech Inc., and Multi-Plastics Extrusions, Inc. (collectively, the petitioners), the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is initiating a changed circumstances review (CCR) to consider the possible revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) order on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet from the Sultanate of Oman (Oman).

Enforcement and Compliance (E&C), of the Department of Commerce (Commerce), administers the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) AD/CVD trade remedy laws of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Section 773(e) of the Act provides for Commerce to address, in its antidumping calculations, the existence of a particular market situation (PMS), such that the cost of materials and fabrication do not accurately reflect the cost of production in the ordinary course of trade. Commerce seeks public comments as it considers revisiting its PMS methodology and issuing a new regulation that would identify information that Commerce should take into consideration and should not take into consideration in determining whether a PMS exists that distorts the cost of production. Commerce also seeks comments as it considers adjustments to calculations when the amount of distortion in the cost of production caused by a PMS cannot be quantified based on the record before it.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have received separate ITP applications from the Oregon Department of State Lands (ODSL; applicant), associated with the Elliott State Research Forest HCP. The applications, including the HCP, have been submitted pursuant to Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The applicant is seeking authorization from FWS and NMFS (together, the Services) for the incidental take of three species expected to result from research and management-related activities on the Elliott State Forest in Coos and Douglas Counties, Oregon. These research and management activities include timber removal and infrastructure maintenance. FWS is the lead Federal agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and NMFS is a cooperating agency. The availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was announced separately by FWS. NMFS is seeking public comments on the HCP.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory committees will meet December 5, 2022, through December 14, 2022.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is amending the patent rules of practice to provide that the receipt date of correspondence officially submitted electronically by way of the USPTO patent electronic filing system is the date in the Eastern time zone of the United States (Eastern Time) when the USPTO received the correspondence rather than the date on which the correspondence is received at the correspondence address in Alexandria, Virginia. This change is necessary because the USPTO is expecting to provide servers for receiving electronic submissions in locations that are separate from the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. This change will ensure consistency and predictability with respect to correspondence receipt dates, as the date of receipt accorded to correspondence submitted electronically will not depend on the location of USPTO servers. The USPTO is also amending the patent rules of practice to make other clarifying changes regarding the receipt of electronic submissions, including providing a definition for Eastern Time. These changes harmonize the patent rules with the trademark rules and provide clarity regarding the date of receipt of electronic submissions.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651- 0073 Patent Law Treaty. The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of the information collection to OMB.