Commerce today’s Brief Includes (April 3-16)

April 21, 2008

Commerce (DOC) Includes selected proposed rules and selected notices

Consumer Product Safety (CPSC) – No newly published regulations this time

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – Selected proposed rules and selected notices only

Securities and Exchange (SEC) – Includes selected notices

U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) – Selected notices only

ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA) 

(This final rule is effective May 8, 2008.)

(This final rule is effective May 8, 2008.)

(This temporary rule, closure, correction notice, is effective April 16, 2008.)

The effective date of the temporary rule was correctly established as April 16, 2008. The SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of that document, however, contained an error, stating that the TAC for the 2007-08 fishing year will be reached on April 17, 2008, and that the Main Hawaiian Islands Deep 7 bottomfish fishery will be closed from April 17, 2008, through the remainder of the fishing year.

The document should have read that the TAC would be reached on or before April 17, 2008, and that the Main Hawaiian Islands Deep 7 bottomfish fishery will be closed from April 16, 2008, through the remainder of the fishing year (opening again on September 1, 2008).

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic, snapper/grouper resources of the South Atlantic, withdrawal of trip limit reduction: Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Snapper/Grouper Resources of the South Atlantic; Withdrawal of Trip Limit Reduction, Federal Register, April 7, 2008, Volume 73, Number 67, Rules and Regulations, Page 18717, 50 CFR Part 622, Docket No. 060525140-6221-02, RIN 0648-XG34, Temporary rule, withdrawal of trip limit reduction.

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(This temporary rule, withdrawal of trip limit reduction, is effective April 2, 2008. The rule published March 28, 2008 (73 FR 16571), is withdrawn as of April 2, 2008.)

(This temporary rule, closure, is effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), April 4, 2008, through 1200 hrs, A.l.t., September 1, 2008.)

(This temporary rule, closure, is effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), July 1, 2008, through 2400 hrs, A.l.t., July 31, 2008.)

(This temporary rule, closure, is effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), April 4, 2008, though 1200 hrs, A.l.t., June 10, 2008.)

(This temporary rule, reallocation, is effective April 10, 2008, through 2400 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), December 31, 2008.)

(This temporary rule, closure, is effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), April 1, 2008, through 1200 hrs, A.l.t., June 10, 2008.)

Groundfish Fisheries; Fishery Closure, Federal Register, April 7, 2008, Volume 73, Number 67, Rules and Regulations, Page 18717, 50 CFR Part 665, Docket No. 071211828-8448-02, RIN 0648-XG90, Temporary rule, closure.

(This temporary rule, closure, is effective April 16, 2008 through August 31, 2008.)

(This final rule is effective April 1, 2008, with the following exceptions: 1. The following amendments are effective until September 1, 2008: a. In Section 665.12, the definition of Hawaii restricted bottomfish species fishing year 2007-08; b. Paragraph (g) in Section 665.72 (the TAC for the 2007-08 fishing year); and c. Section 665.74 (the closed season). 2. The amendments to Sections 665.13, 665.14, and 665.61, which require approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). When the OMB approval is received, the effective date will be announced in the Federal Register.)

(This final rule is effective June 1, 2008.)

(This final rule is effective May 1, 2008.)

Operations Plan and Sector Contract entitled, “Georges Bank Cod Hook Sector Fishing Year 2008-2009 Operations Plan and Agreement” (together referred to as the Sector Agreement) and an Environmental Assessment (EA), and requested an allocation of GB cod. This action results in authorization of the Sector Operations Plan during the 2008 fishing year and allocation of 658 mt of GB cod to the Sector. This rule also modifies the eligibility criteria for membership in both the Hook Sector and the Fixed Gear Sector by allowing vessels without GB cod landings history to join a sector.

(This final rule is effective May 1, 2008, through April 30, 2009.)

(This final rule is effective May 5, 2008.)

(This final rule, correction, is effective October 5, 2008.)

In addition, this rule corrects the effective date for certain paragraphs of Section 229.32. Both the preamble and regulatory text incorrectly indicate that the effective date for those paragraphs is October 6, 2008. It should be October 5, 2008 (Section 229.32 paragraphs (c)(5)(ii)(B), (c)(6)(ii)(B), (c)(7)(ii)(C), (c)(8)(ii)(B), (c)(9)(ii)(B), (d)(6)(ii)(D), (d)(7)(ii)(D) and (i)(3)). All other information remains unchanged.

ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA) 

(Any written comments on this proposed rule must be received no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Time, May 5, 2008.)

(Any written comments must be received on or before May 23, 2008.)

(Any public comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, May 19, 2008.)

(Any written comments on the proposed rule and supporting documents must be received on or before May 5, 2008. Any comments sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on the information collection requirements of the proposed rule must also be received on or before May 5, 2008.

The public hearings will be held in April (see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section in the linked document for further details).)
SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposes to modify permitting and reporting requirements for the Highly Migratory Species (HMS) International Trade Permit (ITP) to improve program efficacy and enforceability, and implement the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) bluefin tuna catch documentation (BCD) program. The modified regulations also require that shark fin importers, exporters, and re-exporters obtain the HMS ITP to assist the NMFS in monitoring trade of shark fins, and would implement the new definition of “import” in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
THIS REGULATION IS NOT FURTHER ANALYZED HERE. IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE THE FULL TEXT OF THE REGULATION IN THE LINKED DOCUMENT.

SELECTED NOTICES
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT (DOC)
Agency information collection activities, proposals, submissions, and approvals: Submission for OMB Review, Comment Request, Federal Register, April 11, 2008, Volume 73, Number 71, Notices, Page 19809.

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The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Title: Prohibited Species Donation Program.

Form Number(s): None.

OMB Approval Number: 0648-0316.

Type of Request: Regular submission.

Burden Hours: 535.

Number of Respondents: 21.

Average Hours Per Response: Distributor application, 13 hours; distributor list updates, 12 minutes; distributor product tracking and records retention, 12 minutes; processor product tracking and records retention, 6 minutes; product packaging and labeling, 4 minutes.

Needs and Uses: A prohibited species donation (PSD) program for salmon and halibut has effectively reduced regulatory discard of salmon and halibut by allowing fish that would otherwise be discarded to be donated to needy individuals through tax-exempt organizations. The vessels and processing plants participating in the donation program voluntarily retain and process salmon and halibut bycatch. An authorized, tax-exempt distributor, chosen by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for monitoring the retention and processing of fish donated by vessels and processors. The authorized distributor also coordinates the processing, storage, transportation, and distribution of salmon and halibut. The PSD program requires a collection of information so that NMFS can monitor the authorized distributors' ability to effectively supervise program participants and ensure that donated fish are properly processed, stored, and distributed.

Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions.

Frequency: Every three years and on occasion.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.

OMB Desk Officer: David Rostker, (202) 395-3897.

Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at dHynek@doc.gov).

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to David Rostker, OMB Desk Officer, Fax number (202) 395-7285, or David_Rostker@omb.eop.gov.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION (ITA)

(Any comments must be submitted no later than 10 days after publication of this notice.)

practice of calculating expected non-market economy (NME) wages for use as the surrogate value for direct labor in antidumping proceedings involving NME countries. These expected NME wages are calculated annually in accordance with the Department's regulations, See 19 CFR 351.408 (c)(3). This notice constitutes the Department's 2007 expected NME wages, which were calculated from 2005 data made available in 2007 according to the Department's revised methodology described in the Federal Register notice entitled Antidumping Methodologies: Market

Economy Inputs, Expected Non-Market Economy Wages, Duty Drawback; and

Request for Comments, 71 FR 61716, Oct. 19, 2006 (hereafter, the Antidumping Methodologies notice), and provides the public with an opportunity to comment on potential clerical errors in the calculation.

Export Trade Certificate of Review to Artalex Global (ARGLO). This notice summarizes the conduct for which certification has been granted.

(These amendments to the rules of procedure shall apply to all binational panel proceedings commenced by a Request for Panel Review filed with the North American Free Trade Agreement Secretariat, United States Section, on or after April 10, 2008.)

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY (NIST)

 

National Fire Codes, request for comments: National Fire Codes: Request for Comments on NFPA Technical Committee Reports, Federal Register, April 4, 2008, Volume 73, Number 66, Notices, Page 18512, Notice.

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(Twenty-seven reports have been published in the 2009 Annual Cycle Report on Proposals and are available June 20, 2008. Any comments received on or before August 29, 2008, will be considered by the respective National Fire Protection Association Committees before final action is taken on the proposals.)

The purpose of this notice is to request comments on the technical reports that will be presented at the NFPA's 2009 Annual Revision Cycle. The publication of this notice by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on behalf of the NFPA is being undertaken as a public service; the NIST does not necessarily endorse, approve, or recommend any of the standards referenced in the notice.

(Interested persons may submit proposals on or before the dates listed with the standards in the linked document.)

Technology (NIST) on behalf of NFPA is being undertaken as a public service; the NIST does not necessarily endorse, approve, or recommend any of the standards referenced in the notice.

NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE (NMFS) AND NATIONAL OCEANIC AND

ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA) 
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act provisions, tautog fishery: Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; Tautog Fishery, Federal Register, April 3, 2008, Volume 73, Number 65, Notices, Page 18260, RIN 0648-XG78, Notice of cancellation of federal moratorium.

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(This cancellation of federal moratorium is effective March 31, 2008.)

(Any written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the draft environmental impact statement must be received by 5 p.m., Eastern Time, May 16, 2008.)

(Any comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., local time May 8, 2008.)

(Any comments on the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program guidelines are requested by June 9, 2008, for consideration.)

(Any written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or before May 9, 2008.)

The NJDEP seeks permission to increase the number of marine mammals taken during research conducted to figure out the distribution and abundance of baleen whales, odontocete whales, pinnipeds, and sea turtles. Research would include take by survey approach during shipboard and aircraft transect surveys. Researchers request authorization to take up to 2,500 common dolphins (Delphinus delphis),

3,200 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and 1,280 harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) annually. The study area would continue to include U.S. waters offshore of southern New Jersey out to a distance of 20 nautical miles.
 

Meetings, North Pacific Fishery Management Council: North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting, Federal Register, April 3, 2008, Volume 73, Number 65, Notices, Page 18261, RIN: 0648-XG79, Notice of a public meeting.

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(The meeting will be held April 23, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Target Species Committee will meet April 23, 2008 at the Alaska Fishery Science Center, National Marine Mammal Conference Room.

(Any comments must be received by May 29, 2008.)

This draft report is being released solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer review under applicable information quality guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by NOAA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination. After consideration of comments received on the draft report, a revised version along with the comments received will be published on the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) web site.

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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC)
NEWLY PUBLISHED REGULATIONS
None.

SELECTED PROPOSED RULES
Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, rules and regulations: Rules and Regulations Under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, Federal Register, April 7, 2008, Volume 73, Number 67, Proposed Rules, Page 18727, 16 CFR Part 303, Reopening of comment period.

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(Any comments are accepted until May 5, 2008.)

(Any comments must be received on or before April 28, 2008.)

The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. Comments received during this period will become part of the public record. After thirty (30) days, the Commission will again review the agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement and take appropriate action or make final

the agreement's proposed order.

The Commission's proposed complaint alleges that REI (through its LexisNexis division) and Seisint are data brokers. REI acquired Seisint on September 1, 2004 and has continued to operate Seisint under the Seisint name; REI also uses Seisint's technologies and facilities in REI's LexisNexis data broker business. In connection with Seisint's business, proposed respondents collect, and store in electronic databases, information about millions of consumers, including names, current and prior addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and Social Security numbers (SSNs). They also sell products customers use to retrieve information from the databases, including products to locate assets and people, authenticate identities, and verify credentials. Until at least mid-2005, access to information in

Seisint databases was controlled using only user IDs and passwords (credentials). Seisint customers include insurance companies, debt collectors, employers, landlords, law firms, and law enforcement and other government agencies.

The complaint further alleges that REI and Seisint engaged in a number of practices that, taken together, failed to provide reasonable and appropriate security for sensitive consumer information stored in Seisint databases. In particular, they: (1) failed to make credentials hard to guess; (2) failed to require periodic changes of credentials (such as every 90 days, for customers with access to sensitive consumer information); (3) failed to suspend credentials after a certain number of unsuccessful log-in attempts; (4) allowed customers to store their credentials in a vulnerable format in cookies on their computers; (5) failed to require customers to encrypt or otherwise protect credentials, search queries, and/or search results in transit between customer computers and Seisint websites; (6) allowed customers to create new credentials without confirming that the new credentials were created by customers rather than identity thieves; (7) permitted users to share credentials; (8) did not adequately assess the vulnerability of Seisint's web application and computer network to commonly known or reasonably foreseeable attacks, such as “Cross-Site Scripting” attacks; and (9) did not implement simple, low-cost, and readily available defenses to such attacks. As a result, an attacker could easily guess or intercept the user credentials of legitimate customers and use them to access sensitive information--including SSNs--about millions of consumers.

The complaint alleges that on multiple occasions since January 2003, identity thieves exploited these vulnerabilities to obtain the credentials of legitimate Seisint customers. The thieves then used the credentials to make thousands of unauthorized searches for consumer information in Seisint databases. These breaches disclosed sensitive information about more than 300,000 consumers, including, in many instances, names, current and prior addresses, dates of birth, and SSNs. In some instances, the thieves opened new credit accounts in the names of consumers whose information was disclosed and made purchases on the new accounts. In other instances, they used the information to activate newly-issued credit cards stolen from legitimate cardholders and then made fraudulent purchases on the cards. Although some of these breaches occurred before REI acquired Seisint on September 1, 2004, they continued for at least 9 months after the acquisition, during which time Seisint was under REI's control.

The proposed order applies to nonpublic information sold by Seisint and LexisNexis, as well as by any other business within REI to the extent that the business sells products that include an SSN, driver's license number; date of birth; or bank, credit card, or other financial account number or information. The order also contains provisions designed to prevent respondents from engaging in the future in practices similar to those alleged in the complaint.

Part I of the proposed order requires each respondent to establish and maintain a comprehensive information security program that is reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of nonpublic personal information collected from or about consumers. The security programs must contain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the respondent's size and complexity, the nature and scope of its activities, and the sensitivity of the personal information collected from or about consumers. Specifically, the order requires each respondent to:
Designate an employee or employees to coordinate and be accountable for the information security program.

Identify material internal and external risks to the security, confidentiality, and integrity of customer information that could result in the unauthorized disclosure, misuse, loss, alteration, destruction, or other compromise of such information, and assess the sufficiency of any safeguards in place to control these risks.

Design and implement reasonable safeguards to control the risks identified through risk assessment, and regularly test or monitor the effectiveness of the safeguards' key controls, systems, and procedures.

Develop and use reasonable steps to select and retain service providers capable of appropriately safeguarding personal information they receive from the respondent, and require service providers by contract to implement and maintain appropriate safeguards.

Evaluate and adjust its information security programs in light of the results of testing and monitoring, any material changes to operations or business arrangements, or any other circumstances that it knows or has reason to know may have material impact on its information security program.