Federal Register Notice to request comments on information collection requirements in proposed rule

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 204 / Monday, October 22, 2012 / Notices

to participate solely in the roundtable,
the fee will be $750.00 ($650.00 for
SME) for either a primary or secondary
representative.
An SME is defined as a firm with 500
or fewer employees or that otherwise
qualifies as a small business under SBA
regulations (see http://www.sba.gov/
size). Parent companies, affiliates, and
subsidiaries will be considered when
determining business size. The dual
pricing reflects the Commercial
Service’s user fee schedule that became
effective May 1, 2008. For additional
information, see http://www.export.gov/
newsletter/march2008/initiatives.html
Exclusions & Expenses:
The conference fee does not include
any personal travel expenses such as
lodging, most meals, incidentals, local
ground transportation, except as stated
in the proposed timetable, and air
transportation from the U.S. to the event
location and return to the United States.
Delegation members will be able to take
advantage of U.S. Embassy rates for
hotel rooms and group rates for train
tickets. Business visas may be required.
Government fees and processing
expenses to obtain such visas are also
not included in the Roundtable/Tour
costs. However, the U.S. Department of
Commerce will provide instructions to
each participant on the procedures
required to obtain necessary business
visas.
Conditions for Participation:
An applicant must register online at
http://export.gov/reee/
eg_main_054052.asp. In addition, the
applicant must send an email to the U.S.
Department of Commerce staff (see
Contacts) addressing how he/she
satisfies the four selection criteria listed
below.
• Whether the applicant represents a
U.S. company that fits one of the
following profiles:
(1) Companies that manufacture
technology or provide services in the
renewable energy sector (particularly
solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and
small/medium hydro);
(2) Developers of renewable energy
projects with global experience; and
(3) Companies active in the smart grid
industry.
• The applicant’s potential for or
interest in doing business in Japan;
• The applicant’s ability to identify
and discuss policy issues relevant to
U.S. competitiveness in the renewable
energy or smart grid sectors;
• Consistency of the applicant’s goals
and objectives with the stated scope of
the event.
Diversity of company size and
location may also be considered during
the selection process. Referrals from

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political organizations and any
documents containing references to
partisan political activities (including
political contributions) will be removed
from an applicant’s submission and not
considered during the selection process.
Selected applicants will be asked to
sign a Participation Agreement with the
Department of Commerce in addition to
the following mandatory certifications
(applicants that cannot attest to these
certifications cannot participate):
• The export of the products and
services that it wishes to promote would
be in compliance with U.S. export
controls and regulations;
• Company/Organization has
identified to the Department of
Commerce for its evaluation any
business pending before the Department
of Commerce that may present the
appearance of a conflict of interest;
• Company/Organization has
identified any pending litigation
(including any administrative
proceedings) to which it is a party that
involves the Department of Commerce;
• Company/Participant agrees that it
and its affiliates (1) have not and will
not engage in the bribery of foreign
officials in connection with the
Company’s/Participant’s involvement in
this mission, and (2) maintain and
enforce a policy that prohibits the
bribery of foreign officials.
Timeline for Recruitment and
Applications
Recruitment for the Roundtable/Tour
will begin immediately and conclude no
later than November 9, 2012. The U.S.
Department of Commerce will review
applications and make selection
decisions on a rolling basis beginning
on or about October 25, 2012.
Applications received after November 9,
2012 will be considered only if space
and scheduling constraints permit.
Dated: October 16, 2012.
Edward A. O’Malley,
Director, Office of Energy and Environmental
Industries.
[FR Doc. 2012–25940 Filed 10–19–12; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–BC21

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Fisheries of the
Northeastern United States; Atlantic
Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:

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 information collections, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995. This request for comments
is for information collection
requirements from a recently published
proposed rule regarding an action to
reopen a portion of the Georges Bank
Closed Area to the harvest of Atlantic
surfclams and ocean quahogs. The full
details of this action can be found in the
proposed rule. This Federal Register
notice is soliciting comments only on
the burden estimates for the collection
of information requirements under the
testing protocol and the letter of
authorization requirements that are
associated with the proposed rule.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted on or before November 21,
2012.
SUMMARY:

You may submit comments,
by any of the following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking portal http://
www.regulations.gov.
• Fax: (978) 281–9135, Attn: Jason
Berthiaume.
• Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the
outside of the envelope: ‘‘Comments on
the Collection of Information
Requirements for the Proposed
Reopening of the GB Closed Area.’’
Instructions: All comments received
are part of the public record and will
generally be posted to http://
www.regulations.gov without change.
All Personal Identifying Information (for
example, name, address, etc.)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter
may be publicly accessible. Do not

ADDRESSES:

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 204 / Monday, October 22, 2012 / Notices
submit confidential business
information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous
comments. Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted via
Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel,
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats
only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jason Berthiaume, Fishery Management
Specialist, phone (978) 281–9177, fax
(978) 281–9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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I. Abstract
The Georges Bank (GB) Closed Area
has been closed to the harvest of
surfclams and ocean quahogs since 1990
due to red tide blooms that cause
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP). The
action associated with the collection of
information requirements discussed in
this Federal Register notice, if
implemented, would open a portion of
the GB Closed Area for harvesting
surfclams and ocean quahogs, provided
harvesting is conducted under the terms
and conditions of the Protocol for
Onboard Screening and Dockside
Testing in Molluscan Shellfish. The full
details of this action can be reference in
the Federal Register notice that was
published for the proposed rule (77 FR
53164; August 31, 2012). The protocol is
designed to test and verify that clams
harvested from GB are safe for human
consumption. The protocol was
formally adopted into the National
Shellfish Sanitation Program at the
October 2011 Interstate Shellfish
Sanitation Conference. The protocol
includes a detailed procedure outlining
how shellfish are to be harvested, tested,
and handled. The PSP testing protocol
includes the following requirements
that require analysis under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA):
Submission of concurrence from the
state of landing; maintain and submit
harvest records; compile and submit
laboratory results; create and maintain a
written onboard lot segregation plan;
and provide notification prior to
unloading.
Additionally, to monitor and control
the harvest of surfclams and ocean
quahogs from the area, and to ensure
vessels adhere to the protocol, vessels
fishing in the area would be required to
apply for and obtain a letter of
authorization (LOA) from NMFS. The
LOA would help to ensure that vessels
are adhering to the regulations for
harvesting within the area and would
provide a mechanism for NMFS to
restrict harvesting in the area should a
vessel not comply with the terms and

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conditions of the LOA and/or the PSP
testing protocol. The full protocol is
available for viewing at
www.nero.noaa.gov/sfd/clams/
ApprovedProtocol.pdf.
II. Method of Collection
In regards to the requirement to obtain
an LOA, in 2011, there were 47 Federal
open-access surfclam and/or ocean
quahog permitted vessels that landed
surfclams and/or ocean quahogs that
may wish to fish in the area proposed
to be reopened. Each vessel could apply
up to once a year, for a maximum of 47
applications. It is expected that each
application would take 5 minutes to
complete, for a fleet maximum of 4
hours. There is no additional public cost
associated with this change as the
application would be submitted with
the previously existing annual permit
renewal package.
In regards to the information
collection required under the protocol,
if all of the permitted vessels in 2011
fished in the area, there would be a total
of 47 entities, as well as 11 states, that
would be required to adhere to the
terms and conditions of the PSP testing
protocol. While the PSP testing protocol
outlines what is required, there would
be differences in the complexity of the
documents as well as varying methods
of submission. For this PRA analysis, it
is assumed that the traditional method
of submission will be used, physical
mail at 45 cents per submission;
however, it is likely that many
submissions will be completed
electronically and, therefore, the overall
cost would be reduced.
The testing protocol requires
numerous elements that contain
collection of information requirements,
including elements that are submitted to
NMFS, as well as to state and private
entities. The submission of concurrence
from state of landing element is required
only of the state, which would total 11
entities. This submission would be in
the form of an annual written letter,
with a total time burden estimate of 11
hr (11 submissions × 1 hr) and would
cost $5 (11 submissions × $0.45).
The remainder of the requirements in
the protocol apply to individual vessels,
and is based on the maximum number
of trips that occurred in the area in 2011
(46 trips). Three of these elements
would require document submission,
one of which is an annual submission,
and the other two which are required on
each trip. The result is 4,370
submissions (((47 × 46) ×2) + 46) with
a total public cost burden of $1,967
(4,370 × $0.45). The offload notification
requirement does not impose any
additional costs, as the notification

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would be completed through a preexisting email or cellular phone account
and is not required to be submitted in
writing.
It is estimated that both the
requirement to submit and maintain
harvest records and compile and submit
laboratory test results would take 30
minutes each to complete. Based on the
number of anticipated trips into the
area, there would be 4,324 submissions
and a public burden of 2,162 hr (4,324
submissions × 30 min). The element to
create and maintain a written onboard
lot segregation plan is required annually
and would take approximately 60 min
to complete for a public burden of 47 hr
(47 submissions × 1 hr). The notification
element is required on each trip and is
estimated to take 5 min per notification,
resulting in 180 hr of burden (2,162
notifications × 5 min). The total
resulting time burden to the public from
all of the requirements to fish in the
reopened portion of the GB Closed Area
is 2,404 hr (4 + 11 + 2,162 + 47 + 180).
III. Data
Northeast Region Permit Family of
Forms Collection
OMB Control Number: 0648–0202.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Business and other
for-profit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
47.
Estimated Time per Response: 5 min
per LOA application.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $0 in recordkeeping/reporting
costs
Surfclam/Ocean Quahog
Administration.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0240.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: State, local, or tribal
government; business or other for-profit
organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
58.
Estimated Time per Response: 60 min
per submission of the concurrence from
the state of landing; 30 minutes per
response to maintain and submit harvest
records; 30 min per response compile
and submit laboratory test results; 60
min per response to create and maintain
a written onboard lot segregation plan;
and 5 min per response to provide
notification prior to unloading
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $1,972 in recordkeeping/
reporting costs
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 204 / Monday, October 22, 2012 / Notices

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
(including hours and cost) of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (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.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of this information collection;
they also will become a matter of public
record.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 16, 2012.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
performing the functions and duties of the
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2012–25982 Filed 10–19–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Special Accommodations

National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XC305

New England Fishery Management
Council; Public Meeting
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; public meeting.
AGENCY:

The New England Fishery
Management Council (Council) is
scheduling a public meeting of its
Scallop Advisory Panel 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.
DATES: This meeting will be held on
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 9 a.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
the Four Points by Sheraton, 407 Squire
Road, Revere, MA 02151; telephone:
(781) 284–7200; fax: (781) 289–3176.
Council address: New England
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul
J. Howard, Executive Director, New

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SUMMARY:

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England Fishery Management Council;
telephone: (978) 465–0492.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Advisors will review analyses and make
final recommendations on Framework
24. Framework 24 includes fishery
specifications for FY2013, and possibly
FY2014 and 2015, as well as a handful
of other measures. The other measures
include: (1) Possible modification of
Georges Bank access area opening dates;
(2) measures to address sub-ACL of
yellowtail flounder for the LAGC
fishery; (3) modification of the effective
date of yellowtail sub-ACL AMs; (4)
leasing LAGC IFQ during the year and
after fishing some fishing has occurred;
and (5) expanding the observer set-aside
program to include LAGC open area
trips. Other business may be discussed.
Although non-emergency issues not
contained in this agenda may come
before this group for discussion, those
issues may not be the subject of formal
action during this meeting. Action will
be restricted to those issues specifically
listed in this notice and any issues
arising after publication of this notice
that require emergency action under
section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, provided the public has been
notified of the Council’s intent to take
final action to address the emergency.
This meeting is physically accessible
to people with disabilities. Requests for
sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Paul
J. Howard, Executive Director, at (978)
465–0492, at least 5 days prior to the
meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 17, 2012.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012–25874 Filed 10–19–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XC307

North Pacific Fishery Management
Council (NPFMC); Public Meeting
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of a public committee
meeting.
AGENCY:

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The North Pacific Fishery
Management Council’s (Council) Steller
Sea Lion Mitigation Committee
(SSLMC) will meet in Juneau, AK.
DATES: The meeting will be held
November 7–9, 2012, from 8:30 a.m.
through 5 p.m. AST.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in
the 4th floor conference room at the
Federal Building at 700 West 9th Street,
Juneau, AK.
Council address: North Pacific
Fishery Management Council, 605 W.
4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK
99501–2252.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve MacLean, NPFMC; telephone:
(907) 271–2809.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At this
meeting the SSLMC will be reviewing
proposals for alternatives to be
considered in the 2012 Steller Sea Lion
Protection Measures EIS currently being
prepared by NMFS. The SSLMC will
begin drafting one or more alternatives
for delivery to the Council in December,
2012. Proposals under consideration
will be posted on the Council’s Web site
at http://www.alaskafishries.noaa.gov/
npfmc/conservation-issues/ssl.html.
Please note that State or Federal ID will
be required to enter the Federal
Building in Juneau. Foreign nationals
wishing to attend this meeting in person
should contact the Council as soon as
possible to expedite security clearance
at the Federal Building in Juneau.
Additional information is posted on
the Council Web site: http://
www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/npfmc/.
The meeting will be webcast to allow
the public to watch and hear
presentations. Comments will not be
accepted via webcast or teleconference.
Although non-emergency issues not
contained in this agenda may come
before this group for discussion, those
issues may not be the subject of formal
action during this meeting. Action will
be restricted to those issues specifically
listed in this notice and any issues
arising after publication of this notice
that require emergency action under
section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act, provided the public has been
notified of the Council’s intent to take
final action to address the emergency.
SUMMARY:

Special Accommodations
These meetings are physically
accessible to people with disabilities.
Requests for sign language
interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Gail Bendixen,
(907) 271–2809, at least 5 working days
prior to the meeting date.

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