Notices. Notice; receipt of application for modification SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1097, has requested a modification to scientific research Permit No
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BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [I.D. 092006F] Endangered Species; File No. 1448 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for modification SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1097, has requested a modification to scientific research Permit No. 1448.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or before October 27, 2006. ADDRESSES: The modification request and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the following office(s): Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301)713-2289; fax (301)427-2521; and Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298; phone (978)281-9300; fax (978)281-9394.
Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this request should be submitted to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals requesting a hearing should set forth the specific reasons why a hearing on this particular modification request would be appropriate. Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301)427-2521, provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period.
Comments may also be submitted by e-mail. The mailbox address for providing e-mail comments is *NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov* . Include in the subject line of the e-mail comment the following document identifier: File No. 1448. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Opay or Amy Hapeman, (301)713-2289. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject modification to Permit No. 1448, issued on January 9, 2004 (69 FR 3332) is requested under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 *et seq.* ) and the regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR 222-226).
Permit No. 1448 authorizes the permit holder to handle, measure, flipper tag, scan for Passive Integrated Transponder
(PIT)tags, biopsy sample and photograph a total of 1,500 loggerhead, 50 green, 250 leatherback and 50 hawksbill sea turtles and handle, measure, flipper tag, scan for PIT tags and photograph a total of 50 Kemp's ridley sea turtles over the duration of the permit. Seventy-five of the loggerheads and 20 of the Kemp's ridleys will also be dip-netted. This research is conducted on animals that have been already incidentally captured in commercial fisheries operating in state waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean to determine the size and composition of populations of sea turtles found in the commercial fishing areas of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean and to establish individual identities of turtles. The permit holder requests additional authorization to biopsy sample any of the 50 Kemp's ridley sea turtles for which the permit holder is already authorized to handle, measure, flipper tag, scan for PIT tags and photograph that are greater than 25 cm in total carapace length notch to tip). Tissue biopsies would be collected using the same protocol currently authorized by the existing permit. This data would help confirm observer identifications of sea turtles made by collaborating NOAA researchers. Dated: September 21, 2006. P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. E6-15825 Filed 9-26-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-S DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [I.D. 092006C] Endangered Species; File No. 1581 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (Responsible Official- Samuel Pooley, Principal Investigator- George Balazs), 2570 Dole Street, Honolulu, HI 96822, has applied in due form for a permit to take green ( *Chelonia mydas* ) and hawksbill ( *Eretmochelys imbricata* ) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research. DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or before October 27, 2006. ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the following office(s): Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301)713-2289; fax (301)427-2521; and Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Rm 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814-4700; phone (808)973-2935; fax (808)973-2941. Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this application should be mailed to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals requesting a hearing should set forth the specific reasons why a hearing on this particular request would be appropriate. Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301)427-2521, provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period. Comments may also be submitted by e-mail. The mailbox address for providing e-mail comments is *NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov* . Include in the subject line of the e-mail comment the following document identifier: File No. 1581. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Opay or Kate Swails, (301)713-2289. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is requested under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 *et seq.* ) and the regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR 222-226). The applicant proposes to continue long-term monitoring of the status of green and hawksbill turtles in the Hawaiian Islands to determine their abundance, size ranges, health/disease status, diving behavior, habitat use, foraging ecology, local movements, and migration routes. Researchers would annually capture up to 600 green and 10 hawksbill sea turtles by hand, scoop net, entanglement net, and bullpen net. All green sea turtles would be measured, weighed, passive integrated transponder tagged, and flipper tagged. A subset of green sea turtles would have their shell etched with an identification mark, be blood sampled, tissue sampled, lavaged, and have an electronic tag attached to them. Hawksbill sea turtles would be measured, weighed, passive integrated transponder tagged, flipper tagged, blood sampled, and tissue sampled. All animals would be released. Research would take place in the Hawaiian Islands and the permit would be issued for 5 years. Dated: September 21, 2006. P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. E6-15826 Filed 9-26-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-S DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [I.D. 091406B] Marine Mammals; National Marine Fisheries Service File No. 31-1741; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service File No. MA081663 AGENCIES: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit amendment. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), 2300 Southern Blvd., Bronx, New York 10460 [Dr. Howard C. Rosenbaum, Principal Investigator], has been issued an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 31-1741/MA081663. ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the following office(s): U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Management Authority, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 700, Arlington, VA 22203; phone
(800)358-2104; fax
(703)358-2281; and Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone
(301)713-2289; fax
(301)427-2521. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Monica Farris, Division of Management Authority, US Fish and Wildlife Service,
(703)358-2104. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 13, 2006, notice was published in the **Federal Register** (71 FR 34064) that a request for an amendment to a joint NMFS/USFWS scientific research permit had been submitted by the above-named organization. This amendment revises the current permit to include the acquisition, importation and exportation/re-exportion of specimens and materials from polar bears ( *Ursus maritimus* ), including shed hair, feces, and DNA and tissue samples from the wild, tissue banks, and collaborators. The permit has been granted under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the regulations governing the taking and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 18). In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a final determination has been made that the activity proposed is categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement. Dated: September 21, 2006. Charlie R. Chandler, Chief, Branch of Permits, Division of Management Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Dated: September 21, 2006. P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. E6-15892 Filed 9-26-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-S COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS Special Procedures for Considering Requests from the Public for Textile and Apparel Safeguard Actions on Imports from Bahrain September 21, 2006. AGENCY: The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (the Committee). ACTION: Notice of Procedures SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the procedures the Committee will follow in considering requests from the public for textile and apparel safeguard actions as provided for in Title III, Subtitle B, Section 321 through Section 328 of the United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. EFFECTIVE DATE: **September 27, 2006** ADDRESSES: Requests must be submitted to: the Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, Room H3100, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria D'Andrea, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce,
(202)482-4058. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: Title III, Subtitle B, Section 321 through Section 328 of the United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the “Act”) implements the textile and apparel safeguard provisions, provided for in Article 3.1 of the United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (the “Agreement”). The safeguard mechanism applies when, as a result of the elimination of a customs duty under the Agreement, a textile or apparel article from Bahrain is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to cause serious damage or actual threat thereof to a U.S. industry producing a like or directly competitive article. In these circumstances, Article 3.1 permits the United States to increase duties on the imported article from Bahrain to a level that does not exceed the lesser of the prevailing U.S. normal trade relations (NTR)/most-favored-nation
(MFN)duty rate for the article or the U.S. NTR/MFN duty rate in effect on the day before the Agreement enters into force. The import tariff relief is effective beginning on the date that the Committee determines that a “Bahraini textile or apparel article” as defined in Section 301(2) of the Act, is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to cause serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to a U.S. industry producing an article that is like, or directly competitive with, the imported article. The maximum period of import tariff relief, as set forth in Section 3 of this notice, shall be three years. However, if the initial period for import tariff relief is less than three years, the Committee may extend the period of import relief to the maximum three years if the Committee determines that the continuation is necessary to remedy or prevent serious damage or actual threat thereof and to facilitate adjustment by the domestic industry to import competition, and that the domestic industry is, in fact, making a positive adjustment to import competition. Import tariff relief may not be applied to the same article under these procedures if relief previously has been granted with respect to that article under:
(1)these provisions; or
(2)Chapter 1 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974. Authority to provide import tariff relief with respect to a Bahraini textile or apparel article will expire ten years after duties on the article are eliminated pursuant to the Agreement. Under Article 3.1.6 of the Agreement, if the United States provides relief to a domestic industry under the textile and apparel safeguard, it must provide Bahrain “mutually agreed trade liberalizing compensation in the form of concessions having substantially equivalent trade effects or equivalent to the value of the additional duties expected to result from the safeguard action.” Such concessions shall be limited to textile and apparel products, unless the United States and Bahrain agree otherwise. If the United States and Bahrain are unable to agree on trade liberalizing compensation, Bahrain may increase customs duties equivalently on U.S. products. The obligation to provide compensation terminates upon termination of the safeguard relief. Section 327 of the Act extends the authority under Section 123 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2133), as amended, to measures taken pursuant to the Agreement's textile and apparel safeguard provisions. In order to facilitate the implementation of Title III, Subtitle B, Section 321 through Section 328 of the United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, the Committee has determined that actions taken under this safeguard fall within the foreign affairs exception to the rulemaking provision of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1), and this notice does not waive that determination. These procedures are not subject to the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1) and 553(b)(A). **1. Requirements for Requests.** Pursuant to Section 321(a) of the Act and Section 6 of Presidential Proclamation 8039 of July 27, 2006, an interested party may file a request for a textile and apparel safeguard action with the Committee. The Committee will review requests from the interested party sent to the Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, Room 3100, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230. Ten copies of any such request must be provided. As provided in Section 328 of the Act, the Committee will protect from disclosure any business confidential information that is marked “business confidential” to the full extent permitted by law. To the extent that business confidential information is provided, two copies of a non-confidential version must also be provided, in which business confidential information is summarized or, if necessary, deleted. At the conclusion of the request, an interested party must attest that “all information contained in the request is complete and accurate and no false claims, statements, or representations have been made.” Consistently with Section 321(a), the Committee will review a request initially to determine whether to commence consideration of the request on its merits. Within 15 working days of receipt of a request, the Committee will determine whether the request provides the information necessary for the Committee to consider the request in light of the considerations set forth below. If the request does not, the Committee will promptly notify the requester of the reasons for this determination and the request will not be considered. However, the Committee will reevaluate any request that is resubmitted with additional information. Consistent with longstanding Committee practice in considering textile safeguard actions, the Committee will consider an interested party to be an entity (which may be a trade association, firm, certified or recognized union, or group of workers) that is representative of either:
(A)a domestic producer or producers of an article that is like or directly competitive with the subject Bahraini textile or apparel article; or
(B)a domestic producer or producers of a component used in the production of an article that is like or directly competitive with the subject Bahraini textile or apparel article. A request will only be considered if the request includes the specific information set forth below in support of a claim that a textile or apparel article from Bahrain is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to cause serious damage or actual threat thereof, to a U.S. industry producing an article that is like, or directly competitive with, the imported article. **A. Product description.** Name and description of the imported article concerned, including the category or categories or part thereof of the U.S. Textile and Apparel Category System (see “Textile Correlation” at *http://otexa.ita.doc.gov/corr.html* ) under which such article is classified, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States subheading(s) under which such article is classified, and the name and description of the like or directly competitive domestic article concerned. **B. Import data.** The following data, in quantity by category unit (see “Textile Correlation”), on total imports of the subject article into the United States and imports from Bahrain into the United States: * Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for which such data are available; * Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the previous year (e.g. January-March 2005, April-June 2005 and January-March 2004, April-June 2004). The data should demonstrate that imports of a Bahraini origin textile or apparel article that are like or directly competitive with the articles produced by the domestic industry concerned are increasing rapidly in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article. **C. Production data.** The following data, in quantity by category unit (see “Textile Correlation”), on U.S. domestic production of the like or directly competitive articles of U.S. origin indicating the nature and extent of the serious damage or actual threat thereof: * Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for which such data are available; * Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the previous year (e.g. January-March 2005, April-June 2005 and January-March 2004, April-June 2004). If the like or directly competitive article(s) of U.S. origin does not correspond to a category or categories of the U.S. Textile and Apparel Category system for which production data are available from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce (see “U.S. Imports, Production, Markets, Import Production Ratios and Domestic Market Shares for Textile and Apparel Product Categories” at website *http://otexa.ita.doc.gov/ipbook.pdf* ), the requester must provide a complete listing of all sources from which the data were obtained and an affirmation that to the best of the requester's knowledge, the data represent substantially all of the domestic production of the like or directly competitive article(s) of U.S. origin. In such cases, data should be reported in the first unit of quantity in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States *(http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts)* for the Bahraini origin textile and/or apparel articles and the like or directly competitive articles of U.S. origin. **D. Market Share Data.** The following data, in quantity by category unit (see “Textile Correlation”), on imports from Bahrain as a percentage of the domestic market (defined as the sum of domestic production of the like or directly competitive article and total imports of the subject article); on total imports as a percentage of the domestic market; and on domestic production of like or directly competitive articles as a percentage of the domestic market: * Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for which such data are available; * Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the previous year (e.g. January-March 2005, April-June 2005 and January-March 2004, April-June 2004). **E. Additional data showing serious damage or actual threat thereof.** All data available to the requester showing changes in productivity, utilization of capacity, inventories, exports, wages, employment, domestic prices, profits, and investment, and any other information, relating to the existence of serious damage or actual threat thereof caused by imports from Bahrain to the industry producing the like or directly competitive article that is the subject of the request. To the extent that such information is not available, the requester should provide best estimates and the basis therefore: * Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for which such data are available; * Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the previous year (e.g. January-March 2005, April-June 2005 and January-March 2004, April-June 2004). **2. Consideration of Requests.** Consistent with Section 321(b) of the Act, if the Committee determines that the request provides the information necessary for it to be considered, the Committee will cause to be published in the **Federal Register** a notice seeking public comments regarding the request, which will include a summary of the request and the date by which comments must be received. The **Federal Register** notice and the request, with the exception of information marked “business confidential,” will be posted by the Department of Commerce's Office of Textiles and Apparel (“OTEXA”) on the Internet ( *http://otexa.ita.doc.gov* ). The comment period shall be 30 calendar days. To the extent business confidential information is provided, a non-confidential version must also be provided, in which business confidential information is summarized or, if necessary, deleted. At the conclusion of its submission of such public comments, an interested party must attest that “all information contained in the request is complete and accurate and no false claims, statements, or representations have been made.” Comments received, with the exception of information marked “business confidential,” will be available in the Department of Commerce's Trade Information Center for review by the public. If a comment alleges that there is no serious damage or actual threat thereof, or that the subject imports are not the cause of the serious damage or actual threat thereof, the Committee will closely review any supporting information and documentation, such as information about domestic production or prices of like or directly competitive articles. In the case of requests submitted by entities that are not the actual producers of a like or directly competitive article, particular consideration will be given to comments representing the views of actual producers in the United States of a like or directly competitive article. Any interested party may submit information to rebut, clarify, or correct public comments submitted by any other interested party at any time prior to the deadline provided in this section for submission of such public comments. If public comments are submitted less than 10 days before, or on, the applicable deadline for submission of such public comments, an interested party may submit information to rebut, clarify, or correct the public comments no later than 10 days after the applicable deadline for submission of public comments. With respect to any request considered by the Committee, the Committee will make a determination within 60 calendar days of the close of the comment period. If the Committee is unable to make a determination within 60 calendar days, it will cause to be published in a notice in the **Federal Register** , including the date by which it will make a determination. If the Committee makes a negative determination, it will cause this determination and the reasons therefore to be published in the **Federal Register** . **3. Determination and Provision of Relief.** The Committee shall determine whether, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a duty under the Agreement, a Bahraini textile or apparel article is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to cause serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to a domestic industry producing an article that is like, or directly competitive with, the imported article. In making a determination, the Committee:
(1)shall examine the effect of increased imports on the domestic industry as reflected in such relevant economic factors as output, productivity, utilization of capacity, inventories, market share, exports, wages, employment, domestic prices, profits, and investment, none of which is necessarily decisive; and
(2)shall not consider changes in technology or consumer preference as factors supporting a determination of serious damage or actual threat thereof. The Committee, without delay, will provide written notice of its decision to the Government of Bahrain and will consult with said party upon its request. If a determination under this section is affirmative, the Committee may provide import tariff relief to a U.S. industry to the extent necessary to remedy or prevent the serious damage or actual threat thereof and to facilitate adjustment by the domestic industry to import competition. Such relief may consist of an increase in duties to the lower of:
(1)the NTR/MFN duty rate in place for the textile or apparel article at the time the relief is granted; or
(2)the NTR/MFN duty rate for that article on the day before the Agreement enters into force. The import tariff relief is effective beginning on the date that the Committee's affirmative determination is published in the **Federal Register** . The maximum period of import tariff relief shall be three years. However, if the initial period for import relief is less than three years, the Committee may extend the period of import relief to the maximum three years if the Committee determines that the continuation is necessary to remedy or prevent serious damage or actual threat thereof and to facilitate adjustment, and that there is evidence that the domestic industry is making a positive adjustment to import competition. Import tariff relief may not be imposed for an aggregate period greater than three years. Import tariff relief may not be applied to the same article under these procedures if relief previously has been granted with respect to that article under:
(1)these provisions; or
(2)Chapter 1 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974. Authority to provide import tariff relief for a textile or apparel article from Bahrain that is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to cause serious damage or actual threat thereof to a U.S. industry producing a like or directly competitive article, will expire ten years after duties on the article are eliminated pursuant to the Agreement. **4. Self Initiation.** The Committee may, on its own initiative, consider whether imports of a textile or apparel article from Bahrain are being imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to cause serious damage or actual threat thereof to a U.S. industry producing a like or directly competitive article. In such considerations, the Committee will follow procedures consistent with those set forth in Section 2 of this notice, including causing to be published in the **Federal Register** a notice seeking public comment regarding the action it is considering. **4. Record Keeping and Business Confidential Information.** OTEXA will maintain an official record for each request on behalf of the Committee. The official record will include all factual information, written argument, or other material developed by, presented to, or obtained by OTEXA regarding the request, as well as other material provided to the Department of Commerce by other government agencies for inclusion in the official record. The official record will include Committee memoranda pertaining to the request, memoranda of Committee meetings, meetings between OTEXA staff and the public, determinations, and notices published in the **Federal Register** . The official record will contain material which is public, business confidential, privileged, and classified, but will not include pre-decisional inter-agency or intra-agency communications. If the Committee decides it is appropriate to consider materials submitted in an untimely manner, such materials will be maintained in the official record. Otherwise, such material will be returned to the submitter and will not be maintained as part of the official record. OTEXA will make the official record public except for business confidential information, privileged information, classified information, and other information the disclosure of which is prohibited by U.S. law. The public record will be available to the public for inspection and copying in a public reading room located in the Department of Commerce, Trade Information Center. Information designated by the submitter as business confidential will normally be considered to be business confidential unless it is publicly available. The Committee will protect from disclosure any business confidential information that is marked “business confidential” to the full extent permitted by law. To the extent that business confidential information is provided, two copies of a non-confidential version must also be provided, in which business confidential information is summarized or, if necessary, deleted. The Committee will make available to the public non-confidential versions of the request that is being considered, non-confidential versions of any public comments received with respect to a request, and, in the event consultations are requested, the statement of the reasons and justifications for the determination subsequent to the delivery of the statement to Bahrain. Philip J. Martello, Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements. [FR Doc. E6-15869 Filed 9-26-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request—Consumer Opinion Forum AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: On May 1, 2006, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) published a notice in accordance with provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) (PRA), to announce the agency's intention to seek approval for a collection of information to be conducted through a Consumer Opinion Forum (Forum) posted on the CPSC Web site, *http://www.cpsc.gov.* 71 FR 25570. The Commission now announces that it has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB)a request for approval of that collection of information. The Commission received two comments. One commentor, Safe Kids Worldwide (Safe Kids), supported the collection of information because it believes that direct consumer input on specific consumer products would be beneficial to the Commission in its efforts to improve the safety of consumer products and improve the effectiveness of product recall campaigns. Safe Kids recommended that the Commission make public the participant responses on the Forum. Staff will evaluate whether posting summaries of participant responses on certain Forum topics or questions may be useful after the program is fully operational. Another commentor, the Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA), questioned how the comments would be solicited and verified. In addition, CSPA asked whether product-specific information would be kept confidential, and what role a manufacturer would have in such a Forum. In the first **Federal Register** notice, 71 FR 25570, the Commission explained in detail how information would be collected through the Forum. Any individual at least 18 years old who has access to the Internet and to e-mail may voluntarily register to participate in the Forum through the CPSC Web site. During the registration process, participants will be asked to provide an e-mail address and personal password to access the Forum. When a new question is posted in the Forum, registered participants may be invited via e-mail to log into the Forum and to provide responses to the posted question(s). Since the purpose of the Forum is to solicit consumer opinions and perceptions, the staff will not verify the responses provided by participants. Although questions related to certain product classes or categories might be posted in the Forum, staff does not intend to pose questions that are specific to a particular brand or model of product. Such information, however, may be received inadvertently through the Forum even if it is not solicited. To the extent that any information is obtained that could identify a specific product brand or model, such information will be kept confidential and will not be released. The information collected via the Forum will help Commission staff evaluate consumer products and product use by providing insight and information into consumer perceptions and usage patterns. Such information may also assist the staff in its efforts to support voluntary standards activities, and help the staff identify areas regarding consumer safety issues that need additional research. In addition, based on the information obtained, the staff may be able to provide safety information to the public that is easier to read and is more readily understood by a wider range of consumers. The Forum may also be used to solicit consumer opinions and feedback regarding the effectiveness of product recall communications and to determine what action is being taken by consumers in response to such communications and why. This may aid in tailoring future recall activities to increase the success of those activities. If this information is not collected, the Commission would not have available useful information regarding consumer experiences, opinions, and perceptions related to specific product use, which the Commission relies on in its ongoing efforts to improve the safety of consumer products on behalf of consumers. Additional Information About the Request for Approval of a Collection of Information *Agency address:* Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814. *Title of information collection:* Consumer Opinion Forum. *Type of request:* Approval of collection of information. *General description of respondents:* Consumers at least 18 years of age. *Estimated annual number of respondents:* 5,000. *Estimated average number of hours per respondent:* 3.16 per year. *Estimated number of hours for all respondents:* 15,833 per year. *Estimated cost per hour to respond:* $28.75 *Estimated cost of collection for all respondents:* $455,000. *Comments:* Comments on this request for approval of information collection requirements should be submitted by October 27, 2006 to
(1)The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for CPSC, Office of Management and Budget, Washington DC 20503; telephone:
(202)395-7340, and
(2)to the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at *cpsc-os@cpsc.gov,* or mailed to the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814. Comments may also be sent via facsimile at
(301)504-0127. Copies of this request for approval of information collection requirements and supporting documentation are available from Linda Glatz, Management and Program Analyst, Office of Planning and Evaluation, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone:
(301)504-7671. Dated: September 21, 2006. Todd A. Stevenson, Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission. [FR Doc. E6-15773 Filed 9-26-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6355-01-P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary [Transmittal No. 06-57] 36(b)(1) Arms Sales Notification AGENCY: Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text of a section 36(b)(1) arms sales notification. This is published to fulfill the requirements of section 155 of Public Law 104-164 dated 21 July 1996. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. J. Hurd, DSCA/DBO/ADM,
(703)604-6575. The following is a copy of a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Transmittal 06-57 with attached transmittal, policy justification, and Sensitivity of Technology. Dated: September 20, 2006. C.R. Choate, Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense. BILLING CODE 5001-06-M EN27SE06.098 EN27SE06.099 EN27SE06.100 EN27SE06.101 EN27SE06.102 EN27SE06.103 [FR Doc. 06-8291 Filed 9-26-06; 8:45 am]
Connectionstraces to 5
3 references not yet in our index
- 50 CFR 222
- 50 CFR 18
- Pub. L. 104-164
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Notices
Notice; receipt of application for modification SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1097, has requested a modification to scientific research Permit No
Cite50 CFR 222
Cite50 CFR 18
Pub. L.Pub. L. 104-164
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