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Code · REGISTER · 2007-01-16 · PROPOSED RULES · Unknown

Unknown. Confirmation of regulations

18,738 words·~85 min read·/register/2007/01/16/07-120

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--- schema: federal-register doc_type: fedreg source_file: FR-2007-01-16.xml --- 72 9 Tuesday, January 16, 2007 Contents Agency Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 1723-1726 07-108 07-109 Agricultural Agricultural Marketing Service RULES Mushroom promotion, research, and consumer information order, 1657 E7-427 PROPOSED RULES Cherries
(tart)grown in Michigan et al., 1681-1685 E7-423 Cranberries grown in Massachusetts, et al, 1677-1681 E7-424 E7-428 Potatoes (Irish) grown in Washington, 1685-1688 E7-425 Potato research and promotion plan, 1688-1689 E7-426 Agriculture Agriculture Department See Agricultural Marketing Service Alcohol Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 1766-1767 E7-415 E7-416 Arts Arts and Humanities, National Foundation See National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Children Children and Families Administration NOTICES Grants and cooperative agreements; availability, etc.: Family Violence Prevention and Services, 1726-1743 E7-372 E7-373 E7-374 Commerce Commerce Department See Foreign-Trade Zones Board See Industry and Security Bureau See International Trade Administration See National Institute of Standards and Technology See National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration See Patent and Trademark Office Commodity Commodity Futures Trading Commission RULES Commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisers: Electronic filing of notices of exemption and exclusion, 1658-1664 E7-174 Comptroller Comptroller of the Currency NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 1802 E7-388 Defense Defense Department See Navy Department NOTICES Reports and guidance documents; availability, etc.: Materials and Equipment Manual; multi-agency radiation survey and assessment, 1708-1709 07-118 Employment Employment and Training Administration RULES Federal Unemployment Tax Act: Unemployment compensation; eligibility, 1890-1895 E7-155 NOTICES Adjustment assistance; applications, determinations, etc.: Icelandic USA, Inc., et al., 1768-1769 E7-467 Intelliden, Inc., et al., 1769-1771 E7-462 Joy Technologies, Inc., 1771-1774 E7-463 Lego Systems, Inc., et al., 1775-1776 E7-466 Sunshine School Uniforms and Supply Co., 1776 E7-464 Sygenta Crop Protection, 1776 E7-465 Energy Energy Department See Federal Energy Regulatory Commission NOTICES Environmental statements; availability, etc.: Gilberton Coal-to-Clean Fuels and Power Project, PA, 1710-1711 E7-409 Reports and guidance documents; availability, etc.: Materials and Equipment Manual; multi-agency radiation survey and assessment, 1708-1709 07-118 EPA Environmental Protection Agency RULES Air programs; approval and promulgation; State plans for designated facilities and pollutants: New Jersey, 1668-1670 E7-413 Solid wastes: State municipal solid waste landfill permit programs— Nebraska; withdrawn, 1670-1671 E7-414 NOTICES Reports and guidance documents; availability, etc.: Materials and Equipment Manual; multi-agency radiation survey and assessment, 1708-1709 07-118 Superfund; response and remedial actions, proposed settlements, etc.: PCB Treatment Inc. Site, MO, 1722 E7-358 Tru-Fit Battery Site, IA, 1722-1723 E7-412 Water pollution control: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System— Alaska; small suction dredge mining; general permit reissuance, 1723 E7-410 Executive Executive Office of the President See Presidential Documents FAA Federal Aviation Administration RULES Air carrier certification and operations: Multi-engine airplanes; extended operations, 1808-1887 07-39 Low altitude reporting points, 1658 E7-317 Federal Energy Federal Energy Regulatory Commission NOTICES Complaints filed: BP West Coast Products LLC et al., 1716 E7-448 Newark Bay Cogeneration Partnership, L.P., et al., 1716 E7-447 Xcel Energy Services Inc., et al., 1716-1717 E7-446 Electric rate and corporate regulation combined filings, 1717-1719 E7-450 Environmental statements; availability, etc.: Jordan Cove Energy Project, L.P. and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline, L.P.; meeting, 1719 E7-437 Environmental statements; notice of intent: Dominion Transmission, Inc., 1719-1721 E7-445 Meetings: Broadwater LNG Project, CT, 1721 E7-444 Spokane River Developments and Post Falls Hydroelectric Projects, WA, 1721-1722 E7-443 Wholesale power markets competition; conference, 1722 E7-449 *Applications, hearings, determinations, etc.:* Acadian Gas Pipeline System, 1711 E7-438 Aragonne Wind, LLC, 1711 E7-432 Casselman Windpower, LLC, 1711-1712 E7-433 Cypress Gas Pipeline, LLC, 1712 E7-439 Dogwood Energy, LLC, 1712-1713 E7-436 Invenergy Cannon Falls, LLC, 1713 E7-435 Iroquois Gas Transmission System, L.P., 1713 E7-430 Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas Transmission LLC, 1713-1714 E7-441 Minnesota Energy Resources Corp., 1714 E7-442 MMC Mid-Sun, LLC, 1714-1715 E7-434 Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America, 1715 E7-440 Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp., 1715-1716 E7-431 Federal Highway Federal Highway Administration NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 1801 E7-395 Financial Financial Management Service See Fiscal Service Fiscal Fiscal Service NOTICES Surety companies acceptable on Federal bonds: Old Republic General Insurance Corp.; name change, 1802-1803 07-117 Food Food and Drug Administration NOTICES Meetings: Prescription Drug User Fee Act, 1743-1753 07-122 Foreign Foreign Claims Settlement Commission NOTICES Meetings; Sunshine Act, 1767 07-128 MISSING FOR: Foreign-Trade Zones Board Foreign-Trade Zones Board NOTICES *Applications, hearings, determinations, etc.:* Texas Premcor Refining Group Inc.; oil refinery, 1703 E7-460 Geological Geological Survey NOTICES Committees; establishment, renewal, termination, etc.: Climate Change Science Program Committee for Synthesis and Assessment Product 3.4: Abrupt Climate Change, 1760 07-111 Health Health and Human Services Department See Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality See Children and Families Administration See Food and Drug Administration See Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Homeland Homeland Security Department NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 1755 E7-387 Privacy Act; systems of records, 1755-1759 E7-375 Housing Housing and Urban Development Department NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 1759-1760 E7-386 Industry Industry and Security Bureau NOTICES Meetings: Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee, 1703 07-121 Interior Interior Department See Geological Survey See Land Management Bureau See National Park Service See Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office IRS Internal Revenue Service NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 1803 E7-379 Meetings: Taxpayer Advocacy Panels, 1803-1805 E7-377 E7-383 E7-385 International International Trade Administration NOTICES Antidumping: Polyester staple fiber from— Taiwan and Korea, 1703-1704 E7-456 Weighted average dumping margin calculation during duty investigation, 1704 E7-457 Meetings: U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, 1704 07-136 Justice Justice Department See Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau See Foreign Claims Settlement Commission See Justice Programs Office NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 1765-1766 E7-418 Justice Justice Programs Office NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 1767-1768 E7-417 Labor Labor Department See Employment and Training Administration Land Land Management Bureau NOTICES Meetings: Resource Advisory Councils— Idaho Falls District, 1760-1761 E7-398 Realty actions; sales, leases, etc.: New Mexico, 1761-1762 E7-371 Survey plat filings: Idaho, 1762-1763 E7-397 National Credit National Credit Union Administration NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, E7-451 1776-1777 E7-452 National Foundation National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities NOTICES Meetings; Sunshine Act, 1777 07-138 National Institute National Institute of Standards and Technology NOTICES Meetings: Advanced Technology Program Advisory Committee, 1705 E7-468 NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RULES Fishery conservation and management: Alaska; fisheries of Exclusive Economic Zone— Pollock, 1671-1676 07-120 PROPOSED RULES Fishery conservation and management: Western Pacific fisheries— Sea turtles protection; Hawaii-based shallow-set longline fishery 7-day delay, 1700-1702 E7-459 International fisheries regulations: Pacific halibut— Catch sharing plan, 1690-1700 E7-420 Marine mammals: Commercial fishing authorizations— Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan; comment request, 1689-1690 E7-367 NOTICES Committees; establishment, renewal, termination, etc.: Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council, 1705-1706 07-114 Endangered and threatened species permit applications, determinations, etc., 1706 E7-365 Fishery conservation and management: West Coast States and Western Pacific fisheries— Pacific Coast groundfish observer coverage plan and sablefish at-sea processing prohibition exemption, 1706-1707 E7-461 Scientific research permit applications, determinations, etc., 1707-1708 E7-368 National Park National Park Service NOTICES Environmental statements; notice of intent: National Mall and Memorial Parks, Washington, DC, 1763 E7-396 National Register of Historic Places; pending nominations, 1763-1764 E7-376 National Science National Science Foundation NOTICES Meetings: 21st Century Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Commission, 1777-1778 E7-558 Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering Committee, 1778 07-112 Navy Navy Department NOTICES Patent licenses; non-exclusive, exclusive, or partially exclusive: Emerald Coast Technology Group, LLC, 1709-1710 07-115 Nuclear Nuclear Regulatory Commission NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 1778 E7-403 Meetings: Reactor Safeguards Advisory Committee, 1778-1779 E7-404 Operating licenses, amendments; no significant hazards considerations; biweekly notices, 1779-1783 E7-321 Reports and guidance documents; availability, etc.: Materials and Equipment Manual; multi-agency radiation survey and assessment, 1708-1709 07-118 Patent Patent and Trademark Office RULES Practice and procedures: Priority document exchange between intellectual property offices, 1664-1668 E7-113 Presidential Presidential Documents ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS North Korea; sanctions against for detonation of a nuclear explosive device (Presidential Determination) No. 2007-7 of December 7, 2006, 1897-1899 07-133 Jerusalem Embassy Act; suspension of limitations (Presidential Determination) No. 2007-9 of December 15, 2006, 1901 07-134 Vietnam; eligibility to receive defense articles and services (Presidential Determination) No. 2007-10 of December 29, 2006, 1903 07-135 PROCLAMATIONS Special observances: Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday (Proc. 8099), 1905-1908 07-160 Religious Freedom Day (Proc. 8100), 1909 07-161 Public Public Debt Bureau See Fiscal Service SEC Securities and Exchange Commission NOTICES Self-regulatory organizations; proposed rule changes: American Stock Exchange LLC, 1783-1786 E7-381 E7-384 Boston Stock Exchange, Inc., 1786-1793 E7-406 Depository Trust Co., 1793-1794 E7-389 NYSE Arca, Inc., 1794-1798 E7-390 E7-405 SBA Small Business Administration NOTICES Meetings: National Women's Business Council, 1798 E7-402 Regulatory Fairness Boards— Region II; hearing, 1798 E7-400 Region IV; hearing, 1798 E7-401 State State Department NOTICES Meetings: Industry Advisory Panel, 1798 E7-421 International Law Advisory Committee, 1799 E7-512 International Security Advisory Board, 1799 E7-422 Substance Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration NOTICES Federal agency urine drug testing; certified laboratories meeting minimum standards, list, 1753-1754 E7-394 Surface Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office NOTICES Environmental statements; availability, etc.: Black Mesa and Kayenta coal mines et al., AZ and NV; meeting, 1764-1765 E7-454 Susquehanna Susquehanna River Basin Commission NOTICES Reports and guidance documents; availability, etc.: Water resource projects approved; list, 1799-1800 E7-391 Transportation Transportation Department See Federal Aviation Administration See Federal Highway Administration NOTICES Aviation proceedings: Agreements filed; weekly receipts, 1800 E7-407 Certificates of public convenience and necessity and foreign air carrier permits; weekly applications, 1800-1801 E7-408 Treasury Treasury Department See Comptroller of the Currency See Fiscal Service See Internal Revenue Service NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 1801 E7-458 Veterans Veterans Affairs Department NOTICES Privacy Act; computer matching programs, 1805-1806 E7-364 Separate Parts In This Issue Part II Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration, 1808-1887 07-39 Part III Labor Department, Employment and Training Administration, 1890-1895 E7-155 Part IV Executive Office of the President, Presidential Documents, 1897-1899, 1901, 1903 07-133 07-134 07-135 Part V Executive Office of the President, Presidential Documents, 1905-1909 07-160 07-161 Reader Aids Consult the Reader Aids section at the end of this issue for phone numbers, online resources, finding aids, reminders, and notice of recently enacted public laws. To subscribe to the Federal Register Table of Contents LISTSERV electronic mailing list, go to http://listserv.access.gpo.gov and select Online mailing list archives, FEDREGTOC-L, Join or leave the list (or change settings); then follow the instructions. 72 9 Tuesday, January 16, 2007 Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service 7 CFR Part 1209 [Docket No. AMS-FV-06-0218, FV-05-710] Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order; Section 610 Review AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Confirmation of regulations. SUMMARY: This document summarizes the results of an Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS)review of the Mushroom Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Program under the criteria contained in section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Based on this review, AMS has determined that the Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order should be continued without change. ADDRESSES: Interested persons may obtain a copy of the review. Requests for copies should be sent to Deborah S. Simmons, Research and Promotion Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs (FV), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA, Stop 0244, Room 0634-S, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0244 or *deborah.simmons@usda.gov* . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sonia N. Jimenez, Research and Promotion Branch, FV, AMS, USDA, Stop 0244, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 0634-S, Washington, DC 20250-0244; telephone:
(888)720-9917 fax:
(202)205-2800; or e-mail: *sonia.jimenez@usda.gov* . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act of 1990 (Act), (7 U.S.C. 6101 *et seq.* ) authorized the Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Program (Program) which is industry-operated and funded, with oversight by USDA. The Program's objective is to carry out an effective, continuous, and coordinated program of promotion, research, consumer information, and industry information. It is designed to strengthen the mushroom industry's position in the marketplace, maintain and expand existing markets and uses for mushrooms, develop new markets and uses for mushrooms, and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the mushroom industry. The Program became effective on January 8, 1993, when the Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order (7 CFR part 1209) (Order) was issued. Assessments began in 1993 at the rate of 0.0025 cents per pound and have fluctuated from 0.0010 to 0.0045 cents per pound. The current rate is 0.0035 cents per pound. Assessments under this Program are used to fund retail category management, research concerning nutritional attributes of mushrooms, foodservice training, and industry information, and to enable the Mushroom Council (Council) to exercise its duties in accordance with the Order. The program is administered by the Council which is composed of producers and may include importers, all of whom are appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture from nominations submitted by eligible producers or importers. Producer membership on the Council is based upon mushroom production within each of the four predesignated geographic regions within the U.S. and a fifth region representing importers (when imports, on average, equal or exceed 35,000,000 pounds of mushrooms annually). All members serve terms of three years. AMS published its plan to review the Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order, (conducted under the Act), under criteria contained in Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act
(RFA)(5 U.S.C. 601-612) in the **Federal Register** on February 18, 1999. The plan was updated in the **Federal Register** on August 14, 2003 (68 FR 48574), and updated again on March 24, 2006 (71 FR 14827). A notice of review and request for written comments was published in the **Federal Register** on December 14, 2005 (70 FR 73945). One comment was received, opposing the program in general. However, as discussed herein, AMS has determined that the Order should be continued without change. The purpose of the review was to determine whether the Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order should be continued without change, amended, or rescinded (consistent with the objectives of the Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act of 1990) to minimize the impacts on small entities. In conducting this review, AMS considered whether there was a continued need for the Order; the nature of complaints or comments received from the public concerning the Order; the complexity of the Order; the extent to which the Order overlaps, duplicates, or conflicts with other Federal rules, and, to the extent feasible, with State and local regulations; and the length of time since the Order has been evaluated or the degree to which technology, economic conditions, or other factors have changed in the area affected by the Order. Currently there are 125 producers and 19 importers covered under the Order. AMS provides Federal oversight of the Mushroom research and promotion program. The Order is not unduly complex, and AMS has not identified regulations that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the Order. Over the years, the Order has been amended to change the number of members in each district and to add a fifth district for representation by importers. The AMS has not received complaints about the Order. Based upon the review, AMS has determined that the Order should be continued without change. AMS plans to continue working with the mushroom industry in maintaining an effective program. Dated: January 10, 2007. Lloyd C. Day, Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service. [FR Doc. E7-427 Filed 1-12-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-02-P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration 14 CFR Part 71 [Docket No. FAA-2006-25905; Airspace Docket No. 06-AAL-30] RIN 2120-AA66 Revocation of Low Altitude Reporting Point; AK AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This action revokes the HERRY as an Alaskan low altitude reporting point. The FAA has determined that this reporting point should be removed from the National Airspace System (NAS), since the HERRY is no longer used as a low altitude reporting point. DATES: *Effective Date:* 0901 UTC, March 15, 2007. The Director of Federal Register approves this incorporation by reference action under 1 CFR part 51, subject to the annual revision of FAA Order 7400.9 and publication of conforming amendments. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken McElroy, Airspace and Rules, Office of System Operations Airspace and Aeronautical Information Management, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone:
(202)267-8783. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background In October 2006, it was determined that the HERRY low altitude reporting point was no longer required to support the NAS and is no longer used by the FAA. The Rule This action amends Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 by revoking the HERRY low altitude reporting point. Accordingly, since this action only involves a change in the legal description, notice and public procedure under 5 U.S.C. 533(b) are unnecessary. Alaskan low altitude reporting points are published in paragraph 7004 of FAA Order 7400.9P dated September 1, 2006, and effective September 15, 2006, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The low altitude reporting points listed in this document will be removed subsequently in the Order. The FAA has determined that this regulation only involves an established body of technical regulations for which frequent and routine amendments are necessary to keep them operationally current. Therefore, this regulation:
(1)Is not a “significant regulatory action” under Executive Order 12866;
(2)is not a “significant rule” under Department of Transportation
(DOT)Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034; February 26, 1979); and
(3)does not warrant preparation of a regulatory evaluation as the anticipated impact is so minimal. Since this is a routine matter that will only affect air traffic procedures and air navigation, it is certified that this rule, when promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Environmental Review The FAA has determined that this action qualifies for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act in accordance with FAA Order 1050.1E, paragraph 311(a), “Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures.” This airspace action is not expected to cause any potentially significant environmental impacts, and no extraordinary circumstances exist that warrant preparation of an environmental assessment. List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71 Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air). Adoption of the Amendment In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation Administration amends 14 CFR part 71 as follows: PART 71—DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR TRAFFIC SERVICE ROUTES; AND REPORTING POINTS 1. The authority citation for part 71 continues to read as follows: Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389. § 71.1 [Amended] 2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order 7400.9P, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated September 1, 2006, and effective September 15, 2006, is amended as follows: Paragraph 7004 Alaskan Low Altitude Reporting Points. **Herry, AK [Revoked]** Issued in Washington, DC on January 4, 2007. Edith V. Parish, Manager, Airspace and Rules. [FR Doc. E7-317 Filed 1-12-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-13-P COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 17 CFR Part 4 RIN 3038-AC33 Electronic Filing of Notices of Exemption and Exclusion Under Part 4 of the Commission's Regulations AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission. ACTION: Final rulemaking. SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission” or “CFTC”) is amending Commission regulations to require that notices of exemption or exclusion under Part 4 of the Commission's regulations submitted to National Futures Association (“NFA”) be filed electronically. Under the regulations the Commission is amending, the submission of a notice through NFA's electronic exemption filing system by a person duly authorized to bind the submitter will be permitted in lieu of the manual signature currently required by each of these regulations. In addition, the Commission also is adopting technical amendments that remove the procedure for making filings with the Commission required by Part 4, and revising other sections of Part 4 to refer to filings made with NFA rather than the Commission. DATES: *Effective Date:* February 15, 2007. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eileen R. Chotiner, Futures Trading Specialist, at
(202)418-5467, or Kevin P. Walek, Assistant Director, at
(202)418-5463, Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20581. Electronic mail: *echotiner@cftc.gov* or *kwalek@cftc.gov* . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background A. Exemptions and Exclusions Under Part 4 of the Commission's Regulations On October 13, 2006, the Commission published for public comment proposed amendments to Part 4 of its regulations. 1 Part 4 of the Commission's regulations applies to the operation of commodity pool operators (“CPOs”) and commodity trading advisors (“CTAs”). Generally, a person who operates a commodity pool must register with the Commission as a CPO, 2 and a person who manages clients' trading must register with the Commission as a CTA. 3 Under Commission Regulation 4.5, certain “otherwise regulated persons” are excluded from the CPO definition. These persons include registered investment companies, banks and trust companies, insurance companies, and fiduciaries of ERISA pension plans. A person who qualifies for the exclusion must file a notice of eligibility with NFA. 4 1 Commission regulations cited to herein are found at 17 CFR Ch. I (2006). 2 Regulation 4.10(d)(1) defines a pool as “any investment trust, syndicate or similar form of enterprise operated for the purpose of trading commodity interests.” 3 The Commodity Exchange Act (“Act”) defines a CTA as any person who “for compensation or profit, engages in the business of advising others * * * as to the value of or the advisability of trading in” commodity interests. 7 U.S.C. 1a(6) (2000). 4 NFA is a registered futures association under the Act. 7 U.S.C. 21 (2000). As discussed below, the Commission has delegated to NFA the responsibility for administrating the Commission's registration program. Commission regulations also make certain exemptions from CPO and CTA registration available to persons who meet specified criteria. Regulation 4.13 permits exemption from registration for CPOs that limit their activities to small or family pools; or whose participants are highly sophisticated; or whose pools limit participants to SEC “accredited investors” 5 as that term is defined in the regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and limit trading of commodity interests to a minimum amount specified in the regulation. A notice claiming exemption from registration as a CPO must be filed with NFA. 5 17 CFR 230.501(a) (2006). A CTA is exempt from registration if it meets criteria specified in Regulation 4.14, including: it furnishes trading advice solely to commodity pools for which it is the registered CPO or for which it is exempt from CPO registration; it provides advice solely incidental to the conduct of one of certain businesses or professions listed in the Act or the Commission's regulations; it is registered with the Commission in another capacity and its advice is solely in connection with acting in that other capacity; it does not manage client accounts or provide commodity trading advice based on, or tailored to, the financial positions of particular clients; or it is an SEC-registered investment adviser whose futures advice is incidental to providing securities trading advice to the “otherwise regulated” trading vehicles specified in Regulation 4.5, or to CPOs of pools operated pursuant to the exemptions in Regulations 4.13(a)(3) and (4). A notice must be filed to claim the exemption available to SEC-registered investment advisers who meet the criteria set forth in Regulation 4.14(a)(8); the other exemptions from CTA registration do not require the filing of an exemption notice to be effective. 6 6 A statutory exemption from CTA registration exists in Section 4m(1) of the Act for a person who has not had more than 15 clients during a 12-month period and is not otherwise holding itself out as a CTA. 7 U.S.C. 6m (2000). A person who qualifies for this exemption is not required to file a notice claiming the exemption. Registered CPOs are required to provide a disclosure document to prospective participants that includes disclosure of risks and information such as the business backgrounds of persons involved with the pool, investment objectives, fees, conflicts, material litigation, and past performance. The CPO must provide unaudited periodic reports and certified annual reports on the pool's financial operations to the pool's participants. Disclosure documents and annual reports also must be filed with NFA. Further, the CPO is required to make and keep specified books and records for a period of five years, and make them available for inspection by the CFTC, NFA, and the United States Department of Justice. Registered CTAs must provide to prospective participants, and file with NFA, disclosure documents containing information about their trading programs, and also must comply with specified recordkeeping requirements. The Commission has established a simplified regulatory framework for registered CPOs and CTAs who operate or advise pools and accounts whose participants meet the criteria specified in Regulation 4.7. Relief from full compliance with the disclosure, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements is available where, for example, pool participants are CFTC or SEC registrants, “inside employees” of the CPO or CTA, or persons who earn $200,000 annually and who have assets worth at least $2 million. A CPO offering a pool whose futures trading is incidental to its securities trading and is limited to 10 percent of the pool's net assets may claim exemption from some disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping requirements pursuant to Regulation 4.12(b). A person claiming exemption under Regulations 4.7 or 4.12(b) must file a notice with NFA. In a Notice and Order issued in 1997, 7 the Commission authorized NFA to process:
(1)Notices of eligibility for exclusion from the definition of CPO for certain otherwise regulated persons, pursuant to Commission Regulation 4.5;
(2)notices of claim for exemption from certain Part 4 requirements with respect to commodity pools and CTAs whose participants or clients are qualified eligible persons, pursuant to Commission Regulation 4.7;
(3)claims of exemption from certain Part 4 requirements for CPOs with respect to pools that principally trade securities, pursuant to Commission Regulation 4.12(b);
(4)statements of exemption from registration as a CPO, pursuant to Commission Regulation 4.13; and
(5)notices of exemption from registration as a CTA for certain persons registered with the SEC as an investment adviser, pursuant to Regulation 4.14(a)(8). The Commission also made NFA the custodian of those records. 8 7 62 FR 52088 (October 6, 1997). 8 At the time NFA was authorized to process these notices, Commission regulations required that copies of the notices also be filed with the Commission. In December 2002, the Commission revised its regulations to require that such notices be filed solely with NFA. 67 FR 77409 (December 18, 2002). B. Electronic Filing of Part 4 Notices NFA petitioned the Commission to amend its regulations to require that the notices required under Regulations 4.5, 4.7, 4.12(b), 4.13, and 4.14(a)(8) be filed electronically with NFA, and that submission of a notice by a representative duly authorized to bind the person be permitted in lieu of the manual signature currently specified under each regulation that requires a notice filing. After considering the comments received, the Commission has determined to amend Regulations 4.5, 4.7, 4.12(b), 4.13, and 4.14(a)(8) as set forth herein to effectuate this purpose. Firms that are registered with the Commission in any capacity and non-registrants will both access NFA's electronic filing system through the use of a designated user ID and password. Registered firms will establish access for appropriate staff using the security manager process in place for their existing Online Registration System (“ORS”) accounts, the process that is currently used for registration and other electronic filings with NFA. 9 In order to enable non-registrants, who are not required to have ORS accounts, to file exemption notices, NFA has established a new process that contains similar safeguards regarding the identity of the filers and provides the non-registrant with the ability to establish one or more system users. For both registrants and non-registrants, the person who submits a notice must be a representative duly authorized to bind the submitter. The person or firm that is making the filing, or on whose behalf the filing is made, is responsible for ensuring that only persons who are duly authorized to bind the filer are granted the ability to submit notices. 9 The Commission previously has adopted amendments to its regulations to enable NFA to utilize an online system for registration functions (67 FR 38,869 (June 6, 2002)). The Commission also adopted amendments to its regulations to require electronic filing of financial statements of commodity pools (71 FR 8939 (February 22, 2006)) and introducing brokers (71 FR 67462 (November 22, 2006)). The electronic filing system will allow filers to select the applicable exemption type and complete a form that will provide the information required for the exemption filing. Each form contains a statement by the representative submitting the form that the information contained therein is accurate and complete, to the best of his or her knowledge, and that the submitter is duly authorized to bind the person making the claim. Submission of the electronic form will record the data regarding the filing in NFA's database system. The system also will allow the filer to create a printer-friendly version of exemption notices for the filer's records. The amendments will no longer require persons filing the notices with NFA to do so in paper form. Therefore, the Commission has concluded that electronic transmission of a written notification to participants, such as by electronic mail or facsimile, is consistent with the requirement to provide the information in writing and is amending each of the regulations with a participant notification requirement, with the exception of Regulation 4.5, to make explicit that notice may be delivered through electronic transmission. In adopting such amendment, the Commission has reasoned that the provision of written notice necessarily requires that the exemption filer establish with the participant a method to deliver the written communication. Should a participant have provided an email address or facsimile number to the exemption filer for the purpose of receiving communications from that person, the participant can reasonably be expected to receive such written communications from the party, including the written notification required under Commission regulations, through such method of electronic transmission. As discussed in the proposal, the Commission is not revising Regulation 4.5 with respect to disclosure to participants. Regulation 4.5 requires that the qualifying entity disclose in writing to participants that it is operating pursuant to the terms of Regulation 4.5. When it adopted Regulation 4.5, the Commission noted that the qualifying entity may satisfy this requirement by including the information in any document that its other federal or state regulator requires to be furnished routinely to participants. If no such document is furnished routinely, the information may be disclosed in any instrument establishing the entity's investment policies and objectives that the other regulator requires to be made available to the entity's participants. 10 Therefore, the Commission is amending Regulation 4.5 to contain clarification regarding the provision of disclosure according to the requirements of other regulators. 10 50 FR 15879 (April 23, 1985). C. Technical Amendments As proposed, the Commission is removing and reserving Regulation 4.2, which specifies technical requirements, such as address, for material filed with the Commission under Part 4 of its regulations. Amendments to Commission regulations adopted in 2002 11 no longer require that any filings required under Part 4 be submitted to the Commission and thus the continued existence of Regulation 4.2 is no longer necessary. Further, two provisions within Part 4 inadvertently were not amended in 2002 and continue to include references to filing with the Commission. Accordingly, the Commission is adopting technical amendments to Regulations 4.8 and 4.12(b) to conform these sections to the current filing requirements in the other regulations to which they refer. 11 See note 2. II. Comments The Commission received two comment letters on the proposed amendments, from NFA and the Committee on Futures Regulation of the New York City Bar Association (“Bar Association”). NFA supported the proposed amendments and stated that electronic filing of Part 4 notices would increase efficiency, reduce staff time currently devoted to processing notices, and eliminate data entry errors because the person claiming the notice will enter the information directly into the system. Both NFA and the Bar Association commented regarding Advisory 18-96, which is discussed in detail in Section III, below. III. Advisory 18-96 NFA also petitioned the Commission to amend Advisory 18-96, which was issued by the Commission's former Division of Trading and Markets, now the Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight. 12 Advisory 18-96 makes available exemptions from disclosure and reporting requirements under Regulations 4.21 and 4.22, and specified recordkeeping requirements under Regulation 4.23, to registered CPOs of commodity pools organized and operated outside the United States and offered solely to non-United States persons. 13 In considering NFA's petition, the Commission reexamined Advisory 18-96 and concluded that additional exemptions from CPO registration adopted in 2003 have essentially superseded the provisions of Advisory 18-96. Specifically, Regulation 4.13(a)(4) permits a CPO to claim exemption from CPO registration where the pool is offered pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 and its participants are limited to natural persons who are qualified eligible persons (“QEPs”) under Regulation 4.7(a)(2), and non-natural persons that are either QEPs under Regulation 4.7 or accredited investors under 17 CFR 230.501(a)(1)-(3), (a)(7) and (a)(8). Since non-United States persons are included in the definition of QEP in Regulation 4.7(a)(2), CPOs meeting the criteria of Advisory 18-96 may instead claim the exemption available under Regulation 4.13(a)(4), which offers more extensive relief than that available under Advisory 18-96. 12 In 1997, the Commission also authorized NFA to process notices of exemption pursuant to Advisory 18-96. See note 1. Since 1997, NFA has received approximately 500 notices of exemption pursuant to Advisory 18-96. 13 “Non-United States person” is defined in Regulation 4.7(a)(1)(iv). Based on the overlap between the terms of Advisory 18-96 and Regulation 4.13(a)(4), the Commission suggested in the proposing release that it may be appropriate to supersede Advisory 18-96 prospectively, and requested comments on this approach. The Commission asked in particular for comment on whether there are any conflicts between the criteria and relief in Advisory 18-96 and Regulation 4.13(a)(4), and whether the unavailability of Advisory 18-96 on a prospective basis would result in any adverse consequences for CPOs. The Commission proposed that CPOs that have previously claimed relief under Advisory 18-96 would be permitted to continue to rely on the terms of Advisory 18-96, or could choose to claim exemption pursuant to Regulation 4.13(a)(4). The Bar Association's sole comment related to Advisory 18-96. The letter noted that, while most the provisions of Advisory 18-96 have been superseded, there is still a benefit to retaining Advisory 18-96. Specifically, unlike Regulation 4.13(a)(4), the Advisory does not contain a requirement that a CPO inform participants in writing regarding the CPO's unregistered status and exemption from certain requirements. The Bar Association asserted that practitioners who advise offshore hedge funds believe that it is unnecessary and potentially confusing to the non-U.S. domiciled investors to explain why the sponsor is not registered with a U.S. futures regulator, and recommended that Advisory 18-96 be retained as an option for CPOs. NFA agreed in its comment letter that section
(a)of Advisory 18-96 could be retired without consequence due to the existence of Regulation 4.13(a)(4), but suggested that the Commission consider the consequences of superseding section
(b)of the Advisory. Section
(b)of Advisory 18-96 provides relief from the requirement that a CPO maintain a pool's books and records at the CPO's main business office inside the U.S. where the main business office of the pool is located outside the U.S., as long as the CPO maintains the pool's original books and records at the pool's main office located outside the U.S., keeps duplicate books and records of the commodity pool at a designated office in the U.S., and makes the original records available within 72 hours upon the request of the Commission, the United States Department of Justice or NFA. NFA noted that pools that qualify for relief under Section
(b)of Advisory 18-96 do not necessarily qualify for relief under Regulation 4.13(a)(4); therefore, superseding the Advisory would preclude new offshore pools from taking advantage of this relief. Based on the comments received, the Commission has determined that it should retain provisions of Advisory 18-96 that continue to be applicable to the activities of U.S. CPOs operating offshore pools. Accordingly, Advisory 18-96 will remain in effect, and relief may continue to be claimed by CPOs by filing a paper notice with NFA. The Commission will further consider whether it would be appropriate to propose future amendments to Part 4 to codify the relief provided by Advisory 18-96. IV. Amendments Regulations 4.5, 4.7, 4.12(b), 4.13, and 4.14(a)(8) require that the notice claiming the exclusion or exemption available pursuant to each such regulation must be filed in paper form. The Commission is amending Regulations 4.5, 4.7, 4.12(b), 4.13, and 4.14(a)(8) Regulation to provide that the notice claiming exclusion or exemption must be filed electronically with NFA through compliance with NFA's electronic filing procedures. V. Related Matters A. Regulatory Flexibility Act The Regulatory Flexibility Act (“RFA”), 5 U.S.C. 601 *et seq.* , requires that agencies, in proposing rules, consider the impact of those rules on small businesses. The Commission previously has established certain definitions of “small entities” to be used by the Commission in evaluating the impact of its rules on such entities in accordance with the RFA. 14 The proposed rule amendments will not place any burdens, whether new or additional, on CPOs and CTAs who would be affected hereunder, as the proposed amendments simply alter the mechanism for filing notices of exemption and do not affect the substance of those filings or the nature of the qualifying criteria. The Commission's proposal solicited public comment on this analysis. 15 No comments were received. Accordingly, the Chairman, on behalf of the Commission, hereby certifies, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), that the action it is taking herein will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 14 47 FR 18618 (April 30, 1982). 15 71 FR 60454 at 60456 (October 1, 2006). B. Paperwork Reduction Act This rulemaking alters the method of collection of information required under Commission regulations, but does not alter the substance of the filings. Therefore, the Commission certified in its proposal that the proposed rule amendments, if promulgated in final form, would not impact the total annual reporting or recordkeeping burden associated with the applicable collection of information. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)), the Commission submitted a copy of this section to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for its review. No comments were received in response to the Commission's invitation in the notice of proposed rulemaking 16 to comment on any change in the potential paperwork burden associated with these rule amendments. 16 Id. C. Cost-Benefit Analysis Section 15(a) of the Act, as amended by Section 119 of the CFMA, requires the Commission to consider the costs and benefits of its action before issuing a new regulation under the Act. By its terms, Section 15(a) does not require the Commission to quantify the costs and benefits of a new regulation or to determine whether the benefits of the regulation outweigh its costs. Rather, Section 15(a) simply requires the Commission to “consider the costs and benefits” of its action. Section 15(a) of the Act further specifies that costs and benefits shall be evaluated in light of five broad areas of market and public concern: Protection of market participants and the public; efficiency, competitiveness, and financial integrity of futures markets; price discovery; sound risk management practices; and other public interest considerations. Accordingly, the Commission could in its discretion give greater weight to any one of the five enumerated areas and could in its discretion determine that, notwithstanding its costs, a particular regulation was necessary or appropriate to protect the public interest or to effectuate any of the provisions or to accomplish any of the purposes of the Act. The Commission's proposal contained an analysis of its consideration of these costs and benefits and solicited public comment thereon. 17 No comments were received with respect to the analysis of the Commission's consideration. Therefore, pursuant to such consideration, the Commission has decided to adopt these amendments as discussed above. 17 71 FR at 54791-2. List of Subjects in 17 CFR Part 4 Advertising, Brokers, Commodity futures, Commodity pool operators, Commodity trading advisors, Consumer Protection, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Accordingly, 17 CFR Chapter I is amended as follows: PART 4—COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS 1. The authority citation for part 4 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1a, 2, 4, 6(c), 6b, 6c, 6l, 6m, 6n, 6o, 12a, and 23. 2. Remove and reserve § 4.2. 3. Revise paragraphs
(c)introductory text, (c)(2)(i), (d)(1) and (2), and
(f)of § 4.5 to read as follows: § 4.5 Exclusion for certain otherwise regulated persons from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator.”
(c)Any person who desires to claim the exclusion provided by this section shall file electronically a notice of eligibility with the National Futures Association through its electronic exemption filing system; Provided, however, That a plan fiduciary who is not a named fiduciary as described in paragraph (a)(4) of this section may claim the exclusion through the notice filed by the named fiduciary.
(2)* * *
(i)Will disclose in writing to each participant, whether existing or prospective, that the qualifying entity is operated by a person who has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Act and, therefore, who is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the Act; Provided, that such disclosure is made in accordance with the requirements of any other federal or state regulatory authority to which the qualifying entity is subject. The qualifying entity may make such disclosure by including the information in any document that its other federal or state regulator requires to be furnished routinely to participants or, if no such document is furnished routinely, the information may be disclosed in any instrument establishing the entity's investment policies and objectives that the other regulator requires to be made available to the entity's participants; and (d)(1) Each person who has claimed an exclusion hereunder must, in the event that any of the information contained or representations made in the notice of eligibility becomes inaccurate or incomplete, amend the notice electronically through National Futures Association's electronic exemption filing system as may be necessary to render the notice of eligibility accurate and complete.
(2)This amendment required by paragraph (d)(1) of this section shall be filed within fifteen business days after the occurrence of such event.
(f)Any notice required to be filed hereunder must be filed by a representative duly authorized to bind the person specified in paragraph
(a)of this section. 4. In § 4.7, revise paragraph (d)(1) to read as follows: § 4.7 Exemption from certain part 4 requirements for commodity pool operators with respect to offerings to qualified eligible persons and for commodity trading advisors with respect to advising qualified eligible persons.
(d)Notice of claim for exemption.
(1)A notice of a claim for exemption under this section must:
(i)Provide the name, main business address, main business telephone number and the National Futures Association commodity pool operator or commodity trading advisor identification number of the person claiming the exemption; (ii)(A) Where the claimant is a commodity pool operator, provide the name(s) of the pool(s) for which the request is made; Provided, That a single notice representing that the pool operator anticipates operating single-investor pools may be filed to claim exemption for single-investor pools and such notice need not name each such pool;
(B)Where the claimant is a commodity trading advisor, contain a representation that the trading advisor anticipates providing commodity interest trading advice to qualified eligible persons;
(iii)Contain representations that:
(A)Neither the commodity pool operator or commodity trading advisor nor any of its principals is subject to any statutory disqualification under section 8a(2) or 8a(3) of the Act unless such disqualification arises from a matter which was previously disclosed in connection with a previous application for registration if such registration was granted or which was disclosed more than thirty days prior to the filing of the notice under this paragraph (d);
(B)The commodity pool operator or commodity trading advisor will comply with the applicable requirements of § 4.7; and
(C)Where the claimant is a commodity pool operator, that the exempt pool will be offered and operated in compliance with the applicable requirements of § 4.7;
(iv)Specify the relief claimed under § 4.7;
(v)Where the claimant is a commodity pool operator, state the closing date of the offering or that the offering will be continuous;
(vi)Be filed by a representative duly authorized to bind the commodity pool operator or commodity trading advisor;
(vii)Be filed electronically with the National Futures Association through its electronic exemption filing system; and (viii)(A)( *1* ) Where the claimant is a commodity pool operator, except as provided in paragraph (d)(1)(ii)(A) of this section with respect to single-investor pools and in paragraph (d)(1)(viii)(A)( *2* ) of this section, be received by the National Futures Association: ( *i* ) Before the date the pool first enters into a commodity interest transaction, if the relief claimed is limited to that provided under paragraphs (b)(2),
(3)and
(4)of this section; or ( *ii* ) Prior to any offer or sale of any participation in the exempt pool if the claimed relief includes that provided under paragraph (b)(1) of this section. ( *2* ) Where participations in a pool have been offered or sold in full compliance with Part 4, the notice of a claim for exemption may be filed with the National Futures Association at any time; Provided, That the claim for exemption is otherwise consistent with the duties of the commodity pool operator and the rights of pool participants and that the commodity pool operator notifies the pool participants of his intention, absent objection by the holders of a majority of the units of participation in the pool who are unaffiliated with the commodity pool operator within twenty-one days after the date of the notification, to file a notice of claim for exemption under § 4.7 and such holders have not objected within such period. A commodity pool operator filing a notice under this paragraph (d)(1)(viii)(A)( *2* ) shall either provide disclosure and reporting in accordance with the requirements of Part 4 to those participants objecting to the filing of such notice or allow such participants to redeem their units of participation in the pool within three months of the filing of such notice.
(B)Where the claimant is a commodity trading advisor, be received by the Commission before the date the trading advisor first enters into an agreement to direct or guide the commodity interest account of a qualified eligible person pursuant to § 4.7. 5. In § 4.8, revise paragraphs
(a)and
(b)to read as follows: § 4.8 Exemption from certain requirements of rule 4.26 with respect to pools offered or sold in certain offerings exempt from registration under the Securities Act.
(a)Notwithstanding paragraph
(d)of § 4.26 and subject to the conditions specified herein, the registered commodity pool operator of a pool offered or sold solely to “accredited investors” as defined in 17 CFR 230.501 in an offering exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to Rule 505 or 506 of Regulation D, 17 CFR 230.505 or 230.506, may solicit, accept and receive funds, securities and other property from prospective participants in that pool upon filing with the National Futures Association and providing to such participants the Disclosure Document for the pool.
(b)Notwithstanding paragraph
(d)of § 4.26 and subject to the conditions specified herein, the registered commodity pool operator of a pool offered or sold in an offering exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to Rule 505 or 506 of Regulation D, 17 CFR 230.505 or 230.506, that is operated in compliance with, and has filed the notice required by § 4.12(b) may solicit, accept and receive funds, securities and other property from prospective participants in that pool upon filing with the National Futures Association and providing to such participants the Disclosure Document for the pool. 6. In § 4.12, revise paragraphs (b)(1)(ii), (b)(3) and (b)(5)(i) to read as follows: § 4.12 Exemption from provisions of part 4.
(b)* * *
(1)* * *
(ii)Each existing participant and prospective participant in the pool for which it makes such request is informed in writing of the restrictions set forth in paragraph (b)(1)(i)
(C)and
(D)of this section prior to the date the pool commences trading commodity interests. The pool operator may furnish this information by way of the pool's Disclosure Document, Account Statement, a separate notice or other similar means, including written communication delivered through electronic transmission.
(3)Any registered commodity pool operator who desires to claim the relief available under this § 4.12(b) must file electronically a claim of exemption with National Futures Association through its electronic exemption filing system. Such claim must:
(i)Provide the name, main business address and main business telephone number of the registered commodity pool operator, or applicant for such registration, making the request;
(ii)Provide the name of the commodity pool for which the request is being made;
(iii)Contain representations that the pool will be operated in compliance with § 4.12(b)(1)(i) and the pool operator will comply with the requirements of § 4.12(b)(1)(ii);
(iv)Specify the relief sought under § 4.12(b)(2); and
(v)Be filed by a representative duly authorized to bind the pool operator.
(5)* * *
(i)If a claim of exemption has been made under § 4.12(b)(2)(i), the commodity pool operator must make a statement to that effect on the cover page of each offering memorandum, or amendment thereto, that it is required to file with the National Futures Association pursuant to § 4.26. 7. In § 4.13, revise paragraphs (a)(5), (b)(1) introductory text, (b)(1)(iii), (b)(2) and (b)(4), and revise paragraph (e)(2), to read as follows: § 4.13 Exemption from registration as a commodity pool operator.
(a)* * * (5)(i) Eligibility for exemption under this section is subject to the person furnishing in written communication physically delivered or delivered through electronic transmission to each prospective participant in the pool:
(A)A statement that the person is exempt from registration with the Commission as a commodity pool operator and that therefore, unlike a registered commodity pool operator, it is not required to deliver a Disclosure Document and a certified annual report to participants in the pool; and
(B)A description of the criteria pursuant to which it qualifies for such exemption from registration.
(ii)The person must make these disclosures by no later than the time it delivers a subscription agreement for the pool to a prospective participant in the pool. (b)(1) Any person who desires to claim the relief from registration provided by this section, must file electronically a notice of exemption from commodity pool operator registration with the National Futures Association through its electronic exemption filing system. The notice must:
(iii)Be filed by a representative duly authorized to bind the person.
(2)The person must file the notice by no later than the time it delivers a subscription agreement for the pool to a prospective participant in the pool; Provided, That where a person registered with the Commission as a commodity pool operator intends to withdraw from registration in order to claim exemption hereunder, the person must notify its pool's participants in written communication physically delivered or delivered through electronic transmission that it intends to withdraw from registration and claim the exemption, and it must provide each such participant with a right to redeem its interest in the pool prior to the person filing a notice of exemption from registration.
(4)Each person who has filed a notice of exemption from registration under this section must, in the event that any of the information contained or representations made in the notice becomes inaccurate or incomplete, amend the notice through National Futures Association's electronic exemption filing system as may be necessary to render the notice accurate and complete. This amendment must be filed electronically within 15 business days after the pool operator becomes aware of the occurrence of such event. (e)(2) If a person operates one or more commodity pools described in paragraph (a)(3) or (a)(4) of this section, and one or more commodity pools for which it must be, and is, registered as a commodity pool operator, the person is exempt from the requirements applicable to a registered commodity pool operator with respect to the pool or pools described in paragraph (a)(3) or (a)(4) of this section; *Provided,* That the person:
(i)Furnishes in written communication physically delivered or delivered through electronic transmission to each prospective participant in a pool described in paragraph (a)(3) or (a)(4) of this section that it operates:
(A)A statement that it will operate the pool as if the person was exempt from registration as a commodity pool operator;
(B)A description of the criteria pursuant to which it will so operate the pool;
(ii)Complies with paragraph
(c)of this section; and
(iii)Provides to each existing participant in a pool that the person elects to operate as described in paragraph (a)(3) or (a)(4) of this section a right to redeem the participant's interest in the pool, and informs each such participant of that right no later than the time the person commences to operate the pool as described in paragraph (a)(3) or (a)(4) of this section. 8. In § 4.14, introductory text of paragraph
(a)and introductory text of paragraph (a)(8) is republished and paragraph (a)(8)(iii)(A) introductory text and paragraphs (a)(8)(iii)(A)( *3* ), (a)(8)(iii)(B) and (a)(8)(iii)(D) are revised to read as follows: § 4.14 Exemption from registration as a commodity trading advisor.
(a)A person is not required to register under the Act as a commodity trading advisor if:
(8)It is a registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or with the applicable securities regulatory agency of any State, or it is exempt from such registration, or it is excluded from the definition of the term “investment adviser” pursuant to the provisions of section 202(a)(2) and 202(a)(11) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, *Provided, That:* (iii)(A) A person who desires to claim the relief from registration provided by this § 4.14(a)(8) must file electronically a notice of exemption from commodity trading advisor registration with the National Futures Association through its electronic exemption filing system. The notice must: ( *3* ) Be filed by a representative duly authorized to bind the person.
(B)The person must file the notice by no later than the time it delivers an advisory agreement for the trading program pursuant to which it will offer commodity interest advice to a client; Provided, That where the advisor is registered with the Commission as a commodity trading advisor, it must notify its clients in written communication physically delivered or delivered through electronic transmission that it intends to withdraw from registration and claim the exemption and must provide each such client with a right to terminate its advisory agreement prior to the person filing a notice of exemption from registration.
(D)Each person who has filed a notice of exemption from registration under this section must, in the event that any of the information contained or representations made in the notice becomes inaccurate or incomplete, amend the notice electronically through National Futures Association's electronic exemption filing system as may be necessary to render the notice accurate and complete. This amendment must be filed within 15 business days after the trading advisor becomes aware of the occurrence of such event. Issued in Washington, DC, on January 5, 2007 by the Commission. Eileen A. Donovan, Acting Secretary of the Commission. [FR Doc. E7-174 Filed 1-12-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6351-01-P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office 37 CFR Part 1 [Docket No.: PTO-P-2005-0015] RIN 0651-AB75 Changes to Implement Priority Document Exchange Between Intellectual Property Offices AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) has established a 21st Century Strategic Plan to transform the Office into a more quality-focused, highly productive, responsive organization supporting a market-driven intellectual property system. One goal of the 21st Century Strategic Plan is the electronic exchange of information and documents between intellectual property offices. Consistent with this goal, the Office is revising the rules of practice to provide for the electronic transfer of certified copies of applications for which priority is claimed under the Paris Convention (priority applications) from other intellectual property offices with which the Office has negotiated priority document exchange agreements. The Office is also revising the rules of practice to permit applicants to request that the Office permit other participating intellectual property offices to electronically retrieve certified copies of United States patent applications without payment of a fee. This electronic exchange of copies of priority documents will benefit applicants by reducing the cost of ordering paper certified copies of priority applications for filing in other participating intellectual property offices, and will benefit participating intellectual property offices by reducing the administrative costs associated with handling paper copies of priority documents and scanning them into their electronic image record management systems. DATES: *Effective Date:* January 16, 2007. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diana Oleksa, ((571) 272-3291), Legal Advisor for IT Policy, Office of Patent Cooperation Treaty Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, or Robert A. Clarke ((571) 272-7735), Deputy Director, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, at *PatentEFW.comments@uspto.gov* or directly by phone, or by facsimile to
(571)273-7735, marked to the attention of Ms. Oleksa, or by mail addressed to: Mail Stop Comments-Patents, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office has established a 21st Century Strategic Plan to transform the Office into a more quality-focused, highly productive, responsive organization supporting a market-driven intellectual property system. One goal of the 21st Century Strategic Plan is the electronic exchange of information and documents between intellectual property offices. The Office plans to leverage its image file wrapper
(IFW)technology by negotiating agreements with other patent offices to permit the Office to obtain and provide electronic copies of priority documents. *See* 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(6) (authorizes the Office, subject to certain conditions, to use the services, records, facilities, or personnel of any instrumentality or foreign patent and trademark office or international organization to perform functions on its behalf) and 11 (authorizes the Office to exchange copies of specifications and drawings of United States patents and published applications for patents for those of other NAFTA or WTO member countries). Agreements to obtain and provide such copies have been established with the European Patent Office
(EPO)and its member states, and are being considered with the Japan Patent Office (JPO), both of which offices will have the technical ability to provide and retrieve certified electronic copies of priority documents via automated mechanisms. An intellectual property office with which the Office has such an agreement will be referred to as a “participating intellectual property office.” Consistent with this goal, the Office is revising the rules of practice in title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR)to provide for the electronic transfer of certified copies of priority documents from other intellectual property offices with which the Office has negotiated priority document exchange agreements. The Office is also revising the rules of practice to permit applicants to request that the Office permit other participating intellectual property offices to electronically retrieve certified copies of United States patent applications without payment of a fee. This electronic exchange of copies of priority documents will benefit applicants by reducing the cost of ordering paper certified copies of priority documents for filing in other participating intellectual property offices, and will benefit participating intellectual property offices by reducing the administrative costs associated with handling paper copies of priority applications and scanning them into electronic image record management systems. This direct electronic exchange of copies of priority documents is an exception to the requirement that applicant must provide a certified copy of a counterpart foreign application to be entitled to a right of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). The American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 (AIPA), Pub. L. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, 1501A-552 through 1501A-591 (1999), amended 35 U.S.C. 119(b) to ( *inter alia* ) provide that: “[t]he Director **may require** a certified copy of the original foreign application, specification, and drawings upon which it is based, a translation if not in the English language, and such other information as the Director considers necessary.” *See* 35 U.S.C. 119(b)(3)
(2000)(emphasis added). Prior to the enactment of the AIPA, 35 U.S.C. 119(b) required that a certified copy of the original foreign application be filed in the Office for an application to be entitled to a right of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). *See* 35 U.S.C. 119(b)
(1994)(“[n]o application for patent shall be entitled to this right of priority unless a claim therefor and a certified copy of the original foreign application, specification, and drawings upon which it is based are filed in the Patent and Trademark Office before the patent is granted, or at such time during the pendency of the application as required by the Commissioner not earlier than six months after the filing of the application in this country”). If an applicant makes a proper request and an electronic copy of the counterpart foreign application is imported from another participating intellectual property office by the Office, the obligation to provide a certified copy of the foreign application would be satisfied (although the applicant may be required to provide an English-language translation of a non-English language foreign application under certain circumstances or such other information as the Director considers necessary). The agreements would also permit another participating intellectual property office to obtain electronic copies of priority documents from the Office (at no charge to the applicant) when an applicant furnishes the Office with written authority or after the application has been published. The agreements will enable a participating intellectual property office ( *e.g.* , the JPO, EPO, or the Office) to obtain an electronic copy of a priority document that was filed in another participating intellectual property office in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Likewise, the agreements will also enable a participating intellectual property office to obtain an electronic copy of a priority document that was filed in a non-participating intellectual property office from a participating intellectual property office in which a certified copy of the priority document has been filed and stored. The Office will provide forms for applicants to:
(1)Request that the Office retrieve an electronic copy of an earlier filed foreign application (PTO/SB/38); and
(2)permit other participating intellectual property offices to retrieve an electronic copy of an application filed in the Office (PTO/SB/39). Use of Office forms is strongly encouraged. The first form (PTO/SB/38) will permit applicants to request that the Office retrieve an electronic copy of any foreign application filed in an intellectual property office participating with the Office in a direct agreement to retrieve electronic copies of priority documents. The foreign application may have been filed directly with the participating intellectual property office, in which case the applicant would merely request that the Office retrieve an electronic copy of the priority application for which priority was claimed. Alternatively, the applicant may request that the Office retrieve an electronic copy of a foreign application originally filed in a non-participating intellectual property office that is stored in a patent application file in a participating intellectual property office. The Office intends to post a notification of such agreements in the *Official Gazette* including the date when applicants may take advantage of these agreements and any special provisions made in the agreement. If the foreign application was originally filed in a non-participating intellectual property office, but is stored in an application file or dossier of a participating intellectual property office, the request form must indicate the participating intellectual property office application number which contains the certified copy of the foreign application. Upon receipt of a timely filed request, the Office anticipates that at least two attempts will be made to retrieve a copy of the foreign application from the participating office. Applicants should consult the private Patent Application Information Retrieval
(PAIR)system to determine if the copy of the foreign application was retrieved by the Office. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Electronic Business Center, rather than the examiner, if the counterpart foreign application has not been entered in the application file. The copy of the counterpart foreign application retrieved by the Office will be included in the Office's IFW system records pertaining to the application for which the counterpart foreign application was requested. Applicants will be able to inspect the counterpart foreign application through the private PAIR system. In addition, once the application has been published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b) or issued as a patent, any member of the public will be able to inspect the counterpart foreign application through the public PAIR system. The second form (PTO/SB/39) would be used to provide the Office with written authority to provide a copy of a patent application to participating foreign intellectual property offices at no cost to the applicant. Such written authority would be treated as authorizing the Office to provide the participating intellectual property offices indicated in the written authority with a copy of the application-as-filed as well as a copy of the application-as-filed of its parent applications stored in electronic image form. Once an application is published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b), the application is open to the public and therefore the applicant's written authority is not necessary to permit other participating intellectual property offices to retrieve a certified copy of the priority application or a copy of the complete application file. Discussion of Specific Rules Section 1.14 Sections 1.14(a)(1)(iii), (a)(1)(v), (a)(1)(vi), and (a)(1)(vii) are amended to change their reference to § 1.14(h) to a reference to § 1.14(i) for consistency with the redesignating of § 1.14(h) as § 1.14(i). Section 1.14(a)(2) is amended to add “in a published patent document or in an application as set forth” to more clearly explain that the Office will provide information about a patent application if the application is identified in a published patent document such as a patent document of a foreign intellectual property office. Section 1.14(b) is amended to delete the reference to “paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (a)(1)(vi)”. The reference to the specific paragraphs in § 1.14 that define when an application may be made available is not necessary, and the reference to only paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (a)(1)(vi) is overly limiting as the Office may elect to only provide electronic access in other situations as well ( *e.g.* , where the application is maintained in the IFW system and has been published, the file may be made available through the public PAIR system). Current § 1.14(h) is redesignated as § 1.14(i), and a new § 1.14(h) is added. New § 1.14(h) defines under what circumstances an electronic copy of an application-as-filed may be retrieved from the Office by a participating intellectual property office. Section 1.14(h)(1) indicates that access to an application-as-filed may be provided to any participating foreign intellectual property office if the application contains written authority granting such access. The Office will publish a list of participating foreign intellectual property offices in the *Official Gazette.* In addition, § 1.14(h)(1) would indicate that the written authority should be submitted prior to the filing of a subsequent foreign application, in which priority is claimed to the patent application, with a participating intellectual property office. The written authority should be submitted prior to the filing of a subsequent foreign application to ensure that it is likely that the authorized participating foreign intellectual property office will be successful in its attempt to retrieve a copy of the priority application from the Office. However, a participating foreign intellectual property office would be able to retrieve an electronic copy of a priority application from the Office at no cost to the applicant without written authority if the application was published before a request for a copy of the priority application was received by the Office. Section 1.14(h)(2) indicates that the written authority must include the title of the invention (§ 1.71(a)), comply with the requirements of § 1.14(c), and be submitted on a separate document (§ 1.4(c)). Accordingly, § 1.14(h)(2) requires the written authority to be signed by:
(1)an applicant;
(2)an attorney or agent of record;
(3)an authorized official of an assignee of record, made of record pursuant to § 3.71 of this chapter; or
(4)a registered attorney or agent named in the papers accompanying the application papers filed under § 1.53 or the national stage documents filed under § 1.495, if an executed oath or declaration pursuant to § 1.63 or § 1.497 has not been filed. Section 1.14(h)(3) indicates that written authority provided under § 1.14(h)(1) will be treated as authorizing the Office to provide the participating foreign intellectual property offices indicated in the written authority:
(1)A copy of the application-as-filed; and
(2)a copy of the application-as-filed for any application the filing date of which is claimed by the application in which the written authority has been filed. *Section 1.19* Section 1.19(b)(1)(iv) is added to indicate there is no fee for providing a foreign intellectual property office with a copy of an application as filed pursuant to a priority document exchange agreement ( *see* § 1.14(h)). *Section 1.55* Section 1.55(d) is added to permit the acceptance of an electronic copy of a counterpart foreign application under 35 U.S.C. 119(b) or Patent Cooperation Treaty
(PCT)Rule 17 received from a participating intellectual property office, as an alternative to requiring the certified copy of such foreign application from the applicant. If the foreign application was filed in a participating intellectual property office and the applicant requests, in a separate document, that the Office obtain a copy of the foreign application from the participating intellectual property office, the Office will attempt to do so. If the Office is successful in its attempt to retrieve the electronic copy before the patent is granted, the applicant would be relieved of the existing duty to provide a certified copy of the foreign application. The applicant can confirm that the Office has received a copy of the foreign application by viewing the records in the private PAIR system. Section 1.55(d) also indicates that a copy of a foreign application obtained from a participating intellectual property office, where the foreign application was filed in a non-participating intellectual property office, will also be considered to satisfy the certified copy requirement. Thus, for example, an electronic copy of a foreign application from a participating intellectual property office will be considered to satisfy the requirement for a “certified copy of the foreign application” under § 1.55 if an applicant:
(1)Files a foreign application in a non-participating intellectual property office;
(2)files a copy of the foreign application in a participating intellectual property office;
(3)files a U.S. application with a proper request under § 1.55(d); and
(4)the Office obtains an electronic copy of the foreign application from the participating intellectual property office. Section 1.55(d) is an exception to the existing certified copy requirement. Section 1.55(d)(1) addresses the situation where the foreign application was filed in a participating foreign intellectual property office. Sections 1.55(d)(1)(i) through (d)(1)(iii) define under what circumstances a copy of a foreign application, obtained in accordance with an international agreement from a participating foreign intellectual property office, is an acceptable alternative to the current procedure of filing a certified copy of the foreign application. Section 1.55(d)(1)(i) indicates that, in order to take advantage of the international agreement, the applicant must file, in a separate document, a request that the Office obtain a copy of the foreign application from a participating foreign intellectual property office. A request form (PTO/SB/38) will be provided on the Office's Internet Web site for this purpose. Section 1.55(d)(1)(ii) indicates that the foreign application must be identified in the oath or declaration (§ 1.63(c)) or an application data sheet (§ 1.76(a)(6)). Section 1.55(d)(1)(iii) indicates that the Office must receive the copy before the patent is granted (consistent with the general rule in § 1.55(a)(2)). Section 1.55(d)(1)(iii) also indicates that the request should be made within the later of four months from the filing date of the application or sixteen months from the filing date of the foreign application in order to facilitate receipt of the copy of the foreign application by the Office before patent grant. Section 1.55(d)(2) addresses the situation where the foreign application was originally filed in a non-participating foreign intellectual property office, but a copy of the foreign application was filed in an application subsequently filed in a participating foreign intellectual property office. Under these circumstances, the request under § 1.55(d)(1)(i) must identify the participating foreign intellectual property office and the application number of the subsequent application in which the copy of the foreign application was filed. It is envisioned that the agreement with certain participating intellectual property offices may obviate the need for this information in the future. This change to § 1.55 does not affect the requirement in § 1.55(a)(4) that applicant provide an English language translation of a non-English language foreign application (together with a statement that the translation of the certified copy is accurate) when the application is involved in an interference (§ 1.630), when necessary to overcome the date of a reference relied upon by the examiner, or when specifically required by the examiner. Rule Making Considerations Administrative Procedure Act This notice adopts changes to the rules of practice that facilitate electronic image record management of patent application files. The changes are limited to permitting and facilitating direct exchange of priority documents among intellectual property offices. Therefore, these rule changes involve interpretive rules, or rules of agency practice and procedure. *See Bachow Communications Inc.* v. *FCC,* 237 F.3d 683, 690 (D.C. Cir. 2001) (rules governing an application process are “rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice” and exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act's notice and comment requirement); *see also Merck & Co., Inc.* v. *Kessler,* 80 F.3d 1543, 1549-50, 38 USPQ2d 1347, 1351 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (the rules of practice promulgated under the authority of former 35 U.S.C. 6(a) (now in 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(2)) are not substantive rules (to which the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act apply)), and *Fressola* v. *Manbeck,* 36 USPQ2d 1211, 1215 (D.D.C. 1995) (“it is extremely doubtful whether any of the rules formulated to govern patent or trade-mark practice are other than ‘interpretive rules, general statements of policy, * * * procedure, or practice.’ ”) (quoting C.W. Ooms, *The United States Patent Office and the Administrative Procedure Act,* 38 Trademark Rep. 149, 153 (1948)). Accordingly, prior notice and an opportunity for public comment were not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) (or any other law), and thirty-day advance publication is not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d) (or any other law). Regulatory Flexibility Act As discussed previously, the changes in this final rule involve rules of agency practice and procedure under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), and prior notice and an opportunity for public comment were not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) (or any other law). As prior notice and an opportunity for public comment were not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 (or any other law) for the changes in this final rule, a regulatory flexibility analysis under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 *et seq.* ) is not required for the changes in this final rule. *See* 5 U.S.C. 603. Executive Order 13132 This rulemaking does not contain policies with federalism implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism Assessment under Executive Order 13132 (Aug. 4, 1999). Executive Order 12866 This rulemaking has been determined to be not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866 (Sept. 30, 1993). Paperwork Reduction Act This rulemaking involves information collection requirements which are subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB)under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 *et seq.* ). The collection of information involved in this final rule have been previously reviewed and approved by OMB under control number 0651-0031. Comments are invited on:
(1)Whether the collection of information is necessary for proper performance of the functions of the agency;
(2)the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden;
(3)ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4)ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information to respondents. Interested persons are requested to send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10202, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for the Patent and Trademark Office; and
(2)Robert J. Spar, Director, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to respond to nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number. List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 1 Administrative practice and procedure, Biologics, Courts, Freedom of information, Inventions and patents, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Small businesses. For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 37 CFR part 1 is amended as follows: PART 1—RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES 1. The authority citation for 37 CFR part 1 continues to read as follows: Authority: 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(2), unless otherwise noted. 2. Section 1.14 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(1)(iii), (a)(1)(v), (a)(1)(vi), (a)(1)(vii), the introductory text of paragraph (a)(2), and paragraph (b), redesignating paragraph
(h)as paragraph (i), and adding a new paragraph
(h)to read as follows: § 1.14 Patent applications preserved in confidence.
(a)* * *
(1)* * *
(iii)*Published pending applications.* A copy of the application-as-filed, the file contents of the application, or a specific document in the file of a pending application that has been published as a patent application publication may be provided to any person upon request, and payment of the appropriate fee set forth in § 1.19(b). If a redacted copy of the application was used for the patent application publication, the copy of the specification, drawings, and papers may be limited to a redacted copy. The Office will not provide access to the paper file of a pending application that has been published, except as provided in paragraph
(c)or
(i)of this section.
(v)*Unpublished pending applications (including provisional applications) whose benefit is claimed.* A copy of the file contents of an unpublished pending application may be provided to any person, upon written request and payment of the appropriate fee (§ 1.19(b)), if the benefit of the application is claimed under 35 U.S.C. 119(e), 120, 121, or 365 in an application that has issued as a U.S. patent, an application that has published as a statutory invention registration, a U.S. patent application publication, or an international patent application publication that was published in accordance with PCT Article 21(2). A copy of the application-as-filed, or a specific document in the file of the pending application may also be provided to any person upon written request, and payment of the appropriate fee (§ 1.19(b)). The Office will not provide access to the paper file of a pending application, except as provided in paragraph
(c)or
(i)of this section.
(vi)*Unpublished pending applications (including provisional applications) that are incorporated by reference or otherwise identified.* A copy of the application as originally filed of an unpublished pending application may be provided to any person, upon written request and payment of the appropriate fee (§ 1.19(b)), if the application is incorporated by reference or otherwise identified in a U.S. patent, a statutory invention registration, a U.S. patent application publication, or an international patent application publication that was published in accordance with PCT Article 21(2). The Office will not provide access to the paper file of a pending application, except as provided in paragraph
(c)or
(i)of this section.
(vii)*When a petition for access or a power to inspect is required.* Applications that were not published or patented, that are not the subject of a benefit claim under 35 U.S.C. 119(e), 120, 121, or 365 in an application that has issued as a U.S. patent, an application that has published as a statutory invention registration, a U.S. patent application publication, or an international patent application publication that was published in accordance with PCT Article 21(2), or are not identified in a U.S. patent, a statutory invention registration, a U.S. patent application publication, or an international patent application that was published in accordance with PCT Article 21(2), are not available to the public. If an application is identified in the file contents of another application, but not the published patent application or patent itself, a granted petition for access (see paragraph (i)), or a power to inspect (see paragraph (c)) is necessary to obtain the application, or a copy of the application.
(2)Information concerning a patent application may be communicated to the public if the patent application is identified in a published patent document or in an application as set forth in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (a)(1)(vi) of this section. The information that may be communicated to the public ( *i.e.,* status information) includes:
(b)*Electronic access to an application.* Where a copy of the application file or access to the application may be made available pursuant to this section, the Office may at its discretion provide access to only an electronic copy of the specification, drawings, and file contents of the application.
(h)*Access by a Foreign Intellectual Property Office.*
(1)Access to the application-as-filed may be provided to any foreign intellectual property office participating with the Office in a bilateral or multilateral priority document exchange agreement (participating foreign intellectual property office), if the application contains written authority granting such access. Written authority under this paragraph should be submitted prior to filing a subsequent foreign application with a participating intellectual property office in which priority is claimed to the patent application.
(2)Written authority provided under paragraph (h)(1) of this section must include the title of the invention (§ 1.71(a)), comply with the requirements of paragraph
(c)of this section, and be submitted on a separate document (§ 1.4(c)).
(3)Written authority provided under paragraph (h)(1) of this section will be treated as authorizing the Office to provide to all participating foreign intellectual property offices indicated in the written authority in accordance with their respective agreements with the Office:
(i)A copy of the application-as-filed; and
(ii)A copy of the application-as-filed with respect to any application the filing date of which is claimed by the application in which written authority under paragraph (h)(1) of this section is filed. 3. Section 1.19 is amended by adding paragraph (b)(1)(iv) to read as follows: § 1.19 Document supply fees.
(b)* * *
(1)* * *
(iv)If provided to a foreign intellectual property office pursuant to a priority document exchange agreement (see § 1.14(h)(1)) ...... 0.00 4. Section 1.55 is amended by adding a new paragraph
(d)to read as follows: § 1.55 Claim for foreign priority. (d)(1) The requirement in this section for the certified copy of the foreign application will be considered satisfied if:
(i)The applicant files a request, in a separate document, that the Office obtain a copy of the foreign application from a foreign intellectual property office participating with the Office in a bilateral or multilateral priority document exchange agreement (participating foreign intellectual property office (see § 1.14(h)(1));
(ii)The foreign application is identified in the oath or declaration (§ 1.63(c)) or an application data sheet (§ 1.76(a)(6)); and
(iii)The copy of the foreign application is received by the Office within the period set forth in paragraph
(a)of this section. Such a request should be made within the later of four months from the filing date of the application or sixteen months from the filing date of the foreign application.
(2)If the foreign application was filed at a foreign intellectual property office that is not participating with the Office in a priority document exchange agreement, but a copy of the foreign application was filed in an application subsequently filed in a participating foreign intellectual property office, the request under paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this section must identify the participating foreign intellectual property office and the application number of the subsequent application in which a copy of the foreign application was filed. Dated: December 18, 2006. Jon W. Dudas, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. [FR Doc. E7-113 Filed 1-9-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-16-P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 62 [Docket No. EPA-R02-OAR-2006-0615, FRL-8268-9] Approval and Promulgation of Plans for Designated Facilities; New Jersey; Delegation of Authority AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)is approving a request from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for delegation of authority to implement and enforce the following three Federal plans: Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (MSW Landfills); Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI); and Small Municipal Waste Combustion Units (Small MWC). On November 8, 1999, August 15, 2000 and January 31, 2003 respectively, EPA promulgated the Federal plans for MSW Landfills, HMIWI and Small MWCs to fulfill the requirements of sections 111(d)/129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Federal plans impose emission limits and control requirements for existing affected facilities located in areas not covered by an approved and currently effective State plan. On May 15, 2006, NJDEP signed Memorandums of Agreement
(MOAs)which act as the mechanism for the transfer of EPA authority to NJDEP. The intended effect is to approve MOAs that define the policies, responsibilities, and procedures by which the Federal plans for MSW Landfills, HMIWI and Small MWCs will be administered on behalf of EPA by NJDEP. EPA proposed approval of NJDEP's delegation request on August 31, 2006. DATES: *Effective Date:* This rule will be effective February 15, 2007. ADDRESSES: Copies of the state submittal(s) are available at the following addresses for inspection during normal business hours: Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 Office, Air Programs Branch, 290 Broadway, 25th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Energy, Bureau of Air Quality Planning, 401 East State Street, CN027, Trenton, New Jersey 08625. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony
(Ted)Gardella ( *Gardella.Anthony@epa.gov* ), Air Programs Branch, Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, 25th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866,
(212)637-3892. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)is approving the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's (NJDEP's) request for delegation of authority of three Federal plans. The following table of contents describes the format for this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. I. What Action Is EPA Taking Today? II. What Are the Details of EPA's Specific Action? III. What Comments Were Received and How Has EPA Responded to Them? IV. What Are EPA's Conclusions? V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews I. What Action Is EPA Taking Today? EPA is approving NJDEP's request for delegation of authority to implement and enforce three Federal plans and to adhere to the terms and conditions prescribed in the Memorandums of Agreement
(MOAs)signed between EPA and NJDEP, as further explained below. NJDEP requested delegation of authority of the following three Federal plans: Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (MSW Landfills); Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI); and Small Municipal Waste Combustion Units (Small MWC). The Federal plans were promulgated by EPA to implement emission guidelines pursuant to sections 111(d) and 129 of the Clean Air Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 7401 *et seq.* (CAA). The purpose of this delegation is to acknowledge NJDEP's ability to implement a program and to transfer primary implementation and enforcement responsibility from EPA to NJDEP for existing sources of MSW Landfills, HMIWI and Small MWC. While NJDEP is delegated the authority to implement and enforce the three Federal plans, nothing in the delegation agreement shall prohibit EPA from implementing and enforcing the Federal plans for MSW Landfills, HMIWI and Small MWC. II. What Are the Details of EPA's Specific Action? On May 13, 2005, NJDEP submitted to EPA a request for delegation of authority from EPA to implement and enforce the Federal plans for existing MSW Landfills, HMIWI and Small MWC. EPA prepared the MOAs that define the policies, responsibilities, and procedures by which the Federal plans will be administered by both NJDEP and EPA, pursuant to the following: “Federal Plan Requirements for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills That Commenced Construction Prior to May 30, 1991 and Have Not Been Modified or Reconstructed Since May 30, 1991,” 40 CFR part 62, subpart GGG, 40 CFR 62.14350-14356; “Federal Plan Requirements for Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators Constructed on or Before June 20, 1996,” 40 CFR part 62, subpart HHH, 40 CFR 62.14400-14495 and “Federal Plan Requirements for Small Municipal Waste Combustion Units Constructed on or Before August 30, 1999,” 40 CFR part 62, subpart JJJ, 40 CFR 62.15000-15410. The MOAs are the mechanism for the transfer of responsibility between EPA and NJDEP. On April 24, 2006, Alan J. Steinberg, EPA Region 2 Administrator, signed the three MOAs and forwarded them to NJDEP for signature. On May 15, 2006, Lisa P. Jackson, NJDEP Commissioner, signed the MOAs, thereby agreeing to the terms and conditions of the MOAs and accepting responsibility to implement and enforce the policies, responsibilities and procedures of the Federal plans for MSW Landfills, HMIWI, and Small MWC. The transfer of authority to NJDEP became effective on May 15, 2006. EPA proposed approval on August 31, 2006 (71 FR 51790). III. What Comments Were Received and How Has EPA Responded to Them? There were no comments received on EPA's proposed approval of NJDEP's request for delegation of the three Federal plans. IV. What Are EPA's Conclusions? For reasons described in this action and in EPA's proposal action, EPA is approving NJDEP's request for delegation of the three Federal plans. For further details, the reader is referred to the proposal action. V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this action is not a “significant regulatory action” and therefore is not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, “Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use” (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 *et seq.* ). Because this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by state law, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4). This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action also does not have Federalism implications because it does not have substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This action approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Act. This rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 “Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks” (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant. In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Act. In this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the state to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to disapprove plan submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a plan submission, to use VCS in place of a plan submission that otherwise satisfies the provisions of the Act. Thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This rule does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 *et seq.* ). The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 *et seq.* , as added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior to publication of the rule in the **Federal Register** . A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the **Federal Register** . This action is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by March 19, 2007. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2)). List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62 Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Waste treatment and disposal. Dated: January 4, 2007. Alan J. Steinberg, Regional Administrator, Region 2. Part 62, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows: PART 62—[AMENDED] 1. The authority citation for part 62 continues to read as follows: Authority: 62 U.S.C. 7401-7671q. Subpart FF—New Jersey 2. Part 62 is amended by adding new § 62.7605 and an undesignated heading to subpart FF to read as follows: Air Emissions from Existing Municipal Solid Waste Landfills, Small Municipal Waste Combustion Units, and Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators. § 62.7605 Identification of plan—delegation of authority.
(a)Letter from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), submitted May 13, 2005, requesting delegation of authority from EPA to implement and enforce the following three Federal plans: Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (MSW Landfills), Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI) and Small Municipal Waste Combustion Units (Small MWCs). The Federal plans will be administered by both NJDEP and EPA, pursuant to the following: “Federal Plan Requirements for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills That Commenced Construction Prior to May 30, 1991 and Have Not Been Modified or Reconstructed Since May 30, 1991,” 40 CFR part 62, subpart GGG; “Federal Plan Requirements for Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators Constructed on or Before June 20, 1996,” 40 CFR part 62, subpart HHH; and “Federal Plan Requirements for Small Municipal Waste Combustion Units Constructed on or Before August 30, 1999,” 40 CFR part 62, subpart JJJ.
(b)Identification of sources: The three Federal plans apply to existing facilities as follows: MSW Landfills which commenced construction, reconstruction, or modification before May 30, 1991 and a MSW Landfill that has accepted waste at any time since November 8, 1987 or the landfill has additional capacity for future waste deposition; HMIWIs that combust any amount of hospital, medical or infectious waste and that commenced construction on or before June 20, 1996; and Small MWCs with a capacity to combust at least 35 tons per day of municipal solid waste or refuse-derived fuel but no more than 250 tons per day of municipal solid waste or refuse-derived fuel and if the Small MWC commenced construction on or before August 30, 1999.
(c)On April 24, 2006, EPA prepared and signed Memorandums of Agreement
(MOAs)between EPA and NJDEP that define the policies, responsibilities and procedures pursuant to the three Federal plans identified in
(a)above by which the Federal plans will be administered by both NJDEP and EPA. On May 15, 2006, Lisa P. Jackson, NJDEP Commissioner, signed the MOAs, therefore agreeing to the terms and conditions of the MOAs and accepting responsibility to enforce and implement the policies, responsibilities, and procedures for MSW Landfills, HMIWIs and Small MWCs.
(d)The delegation became fully effective on May 15, 2006, the date the MOAs were signed by the NJDEP Commissioner. [FR Doc. E7-413 Filed 1-12-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Parts 239 and 258 [EPA-RO7-RCRA-2006-0878; FRL-8269-1] Adequacy of Nebraska Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Program; Withdrawal of Direct Final Rule AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Withdrawal of direct final rule. SUMMARY: Because EPA received adverse comment, we are withdrawing the direct final rule for Adequacy of Nebraska Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Program, published on November 16, 2006. DATES: Effective January 16, 2007, EPA withdraws the direct final rule published at 71 FR 66686 on November 16, 2006. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chilton McLaughlin, Solid Waste/Pollution Prevention Branch, EPA Region 7, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101, telephone
(913)551-7666, *Mclaughlin.chilton@epa.gov.* SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Because EPA received adverse comment, we are withdrawing the direct final rule for Adequacy of Nebraska Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Program published on November 16, 2006 (71 FR 66686). We stated in that direct final rule that if we received adverse comment by January 16, 2007, the direct final rule would not take effect and we would publish a timely withdrawal in the **Federal Register** . On December 8, 2006, the **Federal Register** published a correction notice (71 FR 71241) establishing December 18, 2006, as the date by which EPA would receive comment. We subsequently received an adverse comment on that direct final rule. We will address that comment in a subsequent final action. As stated in the direct final rule and the parallel proposed rule, we will not institute a second comment period in this action. List of Subjects 40 CFR Part 239 Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, Intergovernmental relations, Waste treatment and disposal. 40 CFR Part 258 Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Waste treatment disposal, Water pollution control. Authority: This action is issued under the authority of section 2002, 4005 and 4010(c) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 6912, 6945 and 6949(a). Dated: January 9, 2007. William Rice, Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7. [FR Doc. E7-414 Filed 1-12-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 679 [Docket No. 060216044-6044-01; I.D. 010807A] Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Inseason Adjustment to the 2007 A and B Season Allowances of Pollock in Statistical Area 620 in the Gulf of Alaska AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason adjustment; request for comments. SUMMARY: NMFS is adjusting the A and B season allowances of pollock in Statistical Area 620 of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary because the current A and B season allowances of pollock in Statistical Area 620 of the GOA are incorrectly specified and to ensure the A and B season catch of pollock in Statistical Area 620 of the GOA does not exceed the appropriate amount, based on the best available scientific information for pollock in the GOA. This action is consistent with the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), January 16, 2007, through 2400 hrs, A.l.t., April 15, 2007, unless otherwise modified or superceded through publication of a notification in the **Federal Register** . Comments must be received at the following address no later than 4:30 p.m., A.l.t., January 31, 2007. ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Comments may be submitted by: • Mail to: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802; • Hand delivery to the Federal Building, 709 West 9 th Street, Room 420A, Juneau, Alaska; • FAX to 907-586-7557; • E-mail to *620PLCKADJUSTMENT@noaa.gov* and include the subject line of the e-mail comment the document identifier: 620PLCKADJUSTMENT (E-mail comments, with or without attachments, are limited to 5 megabytes); or • Webform at the Federal eRulemaking Portal: *http://www.regulations.gov* . Follow the instructions at that site for submitting comments. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Hogan, 907-586-7228. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fishery in the GOA exclusive economic zone according to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska
(FMP)prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Regulations governing fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679. The 2007 total allowable catch of pollock in Statistical Area 620 of the GOA is 24,275 metric tons
(mt)as established by the 2006 and 2007 harvest specification for groundfish in the GOA (71 FR 10870, March 3, 2006). The A season allowance is 8,910 mt and the B season allowance is 10,663 mt for pollock in Statistical area 620 of the GOA as established by the 2006 and 2007 harvest specification for groundfish in the GOA (71 FR 10870, March 3, 2006). In December 2006, the Council recommended 2007 A and B season allowances of pollock in Statistical Area 620 of 7,357 mt and 8,924 mt, respectively. This amount is less than the A and B season allowances currently established by the 2006 and 2007 harvest specification for groundfish in the GOA (71 FR 10870, March 3, 2006). The A and B season allowances as recommended by the Council are based on the Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation report (SAFE), dated November 2006, which is the best available scientific information for this fishery. In accordance with § 679.25(a)(2)(i)(B), the Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), has determined, based on the November 2006 SAFE report for this fishery, that the current A and B season allowances of pollock in Statistical Area 620 of the GOA are incorrectly specified. Consequently, the Regional Administrator is adjusting the 2007 A and B season allowances of pollock in Statistical Area 620 of the GOA to 7,357 mt and 8,924 mt, respectively. Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iv), Tables 6, 13, and 16 of the 2006 and 2007 final harvest specifications for groundfish in the GOA (71 FR 10870, March 3, 2006) are revised for the 2007 A and B season allowances of pollock in Statistical Area 620 of the GOA consistent with this adjustment. Table 6 - Final 2007 Distribution of Pollock in the Central and Western Regulatory Areas of the Gulf of Alaska; Seasonal Biomass Distribution, Area Apportionments; and Seasonal Allowances of Annual TAC. [Values are rounded to the nearest metric ton] Area Apportionments Resulting From Seasonal Distribution of Biomass Season Shumagin (Area 610) Chirikof (Area 620) Kodiak (Area 630) Total A 3,352 (21.63%) 7,357 (52.76%) 3,234 (20.87%) 13,943 (100%) B 3,352 (21.63%) 8,924 (64.87%) 1,481 (9.56%) 13,757 (100%) C 8,159 (52.65%) 2,351 (15.17%) 4,986 (32.18%) 15,496 (100%) D 8,159 (52.65%) 2,351 (15.17%) 4,986 (32.18%) 15,496 (100%) Annual Total 23,022 20,983 14,687 58,692 Table 13 - Final 2007 GOA Non-Exempt American Fisheries Act Catcher Vessel
(CV)Groundfish Harvest Sideboard Limitations. [Values are in metric tons] Species Apportionments and allocations by area/season/processor/gear Ratio of 1995-1997 non-exempt AFA CV catch to 1995-1997 TAC 2007 TAC 2007 non-exempt AFA catcher vessel sideboard Pollock A Season (W/C areas only) January 20 - February 25 Shumagin
(610)0.6112 3,352 2,049 Chirikof
(620)0.1427 7,357 1,050 Kodiak
(630)0.2438 3,234 788 B Season (W/C areas only) March 10 - May 31 Shumagin
(610)0.6112 3,352 2,049 Chirikof
(620)0.1427 8,924 1,274 Kodiak
(630)0.2438 1,481 361 C Season (W/C areas only) August 25 - September 15 Shumagin
(610)0.6112 8,159 4,987 Chirikof
(620)0.1427 2,351 335 Kodiak
(630)0.2438 4,986 1,216 D Season (W/C areas only) October 1 - November 1 Shumagin
(610)0.6112 8,159 4,987 Chirikof
(620)0.1427 2,351 335 Kodiak
(630)0.2438 4,986 1,216 Annual WYK
(640)0.3499 1,426 499 SEO
(650)0.3499 6,157 2,154 Pacific cod A Season 1 January 1 - June 10 W inshore 0.1423 7,813 1,112 W offshore 0.1026 868 89 C inshore 0.0722 11,019 796 C offshore 0.0721 1,224 88 B Season 2 September 1 - December 31 W inshore 0.1423 5,209 741 W offshore 0.1026 579 59 C inshore 0.0722 7,346 530 C offshore 0.0721 816 59 Annual E inshore 0.0079 2,404 19 E offshore 0.0078 267 2 Flatfish deep-water W 0.0000 421 C 0.0670 4,145 278 E 0.0171 4,111 70 Rex sole W 0.0010 1,096 1 C 0.0402 5,207 209 E 0.0153 2,397 37 Flathead sole W 0.0036 2,000 7 C 0.0261 5,000 131 E 0.0048 2,153 10 Flatfish shallow-water W 0.0156 4,500 70 C 0.0598 13,000 777 E 0.0126 2,472 31 Arrowtooth flounder W 0.0021 8,000 17 C 0.0309 25,000 773 E 0.0020 5,000 10 Sablefish W trawl gear 0.0000 472 0 C trawl gear 0.0720 1,126 81 E trawl gear 0.0488 257 13 Pacific ocean perch W 0.0623 4,290 267 C 0.0866 7,660 663 E 0.0466 2,776 129 Shortraker rockfish W 0.0000 153 0 C 0.0237 353 8 E 0.0124 337 4 Rougheye rockfish W 0.0000 133 0 C 0.0237 596 14 E 0.0124 235 3 Other rockfish W 0.0034 577 2 C 0.2065 386 80 E 0.0000 517 0 Northern rockfish W 0.0003 1,483 0 C 0.0336 3,608 121 Pelagic shelf rockfish W 0.0001 1,463 0 C 0.0000 3,318 0 E 0.0067 749 5 Thornyhead rockfish W 0.0308 513 16 C 0.0308 989 30 E 0.0308 707 22 Big skates W 0.0090 695 6 C 0.0090 2,250 20 E 0.0090 599 5 Longnose skates W 0.0090 65 1 C 0.0090 1,969 18 E 0.0090 861 8 Other skates GW 0.0090 1,617 15 Demersal shelf rockfish SEO 0.0020 410 1 Atka mackerel Gulfwide 0.0309 1,500 46 Other species Gulfwide 0.0090 12,229 110 1 The Pacific cod A season for trawl gear does not open until January 20. 2 The Pacific cod B season for trawl gear closes November 1. Table 16 - Final 2007 GOA Non American Fisheries Act Crab Vessel
(CV)Groundfish Harvest Sideboard Limitations. [Values are rounded to nearest metric ton] Species Apportionments and allocations by area/season/processor/gear Ratio of 1996-2000 non-AFA CV catch to 1996-2000 total harvest 2007 TAC 2007 non-AFA crab vessel sideboard Pollock A Season (W/C areas only) January 20 - March 10 Shumagin
(610)0.0098 3,352 33 Chirikof
(620)0.0031 7,357 23 Kodiak
(630)0.0002 3,234 1 B Season (W/C areas only) March 10 - May 31 Shumagin
(610)0.0098 3,352 33 Chirikof
(620)0.0031 8,924 28 Kodiak
(630)0.0002 1,481 0 C Season (W/C areas only) August 25 - October 1 Shumagin
(610)0.0098 8,159 80 Chirikof
(620)0.0031 2,351 7 Kodiak
(630)0.0002 4,986 1 D Season (W/C areas only) October 1 - November 1 Shumagin
(610)0.0098 8,159 80 Chirikof
(620)0.0031 2,351 7 Kodiak
(630)0.0002 4,986 1 Annual WYK
(640)0.0000 1,426 0 SEO
(650)0.0000 6,157 0 Pacific cod A Season 1 January 1 - June 10 W inshore 0.0902 7,813 705 W offshore 0.2046 868 178 C inshore 0.0383 11,019 422 C offshore 0.2074 1,224 254 B Season 2 September 1 - December 31 W inshore 0.0902 5,209 470 W offshore 0.2046 579 118 C inshore 0.0383 7,346 281 C offshore 0.2074 816 169 Annual E inshore 0.0110 2,404 26 E offshore 0.0000 267 0 Flatfish deep-water W 0.0035 421 1 C 0.0000 4,145 0 E 0.0000 4,111 0 Rex sole W 0.0000 1,096 0 C 0.0000 5,207 0 E 0.0000 2,397 0 Flathead sole W 0.0002 2,000 0 C 0.0004 5,000 2 E 0.0000 2,153 0 Flatfish shallow-water W 0.0059 4,500 27 C 0.0001 13,000 1 E 0.0000 2,472 0 Arrowtooth flounder W 0.0004 8,000 3 C 0.0001 25,000 3 E 0.0000 5,000 0 Sablefish W trawl gear 0.0000 472 0 C trawl gear 0.0000 1,126 0 E trawl gear 0.0000 257 0 Pacific ocean perch W 0.0000 4,290 0 C 0.0000 7,660 0 E 0.0000 2,776 0 Shortraker rockfish W 0.0013 153 0 C 0.0012 353 0 E 0.0009 337 0 Rougheye rockfish W 0.0067 133 1 C 0.0047 596 3 E 0.0008 235 0 Other rockfish W 0.0035 577 2 C 0.0033 386 1 E 0.0000 517 0 Northern rockfish W 0.0005 1,483 1 C 0.0000 3,608 0 Pelagic shelf rockfish W 0.0017 1,463 2 C 0.0000 3,318 0 E 0.0000 749 0 Thornyhead rockfish W 0.0047 513 2 C 0.0066 989 7 E 0.0045 707 3 Big skates W 0.0392 695 27 C 0.0159 2,250 36 E 0.0000 599 0 Longnose skate W 0.0392 65 3 C 0.0159 1,969 36 E 0.0000 861 0 Other skates GW 0.0176 1,617 28 Demersal shelf rockfish SEO 0.0000 410 0 Atka mackerel Gulfwide 0.0000 1,500 0 Other species Gulfwide 0.0176 12,229 215 1 The Pacific cod A season for trawl gear does not open until January 20. 2 The Pacific cod B season for trawl gear closes November 1. Classification This action responds to the best available information recently obtained from the fishery. The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds good cause to waive the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 679.25(c)(2) as such requirement is impracticable and contrary to the public interest. This requirement is impracticable and contrary to the public interest as it would prevent NMFS from responding to the most recent fisheries data in a timely fashion and would allow for harvests that exceed the appropriate A and B season allowances of pollock in Statistical Area 620 of the GOA based on the best scientific information available. NMFS was unable to publish a notice providing time for public comment because the most recent, relevant data only became available as of December 19, 2006, and additional time for prior public comment would result in conservation concerns. The AA also finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the effective date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). This finding is based upon the reasons provided above for waiver of prior notice and opportunity for public comment. Under § 679.25(c)(2), interested persons are invited to submit written comments on this action to the above address until January 31, 2007. This action is required by § 679.22 and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 *et seq.* Dated: January 8, 2007. James P. Burgess, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 07-120 Filed 1-10-07; 12:43 pm]
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U.S. Code
21 references not yet in our index
  • 7 CFR 1209
  • 5 USC 601-612
  • 14 CFR 71
  • 1 CFR 51
  • 5 USC 533(b)
  • 17 CFR 4
  • 17 CFR 230.505
  • 37 CFR 1
  • Pub. L. 106-113
  • 237 F.3d 683
  • 80 F.3d 1543
  • 40 CFR 62
  • 40 CFR 62.14350-14356
  • 40 CFR 62.14400-14495
  • 40 CFR 62.15000-15410
  • Pub. L. 104-4
  • 62 USC 7401-7671q
  • 40 CFR 239
  • 40 CFR 258
  • 50 CFR 679
  • 50 CFR 600
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U.S.C.§ 21
C.F.R.§ 230.501
U.S.C.§ 6m
U.S.C.§ 601
F. App'x237 F.3d 683
F. App'x80 F.3d 1543
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