USAID is publishing a notice of a modified system of records to document the records collected and maintained concerning Congressional inquiries. The proposed modification to the system of records makes the following substantive changes to align the notice with the SORN publication standards required by OMB A-108, including:

The notice also provides updated information for the System of Records Manager and the Address for the System Location.

USAID-34: Personal Services Contracts Records will be used by USAID personnel to determine if applicants are eligible and current personal services contractors (PSCs) are compliant with statutory, regulatory and agency requirements for continued employment, participation in USAID programs and access to USAID facilities. Multiple USAID IT systems/applications are used to document, certify and report the individual's eligibility and compliance. The following modifications are made to this system of records: (1) Category of records has been modified to include vaccination records, records checks and (2) routine uses have been added to facilitate interagency sharing.

USAID is modifying this SORN to update the system of records name and modify its SORN to reflect various changes and updates required by OMB Circular A-108. The proposed updates will allow USAID users to utilize the Google Workspace System for online messaging and collaboration.

USAID is proposing to modify its Personnel Security and Suitability Investigations Records SORN to update the system locations and enhance the descriptions of routine uses for records maintained in this system to provide further transparency into USAID's recordkeeping and information sharing practices. The Personal Security and Suitability Investigations Records are maintained by the USAID Office of Security (SEC). SEC has been charged with providing security services to protect USAID personnel and facilities, safeguard national security information, and promote and preserve personal integrity. SEC receives investigative authority from the Director of National Intelligence and the Office of Personnel Management to conduct personnel security investigations for USAID and all other Federal Agencies/Departments permitted under the delegation.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, USAID is publishing notice of proposed updates and reissuance of its system of records titled “USAID 26- Litigation Records,” last published in full in the Federal Register on 02/06/2014 (42 FR 47386). USAID proposes to modify this system of records with the revisions to the following sections: The purposes for maintaining the system; the system's storage location/environment; the system location; and routine uses, including new routine uses pursuant to new requirements announced by OMB on January 3, 2017, in its memorandum M-17-12, Preparing for and Responding to a Breach of Personally Identifiable Information.

List of Petitions Received by EDA for Certification of Eligibility To Apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance [4/15/2022 through 5/2/2022] Firm name Firm address Date accepted for investigation Product(s) Catamount Machine Works, LLC 2804 Sydney Road, Plant City, FL 33566 4/20/2022 The firm manufactures miscellaneous metal parts. United Precision Products Co., Inc 25040 Van Born Road, Dearborn Heights, MI 48125 4/28/2022 The firm manufactures aircraft engine parts.

Any party having a substantial interest in these proceedings may request a public hearing on the matter. A written request for a hearing must be submitted to the Trade Adjustment Assistance Division, Room 71030, Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, no later than ten (10) calendar days following publication of this notice. These petitions are received pursuant to section 251 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.

Please follow the requirements set forth in EDA's regulations at 13 CFR 315.8 for procedures to request a public hearing. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance official number and title for the program under which these petitions are submitted is 11.313, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms.

Background: The Secretary of Commerce established the REEEAC pursuant to discretionary authority and in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), on July 14, 2010. The REEEAC was re-chartered most recently on June 5, 2020. The REEEAC provides the Secretary of Commerce with advice from the private sector on the development and administration of programs and policies to expand the export competitiveness of U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services. More information about the Committee, including the list of appointed members for this charter, is published online at http://trade.gov/reeeac.

On May 24, 2022, the REEEAC will hold the ninth meeting of its current charter term. The Committee, with officials from the Department of Commerce and other agencies, will discuss major issues affecting the competitiveness of the U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, covering four broad themes: Trade promotion and market access, global decarbonization, clean energy supply chains, and technology and innovation. The Committee will provide an overview of its recommendations to the relevant U.S. Government officials from the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee agencies. To receive an agenda please make a request to REEEAC DFO Cora Dickson per above. The agenda will be made available no later than May 18, 2022.

The Committee meeting will be open to the public and will be accessible to people with disabilities. All guests are required to register in advance by the deadline identified under the DATE caption. Requests for auxiliary aids must be submitted by the registration deadline. Last minute requests will be accepted but may not be possible to fill.

A limited amount of time before the close of the meeting will be available for oral comments from members of the public attending the meeting. To accommodate as many speakers as possible, the time for public comments will be limited to two to five minutes per person (depending on number of public participants). Individuals wishing to reserve speaking time during the meeting must contact REEEAC DFO Cora Dickson using the contact information above and submit a brief statement of the general nature of the comments, as well as the name and address of the proposed participant, by 5:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday May 18, 2022. If the number of registrants requesting to make statements is greater than can be reasonably accommodated during the meeting, the International Trade Administration may conduct a lottery to determine the speakers. Speakers are requested to submit a copy of their oral comments by email to Cora Dickson for distribution to the participants in advance of the meeting.

Any member of the public may submit written comments concerning the REEEAC's affairs at any time before or after the meeting. Comments may be submitted via email to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee, c/o: Cora Dickson, DFO, Office of Energy and Environmental Industries, U.S. Department of Commerce; Cora.Dickson@trade.gov. To be considered during the meeting, public comments must be transmitted to the REEEAC prior to the meeting. As such, written comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday May 18, 2022. Comments received after that date will be distributed to the members but may not be considered at the meeting.

Copies of REEEAC meeting minutes will be available within 30 days following the meeting.

Background

This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce published the notice of initiation of this LTFV investigation on November 1, 2021. 1 On February 17, 2022, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until May 4, 2022. 2

For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 3 A list of sections in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

The products covered by this investigation are OCTG from Argentina. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.

In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations, 4 in the Initiation Notice Commerce set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage ( i.e., scope). 5 Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this investigation and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum. 6 As discussed in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily modified the scope language that appeared in the Initiation Notice.

In the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum Commerce established the deadline for parties to submit scope case briefs. 7 Commerce did not receive any comments from interested parties regarding the scope as stated in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum prior to the deadline. As explained in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, there will be no further opportunity for comments on scope-related issues. 8

Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with section 731 of the Act. Commerce calculated constructed export prices in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. Normal value (NV) is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually examined. The rate shall be equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.

In this investigation, Commerce calculated an estimated weighted-average dumping margin above de minimis for the sole mandatory respondent, Siderca S.A.I.C. (Siderca). Because Siderca is the sole mandatory respondent for which Commerce calculated a weighted-average dumping margin, Commerce assigned Siderca's preliminary margin to all other producers and exporters of the merchandise under consideration.

In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances exist for all companies in Argentina. For a full description of the methodology and results of Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist in this investigation:

In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all entries of OCTG from Argentina, as described in Appendix I, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register .

Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for the respondent listed in the table above is the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin calculated in this preliminary determination; (2) if the exporter is not the respondent identified in the table above, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate is the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for that producer of the subject merchandise in the table above; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and exporters is the “All-Others” estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed in the table above.

Further, section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, in the event of an affirmative determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of: (a) The date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date on which notice of initiation of the investigation was published. As noted above, Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of OCTG from Argentina produced and exported by all companies. In accordance with 733(e)(2)(A), suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise for shipments that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date which is 90 days before the publication of this notice, the date suspension of liquidation is first ordered. These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Commerce intends to disclose its preliminary calculations and related analysis to interested parties within five days of any public announcement of the preliminary determination or, if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register , in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to verify the information relied upon in making its final determination. 9

Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope issues may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. 10 Interested parties will be notified of the timeline for the submission of such case briefs and written comments at a later date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the deadline date for case briefs. 11 Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities. Commerce has modified certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary information until further notice. 12

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register . Requests for a hearing should contain: (1) The requesting party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of individuals from the requesting party that will attend the hearing, including whether any individuals are foreign nationals; and (3) a list of the issues the party intends to discuss at the hearing. If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.

Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal Register if, in the event of an affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by the petitioner. Section 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months in duration.

On April 27, 2022, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(b) and (e), Siderca requested that, contingent upon an affirmative preliminary determination of sales at LTFV, Commerce postpone the final determination in this investigation up to 135 days after publication of this notice and that the provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months. 13

In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because (1) the preliminary determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise;  14 and (3) no compelling reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final determination in this investigation and extending the provisional measures from a four-month period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce will make its final determination no later than 135 days after the date of publication of this preliminary determination in the Federal Register , pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act. 15

In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary determination. If Commerce's final determination is affirmative, then the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination whether imports of OCTG from Argentina into the United States are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

This preliminary determination is issued and published in accordance with sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce published the notice of initiation of this LTFV investigation on November 1, 2021. 1 On February 17, 2022, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until May 4, 2022. 2

For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 3 A list of sections in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included in Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

The products covered by this investigation are OCTG from Russia. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.

In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations, 4 in the Initiation Notice Commerce set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage ( i.e., scope). 5 Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this investigation, and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum. 6 As discussed in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily modified the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.

In the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, Commerce established the deadline for parties to submit scope case briefs. 7 Commerce did not receive any comments from interested parties regarding the scope as stated in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum prior to the deadline. As explained in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, there will be no further opportunity for comments on scope-related issues. 8

Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with section 731 of the Act. Commerce calculated export prices in accordance with section 772(a) of the Act and constructed export prices in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. Normal value (NV) is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually examined. This rate shall be equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis dumping margins, and any dumping margins determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.

In this investigation, Commerce calculated estimated weighted-average dumping margins that are above de minimis for the mandatory respondents, JSC Vyksa Steel Works (VSW) and Volzhsky Pipe Plant, Joint Stock Company (VTZ). Commerce calculated the all-others rate by weight-averaging the estimated weighted-average dumping margins that it calculated for the individually examined respondents. Commerce weight-averaged these dumping margins using the publicly ranged total quantities of each respondent's sales of subject merchandise to the United States during the POI. 9

On November 12, 2021, Commerce received a petition concerning imports of ESBR from Italy, filed in proper form by the petitioner. 1 Commerce published the notice of initiation of this investigation on December 10, 2021. 2 On April 29, 2022, Commerce published its preliminary determination in the LTFV investigation of ESBR from Italy. 3 On May 2, 2022, the petitioner submitted a letter withdrawing the Petition with respect to Italy. 4

Section 351.207(b)(1) of Commerce's regulations stipulates that the Secretary may terminate an investigation, provided it has concluded that termination of the investigation is in the public interest. Because the petitioner has withdrawn its Petition with respect to Italy, Commerce has concluded that termination is in the public interest, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.207(b)(1). Accordingly, pursuant to section 734(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), 19 CFR 351.207(b)(1), and based on the petitioner's letter withdrawing the Petition, we are terminating this LTFV investigation.

In accordance with section 734(a)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.207(b)(1), upon the petitioner's withdrawal of the Petition, we are terminating the LTFV investigation of ESBR from Italy.

In the Preliminary Determination, Commerce determined weighted-average dumping margins for exporters of ESBR from Italy that were above de minimis. Because Commerce is terminating this LTFV investigation, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to terminate suspension of liquidation and refund any cash deposits of estimated antidumping duties for entries of ESBR form Italy.

Background

On October 8, 2020, Commerce published its final results in the 2017-2018 AD administrative review of rebar from Taiwan. 1 In the Final Results, Commerce deducted section 232 duties from export price for all of Power Steel's transactions because Commerce found that the documents Power Steel submitted did not support its claim that section 232 duties were not included in U.S. price for certain transactions. 2 Commerce calculated a weighted-average dumping margin of 3.27 percent. 3

Power Steel appealed Commerce's Final Results. On December 23, 2021, the CIT sustained, in part, and remanded, in part, aspects of the Final Results. 4 The CIT sustained Commerce's interpretation that section 232 duties are “United States import duties” that are deducted from export price under section 772(c)(2)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The CIT remanded Commerce's determination that Power Steel paid section 232 duties for all its U.S. sales. 5 The CIT found the evidence Power Steel submitted during the administrative review “appears to be ambiguous if considered in a vacuum” and further found that certain information Power Steel submitted to the CIT, some of which was not previously on Commerce's record, “may show that Power Steel did not pay the {s}ection 232 duties for the disputed transactions and that therefore they were not part of the sales price used to establish base {export price}.”  6

In its final remand redetermination, issued on April 8, 2022, Commerce found that the record supported Power Steel's claim that it did not pay section 232 duties on two of its U.S. sales, and thus, that section 232 duties were not included in the gross unit price that was used as the basis for export price. Commerce recalculated the weighted-average dumping margin for Power Steel, which changed from 3.27 percent in the Final Results to 0.01 percent. 7 Thus, Commerce found that Power Steel did not make sales at less than normal value during the period of review. The CIT sustained Commerce's final redetermination. 8

In its decision in Timken, 9 as clarified by Diamond Sawblades, 10 the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that, pursuant to sections 516A(c) and (e) of the Act, Commerce must publish a notice of court decision that is not “in harmony” with a Commerce determination and must suspend liquidation of entries pending a “conclusive” court decision. The CIT's April 28, 2022, judgment constitutes a final decision of the CIT that is not in harmony with Commerce's Final Results. Thus, this notice is published in fulfillment of the publication requirements of Timken.

Because there is now a final court judgment, Commerce is amending its Final Results with respect to Power Steel as follows:

Commerce will issue revised cash deposit instructions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

At this time, Commerce remains enjoined by CIT order from liquidating entries that: Were produced and/or exported by Power Steel, and were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption during the period March 7, 2017, through September 30, 2018, excluding the period September 3, 2017, through September 14, 2017. These entries will remain enjoined pursuant to the terms of the injunction during the pendency of any appeals process.

In the event the CIT's ruling is not appealed, or, if appealed, upheld by a final and conclusive court decision, Commerce intends to instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on unliquidated entries of subject merchandise produced and/or exported by Power Steel in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b). We will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review when the importer-specific ad valorem assessment rate is not zero or de minimis. 11 Where an import-specific ad valorem assessment rate is zero or de minimis, 12 we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.

This notice is issued and published in accordance with sections 516A(c) and (e), and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

Background

This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce published the notice of initiation of this LTFV investigation on November 1, 2021. 1 On February 17, 2022, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until May 4, 2022. 2 For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 3 A list of sections in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

The products covered by this investigation are OCTG from Mexico. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.

In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations, 4 in the Initiation Notice, Commerce set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage ( i.e., scope). 5 Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this investigation and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum. 6 As discussed in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily modified the scope language that appeared in the Initiation Notice.

In the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, Commerce established the deadline for parties to submit scope case briefs. 7 Commerce did not receive any comments from interested parties regarding the scope as stated in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum prior to the deadline. As explained in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, there will be no further opportunity for comments on scope-related issues. 8

Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with section 731 of the Act. Commerce calculated constructed export prices in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. Commerce calculated normal value in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually examined. This rate shall be equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis dumping margins, and any dumping margins determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.

In this investigation, Commerce calculated an estimated weighted-average dumping margin above de minimis for the sole mandatory respondent, Tubos de Acero de Mexico, S.A. (TAMSA). Because TAMSA is the sole mandatory respondent for which Commerce calculated a weighted-average dumping margin, Commerce assigned TAMSA's preliminary margin to all other producers and exporters of the merchandise under consideration.

In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances exist for all companies in Mexico. For a full description of the methodology and results of Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 9

Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist in this investigation:

In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all entries of OCTG from Mexico, as described in Appendix I, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register .

Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for the respondent listed in the table above is the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin calculated in this preliminary determination; (2) if the exporter is not the respondent identified in the table above, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate is the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for that producer of the subject merchandise in the table above; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and exporters is the all-others estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed in the table above.

Further, section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, in the event of an affirmative determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of: (a) The date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date on which notice of initiation of the investigation was published. As noted above, Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of OCTG from Mexico produced and exported by all companies. In accordance with 733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise for shipments that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date which is 90 days before the publication of this notice, the date suspension of liquidation is first ordered.

These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Commerce intends to disclose its preliminary calculations and related analysis to interested parties within five days of any public announcement of the preliminary determination or, if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register , in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to verify information relied upon in making its final determination. 10

Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope issues may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. 11 Interested parties will be notified of the timeline for the submission of such case briefs and written comments at a later date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the deadline date for case briefs. 12 Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities. Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary information, until further notice. 13

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register . Requests for a hearing should contain: (1) The requesting party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of individuals from the requesting party that will attend the hearing, including, whether any individuals are foreign nationals; and (3) a list of the issues the party intends to discuss at the hearing. If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date and time of the hearing two days before the scheduled hearing date.

Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal Register if, in the event of an affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months in duration.

On April 27, 2022, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), TAMSA requested that, contingent upon an affirmative preliminary determination of sales at LTFV, Commerce postpone the final determination in this investigation up to 135 days after publication of this notice and that the provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months. 14

In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) The preliminary determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise;  15 and (3) no compelling reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final determination in this investigation and extending the provisional measures from a four-month period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce will make its final determination in this investigation no later than 135 days after the date of publication of this preliminary determination in the Federal Register pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act. 16 .

In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary determination. If Commerce's final determination is affirmative, then the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination, or 45 days after the final determination, whether imports of OCTG from Mexico into the United States are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

This preliminary determination is issued and published in accordance with sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

The MMPA requires NMFS to authorize the incidental take of ESA-listed marine mammals in commercial fisheries provided it can make the following determinations: (1) The incidental mortality and serious injury (M/SI) from commercial fisheries will have a negligible impact on the affected species or stocks; (2) a recovery plan for all affected species or stocks of threatened or endangered marine mammals has been developed or is being developed; and (3) where required under MMPA section 118, a take reduction plan has been developed or is being developed, a monitoring program is implemented, and vessels participating in the fishery are registered. NMFS has determined that the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet/Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery meets these three requirements and is issuing a permit to the fishery to authorize the incidental take of ESA-listed marine mammal species or stocks (CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale and CA/OR/WA stock of sperm whale) under the MMPA for a period of three years.

The MMPA List of Fisheries (LOF) classifies each commercial fishery as a Category I, II, or III fishery based on the level of mortality and injury of marine mammals occurring incidental to each fishery as defined in 50 CFR 229.2. Category I and II fisheries must register with NMFS and are subsequently authorized to incidentally take marine mammals during commercial fishing operations. However, that authorization is limited to those marine mammals that are not listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA. Section 101(a)(5)(E) of the MMPA, 16 U.S.C. 1371, states that NMFS, as delegated by the Secretary of Commerce, for a period of up to three years shall allow the incidental, but not intentional, taking of marine mammal stocks designated as depleted because of their listing as an endangered species or threatened species under the ESA, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., by persons using vessels of the United States and those vessels which have valid fishing permits issued by the Secretary in accordance with section 204(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1824(b), while engaging in commercial fishing operations, if NMFS makes certain determinations. NMFS must determine, after notice and opportunity for public comment, that: (1) Incidental M/SI from commercial fisheries will have a negligible impact on the affected species or stock; (2) a recovery plan has been developed or is being developed for such species or stock under the ESA; and (3) where required under section 118 of the MMPA, a monitoring program has been established, vessels engaged in such fisheries are registered in accordance with section 118 of the MMPA, and a take reduction plan has been developed or is being developed for such species or stock.

The LOF includes a list of marine mammal species or stocks incidentally killed or injured in each commercial fishery. We evaluated ESA-listed stocks or species included on the final 2021 MMPA LOF as killed or seriously injured following NMFS' Procedural Directive 02-238 “Process for Distinguishing Serious from Non-Serious Injury of Marine Mammals.” Based on this evaluation, we proposed to issue a permit under MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E) to vessels registered in the Category II CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet/Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery, as classified on the final 2021 MMPA LOF, to incidentally kill or seriously injure the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale and CA/OR/WA stock of sperm whale (86 FR 71423; December 16, 2021).

NMFS will regularly evaluate other commercial fisheries for purposes of making a negligible impact determination (NID) and issuing section 101(a)(5)(E) authorizations with the annual LOF as new information becomes available. More information about the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet and Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery is available in the 2021 MMPA LOF (86 FR 3028; January 14, 2021) and on the internet at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/list-fisheries-summary-tables.

We reviewed the best available scientific information to determine if the fishery met the three requirements of MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E) for issuing a permit. This information is included in the 2021 MMPA LOF (86 FR 3028; January 14, 2021), the SARs for these species (available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-stock-assessment-reports ), recovery plans for these species (available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/endangered-species-conservation/recovery-species-under-endangered-species-act ), and other relevant information, as detailed further in the documents describing the preliminary and final determinations supporting the permit (available at: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2021-0105 ).

NMFS is in the process of revising humpback whale stock structure under the MMPA in light of the 14 Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) established under the ESA (81 FR 62259, September 8, 2016), and based on the “Procedural Directive 02-204-03: Reviewing and Designating Stocks and Issuing Stock Assessment Reports under the Marine Mammal Protection Act” (NMFS 2019). The humpback whale DPSs that occur in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States do not align with the existing MMPA stocks. Some of the listed DPSs partially coincide with the currently defined stocks. Because we cannot manage one portion of an MMPA stock as ESA-listed and another portion of a stock as not ESA-listed, until such time as the MMPA stock designations are revised, NMFS continues to use the existing MMPA stock structure for MMPA management purposes ( e.g., selection of a recovery factor, stock status) and treats such stocks as ESA-listed if a component of that stock is listed under the Act and overlaps with the analyzed commercial fishery. Therefore, for the purpose of this MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) authorization, NMFS considered the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale to be ESA-listed as it overlaps with the two ESA-listed DPSs (Mexico, and Central America).

Prior to issuing a MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) permit to take ESA-listed marine mammals incidental to commercial fishing, NMFS must determine if the M/SI incidental to commercial fisheries will have a negligible impact on the affected marine mammal species or stocks. NMFS satisfies this requirement by making a NID. Although the MMPA does not define “negligible impact,” NMFS has issued regulations providing a qualitative definition of “negligible impact,” defined in 50 CFR 216.103 as an impact resulting from the specified activity that cannot be reasonably expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, adversely affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival.

NMFS relies on a quantitative approach for determining negligible impact detailed in NMFS Procedural Directive 02-204-02 (directive), “Criteria for Determining Negligible Impact under MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E),” which became effective on June 17, 2020 (NMFS 2020). The procedural directive is available online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/laws-and-policies/protected-resources-policy-directives. The directive describes NMFS' process for determining whether incidental M/SI from commercial fisheries will have a negligible impact on ESA-listed marine mammal species/stocks (the first requirement necessary for issuing a MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E) permit as noted above).

The directive first describes the derivation of two Negligible Impact Thresholds (NIT), which represent levels of removal from a marine mammal species or stock. The first, Total Negligible Impact Threshold (NIT t ), represents the total amount of human-caused M/SI that NMFS considers negligible for a given stock. The second, lower threshold, Single NIT (NIT s ) represents the level of M/SI from a single commercial fishery that NMFS considers negligible for a stock. NIT s was developed in recognition that some stocks may experience non-negligible levels of total human-caused M/SI but one or more individual fisheries may contribute a very small portion of that M/SI, and the effect of an individual fishery may be considered negligible.

The directive describes a detailed process for using these NIT values to conduct a NID analysis for each fishery classified as a Category I or II fishery on the MMPA LOF. The NID process uses a two-tiered analysis. The Tier 1 analysis first compares the total human-caused M/SI for a particular stock to NIT t . If NIT t is not exceeded, then all commercial fisheries that kill or seriously injure the stock are determined to have a negligible impact on the particular stock. If NIT t is exceeded, then the Tier 2 analysis compares each individual fishery's M/SI for a particular stock to NIT s . If NIT s is not exceeded, then the commercial fishery is determined to have a negligible impact on that particular stock. For transboundary, migratory stocks, because of the uncertainty regarding the M/SI that occurs outside of U.S. waters, we assume that total M/SI exceeds NIT t and proceed directly to the Tier 2 NIT s analysis. If a commercial fishery has a negligible impact across all ESA-listed stocks, then the first of three findings necessary for issuing a MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) permit to the commercial fishery has been met ( i.e., a NID). If a commercial fishery has a non-negligible impact on any ESA-listed stock, then NMFS cannot issue a MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) permit for the fishery to incidentally take ESA-listed marine mammals.

These NID criteria rely on the best available scientific information, including estimates of a stock's minimum population size and human-caused M/SI levels, as published in the most recent SARs and other supporting documents, as appropriate. Using these inputs, the quantitative negligible impact thresholds allow for straightforward calculations that lead to clear negligible or non-negligible impact determinations for each commercial fishery analyzed. In rare cases, robust data may be unavailable for a straightforward calculation, and the directive provides instructions for completing alternative calculations or assessments where appropriate.

NMFS evaluated the impact of the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet/Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery using the process outlined in the directive, and, based on the best available scientific information, made a NID.

The CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale is a transboundary stock. As noted above, because of the uncertainty regarding M/SI that occurs outside of U.S. waters for transboundary stocks, we assumed that total M/SI exceeds NIT t and proceeded directly to the Tier 2 NIT s analysis. The most recent (draft 2021) CA/OR/WA humpback whale SAR has documented M/SI of the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale incidental to this fishery (Carretta et al. 2021).

The estimated annual M/SI of humpback whales (CA/OR/WA stock) in the CA drift gillnet fishery is 0.1, based on observer data. Since this M/SI (0.1) is less than NIT s (2.48), NMFS determined that the CA drift gillnet fishery/Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery has a negligible impact on the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whales (see accompanying MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) determination document linked above for NIT calculations).

The draft 2021 SAR includes the mean annual total commercial fishery-related M/SI (≥25.2) for the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale. This comprises M/SI from all commercial fisheries, including the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery, as well as fishery-related M/SI for the stock not assigned to a specific commercial fishery. The SAR also includes unattributed fishery-related M/SI (11.15) for the stock, which is not assigned to a specific commercial fishery. This unattributed fishery-related M/SI could be from any number of commercial, recreational or tribal fisheries, including the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery. In accordance with NMFS Procedural Directive 02-204-02, because data are not currently available to assign the unattributed fishery-related M/SI to a specific commercial fishery, we did not include unattributed mortality in the calculations for the NID Tier 2 analysis (NMFS 2020).

In addition, because the CA/OR/WA humpback whale stock is considered a transboundary stock, NMFS assumed NIT t is exceeded and conducted the more conservative Tier 2 analysis with the lower NIT s criterion. NMFS is actively monitoring the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery through a fishery observer program. Further, most of the information on large whale entanglements on the West Coast is reported to and documented by the West Coast Large Whale Entanglement Response Program. If additional fishery-related M/SI of the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale is documented through the observer program or West Coast Large Whale Entanglement Response Program that indicates additional M/SI of the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale in the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery, then NMFS will re-evaluate the NID and the permit.

The CA/OR/WA stock of sperm whale is not a transboundary stock. Therefore, we conducted the NID analysis starting with the Tier 1 (NIT t ) analysis. The most recent (final 2020) CA/OR/WA sperm whale SAR documented M/SI of the CA/OR/WA stock of sperm whale incidental to this fishery (Carretta et al. 2021). The total annual average human-caused M/SI for the CA/OR/WA stock of sperm whales from 2013-2017 is 0.64, including 0.4 per year for the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery and 0.24 per year for the sablefish hook and line fishery (Carretta et al. 2021). There was no other human-related M/SI of the CA/OR/WA stock of sperm whale reported during this time period. Since M/SI (0.64) is less than NIT t (2.54), the CA drift gillnet fishery/Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery is considered to have a negligible impact on the CA/OR/WA stock of sperm whales.

The NID analysis is presented in an accompanying MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) determination document that provides summaries of the information used to evaluate each ESA-listed stock documented on the 2021 MMPA LOF as killed or injured incidental to the fishery (available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/mmpa-list-fisheries-2021 ). The final MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) determination document is available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/negligible-impact-determination-and-mmpa-section-101a5e-authorization-ca-thresher-shark or https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2021-0105. Based on the criteria outlined in the directive, the most recent SAR, and the best available scientific information, NMFS has determined that the M/SI incidental to the Category II CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet/Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery will have a negligible impact on the associated ESA-listed marine mammal stocks (CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale and CA/OR WA stock of sperm whale). Accordingly, this MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) requirement is satisfied for the commercial fishery (see MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) determination document is available at: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2021-0105 ).

Recovery plans for humpback whales and sperm whales have been completed (see https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/endangered-species-conservation/recovery-species-under-endangered-species-act ). Accordingly, the requirement to have recovery plans in place or being developed is satisfied.

Subject to available funding, MMPA section 118 requires the development and implementation of a Take Reduction Plan (TRP) for each strategic stock that interacts with a Category I or II fishery. The stocks considered for this permit are designated as a strategic stock under the MMPA because the stocks, or a component of the stocks, are listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA (MMPA section 3(19)(C)).

The CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery, for the affected marine mammal species or stocks, has a TRP in place. Accordingly, the requirement under MMPA section 118 to have TRPs in place or in development is satisfied (see determination supporting the permit available on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2021-0105 ).

Under MMPA section 118(d), NMFS is to establish a program for monitoring incidental M/SI of marine mammals from commercial fishing operations. The CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet/Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery has been observed by NMFS since 1990. Accordingly, the requirement under MMPA section 118 to have a monitoring program in place is satisfied.

MMPA section 118(c) requires that vessels participating in Category I and II fisheries register to obtain an authorization to take marine mammals incidental to fishing activities. NMFS has integrated the MMPA registration process, implemented through the Marine Mammal Authorization Program, with existing state and Federal fishery license, registration, or permit systems for Category I and II fisheries on the LOF. Therefore, the requirement for vessel registration is satisfied.

Based on the above evaluation for the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet/Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery as it relates to the three requirements of MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E), we are issuing a MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) permit to the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet/Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery to authorize the incidental take of ESA-listed species or stocks during commercial fishing operations. If, during the three-year authorization, there is a significant change in the information or conditions used to support any of these determinations, NMFS will re-evaluate whether to amend or modify the authorization, after notice and opportunity for public comment.

ESA section 7(a)(2) requires federal agencies to ensure that actions they authorize, fund, or carry out do not jeopardize the existence of any species listed under the ESA, or destroy or adversely modify designated critical habitat of any ESA-listed species. The effects of the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet/Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery on ESA-listed marine mammals, were analyzed in the appropriate ESA section 7 Biological Opinion on the commercial fishery, and incidental take was exempted for those ESA-listed marine mammals for the fishery.

Under section 7 of the ESA, Biological Opinions analyze the effects of the proposed action on ESA-listed species and their critical habitat and, where appropriate, exempt anticipated future take of ESA-listed species as specified in the incidental take statement. Under MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E), NMFS analyzes previously documented M/SI incidental to commercial fisheries through the NID process, and when the necessary findings can be made, issues a MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E) permit that allows for an unspecified amount of incidental taking of specific ESA-listed marine mammal stocks while engaging in commercial fishing operations. Thus, the applicable standards and resulting analyses under the MMPA and ESA differ, and as such, may not always align.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires Federal agencies to evaluate the impacts of alternatives for their actions on the human environment. Because the permit would not modify any fishery operation and the effects of the fishery operations have been evaluated in accordance with NEPA, no additional NEPA analysis beyond that conducted for the associated Fishery Management Plan is required for the permit. Issuing the permit would have no additional impact on the human environment or effects on threatened or endangered species beyond those analyzed in these documents.

On December 16, 2021, NMFS published a notice and request for comments in the Federal Register for the proposed issuance of a permit under MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E) to vessels registered in the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet/Pacific highly migratory species drift gillnet fishery (86 FR 71423). The public comment period closed on January 18, 2022. NMFS received three comment letters on the proposed issuance of the permit and underlying preliminary determination. Oceana opposed issuing the permit. In addition, two non-substantive comment letters from members of the public opposed issuing the permit. Only responses to substantive comments pertaining to the proposed permit and preliminary determination under MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E) are addressed below.

Comment 1: Oceana incorporates their previous comments submitted on the NMFS' draft “Criteria for Determining Negligible Impact under MMPA Section 101(a)(5)(E).”

Response: Oceana's comments on the draft “Criteria for Determining Negligible Impact under MMPA Section 101(a)(5)(E)” were previously addressed by NMFS and are available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/criteria-determining-negligible-impact-under-mmpa-section-101a5e.

Comment 2: Oceana states that the existing monitoring program for the CA drift gillnet fishery does not meet the MMPA's requirement to provide statistically-reliable M/SI estimates. They note that observer coverage has averaged 20 percent annually, despite recommendations from the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to achieve 100 percent observer coverage. Oceana asserts that 20 percent observer coverage is inadequate to accurately document marine mammal M/SI in the fishery. Oceana recommends NMFS not issue the MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) permit until the CA drift gillnet fishery is observed at 100 percent.

Response: NMFS disagrees that the monitoring program for the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet is insufficient to fulfill the monitoring requirements of MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E). The CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery has been observed by NMFS since 1990. The observer program in the CA drift gillnet fishery collects data on all target and non-target species, including the incidental M/SI of marine mammals. NMFS scientists use data from the observer program to generate statistically-valid estimates of M/SI that are in the most recent SARs for the CA/OR/WA stocks of humpback whale and sperm whale. As such, it satisfies the requirement in MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E)(i)(III).

Comment 3: Oceana recommends NMFS implement the protected species hard caps for the CA drift gillnet fishery recommended by the Council before issuing the MMPA 101(a)(5)(E) permit to the fishery. They further state that NMFS should phase out and prohibit the use of large mesh drift gillnets and transition to a sustainable swordfish fishery. They note that in 2015 the Council recommended that NMFS increase observer coverage to 100 percent and set mortality and injury hard caps for nine sea turtle and marine mammal species in the CA drift gillnet fishery. Oceana states that NMFS has not implemented either of the Council's recommendations.

Response: The Council's fishery management actions are taken to implement the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and this permit is authorized under section 101(a)(5)(E) of the MMPA. In January 2020, the federal court in the Central District of California ordered NMFS to finalize its proposed “hard caps” rule, which would close the fishery upon reaching specified limits of interactions with protected species. NMFS had sought to withdraw its proposed hard caps rule, after public comment had demonstrated closures would cause fishermen economic hardships NMFS had not anticipated. In February 2021, the federal court in the District of Columbia vacated the rule, agreeing that NMFS had found that the rule did not comply with National Standard 7's requirement to, where practicable, minimize costs and avoid unnecessary duplication.

NMFS made a NID for the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery's current bycatch using the process outlined in the directive, and, based on the best available scientific information (NMFS 2020). While implementation of future fishery management actions in the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery could affect marine mammal bycatch rates, consideration of those actions are not relevant to or needed to support the determinations for this permit.

Comment 4: Oceana comments NMFS's NID is biased towards inflating PBR and underestimating M/SI in the CA drift gillnet fishery. They state that, in 2016, NMFS established separate DPSs for humpback whales, including the Mexican and Central American DPSs. However, both the SAR and NID combine the Mexican and Central American DPSs into the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale and do not consider declines in the humpback population since 2018.

Oceana also notes that the NID analysis does not include two observed entanglements in drift gillnet gear in 2021. They note that observer coverage for the 2021-22 fishing season is not yet available, as the fishing season has not concluded. However, using an estimate of 20 percent observer coverage, the two observed entanglements would be approximately five total takes using a ratio estimator approach.

Response: Humpback whales were listed globally as endangered under the ESA in 1970 (35 FR 18319). On September 8, 2016, NMFS published a final rule dividing the globally listed endangered humpback whale into 14 DPSs and categorizing four DPSs as endangered and one as threatened (81 FR 62259). NMFS is in the process of revising humpback whale stock structure under the MMPA in light of the 2016 final rule on humpback whale DPSs as established under the ESA. In doing so, NMFS is following the process laid out in “Procedural Directive 02-204-03: Reviewing and Designating Stocks and Issuing Stock Assessment Reports under the Marine Mammal Protection Act” (NMFS 2019). As noted by the commenter, the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whales does not align with the DPSs established under the ESA and comprises animals from the endangered Central American DPS, the threatened Mexico DPS, and the unlisted Hawaii DPS.

Because we cannot manage one portion of an MMPA stock as ESA-listed and another portion of a stock as not ESA-listed, until humpback whale stock structure has been revised, NMFS continues to use the existing MMPA stock structure for MMPA management purposes, including NIDs and 101(a)(5)(E) authorizations. Therefore, for purposes of evaluating the impact of the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery under the MMPA, NMFS used the current MMPA designation of the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whales. In the case of the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whales, for the purposes of this NID analysis, NMFS considers the entire stock to be endangered under the ESA and depleted under the MMPA. In addition, because the CA/OR/WA humpback whale stock is considered to be transboundary, NMFS assumed NITt is exceeded and conducted the more conservative Tier 2 analysis with the lower NITs criterion.

The most recent (draft 2021) CA/OR/WA humpback whale SAR has documented M/SI of the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale incidental to this fishery (Carretta et al. 2021). The draft 2021 SAR includes observer data through the 2019 fishing season. NMFS anticipates that future SARs will incorporate bycatch estimates for the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery that include recent observed M/SI in 2021 after they have been completed.

Given this approach and ongoing efforts to revise humpback whale stock structure in the Pacific, NMFS has proceeded with a final NID for the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery with respect to the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whales and is issuing a 101(a)(5)(E) permit for this fishery. Nevertheless, if, during the 3-year authorization, there is a significant change in the information or conditions used to support any of these determinations, including a change in MMPA stock structure and associated estimates of abundance and M/SI incidental to commercial fisheries, NMFS may re-evaluate the NID.

CPSC seeks to renew the following currently approved collection of information:

Title: Safety Standard for Omnidirectional Citizens Band Base Station Antennas.

OMB Number: 3041-0006.

Type of Review: Renewal of collection.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Affected Public: Manufacturers, importers, and private labelers of omnidirectional citizens band base station antennas.

Estimated Number of Respondents: Approximately 10 firms supply omnidirectional citizen band base station antennas.

Estimated Time per Response: Based on the information compiled by manufacturers, importers, and private labelers of antennas to test and maintain records for certificates of compliance, we estimate an average of 220 hours per firm for annual testing and recordkeeping.

Total Estimated Annual Burden: 2,200 hours (10 firms × 220 hours).

General Description of Collection: The Safety Standard for Omnidirectional Citizens Band Base Station Antennas (16 CFR part 1204) establishes performance requirements for omnidirectional citizens band base station antennas to reduce unreasonable risks of death and injury that may result if an antenna contacts overhead power lines while being erected or removed from its site. The regulations implementing the standard (16 CFR part 1204, subpart B) require manufacturers, importers, and private labelers of antennas subject to the standard to test the antennas for compliance with the standard and to maintain records of that testing. Based on an average hourly wage of $71.82, 1 the total annual cost to the industry to perform the required testing and maintain the records is approximately $158,000 ($71.82 times 2,200 hours).

CPSC solicits written comments from all interested persons about the proposed collection of information. The CPSC specifically solicits information relevant to the following topics:

CPSC seeks to renew the following currently approved collection of information:

Title: Standard for the Flammability of Children's Sleepwear: Sizes 0 Through 6X; and the Standard for the Flammability of Children's Sleepwear: Sizes 7 Through 14.

OMB Number: 3041-0027.

Type of Review: Renewal of collection.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Affected Public: Manufacturers and importers of children's sleepwear.

Estimated Number of Respondents: Based on a review of past inspections and published industry information, CPSC staff estimates that there could be as many as 866 domestic children's apparel manufacturers in the United States subject to the rule. However, not all these manufacturers will produce children's sleepwear. Therefore, this figure is likely an overestimate of the actual number of firms performing tests and creating records in any given year. Furthermore, using the Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) codes for children's sleepwear, CPSC staff found approximately 3,641 importers that supply children's sleepwear to the U.S. market. Many of the 866 domestic manufacturers, along with many large U.S. retailers, may be among the importers. However, if all 866 U.S. producers and, in addition, all 3,641 importers did introduce new children's sleepwear garments each year, the total number of firms subject to the CPSC recordkeeping requirements each year would be 4,507 (866 + 3,641). As noted, the actual number of firms is likely lower.

Estimated Time per Response: Testing and recordkeeping of each sleepwear item is approximately 3 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Burden: The 50 largest domestic manufacturers and the 100 largest importers may each introduce an average of 100 new children's sleepwear items annually. The annual burden for the 50 large domestic manufacturers and the 100 largest importers is estimated at 45,000 hours for testing and recordkeeping (150 firms × 100 items × 3 hours). Without adjusting for possible double-counting, CPSC staff estimates that the remaining 816 manufacturers and 3,541 importers may each introduce an average of 10 new children's sleepwear items, for a total testing and recordkeeping burden of 130,710 hours (4,357 × 10 items × 3 hours.) Therefore, the total estimated potential annual burden imposed by the standard and regulations on all manufacturers and importers of children's sleepwear will be about 175,710 hours (45,000 + 130,710). The annual cost to the industry is estimated to be $12,369,984 based on an hourly wage of $70.40 × 175,710 hours. 1

Description of Collection: The Standard for the Flammability of Children's Sleepwear: Sizes 0 through 6X (16 CFR part 1615) and the Standard for the Flammability of Children's Sleepwear: Sizes 7 through 14 (16 CFR part 1616) address the fire hazard associated with small-flame ignition sources for children's sleepwear manufactured for sale in, or imported into, the United States. The standards also require manufacturers and importers of children's sleepwear to collect information resulting from product testing, and maintenance of the testing records. 16 CFR part 1615, subpart B; 16 CFR part 1616; subpart B.

CPSC solicits written comments from all interested persons about the proposed collection of information. CPSC specifically solicits information relevant to the following topics:

The RFPB's charter is being renewed pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 175 and 10301(a) in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C., Appendix) and 41 CFR 102-3.50(a). The charter and contact information for the RFPB's Designated Federal Officer (DFO) are found at https://www.facadatabase.gov/FACA/apex/FACAPublicAgencyNavigation.

Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 10301(b), the RFPB shall serve as an independent adviser to provide advice and recommendations on strategies, policies, and practices designed to improve and enhance the capabilities, efficiency, and effectiveness of the reserve components. The RFPB may act on those matters referred to it by the Chair and on any matter raised by a member of the RFPB or the Secretary of Defense. All RFPB work, including subcommittee work, will be in response to written terms of reference or taskings approved by the Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense (“the DoD Appointing Authority”), or the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)) unless otherwise provided by statute or Presidential directive.

Consistent with the provisions of 10 U.S.C. 10301(c), the RFPB shall be composed of 20 members, appointed or designated as follows: (a) A civilian appointed by the Secretary of Defense from among persons determined by the Secretary to have the knowledge of, and experience in, policy matters relevant to national security and reserve component matters necessary to carry out the duties of the RFPB, who shall serve as chair of the RFPB. (b) Two active or retired reserve officers or enlisted members designated by the Secretary of Defense upon recommendation of the Secretary of the Army: One of whom shall be a member of the Army National Guard of the United States or a former member of the Army National Guard of the United States in the Retired Reserve; and one of whom shall be a member or retired member of the Army Reserve. (c) Two active or retired reserve officers or enlisted members designated by the Secretary of Defense upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Navy: One of whom shall be an active or retired officer of the Navy Reserve and one of whom shall be an active or retired officer of the Marine Corps Reserve. (d) Two active or retired reserve officers or enlisted members designated by the Secretary of Defense upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Air Force: One of whom shall be a member of the Air National Guard of the United States or a former member of the Air National Guard of the United States in the Retired Reserve; and one of whom shall be a member or retired member of the Air Force Reserve. (e) One active or retired reserve officer or enlisted member of the U.S. Coast Guard designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security. (f) Ten persons appointed or designated by the Secretary of Defense, each of whom shall be a U.S. citizen having significant knowledge of and experience in policy matters relevant to national security and reserve component matters and shall be one of the following: An individual not employed in any Federal or State department or agency, an individual employed by a Federal or State department or agency, an officer of a regular component of the armed forces on active duty, or an officer of a reserve component of the armed forces in an active status, who is serving or has served in a senior position on the Joint Staff, the headquarters staff of a combatant command, or the headquarters staff of an armed force; and has experience in joint professional military education, joint qualification, and joint operations matters. (g) A reserve officer of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps who is a general or flag officer recommended by the chair and designated by the Secretary of Defense, who shall serve without vote, as Military adviser to the Chair; Military executive officer of the RFPB; and Supervisor of the operations and staff of the RFPB. (h) A senior enlisted member of a reserve component recommended by the Chair and designated by the Secretary of Defense, who shall serve without vote as enlisted military adviser to the Chair.

The appointment of RFPB members will be approved by the DoD Appointing Authority for a term of service of one-to-four years, with annual renewals, in accordance with DoD policy and procedures. No member, unless approved by the DoD Appointing Authority, may serve more than two consecutive terms of service on the RFPB, to include its subcommittees, or serve on more than two DoD Federal advisory committees at one time.

RFPB members who are not full-time or permanent part-time Federal civilian officers or employees, or active duty members of the Uniformed Services, shall be appointed as experts or consultants pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3109 to serve as special government employee members. RFPB members who are full-time or permanent part-time Federal civilian officers or employees, or active duty members of the Uniformed Services, shall be designated pursuant to 41 CFR 102-3.130(a) to serve as regular government employee members.

All members of the RFPB are appointed to exercise their own best judgment on behalf of the DoD, without representing any particular point of view, and to discuss and deliberate in a manner that is free from conflicts of interest. With the exception of reimbursement of official RFPB related travel and per diem, RFPB members serve without compensation.

The public or interested organizations may submit written statements to the RFPB about the RFPB's mission and functions. Written statements may be submitted at any time or in response to the stated agenda of planned meeting of the RFPB. All written statements shall be submitted to the DFO for the RFPB, and this individual will ensure that the written statements are provided to the membership for their consideration.

The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: HEERF Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reporting.

OMB Control Number: 1840-0849.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Private Sector; State, Local, and Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 20,680.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 103,400.

Abstract: Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act, Public Law 116-136 (March 27, 2020), authorizes the Secretary of Education to allocate formula grant funds to participating institutions of higher educations (IHEs). Section 18004(c) of the CARES Act allows the IHEs to use up to one-half of the total funds received to cover any costs associated with the significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus (with specific exceptions).

Section 18004(a)(2) of the CARES Act authorizes the Secretary to make awards under parts A and B of title III, parts A and B of title V, and subpart 4 of part A of title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (“HEA”), to address needs directly related to the coronavirus. These awards are in addition to awards made in Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

Section 18004(a)(3) of the CARES Act, Pub. authorizes the Secretary to allocate funds for part B of Title VII of the HEA, for IHEs that the Secretary determines have the greatest unmet needs related to coronavirus.

This information collection request includes the quarterly budget and expenditure reporting form that will be used by grantees under these sections, as well as comparable sections of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) (Pub. L. 116-260) and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) (Pub. L. 117-2).

The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: Rural Education Achievement Program: Small, Rural School Achievement Program and Rural and Low-Income School Program Application.

OMB Control Number: 1810-0646.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 4,565.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 4,120.

Abstract: The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) administers two grant programs under Title V, Part B (Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA): The Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program (administered by the Department, which makes awards directly to local educational agencies (LEAs)) and the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program (awarded by the Department to SEAs, which then make awards to and administer the program for LEAs, except that the Department may also make RLIS awards directly to LEAs in States that do not submit an approvable RLIS application to the Department. The LEAs that apply directly to the Department under RLIS are known as Specially Qualified Agencies (SQAs)).

The information shared with the Department enables the Department to make eligibility determinations for LEAs and to calculate formula allocations for each eligible LEA. Form 1 consists of the REAP Eligibility Spreadsheet through which SEAs provide to the Department eligibility and allocation data for both the RLIS and SRSA programs. Form 2 consists of the application package for LEAs under the SRSA program. Form 3 consists of the application package for SQAs under the RLIS program. This proposed application package is a revision of current information collection package (OMB #1810-0646), updated to include process improvements and enhance consistency across Forms 1,2, and 3. Updates include clarifications to data collection processes ( e.g., which year data is requested), improved question structure, and process improvements related to LEA eligibility ( e.g., clarifying virtual and operational status).

This action is directed to the public in general and may be of interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human health, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry; pesticide users; and members of the public interested in the sale, distribution, or use of pesticides. Since others also may be interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be affected by this action.

The docket for this action, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2021-0513, is available at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Office of Pesticide Programs Regulatory Public Docket (OPP Docket) in the Environmental Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/DC), West William Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the OPP Docket is (202) 566-1744.

Due to the public health concerns related to COVID-19, the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) and Reading Room is closed to visitors with limited exceptions. The staff continues to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and webform. For the latest status information on EPA/DC services and docket access, visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

This notice announces the cancellations and amendments to terminate uses, as requested by registrants, of products registered under FIFRA section 3 (7 U.S.C. 136a). These registrations are listed in sequence by registration number in Tables 1 and 2 of this unit.

Table 3 of this unit includes the names and addresses of record for all registrants of the products in Tables 1 and 2 of this unit, in sequence by EPA company number. This number corresponds to the first part of the EPA registration numbers of the products listed above.

The MSTRS is a federal advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), Public Law 92-463. The MSTRS provides the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC) with independent advice, counsel, and recommendations on the scientific and technical aspects of programs related to mobile source air pollution and its control.

Through its expert members from diverse stakeholder groups and from its various workgroups, the subcommittee reviews and addresses a wide range of developments, issues, and research areas such as emissions modeling, emission standards and standard setting, air toxics, innovative and incentive-based transportation policies, onboard diagnostics, heavy-duty engines, diesel retrofit, and fuel quality. The Subcommittee's website is at: http://www.epa.gov/caaac/mobile-sources-technical-review-subcommittee-mstrs-caaac.

Members are appointed by the EPA Administrator for three-year terms with the possibility of reappointment to a second term. The MSTRS usually meets two times annually and the average workload for the members is approximately 5 to 10 hours per month. EPA provides reimbursement for travel and other incidental expenses associated with official government business for members who qualify.

EPA is seeking nominations from representatives of nonfederal interests such as:

EPA values and welcomes opportunities to increase diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility on its Federal Advisory Committees. In an effort to obtain nominations of diverse candidates, EPA encourages nominations of people from all racial and ethnic groups.

In selecting members, we will consider technical expertise, coverage of broad stakeholder perspectives, diversity, and the needs of the subcommittee.

The following criteria will be used to evaluate nominees:

• The background and experiences that would help members contribute to the diversity of perspectives on the committee ( e.g., geographic, economic, social, cultural, educational, and other considerations);

• Experience in policy engagement across a range of mobility source transportation topics;

• Experience working with future transportation options and shared mobility;

• Experience working with the modeling of mobile source emissions;

• Experience working with producers of passenger cars, engines and trucks, engine and equipment manufacturing;

• Experience working with fuel or renewable fuel producers;

• Experience working with oil refiners, distributors and retailers of mobile source fuels;

• Experience working with clean energy producers;

• Experience working with agricultural producers (corn and other crop products), distillers, processors and shippers of biofuels;

• Experience working with emission control manufacturers, catalyst and filter manufacturers;

• Experience working for State, tribal, or local environmental agencies or air pollution control agencies;

• Experience working for environmental advocacy groups;

• Experience working for environmental and/or community groups;

• Experience working with supply chain logistics and goods movement;

• Experience working with marine port interests;

• Experience in working at the national level on local governments issues;

• Experience in working on local issues at the national level;

• Demonstrated experience with environmental, public health, and sustainability issues;

• Executive management level experience with membership in broad-based networks;

• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication and consensus-building skills;

• Ability to volunteer time to attend meetings two times a year, participate in teleconference and webinar meetings, attend listening sessions with the Administrator or other senior-level officials, develop policy recommendations to the Administrator, and prepare reports and advice letters.

Nominations must include a resume and a short biography describing the professional and educational qualifications of the nominee, as well as the nominee's current business address, email address, and daytime telephone number. Interested candidates may self-nominate.

To help the Agency in evaluating the effectiveness of its outreach efforts, please tell us how you learned of this opportunity.

Please be aware that EPA's policy is that, unless otherwise prescribed by statute, members generally are appointed to three-year terms.

The NANC meetings are open to the public on the internet via live feed from the FCC's web page at http://www.fcc.gov/live. Open captioning will be provided for this event. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Requests for such accommodations should be submitted via email to fcc504@fcc.gov or by calling the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau @(202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). Such requests should include a detailed description of the accommodation needed. In addition, please include a way for the FCC to contact the requester if more information is needed to fill the request. Please allow at least five days' advance notice for accommodation requests; last minute requests will be accepted but may not be possible to accommodate. Members of the public may submit comments to the NANC in the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System, ECFS, at www.fcc.gov/ecfs. Comments to the NANC should be filed in CC Docket No. 92-237. This is a summary of the Commission's document in CC Docket No. 92-237, DA 22-22-472, released April 29, 2022.

Proposed Agenda: At the June 14 meeting, the NANC will consider and vote on recommendations from the Numbering Administration Oversight Working Group on reviewing and updating the Statement of Work & Billing and Collection Agent Requirements, which embodies the required functions and operations of the North American Numbering Plan's Billing and Collection Agent; the North American Numbering Plan Billing & Collection Fund Size Projections and Contributions Factor; and an evaluation of the performance of the Billing & Collection Agent, Welch LLP. The NANC will also hear a report from the Billing & Collection Agent, Welch LLP. The NANC will also consider and vote on recommendations from the Call Authentication Trust Anchor Working Group Report and Recommendation to the NANC on Steps to Encourage Adoption of Caller ID Authentication Technology and Other Techniques to Combat Robocalls by Policymakers and Providers in Countries outside of the United States. At the August 15 meeting, the NANC will consider and vote on recommendations from the Numbering Administration Oversight Working Group on the feasibility of individual telephone number pooling trials. The NANC will also hear routine status reports from the Numbering Administration Oversight Working Group, the North American Portability Management, LLC, and the Secure Telephone Identity Governance Authority. Either of these agendas may be modified at the discretion of the NANC Chair and the Designated Federal Officer (DFO). (5 U.S.C. App 2 § 10(a)(2))

This information requirement consists of information used by Contracting Officers awarding GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts in the review and evaluation of offers.

The annual total annual public hour burden for this information collection is estimated to be 12,207 total hours. Annual reporting burdens include the estimated respondents with one (1) submission per respondent multiplied by preparation hours per response to get the total response burden hours.

GSAR clause 552.238-84, Discounts for Prompt Payment. This clause requests an offeror to identify in their offer any discounts for early payment.

Respondents: 3,051.

Responses per respondent: 1.

Total annual responses: 3,051.

Preparation hours per response: .50 (30 minutes).

Total response burden hours: 1,526.

GSAR clause 552.238-87, Delivery Prices. This clause requests an offeror to identify in their offer whether or not prices submitted cover delivery f.o.b. destination in Alaska, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Respondents: 3,051.

Responses per respondent: 1.

Total annual responses: 3,051.

Preparation hours per response: .50 (30 minutes).

Total response burden hours: 1,526.

GSAR clause 552.238-95, Separate Charge for Performance Oriented Packaging (POP) **. This clause requests an offeror, if applicable, to identify any hazardous material item ( i.e., SIN or Descriptive Name of Article) being offered and the separate charge that applies.

Respondents: 3,051.

Responses per respondent: 1.

Total annual responses: 3,051.

Pr eparation hours per response: .50 (30 minutes).

Total response burden hours: 1,526.

GSAR clause 552.238-96, Separate Charge for Delivery within Consignee's Premises**. This clause requests an offeror, as applicable, to identify any separate charge(s) for shipping when the delivery is within the consignee's premises (inclusive of items that are comparable in size and weight).

Respondents: 3,051.

R esponses per respondent: 1.

Total annual responses: 3,051.

Preparation hours per response: .50 (30 minutes).

Total response burden hours: 1,526.

GSAR clause 552.238-97, Parts and Service. This clause requests an offeror, if applicable, to include in their offer the names and addresses of all supply and service points maintained in the geographic area in which the offeror would perform under the GSA FSS contract (if awarded one). Additionally, requests an offeror to indicate whether or not a complete stock of repair parts for the items being offered is carried at that point, and whether or not mechanical service is available.

Respondents: 3,051.

Responses per respondent: 1.

Total annual responses: 3,051.

Preparation hours per response: .50 (30 minutes).

Total response burden hours: 1,526.

GSAR clause 552.238-99, Delivery Prices Overseas. This clause requests an offeror to identify the intended geographic area(s)/countries/zones which are covered by their offer.

Respondents: 3,051.

Responses per respondent: 1.

Total annual responses: 3,051.

Preparation hours per response: .50 (30 minutes).

Total response burden hours: 1,526.

GSAR clause 552.238-111, Environmental Protection Agency Registration Requirement**. This clause requests offerors, if applicable, to identify the manufacturer's and/or distributor's name and EPA Registration Number for each item offered that requires registration with the EPA.

Respondents: 3,051.

Responses per respondent: 1.

Total annual responses: 3,051.

Preparation hours per response: 1.0 (1 hr.).

Total response burden hours: 3,051.

Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary and whether it will have practical utility; whether GSA's estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate and based on valid assumptions and methodology; and ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.

Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the information collection documents from the General Services Administration, Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20405, telephone 202-501-4755. Please cite OMB Control No. 3090-0303, Federal Supply Schedule Solicitation Information, in all correspondence.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. The term “collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires federal agencies to publish a 30-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, CMS is publishing this notice that summarizes the following proposed collection(s) of information for public comment:

1. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Medicaid Managed Care Regulations; Use: Information collected includes information about managed care programs, grievances and appeals, enrollment broker contracts, and managed care organizational capacity to provide health care services. Medicaid enrollees use the information collected and reported to make informed choices regarding health care, including how to access health care services and the grievance and appeal system. States use the information collected and reported as part of its contracting process with managed care entities, as well as its compliance oversight role. We use the information collected and reported in an oversight role of state Medicaid managed care programs.

Among the proposed changes, this iteration also accommodates the use of reporting templates for existing reporting requirements at 42 CFR 438.207(d) for network adequacy and access and § 438.74 for medical loss ratio. The templates are intended to help states by articulating the specific data elements needed and by providing an easy to use format that facilitates CMS' tracking and analysis. The data gathered from these reports will enable CMS to ensure state compliance with regulatory requirements. Form Number: CMS-10108 (OMB control number: 0938-0920); Frequency: Occasionally; Affected Public: Individuals or households, Private sector (business or other for-profit and not-for-profit institutions), and State, local or Tribal Government; Number of Respondents: 609; Total Annual Responses: 13,742,805; Total Annual Hours: 1,682,411. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Amy Gentile at 410-786-3499.)

Contents

This notice sets out a summary of the use and burden associated with the following information collections. More detailed information can be found in each collection's supporting statement and associated materials (see ADDRESSES ).

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. The term “collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires federal agencies to publish a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, CMS is publishing this notice.

1. Title of Information Collection: Medicaid Managed Care Quality including Supporting Regulations; Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a currently approved collection; Use: Medicaid beneficiaries and stakeholders use the information collected and reported to understand the state's quality improvement goals and objectives, and to understand how the state is measuring progress on its goals. States use this information to help monitor and assess the performance of their Medicaid managed care programs. This information may assist states in comparing the outcomes of quality improvement efforts and can assist them in identifying future performance improvement subjects. CMS uses this information as a part of its oversight of Medicaid programs. Form Number: CMS-10553 (OMB control number: 0938-1281); Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: Private Sector, Business or other for-profits and State, Local or Tribal Governments; Number of Respondents: 376; Number of Responses: 2,655; Total Annual Hours: 36,010. (For questions regarding this collection contact Jennifer Maslowski at 312-886-2567.)

2. Title of Information Collection: External Quality Review (EQR) of Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Managed Care, EQR Protocols, and Supporting Regulations; Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently approved collection; Use: This 2022 information collection request proposes to revise the active external quality review (EQR) protocols (which were last revised in 2019). The revisions would: (1) Align the existing protocols, appendices, and worksheets with the 2020 Medicaid managed care final rule, and (2) add a new protocol, Validation of Network Adequacy (RIN 0938-AS25, CMS-2480-F). A summary of these changes includes, but is not limited to, adding three elements to 42 CFR 438.358(b)(1)(iii) to include a review of elements 438.56, 438.100, and 438.114; establishing the first protocol for the new mandatory activity described in 438.358(b)(1)(iv) for network adequacy validation for managed care organizations (MCOs), prepaid inpatient health plans (PIHPs), and prepaid ambulatory health plans (PAHPs); and other formatting changes. Form Number: CMS-R-305 (OMB control number: 0938-0786); Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: Private Sector, Business or other for-profits and State, Local or Tribal Governments; Number of Respondents: 603; Number of Responses: 5,945; Total Annual Hours: 413,310. (For questions regarding this collection contact Jennifer Maslowski at 312-886-2567.)

This supplemental funding will expand the NCBOE's outreach and education efforts targeting older adults with the greatest economic need, especially people from underserved communities. The NCBOE will build on current efforts to reach and assist beneficiaries, including expanding the work of the Benefits Enrollment Centers, making enhancements to the benefits eligibility and screening tool, and expanding the capacity of the benefits call center. As part of this work, the NCBOE should reflect on the equity assessment conducted in 2021 to identify specific strategies to reach and enroll beneficiaries in rural communities, who are under 65, with limited English proficiency, from tribal communities, from communities of color, and/or from other historically underserved and marginalized communities. Additionally, the NCBOE should explore ways to educate counselors and low-income beneficiaries about possible Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits.

The NCBOE maintains an information clearinghouse on best practices and cost-effective methods for finding and enrolling older individuals and people with disabilities with greatest economic need. This clearinghouse includes research that could help inform and support the work done by the network. The NCBOE should consider new research topics, such as exploring the impact COVID-19 had on their health and finances or predictors of Medicaid utilization, to help agencies better understand the populations served. The NCBOE should also build on the work done to date to educate individuals who are dually eligible by conducting an evaluation of the My Care, My Choice decision support tool and its usage by beneficiaries and/or counselors.

Program Name: The National Center for Benefits Outreach and Enrollment (NCBOE).

Recipient: National Council on Aging (NCOA).

Period of Performance: The award will be issued for the current project period of September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2023.

Total Award Amount: $14,431,502 in FY 2022.

Award Type: Cooperative Agreement Supplement.

Statutory Authority: The statutory authority is contained in the 2006 Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act and the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, and reauthorized by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, and Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

Basis for Award: The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is currently funded to carry out the NCBOE Project for the period of September 1, 2020 through August 31, 2025. Much work has already been completed and further tasks are currently being accomplished. It would be unnecessarily time consuming and disruptive to the NCBOE project and the beneficiaries being served for the ACL to establish a new grantee at this time when critical services are presently being provided in an efficient manner.

NCOA is uniquely placed to complete the work under the NCBOE grant. Since 2001, NCOA has been the national leader in improving benefits access to vulnerable older adults. They have an unparalleled history of working with community-based organizations to develop and replicate outreach and enrollment solutions, while maintaining and enhancing technology to make it easier and more efficient to find benefits. NCOA through NCBOE accomplishes its mission by developing and sharing tools, resources, best practices, and strategies for benefits outreach and enrollment via its online clearinghouse, electronic and print publications, webinars, and training and technical assistance.

In addition, NCOA has BenefitsCheckUp which is, by far, the nation's most comprehensive and widely-used web-based service that screens older and disabled adults with limited incomes and resources and informs them about public and private benefits for which they are very likely to be eligible. Since the BenefitsCheckUp was launched in 2001, nearly 9.9 million people have discovered $42.7 billion in benefits. In addition to the focus on Low-Income Subsidy and Medicare Savings Programs, BenefitsCheckUp also includes more than 2,500 benefits programs from all 50 states and DC, including over 50,000 local offices for people to apply for benefits; and more than 1,500 application forms in every language in which they are available.

NCOA is successfully meeting all programmatic goals under the current NCBOE grant.

Pursuant to 41 CFR 102-3.65 and approval by the Department of Health and Human Services and by the General Services Administration, FDA is announcing the renewal of the Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee (the Committee). The Committee is a discretionary Federal advisory committee established to provide advice to the Commissioner. The Committee advises the Commissioner or designee in discharging responsibilities as they relate to helping to ensure safe and effective drugs for human use and, as required, any other product for which FDA has regulatory responsibility.

The Committee reviews and evaluates available data concerning the safety and effectiveness of marketed and investigational human drug products for use in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases and makes appropriate recommendations to the Commissioner.

The Committee shall consist of a core of 11 voting members including the Chair. Members and the Chair are selected by the Commissioner or designee from among authorities knowledgeable in the fields of gastroenterology, endocrinology, surgery, clinical pharmacology, physiology, pathology, liver function, motility, esophagitis, and statistics. Members will be invited to serve for overlapping terms of up to 4 years. Non-Federal members of this committee will serve as Special Government Employees, representatives, or Ex-Officio members. Federal members will serve as Regular Government Employees or Ex-Officios. The core of voting members may include one technically qualified member, selected by the Commissioner or designee, who is identified with consumer interests and is recommended by either a consortium of consumer-oriented organizations or other interested persons. In addition to the voting members, the Committee may include one non-voting representative member who is identified with industry interests. There may also be an alternate industry representative.

Further information regarding the most recent charter and other information can be found at https://www.fda.gov/advisory-committees/human-drug-advisory-committees/gastrointestinal-drugs-advisory-committee or by contacting the Designated Federal Officer (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT ). In light of the fact that no change has been made to The Committee name or description of duties, no amendment will be made to 21 CFR 14.100.

This notice is issued under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. app.). For general information related to FDA advisory committees, please visit us at http://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/default.htm.

I. Background

Section 306(b)(2)(B)(i)(I) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 335a(b)(2)(B)(i)(I)) permits FDA to debar an individual if FDA finds that (1) the individual has been convicted of a misdemeanor under Federal law for conduct relating to the regulation of drug products under the FD&C Act, and (2) the conduct underlying the conviction undermines the process for the regulation of drugs.

In September 2013, Dr. Massouh pled guilty to a misdemeanor for introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, in violation of section 301(a) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 331(a)). On October 16, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio entered a judgment of conviction against Dr. Massouh for his violation of section 301(a) and sentenced him to 1 year of probation. According to the criminal information to which Dr. Massouh pled guilty, between January 3, 2006, and March 31, 2009, Dr. Massouh, an oncologist, purchased and received oncology drugs from a drug distributor located in Canada. Dr. Massouh's actions caused the introduction into interstate commerce of drugs that were misbranded under section 502(f)(1) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 352(f)(1)) because their labeling did not bear adequate directions for use.

By letter dated July 13, 2018, FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) notified Dr. Massouh of a proposal to debar him for 3 years from providing services in any capacity to a person that has an approved or pending drug product application. The proposal explained that FDA based the proposed debarment on his misdemeanor conviction. The proposal outlined findings concerning the four relevant factors that ORA considered in determining the appropriateness and period of debarment, as provided in section 306(c)(3) of the FD&C Act: (1) The nature and seriousness of the offense under section 306(c)(3)(A); (2) the nature and extent of management participation in the offense under section 306(c)(3)(B); (3) the nature and extent of voluntary steps to mitigate the impact on the public under section 306(c)(3)(C); and (4) prior convictions under the FD&C Act or other acts involving matters within FDA's jurisdiction under section 306(c)(3)(F). ORA found that the first two were unfavorable factors and the last two were favorable factors for Dr. Massouh. The notice concluded that “the unfavorable factors cumulatively outweigh the favorable factors and that debarment is appropriate.”

The proposal offered Dr. Massouh the opportunity to request a hearing and provided him 30 days from the date of receipt of the letter to file the request and 60 days from the date of receipt of the letter to support his request with information sufficient to justify a hearing. In a submission dated August 17, 2018, through counsel, Dr. Massouh “request[ed] a hearing relative to the Food and Drug Administration's Notice of Opportunity for Hearing” but did not include information to support his request. Further, Dr. Massouh did not state whether information justifying the hearing request would be forthcoming. However, more than 60 days have elapsed since Dr. Massouh's receipt of ORA's letter, and he has not filed any information, or any legal or policy arguments, to support his request.

Under the authority delegated to her by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the Acting Chief Scientist has considered Dr. Massouh's request for a hearing. Hearings will not be granted on issues of policy or law, on mere allegations, denials, or general descriptions of positions and contentions, or on data and information insufficient to justify the factual determination urged (see 21 CFR 12.24(b)).

Inasmuch as Dr. Massouh has not presented any information to support his hearing request, the Acting Chief Scientist concludes that Dr. Massouh has failed to raise a genuine and substantial issue of fact requiring a hearing. Therefore, the Acting Chief Scientist denies Dr. Massouh's request for a hearing. Further, Dr. Massouh has not presented any arguments concerning whether debarment is appropriate for his conviction or whether the proposed debarment period is appropriate. Based on the factual findings in the proposal to debar, the Acting Chief Scientist finds that a 3-year debarment period is appropriate.

Therefore, the Acting Chief Scientist, under section 306(b)(2)(B)(i)(I) of the FD&C Act and under the authority delegated to her by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, finds that (1) Dr. Massouh has been convicted of a misdemeanor under Federal law for causing the introduction into interstate commerce of prescription drugs that were misbranded under the FD&C Act and (2) that the conduct underlying the conviction undermines the process for the regulation of drugs. FDA considered the applicable factors listed in section 306(c)(3) of the FD&C Act and determined that a 3-year debarment is appropriate.

As a result of the foregoing findings, Dr. Massouh is debarred for 3 years from providing services in any capacity to a person with an approved or pending drug product application under sections 505, 512, or 802 of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 355, 360b, or 382), or under section 351 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262), effective (DATE of NOTICE), (see 21 U.S.C. 335a(c)(1)(B) and (c)(2)(A)(iii) and 21 U.S.C. 321(dd)). Any person with an approved or pending drug application who knowingly uses the services of Dr. Massouh, in any capacity during his debarment, will be subject to civil money penalties (section 307(a)(6) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 335b(a)(6))). If Dr. Massouh, during his period of debarment, provides services in any capacity to a person with an approved or pending drug product application, he will be subject to civil money penalties (section 307(a)(7) of the FD&C Act). In addition, FDA will not accept or review any abbreviated new drug applications submitted by or with the assistance of Dr. Massouh during his period of debarment (section 306(c)(1)(B) of the FD&C Act).

The information collection notice was previously published in the Federal Register on January 19, 2022, at 87 FR 2892, allowing for a 60-day public comment period. USCIS received one comment in connection with the 60-day notice.