Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 37 / Thursday, February 24, 2011 / Notices 10339 

1The Commission voted 5–0 to publish this 

notice of the provisional Settlement Agreement and 

Order. Commissioner Nord issued a statement, and 

the statement can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov/ 

pr/statements.html . 

the performance of the Mission-Aransas 

(Texas) National Estuarine Research 

Reserve. 

The National Estuarine Research 

Reserve evaluation will be conducted 

pursuant to sections 312 and 315 of the 

CZMA and regulations at 15 CFR part 

921, subpart E and part 923, subpart L. 

Evaluation of a National Estuarine 

Research Reserve requires findings 

concerning the extent to which a state 

has met the national objectives, adhered 

to its Reserve final management plan 

approved by the Secretary of Commerce, 

and adhered to the terms of financial 

assistance awards funded under the 

CZMA. 

The evaluation will include a site 

visit, consideration of public comments, 

and consultations with interested 

Federal, state, and local agencies and 

members of the public. A public 

meeting will be held as part of the site 

visit. When the evaluation is completed, 

OCRM will place a notice in the Federal 

Register announcing the availability of 

the Final Evaluation Findings. Notice is 

hereby given of the dates of the site visit 

for the listed evaluation and the date, 

local time, and location of the public 

meeting during the site visit. 

Date and Time: The Mission-Aransas 

(Texas) National Estuarine Research 

Reserve evaluation site visit will be held 

April 11–15, 2011. One public meeting 

will be held during the week. The 

public meeting will be held on 

Wednesday, April 13, 2011, at 5 p.m. 

local time at the Bay Education Center, 

121 Seabreeze Drive, Rockport, Texas. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the state’s most 

recent performance reports, as well as 

OCRM’s evaluation notification and 

supplemental information request 

letters to the state, are available upon 

request from OCRM. Written comments 

from interested parties regarding this 

Reserve are encouraged and will be 

accepted until 15 days after the public 

meeting held for the Reserve. Please 

direct written comments to Kate Barba, 

Chief, National Policy and Evaluation 

Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 

Resource Management, NOS/NOAA, 

1305 East-West Highway, 10th Floor, N/ 

ORM7, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, 

or Kate.Barba@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given of the availability of the 

final evaluation findings for the 

Washington Coastal Management 

Program (CMP) and the Great Bay (New 

Hampshire) and Elkhorn Slough 

(California) National Estuarine Research 

Reserves (NERRs). Sections 312 and 315 

of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

1972 (CZMA), as amended, require a 

continuing review of the performance of 

coastal states with respect to approval of 

CMPs and the operation and 

management of NERRs. 

The State of Washington was found to 

be implementing and enforcing its 

federally approved coastal management 

program, addressing the national coastal 

management objectives identified in 

CZMA Section 303(2)(A)–(K), and 

adhering to the programmatic terms of 

its financial assistance awards. The 

Great Bay and Elkhorn Slough NERRs 

were found to be adhering to 

programmatic requirements of the NERR 

System. 

Copies of these final evaluation 

findings may be obtained upon written 

request from: Kate Barba, Chief, 

National Policy and Evaluation 

Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 

Resource Management, NOS/NOAA, 

1305 East-West Highway, 10th Floor, 

N/ORM7, Silver Spring, Maryland 

20910, or Kate.Barba@noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate 

Barba, Chief, National Policy and 

Evaluation Division, Office of Ocean 

and Coastal Resource Management, 

NOS/NOAA, 1305 East-West Highway, 

10th Floor, N/ORM7, Silver Spring, 

Maryland 20910, (301) 563–1182. 

Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog 

11.419 Coastal Zone Management Program 

Administration 

Dated: February 16, 2011. 

Donna Wieting, 

Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal 

Resource Management, National Ocean 

Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4059 Filed 2–23–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–08–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

[CPSC Docket No. 11–C0004] 

Ms. Bubbles, Inc., Provisional 

Acceptance of a Settlement Agreement 

and Order 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: It is the policy of the 

Commission to publish settlements 

which it provisionally accepts under the 

Consumer Product Safety Act in the 

Federal Register in accordance with the 

terms of 16 CFR 1118.20(e).1 Published 

below is a provisionally-accepted 

Settlement Agreement with Ms. 

Bubbles, Inc., containing a civil penalty 

of $40,000.00. 

DATES: Any interested person may ask 

the Commission not to accept this 

agreement or otherwise comment on its 

contents by filing a written request with 

the Office of the Secretary by March 11, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to 

comment on this Settlement Agreement 

should send written comments to the 

Comment 11–C0004, Office of the 

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 

Room 820, Bethesda, Maryland 20814– 

4408. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Dennis C. Kacoyanis, General Attorney, 

Division of Enforcement and 

Information, Office of the General 

Counsel, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 

Bethesda, Maryland 20814–4408; 

telephone (301) 504–7587. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of 

the Agreement and Order appears 

below. 

Dated: February 16, 2011. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary. 

In the Matter of Ms. Bubbles, Inc.; 

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT 

1. In accordance with 16 C.F.R. § 1118.20, 

Ms. Bubbles, Inc. (‘‘Ms. Bubbles’’) and the 

staff (‘‘Staff’’) of the United States Consumer 

Product Safety Commission (‘‘Commission’’) 

enter into this Settlement Agreement 

(‘‘Agreement’’). The Agreement and the 

incorporated attached Order (‘‘Order’’) settle 

the Staff’s allegations set forth below. 

PARTIES 

2. The Staff is the staff of the Commission, 

an independent federal regulatory agency 

established pursuant to, and responsible for 

the enforcement of, the Consumer Product 

Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 2051—2089 

(‘‘CPSA’’). 

3. Ms. Bubbles is a corporation organized 

and existing under the laws of California, 

with its principal offices located in Los 

Angeles, California. At all times relevant 

hereto, Ms. Bubbles sold apparel. 

STAFF ALLEGATIONS 

4. Beginning in May 2007, Ms. Bubbles 

imported and further distributed in 

commerce, through sale and/or holding for 

sale, girl’s denim passport jackets with 

terrycloth and drawstrings (collectively, 

‘‘Jackets’’). 

5. Ms. Bubbles sold Jackets to retailers. 

6. The Jackets are ‘‘consumer product[s],’’ 

and, at all times relevant hereto, Ms. Bubbles 

was a ‘‘manufacturer’’ of those consumer 

products, which were ‘‘distributed in 

commerce,’’ as those terms are defined in 

CPSA sections 3(a)(5), (8), and (11), 15 U.S.C. 

§ 2052(a)(5), (8), and (11). 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
10340 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 37 / Thursday, February 24, 2011 / Notices 

7. In February 1996, the Staff issued the 

Guidelines for Drawstrings on Children’s 

Upper Outerwear (‘‘Guidelines’’) to help 

prevent children from strangling or 

entangling on neck and waist drawstrings. 

The Guidelines state that drawstrings can 

cause, and have caused, injuries and deaths 

when they catch on items such as playground 

equipment, bus doors, or cribs. In the 

Guidelines, the Staff recommends that there 

be no hood and neck drawstrings in 

children’s upper outerwear sized 2T to 12. 

8. In June 1997, ASTM adopted a voluntary 

standard (ASTM F1816–97) that incorporated 

the Guidelines. The Guidelines state that 

firms should be aware of the hazards and 

should be sure garments they sell conform to 

the voluntary standard. 

9. On May 19, 2006, the Commission 

posted on its Web site a letter from the 

Commission’s Director of the Office of 

Compliance to manufacturers, importers, and 

retailers of children’s upper outerwear. The 

letter urges them to make certain that all 

children’s upper outerwear sold in the 

United States complies with ASTM F1816– 

97. The letter states that the Staff considers 

children’s upper outerwear with drawstrings 

at the hood or neck area to be defective and 

to present a substantial risk of injury to 

young children under Federal Hazardous 

Substances Act (‘‘FHSA’’) section 15(c), 15 

U.S.C. § 1274(c). The letter also notes the 

CPSA’s section 15(b) reporting requirements. 

10. Ms. Bubbles’s distribution in commerce 

of the Jackets did not meet the Guidelines or 

ASTM F1816–97, failed to comport with the 

Staff’s May 2006 defect notice, and posed a 

strangulation hazard to children. 

11. On January 6, 2009, the Commission 

announced Ms. Bubbles’s recall of the 

Jackets. 

12. Ms. Bubbles had presumed and actual 

knowledge that the Jackets distributed in 

commerce posed a strangulation hazard and 

presented a substantial risk of injury to 

children under FHSA section 15(c)(1), 15 

U.S.C. § 1274(c)(1). Ms. Bubbles had obtained 

information that reasonably supported the 

conclusion that the Jackets contained a defect 

that could create a substantial product hazard 

or that they created an unreasonable risk of 

serious injury or death. CPSA sections 

15(b)(3) and (4), 15 U.S.C. § 2064(b)(3) and 

(4), required Ms. Bubbles to immediately 

inform the Commission of the defect and 

risk. 

13. Ms. Bubbles knowingly failed to 

immediately inform the Commission about 

the Jackets as required by CPSA sections 

15(b)(3) and (4), 15 U.S.C. § 2064(b)(3) and 

(4), and as the term ‘‘knowingly’’ is defined 

in CPSA section 20(d), 15 U.S.C. § 2069(d). 

This failure violated CPSA section 19(a)(4), 

15 U.S.C. § 2068(a)(4). Pursuant to CPSA 

section 20, 15 U.S.C. § 2069, this failure 

subjected Ms. Bubbles to civil penalties. 

MS. BUBBLES’S RESPONSE 

14. Ms. Bubbles denies the Staff’s 

allegations above that Ms. Bubbles knowingly 

violated the CPSA or that the Jackets 

contained drawstrings. 

AGREEMENT OF THE PARTIES 

15. Under the CPSA, the Commission has 

jurisdiction over this matter and over Ms. 

Bubbles. 

16. The parties enter into the Agreement 

for settlement purposes only. The Agreement 

does not constitute an admission by Ms. 

Bubbles, or a determination by the 

Commission, that Ms. Bubbles knowingly 

violated the CPSA. 

17. In settlement of the Staff’s allegations, 

Ms. Bubbles shall pay a civil penalty in the 

amount of forty thousand dollars 

($40,000.00). The civil penalty shall be paid 

within twenty (20) calendar days of service 

of the Commission’s final Order accepting 

the Agreement. The payment shall be made 

by check payable to the order of the United 

States Treasury. 

18. Upon provisional acceptance of the 

Agreement, the Agreement shall be placed on 

the public record and published in the 

Federal Register in accordance with the 

procedures set forth in 16 C.F.R. § 1118.20(e). 

In accordance with 16 C.F.R. § 1118.20(f), if 

the Commission does not receive any written 

request not to accept the Agreement within 

fifteen (15) calendar days, the Agreement 

shall be deemed finally accepted on the 

sixteenth (16th) calendar day after the date it 

is published in the Federal Register. 

19. Upon the Commission’s final 

acceptance of the Agreement and issuance of 

the final Order, Ms. Bubbles knowingly, 

voluntarily, and completely waives any 

rights it may have in this matter to the 

following: (1) an administrative or judicial 

hearing; (2) judicial review or other challenge 

or contest of the validity of the Order or of 

the Commission’s actions; (3) a 

determination by the Commission of whether 

Ms. Bubbles failed to comply with the CPSA 

and its underlying regulations; (4) a 

statement of findings of fact and conclusions 

of law; and (5) any claims under the Equal 

Access to Justice Act. 

20. The Commission may publicize the 

terms of the Agreement and the Order. 

21. The Agreement and the Order shall 

apply to, and be binding upon, Ms. Bubbles 

and each of its successors and assigns. 

22. The Commission issues the Order 

under the provisions of the CPSA, and 

violation of the Order may subject Ms. 

Bubbles and each of its successors and 

assigns to appropriate legal action. 

23. The Agreement may be used in 

interpreting the Order. Understandings, 

agreements, representations, or 

interpretations apart from those contained in 

the Agreement and the Order may not be 

used to vary or contradict their terms. The 

Agreement shall not be waived, amended, 

modified, or otherwise altered without 

written agreement thereto executed by the 

party against whom such waiver, 

amendment, modification, or alteration is 

sought to be enforced. 

24. If any provision of the Agreement and 

the Order is held to be illegal, invalid, or 

unenforceable under present or future laws 

effective during the terms of the Agreement 

and the Order, such provision shall be fully 

severable. The balance of the Agreement and 

the Order shall remain in full force and 

effect, unless the Commission and Ms. 

Bubbles agree that severing the provision 

materially affects the purpose of the 

Agreement and the Order. 

MS. BUBBLES, INC. 

Dated: January 4, 2011 

By: lllllllllllllllllll

Anil Chugh, 

Controller, Ms. Bubbles, Inc., 2731 South 

Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90058. 

Dated: January 10, 2011 

By: lllllllllllllllllll

John V. Tamborelli, 

Esquire, Stone Rosenblatt Cha, 21550 Oxnard 

Street, Main Plaza, Suite 200, Woodland 

Hills, CA 91367, Counsel for Ms. Bubbles, 

Inc. 

U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION STAFF 

Cheryl A. Falvey, 

General Counsel. 

Ronald G. Yelenik, 

Assistant General Counsel, Office of the 

General Counsel. 

Dated: 01/10/2011 By: ___ 

Dennis C. Kacoyanis, 

General Attorney, Division of Enforcement 

and Information, Office of the General 

Counsel. 

ORDER 

Upon consideration of the Settlement 

Agreement entered into between Ms. 

Bubbles, Inc. (‘‘Ms. Bubbles’’) and the U.S. 

Consumer Product Safety Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) staff, and the Commission 

having jurisdiction over the subject matter 

and over Ms. Bubbles, and it appearing that 

the Settlement Agreement and the Order are 

in the public interest, it is 

ORDERED, that the Settlement Agreement 

be, and hereby is, accepted; and it is 

FURTHER ORDERED, that Ms. Bubbles 

shall pay a civil penalty in the amount of 

forty thousand dollars ($40,000.00) within 

twenty (20) calendar days of service of the 

Commission’s final Order accepting the 

Agreement. The payment shall be made by 

check payable to the order of the United 

States Treasury. Upon the failure of Ms. 

Bubbles to make the foregoing payment when 

due, interest on the unpaid amount shall 

accrue and be paid by Ms. Bubbles at the 

federal legal rate of interest set forth at 28 

U.S.C. § 1961(a) and (b). 

(continued on next page) 

Provisionally accepted and provisional 

Order issued on the 11th day of February, 

2011. 

BY ORDER OF THE COMMISSION: 

llllllllllllllllllll

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4068 Filed 2–23–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES