Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 72 / Thursday, April 14, 2011 / Notices 20959 

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 

• Amend 32—Harte Research 

Institute, Conference Room, 6300 Ocean 

Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412–5869, 

telephone: (361) 825–2000; 

• Amend 32/ACL—Hilton Garden 

Inn, 4535 Williams Blvd., Kenner, LA 

70065, telephone: (504) 712–0109; 

Thursday, May 12, 2011 

• ACL—Plantation Suites and 

Conference Center, 1909 Highway 361, 

Port Aransas, TX 78373, telephone: 

(361) 749–3866; 

Monday, May 16, 2011 

• Mackerel—Fisheries Research Lab, 

195 Ludwig Annex, Grand Isle, LA 

70358, telephone: (985) 787–2163; 

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 

• Mackerel—Hampton Inn, 506 West 

Bay Area Blvd., Webster, TX 77598, 

telephone: (281) 332–7952; 

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 

• Mackerel—Plantation Suites and 

Conference Center, 1909 Highway 361, 

Port Aransas, TX 78373, telephone: 

(361) 749–3866. 

Copies of the documents can be 

obtained by calling (813) 348–1630. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Kathy Pereira at 

the Council (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 

working days prior to the meeting. 

Dated: April 11, 2011. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–9055 Filed 4–13–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA366 

Pacific Fishery Management Council; 

Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Pacific Council) 

will convene a Pacific mackerel Stock 

Assessment Review (STAR) Panel 

meeting that is open to the public. 

DATES: The meeting will be held 

Monday, May 2, 2011 through 

Thursday, May 5, 2011. Business will 

begin each day at 8:30 a.m. the first day, 

and at 8 a.m. each subsequent day. The 

meeting will conclude each day at 5 

p.m. or until business for the day is 

completed. The meeting may conclude 

before 5 p.m. on Thursday if business 

has been completed. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in 

the Green Room of the National Marine 

Fisheries Service’s Southwest Fisheries 

Science Center; 8604 La Jolla Shores 

Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kerry Griffin, Staff Officer; telephone: 

(503) 820–2280. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

primary purpose of the meeting is to 

review the Pacific mackerel stock 

assessment for 2011, in order to inform 

fisheries management decisions for the 

2011–12 fishery. Other issues relevant 

to Pacific mackerel management and 

science may be addressed as time 

permits. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in the meeting agenda may 

come before the STAR Panel for 

discussion, those issues may not be the 

subject of formal action during this 

meeting. STAR Panel action will be 

restricted to those issues specifically 

listed in this notice and any issues 

arising after publication of this notice 

that require emergency action under 

Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the STAR Panel’s intent to 

take final action to address the 

emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Ms. 

Carolyn Porter at (503) 820–2280 at least 

5 days prior to the meeting date. 

Dated: April 11, 2011. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–9056 Filed 4–13–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[Docket No. 101014509–1211–02] 

RIN 0648–XZ62 

Policy for the Assessment of Civil 

Administrative Penalties and Permit 

Sanctions 

AGENCY: Office of General Counsel 

(OGC), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance; final policy. 

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 

announces the publication and issuance 

of a final Policy for the Assessment of 

Civil Administrative Penalties and 

Permit Sanctions (Penalty Policy). 

DATES: The final Penalty Policy was 

issued on March 16, 2011, and became 

effective on that date. 

ADDRESSES: The final Penalty Policy is 

available electronically on NOAA’s 

website at http://www.gc.noaa.gov/ 

enforce-office1.html. A paper copy of 

the Penalty Policy may be requested by 

sending a self-addressed envelope (size 

8.5 x 11 inches) to the individual under 

the heading FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Frank Sprtel by telephone at (301) 496– 

7147; by fax at (301) 427–2210; by email at frank.sprtel@noaa.gov; or by 

mail at: Office of General Counsel for 

Enforcement and Litigation, National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, 8484 Georgia Avenue, 

Suite 400, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Penalty Policy is intended to provide 

guidance for the assessment of civil 

administrative penalties and permit 

sanctions under the statutes and 

regulations enforced by NOAA. As 

explained more fully in the text of the 

policy, the purpose of the Penalty Policy 

is to ensure that: (1) Civil administrative 

penalties and permit sanctions are 

assessed in accordance with the laws 

that NOAA enforces in a fair and 

consistent manner; (2) penalties and 

permit sanctions are appropriate for the 

gravity of the violation; (3) penalties and 

permit sanctions are sufficient to deter 

both individual violators and the 

regulated community as a whole from 

committing violations; (4) economic 

incentives for noncompliance are 

eliminated; and (5) compliance is 

expeditiously achieved and maintained 

to protect natural resources. Under this 

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20960 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 72 / Thursday, April 14, 2011 / Notices 

Policy, NOAA expects to improve 

consistency at a national level, provide 

greater predictability for the regulated 

community and the public, improve 

transparency in enforcement, and more 

effectively protect natural resources. 

Under the new Penalty Policy, 

penalties and permit sanctions are based 

on two criteria: (1) A ‘‘base penalty’’ 

calculated by adding an initial base 

penalty amount and permit sanction 

reflective of the gravity of the violation 

and the culpability of the violator and 

adjustments to the initial base penalty 

and permit sanction upward or 

downward to reflect the particular 

circumstances of a specific violation; 

and (2) an additional amount added to 

the base penalty to recoup the proceeds 

of any unlawful activity and any 

additional economic benefit of 

noncompliance. We note that the new 

Penalty Policy is a departure from 

NOAA’s prior practice of developing 

detailed penalty schedules by region 

and by specific types of violations with 

broad ranges for both penalty and 

permit sanctions. The new policy uses 

a simplified approach of one penalty 

and permit sanction matrix for each 

major statute that NOAA enforces, to be 

applied nationally, with narrower 

penalty and permit sanction ranges. 

This approach assures that NOAA 

attorneys are provided with greater 

guidance in recommending penalties, 

and should assure fairness and 

consistency of approach across NOAA 

statutes, across fisheries, and across the 

country. 

NOAA sought public comment on the 

proposed draft penalty policy between 

October 21, 2010 and December 20, 

2010. NOAA received written input on 

the proposed policy from regional 

fishery management councils, industry 

trade groups, commercial interests, 

nonprofit organizations, academic 

institutions, and federal, state, and 

interstate agencies. A summary of the 

comments received along with NOAA’s 

responses to these comments is 

available at the website above. 

The final Penalty Policy supersedes 

previous guidance regarding assessment 

of penalties or permit sanctions and 

previous penalty and permit sanction 

schedules issued by the NOAA Office of 

General Counsel, and goes into effect 

immediately for any cases charged after 

its issuance date. This Penalty Policy 

provides guidance for the NOAA Office 

of General Counsel, but does not, nor is 

it intended to, create a right or benefit, 

substantive or procedural, enforceable at 

law or in equity, in any person or 

company. 

The full final Penalty Policy, along 

with examples, matrixes, and schedules, 

may be found at http:// 

www.gc.noaa.gov/enforce-office1.html. 

Dated: April 5, 2011. 

Lois J. Schiffer, 

General Counsel, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2011–9021 Filed 4–13–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–12–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

[Docket No. PTO–C–2011–0022] 

Public Advisory Committees 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

nominations. 

SUMMARY: On November 29, 1999, the 

President signed into law the Patent and 

Trademark Office Efficiency Act (the 

‘‘Act’’), Public Law 106–113, which, 

among other things, established two 

Public Advisory Committees to review 

the policies, goals, performance, budget 

and user fees of the United States Patent 

and Trademark Office (USPTO) with 

respect to patents, in the case of the 

Patent Public Advisory Committee, and 

with respect to trademarks, in the case 

of the Trademark Public Advisory 

Committee, and to advise the Director 

on these matters (now codified at 35 

U.S.C. 5). The USPTO is requesting 

nominations for three (3) members to 

each Public Advisory Committee for 

terms of three years that begin at the 

expiration of the predecessors’ terms, or 

on October 6, 2011. 

DATES: Nominations must be 

postmarked or electronically 

transmitted on or before May 20, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to submit 

nominations should send the nominee’s 

resume ́ to Chief of Staff, Office of the 

Under Secretary of Commerce for 

Intellectual Property and Director of the 

USPTO, Post Office Box 1450, 

Alexandria, Virginia 22313–1450; by 

electronic mail to: 

PPACnominations@uspto.gov for the 

Patent Public Advisory Committee or 

TPACnominations@uspto.gov for the 

Trademark Patent Public Advisory 

Committee; by facsimile transmission 

marked to the Chief of Staff’s attention 

at (571) 273–0464, or by mail marked to 

the Chief of Staff’s attention and 

addressed to the Office of the Under 

Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual 

Property and Director of the USPTO, 

Post Office Box 1450, Alexandria, 

Virginia 22313–1450. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Andrew H. Hirshfeld, Chief of Staff, by 

facsimile transmission marked to his 

attention at (571) 273–0464, or by mail 

marked to his attention and addressed 

to the Office of the Under Secretary of 

Commerce for Intellectual Property and 

Director of the USPTO, Post Office Box 

1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313–1450. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Advisory Committees’ duties include: 

• Review and advise the Under 

Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual 

Property and Director of the USPTO on 

matters relating to policies, goals, 

performance, budget, and user fees of 

the USPTO relating to patents and 

trademarks, respectively; and 

• Within 60 days after the end of each 

fiscal year: (1) Prepare an annual report 

on matters listed above; (2) transmit a 

report to the Secretary of Commerce, the 

President, and the Committees on the 

Judiciary of the Senate and the House of 

Representatives; and (3) publish the 

report in the Official Gazette of the 

USPTO. 

Advisory Committees 

The Public Advisory Committees are 

each composed of nine (9) voting 

members who are appointed by the 

Secretary of Commerce (the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

and serve at the pleasure of the 

Secretary for three (3)-year terms. The 

Public Advisory Committee members 

must be United States citizens and 

represent the interests of diverse users 

of the USPTO, both large and small 

entity applicants in proportion to the 

number of such applications filed. The 

Committees must include members who 

have ‘‘substantial backgrounds and 

achievement in finance, management, 

labor relations, science, technology, and 

office automation.’’ 35 U.S.C. 5(b)(3). In 

the case of the Patent Public Advisory 

Committee, at least twenty-five (25) 

percent of the members must represent 

‘‘small business concerns, independent 

inventors, and nonprofit organizations,’’ 

and at least one member must represent 

the independent inventor community 

(35 U.S.C. 5(b)(2)). Each of the Public 

Advisory Committees also includes 

three (3) non-voting members 

representing each labor organization 

recognized by the USPTO. 

Administration policy discourages the 

appointment of Federally registered 

lobbyists to agency advisory boards and 

commissions (Lobbyists on Agency 

Boards and Commissions, http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/09/23/ 

lobbyist-agency-boards-andcommissions (Sept. 23, 2009, 2:33PM 

EST)); cf. Exec. Order No. 13490, 74 FR 

4673 (January 21, 2009) (while 

Executive Order 13490 does not 

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