### 39797 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 130 / Thursday, July 7, 2011 / Proposed Rules

plan to review its existing significant regulations in response to the President’s Executive Order 13563 on Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review. The Office’s plan is part of the Department of Commerce’s (‘‘DOC’’) ‘‘Preliminary Plan for Retrospective Analysis of Existing Rules,’’ which recently has been made public. The Office is implementing the parts of DOC’s plan that relate to review of the Office’s existing significant regulations. Those parts of the plan set forth a process for reviewing the Office’s regulations and determining whether any of these regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed in order to make the Office’s regulatory program more effective and less burdensome. Now that the preliminary plan has been completed and published, the Office is asking the public to provide comments on the plan prior to it being finalized.

**DATES :**  You must submit any comments on or before September 6, 2011.

**ADDRESSES :**  Submit comments electronically by e-mailing them directly to the Office at regulatory

_ review

_ comments@uspto.gov. Comments may also be submitted by mail addressed to: Office of the General Counsel, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450, marked to the attention of Nicolas Oettinger. Although comments may be submitted by mail, the Office prefers to receive comments via the Internet. Comments may also be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site at http://www.regulations.gov. Additional instructions on providing comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal are available at http:// www.regulations.gov. All comments submitted directly to the Office or provided on the Federal eRulemaking Portal should include the docket number (PTO–C–2011–0026).

All comments will be available for public inspection upon request at the Office of the Commissioner for Patents, located in Madison East, Tenth Floor, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia, and will be available on the USPTO Web site at http://www.uspto.gov. All comments submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal will be made available publicly on that Web site. Because comments will be made available for public inspection, information that the submitter does not desire to make public, such as an address or phone number, should not be included in the comments.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Nicolas Oettinger, Office of the General Counsel, by telephone at 571–272–7832, by e-mail at nicolas.oettinger@uspto.gov, or by mail addressed to Mail Stop Comments— Patents, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450, marked to the attention of Nicolas Oettinger.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  On January 18, 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review. E.O. 13563, 76 FR 3281. The Executive Order directed agencies to develop and submit, within 120 days, preliminary plans for reviewing their existing ‘‘significant regulations’’ (as that term is defined in Executive Order 12866) and determining whether and how such regulations could be made more effective and less burdensome. Additional information about Executive Order 13563, and the work that agencies have done to comply with the Order, can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/21stcenturygov/actions/21stcentury-regulatory-system.

The Office, in its capacity as an agency within DOC, has developed a preliminary plan for the review of its existing significant regulations, which is part of DOC’s more general preliminary plan that was prepared in accordance with Executive Order 13563. DOC’s preliminary plan, which includes the process by which the Office will engage in a retrospective analysis of its existing significant regulations and a list of candidate regulations for review over the next two years, was submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on May 18, 2011 in accordance with Executive Order 13563. The plan has been made available to the public on DOC’s Web site at http://

www.commerce.gov and on the White House Web site at http://www. whitehouse.gov/21stcenturygov/actions/ 21st-century-regulatory-system.

The Office is now working on finalizing the portions of this preliminary plan that relate to the Office. When the Office was preparing its preliminary plan, it solicited public comments with its March 22, 2011 Federal Register notice, and those comments were valuable in developing the plan. Now that the Office is working on finalizing the plan, the Office seeks further comment from the public on the portions of DOC’s preliminary plan that relate to the Office.

The Office welcomes any comments the public believes might be helpful as it works on finalizing the plan. In particular, comments on ways in which the plan can be improved or best implemented are encouraged, as are comments on the list of candidate regulations for review that is set forth in the plan and any suggestions for additional regulations that should be considered for review.

In order to comply with OMB guidance that directs plans to be finalized within 80 days of their publication, the Office asks that comments on the plan be submitted by September 6, 2011. The Office will continue to receive and consider comments submitted after that date. The Office plans to continue receiving comments on the plan, and considering such comments as it implements and refines the plan, on a going-forward basis. The Office will maintain a Web page (located at http://www.uspto.gov/ ip/rules/lookback.jsp ) that will provide information about the plan, the Office’s progress in implementing the plan and reviewing regulations, and the comments the Office has received on the plan. Comments can be submitted to the Office at any time through that web page, even after the expiration of the comment period set forth in this notice.

While the Office welcomes and values all comments from the public in response to this request, these comments do not bind the Office to any further actions related to the comments, and the Office may not respond to every comment that is submitted.

Dated: June 29, 2011. David J. Kappos, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

[FR Doc. 2011–16965 Filed 7–6–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3510–16–P**

**ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY** 

**40 CFR Part 52**

**[EPA–R01–OAR–2008–0639; A–1–FRL– 9431–3]** 

**Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Connecticut;**  **Infrastructure SIP for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality**  **Standards**

**AGENCY :**  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

**ACTION :**  Proposed rule.

**SUMMARY :**  EPA is proposing to conditionally approve one element of Connecticut’s December 28, 2007 submittal to meet the Clean Air Act infrastructure requirements for the 1997 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The Clean Air Act


### 39798 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 130 / Thursday, July 7, 2011 / Proposed Rules

requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by the EPA. This SIP is commonly referred to as an infrastructure SIP. The one element of the submittal that EPA is proposing to conditionally approve addresses requirements under Clean Air Act section 110(a)(2)(D)(ii). This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.

**DATES :**  Written comments must be received on or before August 8, 2011.

**ADDRESSES :**  Submit your comments, if any, on EPA’s direct final conditional approval for Connecticut, identified by Docket ID Number EPA–R01–OAR– 2008–0639 by one of the following methods:

1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting

comments.

2. E-mail: arnold.anne@epa.gov. Fax: (617) 918–0047. Mail: ‘‘Docket Identification Number EPA–R01–OAR– 2008–0639’’, Anne Arnold, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air Quality Planning Unit, 5 Post Office Square— Suite 100, (Mail code OEP05–2), Boston, MA 02109–3912.

3. Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to: Anne Arnold, Manager, Air Quality Planning Unit, Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air Quality Planning Unit, 5 Post Office Square— Suite 100, (Mail code OEP05–2), Boston, MA 02109–3912. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office’s normal hours of operation. The Regional Office’s official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding legal holidays.

Instructions: Direct your comments for Connecticut to Docket ID No. EPA– R01–OAR–2008–0639. EPA’s policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov

, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit through http://www.regulations.gov, or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through http:// www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.

Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in http:// www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the person listed in the **FOR**
**FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT** section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office’s official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding legal holidays.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Richard P. Burkhart, Air Quality Planning Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100, Boston, MA 02109–3912, telephone number (617) 918–1664, fax number (617) 918–0664, e-mail Burkhart.Richard@epa.gov

. **SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  In the Final Rules Section of this Federal Register , EPA is conditionally approving one element of Connecticut’s December 28, 2007 submittal to meet the Clean Air Act infrastructure requirements for the 1997 ozone NAAQS as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this one element as noncontroversial and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the conditional approval of this one element is set forth in the direct final rule. In brief, Connecticut has committed to revise its SIP within a year to meet the requirement in section 110(a)(2)(D)(ii) of the Act that the state’s SIP provide for notice to other states that might be affected by sources proposed to be permitted under the state’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration program. In addition, the state has committed in the meantime to continue its practice of providing such notice to affected states. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on the conditional approval of the section 110(a)(2)(D)(ii) element should do so at this time. Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.

For additional information, see the direct final rule which is located in the Rules Section of this Federal Register.

Dated: June 28, 2011. Ira W. Leighton, Acting, Regional Administrator, EPA New England.

[FR Doc. 2011–17025 Filed 7–6–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6560–50–P**

**ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY** 

**40 CFR Part 81**

**[EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0572; FRL–9430–4]**

**EPA Responses to State and Tribal 2010 NO**  2 **Designation Recommendations: Notice of**  **Availability and Public Comment Period** 

**AGENCY :**  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

**ACTION :**  Notice of availability and public comment period.

**SUMMARY :**  Notice is hereby given that the EPA has posted its responses to state and tribal designation recommendations for the 2010 Primary Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) on its Internet website. The EPA invites public comments on its responses during the 30-day comment period specified in the