62562 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 226 / Monday, November 24, 1997 / Notices

the AARQ Operating Agreement, or the

breach thereof, including inter alia a

Member’s qualification for a

distribution, the interpretation of

documents, or the distribution itself,

shall be settled by arbitration

administered by the American

Arbitration Association in accordance

with its Commercial Arbitration Rules,

and judgment on the award rendered by

the arbitrator may be entered in any

court having jurisdiction thereof.

Confidential Information

Confidential export documentation

and any other confidential information

submitted to AARQ by an applicant for

membership, by a Member in

connection with qualifying for a

distribution, or by any person in

connection with the TRQ System shall

be marked ‘‘Confidential’’ and

submitted to the Administrator, who

shall maintain its confidentiality. The

Administrator shall not disclose such

confidential information to any Member

other than the submitter, or to any

officers, agents, or employees of any

Member other than the submitter, and

shall not disclose such confidential

information to any other person except

to another neutral third party as

necessary to make the determination for

which the information was submitted,

to process distributions, or in

connection with the arbitration of a

dispute.

Annual Reports

In accordance with its Bylaws, AARQ

shall publish an annual report,

including a statement of the operating

expenses and aggregate data on the

distribution of proceeds, as reflected in

the audited financial statement of the

AARQ TRQ System.

Amendments

During the first eight years of the

operation of the TRQ System, any

amendment to the following

fundamental provisions of the TRQ

System shall take effect only upon the

unanimous approval by all Voting

Members of AARQ: provisions relating

to (i) qualification for membership in

AARQ, except the amount of the

nonrefundable fee, (ii) the paragraph

entitled ‘‘Open tender process; Persons

or entities eligible to bid,’’ and (iii) the

disposition of tender proceeds. In

addition, no reduction may be made in

the distribution required to be made to

the Rice Foundation for research and

expenses related thereto, unless

approved by unanimous consent of the

Rice Producer Legislative Groups of

Arkansas, California, Louisiana,

Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. The

Board of Directors of AARQ shall

otherwise have authority to amend the

provisions of the TRQ System as set

forth in the Bylaws of AARQ.

Cooperation With the U.S. Government

and the European Commission

AARQ will provide whatever

information and consultations may be

useful in order to ensure effective

consultations between the U.S.

Government and the European

Commission concerning the

implementation and operation of the

TRQ System. In particular, while

maintaining the confidentiality of

confidential information submitted by

bidders and Members, AARQ will

provide its annual report, regular

reports following the tender for each

TRQ Tranche, reports on distributions

of tender proceeds, and/or any other

information that might be requested by

the U.S. Government. Directly or

through the U.S. Government, AARQ

will endeavor to accommodate any

information requests from the

Commission (while protecting

confidential data), and will consult with

the Commission as appropriate.

Miscellaneous Implementing Provisions

AARQ and/or its members may (i)

meet, discuss and provide for an

administrative structure to implement

the foregoing tariff rate quota

management system, assess its

operations and provide modifications as

necessary to improve its workability, (ii)

meet, exchange and discuss information

regarding the structure and method for

implementing the foregoing tariff rate

quota management system, (iii) meet,

exchange and discuss the types of

information needed regarding the

bidding process, distribution of the bid

proceeds, and past export transactions

that are necessary for implementation of

the system, (iv) meet, exchange and

discuss information concerning U.S.

and foreign agreements, legislation and

regulations affecting the TRQ

management system, (v) and otherwise

meet, discuss and exchange information

as necessary to implement the activities

described above and take the necessary

action to implement the foregoing TRQ

management system.

Abbreviated Amendment Procedures

New AARQ members may be

incorporated as Members in the

Certificate through an abbreviated

amendment procedure. Under the

procedure, AARQ will notify the

Secretary of Commerce and the Attorney

General, in writing, of those members of

AARQ that wish to be included as

Members in the Certificate. The

notification will include a certification

from each such member of its domestic

and export sales of Products in its

preceding fiscal year. Notice of the

members so identified shall be

published in the Federal Register. If 30

days or more following publication in

the Federal Register, the Secretary of

Commerce, with the concurrence of the

Attorney General, determines that the

incorporation in the Certificate of the

members through the abbreviated

amendment procedure is consistent

with the standards of the Act, the

Secretary of Commerce shall amend the

Certificate to incorporate such members,

effective as of the date on which the

application for amendment is deemed

submitted. If the Secretary of Commerce

does not so amend the Certificate within

60 days of publication in the Federal

Register, such amendment must be

sought through the normal amendment

procedure.

Dated: November 19, 1997.

Morton Schnabel,

Acting Director, Office of Export Trading

Company Affairs.

[FR Doc. 97–30783 Filed 11–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and

Technology

[Docket No. 971031260–7260–01]

Voluntary Product Standard PS 2–92

‘‘Performance Standard for WoodBased Structural-Use Panels’’;

Request for Comments

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards

and Technology (NIST), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments on Voluntary Product

Standard PS 2–92.

SUMMARY: The National Institute of

Standards and Technology (NIST)

provides notice that on behalf of the

Department of Commerce NIST is

conducting the five-year review of

Voluntary Product Standard (VPS) PS

2–92 ‘‘Performance Standard for WoodBased Structural-Use Panels’’ as

required by Department Procedures. The

Standing Committee for PS 2–92,

responsible for maintaining the

standard, is assisting NIST in

implementing the review which is

conducted to determine if the standard

has become obsolete, technically

inadequate, no longer acceptable to or

used by the industry, or inconsistent

with law or established public policy.

Upon completion of the review, the

Standing Committee will make a

recommendation to NIST as to whether
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 226 / Monday, November 24, 1997 / Notices 62563

the standard should be reaffirmed,

amended, revised, or withdrawn.

DATES: Written comments should be

supported by written data, views, or

arguments and must be received on or

before January 23, 1998 to be assured of

consideration.

ADDRESSES: Written comments are to be

directed to Barbara M. Meigs, Technical

Standards Activities Program, Office of

Standards Services, Building 820, Room

164, National Institute of Standards and

Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for a copy of PS 2–92 or for

additional information are to be directed

to Barbara M. Meigs, Technical

Standards Activities Program, Office of

Standards Services, National Institute of

Standards and Technology, telephone:

301–975–4025, fax: 301–926–1559; email: barbara.meigsnist.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Voluntary

Product Standard PS 2–92 establishes

inspection, test, and labeling procedures

for assessing the acceptability of woodbased structural-use panels for

construction sheathing and single-floor

applications for a variety of products;

namely, plywood, wafer board, oriented

strand board, structural particle board,

and composite panels. It provides

performance requirements, adhesive

bond durability, panel construction and

workmanship, dimensions and

tolerances, marking, and moisture

content of structural-use panels. The

Standard classifies panels by exposure

durability and by grade. It provides test

methods, a glossary of trade terms and

definitions, and a quality certification

program whereby agencies can inspect,

sample, and test products for

qualification under this Standard.

Information regarding reinspection

practices is provided in an appendix.

PS 2–92, published in 1992, was

developed and is maintained in

accordance with Department

‘‘Procedures for the Development of

Voluntary Product Standards’’

established in Part 10, Title 15, of the

Code of Federal Regulations (15 CFR

Part 10, as amended; 51 FR 119 dated

June 20, 1986).

Section 10.10 of the Procedures

requires that each VPS standard be

reviewed by the Department with such

assistance of the Standing Committee

(responsible for maintaining the

standard) or others, as may be deemed

appropriate by the Department, within

five years after initial issuance or last

revision of the standard.

Upon completion of the review of PS

2–92, the Standing Committee for PS 2–

92 and NIST will act to reaffirm, amend,

revise, or withdraw the standard, as

appropriate.

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 272.

Dated: November 17, 1997.

Elaine Bunten-Mines,

Director, Program Office.

[FR Doc. 97–30717 Filed 11–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

National Estuarine Research Reserve

System

AGENCY: Office of Ocean and Coastal

Resource Management (OCRM),

National Ocean Service (NOS), National

Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration, Department of

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting and

Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental

Impact Statement.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

National Environmental Policy Act and

with section 315 of the Coastal Zone

Management Act of 1972; as amended,

the State of Florida and the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) intend to

conduct a public scoping meeting on the

proposed Guana Tolomato Matanzas

(GTM) National Estuarine Research

Reserve (NERR) in Florida to solicit

comments on significant issues related

to the preparation of a Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)

and Draft Management Plan (DMP). The

DEIS and DMP address research,

monitoring, education and resource

protection needs for the reserve.

DATE AND TIME: Wednesday, December

10, 1997 at 7:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: St. Johns County

Auditorium, Government Complex,

4020 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine,

Florida 32095.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anna Marie Hartman, Bureau of Coastal

and Aquatic Managed Areas, Division of

Marine Resources, Department of

Environmental Protection at (850) 488–

3456; or Nathalie Peter, Sanctuaries and

Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and

Coastal Resource Management, NOAA,

at (301) 713–3132, ext. 119.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In October

1997, NOAA Sanctuaries and Reserves

Division (SRD) approved the

nomination of the Guana Tolomato

Matanzas (GTM) estuarine systems as a

proposed National Estuarine Research

Reserve. Research reserves provide

natural coastal habitats as field

laboratories for baseline ecological

studies and education programs.

Research and monitoring programs are

designed to enhance scientific

understanding of the coastal

environment and aid in resource

management decision making.

The proposed GTM Reserve

encompasses approximately 53,333

acres of publicly owned lands and

waters in St. Johns and Flagler Counties

on the east coast of Florida. It consists

of two sites: the Guana River and

Tolomato River estuarine system located

north of St. Augustine and the Matanzas

River south of St. Augustine. The

proposed reserve is an area important to

many resident and migratory fish and

waterfowl and a variety of threatened

and endangered species, including the

manatee, the least tern, and the

loggerhead, green and leatherback

turtles. Major habitat types include

beach dunes, salt and freshwater

marshes, cypress and hardwood

swamps, shell mounds, and xeric

hammocks. The Matanzas Inlet is the

last naturally occurring inlet on the east

coast of Florida that has not been

subject to dredging and other manmade

disturbances.

The Department of Environmental

Protection (DEP) has developed a draft

management plan for the NERR which

identifies specific needs and priorities

related to research, monitoring,

education, and stewardship at the

proposed site. It also presents draft

action plans for administration, a

volunteer program, public access,

facilities/construction, and boundaries/

land acquisition.

At the public meeting, DEP and

NOAA will provide a synopsis of the

draft management plan and will solicit

comments on significant environmental

issues that will be incorporated into a

DEIS.

The public meeting will be held in St.

Augustine, Florida at the St. Johns

County Auditorium, Government

Complex, 4020 Lewis Speedway, on

December 10, 1997, from 7:00 p.m. to

9:00 p.m.

Interested parties who wish to submit

suggestions, comments or substantive

information regarding the scope or

content of the proposed DEIS/DMP are

invited to attend the above meeting.

Parties who wish to respond in writing

should do so by December 26, 1997, to

Anna Marie Hartman, Department of

Environmental Protection, Division of

Marine Resources, Bureau of Coastal

and Aquatic Managed Areas, 3900

Commonwealth Boulevard, MS 235

Tallahassee, Florida 32399–3000, or

Nathalie Peter, NOAA Sanctuaries and