Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 146 / Monday, July 30, 2012 / Notices 44593 

and efficient data collection for 

management of Atlantic HMS. 

In order to give sufficient time for 

dealers to adjust to implementation of 

the new system and the additional 

requirements, we proposed delaying 

implementation of the new HMS 

electronic reporting system for all 

federally-permitted HMS dealers until 

2013. Additionally, we decided to 

conduct outreach to HMS dealers to 

train them how to use the new system 

and help ease the transition from the 

current paper format to the new HMS 

electronic reporting system. On 

December 14, 2011, we conducted an 

initial training workshop for HMS 

dealers in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. On June 

29, 2012, we announced the date and 

location for nine upcoming workshops 

in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and 

Atlantic area to introduce the new 

reporting system to HMS dealers. In this 

notice, we announce the date and 

location for an additional training 

workshop in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. Future 

training workshops will be held 

throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic 

and Southeast regions at a later date and 

will be announced in a future notice. 

These workshops will be physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Delisse Ortiz at 

(301) 425–8503, or Jackie Wilson at 

(240) 338–3936, at least 7 days prior to 

the workshop date. The public is 

reminded that NMFS expects 

participants at the workshop to conduct 

themselves appropriately. At the 

beginning of the workshop, a 

representative of NMFS will explain the 

ground rules (e.g., alcohol is prohibited 

from the hearing room; each attendee 

will have an opportunity to ask 

questions; and attendees should not 

interrupt one another). Attendees are 

expected to respect the ground rules; if 

they do not, they will be asked to leave 

the workshop. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C, 1801 et seq. 

Dated: July 25, 2012. 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–18534 Filed 7–27–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

[CPSC Docket No. 12–C0008] 

Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse 

Corporation, 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). Published 

below is a provisionally accepted 

Settlement Agreement with Burlington 

Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation, 

containing a civil penalty of 

$1,500,000.00, within twenty (20) days 

of service of the Commission’s final 

Order accepting the Settlement 

Agreement. 

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 August 14, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to 

comment on this Settlement Agreement 

should send written comments to the 

Comment 12–C0008, Office of the 

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 

Room 820, Bethesda, Maryland 20814– 

4408. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seth 

B. Popkin, Lead Trial Attorney, Division 

of Compliance, Office of the General 

Counsel, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 

Bethesda, Maryland 20814–4408; 

telephone (301) 504–7612. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of 

the Agreement and Order appears 

below. 

Dated: July 25, 2012. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

In the Matter of Burlington Coat Factory 

Warehouse Corporation 

CPSC Docket No. 12–C0008 

Settlement Agreement 

1. In accordance with the Consumer 

Product Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 2051– 

2089 (‘‘CPSA’’), and 16 CFR § 1118.20, 

Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse 

Corporation (‘‘Burlington’’) and staff 

(‘‘Staff’’) of the U.S. Consumer Product 

Safety Commission (‘‘Commission’’) 

enter into this Settlement Agreement 

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

incorporated attached Order (‘‘Order’’) 

resolve Staff’s allegations set forth 

below. 

Parties 

2. Staff is staff of the Commission, an 

independent federal regulatory agency 

established pursuant to, and responsible 

for the enforcement of, the CPSA. 

3. Burlington is a corporation, 

organized and existing under the laws of 

Delaware, with its principal offices 

located in Burlington, New Jersey. 

Staff Allegations 

4. On multiple occasions and during 

various periods from November 2003 to 

January 2012, Burlington and its 

subsidiaries sold and/or held for sale 

various styles, models, and quantities of 

children’s upper outerwear products 

with drawstrings at the neck, including, 

but not limited to, the following: Liberty 

Apparel Company, Inc.—Jewel hooded 

sweatshirts; Jason Evans Associates, 

LLC—Bay Trading hooded sweatshirts 

and jackets; Koman Sportswear 

Manufacturing Corporation—hooded 

sweatshirts and jackets; Fashion 

Options, Inc.—Beverly Hills Polo Club 

hooded sweatshirts; Allura Imports, 

Inc.—Major Diva hooded sweatshirts; 

Baycreek, Inc.—Attitude Gold hooded 

sweatshirts; Franshaw, Inc.—Blue Heart 

and Just a Girl hooded sweatshirts; 

Bobens Trading Company, Inc.—Old 

Skool hooded sweatshirts; Weeplay 

Kids, LLC—Candy Queen and AKDMKS 

hooded sweatshirts; Ten West Apparel, 

Inc.—hooded jackets; Brand Evolution 

LLC—All Over Locks, All Over Skaters, 

and Rock Mask Hoody hooded 

sweatshirts; Regaliti, Inc.—Betty Blue 

hooded jackets; Byer California— 

jackets; Haselson International Trading, 

Inc.—Kani Gold and Roadblock hooded 

sweatshirts; Bubblegum USA—hooded 

jackets; North-Sportif, Inc.—hooded 

jackets; Five Star Apparel—hooded 

jackets; Trendset Originals LLC— 

Shampoo hooded jackets; Hind 

Fashions, Inc.—Hind leather and Lil 

Phat hooded jackets; Lollytogs, Ltd.— 

Rim Rocka hooded sweatshirts; S. 

Rothschild & Company, Inc.—wool 

coats; AJS Group LLC—Apple Bottom 

hooded jackets; Millennium Apparel 

Group Inc.—Disney Winnie the Pooh 

hooded jackets; and Winco USA, Inc.— 

Sergio Benini hooded jackets. The 

products identified in this paragraph are 

collectively referred to herein as 

‘‘Garments.’’ 

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44594 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 146 / Monday, July 30, 2012 / Notices 

5. Burlington sold the Garments, and/ 

or held the Garments for sale, to 

consumers. 

6. The Garments are ‘‘consumer 

product[s],’’ and, at all relevant times, 

Burlington was a ‘‘retailer’’ of those 

consumer products, which were 

‘‘distributed in commerce,’’ as those 

terms are defined in CPSA sections 

3(a)(5), (8), and (13), 15 U.S.C. 

§ 2052(a)(5), (8), and (13). 

7. In February 1996, 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, Staff recommends that no 

children’s upper outerwear in sizes 2T 

to 12 be manufactured or sold to 

consumers with hood and neck 

drawstrings. 

8. In June 1997, ASTM adopted a 

voluntary standard (ASTM F1816–97) 

incorporating the Guidelines. The 

Guidelines state that firms should be 

aware of the hazards associated with 

drawstrings and should ensure that 

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 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 references the 

CPSA’s section 15(b) (15 U.S.C. 

§ 2064(b)) reporting requirements. 

10. Staff provided Burlington with 

multiple direct notifications of the 

hazards associated with drawstrings on 

children’s upper outerwear. 

11. Burlington’s distribution in 

commerce of the Garments did not 

comply with the Guidelines or ASTM 

F1816–97, failed to comport with Staff’s 

May 2006 defect notice, and posed 

strangulation hazards to children. 

12. Burlington informed the 

Commission that there had been no 

reported incidents or injuries associated 

with the Garments. 

13. The Commission, in cooperation 

with Burlington and/or other firms that 

were the Garments’ manufacturers, 

importers, or distributors, announced 

recalls of the Garments. 

14. Based in part on information 

available through the sources set forth 

in paragraphs 7 through 10, Burlington 

had presumed and actual knowledge 

that the Garments distributed in 

commerce posed strangulation hazards 

and presented substantial risks of injury 

to children under FHSA section 

15(c)(1), 15 U.S.C. § 1274(c)(1). 

Burlington obtained information that 

reasonably supported the conclusion 

that the Garments contained defects that 

could create substantial product hazards 

or that the Garments created 

unreasonable risks of serious injury or 

death. Pursuant to CPSA sections 

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

and (4), Burlington was required to 

inform the Commission immediately of 

these defects and risks. 

15. Burlington knowingly and 

repeatedly failed to inform the 

Commission immediately about the 

Garments, 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). These knowing failures 

violated CPSA section 19(a)(4), 15 

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

section 20, 15 U.S.C. § 2069, these 

knowing failures subjected Burlington 

to civil penalties. 

16. On repeated occasions from in or 

about September 2008 to January 2012, 

Burlington offered Garments for sale, 

sold Garments, and/or otherwise 

distributed Garments in commerce that 

were subject to voluntary corrective 

actions taken by the Garments’ 

manufacturers in consultation with the 

Commission. The Commission had 

notified the public of those voluntary 

corrective actions. 

17. Burlington knowingly engaged in 

the acts alleged in paragraph 16, as the 

term ‘‘knowingly’’ is defined in CPSA 

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

knowing acts violated CPSA section 

19(a)(2)(B), 15 U.S.C. § 2068(a)(2)(B). 

Pursuant to CPSA section 20, 15 U.S.C. 

§ 2069, these knowing acts subjected 

Burlington to civil penalties. 

18. Staff denies and/or does not 

concur with Burlington’s responsive 

allegations below. 

Burlington Responsive Allegations 

19. Burlington denies Staff’s 

allegations above, including but not 

limited to any claim that Burlington 

failed to timely report to the 

Commission the sale or distribution of 

any children’s upper outerwear 

products with drawstrings pursuant to 

§ 15(b) of the CPSA, or that Burlington 

knowingly offered Garments for sale, 

knowingly sold Garments, and/or 

otherwise knowingly distributed 

Garments in commerce that were subject 

to voluntary corrective actions. 

20. Burlington enters into the 

Agreement to settle this matter without 

the expense of litigation. Burlington 

enters into the Agreement and agrees to 

pay the amount referenced below in 

compromise of disputed and unproven 

allegations. Burlington’s entering into 

the Agreement is not an admission of 

liability of any kind, whether legal or 

factual. 

21. Burlington did not manufacture 

the Garments. It purchased them from 

vendors and other suppliers. Consistent 

with practice in the retail industry, 

Burlington contractually required the 

Garment vendors to supply products 

that complied with all federal, state, and 

local laws, regulations, and standards, 

and relied on its suppliers to provide 

compliant products, as the suppliers 

were in the best position to know and 

understand the many legal requirements 

that were or potentially were applicable 

to their products. 

22. Since the Commission first issued 

the Guidelines in 1996, Burlington’s 

children’s apparel purchasing policy 

has prohibited Burlington’s apparel 

buyers from purchasing children’s 

upper outerwear with drawstrings. Prior 

to 2009, Burlington’s management had 

procedures in place that it reasonably 

believed prevented the purchase of 

children’s upper outerwear products 

with drawstrings. Upon learning in 2009 

that, despite such procedures, certain 

Garments had been discovered in 

Burlington’s stores, Burlington 

undertook an extensive manual audit of 

all children’s upper outerwear in all of 

its stores to determine whether it had 

unknowingly purchased other products 

subject to the Guidelines. This audit 

was a massive undertaking, as 

Burlington’s personnel in all of its 

approximately 450 stores at that time 

had to visually inspect all items of 

children’s upper outerwear, and the 

Guidelines and ASTM standard contain 

ambiguities that made it difficult to 

determine whether certain items failed 

to comply. 

23. Prior to the audit, Burlington’s 

product compliance and safety 

personnel and children’s apparel buyers 

had no knowledge, whether actual or 

constructive, that the Garments actually 

supplied by Burlington’s suppliers 

contained drawstrings. Burlington 

promptly notified the Commission 

pursuant to § 15(b) of the CPSA upon 

discovering as a result of the audit that 

it had purchased and sold many of the 

Garments. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 146 / Monday, July 30, 2012 / Notices 44595 

24. Burlington is unaware of any 

incidents or injuries associated with the 

Garments. 

Agreement of the Parties 

25. Under the CPSA, the Commission 

has jurisdiction over this matter and 

over Burlington. 

26. The parties enter into the 

Agreement for settlement purposes only. 

The Agreement does not constitute an 

admission by Burlington, or a 

determination by the Commission, that 

Burlington knowingly violated the 

CPSA. 

27. The Agreement is a full and 

complete resolution between Staff and 

Burlington, and its parents, 

shareholders, divisions, subdivisions, 

subsidiaries, partners, sister companies 

and their successors and assigns of all 

claims for civil penalties that have been 

or could have been asserted based on 

the facts contained in Staff’s allegations 

above, with regard to the failure to 

report the Garments or sale of the 

Garments after corrective action. 

28. In settlement of Staff’s allegations, 

Burlington shall pay a civil penalty in 

the amount of one million five hundred 

thousand dollars ($1,500,000.00). 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 via www.pay.gov. 

29. Burlington agrees that it will not 

seek or accept, directly or indirectly, 

indemnification, reimbursement, 

insurance, or any other form of 

compensation or payment, including, 

but not limited to, cash, account credit, 

or set-off, from any vendor or supplier 

from which Burlington acquired the 

Garments, or from any other firm or 

person, for the civil penalty that 

Burlington agrees and is ordered to pay 

pursuant to the Agreement and Order. 

30. 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 within fifteen (15) calendar days, the 

Commission does not receive any 

written request not to accept the 

Agreement, the Agreement shall be 

deemed finally accepted on the 

sixteenth (16th) calendar day after the 

date it is published in the Federal 

Register. 

31. Upon the Commission’s final 

acceptance of the Agreement and 

issuance of the final Order, Burlington 

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 Burlington 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. 

32. The Commission may publicize 

the terms of the Agreement and the 

Order. 

33. The Agreement and the Order 

shall apply to, and be binding upon, 

Burlington and each of its successors 

and assigns. 

34. The Commission issues the Order 

under the provisions of the CPSA, and 

a violation of the Order may subject 

Burlington and each of its successors 

and assigns to appropriate legal action. 

35. 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. The Agreement 

may be executed in counterparts. 

36. 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 Burlington 

agree that severing the provision 

materially affects the purpose of the 

Agreement and the Order. 

Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse 

Corporation 

Dated: June 29, 2012. 

By: lllllllllllllllllll

Paul Tang, 

Executive Vice President and General 

Counsel, 1830 Route 130, Burlington, NJ 

08016. 

Dated: July 3, 2012. 

By: lllllllllllllllllll

Jeffrey B. Margulies, Esq. 

William L. Troutman, Esq. 

Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., 555 South 

Flower Street, 41st Floor, Los Angeles, CA 

90071. 

Counsel—Burlington Coat Factory 

Warehouse Corporation. 

U.S. Consumer Product Safety 

Commission Staff. 

Cheryl A. Falvey, 

General Counsel. 

Mary B. Murphy, 

Assistant General Counsel, Office of the 

General Counsel. 

Dated: July 12, 2012 

By: lllllllllllllllllll

Seth B. Popkin, 

Lead Trial Attorney, Division of Compliance, 

Office of the General Counsel. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

In the Matter of Burlington Coat Factory 

Warehouse Corporation 

CPSC Docket No. 12–C0008 

ORDER 

Upon consideration of the Settlement 

Agreement entered into between 

Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse 

Corporation (‘‘Burlington’’) and U.S. 

Consumer Product Safety Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) staff, and the 

Commission having jurisdiction over 

the subject matter and over Burlington, 

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 Burlington shall 

pay a civil penalty in the amount of one 

million five hundred thousand dollars 

($1,500,000.00) within twenty (20) 

calendar days of service of the 

Commission’s final Order accepting the 

Agreement. The payment shall be made 

via www.pay.gov. Upon the failure of 

Burlington to make the foregoing 

payment when due, interest on the 

unpaid amount shall accrue and be paid 

by Burlington at the federal legal rate of 

interest set forth at 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a) 

and (b). 

Provisionally accepted and 

provisional Order issued on the 25th 

day of July, 2012. 

By Order of the Commission: 

lllllllllllllllllllll

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2012–18459 Filed 7–27–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Application for New Awards; Charter 

Schools Program (CSP)—Charter 

School Exemplary Collaboration 

Awards 

AGENCY: Office of Innovation and 

Improvement, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES