Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 63 / Friday, April 3, 2009 / Notices 15255 

qualifying woven fabric under the 

Dominican Republic Earned Import 

Allowance Program. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Textiles and 

Apparel (‘‘OTEXA’’) requests public 

comment on the wholly formed 

requirement of qualifying woven fabric 

under the Dominican Republic Earned 

Import Allowance Program. 

DATES: Commerce will consider 

comments received by 5:00pm on May 

4, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to: Janet Heinzen, Director, 

Office of Textiles and Apparel, Room 

3001, United States Department of 

Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert Carrigg, Office of Textiles and 

Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

(202) 482-2573. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority: Section 2(a) of the Andean 

Trade Preference Extension Act of 

2008(‘‘ATPEA’’); Section 404(b)(2)(H) of the 

Dominican Republic-Central America-United 

States Free Trade Agreement Implementation 

Act, as amended; Imports of Certain Apparel 

Articles: Interim Procedures for the 

Implementation of the Earned Import 

Allowance Program Established Under the 

Andean Trade Preference Act of 2008 (74 FR 

3563, published January 21, 2009) (‘‘Interim 

Procedures’’). 

BACKGROUND: 

On December 1, 2008 the Department 

of Commerce implemented provisions 

under the Andean Trade Preference 

Extension Act of 2008 (Public Law 110- 

436, 122 Stat. 4976) (‘‘ATPEA’’). Section 

2 of the ATPEA amends Title IV of the 

Dominican Republic-Central AmericaUnited States Free Trade Agreement 

Implementation Act (Public Law 109-53; 

119 Stat. 495). Specifically, Title IV of 

the Dominican Republic-Central 

America-United States Free Trade 

Agreement Implementation Act is 

amended by adding Section 404 creating 

a benefit for eligible apparel articles 

wholly assembled in the Dominican 

Republic that meet the requirements for 

a ‘‘2 for 1’’ earned import allowance. 

Section 2 of the ATPEA requires the 

Secretary of Commerce to establish a 

program to provide earned import 

allowance certificates to any producer 

or entity controlling production of 

eligible apparel articles in the 

Dominican Republic, such that apparel 

wholly assembled in the Dominican 

Republic from fabric or yarns, regardless 

of their source, and imported directly 

from the Dominican Republic, may 

enter the United States duty-free, 

pursuant to the satisfaction of the terms 

governing issuance of the earned import 

allowance certificate. The Secretary of 

Commerce has delegated his authority 

under the Act to implement and 

administer the Earned Import 

Allowance Program to the International 

Trade Administration’s Office of 

Textiles and Apparel (‘‘OTEXA’’). 

On January 21, 2009, OTEXA 

published interim procedures, 74 FR 

3563, implementing Section 2 of the 

ATPEA. These procedures set forth the 

provisions OTEXA will follow in 

implementing the Earned Import 

Allowance Program. In accordance with 

these procedures, OTEXA will issue 

certificates to qualifying apparel 

producers to accompany imports of 

eligible apparel articles wholly formed 

in the Dominican Republic and 

exported from the Dominican Republic. 

Such certificates will be issued as long 

as there is a sufficient balance of square 

meter equivalents available as a result of 

the purchase of qualifying woven fabric. 

‘‘Qualifying woven fabric’’ is defined in 

Section 2 of the ATPEA and in OTEXA’s 

interim procedures as ‘‘woven fabric of 

cotton wholly formed in the United 

States from yarns wholly formed in the 

United States’’ and intended for 

production of apparel in the Dominican 

Republic. See Section 2(e) of the Interim 

Procedures; Section 404(c)(4) of the 

Dominican Republic-Central AmericaUnited States Free Trade Agreement 

Implementation Act, as amended by 

Section 2 of the Andean Trade 

Preference Extension Act of 2008. 

Neither the ATPEA nor the interim 

procedures define the term ‘‘wholly 

formed– as it is used in the definition 

of ‘‘qualifying woven fabric.’’ 

OTEXA has received inquiries 

regarding the interpretation of ‘‘wholly 

formed’’ as a requirement under the 

definition of ‘‘qualifying woven fabric.’’ 

OTEXA currently interprets ‘‘wholly 

formed’’ within the definition of 

‘‘qualifying woven fabric’’ to require 

that all production processes and 

finishing operations, starting with 

weaving and ending with a fabric ready 

for cutting or assembly without further 

processing, took place in the United 

States. OTEXA believes this 

interpretation to be consistent with 

similar definitions and interpretations 

of the term ‘‘wholly formed.’’ 

Pursuant to the ATPEA, these 

procedures may be modified to address 

concerns that may arise as OTEXA gains 

experience in implementing them. See 

Section 2(b)(2)(H) of the ATPEA. 

OTEXA requests public comment on the 

‘‘wholly formed’’ requirement in the 

definition of ‘‘qualifying woven fabric’’ 

for the purposes of the Dominican 

Republic Earned Import Allowance 

Program. 

Comments must be in English, and 

must be received no later than May 4, 

2009. Comments should be addressed 

to: Janet Heinzen, Director, Office of 

Textiles and Apparel, Room 3001, 

United States Department of Commerce, 

Washington, D.C. 20230. 

Comments may be submitted in 

writing or electronically. 

(1) An electronic mail (‘‘email’’) 

version of the comments must be 

either in PDF, Word, or WordPerfect format, and sent to the 

following email address: 

OTEXAlDR2for1@mail.doc.gov. 

(2) All comments submitted will be 

made available for public review on 

the Office of Textile and Apparel 

(‘‘OTEXA’’), Dominican Republic 2 

x 1 website at http:// 

otexa.ita.doc.gov/. 

Dated: March 31, 2009. 

Janet E. Heinzen, 

Director, Office of Textiles and Apparel. 

[FR Doc. E9–7525 Filed 4–2–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

[Docket No.: 090306279–9290–01] 

Proposed Revision to Voluntary 

Product Standard (PS) 20–05 

‘‘American Softwood Lumber 

Standard’’ 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public 

that the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST) is seeking 

comments for the proposed revision of 

Voluntary Product Standard (PS) 20–05, 

‘‘American Softwood Lumber 

Standard.’’ This standard, prepared by 

the American Lumber Standard 

Committee, serves the procurement and 

regulatory needs of numerous federal, 

state, and local government agencies by 

providing for uniform, industry-wide 

grade-marking and inspection 

requirements for softwood lumber. The 

implementation of the standard also 

allows for uniform labeling and auditing 

of treated wood and, through a 

Memorandum of Understanding with 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

labeling and auditing of wood packaging 

materials for international trade. As part 

of a five-year review process, NIST is 

seeking public comment and invites 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
15256 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 63 / Friday, April 3, 2009 / Notices 

interested parties to review the revised 

standard and submit comments. 

DATES: Written comments regarding the 

proposed revision, PS 20–05, should be 

submitted to the Standards Services 

Division, NIST, no later than May 18, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: An electronic copy (in PDF) 

of the current standard, PS 20–05, can 

be obtained at the following Web site: 

http://ts.nist.gov/docvps. Written 

comments on the standard should be 

submitted to David F. Alderman, 

Standards Services Division, NIST, 100 

Bureau Drive, Stop 2150, Gaithersburg, 

MD 20899–2150; fax (301) 975–4715. 

Electronic comments may be submitted 

via e-mail to david.alderman@nist.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David F. Alderman, Standards Services 

Division, National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, telephone: (301) 975– 

4019; fax: (301) 975–4715, e-mail: 

david.alderman@nist.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 

Department of Commerce regulations 

codified in Title 15, Code of Federal 

Regulations, Part 10, Procedures for the 

Development of Voluntary Product 

Standards, and administered by NIST, 

the American Lumber Standard 

Committee acts as the Standing 

Committee for PS 20–05, American 

Softwood Lumber Standard, responsible 

for maintaining, revising, and 

interpreting the standard. The 

Committee is comprised of producers, 

distributors, users, and others with an 

interest in the standard. 

Voluntary Product Standard (PS) 20– 

05 establishes standard sizes and 

requirements for developing and 

coordinating the lumber grades of the 

various species of lumber, the 

assignment of design values, and the 

preparation of grading rules applicable 

to each species. Its provisions include 

implementation of the standard through 

an accreditation and certification 

program; establishment of principal 

trade classifications and lumber sizes 

for yard, structural, and factory/shop 

use; classification, measurement, 

grading, and grade-marking of lumber; 

definitions of terms and procedures to 

provide a basis for the use of uniform 

methods in the grading inspection, 

measurement, and description of 

softwood lumber; commercial names of 

the principal softwood species; 

definitions of terms used in describing 

standard grades of lumber; and 

commonly used industry abbreviations. 

The standard also includes the 

organization and functions of the 

American Lumber Standard Committee, 

the Board of Review, and the National 

Grading Rule Committee. 

All public comments will be reviewed 

and considered. The American Lumber 

Standard Committee and NIST will 

revise the standard accordingly. 

Dated: March 26, 2009. 

Patrick Gallagher, 

Deputy Director. 

[FR Doc. E9–7518 Filed 4–2–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Air Force 

Notice of Intent (NOI) To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for Proposed Realignment of a Portion 

of National Guard Avenue and 

Construction of the New Main Gate for 

The 158th Fighter Wing, Vermont Air 

National Guard at Burlington 

International Airport, Burlington, VT 

AGENCY: National Guard Bureau, 

Department of the Air Force, DOD. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: This notice corrects the 

heading of a notice that was posted in 

the Federal Register on March 30th 

2009, Vol. 74, No. 59 ‘‘U.S. Air Force 

Scientific Advisory Board Notice Of 

Meeting Notice Of Intent (NOI) To 

Prepare An Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) For Proposed 

Realignment Of A Portion Of National 

Guard Avenue And Construction of the 

New Main Gate For the 158th Fighter 

Wing, Vermont Air National Guard At 

Burlington International Airport, 

Burlington, Vermont.’’ 

Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et 

seq.), the Council on Environmental 

Quality (CEQ) Regulations for 

Implementing the Procedural Provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), and 

Air Force policy and procedures (32 

CFR part 989), the National Guard 

Bureau is issuing this notice to advise 

the public of its intent to prepare an EIS 

to evaluate the potential environmental 

impacts that could result from the 

proposed realignment of a portion of 

National Guard Avenue, and 

construction of a new main gate at the 

158th Fighter Wing (158 FW) 

installation at Burlington International 

Airport. 

A recent evaluation of infrastructure 

security at the installation identified 

several vulnerabilities revealing a 

potential threat to mission-critical 

resources. Realignment of a segment of 

National Guard Avenue would remedy 

some of these vulnerabilities and protect 

mission-critical resources. Work 

conducted would be in compliance with 

anti-terrorism/force protection (AT/FP) 

standoff criteria. Preliminary studies 

indicate that potential significant 

adverse effects to wetlands and to 

sensitive Native American sites may 

result from realignment of the roadway. 

In addition to the road segment 

realignment, the 158 FW would also 

construct a new main gate along a 

portion of the realigned roadway, 

construct a new Security Forces facility, 

which would be collocated with the 

new main gate, and construct an 

internal roadway loop that would 

improve vehicular safety and circulation 

to a portion of the installation. 

In addition to the proposed action, 

another action alternative will evaluate 

the potential impacts of an alternative 

roadway alignment for National Guard 

Avenue, and redesigning the main gate 

in its current location to meet AT/FP 

criteria. The Security Forces and 

internal roadway loop would remain as 

described under the Proposed Action. 

The no-action alternative will also be 

analyzed in the EIS. 

The National Guard Bureau will 

conduct a scoping meeting to solicit 

public input concerning the proposal. 

The scoping process will help identify 

issues to be addressed in the 

environmental analysis. Comments will 

be accepted at any time during the 

environmental impact analysis process. 

However, to ensure the Air Force has 

sufficient time to consider public input 

in the preparation of the Draft EIS, 

comments should be submitted to the 

address below by 16 April 2009. 

Notices will be posted and published 

in the Burlington Free Press. The 

scoping meetings will be held at the 

South Burlington High School, Cafeteria 

#2, 550 Dorset Street, South Burlington, 

VT 05403, on 16 April 2009, from 6–9 

p.m. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Please direct any written comments or 

requests for information to Robert 

Dogan, NGB/A7AM, at Conaway Hall, 

3500 Fetchet Avenue, Andrews Air 

Force Base, Maryland 20762–5157; (301) 

836–8859; or fax (301) 836–7428. 

Bao-Anh Trinh, 

Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–7481 Filed 4–2–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–05–P 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES