58648 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 16, 2007 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–AV61 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; 

Amendment 3 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Spiny 

Lobster Fishery of the Caribbean and 

Amendment 5 to the Joint Fishery 

Management Plan for the Spiny 

Lobster Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico 

and South Atlantic 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a 

draft environmental impact statement 

(DEIS); scoping meetings; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Caribbean Fishery 

Management Council (Caribbean 

Council) intends to prepare a DEIS to 

describe and analyze management 

alternatives to be included in an 

amendment to the Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) for the Spiny Lobster 

Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands and the FMP for the 

Spiny Lobster Fishery of the Gulf of 

Mexico and South Atlantic. These 

alternatives will consider measures to 

implement a minimum import size on 

spiny lobster. The purpose of this notice 

of intent is to solicit public comments 

on the scope of issues to be addressed 

in the DEIS. 

DATES: Written comments on the scope 

of issues to be addressed in the DEIS 

must be received by the Caribbean 

Council by November 15, 2007. A series 

of scoping meetings will be held in 

October 2007. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for the specific dates, 

times, and locations of the scoping 

meetings. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

scope of the DEIS and requests for 

additional information on the 

amendment should be sent to the 

Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 

268 Mun ̃oz Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108, 

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918; telephone: 

787–766–5927; fax: 787–766–6239. 

Comments may also be sent by e-mail to 

Graciela.Garcia-Moliner@noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Graciela Garcia-Moliner; phone: 787–

766–5927; fax: 787–766–6239; e-mail: 

Graciela.Garcia-Moliner@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Spiny 

Lobster (Panulirus argus) in the 

Southeast Region is managed under a 

Caribbean Council FMP and a joint Gulf 

of Mexico and South Atlantic Council 

FMP. All three Southeast fishery 

management councils have expressed 

concern recently about the effects of 

imports of spiny lobster that are smaller 

than the size limits in the U.S. spiny 

lobster FMPs. In many instances, 

imports are also undersized based on 

size limits established in the country of 

origin. Many Caribbean and Central and 

South American nations share these 

concerns, and scientific evidence 

suggests that larvae from one area or 

region within this species’ range may 

contribute to stock recruitment in other 

areas or regions. 

The Caribbean Council has expressed 

intent to amend its Spiny Lobster FMP 

to consider application of a minimum 

size limit on imported spiny lobster. 

NMFS believes amendment of the Gulf 

of Mexico and South Atlantic Spiny 

Lobster FMP should be addressed 

concurrently. After conferring with the 

Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic 

Councils, the Caribbean Council was 

designated as the administrative lead to 

address spiny lobster issues. Thus, the 

Caribbean Council will prepare one 

document, which contains an 

amendment to the Caribbean Spiny 

Lobster FMP and also an amendment to 

the Gulf and South Atlantic Spiny 

Lobster FMP. 

The Caribbean Council will develop a 

DEIS to describe and analyze 

management alternatives to implement a 

minimum size limit on imported spiny 

lobster. The amendment will provide 

updates to the best available scientific 

information regarding Panulirus argus, 

and based on that information, the 

Councils will determine what actions 

and alternatives are necessary to protect 

spiny lobster throughout its range. 

Those alternatives may include, but are 

not limited to: A ‘‘no action’’ alternative 

regarding the fishery; alternatives to 

restrict the minimum import size based 

on carapace length; alternatives to 

restrict the minimum import size based 

on tail length; and alternatives to restrict 

the importation of meat, which is not 

whole lobster or tailed lobster. 

In accordance with NOAA’s 

Administrative Order NAO 216–6, 

Section 5.02(c), the Caribbean Council 

has identified this preliminary range of 

alternatives as a means to initiate 

discussion for scoping purposes only. 

This may not represent the full range of 

alternatives that eventually will be 

evaluated by the Caribbean Council. 

Once the Caribbean Council 

completes the DEIS associated with the 

amendment to the Spiny Lobster 

Fishery of the Caribbean, it must be 

approved by a majority of the voting 

members, present and voting, of the 

Caribbean Council. Similarly, the Gulf 

of Mexico and South Atlantic Councils 

Spiny Lobster FMP amendment and 

associated DEIS must be approved by 

those Councils. After the Councils 

approve this document, the DEIS will be 

submitted to NMFS for filing with the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA). The EPA will publish a notice of 

availability of the DEIS for public 

comment in the Federal Register. The 

DEIS will have a 45-day comment 

period. This procedure is pursuant to 

regulations issued by the Caribbean 

Council on Environmental Quality 

(CEQ) for implementing the procedural 

provisions of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 40 

CFR parts 1500–1508) and to NOAA’s 

Administrative Order 216–6 regarding 

NOAA’s compliance with NEPA and the 

CEQ regulations. 

The Councils will consider public 

comments received on the DEIS in 

developing the final environmental 

impact statement (FEIS) and before 

adopting final management measures for 

the amendment. The Councils will 

submit both the final joint amendment 

and the supporting FEIS to NMFS for 

review by the Secretary of Commerce 

(Secretary) under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. 

NMFS will announce, through a 

notice published in the Federal 

Register, the availability of the final 

joint amendment for public review 

during the Secretarial review period. 

During Secretarial review, NMFS will 

also file the FEIS with the EPA for a 

final 30-day public comment period. 

This comment period will be concurrent 

with the Secretarial review period and 

will end prior to final agency action to 

approve, disapprove, or partially 

approve the final joint amendment. 

NMFS will announce, through a 

notice published in the Federal 

Register, all public comment periods on 

the final joint amendment, its proposed 

implementing regulations, and its 

associated FEIS. NMFS will consider all 

public comments received during the 

Secretarial review period, whether they 

are on the final amendment, the 

proposed regulations, or the FEIS, prior 

to final agency action. 

Scoping Meeting Dates, Times, and 

Locations 

All scoping meetings are scheduled to 

be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The 

meetings will be physically accessible to 

people with disabilities. Request for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to the 

Caribbean Council (see ADDRESSES). 

mmaher on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 16, 2007 / Notices 58649 

October 16—Windward Passage 

Hotel, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, 

USVI. 

October 17—Buccaneer Hotel, 

Christiansted, St Croix, USVI. 

October 23—Pierre Hotel, De Diego 

Avenue, San Juan, PR. 

October 24—Ponce Golf and Casino 

Resort, 1150 Caribe Avenue, Ponce, PR. 

October 25—Mayaguez Holiday Inn, 

2701 Highway #2, Mayaguez, PR. 

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

Dated: October 11, 2007. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–5107 Filed 10–11–07; 4:13 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN: 0648–XD37 

North 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 North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) Salmon 

Bycatch Workgroup will meet in 

Anchorage, AK. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

November 2, 2007, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Hawthorn Suites, 1110 West 8th 

Avenue, Anchorage, AK. 

Council address: North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council, 605 W. 

4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 

99501–2252. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Diana Stram, Council staff; telephone: 

(907) 271–2809 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Committee will discuss salmon bycatch 

cap formulation alternatives for Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands trawl fisheries 

and develop recommendations. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Gail 

Bendixen at (907) 271–2809 at least 7 

working days prior to the meeting date. 

Dated: October 11, 2007. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–20322 Filed 10–15–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

[Docket No. PTO–P–2007–0037] 

Grant of Interim Extension of the Term 

of U.S. Patent No. 4,971,802; 

MIFAMURTIDE 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Interim Patent Term 

Extension. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office has issued a 

certificate under 35 U.S.C. 156(d)(5) for 

a one-year interim extension of the term 

of U.S. Patent No. 4,971,802. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raul 

Tamayo by telephone at (571) 272–7728; 

by mail marked to his attention and 

addressed to the Commissioner for 

Patents, Mail Stop Hatch-Waxman PTE, 

P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–

1450; by fax marked to his attention at 

(571) 273–7728, or by e-mail to 

Raul.Tamayo@uspto.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

156 of Title 35, United States Code, 

generally provides that the term of a 

patent may be extended for a period of 

up to five years if the patent claims a 

product, or a method of making or using 

a product, that has been subject to 

certain defined regulatory review, and 

that the patent may be extended for 

interim periods of up to a year if the 

regulatory review is anticipated to 

extend beyond the expiration date of the 

patent. 

On August 8, 2007, IDM Pharma, 

agent/licensee of patent owner Novartis, 

timely filed an application under 35 

U.S.C. 156(d)(5) for an interim extension 

of the term of U.S. Patent No. 4,971,802. 

Claims of the patent cover the product 

Mifamurtide having the active 

ingredient muramyl tripeptide 

phosphatidyl ethanolamine. The 

application indicates, and the Food and 

Drug Administration has confirmed, 

that a New Drug Application for the 

human drug product Mifamurtide has 

been filed and is currently undergoing 

regulatory review before the Food and 

Drug Administration for permission to 

market or use the product commercially. 

Review of the application indicates 

that, except for permission to market or 

use the product commercially, the 

subject patent would be eligible for an 

extension of the patent term under 35 

U.S.C. 156, and that the patent should 

be extended for one year as required by 

35 U.S.C. 156(d)(5)(B). Because it is 

apparent that the regulatory review 

period will continue beyond the 

expiration date of the patent (November 

20, 2007), interim extension of the 

patent term under 35 U.S.C. 156(d)(5) is 

appropriate. 

An interim extension under 35 U.S.C. 

156(d)(5) of the term of U.S. Patent No. 

4,971,802 is granted for a period of one 

year from the expiration date of the 

patent, i.e., until November 20, 2008. 

Dated: October 4, 2007. 

Jon W. Dudas, 

Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual 

Property and Director of the United States 

Patent and Trademark Office. 

[FR Doc. E7–20372 Filed 10–15–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[IC07–574–001, FERC–574] 

Commission Information Collection 

Activities, Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request; Extension 

October 4, 2007. 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

requirements of section 3507 of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. 3507, the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (Commission) 

has submitted the information 

collection described below to the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and extension of this 

information collection requirement. Any 

interested person may file comments 

directly with OMB and should address 

a copy of those comments to the 

Commission as explained below. The 

Commission did not receive any 

comments in response to an earlier 

Federal Register notice of May 29, 2007 

(72 FR 29489–29490) and has made this 

notification in its submission to OMB. 

Copies of the submission were also 

submitted to the commenters. 

DATES: Comments on the collection of 

information are due by November 13, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: Address comments on the 

collection of information to the Office of 

Management and Budget, Office of 

mmaher on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES