24760 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 96 / Thursday, May 16, 1996 / Notices

marketing of agricultural commodities.

An administrative committee,

comprised of growers and handlers

appointed by the Secretary of

Agriculture, locally administers each

order. A major function of these

administrative committees is to

recommend to the Secretary

administrative rules and order

amendments. AMS reviews

administrative committee

recommendations for regulatory action

and accompanying justifications for

consistency with the regulatory

authorities provided in the marketing

order, as well as Department policy and

the potential impact on small

businesses. Issuance of marketing order

regulations follows procedures

prescribed by the Administrative

Procedure Act. In addition, the AMS

must adhere to a number of other

statutes in issuing rulemaking,

including the RFA.

The purpose of the RFA is to fit

regulatory and informational

requirements to the size and scale of

business entities in a manner that is

consistent with the objectives of the rule

and applicable statutes. The RFA

requires agencies to identify regulatory

situations in which there is (or will be)

a significant economic impact, as

measured by costs and other factors, on

a substantial number of small entities.

The survey results will provide

information on handler costs, revenues,

and other related factors which will

allow AMS to evaluate impacts of

proposed rulemaking recommendations

on handlers who may be classified as

small entities under the RFA.

These data will be collected under the

authority of 7 U.S.C. 2204(a).

Individually identifiable data collected

under this authority are governed by

section 1770 of the Food Security Act of

1985, 7 U.S.C. 2276, which requires

USDA to afford strict confidentiality to

non-aggregated data provided by

respondents.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this collection of information

is estimated to average 30 minutes per

response.

Respondents: Handlers (e.g., shippers

and others as defined under the

respective programs) regulated under

marketing orders.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

1,650.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 825 hours.

Copies of this information collection

and related instructions can be obtained

without charge from Larry Gambrell, the

Agency OMB Clearance Officer, at (202)

720–5778.

Comments: Comments are invited on:

(a) Whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency, including whether the

information will have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate

of the burden of the proposed collection

of information including the validity of

the methodology and assumptions used;

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,

and clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on those who are to respond, including

through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology. Comments may be sent to:

Larry Gambrell, Agency OMB Clearance

Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

14th and Independence Ave., SW, Room

4162 South Building, Washington, DC

20250–2000. All response to this notice

will be summarized and included in the

request for OMB approval. All

comments will also become a matter of

public record.

Signed at Washington, DC, May 8, 1996.

Donald M. Bay,

Administrator, National Agricultural

Statistics Service.

[FR Doc. 96–12326 Filed 5–15–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–20–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

U.S. Automotive Parts Advisory

Committee; Closed Meeting

AGENCY: International Trade

Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Closed meeting of U.S.

Automotive Parts Advisory Committee.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Automotive Parts

Advisory Committee (the ‘‘Committee’’)

advises U.S. Government officials on

matters relating to the implementation

of the Fair Trade in Auto Parts Act of

1988. The Committee: (1) reports

annually to the Secretary of Commerce

on barriers to sales of U.S.-made auto

parts and accessories in Japanese

markets; (2) assists the Secretary in

reporting to the Congress on the

progress of sales of U.S.-made auto parts

in Japanese markets, including the

formation of long-term supplier

relationships; (3) reviews and considers

data collected on sales of U.S.-made

auto parts to Japanese markets; (4)

advises the Secretary during

consultations with the Government of

Japan on these issues; and 5) assists in

establishing priorities for the

Department’s initiatives to increase

U.S.-made auto parts sales to Japanese

markets, and otherwise provide

assistance and direction to the Secretary

in carrying out these initiatives. At the

meeting, committee members will

discuss specific trade and sales

expansion programs related to U.S.-

Japan automotive parts policy.

DATE AND LOCATION: The meeting will be

held on June 5, 1996 from 10:00 a.m. to

3:00 p.m. at the U.S. Department of

Commerce in Washington, D.C.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Robert Reck, Office of Automotive

Affairs, Trade Development, Room

4036, Washington, D.C. 20230,

telephone: (202) 482–1418.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Assistant Secretary for Administration,

with the concurrence of the General

Counsel formally determined on July 5,

1994, pursuant to Section 10(d) of the

Federal Advisory Act, as amended, that

the series of meetings or portions of

meetings of the Committee and of any

subcommittee thereof, dealing with

privileged or confidential commercial

information may be exempt from the

provisions of the Act relating to open

meeting and public participation therein

because these items are concerned with

matters that are within the purview of

5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(4) and (9)(B). A copy of

the Notice of Determination is available

for public inspection and copying in the

Department of Commerce Records

Inspection Facility, Room 6020, Main

Commerce.

Dated: May 7, 1996.

Henry P. Misisco,

Director, Office of Automotive Affairs.

[FR Doc. 96–12244 Filed 5–15–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 050996A]

Endangered Species; Permits

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of application

for a scientific research permit (P521C).

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

Drs. James Spotila and Pamela Plotkin

of Drexel University in PA have applied

in due form for a permit to take listed

sea turtles for the purpose of scientific

research.

DATES: Written comments or requests for

a public hearing on this application
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 96 / Thursday, May 16, 1996 / Notices 24761

must be received on or before June 17,

1996.

ADDRESSES: The application and related

documents are available for review by

appointment in the following offices:

Office of Protected Resources, F/PR8,

NMFS, 1315 East-West Hwy., Room

13307, Silver Spring, MD 20910–3226

(301–713–1401); Director, Southeast

Region, NMFS, NOAA, 9721 Executive

Center Drive, St. Petersburg, FL 33702–

2432 (813–893–3141).

Written comments, or requests for a

public hearing on this application

should be submitted to the Chief,

Endangered Species Division, Office of

Protected Resources.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Application (P521C) requests a permit

under the authority of the Endangered

Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C.

1531–1543) and NMFS regulations

governing listed fish and wildlife

permits (50 CFR parts 217–227). The

applicants request authorization to

capture 75 loggerhead (Caretta caretta),

75 Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii),

10 green (Chelonia mydas) 5 leatherback

(Dermochelys coriacea), and 1 hawksbill

(Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles

annually in Delaware Bay from June

1996 to October 1997. The turtles will

be examined, measured, photographed,

passive integrated transponder-tagged,

and have blood and fecal samples taken.

Six turtles will be attached with radiotransmitters and tracked. One incidental

sea turtle mortality is requested. The

purpose of the research is to assess

distribution and population dynamics of

sea turtles in Delaware Bay, information

helpful to manage impacts to sea turtles

from human activities.

Those individuals requesting a

hearing should set out the specific

reasons why a hearing on this particular

application would be appropriate (see

ADDRESSES). The holding of such

hearing is at the discretion of the

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

NOAA. All statements and opinions

contained in this application summary

are those of the applicants and do not

necessarily reflect the views of NMFS.

Dated: May 10, 1996.

Eric H. Ostrovsky,

Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 96–12241 Filed 5–15–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

Technology Administration

[Docket No. 960508127–6127–01]

RIN 0693–XX18

Federal Agency Guidance for the

Acquisition of Modular Metric

Construction Products

AGENCY: Technology Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Publication of Federal Agency

Guidance.

SUMMARY: These guidelines provide

information and a policy statement for

Federal agency implementation of

metric-usage requirements in the

acquisition of modular construction

products. After a review process starting

on April 12, 1996, the guidelines were

approved by the Interagency Council on

Metric Policy on May 3, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Ralph Richter, Metric Program, U.S.

Department of Commerce, National

Institute of Standards and Technology,

Building 820, Room 306, Gaithersburg,

MD 20899. Phone (301) 975–3690.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Omnibus Trade and

Competitiveness Act of 1988 (Public

Law 100–418, section 5164) amended

the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 to,

among other things, require that each

Federal agency use metric

measurements to the maximum extent

feasible in its procurements and

business-related activities. To fully

implement this legislation within the

Federal agencies, Executive Order

12770, ‘‘Metric Usage in Federal

Government Programs,’’ was signed by

President Bush in 1991. The Federal

agencies are required to encourage and

support an environment that facilitates

the U.S. transition to the metric system

of measurement.

Using the Executive Order and the

1988 amendments as guidance, the

agencies involved in the construction of

federal buildings and facilities have

made substantial progress in the

adoption of metric measurements.

During this metrication process, the

Government’s construction agencies

have worked closely with the private

sector to reach a consensus among all of

the interested parties: building material

manufacturers, trade associations,

design firms, and construction

contractors.

Dimensions for the vast majority of

construction products need only be

‘‘soft-converted’’ for use in metric

construction projects. A soft metric

conversion means that the physical

dimensions of the product remain

unchanged while the measurement

units used to describe and specify the

product are changed to metric units. To

make metric construction succeed,

however, a small percentage of products

need their physical dimensions ‘‘hardconverted’’ to fit the product into the

internationally recognized building

module of 100 millimeters. These

products are frequently referred to as

modular products.

Just as it is logical and cost effective

for inch-pound construction projects to

use modular products that fit into the 4-

inch module, it is logical and cost

effective for metric construction projects

to employ modular products that fit into

the 100 mm module.

Modular construction products are

brick, concrete block, suspended ceiling

systems—including recessed lighting

fixtures and air diffusers, raised access

flooring, wallboard, plywood, particle

board, and rigid insulation.

Before a modular construction

product in a hard metric size is

specified in a federal construction

project, the product’s application must

require it to fit together with other

modular metric components, and the

product must be found to be available

at a reasonable cost.

The statutory language in the 1988

legislation provides the necessary

flexibility for appropriate

implementation of this policy on

modular construction products—the

Federal agencies are required to forego

metric conversion when it is impractical

or is likely to cause significant

inefficiencies or loss of markets to

United States firms. The intent of the

law is to pursue metrication for

increased cost-effectiveness and

productivity in U.S. business and

greater access to international markets

while avoiding any undue burden on

American firms.

General Policy

(a) As construction metrication efforts

continue, the Government’s

construction agencies shall continue to

work closely with all interested private

sector parties: building material

manufacturers, trade association, design

firms, and construction contractors.

Consensus, efficiency, and costeffectiveness shall be the goal.

(b) The Federal agencies shall conduct

market research to determine the

availability of modular metric

construction products before developing

new procurement specifications.

Procurement officials in each agency, to

the maximum extent practicable, shall

specify commercial items or

nondevelopmental items other than