Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 187 / Thursday, September 25, 2008 / Notices 55501 

requirement and sets a course for 

successful implementation of the goals 

and objectives of the reserve. 

The mission of the Padilla Bay 

Reserve is to provide leadership to 

promote informed management of 

estuarine and coastal habitats through 

scientific understanding and encourage 

good stewardship practices through 

partnerships, public education, and 

outreach programs. The management 

plan establishes three goals consistent 

with the Reserve’s mission. These goals 

are (1) protect and improve habitat and 

biological diversity within the boundary 

of the Reserve, (2) increase the use of 

the Reserve and its research program to 

address priority coastal management 

issues of Washington State and (3) to 

support informed decision-making and 

responsible stewardship of coastal 

communities and ecosystems. 

Organized in a framework of 

programmatic goals and objectives, the 

Padilla Bay Reserve’s management plan 

identifies specific strategies or actions 

for research, education/interpretation, 

public access, construction, land 

acquisition, and resource protection, 

restoration, and manipulation. Overall, 

the plan seeks to accomplish the 

mission of the Reserve by facilitating 

scientific research, encouraging 

stewardship, and addressing the local 

education and outreach needs. 

Specifically, stewardship is 

encompassed under resource protection, 

habitat restoration, and resource 

conservation priorities. These priorities 

address reserve efforts to evaluate 

natural and anthropogenic processes 

that affect the reserve and its habitats, 

support for research and monitoring of 

important resources, restore and protect 

natural habitats and to actively educate 

the public to inform resource 

management. 

Research and monitoring activities 

support independent research projects 

within the reserve and its vicinity with 

resources and background data. Staff 

and visiting researchers conduct 

monitoring and research within the 

boundaries of the reserve and Padilla 

Bay watershed and use GIS to map 

critical habitats. Research and 

monitoring results are made available to 

others and are translated to public and 

private users through education, 

training and outreach programs. 

Education at the reserve targets a wide 

variety of audiences including students, 

teachers, adults, resource users and 

coastal decision-maker audiences. The 

reserve’s comprehensive approach to 

education including a K–12 education 

program, outreach and a coastal training 

program are designed to increase 

knowledge of the target audiences about 

Pacific Northwest estuaries. Public 

access at the Padilla Bay Reserve 

includes trails, an observation deck and 

boat launches. 

Administration at the reserve includes 

supporting the staffing and budget 

necessary to carry out the goals and 

objectives of the plan. The 

administration of the Padilla Bay 

Reserve is a collective effort involving 

the Washington State Department of 

Ecology (WDOE), other state or local 

agencies and organizations, a Reserve 

oversight and programmatic advisory 

committee for research, education, 

coastal training, and stewardship, and 

the Padilla Bay Foundation. An 

established administrative framework 

implements and coordinates Reserve 

programs under the plan. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nina Garfield at (301) 563–1171 or 

Laurie McGilvray at (301) 563–1158 of 

NOAA’s National Ocean Service, 

Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 EastWest Highway, N/ORM5, 10th floor, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

Dated: September 17, 2008. 

David M. Kennedy, 

Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal 

Resource Management, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. E8–22571 Filed 9–24–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Announcement of Sapelo Island 

National Estuarine Research Reserve 

Revised Management Plan 

AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, 

Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource 

Management, National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Approval and 

Availability of the Final Revised 

Management Plan for the Sapelo Island 

National Estuarine Research Reserve. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Estuarine Reserves Division, Office 

of Ocean and Coastal Resource 

Management, National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), U.S. 

Department of Commerce has approved 

the revised management plan for the 

Sapelo Island National Estuarine 

Research Reserve. 

The Sapelo Island National Estuarine 

Research Reserve was designated as part 

of the National Estuarine Research 

Reserve System in 1976 pursuant to 

Section 315 of the Coastal Zone 

Management Act of 1972, as amended, 

16 U.S.C. 1461. The Reserve has been 

operating under a management plan 

approved in 1999. Pursuant to 15 CFR 

Section 921.33(c), a state must revise 

their management plan every five years. 

The submission of this plan brings the 

reserve into compliance and sets a 

course for successful implementation of 

the goals and objectives of the reserve. 

New facilities and updated 

programmatic objectives are notable 

revisions to the 1999 approved 

management plan. 

The mission of the Sapelo Island 

Reserve is to perpetuate the protection 

of the Sapelo Island National Estuarine 

Research Reserve and to provide a 

platform for conservation-based 

research, education and stewardship 

through the Reserve. The revised 

management plan identifies priority 

resource issues that are addressed 

through active management. These 

priority issues include addressing 

public access and visitor impact on 

Reserve uplands and marsh areas, 

addressing impacts related to activities 

on the Reserve by the island’s 

population and addressing the projected 

increase in development and population 

growth on the Georgia coast. By 

addressing these priority resource 

issues, the Sapelo Island Reserve aims 

to fulfill its mission. 

The revised plan establishes goals and 

objectives for the Reserve’s various 

programmatic activities, including 

scientific biological research; water 

quality monitoring; education, training, 

and outreach programs; and 

stewardship programs. It also outlines 

plans for future facility development to 

support reserve operations. 

The reserve has realized some aspects 

of the 1999 plan, including 

contributions toward the completion of 

the Barrier Island Research and 

Learning Center, a joint research 

dormitory and lab shared with the 

University of Georgia. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy Clark at (301) 563–1137 or Laurie 

McGilvray at (301) 563–1158 of NOAA’s 

National Ocean Service, Estuarine 

Reserves Division, 1305 East-West 

Highway, N/ORM5, 10th floor, Silver 

Spring, MD 20910. For copies of the 

Sapelo Island National Estuarine 

Research Reserve Management Plan 

revision, visit: http:// 

www.sapelonerr.org/. 

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55502 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 187 / Thursday, September 25, 2008 / Notices 

Dated: September 15, 2008. 

Donna Wieting, 

Deputy Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal 

Resource Management, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. E8–22570 Filed 9–25–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–08–P 

COMMITTEE FOR THE 

IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE 

AGREEMENTS 

Limitations of Duty- and Quota-Free 

Imports of Apparel Articles Assembled 

in Beneficiary ATPDEA Countries from 

Regional Country Fabric 

AGENCY: Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements 

(CITA). 

ACTION: Publishing the New 12-Month 

Cap on Duty and Quota Free Benefits. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard Stetson, International Trade 

Specialist, Office of Textiles and 

Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

(202) 482-3400. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority: Section 3103 of the Trade Act 

of 2002, P.L. 107-210; Title VII of the Tax 

Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA 

2006), P.L. 109-432; H.R. 1830, 110th Cong. 

(2007) (H.R. 1830); Presidential Proclamation 

7616 of October 31, 2002 (67 FR 67283, 

November 5, 2002). 

Section 3103 of the Trade Act of 2002 

amended the Andean Trade Preference 

Act (ATPA) to provide for duty and 

quota-free treatment for certain textile 

and apparel articles imported from 

designated Andean Trade Promotion 

and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) 

beneficiary countries. Section 

204(b)(3)(B)(iii) of the ATPA, as 

amended, provides duty- and quota-free 

treatment for certain apparel articles 

assembled in ATPDEA beneficiary 

countries from regional fabric and 

components. More specifically, this 

provision applies to apparel articles 

sewn or otherwise assembled in one or 

more ATPDEA beneficiary countries 

from fabrics or from fabric components 

formed or from components knit-toshape, in one or more ATPDEA 

beneficiary countries, from yarns wholly 

formed in the United States or one or 

more ATPDEA beneficiary countries 

(including fabrics not formed from 

yarns, if such fabrics are classifiable 

under heading 5602 and 5603 of the 

Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) and 

are formed in one or more ATPDEA 

beneficiary countries). Such apparel 

articles may also contain certain other 

eligible fabrics, fabric components, or 

components knit-to-shape. 

The TRHCA of 2006 extended the 

expiration of the ATPA to June 30, 2007. 

See section 7002(a) of the TRHCA 2006. 

H.R. 1830 further extended the 

expiration of the ATPA to February 29, 

2008. H.R. 5264 further extended the 

expiration of the ATPA to December 31, 

2008. 

For the period beginning on October 

1, 2008 and extending through 

December 31, 2008, preferential tariff 

treatment is limited under the regional 

fabric provision to imports of qualifying 

apparel articles in an amount not to 

exceed 5 percent of the aggregate square 

meter equivalents of all apparel articles 

imported into the United States in the 

preceding 12-month period for which 

data are available. For the purpose of 

this notice, the 12-month period for 

which data are available is the 12-month 

period that ended July 31, 2008. In 

Presidential Proclamation 7616 

(published in the Federal Register on 

November 5, 2002, 67 FR 67283), the 

President directed CITA to publish in 

the Federal Register the aggregate 

quantity of imports allowed during each 

period. 

For the period beginning on October 

1, 2008 and extending through 

December 31, 2008, the aggregate 

quantity of imports eligible for 

preferential treatment under the 

regional fabric provision is 

1,222,785,719 square meters equivalent. 

Apparel articles entered in excess of this 

quantity will be subject to otherwise 

applicable tariffs. 

This quantity is calculated using the 

aggregate square meter equivalents of all 

apparel articles imported into the 

United States, derived from the set of 

Harmonized System lines listed in the 

Annex to the World Trade Organization 

Agreement on Textiles and Clothing 

(ATC), and the conversion factors for 

units of measure into square meter 

equivalents used by the United States in 

implementing the ATC. 

Dated: September 22, 2008. 

R. Matthew Priest, 

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation 

of Textile Agreements. 

[FR Doc. E8–22575 Filed 9–24–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army 

Preparation of an Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) for Army 

Growth and Force Structure 

Realignment at Fort Bliss, Texas and 

New Mexico 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI). 

SUMMARY: This announces the intention 

of the U.S. Army to prepare an EIS 

analyzing the impacts of Army Growth 

and Force Structure Realignment at Fort 

Bliss. The Fort Bliss Army Growth EIS 

will tier from the Final Programmatic 

EIS for Army Growth and Force 

Structure Realignment, for which a 

Record of Decision (ROD) was signed in 

December 2007. That ROD directed 

stationing of two Infantry Brigade 

Combat Teams (IBCTs) at Fort Bliss, and 

the stationing of Heavy Brigade Combat 

Teams (HBCTs) (returning from 

Germany) at Fort Bliss and White Sands 

Missile Range (WSMR). Army BCTs 

consist of approximately 3,500–4,000 

soldiers. The HBCT at WSMR will 

leverage training infrastructure and 

range modernization that has taken 

place at Fort Bliss. These actions are 

scheduled over the next five years. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be forwarded to: Mr. Walter J. 

Christensen, Attention: FB GTA EIS; 

IMWE–BLS–PWE; Fort Bliss, TX 79916 

6812; or faxed to (915) 568–3548. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean 

Offutt, Fort Bliss Public Affairs Office; 

IMWE–BLS–PA; Fort Bliss, Texas, 

79916–6812; phone: (915) 568–4505. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Actions 

proposed to be taken at Fort Bliss in 

support of Army growth have the 

potential to significantly impact the 

natural and human environment in and 

around Fort Bliss as a result of facility 

construction and new and different uses 

of the Fort Bliss Training Complex 

(FBTC). The study area for the 

environmental analysis will be the Fort 

Bliss installation and surrounding 

communities. The objective of this 

analysis is to provide a comprehensive 

EIS that will serve as a planning tool 

and public information source. Several 

categories of alternatives will be 

considered: 

(1) Stationing/Training: Known and 

reasonably foreseeable stationing and 

training actions will be analyzed. This 

includes additional units and use of any 

element of the Army’s equipment 

inventory (e.g., Stryker). 

(2) Land Use: Various land use 

changes in support of the Fort Bliss 

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