February 2, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice presents the Record of Decision (ROD) regarding the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) implementation of the Williamson River Delta Restoration Project to allow NRCS to restore habitat diversity for endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers. NRCS prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Williamson River Delta Restoration Project and published it on the Oregon NRCS Web site. A Notice of Availability (NOA) of the FEIS was published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2005 and all agencies and individuals who expressed interest in the project. Printed and CD-ROM versions of the FEIS were made available and delivered to all those who requested. This Decision Notice summarizes the environmental, social and economic impacts of the Williamson River Delta Restoration Project alternatives identified in the FEIS that were considered in making this decision, and explains why NRCS selected the Preferred Alternative. The Williamson River Delta Restoration Project FEIS and this ROD may be access via the Internet on the Oregon NRCS Web site at: https:// www.or.nrcs.usda.gov/features/klamath.html.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announces a grant program to improve State traffic safety information systems under Section 2006 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users (SAFETEA-LU). This Notice informs the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, through their Governors' Representatives for Highway Safety, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (on behalf of the Indian tribes), of the application procedures to receive grants to be made available in fiscal years 2006 through 2009.

This notice is to inform the public that EPA has updated its Position Statement on Environmental Management Systems (EMSs). This updated statement replaces the 2002 Position Statement on EMS signed by Administrator Whitman and reflects EPA's experiences to date with the promotion of voluntary EMSs as well as our continued commitment to be a leader in this area. The Position Statement explains EPA's policy on EMSs and the Agency's intent to continue to promote the voluntary wide- spread use of EMSs across a range of organizations and settings. EPA encourages organizations to implement EMSs that result in improved environmental performance and compliance, cost-savings, pollution prevention through source reduction, and continual improvement.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Boeing Model 767 airplanes. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections for cracking in the skin, the bulkhead outer chord, and the strap of the bulkhead outer chord at station (STA) 1725.5; and repair if necessary. This proposed AD also provides for repairs, which are optional for airplanes on which no cracking is found, that terminate certain inspections. This proposed AD results from reports of cracking in the skin panel common to stringer 7R and aft of the STA 1725.5 butt splice, and in the strap of the bulkhead outer chord at STA 1725.5. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking in the skin, the bulkhead outer chord, or the strap of the bulkhead outer chord in this area, which could progress into surrounding areas and result in reduced structural integrity of the support structure for the vertical or horizontal stabilizer and subsequent loss of control of the airplane.

The FAA withdraws a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposed a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 757-200 and -300 series airplanes. The proposed AD would have required inspecting for the part number, the serial number, and the mark ``RETESTED'' on the reaction link of the main landing gear (MLG), and replacing the reaction link of the MLG with a retested reaction link if necessary. Since the proposed AD was issued, we have received new data that all suspect reaction links of the MLG have been replaced with acceptable reaction links, and the suspect reaction links have been sent back to the reaction link manufacturer. Accordingly, the proposed AD is withdrawn.

The Department of State (Department) is proposing the amendment of its existing au pair regulations under the Exchange Visitor Program (J-1 visa) to permit designated au pair sponsors to request a one-time extension of six, nine or 12 months beyond an au pair participant's original 12-month program (the maximum duration of program participation).

The PNCIAC will convene a meeting on Thursday, February 23, 2006, in Seattle, WA. The meeting is open to the public.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to prepare a new environmental impact statement (EIS) for its Hanford Site (Hanford) near Richland, Washington, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and its implementing regulations at 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508 and 10 CFR Part 1021. The new EIS, to be titled the Tank Closure and Waste Management Environmental Impact Statement for the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington (TC & WM EIS), will implement a Settlement Agreement announced on January 9, 2006, among DOE, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the State of Washington Attorney General's office. The Agreement serves as settlement of NEPA claims in the case State of Washington v. Bodman (Civil No. 2:03-cv-05018-AAM), which addressed the Final Hanford Site Solid (Radioactive and Hazardous) Waste Program EIS, Richland, Washington (HSW EIS, DOE/EIS-0286, January 2004). Ecology will continue its role as a Cooperating Agency in the preparation of the TC & WM EIS. Ecology already was acting in that capacity during the ongoing preparation of the EIS for Retrieval, Treatment and Disposal of Tank Waste and Closure of the Single-Shell Tanks at the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington (TC EIS, DOE/EIS-0356, Notice of Intent [NOI] at 68 FR 1052, January 8, 2003). The TC & WM EIS will revise, update and reanalyze groundwater impacts previously addressed in the HSW EIS. That is, the TC & WM EIS will provide a single, integrated analysis of groundwater at Hanford for all waste types addressed in the HSW EIS and the TC EIS. As a result, the TC & WM EIS will include a reanalysis of onsite disposal alternatives for Hanford's low-level radioactive waste (LLW) and mixed low-level radioactive waste (MLLW) and LLW and MLLW from other DOE sites. The TC & WM EIS will revise and update other potential impact areas previously addressed in the HSW EIS as appropriate. Finally, the TC & WM EIS will incorporate existing analyses from the HSW EIS that do not affect and are not directly affected by the waste disposal alternatives after review or revision as appropriate. DOE will continue its ongoing analysis of alternatives for the retrieval, treatment, storage, and disposal of underground tank wastes and closure of underground single- shell tanks (SST). In addition, DOE plans to include the ongoing Fast Flux Test Facility Decommissioning EIS (FFTF EIS, DOE/EIS-0364, NOI at 69 FR 50178, August 13, 2004) in the scope of the new TC & WM EIS, in order to provide an integrated presentation of currently foreseeable activities related to waste management and cleanup at Hanford. In accordance with the Settlement Agreement, DOE will not ship offsite waste to Hanford for storage, processing, or disposal until a Record of Decision (ROD) is issued pursuant to the TC & WM EIS, except under certain limited exemptions as provided in the Settlement Agreement. DOE is soliciting comments on the proposed scope of the new TC & WM EIS. Comments previously submitted in response to the 2003 NOI for the TC EIS and the 2004 NOI for the FFTF EIS are being considered and need not be resubmitted.

The Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has decided, after completion of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and a thorough consideration of the public comments on the Draft EIS and Supplemental EIS, to implement the Proposed Action, which is identified as the Preferred Alternative in the Final EIS. This action is to partially fund the construction of a state-of-the-art National Biocontainment Laboratory (NBL), to be called the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL), at the Boston University Medical Center (BUMC) Campus in Boston, Massachusetts.

The purpose of the meeting is to give the board an opportunity to review Air Force Institute of Technology's educational programs and to present to the Commandant a report of their findings and recommendations concerning these programs.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the following Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment: The previously- approved Right-of-Use (ROU) Application (Form 7-2540), 43 CFR part 429, OMB Control Number 1006-0003, has been significantly modified, shortened and made clearer for short-term public uses of Reclamation land, facilities, and water surfaces. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the availability of funds in fiscal year (FY) 2006 for the Over-the-Road Bus (OTRB) Accessibility Program, authorized by Section 3038 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The OTRB Accessibility Program makes funds available to private operators of over-the-road buses to finance the incremental capital and training costs of complying with DOT's over- the-road bus accessibility final rule, 49 CFR Part 37, published in a Federal Register notice on September 28, 1998 (63 FR 51670). The authorizing legislation calls for national solicitation of applications, with grantees to be selected on a competitive basis. Federal transit funds are available to intercity fixed-route providers and other OTRB providers at up to 90 percent of the project cost. In FY 2006, following a one percent rescission, $5,568,750 was made available for intercity fixed-route service providers and $1,856,250 was made available for other over-the-road bus service providers. This announcement is available on the Internet on the FTA Web site at: https://www.fta.dot.gov. FTA will announce final selections on the Web site and in the Federal Register. A synopsis of this announcement will be posted in the FIND module of the government-wide electronic grants Web site at https://www.grants.gov. Applications may be submitted to FTA in hard copy or electronically through the GRANTS.GOV APPLY function.

The Department of Energy (the ``Department'') seeks comment and information from the public concerning its plans for an electricity transmission congestion study and possible designation of National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (``NIETCs'') in a report based on the study pursuant to section 1221(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Through this notice of inquiry, the Department invites comment on draft criteria for gauging the suitability of geographic areas as NIETCs and announces a public technical conference concerning the criteria for evaluation of candidate areas as NIETCs.

MAG Energy Solutions Inc. (MAG E.S.) has applied for authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act.

The FHWA, to ensure widespread distribution of implementation guidance on the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144), is announcing the availability of a Web site that contains SAFETEA-LU implementation guidance issued by the FHWA. The implementation guidance is available at the following URL: https:// www.fhwa.dot.gov/safetealu/reference.htm. This Web site will serve as a consolidated location to obtain all SAFETEA-LU implementation guidance issued by the agency.

This is notice of a meeting of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee. The next Review Committee meeting is a public teleconference on March 3, 2006, to consider the disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains; discuss the agenda for the Review Committee meeting tentatively scheduled for May 30-31, 2006, in Juneau, AK; review the Review Committee's meeting, findings, and dispute procedures; and receive presentations and statements by Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, museums, Federal agencies, and the public.