December 20, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Education (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies publish semiannual regulatory agendas in the Federal Register describing regulatory actions they are developing that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 602). Executive Order 12866 ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' signed September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735) and Office of Management and Budget memoranda implementing section 4 of that Order establish minimum standards for agencies' agendas, including specific types of information for each entry. Section 4 of Executive Order 12866 also directs that each agency prepare, as part of its submission to the fall edition of the Unified Agenda, a regulatory plan of the most important significant regulatory actions that the agency reasonably expects to issue in proposed or final form during the upcoming fiscal year. The Regulatory Plan (Plan) and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda) help agencies fulfill these requirements.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that two 1-year letters of authorization (LOA) have been issued to the U.S Navy (Navy) for the incidental take of marine mammals during: Navy activities within the NWTRC, off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and northern California, for the period of October 2010 through October 2011, and; Navy activities conducted in the Mariana Islands Range Complex (MIRC) study area for the period of July 2010 through July 2011. These activities are considered military readiness activities pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2004 (NDAA).

This action would amend the regulations implementing the American Fisheries Act that require cooperatives participating in the directed fishery for pollock in the Bering Sea to prepare and submit preliminary annual reports to the North Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. The Council determined that the requirement for a preliminary annual report is no longer necessary. However, this proposed action would retain the requirement for the cooperatives to submit a single annual report to the Council. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and other applicable laws.

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), notice is hereby given of the following meeting of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Designation of Medically Underserved Populations and Health Professional Shortage Areas.

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), notice is hereby given of the following meeting of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Designation of Medically Underserved Populations and Health Professional Shortage Areas.

FinCEN is inviting the public to nominate financial institutions and trade groups for membership on the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group. New members will be selected for three-year membership terms.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), and the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR part 1500-1508), the Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS) has prepared and approved a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the South Florida and Caribbean Parks Exotic Plant Management Plan. The nine parks included in this Plan are: Big Cypress National Preserve, Biscayne National Park, Canaveral National Seashore, Dry Tortugas National Park, Everglades National Park, Buck Island Reef National Monument, Christiansted National Historic Site, Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve, and Virgin Islands National Park. The ROD documents the decision by the NPS to implement Alternative C (New Framework for Exotic Plant management: Increased Planning, Monitoring, and Mitigation, with an Emphasis on Active Restoration of Native Plants) as the selected action for the South Florida and Caribbean Parks Exotic Plant Management Plan. Alternative C was also identified in the Final EIS as the environmentally preferable alternative. The selected action is necessary to promote restoration of native species and habitat conditions in ecosystems that have been invaded by exotic plants and to protect park resources and values from adverse effects resulting from exotic plant presence and control activities. The intended effects or objectives of this action are to: Establish priorities for exotic plants to be treated and treatment locations in parks; Reduce the number of individual targeted exotic plants to minimize the threat to natural resources (native habitat, plants, and wildlife); Reduce to the greatest extent possible the introduction of new exotic plants into parks; Ensure that park exotic plant management programs support, and are consistent with, south Florida ecosystem restoration goals; Reconcile potential conflicts between preservation of significant cultural landscapes and removal of exotic plants; Preserve plants and sites valued by native Americans and other traditional cultures and protect archeological and historic resources, while reducing the spread of exotic plant species; Conduct the exotic plant management plan so it is continually monitored and improved, environmentally safe, incorporates best management practices, and supports and is supported by science and research; Minimize unintended impacts of control measures on park resources, visitors, employees, and the public; Use Federal resources with increased efficiency; Ensure that control measures are consistent with the Wilderness Act and NPS wilderness policy; Increase visitor and public awareness of the impacts exotic plants have on native habitat and species and on cultural resources, building support for NPS management efforts; Coordinate NPS efforts with partners and neighbors (nationally and internationally) to establish compatible goals and provide assistance to achieve them; and Restore and protect native plant communities in ways that allow natural processes, function, cycles, and biota to be re- established and maintained in perpetuity.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected costs and burden; it includes the actual data collection instruments [if any].

The EPA is hereby granting a waiver of the Buy American requirements of ARRA Section 1605 under the authority of Section 1605(b)(2) [manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality] to the Woodlake Tax District (``District'') in Woodbury, Connecticut for the purchase of a submersible well pump as part of the construction of a new bedrock well field and raw water transmission line. This is a project specific waiver and only applies to the use of the specified product for the ARRA project being proposed. Any other ARRA recipient that wishes to use the same product must apply for a separate waiver based on project specific circumstances. Based upon information submitted by the District and its consulting engineer, it has been determined that there are currently no domestically manufactured submersible well pumps available to meet its proposed project specifications. The Regional Administrator is making this determination based on the review and recommendations of the Municipal Assistance Unit. The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Administration and Resources Management has concurred on this decision to make an exception to Section 1605 of ARRA. This action permits the purchase of a 3 inch diameter submersible well pump by the District, as specified in its October 19, 2010 request.

EPA is extending the comment period for a document published on November 19, 2010 (75 FR 70888). In the November 19, 2010 document, EPA proposed a finding that the Utah State Implementation Plan (SIP) is substantially inadequate to attain or maintain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) or to otherwise comply with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA), based on Utah's rule R307-107, which exempts emissions during unavoidable breakdowns from compliance with emission limitations. At the request of several commentors, EPA is extending the comment period through January 3, 2011.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency) is soliciting comments from stakeholders on strategies to address the prevalence of animal drug products marketed in the United States without approval or other legal marketing status. FDA is concerned that the safety and effectiveness of these actively-marketed products has not been demonstrated. Therefore, the Agency is requesting comments on approaches for increasing the number of legally-marketed animal drug products, as well as on the use of enforcement discretion for some unapproved animal drug products in certain limited circumstances.

Pursuant to section 10 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92 463; 5 U.S.C. APP. 1), notice is hereby given to announce an open meeting of the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship (ACA) being held on January 10-11, 2011. The ACA, an advisory board to the Secretary of Labor, is a discretionary Committee established by the Secretary of Labor, in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended 5 U.S.C., App. 2, and its implementing regulations (41 CFR 101-6 and 102-3). All meetings of the ACA are open to the public.

The purpose of this RFI is to collect information relating to assessment technology standards. Toward that end, we are posing a series of questions to which we invite interested members of the public to respond. The Department anticipates making use of this information in the following ways. First of all, we expect to use this information to help determine the appropriate interoperability standards for assessments and related work developed under the Race to the Top Assessment (RTTA) program. Secondly, we expect to use this information to help us develop related standards-based programs. For example, we might, in the future, offer additional grants, contracts, or awards and some of those offerings may include similar interoperability requirements. This RFI may be used to help set the interoperability requirements for those offerings as well as the existing RTTA program. Under the RTTA program, the Department requires grantees to develop assessments that (see https://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop- assessment/executive-summary.pdf, p. 78): ``5. Maximize the interoperability of assessments across technology platforms and the ability for States to switch their assessments from one technology platform to another by (a) Developing all assessment items to an industry-recognized open- licensed interoperability standard that is approved by the Department during the grant period, without non-standard extensions or additions; and (b) Producing all student-level data in a manner consistent with an industry-recognized open-licensed interoperability standard that is approved by the Department during the grant period.''

The Department of Education (Department) gives notice that on July 17, 2009, an arbitration panel rendered a decision in the matter of Jerry Bird v. Oregon Commission for the Blind, Case no. R-S/07-2. This panel was convened by the Department under 20 U.S.C. 107d-1(a), after the Department received a complaint filed by the petitioner, Jerry Bird.

The Department of Commerce (``Department'') hereby publishes a list of scope rulings completed between April 1, 2010, and June 30, 2010. In conjunction with this list, the Department is also publishing a list of requests for scope rulings and anticircumvention determinations pending as of June 30, 2010. We intend to publish future lists after the close of the next calendar quarter.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), with the concurrence of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), intends to issue an interim regulation for employees of the FLRA that supplements the executive-branch-wide Standards of Ethical Conduct (Standards) issued by OGE. The supplemental regulation: Establishes procedures for seeking prior approval for outside employment; prohibits certain outside employment; and requires employees who disqualify themselves from participation in particular matters for ethical reasons to notify their supervisors and the Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) of that disqualification.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect approval of an abbreviated new animal drug application (ANADA) filed by Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. The ANADA provides for veterinary prescription use of mupirocin ointment for the treatment of bacterial skin infections in dogs.

The Department of the Treasury published a document in the Federal Register on November 23, 2010, inviting comments on collections of information submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. This document contained an incorrect reference.