Agencies and Commissions September 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the following proposal for the collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The NRC published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period on this information collection on June 9, 2009.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing significant revisions to its processes for overseeing the safety and security of fuel cycle facilities. The NRC plans to develop a revised oversight process for fuel cycle facilities that is more risk-informed, and performance-based, resulting in more objective, predictable, and transparent results of licensee or certificate holder assessments. (This notice will use ``licensees'' throughout, but in doing so the intent is also to include ``certificate holders.'') Current oversight consists mainly of inspections, enforcement and periodic assessments based on inspection findings. NRC staff intends that any revised oversight would not establish any new regulatory requirements. Rather, revised oversight would improve inspection and assessment so that NRC conclusions would be more closely based on risk and more understandable to members of the public. Revised oversight could potentially add objective measures of performance, called performance indicators, with criteria for measuring acceptable performance. However, development of performance indicators may not be part of the initial revision to the oversight process. Inspections would focus in areas of highest risk that are not well-measured by performance indicators and on validating performance indicator information. Assessments would be based on more objective criteria. Supplemental inspections (those above and beyond the number and type of inspections normal for a well-performing plant) of licensees whose performance shows indications of decline, would also be based on objective criteria. These principles are currently applied by the NRC in the oversight of power reactor safety and security and is outlined in ``Reactor Oversight Process,'' NUREG-1649, (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System [ADAMS] Accession No. ML070890365).

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

Each applicant, a closed-end investment company, seeks an order declaring that it has ceased to be an investment company. Applicants have never made a public offering of their securities and do not propose to make a public offering or engage in business of any kind.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Section 872 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. Section 872 requires the General Services Administration to establish and maintain a data system containing specific information on the integrity and performance of covered Federal agency contractors and grantees. Section 872 also requires awarding officials to review the data system and consider other past performance information when making any past performance evaluation or responsibility determination.

In the Federal Register of December 29, 2003 (68 FR 74878), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (``Commission'') published a notice of proposed rulemaking under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (``FHSA'') to reduce the unreasonable risk of injury associated with bath seats. On August 14, 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (``CPSIA'') was enacted. Section 104(b) of the CPSIA requires the Commission to promulgate consumer product safety standards for durable infant or toddler products, which are to be ``substantially the same as'' applicable voluntary standards (or more stringent requirements if they would further reduce the risk of injury associated with the product). Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Commission is proposing a safety standard for infant bath seats in response to section 104(b) of the CPSIA. The rulemaking initiated under the FHSA is superseded by section 104(b) of the CPSIA. Accordingly, the Commission has terminated the infant bath seat rulemaking initiated under the FHSA.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (``CPSC'' or ``Commission'') is proposing to revoke certain regulations pertaining to baby-bouncers, walker-jumpers, baby-walkers, and similar products. CPSC is taking this action because the regulations, which originally were issued in 1971, are outdated and do not provide the degree of safety that is provided by currently manufactured baby-walkers that comply with a more effective voluntary standard. This action also will eliminate confusion about whether manufacturers should certify that their products comply with these regulations or with a new mandatory safety standard for baby-walkers proposed elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that GSA is planning to submit a request to replace an emergency Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Before submitting this ICR to OMB for review and approval, GSA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.