January 10, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On December 30, 2004, CEMEX, S.A. de C.V. (``CEMEX'') filed a First Request for Panel Review with the United States Section of the NAFTA Secretariat pursuant to Article 1904 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Panel review was requested of the 13th administrative review made by the International Trade Administration, respecting Gray Portland Cement and Clinker from Mexico. A second request for panel review was filed on January 3, 2005 on behalf of GCC Cementos, S.A. de C.V. (``GCCC''). This determination was published in the Federal Register (69 FR 77989) on December 29, 2004. The NAFTA Secretariat has assigned Case Number USA-MEX-2004-1904-03 to this request.

On January 3, 2005, the Chairman of CITA received a petition from Alston & Bird, LLP, on behalf of their client, Ge-Ray Fabrics, Inc., that a certain anti-microbial elastomeric filament yarn, of the specifications below, classified in under subheadings 5402.49.9005 and 5404.10.8005 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) cannot be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner. The petition requests that apparel articles from such yarns or from U.S. formed fabrics containing such yarns be eligible for preferential treatment under the AGOA, the CBTPA, and the ATPDEA. CITA hereby solicits public comments on this request, in particular with regard to whether such yarns can be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner. Comments must be submitted by January 25,2005 to the Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, Room 3001, United States Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230.

The State of Utah has submitted to EPA several amendments to its State Plan for Certification of Pesticide Applicators. The proposed amendments add new subcategories as well as a Memorandum of Understanding regarding future implementation of an EPA federal pesticide certification program for the Navajo Indian Country. Notice is hereby given of the intention of the Regional Administrator, Region VIII, to approve the revised Plan for the Certification of Applicators. EPA is soliciting comments on the proposed amendments.

This proposed rule would revise the regulations governing the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance program for hospitals. The rule would update and incorporate some earlier provisions that currently are not published as part of the FHA regulations. Further, the rule would add new provisions to make them consistent with current industry practices. The rule also would codify the relevant regulations that address hospital mortgage insurance in one part, and therefore make the regulations more user-friendly.

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is publishing notice of a proposal to add a new system of records. The new system of records, ``State-Provided Physician Records for the Application Submission & Processing System, SDB, BHPr, HRSA,'' will cover health care practitioners who are the subjects of databases collected and maintained by State Primary Care Offices/Associations. Such health care practitioners include physicians (both M.D.s and D.O.s), licensed or otherwise authorized by a State to provide health care services. This system of records is required to comply with the implementation directives of the Act, Public Law 108-20. The records will be used to support the Application Submission and Processing System electronic application for the development, submission, and review of applications for HPSAs and MUPs. The most critical requirement for accurate designation determinations is accurate data on the location of primary care providers relative to the population. To this end, SDB continually tries to obtain the latest data on primary care providers and their practice location(s) at the lowest geographical level possible for use in the designation process, with the objective of minimizing the level of effort required on the part of States and communities seeking designations.

This notice announces an administrative hearing to be held on January 20, 2005, at 10 a.m., 233 North Michigan Avenue, Minnesota Room, Chicago, Illinois 60601 to reconsider the decision to disapprove Indiana State Plan Amendment (SPA) 02-021. Closing Date: Requests to participate in the hearing as a party must be received by the presiding officer by January 25, 2005.

In accordance with requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the FDIC hereby gives notice that it plans to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for OMB review and approval of the two information collection systems described below.

NMFS proposes initial specifications for the 2005 fishing year for Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish (MSB). Regulations governing these fisheries require NMFS to publish proposed specifications for the upcoming fishing year and to provide an opportunity for public comment. The intent of this action is to fulfill this requirement and to promote the development and conservation of the MSB resources.

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), announcement is made of the following meeting:

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EMSSAB), Northern New Mexico. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. No. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.

Under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to revise certain requirements for the Toxic Chemical Release Inventory. The purpose of these revisions is to reduce reporting burden associated with the Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Reporting requirements without compromising the usefulness of the information to the public. This proposal is one of several efforts being undertaken by EPA to reduce the reporting burden associated with the Agency's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program. It is not anticipated to impact any protections for human health and the environment. The Agency will continue to provide valuable information to the public pursuant to EPCRA section 313 and the Pollution Prevention Act regarding toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities. If adopted, today's proposed action would simplify a number of TRI reporting requirements; remove some data elements from the Form R and Form A Certification Statement (hereafter referred to as Form A) that can be obtained from other EPA information collection databases, or are rarely used, and update the regulations to provide corrected contact information and descriptions of the Forms R and A data elements. EPA expects these proposed changes to improve TRI reporting efficiency and effectiveness, as well as reduce reporting burden.

Due to the receipt of an adverse comment, the EPA is withdrawing the November 10, 2004 (69 FR 65069), direct final rule approving revisions to Wisconsin's State Implementation Plan regarding the control of nitrogen oxide emissions. In the direct final rule, EPA stated that if adverse comments were submitted by December 10, 2004, the rule would be withdrawn and not take effect. On December 10, 2004, EPA received a comment. EPA believes this comment is adverse and, therefore, EPA is withdrawing the direct final rule. EPA will address the comment in a subsequent final action based upon the proposed action also published on November 10, 2004 (69 FR 65117). EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the fourth public meeting of the Water Security Working Group (WSWG) of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC), which was established under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The purpose of this meeting is to provide an opportunity for the WSWG members to continue deliberations on the features of active and effective security programs for drinking water and wastewater utilities (water sector), to continue deliberations on incentives to encourage broad adoption of active and effective security programs in the water sector, and to continue deliberations on measures of the performance of water security programs. The focus of the meeting will be on review of draft recommendations on incentives and development of performance measures. The WSWG findings and recommendations will be provided to the NDWAC for their consideration. The WSWG anticipates providing findings and recommendations to the NDWAC in spring 2005. One additional meeting of the WSWG is planned and will be announced in the near future.

On October 13, 2004, the EPA issued direct final amendments to the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for pushing, quenching, and battery stacks at new and existing coke oven batteries. The amendments were issued as a direct final rule, along with a parallel proposal to be used as the basis for final action in the event EPA received any significant adverse comments on the direct final amendments. Because a significant adverse comment was received on one provision, EPA is withdrawing the corresponding parts of the direct final rule. We will address the adverse comment in a subsequent final rule based on the parallel proposal published on October 13, 2004.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2004. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request for a new collection. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

EPA is proposing to approve a request from the State of West Virginia to redesignate the City of Weirton, including the Clay and Butler Magisterial Districts, from nonattainment to attainment of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide (SO2). EPA is also proposing to approve a maintenance plan for the area as a SIP revision which would put in place a plan for maintaining the NAAQS for SO2 for the next ten years. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's SIP submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A more detailed description of the state submittal and EPA's evaluation are included in a Technical Support Document (TSD) prepared in support of this rulemaking action. A copy of the TSD is available, upon request, from the EPA Regional Office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

The Department of the Navy (DON) hereby gives notice of implementing its instruction (SECNAVINST 7220.85), an internal regulation that establishes the responsibilities and procedures within DON regarding the payment of back pay to any person who, by reason of being interned as a POW while serving as a member of the Navy or Marine Corps during World War II (WW II), was not available to accept a promotion for which the person had been selected.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the re-opening of the comment period for public review of a draft Recovery Plan for the sentry milk-vetch (Astragalus cremnophylax var. cremnophylax) for an additional 30 days. The original public comment period was held from September 14, 2004 to October 14, 2004. We are re- opening the public comment period in response to a specific request from the National Park Service, Grand Canyon National Park (Park) to allow additional time for public review of this draft Recovery Plan. All known populations of the species occur on land managed by the Park in Coconino County, Arizona.