Chemical Mixtures; Temporary Waiver of Import/Export Requirements, 5925-5926 [05-2212]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 23 / Friday, February 4, 2005 / Rules and Regulations (ii) In the case of a customer who does not qualify as an ‘‘institutional customer’’ as defined in § 1.3(g) of this chapter, an introducing broker must obtain the customer’s prior consent through a signed acknowledgment, which may be accomplished in accordance with § 1.55(d) of this chapter. * * * * * Dated: January 27, 2005. By the Commission. Jean A. Webb, Secretary of the Commission. [FR Doc. 05–1906 Filed 2–3–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6351–01–M DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Drug Enforcement Administration 21 CFR Parts 1310 and 1313 [Docket No. DEA–137N] RIN 1117–AA31 Chemical Mixtures; Temporary Waiver of Import/Export Requirements Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Justice. ACTION: Temporary waiver of import/ export requirements. AGENCY: SUMMARY: On December 15, 2004, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) published a final rule that implemented regulations pertaining to chemical mixtures that contain any of 27 listed chemicals regulated under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.). That rulemaking became effective on January 14, 2005. Following publication of the final rule, certain segments of the chemical industry expressed concerns to DEA regarding difficulty in fully complying with DEA import/export notification requirements as specified in 21 CFR part 1313 by this deadline. Therefore, in order to avoid interruption of legitimate import/export distributions, DEA is providing a waiver of the import/export reporting requirements as specified in 21 CFR part 1313 until May 14, 2005. As such, regulated persons will temporarily not be required to submit advance notification for import, export and transshipment transactions for chemical mixtures regulated solely due to the presence of these 27 listed chemicals until May 14, 2005. This temporary waiver applies only to import, export and transshipment notification requirements; all other chemical control requirements set forth in the final rulemaking published on VerDate jul<14>2003 14:01 Feb 03, 2005 Jkt 205001 December 15, 2004, shall remain in full force and effect. DATES: Effective February 4, 2005. The new deadline for providing import, export and transshipment notification for regulated chemical mixtures containing these 27 listed chemicals will be May 14, 2005. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine A. Sannerud, Ph.D., Chief, Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section, Office of Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington, DC 20537, telephone (202) 307–7183 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 15, 2004, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) published a final rule (69 FR 74957) that implemented regulations pertaining to chemical mixtures that contain any of 27 listed chemicals regulated under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). That rulemaking became effective on January 14, 2005. Following publication of the final rule concerns were raised by various segments of the chemical industry regarding their difficulty in fully complying with DEA import/export notification requirements as specified in 21 CFR part 1313 by this deadline. DEA received correspondence from two national chemical associations and from one major chemical producer. Additionally, DEA received verbal communication from industry that expressed concerns regarding the large number of potentially affected mixtures and the difficulty industry was having in meeting deadlines for submitting import/export notification. After carefully considering the concerns expressed by industry, DEA has decided to postpone the implementation of the import/export notification requirements as specified in 21 CFR part 1313 until May 14, 2005. This temporary waiver shall apply only to chemical mixtures which became regulated under the December 15, 2004 final rule (69 FR 74957). While the submission of import, export and transshipment information to DEA is an important provision in countering the potential diversion of these materials, this temporary waiver is being provided to allow industry ample time to ensure their full compliance with CSA import/export regulatory requirements as specified in 21 CFR part 1313. As such, DEA will be temporarily waiving the requirement for regulated persons to submit advance notification for import, export and transshipment transactions for chemical mixtures which are regulated solely due to the presence of the 27 listed chemicals PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 5925 which were the subject of the December 15, 2004 final rule. This temporary waiver applies only to import, export and transshipment notification requirements. All other chemical control requirements set forth in the final rulemaking published on December 15, 2004 (69 FR 74957) shall remain in full force and effect. The new deadline for providing import, export and transshipment notification for regulated chemical mixtures containing these 27 listed chemicals will be May 14, 2005. Provisions of December 15, 2004 Final Rule (69 FR 74957) Which Do Not Change For any person distributing, importing, or exporting any amount of a regulated mixture containing a List I chemical, the CSA requires that person to obtain a DEA registration. DEA recognizes that it is not possible for persons who are subject to the registration requirement to immediately complete and submit an application for registration and for DEA to immediately issue registrations for those activities. Therefore, in order to allow continued legitimate commerce in regulated mixtures, the December 15, 2004 final rule established a temporary exemption from the registration requirement (in 21 CFR 1310.09) for persons desiring to engage in activities with regulated mixtures that are subject to registration requirements, provided that DEA receives a properly completed application for registration or an application for exemption (pursuant to 21 CFR 1310.13) for their chemical mixture(s) on or before February 14, 2005. The temporary exemption from registration for such persons will remain in effect until DEA takes final action on their application(s). Any person whose application for exemption is subsequently rejected by DEA must obtain a registration with DEA. A temporary exemption from the registration requirement will also be provided for these persons, if DEA receives a properly completed application for registration on or before 30 days following the date of official DEA notification that the application for exemption has not been approved. The deadline for submission of an application for registration, or an application for exemption, remains February 14, 2005 in order to obtain the temporary exemption from registration. None of the temporary exemptions discussed in this rulemaking suspend applicable federal criminal laws relating to the regulated mixtures, nor does it supersede state or local laws or regulations. All handlers of a regulated E:\FR\FM\04FER1.SGM 04FER1 5926 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 23 / Friday, February 4, 2005 / Rules and Regulations mixture must comply with applicable state and local requirements in addition to the CSA regulatory controls. Dated: January 28, 2005. William J. Walker, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Diversion Control. [FR Doc. 05–2212 Filed 2–3–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410–09–P DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Part 17 RIN 2900–AK94 Payment for Non-VA Physician and Other Health Care Professional Services Associated With Either Outpatient or Inpatient Care Provided at Non-VA Facilities Department of Veterans Affairs. Final rule. AGENCY: ACTION: SUMMARY: This final rule amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical regulations concerning payment for non-VA health care professional services that are associated with either outpatient or inpatient care provided to eligible VA beneficiaries at non-VA facilities. Currently, the medical regulations require all VA facilities to reimburse for non-VA health care professional services based upon the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) physician fee schedule in effect at the time the services are provided. However, if the standard payment methodology is implemented in Alaska, VA payments will be significantly less than the usual and customary charges for the state. This may limit VA patient access to non-VA health care. Since a large portion of VA health care provided in Alaska is obtained from non-VA sources, this could negatively impact the quality of care provided veterans living in that state. This rule establishes an Alaskaspecific payment methodology for inpatient and outpatient non-VA health care professional services within that state. The rule ensures that amounts paid to health care providers represent the local cost to furnish a service, while continuing to achieve program cost reductions. DATES: Effective Date: This rule shall become effective on March 7, 2005. Applicability Date: This rule shall be applicable to all claims for payment for services rendered on or after April 1, 2005. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Schmetzer, Chief, Policy & VerDate jul<14>2003 14:01 Feb 03, 2005 Jkt 205001 Compliance Division, Health Administration Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, P.O. Box 65020, Denver, CO 80206, telephone 303–331– 7552. (This is not a toll-free number.) SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a document published in the Federal Register on July 29, 2003 (68 FR 44507) we proposed to amend VA’s medical regulations at 38 CFR part 17 to provide for the payment of non-VA physician services in Alaska that are associated with either outpatient or inpatient care provided to eligible VA beneficiaries at non-VA facilities. We provided a 60-day comment period that ended on September 29, 2003. We received one comment, in which the commenter suggested that VA adopt the Official Alaska Workers’ Compensation Medical Fee Schedule as a basis for such payments. No changes are made based on this comment, as adoption of the Official Alaska Workers’ Compensation Medical Fee Schedule would not achieve the dual goal of ensuring that the amounts paid to health care providers better represent the local cost to furnish a service, while continuing to achieve program cost reductions. A number of technical changes of a non-substantive nature have been made in this final rule. The proposed rule described the title of this rule as Payment for Non-VA Physician Services Associated with Either Outpatient or Inpatient Care Provided at Non-VA Facilities. The use of the phrase ‘‘nonVA physician,’’ both in the title of 38 CFR 17.56 and throughout the regulation, is imprecise, as the rule applies to all non-VA physician and other health care professional services associated with outpatient or inpatient care provided at non-VA facilities. In order to reconcile the terminology used in this rule with common practice in VA, the phrase ‘‘non-VA physician’’ will be replaced with ‘‘non-VA health care professional services.’’ Additionally, the language was clarified to state the rates payable are based on the geographic location of where the services were rendered. The proposed rule stated that VA would rely on Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes utilized by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to pay for these non-VA services. The reference to CPT codes was too restrictive, as CMS uses other national coding sets for health care professional services. Therefore, the references to CPT codes were removed. The final rule refers generally to the use of national standard code sets. The proposed rule referenced Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 as the base year for PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 determining various costs. In light of the passage of time since publication of the proposed rule, and in order to reflect the most up-to-date data, this reference has been changed to FY 2003 throughout the final rule. The proposed rule stated that for services that VA did not have occasion to pay for in Alaska in FY 2002, and for services represented by CPT codes established after FY 2002, VA will take the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ rate for each unpaid code and multiply it times the average percentage paid by VA in Alaska for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-like codes. Applying this rule only to services that VA had no occasion to pay during the previous Fiscal Year was unnecessarily narrow and would limit VA’s ability to accurately gauge a reasonable payment. It is also inconsistent with other provisions of this rule, which require a minimum of eight occurrences. Therefore, the final rule has been revised to apply this rule to services that VA provided less than eight times in Alaska during the previous Fiscal Year. Clarification was also made that this rule would be applicable to unit-based codes as the VA moved from a single payment per code irrespective of units to unit-based payment in FY 2004, and development of a fee schedule that is not unit-based would be inconsistent and inaccurate. The proposed rule stated that VA would increase the amounts on the VA Fee Schedule for Alaska annually in accordance with annual inflation rate adjustments published by CMS. The VA will use the national Medicare Economic Index (MEI) for that purpose. The MEI measures inflation in physician practice cost and general wage levels. The VA will not make modifications to the MEI based on regional factors because doing so would not achieve the dual goal of ensuring that the amounts paid to health care providers represent the local cost to furnish a service, while continuing to achieve program cost reductions. Administrative Procedure Act The modifications in this final rule are logical and reasonable outgrowths of the proposed changes set forth in the proposed rule and are intended to clarify the intent of the proposed rule. Based on the rationales set forth in the proposed rule and those contained in this document, we are adopting the provisions of the proposed rule as a final rule with the modifications described above. E:\FR\FM\04FER1.SGM 04FER1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 23 (Friday, February 4, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 5925-5926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-2212]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration

21 CFR Parts 1310 and 1313

[Docket No. DEA-137N]
RIN 1117-AA31


Chemical Mixtures; Temporary Waiver of Import/Export Requirements

AGENCY: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Justice.

ACTION: Temporary waiver of import/export requirements.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On December 15, 2004, the Drug Enforcement Administration 
(DEA) published a final rule that implemented regulations pertaining to 
chemical mixtures that contain any of 27 listed chemicals regulated 
under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.). That 
rulemaking became effective on January 14, 2005.
    Following publication of the final rule, certain segments of the 
chemical industry expressed concerns to DEA regarding difficulty in 
fully complying with DEA import/export notification requirements as 
specified in 21 CFR part 1313 by this deadline. Therefore, in order to 
avoid interruption of legitimate import/export distributions, DEA is 
providing a waiver of the import/export reporting requirements as 
specified in 21 CFR part 1313 until May 14, 2005. As such, regulated 
persons will temporarily not be required to submit advance notification 
for import, export and transshipment transactions for chemical mixtures 
regulated solely due to the presence of these 27 listed chemicals until 
May 14, 2005. This temporary waiver applies only to import, export and 
transshipment notification requirements; all other chemical control 
requirements set forth in the final rulemaking published on December 
15, 2004, shall remain in full force and effect.

DATES: Effective February 4, 2005. The new deadline for providing 
import, export and transshipment notification for regulated chemical 
mixtures containing these 27 listed chemicals will be May 14, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine A. Sannerud, Ph.D., Chief, 
Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section, Office of Diversion Control, Drug 
Enforcement Administration, Washington, DC 20537, telephone (202) 307-
7183

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 15, 2004, the Drug Enforcement 
Administration (DEA) published a final rule (69 FR 74957) that 
implemented regulations pertaining to chemical mixtures that contain 
any of 27 listed chemicals regulated under the Controlled Substances 
Act (CSA). That rulemaking became effective on January 14, 2005.
    Following publication of the final rule concerns were raised by 
various segments of the chemical industry regarding their difficulty in 
fully complying with DEA import/export notification requirements as 
specified in 21 CFR part 1313 by this deadline. DEA received 
correspondence from two national chemical associations and from one 
major chemical producer. Additionally, DEA received verbal 
communication from industry that expressed concerns regarding the large 
number of potentially affected mixtures and the difficulty industry was 
having in meeting deadlines for submitting import/export notification. 
After carefully considering the concerns expressed by industry, DEA has 
decided to postpone the implementation of the import/export 
notification requirements as specified in 21 CFR part 1313 until May 
14, 2005. This temporary waiver shall apply only to chemical mixtures 
which became regulated under the December 15, 2004 final rule (69 FR 
74957).
    While the submission of import, export and transshipment 
information to DEA is an important provision in countering the 
potential diversion of these materials, this temporary waiver is being 
provided to allow industry ample time to ensure their full compliance 
with CSA import/export regulatory requirements as specified in 21 CFR 
part 1313. As such, DEA will be temporarily waiving the requirement for 
regulated persons to submit advance notification for import, export and 
transshipment transactions for chemical mixtures which are regulated 
solely due to the presence of the 27 listed chemicals which were the 
subject of the December 15, 2004 final rule. This temporary waiver 
applies only to import, export and transshipment notification 
requirements. All other chemical control requirements set forth in the 
final rulemaking published on December 15, 2004 (69 FR 74957) shall 
remain in full force and effect.
    The new deadline for providing import, export and transshipment 
notification for regulated chemical mixtures containing these 27 listed 
chemicals will be May 14, 2005.

Provisions of December 15, 2004 Final Rule (69 FR 74957) Which Do Not 
Change

    For any person distributing, importing, or exporting any amount of 
a regulated mixture containing a List I chemical, the CSA requires that 
person to obtain a DEA registration. DEA recognizes that it is not 
possible for persons who are subject to the registration requirement to 
immediately complete and submit an application for registration and for 
DEA to immediately issue registrations for those activities. Therefore, 
in order to allow continued legitimate commerce in regulated mixtures, 
the December 15, 2004 final rule established a temporary exemption from 
the registration requirement (in 21 CFR 1310.09) for persons desiring 
to engage in activities with regulated mixtures that are subject to 
registration requirements, provided that DEA receives a properly 
completed application for registration or an application for exemption 
(pursuant to 21 CFR 1310.13) for their chemical mixture(s) on or before 
February 14, 2005. The temporary exemption from registration for such 
persons will remain in effect until DEA takes final action on their 
application(s).
    Any person whose application for exemption is subsequently rejected 
by DEA must obtain a registration with DEA. A temporary exemption from 
the registration requirement will also be provided for these persons, 
if DEA receives a properly completed application for registration on or 
before 30 days following the date of official DEA notification that the 
application for exemption has not been approved. The deadline for 
submission of an application for registration, or an application for 
exemption, remains February 14, 2005 in order to obtain the temporary 
exemption from registration.
    None of the temporary exemptions discussed in this rulemaking 
suspend applicable federal criminal laws relating to the regulated 
mixtures, nor does it supersede state or local laws or regulations. All 
handlers of a regulated

[[Page 5926]]

mixture must comply with applicable state and local requirements in 
addition to the CSA regulatory controls.

    Dated: January 28, 2005.
William J. Walker,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Diversion Control.
[FR Doc. 05-2212 Filed 2-3-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
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