March 8, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

This rule increases the assessment rate established for the California Desert Grape Administrative Committee (committee) for the 2005 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.015 to $0.0175 per 18-pound lug of grapes handled. The committee locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of grapes grown in a designated area of southeastern California. Authorization to assess grape handlers enables the committee to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the program. The fiscal period began January 1 and ends December 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

This rule increases the assessment rate and changes the assessable unit established for the Vidalia Onion Committee (Committee) for the 2005 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.12 per 50-pound bag or equivalent to $0.10 per 40-pound carton of Vidalia onions. The assessment rate of $0.10 per 40-pound carton is $0.0001 per pound more than the assessment rate previously in effect. The Committee locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of Vidalia onions grown in Georgia. Authorization to assess Vidalia onion handlers enables the Committee to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the program. The fiscal period began January 1 and ends December 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

This notice informs the research community that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is requesting applications for competitive supplemental grants from the seven Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) for which it provided funding in fiscal year 2004. The purpose of the competitive supplements is to provide funds for existing CERTs research centers to build on and to expand their research work and expertise with respect to comparative effectiveness research specifically to carry out short term projects that will address research gaps in priority subject areas identified and published pursuant to section 1013 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA). Since the inception of the CERTs program in 1999, the CERTs research centers have gathered significant data regarding therapeutics, refined research methodologies, and developed collaborative research resources. They are therefore uniquely prepared and suited to efficiently carry out pharmaco-epidemiology and methodological studies related to comparative effectiveness research that is pertinent to developing therapeutic evidence identified as being of high interest to the Medicare, Medicaid or SCHIP programs. For this reason, this solicitation will be for a limited competition among CERTs grantees.

Based on the agency's evaluation, NHTSA denies the petition for rulemaking from Mr. Kazyaka of TVK Industries, Inc. to amend our safety standards to require the shift patterns on vehicles equipped with manual transmissions to be illuminated and to indicate the gear selected.

This notice modifies the scope of recognition of certain Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTLs) primarily as a result of the withdrawal of certain test standards by the standards developing organizations.

NOAA publishes this notice to announce the availability of a Proposed NOAA Policy and Process for Creating and Managing Cooperative Institutes for public comment.

John Massaro (Applicant) requests an incidental take permit (ITP) pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), as amended (Act). The Applicant anticipates take of the Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) and eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi) incidental to construction of a mixed residential and commercial use subdivision with supporting infrastructure in Brevard County, Florida. Construction and its associated infrastructure would destroy about 9.67 acres of foraging, sheltering, and possibly nesting habitat for the scrub-jay that is also possibly used by the indigo snake. A more detailed description of the mitigation and minimization measures to address the effects of the Project to the protected species are outlined in the Applicant's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), the Service's Environmental Assessment (EA), and in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. The Service also announces the availability of the EA and HCP for the incidental take application. Copies of the EA and/or HCP may be obtained by making a request to the Regional Office (see ADDRESSES). Requests must be in writing to be processed. This notice also advises the public that the Service has made a preliminary determination that issuing the ITP is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended. The Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is based on information contained in the EA and HCP. The final determination will be made no sooner than 60 days from the date of this notice. This notice is provided pursuant to Section 10 of the Act and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Uncompahgre Field Office is implementing supplementary rules to regulate conduct on specific public lands within Escalante Canyon in Montrose and Delta Counties. The rules apply to the following Escalante Canyon recreation sites: Escalante Bridge boat launch site, Escalante Canyon Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), and the Potholes Recreation Area. BLM has determined these rules necessary to protect the area's natural resources and to provide for safe public recreation, public health, and reduce the potential for damage to sensitive resources including unique riparian areas and threatened and rare plant species and habitat.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)'s Royal Gorge Field Office is proposing supplementary rules. The proposed supplementary rules would implement three decisions from the Gold Belt Travel Management Plan, approved August 18, 2004. These supplementary rules would apply to the public lands within the Gold Belt Travel Management Plan area under the management of the Royal Gorge Field Office, in El Paso, Fremont, Park, and Teller Counties, Colorado. The rules are needed in order to protect the area's natural resources and provide for public health and safety.

The public land described in this Notice in the Las Vegas Valley, Clark County, Nevada, has been examined and found suitable for conveyance for recreational or public purposes under the provisions of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 869 et. seq.).

This order withdraws 1,960.10 acres of public land from surface entry and mining for a period of 20 years for the Bureau of Land Management to protect wild horse and wildlife habitat, and watershed, recreation, cultural, and scenic values within the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range.

In accordance with title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 8364.1 notice is hereby given that all the below listed land, administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is closed to the discharge of firearms for the purpose of target shooting. The closure encompasses the Sacramento River Bend Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and nearby scattered parcels, as well as future public land encompassed by the below descriptions. This immediate closure is necessary to protect human health and safety in an area of increasing recreational use and population growth.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A320 series airplanes. This proposed AD would require post-maintenance bleeding of accumulated air from, or ground functional testing of, the ram air turbine (RAT) system; modifying and reidentifying the airborne ground check module of the RAT system; and replacing the RAT reducer assembly if applicable. This proposed AD is prompted by reports of unsuccessful in-flight RAT tests during which a deployed RAT failed to pressurize the blue hydraulic circuit of the RAT system. We are proposing this AD to prevent failure of the RAT during an in-flight emergency, which could lead to loss of hydraulic and electrical power and reduced controllability of the airplane.

This document proposes superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to Eurocopter France (Eurocopter) Model EC 155B, SA-365N and N1, AS-365N2, and AS 365 N3 helicopters. That AD currently requires inspecting the hydraulic brake hose (hose) for crazing, pinching, distortion, or leaks at the torque link hinge and replacing the hose, if necessary. That AD also requires inspecting the hose and the emergency flotation gear pipe to ensure adequate clearance, and adjusting the landing gear leg, if necessary. This action would require the same actions as the existing AD and would add a model to the applicability. This proposal is prompted by notification by the manufacturer and the European Authority that another affected model helicopter, the Model EC155B1, may have the same unsafe condition and should be added to the existing AD. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent failure of a hose, resulting in failure of hydraulic pressure to the brakes on the affected landing gear wheel, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter during a run-on landing.

This notice announces that TSA has forwarded the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. TSA published a Federal Register notice, with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments, of the following collection of information on November 22, 2004, 69 FR 67933.

This notice announces HUD's intention to sell certain unsubsidized multifamily and healthcare mortgage loans, without Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance, in a competitive, sealed bid sale (MHLS 2005-1). This notice also describes generally the bidding process for the sale and certain persons who are ineligible to bid.

The Secretary of Education requests comments on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that the Secretary proposes to use for the 2006-2007 award year. The FAFSA is completed by students and their families and the information submitted on the form is used to determine the students' eligibility and financial need for financial aid under the student financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (Title IV, HEA Programs). The Secretary also requests comments on changes under consideration for the 2006-2007 award year FAFSA.

Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce is announcing a thirty day public comment period on the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan Revision which will begin on the day this announcement is published. Comments should be sent within the comment period in hard copy or e- mail to Cory Riley at Cory.Riley@noaa.gov or NOAA's Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, 10th floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910. The Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve was designated in 1993 pursuant to section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1461. The reserve has been operating under a management plan approved in 1993. Pursuant to 15 CFR 921.33(c), a state must revise its management plan every five years. The submission of this plan fulfills this requirement and sets a course for successful implementation of the goals and objectives of the reserve. Changes in the administrative structure of the reserve, a boundary expansion, new facility and land acquisition plans, and updated programmatic objectives are notable revisions to the 1993 approved management plan. When the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve was designated, it was managed jointly by three divisions within the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Since that time, the Division of Soil and Water has become the sole state agency administering reserve activities. The revised management plan outlines the administrative structure; the education, stewardship, and research goals of the reserve; and the plans for future land acquisition and facility development to support reserve operations. One hundred and forty seven (147) acres adjacent to the Blackbird Creek component site are incorporated through the boundary amendment in the management plan revision. The previous reserve boundary around Blackbird Creek did not include an access point to the estuarine habitat. The expansion adds land that was acquired in fee simple from willing sellers. The new boundary and will provide direct access to the Blackbird Creek for reserve related research and education programs. These parcels also provide excellent passive recreation and educational opportunities in an area that was previously not accessible to the public. Forested uplands, wetlands and marsh habitat will be protected through this expansion to ensure the Blackbird Creek component is an appropriate site for long term research and education.