June 23, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with section 202(c) of the National Housing Act, this notice advises of the cause and description of certain administrative actions taken by HUD's Mortgagee Review Board against HUD-approved mortgagees. This notice of administrative actions relates solely to the failure of Title I lenders and Title II mortgagees to submit an acceptable annual audited financial statement and/or payment of the annual fee in order to renew their FHA lender approval as part of the annual recertification process.

An open meeting of the Area 2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted (via teleconference). The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Joint Committee of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted via teleconference. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comment, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

The Corps of Engineers is proposing regulations to establish a restricted area around the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD), Parris Island, South Carolina including areas within the Broad River, the Beaufort River, Battery Creek, Archers Creek, Ballast Creek and Ribbon Creek in the vicinity of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina. The MCRD restricted area will surround Parris Island and Horse Island and the causeways in between. The purpose of these regulations is to provide effective security in the vicinity of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

PHMSA is extending until September 6, 2005, the period for interested persons to submit comments on the March 9, 2005 notice of proposed rulemaking. In the March 9, 2005 NPRM, we proposed to amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations to adopt standards for the design, construction, maintenance and use of cylinders and multiple-element gas containers (MEGCs) based on the standards contained in the United Nations (UN) Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods. Aligning the HMR with the UN Recommendations will promote flexibility, permit the use of technological advances for the manufacture of pressure receptacles, provide for a broader selection of pressure receptacles, reduce the need for exemptions, and facilitate international commerce in the transportation of compressed gases.

The State of Vermont has applied to EPA for Final authorization of certain changes to its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA has determined that these changes satisfy all requirements needed to qualify for Final authorization, and is authorizing the State's changes through this immediate final action. EPA is publishing this rule to authorize the changes without a prior proposal because we believe this action is not controversial and do not expect comments that oppose it. Unless we receive written comments that oppose this authorization during the comment period, the decision to authorize Vermont's changes to its hazardous waste program will take effect. If we receive comments that oppose this action, we will publish a document in the Federal Register withdrawing this rule before it takes effect and a separate document published today in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register will serve as the proposal to authorize the changes.

In accordance with section 122(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 9622(i), notice is hereby given of a proposed administrative ability-to-pay settlement with Velsicol Chemical Corporation relating to Paragraph 15 of the August 9, 2002 Settlement Agreement approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in In re Fruit of the Loom, Inc., No. 99-4497(PJW) and to Paragraph 15 of the August 28, 2002 Agreement and Settlement for Recovery of Response Costs, EPA Docket No. 00-51-C (Region 4). These Agreements relate to the following sites: The Velsicol/Hardeman County Landfill Superfund Site, Toone, Hardeman County, Tennessee; the Velsicol Chemical Superfund Site, St. Louis, Michigan; the Woodridge/ Berry's Creek Superfund Site, Wood-Ridge and Carlstadt, New Jersey; the North Hollywood Dump Superfund Site, Memphis Tennessee, the Residue Hill Site, Chattanooga, Tennessee; the Marshall 23 Acre Site, Marshall, Illinois; the Breckenridge Site, Breckenridge, Michigan; the Mathis Brothers/South Marble Top Road Landfill Superfund Site; Kensington, Walker County, Georgia; the Valley Chemical Superfund Site, Greenville, Mississippi; the Tennessee Products Superfund Site, Chattanooga, Tennessee; the Former Coke Production Plant Property, Chattanooga, Tennessee; and the Shaver's Farm Superfund Site, Lafayette, Walker County, Georgia. The proposed administrative settlement requires Velsicol Chemical Corporation to pay $1,454,000 million to resolve its liability under Paragraph 15 of the August 9, 2002 Settlement Agreement and foregoes further recovery under Paragraph 15 of the August 28, 2002 Agreement. EPA will consider public comments on the Agreement until July 25, 2005. EPA may withdraw from or modify the Agreement if such comments should disclose facts or considerations which indicate the Agreement is inappropriate, improper or inadequate. Copies of the proposed settlement are available from: Ms. Paula V. Batchelor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Waste Management Division, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303, 404/562-8887, Batchelor.Paula@epa.gov. Written comments may be submitted to Ms. Batchelor at the above address by July 25, 2005.

This document announces the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) responses to Agency clearance requests, in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15.

In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement agreement, to address a petition for writ of mandamus filed by Sierra Club in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit: In re Sierra Club, No. 04-1370 (D.C. Cir.). On October 28, 2004, Petitioner filed a petition asking the Court to issue a writ of mandamus directing EPA to complete remand proceedings ordered by the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in National Lime Ass'n v. EPA, 233 F.3d 625 (D.C. Cir. 2000) to revise the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Portland cement kilns' emissions of mercury, hydrogen chloride, and total hydrocarbons, and to consider setting more stringent emission standards for Portland cement kilns' emissions of non-mercury HAP metals. Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, no later than one year after signature of this agreement, EPA shall publish a notice of final rulemaking which responds to the remand order.

The FMCSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register on June 8, 2005, concerning request for comments on proposed revisions to the cargo securement requirements. The NPRM contained an incorrect docket number in which comments must be received.

DEA is amending its regulations to allow qualified practitioners not otherwise registered as a narcotic treatment program to dispense and prescribe to narcotic dependent persons Schedule III, IV, and V narcotic controlled drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration specifically for use in maintenance or detoxification treatment. This Final Rule is in response to amendments to the Controlled Substances Act by the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA) that are designed to expand and improve treatment of narcotic addiction. This Final Rule is intended to accomplish the goals of DATA while preventing the diversion of Schedule III, IV, and V narcotic controlled drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration specifically for maintenance/detoxification treatment.

We are amending the phytosanitary treatments regulations to allow leaves of the California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica) to be treated with vacuum heat before being moved interstate from any area quarantined because of Phytophthora ramorum. This action will provide an alternative to the hot water dip that had been the only approved treatment for the greenery of host plants, which include California bay laurel leaves, but that ruined the suitability of the leaves for use as a dried spice.

In an interim rule published in the Federal Register on May 10, 2004, we amended the regulations concerning the importation of animals and animal products to prohibit or restrict the importation of birds, poultry, and bird and poultry products from regions that have reported the presence of the H5N1 subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza and to establish additional permit and quarantine requirements for U.S. origin pet birds and performing or theatrical birds and poultry returning to the United States. In the preamble of the interim rule, we specified that the additional restrictions in part 94 would apply only to unprocessed bird and poultry products, but mistakenly omitted the word ``unprocessed'' in the rule portion; in this document, we are correcting this error.

OSHA intends to re-charter the Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (MACOSH), which expires in April 2005. MACOSH advises the Secretary of Labor on matters relating to occupational safety and health programs, new initiatives, and standards for the maritime industries of the United States which include Longshoring, Marine Terminals, and Shipyards. The Committee will consist of 15 members and will be chosen from among a cross-section of individuals who represent the following interests: employers, employees; Federal and State safety and health organizations; professional organizations specializing in occupational safety and health; and national standards setting groups. OSHA invites persons interested in serving on MACOSH to submit their names for consideration for committee membership.