August 26, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces a Town Hall meeting on the Medicare Provider Feedback Group (MPFG). The purpose of the meeting is to solicit facts and opinions from individual Medicare providers and suppliers on a variety of Medicare policy and operational issues. All Medicare providers and suppliers that participate in the Medicare program, including physicians, hospitals, home health agencies, and other third-party billers, are invited to attend this meeting. We will consider facts and opinions obtained from individual Medicare providers and suppliers. The meeting is open to the public, but attendance is limited to space available.

The FAA is withdrawing a previously published Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that sought public comment on issues about the use of child restraint systems (CRSs) in aircraft. Specifically, we sought crash performance and ease-of-use information about existing and new automotive CRSs, when used in aircraft. We also sought information about the development of any new or improved CRSs designed exclusively for aircraft use. We are withdrawing the document to pursue other options that will mitigate the risk of child injuries and fatalities in aircraft.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is amending two regulations to allow for full implementation of the Wage Determinations OnLine (WDOL) Internet Web site (https://www.wdol.gov) as the source for federal contracting agencies to use when obtaining wage determinations issued by the DOL for service contracts subject to the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) and for construction contracts subject to the Davis- Bacon Act and Related Acts (DBRA).

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Short Brothers Model SD3-60 airplanes. This AD requires an inspection of the rudder for damage, an inspection of the balance weight attachment for discrepancies, an inspection of the rudder horn spar and cleats for cracking and corrosion, and corrective action if necessary. This AD results from events in which fatigue cracking was found on the rudder horn spar. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking and corrosion of the rudder horn spar, which could lead to detachment of the mass balance weight of the rudder. The detachment of the mass balance weight could jam or restrict the movement of the rudder, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane. Loss of a mass balance weight could also damage other parts of the airplane, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane, or could result in an injury to a person or damage to property on the ground.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

This document corrects technical errors that appeared in the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on July 25, 2005 entitled ``Medicare Program; Proposed Changes to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Calendar Year 2006 Payment Rates; Proposed Rule.''

The EPA is approving revisions to the South Carolina and Georgia State Implementation Plans (SIPs), submitted by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD), respectively, for the Early Action Compact (EAC) areas in South Carolina and Georgia. The proposed SIP revisions were submitted on December 29, 2004, by South Carolina and December 31, 2004, by Georgia. There are ten EAC areas in South Carolina and Georgia covered by this final action: the Appalachian, Catawba, Pee Dee, Waccamaw, Santee Lynches, Berkeley- Charleston-Dorchester, Low Country, Lower Savannah, Central Midlands, and Upper Savannah EAC Areas. Only the Lower Savannah EAC Area has counties in both South Carolina and Georgia. For the purposes of this document, however, all of the above listed EAC areas will be collectively referred to as the ``South Carolina and Georgia EAC Areas.'' The SIP revisions meet the requirements for the South Carolina and Georgia EAC Areas to attain and maintain the 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (the 8-hour ozone standard) as described in the EAC Protocol and related regulations. EPA is also now approving the photochemical modeling used by South Carolina and Georgia to support the attainment and maintenance demonstrations of the 8-hour ozone standard in the South Carolina and Georgia EAC Areas. The revisions being approved today further incorporate regulatory control measures into the South Carolina SIP, including two Statewide regulations pertaining to control of nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions and open burning. In addition, this final action also corrects inadvertent errors in the May 26, 2005, proposal document relating to these SIP revisions (70 FR 30396). In today's final action, EPA is not finalizing its proposed rulemaking to defer the effective date of the nonattainment designations for EAC areas. In a separate action, published on June 8, 2005, EPA proposed to defer the effective date of the nonattainment deferred designation for EAC areas until December 31, 2006 (69 FR 23858). EPA final action on the deferral is expected to be published before September 30, 2005.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations for Fitness for Duty (FFD) programs to update the rule and enhance consistency with advances in other relevant Federal rules and guidelines, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (HHS Guidelines), and other Federal drug and alcohol testing programs that impose similar requirements on NRC licensees. The proposed amendments would require nuclear power plant licensees to strengthen the effectiveness of their FFD programs in ensuring against worker fatigue adversely affecting public health and safety and the common defense and security by establishing clear and enforceable requirements for the management of worker fatigue; and ensure consistency with the NRC's access authorization requirements for nuclear power plants. The proposed rule would ensure that individuals who are subject to these regulations are trustworthy and reliable, as demonstrated by avoiding substance abuse; are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol while performing their duties; and are not mentally or physically impaired from any other cause, that would in any way adversely affect their ability to perform their duties safely and competently. This proposed rule would also grant, in part, a petition for rulemaking (PRM-26-1) submitted by Virginia Electric and Power Company (now Dominion Virginia Power) on December 30, 1993, by relaxing several required FFD program audit frequencies, and would partially grant a petition for rulemaking (PRM-26-2) submitted by Barry Quigley on December 28, 1999.