September 9, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing that it will hold a public meeting on September 29-30, 2005, in Miami, Florida, to review and discuss the progress made by the Food Safety Institute of the Americas (FSIA). The FSIA was created as an innovative approach for integrating scientific food safety education, information, communication, and outreach in the Americas. During the public meeting, the following issues relating to the FSIA will be discussed: (1) Presentation of assessment and analysis of educational and informational needs identified through a survey administered by FSIA's partners, the University of Florida and Miami Dade College; (2) presentation of FSIA's 3-5 year Strategic Plan; (3) establishing strategies and best practices for developing and delivering programs identified through the needs survey; and (4) planning next steps for the FSIA in fostering collaboration and partnership development of the proposed FSIA colleges. The public meeting will be an interactive session. Discussions will be conducted in plenary sessions for each of the above four issues.

EPA issued a notice in the Federal Register of July 13, 2005, concerning the availability of EPA's human health and environmental fate and effects risk assessments and related documents for the fumigant methyl bromide. This document is extending the comment period for 30 days, from September 12, 2005 to October 12, 2005.

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), NMFS closed portions of Federal waters of the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and southern New England from June 14, 2005, through September 30, 2005, to the harvest for human consumption of certain bivalve molluscan shellfish due to the presence in those waters of the toxin that causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP). The FDA has determined that harvesting for human consumption of bivalve molluscan shellfish other than whole and roe-on scallops from a portion of the closed area is now safe and may be resumed. As a result, NMFS is modifying its previous closure to allow such fishing.

On February 24, 2004, the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) in cooperation with NMFS announced its intent to prepare a programmatic EIS and Omnibus Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for Northeast Multispecies, Atlantic Sea Scallop, Monkfish, Atlantic Herring, Skates, Atlantic Salmon, and Red Crab. The purpose of this notification is to alert the interested public of the Council's intent to complete Omnibus Amendment 2 in a two-phased approach. Phase 1 (Volume 1 of the EIS) would include a review and update of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) designations and consideration of Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs) (not including consideration of management measures or restrictions), an update of the prey species list, an update of non-fishing impacts, and an update of research and information needs. Phase 2 (Volume 2 of the EIS) would include reviewing and updating a gear effects evaluation and optimizing management measures for minimizing the adverse effects of fishing on EFH across all FMPs, including the potential consideration of management measures for HAPCs designated in Phase 1. During this scoping period, the Council and NMFS are seeking comments on the phased approach only.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) announces the award of a cooperative agreement that will be funded on a competitive continuing basis to the National Native American Emergency Medical Services Association (NNAEMSA) for a demonstration project to improve emergency medical services for Native American people by improving communications between the IHS and the Native American Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers; by improving communications and information among other federal agencies, professional organizations and Native American EMS providers; and by supporting an Annual Educational Conference. Project Period: The cooperative agreement is for a five-year project period effective on or about September 15, 2005 to September 14, 2010. Amount of Award(s): Total funding for the project is $450,000. Funding in the amount of $90,000.00 is available in FY 2005. Continuation awards within an approved project period will be made on the basis of satisfactory progress as evidenced by required reports and the availability of funds.

NICEATM announces a second meeting of an expert panel by teleconference on September 19, 2005, to evaluate (1) revised accuracy and reliability analyses of four in vitro test methods proposed for detecting ocular corrosives and severe irritants and (2) a revised list of proposed reference substances for validation studies on in vitro test methods for identifying ocular corrosives and severe irritants. The four in vitro test methods under consideration are the (1) Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability (BCOP) assay, (2) Hen's Egg Test Chorion Allantoic Membrane (HET-CAM), (3) Isolated Rabbit Eye (IRE) assay, and (4) Isolated Chicken Eye (ICE) assay. The revised analyses and revised list of proposed reference substances are available in an addendum to the draft Background Review Documents (BRDs) for the four methods (available at https://iccvam.niehs.nih.gov/methods/ocudocs/ reanalysis.htm). A previous Federal Register notice solicited public comment on the revised analyses and revised list of proposed reference substances (Vol. 70, No. 142, pg. 43149, July 26, 2005). Comments submitted in response to the July 26, 2005 Federal Register notice will be considered at the expert panel meeting and do not need to be resubmitted. The public is invited to attend the teleconference and will be provided with an opportunity to make oral comments during the public comment period. Interested individuals can attend the meeting via a phone line or in person at the NIEHS campus (see ADDRESSES below). Participation is limited only by the number of phone lines available and by the number of available seats at the teleconference site. Additional meeting information may be obtained on the ICCVAM/ NICEATM Web site (https://iccvam.niehs.nih.gov) or by contacting NICEATM (see ADDRESSES below).

EPA is proposing to approve the May 12, 2005 negative declaration letter submitted by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). The negative declaration certifies that existing CISWI units, subject to Clean Air Act (the Act) requirements of sections 111(d) and 129 and the related emissions guidelines (EG), have been permanently shut down and have been dismantled in the State of Maryland. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the MDE certification as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial action and anticipates no adverse comments. 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 Director of the Office of Ecosystem Protection at the Environmental Protection Agency's New England Regional Office (EPA-NE), is issuing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permits to cover discharges of contaminated ground and surface waters in Massachusetts (MA), New Hampshire (NH), as well as in Indian Country lands located in MA, to surface receiving waters (waters of the United States) related to the following: groundwater remediation activities; construction projects where chemical contamination is present in the water; well development or rehabilitation and aquifer pump testing at formerly contaminated sites; clean-up of industrial sumps; hydrostatic testing of pipelines and tanks; and short-term testing at dredging projects not covered by a permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers. The purpose of this document is to inform the public that the new general permit in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, known as the Remediation General Permit (RGP), is now available. The Notice of Availability for the draft RGP was published in the Federal Register on November 2, 2004 (69 FR 63531). In response to a number of requests, on December 8, 2004, EPA-NE extended the comment period from December 17, 2004, to January 18, 2005. During the public comment period, EPA-NE received 18 sets of comments regarding the RGP. EPA-NE prepared a response-to-comments document and made a number of corresponding changes to the RGP, including, but not limited to: removing utility vaults and manholes from the applicability, allowing the use of historic data in certain circumstances, expanding the period of intermittent shutdowns from 90 to 120 days, etc. The response-to-comments document is available with the final general permit. The final RGP establishes notification requirements, effluent limitations, monitoring requirements, and administrative requirements, as well as other standards, conditions, prohibitions, and management practices for discharges to both fresh and marine waters. The RGP does not cover new sources as defined under 40 CFR 122.2. Also, the final RGP does not cover discharges from utility vaults and manholes, as proposed. Rather, EPA plans to develop a separate general permit for that discharge category.

EPA's expressed concerns regarding the pesticide application procedures and small landowner exemptions that could have potential effects on water quality. Rating EC2.

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 has given the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) a key role in helping to realize nationwide improvements in voting systems. NIST research activities authorized by HAVA include the security of computers, computer networks, and computer data storage used in voting systems, methods to detect and prevent fraud, and protection of voter privacy and the role of human factors in the design and application of voting systems. To assist NIST in its role of developing guidance for the security and related usability of electronic voting systems, NIST plans to solicit the election community's participation in a workshop to develop an analysis of threats to voting systems. The election community members include election directors and officials, voting system researchers, election system vendors, threat experts in related areas, and others in the public and private sector. It is anticipated that the workshop will result in a published overview and analysis of threats to voting systems, and how in general these threats can be mitigated. The goal of the workshop is to gather further threat analysis material and input to material already developed from participants so that, together, these may be used to drive the creation of appropriate requirements for the security of voting systems. Participants in the workshop are encouraged to submit a position paper to the conference by September 30, 2005. Position papers and other submitted materials will be made publicly available on the NIST voting Web site. There will be time available for open public comment. The detailed draft agenda and supporting documentation for the workshop will be made available prior to the workshop at the NIST voting Web site https://vote.nist.gov/threats/.

The Administration for Children and Families announces publication of the Biennial Report to Congress on the Status of Children in Head Start Programs, Fiscal Year (FY) 2003. The report is mandated under Section 650 of the Head Start Act, as amended, which requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit a report to Congress at least once during every two-year period on the status of children in Head Start programs. During FY 2003 more than 909,000 children were enrolled in Head Start programs including 62,000 children in Early Head Start programs serving children between birth and three years of age.

This notice announces an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee under the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000. 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.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Maritime Administration's (MARAD's) intention to request extension of approval for three years of a currently approved information collection.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Maritime Administration's (MARAD's) intention to request extension of approval for three years of a currently approved information collection.

Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption, part 11 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), this notice contains the disposition of certain petitions previously received. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of any petition or its final disposition.

This notice announces the Presidio Trust's receipt of and availability for public comment on an application from New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC for installation of a wireless telecommunications facilities site (``Project'') in The Presidio of San Francisco. The proposed location of the Project is the south side of the MacArthur Tunnel. The Project involves (i) installing a 32-foot pole with two sets of antennae panels and power and telecommunications panels, (ii) placing the associated telecommunications equipment within three cabinets on a concrete pad, and (iii) mounting two antennae on the south face of the MacArthur Tunnel wall. Power and telecommunications service will be brought to the site via underground trench. Comments: Comments on the proposed project must be sent to Steve Carp, Presidio Trust, 34 Graham Street, P.O. Box 29052, San Francisco, CA 94129-0052, and be received by October 12, 2005. A copy of Cingular's application is available upon request to the Presidio Trust.