October 7, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM or ``we'') is issuing this interim final rule to amend regulations for the leasing of hydrocarbons, except coal, gilsonite and oil shale, in special tar sand areas. In this rule, BLM amends our regulations to respond to provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that allow separate oil and gas leases and tar sand leases in special tar sand areas, specify several oil and gas leasing practices that apply to tar sand leases, increase the maximum size for combined hydrocarbon leases and tar sand leases, and set the minimum acceptable bid for tar sand leases at $2.00 per acre. The law requiring these changes also requires that this rule be published as a final rule within 45 days of enactment. This is an interim final rule. Although the rule is effective upon publication, there is a 60-day comment period that starts on the date of publication. After the comment period, we will review the comments and may issue a further final rule making any necessary changes.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Bureau of Land Management-Eastern States (BLM-ES) is temporarily closing the Maryland Point property formerly known as the Maryland Point Naval Observatory. This closure complies with the requirements of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to provide for the safety of the public. The authority for this closure is found in 43 CFR 8364.1. The closure is necessary to protect the public from hazardous materials and conditions remaining from past military use.

The goal of this final rule is to increase immunization rates in Medicare and Medicaid participating long term care (LTC) facilities by requiring LTC facilities to offer each resident immunization against influenza annually, as well as lifetime immunization against pneumococcal disease. LTC facilities will be required to ensure that before offering the immunization, each resident or the resident's legal representative receives education regarding the benefits and potential side effects of immunization. The facilities will be required to offer immunization against influenza annually and immunization against pneumococcal disease once, unless medically contraindicated or the resident or the resident's legal representative refuses immunization. Increasing the use of Medicare-funded preventive services is a goal of both CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This final rule is intended to increase the number of elderly receiving influenza and pneumococcal immunization and decrease the morbidity and mortality rate from influenza and pneumococcal diseases.

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

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is issuing this final rule to amend its mineral resources regulations to increase certain fees and to impose new fees to cover BLM's costs of processing documents relating to its minerals programs. The new fees include costs of actions such as environmental studies performed by BLM, lease applications, name changes, corporate mergers, lease consolidations and reinstatements, and other processing-related costs. BLM established some fixed fees and some fees on a case-by-case basis. BLM based these fee changes on statutory authorities, which authorize us to charge for our processing costs, and on policy guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) requiring BLM to charge these fees. This rule also responds to recommendations issued in audit reports by the DOI's Office of Inspector General (OIG). The final rule also reflects changes to the proposed rule required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is amending its hazardous materials (hazmat) training requirements for certain air carriers and commercial operators. In addition, the FAA is requiring that certain repair stations provide documentation showing that persons handling hazmat for transportation have been trained, as required by the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs). The FAA is updating its regulations because hazmat transportation and the aviation industry have changed significantly since the FAA promulgated its hazmat regulations over 25 years ago. The rule will set clear hazmat training standards and ensure uniform compliance with hazmat training requirements.