2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

The Office of Personnel Management is issuing an interim rule to change the timing of local wage surveys in the Harrison, Mississippi, nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area. The purpose of this change is to avoid conducting future surveys in this area during the hurricane season.

The following permits were issued.

We (Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent a request to OMB to renew approval for our information collection associated with the mourning dove call count survey. The current OMB control number for this information collection is 1018-0010, which expires October 31, 2005. We have requested that OMB renew approval of this information collection for a 3-year term.

In accordance with the Agency's May 24, 1995, ``Guidance on Agreements with Prospective Purchasers of Contaminated Property,'' notice is hereby given of a proposed prospective purchaser agreement (``PPA agreement'') with The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC (``Respondent'') concerning Respondent's ground lease of an approximately 9-acre parcel of real property (the ``Property'') included within the Liberty Industrial Finishing Superfund Site in the Village of Farmingdale, Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York (the ``Site'') and Respondent's potential use of the Property by construction and operation of a shopping center including a supermarket and fueling facility. Under the PPA agreement, the United States would covenant not to sue or take administrative action against Respondent under section 106 or 107(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (``CERCLA'') if Respondent becomes an operator of the Property. In consideration, Respondent would perform work at the Site that EPA has valued at approximately $100,000 and will also pay to EPA the amount of $12,500. By publication of this Notice, a thirty (30) day period has been established in which the Agency will accept written comments relating to the PPA agreement. The Agency will consider all comments received and may modify or withdraw its consent to the PPA agreement if comments received disclose facts or considerations which indicate that the agreement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. The Agency's response to any comments received will be available for public inspection at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, Office of Regional Counsel, New York/Caribbean Superfund Branch, 290 Broadway, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866.

This notice announces the Twelfth Meeting of the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force. The purpose of this Task Force, consisting of Federal, State, and Tribal members, is to lead efforts to coordinate and support nutrient management and hypoxia- related activities in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico watersheds. The major matters to be discussed at the meeting is the activities of the Sub-Basin Teams and the Reassessment of the Action Plan for Reducing, Mitigating, and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. The Action Plan was developed in fulfillment of a requirement of section 604(b) of the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research Control Act (Pub. L. 105-383Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998) to submit a scientific assessment of hypoxia and a plan for reducing, mitigating, and controlling hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. The Action Plan was submitted as a Report to Congress on January 18, 2001, and the eleventh action item is a reassessment of the actions every five years. The public will be afforded an opportunity to provide input to the Task Force during open discussion periods.

This gives notice of OPM decisions granting authority to make appointments under Schedules A, B, and C in the excepted service as required by 5 CFR 6.6 and 213.103.

The NOAA Open Rivers Initiative (ORI) provides funding to catalyze the implementation of locally-driven barrier removal projects that remove dams and other barriers, in order to benefit living marine resources, particularly diadromous fish. Projects funded through ORI grants will have strong on-the-ground habitat restoration components that foster economic, educational, and social benefits for citizens and their communities in addition to long-term ecological habitat improvements for NOAA trust resources. The role of NOAA in this initiative is to provide funding and technical assistance for barrier removal projects. Proposals selected for funding through this solicitation will be implemented through a cooperative agreement. Funding of up to $6,000,000 is expected to be available for the ORI Project Grants competition in FY 2007. The NOAA Restoration Center (RC) within the Office of Habitat Conservation will administer this grants initiative, and anticipates that typical awards will range from $50,000 to $250,000 per project. Although a select few may exceed this range, project proposals requesting over $1,000,000 will not be accepted or reviewed. To help expedite the implementation of on-the-ground components of barrier removal projects in 2007, up to $1,000,000 may be made available in 2006 from a related NOAA grants program to support feasibility, engineering, and/or design elements of a small number of projects where the same application also seeks funding for on-the- ground removal activities.

As stipulated by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is hereby giving notice that the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) will hold a meeting. The meeting is open to the public.

The Fish and Wildlife Service announces that the Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge are available for distribution. The plan and environmental impact statement were prepared pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, and in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and describe how the refuge will be managed over the next 15 years. The compatibility determinations for hunting, fishing, environmental education and interpretation, trapping of selected furbearers for management, forest management, and resource research studies are also available within the plan.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Western Montana Resource Advisory Council will meet as indicated below.