2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On October 24, 2005 the Chairman of CITA received a request from Quaker Fabrics alleging that certain acrylic staple fibers, classified in subheading 5503.30.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), cannot be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner and requesting that CITA consider whether the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) rule of origin for chenille fabric classified under HTSUS 5801.36.0000 should be modified to allow the use of non-North American acrylic staple fiber. The President may proclaim a modification to the NAFTA rules of origin only after reaching an agreement with the other NAFTA countries on the modification. CITA hereby solicits public comments on this request, in particular with regard to whether acrylic staple fiber can be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner. Comments must be submitted by January 9, 2006. to the Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, Room 3001, United States Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230.

On October 28, 2005, the Chairman of CITA received a request from Alston & Bird LLP, on behalf of Polymer Group, Inc. (PGI), alleging that rayon viscose staple fiber, classified in subheading 5504.10 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), cannot be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner and requesting that CITA consider whether the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) rule of origin for nonwoven wipes classified under HTSUS subheadings 5603.91, 5603.92, 5603.93 and 5603.94 should be modified to allow the use of non-North American viscose rayon staple fiber. The President may proclaim a modification to the NAFTA rules of origin only after reaching an agreement with the other NAFTA countries on the modification. CITA hereby solicits public comments on this request, in particular with regard to whether woven fabrics of the type described below can be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner. Comments must be submitted by January 9, 2006 to the Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, Room 3001, United States Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230.

The Office of Citizen Exchanges of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for grants that support exchanges and build relationships between U.S. non- profit organizations and civil society groups in Africa, East Asia, Eurasia, Europe, the Near East, North Africa, South Asia and the Western Hemisphere. U.S. public and non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue code section 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) may submit proposals that support the goals of The Professional Exchanges Program. Projects should promote mutual understanding and partnerships between key professional groups in the United States and counterpart groups in other countries through multi- phased exchanges taking place over one to three years. Proposals should further transformational democracy which seeks to encourage and support the development of more democratic societies and institutions, with a view toward creating a more stable world. To the fullest extent possible, programs should be two-way exchanges supporting roughly equal numbers of participants from the U.S. and foreign countries. Proposed projects should promote the transformation of institutional and individual understanding, foster dialogue, share expertise and develop capacity in one of five thematic areas: (1) Responsible Governance; (2) Developing Professional Standards in Media; (3) Creating Economic Growth to Fight Poverty and Strengthen Democracy; (4) Dialogue on Intellectual Property or Municipal Governance as a Device for Bridging Conflict; and (5) Integration of Marginalized Populations, Particularly Youth, in Western Europe. Through these people-to-people exchanges, the Bureau seeks to break down stereotypes that divide peoples, to promote good governance, to contribute to conflict prevention and management, and to build respect for cultural expression and identity in a world that is experiencing rapid globalization. Projects should be structured to allow American professionals and their international counterparts in target countries to develop a common dialogue for dealing with shared challenges and concerns. Projects should include current or potential leaders who will effect positive change in their communities. Exchange participants might include community leaders, elected and professional government officials, religious leaders, educators, and proponents of democratic ideals and institutions, including for example, the media and judiciary, or others who influence the way in which different communities approach these issues. The Bureau is especially interested in engaging socially and economically diverse groups that may not have had extensive contact with counterpart institutions in the United States. The Bureau encourages the submission of proposals that engage these audiences in countries with significant Muslim populations, or that engage educators or groups that influence youth in innovative ways. Applicants may not submit proposals that address more than one region or for countries that are not designated in the RFGP. For the purposes of this competition, eligible regions are Africa, East Asia, Eurasia, Europe, the Near East, North Africa, South Asia, and the Western Hemisphere. No guarantee is made or implied that grants will be awarded in all themes and for all countries listed. Requests for grant proposals on the creation, performance, or presentation of artistic work will be announced in a separate competition. Please refer to section III.3 for information on eligibility requirements.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the document, Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Gilberton Coal-to-Clean Fuels and Power Project (DOE/EIS-0357), for public comment. The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) analyzes the potential environmental consequences of providing federal funding for the design, engineering, construction, and operation of the first power facility in the United States to use coal waste as feed to a gasification facility that subsequently generates fuel gas for clean power, thermal energy, and clean liquid fuels production. The project would be constructed at an existing power plant site in Gilberton, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The Department prepared this draft EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations that implement the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and the DOE procedures implementing NEPA (10 CFR part 1021). DOE's proposed action (and preferred alternative) is to provide cost-shared funding to design, construct, and operate a new plant to demonstrate coproduction of 41 MW of electricity for export, steam, and over 5,000 barrels-per-day of clean liquid hydrocarbon products (primarily diesel fuel and naptha). DOE may also provide a loan guarantee, pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, to guarantee a portion of the private sector financing for the project. The demonstration plant would use a gasifier to convert coal waste to synthesis gas, which would be conveyed to Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) liquefaction facilities for production of liquid fuels and to a combined-cycle power plant. The demonstration facilities, to be constructed in Gilberton, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, would process up to 4,700 tons per day of coal waste (anthracite culm). The potential environmental impacts of this action are evaluated in this Draft EIS. The Draft EIS also analyzed the No Action Alternative, under which DOE would not provide cost-shared funding to demonstrate the commercial-scale integration of coal gasification and F-T synthesis technology to produce electricity, steam and liquid fuels. Under the No-Action Alternative, it is reasonably foreseeable that no new activity would occur.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is publishing this notice of petitions received under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (``the Program''), as required by Section 2112(b)(2) of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, as amended. While the Secretary of Health and Human Services is named as the respondent in all proceedings brought by the filing of petitions for compensation under the Program, the United States Court of Federal Claims is charged by statute with responsibility for considering and acting upon the petitions.

This is a notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the Commonwealth of Kentucky (FEMA-1617-DR), dated December 1, 2005, and related determinations.

The Department of the Navy hereby gives notice of its intent to grant to Expression Pathology, Inc., a revocable, nonassignable, exclusive license to practice in the field of consumables for laser microdissection of human tissue samples for life science research, therapeutics and clinical diagnostic applications in the United States and certain foreign countries, the Government-owned inventions described in U.S. Patent No. 6,905,738: Generation of Viable Cell Active Biomaterial Patterns by Laser Transfer, Navy Case No. 79,702.// U.S. Patent No. 6,936,311: Generation of Biomaterial Microarrays by Laser Transfer, Navy Case No. 82,621.//U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 10/863,833: Biological Laser Printing for Tissue Microdissection via Indirect Photon-Biomaterial Interactions, Navy Case No. 96,075.// U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 10/863,850: Biological Laser Printing for Tissue Microdissection via Indirect Photon-Biomaterial Interactions, Navy Case No. 84,621 and any continuations, divisionals or re-issues thereof.

The inventions listed below are assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Navy and are available for licensing by the Department of the Navy. U.S. Patent Number 6,121,911 entitled ``Data gathering circuit having reduced power consumption'', Navy Case Number 77551, Inventors Alloca et al, Issue date September 29, 2000. U.S. Patent Number 6,125,270 entitled ``Verification system for transmitters and command tone generators'', Navy Case Number 78452, Inventor Prockup, Issue date September 26, 2000. U.S. Patent Number 6,450,449 entitled ``Crashworthy seat'', Navy Case Number 79150, Inventors Podob et al, Issue date September 17, 2002. U.S. Patent Number 6,484,072 entitled ``Embedded terrain awareness warning system for aircraft'', Navy Case Number 83144, Inventors Anderson et al, Issue date November 19, 2002. U.S. Patent Number 6,557,570 entitled ``Portable apparatus for cleaning a conduit and method for cleaning a conduit'', Navy Case Number 82426, Inventors Gierbolini et al, Issue date May 06, 2003. U.S. Patent Number 6,590,377 entitled ``Narrow band frequency detection circuit'', Navy Case Number 79123, Inventor Prockup, Issue date July 08, 2003. U.S. Patent Number 6,616,097 entitled ``Reconfigurable reconnaissance pod system'', Navy Case Number 82920, Inventor Hilbert, Issue date September 09, 2003. U.S. Patent Number 6,621,836 entitled ``Tunable multi-frequency vertical cavity surface emitting laser'', Navy Case Number 82243, Inventor Karwacki, Issue date September 16, 2003. U.S. Patent Number 6,659,963 entitled ``Apparatus for obtaining temperature and humidity measurements'', Navy Case Number 82970, Inventors Kaufman et al, Issue date December 09, 2003. U.S. Patent Number 6,667,262 entitled ``Self-lubricating ceramic composites'', Navy Case Number 74503, Inventors Agarwala et al, Issue date December 23, 2003. U.S. Patent Number 6,760,571 entitled ``Automatic frequency deviation detection and correction apparatus'', Navy Case Number 79124, Inventor Prockup, Issue date July 06, 2004. Navy Case Number 76519 entitled ``Method for reducing hazards'', Inventor Gill, U.S. Application Number 11/220,189 filed on September 01, 2005. Navy Case Number 85000 entitled ``Just in time wiring information system'', Inventors Edwards et al, U.S. Application Number 11/251,535 filed on September 29, 2005. Navy Case Number 95904 entitled ``Oleaginous corrosion resistant composition'', Inventors Arafat et al, Filed on October 27, 2005. Navy Case Number 96569 entitled ``Method for fabrication of a polymeric, conductive optical transparency'', Inventors Coughlin et al, U.S. Application Number 11/251,539 filed on October 03, 2005. Navy Case Number 96766 entitled ``Personal portable environmental control system'', Inventor Askew, U.S. Application Number 11/250,710 filed on October 03, 2005. U.S. Patent Number 5,540,218 entitled ``Respiratory system particularly suited for aircrew use'', Navy Case Number 76043, Inventors Jones et al, Issue date July 30, 1996. U.S. Patent Number 5,916,372 entitled ``Non-solvent, general use exterior aircraft cleaner'', Navy Case Number 79444, Inventors Bevilacqua et al, Issue date June 29, 1999.

The Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Acting Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) announce the cancellation of all actions related to the processing of a license application for the proposed Pearl Crossing LNG Terminal LLC deepwater port. The action announced here includes cancellation of all activities related to the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that was announced on Monday, August 16, 2004, in Federal Register Volume 69 Number 157 (Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement). The action is taken in response to the applicant's decision to withdraw the application.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined to review-in-part the presiding administrative law judge's (``ALJ's'') initial determination (``ID'') issued on October 6, 2005, in the above-captioned investigation and to remand portions of the investigation to the ALJ to make additional factual findings and determinations.