2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) EPA is seeking public comment on the following Information Collection Request (ICR): Notification of Chemical Exports - Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 12(b) (EPA ICR No. 0795.12, OMB Control No. 2070-0030). This ICR involves a collection activity that is currently approved and scheduled to expire on August 31, 2006. The information collected under this ICR relates to reporting requirements found at 40 CFR part 707, subpart D, with respect to companies exporting certain chemicals from the United States to foreign countries. Before submitting this ICR to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval under the PRA, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the collection.

The Departments of Commerce and the Interior (the Departments) amend their regulations governing watch duty-exemption allocations and the watch and jewelry duty-refund benefits for producers in the United States insular possessions (the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). The rule amends the regulations by making technical changes required by passage of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004; extending the duty refund benefits to include the value of usual and customary health insurance, life insurance and pension benefits; raising the ceiling on the amount of jewelry that qualifies for the duty refund benefit; allowing new insular jewelry producers to assemble jewelry and have such jewelry treated as an article of the insular possessions for up to 18 months after the jewelry company commences assembly operations; allowing duty refund certificate holders to secure a duty refund on any articles that are imported into the customs territory of the United States by the certificate holder duty paid; providing a more comprehensive definition of ``unit;'' adjusting the amount of watch repairs that are eligible for the duty refund; providing compensation to insular watch producers if tariffs on watches and watch movements are reduced; and clarifying which wages are eligible for purposes of determining the duty refund and identifying which records are needed for the audit.

On May 6, 2005, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published the preliminary results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain steel concrete reinforcing bars (rebar) from Turkey (70 FR 23990). This review covers four producers/ exporters of the subject merchandise to the United States. The period of review (POR) is April 1, 2003, through March 31, 2004. We are rescinding the review with respect to 18 companies because they had no shipments of subject merchandise to the United States during the POR. In addition, we have determined to revoke the antidumping duty order with respect to an additional exporter, ICDAS Celik Enerji Tersane ve Ulasim Sanayi, A.S. (ICDAS). Based on our analysis of the comments received, we have made changes in the margin calculations. Therefore, the final results differ from the preliminary results. The final weighted-average dumping margins for the reviewed firms are listed below in the section entitled ``Final Results of Review.''

On behalf of the New Bedford Harbor Trustee Council (Council), NMFS, serving as the Administrative Trustee, publishes this notice to see comment on its proposed funding of six restoration projects for possible implementation through funding from the AVX Natural Resource Damages Trust Account (Trust Account). The Council, through an earlier published Federal Register notice requested grant applications for projects to restore natural resources that were injured by the release of hazardous substances and materials, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), in the New Bedford Harbor Environment (Harbor Environment). Nineteen grant applications for natural resource restoration projects were submitted for consideration by the Council. The Council is now seeking public comment on the preferred projects to assist in making a final decision on projects eligible for funding.

Notice is hereby given of an intent to grant to Harbison- Walker Refractories Co. at Moon Township, Pennsylvania, an exclusive or partially exclusive license to practice the invention described in the U.S. patent number 6,815,386 titled, ``Use of Phosphates to Reduce Slag Penetration in Cr2O3-Based Refractories.'' The invention is owned by the United States of America, as represented by the Department of Energy (DOE). The proposed license will be exclusive or partially exclusive, subject to a license and other rights retained by the U.S. Government, and other terms and conditions to be negotiated. DOE intends to grant the license, upon a final determination in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c), unless within 15 days of publication of this Notice the Research Marketing Specialist, Department of Energy, Albany Research Center, 1450 Queen Avenue, SW., Albany, OR 97321-2198, receives in writing any of the following, together with the supporting documents: (i) A statement from any person setting forth reasons why it would not be in the best interest of the United States to grant the proposed license; or (ii) An application for a nonexclusive license to the invention, in which applicant states that it already has brought the invention to practical application or is likely to bring the invention to practical application expeditiously.

There will be a meeting of the Endocrine Disruptor Methods Validation Advisory Committee (EDMVAC) on November 30 through December 2, 2005, in Raleigh, NC. This meeting, as with all EDMVAC meetings, is open to the public. Seating is on a first-come basis. The purpose of the meeting is to receive advice and input from the EDMVAC on: EPA's Applied Approach to Validation, OECD Uterotrophic Peer Review Report, Steroidogenesis Using the H295R Cell Line, Avian Studies, and an update on the Pubertal Assays.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) is soliciting comments on an interim rule that would amend the section of its Rules Regarding Equal Opportunity (EEO Rules) which governs the employment of persons who are not United States citizens consistent with the Board's requirements for the security of its information. The amendments would clarify the limitations on access to sensitive information for non-citizen employees. The amendment, which concerns the internal management of the Board, is issued as an immediately effective interim rule, with opportunity for public comment, to ensure that hiring decisions facing the Board can be made as soon as possible.

In compliance with section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, for opportunity for public comment on proposed information collection projects, the Indian Health Service (IHS) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve the information collection listed below. This proposed information collection project was published in the August 3, 2005, Federal Register (70 51826) and allowed 60 days for public comment. No public comment was received in response to the notice. The purpose of this notice is to allow 30 days for public comment to be submitted to OMB. PROPOSED COLLECTION: Title: 0917-0028, ``Indian Health Service Background Investigations of Individuals in Positions Involving Regular Contact With or Control Over Indian Children OPM-306''. Type of Information Collection Request: Extention of a currently approved collection which expires November 30, 2005. Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a currently approved collection which expires November 30, 2005. Form Number: OF- 306 Addendum to Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306) Indian Health Service Child Care & Indian Child Care Worker Positions. Need and Use of Information Collection: This is a request for approval of collection information required by section 408 of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, Public Law 101-630, 104 Stat. 4544, 25 U.S.C. 3201-3211. The IHS is required to compile a list of all authorized positions within the IHS where the duties and responsibilities involve regular contact with, or control over, Indian children; and to conduct an investigation of the character of each individual who is employed, or is being considered for employment in a position having regular contact with, or control over, Indian children. Section 3207(b) of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act was amended by Section 814 of S. 3031, the Native American Laws Technical Corrections Act of 2000, which requires that the regulations prescribing the minimum standards of character ensure that none of the individuals appointed to positions involving regular contact with, or control over Indian children have been found guilty of, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to any felonious offense, or any of two or more misdemeanor offenses under Federal, State, or Tribal law involving crimes of violence; sexual assault, molestation, exploitation, contact or prostitution, crimes against persons; or offenses committed against children. In addition, 42 U.S.C. 13041 requires each agency of the Federal government and every facility operated by the Federal government (or operated under contract with the Federal government), that hires (or contracts for hire) individuals involved with children under the age of 18 or child care services to assure that all existing and newly-hired employees undergo a criminal history background check. The background is to be initiated through the personnel program of the applicable Federal agency. This section requires employment applications for individuals who are seeking work for an agency of the Federal government, or for a facility or program operated by (or through contract with) the Federal government, in positions involved with the provision to children under the age of 18 or child care services, to contain a question asking whether the individual has ever been arrested for or charged with a crime involving a child. Affected Public: Individual and households. Type of Respondents: Individuals. Table 1 below provides the following: Types of data collection instruments, estimated number of respondents, number of responses per respondent, annual number of responses, average burden hour per response, and total annual burden hour.

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) Idaho Falls District Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will meet as indicated below.

The Mendocino County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet November 18, 2005, in Willits, California. Agenda items to be covered include: (1) Approval of minutes, (2) Public Comment, (3) Sub- committees, (4) discussionitems of interest (a) historical aspects of Beaver Glade; budget update, (5) Discussion/approval of projects, (6) next agenda items and meeting date.

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.

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, we are proposing to establish a new SOR titled, ``Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder (MPDPF) System, HHS/CMS/CBC, System No. 09-70-0564.'' Under the provisions of Section 101 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) (Pub. L. 108-173), CMS has provided the participants of eligibility transactions a query and response solution in a single data center using a three-tier architecture. Enterprise Business Services (EBS), the user interface, will have the responsibility of receiving identifying information on Medicare beneficiaries for processing eligibility requests and enrollment assistance with the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program. These inbound messages will be sent to EBS for processing of the eligibility request and for securing the information from the CMS Community Based Organization/ Customer Service Representative (CBO/CSR) Data Store, and for sending an available plan option response back via the internet. EBS will capture the identifying information and enrollment selection, and transmit it to the selected Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) or Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan (MAPD). This initiative will streamline and facilitate drug benefit eligibility determination and the enrollment process. The primary purpose of this system is to provide a Web accessible inquiry system that will provide a mechanism to support an individual beneficiary's efforts in performing drug benefit eligibility queries and to enroll them into selected plans. Information in this system will also be used to: (1) Support regulatory and policy functions performed within the Agency or by a contractor or consultant; (2) assist PDPs and MAPDs directly or through the Enterprise Business Services; (3) support constituent requests made to a Congressional representative; and (4) support litigation involving the Agency related to this system. We have provided background information about the proposed system in the ``Supplementary Information'' section below. Although the Privacy Act requires only that the Aroutine use'' portion of the system be published for comment, CMS invites comments on all portions of this notice. See EFFECTIVE DATES section for comment period.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as lead agency, with the Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians (Campo Band) as a cooperating agency, intends to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for a proposed solid waste landfill facility to be located on the Campo Indian Reservation in San Diego County, California. The purpose of the proposed action is to provide economic support for tribal self-sufficiency and self- government and to address the socio-economic needs of the Campo Band.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), agencies are required to submit proposed reporting and recordkeeping requirements to OMB for review and approval, and to publish a notice in the Federal Register notifying the public that the agency has made such a submission.

This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the State of Florida (FEMA-1609-DR), dated 10/24/ 2005. Incident: Hurricane Wilma. Incident Period: 10/23/2005 and continuing. Effective Date: 10/30/2005. Physical Loan Application Deadline Date: 12/23/2005. EIDL Loan Application Deadline Date: 07/24/2006.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its regulations to reflect a change in the name for AOAC INTERNATIONAL. This action is editorial in nature and is intended to improve the accuracy of the agency's regulations.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is seeking public comments on the impact that implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention has had on commercial activities involving ``Schedule 1'' chemicals through calendar year 2005. This notice of inquiry is part of an effort to collect information to assist in the preparation of the annual certification required under Condition 9 of Senate Resolution 75, April 24, 1997, in which the Senate gave its advice and consent to the ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on May 9, 2005 (70 FR 24462).