2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Notice 2005-64, Foreign Tax Credit and Other Guidance under Section 965.

Applicant seeks an order declaring that it has ceased to be an investment company. On February 18, 2005, applicant transferred its assets to JP Morgan U.S. Real Estate Fund, a series of JP Morgan Trust II, based on net asset value. Expenses of $850,000 incurred in connection with the reorganization were paid by applicant's investment adviser, Security Capital Research & Management Incorporated, or its affiliates. Filing Date: The application was filed on September 29, 2005. Applicant's Address: 10 South Dearborn St., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60603.

On September 8, 2005 (70 FR 53313), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published for public comment a proposed rule that would amend its regulations governing the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The proposed rule would implement the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) proposed standards for doses that could occur after 10,000 years but within the period of geologic stability. The comment period for EPA's proposed standards currently expires on November 21, 2005 (extended 30 days from October 21, 2005); the comment period for NRC's proposed rule currently expires on November 7, 2005. A letter was received from U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign from the State of Nevada requesting that the comment period for NRC's proposed rule be extended to a total of 180 days, or at least past the date of EPA's 30-day extension. Another letter representing several citizen and environmental groups requested that the deadline for comments be extended to 180 days. In addition, a letter from the Agency for Nuclear Projects, on behalf of the State of Nevada, requested that NRC extend its comment period for an additional 30 days, consistent with EPA's 30-day extension of its comment period. Given the interrelationship between these two proposed rules, and for consistency with the ongoing EPA rulemaking process, NRC has decided to extend the comment period for its rulemaking an additional 30 days to December 7, 2005, for a total comment period of 90 days. In vacating the compliance period in NRC's rule at 10 CFR part 63, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has made clear that it is ``NRC's obligation under the [Energy Policy Act of 1992] to maintain licensing criteria that are consistent with the public health and safety standards promulgated by EPA.'' See Nuclear Energy Institute, Inc. v. EPA, 373 F.3d 1251, 1299 (D.C. Cir. 2004). Thus NRC's proposed rule, for the most part, simply implements EPA's proposed standards for doses that could occur after 10,000 years but within the period of geologic stability, and its final rule will need to implement any changes EPA may make with respect to its standards. NRC's proposed rule provides further detail for implementing the EPA standard in only two specific areas: A value to represent climate change after 10,000 years; and a requirement that calculations of radiation doses for workers use the same weighting factors that EPA is proposing for calculating individual doses to members of the public. A lengthy period of time should not be needed by potential commenters to address these issues. Hence the NRC's 30-day extension is believed to be appropriate.

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; the Council on Environmental Quality Final Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500 through 1508); and the USIBWC's Operational Procedures for Implementing Section 102 of NEPA, published in the Federal Register September 2, 1981, (46 FR 44083); the USIBWC hereby gives notice that the Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Alternatives for Improved Flood Control of the Hidalgo Protective Levee System, in the Lower Rio Grande Flood Control Project, located in Hidalgo County, Texas are available. A notice of finding of no significant impact dated June 30, 2005, provided a thirty (30) day comment period before making the finding final. The Notice was published in the Federal Register on July 8, 2005 (70 FR 39527).

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has submitted the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The submission describes the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e., the time, effort and resources used by respondents to respond) and cost, and includes the actual data collection instruments FEMA will use. Title: The National Flood Insurance ProgramBiennial Report. OMB Number: 1660-0003. Abstract: The NFIP Biennial Report enables FEMA to meet its regulatory requirement under 44 CFR 59.22(b)(2). It also enables FEMA to be more responsive to the ongoing changes that occur in each participating community's flood hazard area. These changes include, but are not limited to, new corporate boundaries, changes in flood hazard areas, new floodplain management measures, and changes in rate of floodplain development. It is also used to evaluate the effectiveness of the community's floodplain management activities. The evaluation is accomplished by analyzing information provided by the community, such as the number of variances and flood plain permits granted by each community in relationship to other information contained in the Biennial Report, as well as other data available in FEMA's Community Information System (CIS). The Biennial Report also provides an opportunity for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) participating communities to request technical assistance in implementing a floodplain management program. FEMA regional offices use this information as a means to know which communities need support and guidance. In addition, the NFIP Biennial Report is one of the tools used to assist FEMA in meeting its regulatory requirement under section 575 of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004. A ``yes'' answer to Items A-D in Section I of the report will provide the basis for FEMA to follow-up by contacting the community for clarification and/or elaboration regarding changes and activities occurring in a community's flood hazard area. This information will be used in ranking and prioritizing one community's mapping needs against all other communities in the NFIP and for determining how the limited flood hazard mapping funds are allocated for map updates. Affected Public: State, local and Tribal governments. Number of Respondents: 20,500 respondents. Estimated Time per Respondent: 2.49 hours. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 11,375. Frequency of Response: Every two years. Comments: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on the proposed information collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, or facsimile number (202) 395-7285. Comments must be submitted on or before December 5, 2005.

The Secretary announces the members of the Performance Review Board (PRB) for the Department of Education for the Senior Executive Service (SES) performance cycle that ended September 30, 2005. Under 5 U.S.C. 4314(c)(1) through (5), each agency is required to establish one or more PRBs.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permits issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. This is the required notice.

This final rule will amend 49 CFR Part 601 to reflect modifications in the organization and distribution of functions within the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and to document its rulemaking procedures. This rule has not been amended since 1999, and recently there has been a restructuring of offices and duties within FTA. Additionally, many of FTA's regional offices have physically moved to different locations; thus, this rule revises the addresses and phone numbers of the regional offices. Further, the outdated internal delegations of authority have been removed, the means by which the public can access FTA information has been updated, and FTA's rulemaking procedures are provided.

This rule would increase the assessment rate established for the Walnut Marketing Board (Board) for the 2005-06 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0094 to $0.0096 per kernelweight pound of assessable walnuts. The Board locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of walnuts grown in California. Assessments upon walnut handlers are used by the Board to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The marketing year began August 1 and ends July 31. The assessment rate would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

In June 2004, we (NMFS) proposed that 10 Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) of West Coast Oncorhynchus mykiss be listed as endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We have reconsidered the preliminary decision to apply the Pacific salmon ESU Policy to these stocks and seek comment on our proposed application of the joint NMFS/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) ``Policy Regarding the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate Population Segments under the ESA'' (DPS Policy) to the delineation of Oncorhynchus mykiss distinct population segments (DPSs).