January 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-21), this notice announces that the Veterans Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), Department of Veterans Affairs, has submitted the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

304 acres of public land, located in Washington County, Utah, has been examined and found suitable for classification for lease to the City of Hurricane under the provisions of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, as amended.

NMFS has received a request from the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) for renewal of an authorization to take small numbers of California sea lions, Pacific harbor seals, harbor porpoises, and gray whales, by harassment, incidental to construction of a replacement bridge for the East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (SF-OBB) in California. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an authorization to CALTRANS to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of these species of pinnipeds and cetaceans during the next 12 months.

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 Form 5884-A, Credits for Employers Affected by Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration is extending the period for comment on the proposed rule entitled ``Diesel Particulate Matter Exposure of Underground Metal and Nonmetal Miners (DPM),'' published in the Federal Register on September 7, 2005 (70 FR 53280).

NMFS, upon application from the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation (AADC), is issuing regulations to govern the unintentional takings of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to rocket launches from the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) on Kodiak Island, AK. Issuance of regulations is required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) when the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), after notice and opportunity for comment, finds, as here, that such takes will have a negligible impact on the species and stocks of marine mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on their availability for subsistence uses. These regulations do not authorize AADC's rocket launch activities, as such authorization is not within the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Rather, these regulations govern the issuance of ``Letters of Authorization'' (LOAs) for the unintentional incidental take of marine mammals in connection with this activity and prescribe methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species and their habitat, and on the availability of the species for subsistence uses. In addition, NMFS incorporates reporting and monitoring requirements.

This final rule codifies portions of the Military Construction Appropriations and Emergency Hurricane Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2005, enacted on October 13, 2004 Public Law 108-324 (``2004 Act'') to provide assistance to producers and first-handlers of the 2004 crop of cottonseed in counties declared a disaster by the President of the United States due to 2004 hurricanes and tropical storms. Other 2004 Act disaster provisions for other crops were implemented under separate rules.

The Coconino National Forest is proposing to develop an Outfitter-Guide Management Plan for the Red Rock Ranger District that will serve the public need for outfitting and guide activities in ways that protect the area's natural and cultural resources as well as the more primitive social settings desired for the National Forest by most visitors. The area being considered is limited to the Red Rock Ranger District and the scope of the analysis is limited to primarily outfitter and guide operations on the ranger district. A few general recreation management proposals are being considered when they are connected with outfitter and guide activities. Some changes to guidelines and objectives in the Coconino National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan direction are also being considered.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region, intends to gather information necessary to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan and environmental assessment pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and its implementing regulations. The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, requires the Service to develop a comprehensive conservation plan for each national wildlife refuge. The purpose in developing a comprehensive conservation plan is to provide refuge managers with a 15-year strategy for achieving refuge purposes and contributing toward the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, consistent with sound principles of fish and wildlife management, conservation, legal mandates, and Service policies. In addition to outlining broad management direction on conserving wildlife and their habitats, plans identify wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities available to the public, including opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, and environmental education and interpretation. The purpose of this notice is to achieve the following: (1) Advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, and (2) Obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to include in the environmental document.

The Department of Defense is revising 32 CFR Part 204 to better align it with OMB Circular A-25, ``User Charges.'' This part provides guidelines to establish appropriate charges for authorized services supplied by Department of Defense organizations when such services provide special benefits to an identifiable recipient beyond those that accrue to the general public.

This action corrects an error in the airspace description contained in a Final Rule that was published in the Federal Register on Thursday, September 22, 2005 (70 FR 55531). Airspace Docket No. 05-AAL- 13.

This action modifies the Class E airspace at Gothenburg Quinn Field, NE. The FAA has developed Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP) to Runways (RWY) 3 and 21 at Gothenburg, Quinn Field, NE. Additional controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) is needed to accommodate the SIAPs. The intended effect of this rule is to provide controlled Class E airspace for aircraft executing the SIAPs and to segregate aircraft using instrument approach procedures in instrument conditions from aircraft operating in visual conditions.

This notice announces the availability of, and requests comments on a proposed Technical Standard Order (TSO) C-176, Aircraft Image Recorder Systems. This proposed TSO tells persons seeking a TSO authorization or letter or design approval what minimum performance standards (MPS) their aircraft image recorder system (AIRS) must meet. In it, we (the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA) tell you what minimum performance standard (MPS) your AIRS must first meet for approval and identification with the applicable TSO marking.

In this Final Rule, pursuant to Title III, Subtitle B, and Title XII, Subtitle G of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is amending its regulations to implement new section 4A of the Natural Gas Act and new section 222 of the Federal Power Act, prohibiting the employment of manipulative or deceptive devices or contrivances.

This is Supplement No. 6 to the Treasury Department Circular 570; 2005 Revision, published July 1, 2005, at 70 FR 38502.

This document contains final regulations that define the term statutory merger or consolidation as that term is used in section 368(a)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code, concerning corporate reorganizations. These final regulations affect corporations engaging in statutory mergers and consolidations, and their shareholders.

In the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register, the IRS is issuing temporary regulations that provide guidance under section 1502 that governs certain basis determinations and adjustments of subsidiary stock in certain transactions involving members of a consolidated group. The text of those regulations also serves as the text of these proposed regulations.