February 8, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document proposes modifications of the regulations governing practice before the IRS (Circular 230). These proposed regulations affect individuals who practice before the IRS. The proposed amendments modify the general standards of practice before the IRS. This document also provides notice of a public hearing on the proposed regulations.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce our intention to conduct rulemaking to establish a distinct population segment (DPS) of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States (NRM). The NRM DPS of gray wolf encompasses the eastern one-third of Washington and Oregon, a small part of north-central Utah, and all of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. The threats to the wolf population in the NRM DPS have been reduced or eliminated as evidenced by the population exceeding the numerical, distributional, and temporal recovery goals each year since 2002. The States of Montana and Idaho have adopted State laws and State wolf management plans that would conserve a recovered NRM wolf population within their boundaries into the foreseeable future. However, we have determined that Wyoming State law and its wolf management plan do not provide the necessary regulatory mechanism to assure that Wyoming's share of a recovered NRM wolf population will be conserved if the ESA's protections were removed. Therefore, we intend to conduct a future rulemaking to propose that the gray wolf in the NRM wolf DPS be removed from the List of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended, if Wyoming adopts a State law and a State wolf management plan that is approved by the Service. Concerns regarding the Wyoming plan would have to be resolved before a NRM DPS delisting could be finalized. This ANPRM is being issued in advance of completion of the 12 month status review of NRM wolves. This status review remains in progress.

The Commission amends its regulations relating to the procedures to be followed when parties appealing Commission actions file in different courts of appeals. If within ten days after issuance of an order, the Commission receives two or more petitions for review filed with different courts of appeals, it is required to notify the judicial panel on multidistrict litigation, which then randomly selects one of those courts of appeals to consider the petitions for review. The Commission's regulations implement this provision by specifying that a party wishing to avail itself of these procedures must, within ten days after issuance of an order, file with the Commission's Office of General Counsel a copy of its petition for review as filed and date- stamped by the court of appeals. This amendment conforms the Commission's regulations to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure by providing that weekends and holidays will not be included when counting this ten-day period.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for the Kootenai River population of the white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) (Kootenai sturgeon) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). In total, approximately, 6.9 river miles (RM) (11.1 river kilometers (RKM)) of the Kootenai River fall within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation located in Boundary County, Idaho. This designation is in addition to the 11.2 miles (18 kilometers) of the Kootenai River already designated as critical habitat for the Kootenai sturgeon.

The Audio Division grant two allotments in Lovelady, Texas and Oil City, Louisiana that require the reclassification of FM Station KYKS, Channel 286C, Lufkin, Texas to specify operation on Channel 286C0. See 70 FR 8335, February 18, 2005. The Audio Division, at the request of Charles Crawford, allots Channel 288A at Lovelady, Texas, as the community's second local service. Channel 288A can be allotted to Lovelady in compliance with the Commission's minimum distance separation requirements with a site restriction of 12.5 kilometers (7.8 miles) southwest to avoid a short-spacing to the license site of FM Station KTCJ, Channel 290C3, Centerville, Texas. The reference coordinates for Channel 288A at Lovelady, Texas are 31-03-14 North Latitude and 95-32-34 West Longitude. The Audio Division, at the request of Charles Crawford, allots Channel 285A at Oil City, Louisiana, as the community's second local service. Channel 285A can be allotted to Oil City in compliance with the Commission's minimum distance separation requirements with a site restriction of 15.6 kilometers (9.7 miles) west to avoid a short-spacing to the license site of FM Station KORI, Channel 284C3, Mansfield, Louisiana. The reference coordinates for Channel 285A at Oil City are 32-44-11 North Latitude and 94-08-10 West Longitude.

The staff grants a settlement request filed by Scott Communications, Inc., Alexander Broadcasting Co., and SSR Communications, deletes the allotment of Channel 300A at Shorter, AL, and upgrades, reallots, and changes the community of license for Station WJAM-FM from Channel 300A at Orrville, AL, to Channel 300C3 at Shorter, AL. To prevent the removal of the sole local service at Orrville, the document reallots and changes the community of license for Station WALX(FM) from Channel 265C2 at Selma, AL, to Channel 265C2 at Orrville. The staff also dismisses as moot a petition for reconsideration filed jointly by Scott Communications and Alexander Broadcasting directed at the Report and Order in this proceeding. See 70 FR 28461 (May 18, 2005). With this action, the proceeding is terminated. See also Supplemental Information.

The Audio Division, at the request of Dana J. Puopolo, allots Channel 271A at Randsburg, California, as the community's first commercial FM transmission service in MB Docket No. 04-276; RM-11033. See 69 FR 46474, published August 3, 2004. Channel 271A can be allotted to Randsburg in compliance with the Commission's minimum distance separation requirements at the city reference coordinates of 35-22-06 North Latitude and 117-39-25 West Longitude. Mexican concurrence has been requested. The Audio Division, at the request of Charles Crawford, allots Channel 254A at Mooreland, Oklahoma, as the community's third local FM transmission service in MB Docket No. 04-279; RM-11036. See 69 FR 46474, published August 3, 2004. Channel 254A can be allotted to Mooreland in compliance with the Commission's minimum distance separation requirements, provided there is a site restriction of 13.9 kilometers (8.6 miles) northwest of the community. The reference coordinates for Channel 254A at Mooreland are 36-30-30 North Latitude and 99-20-00 West Longitude. Filing windows for Channel 271A at Randsburg, California and Channel 254A at Mooreland, Oklahoma, will not be opened at this time. Instead, the issue of opening a filing window for these channels will be addressed by the Commission in a subsequent order.

This regulation establishes an increase in tolerances for the sum of the residues of imazethapyr and its metabolites, CL 288511, (2- [4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1H-imidazol-2-y l]-5-(1- hydroxyethyl)-3-pyridine carboxylic acid), and CL 182704, (5-[1-(beta- D-glucopyranosyloxy)ethyl]-2-[4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4-(1-methy lethyl)-5- oxo-1H-imidazol-2-yl]-3-pyridinecarboxylic acid), applied as its acid or ammonium salt in or on rice grain at 0.3 ppm, rice straw at 0.4 ppm, and imazethapyr and its metabolite, CL 288511 in or on crayfish at 0.15 ppm. BASF Corporation requested the tolerances for rice grain and rice straw under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA), because of a requested increase in the use rate of imazethapyr in rice. In addition, this regulation increases the tolerance on crayfish from 0.10 ppm to 0.15 ppm due to exposure of crayfish raised in rice fields to imazethapyr.