February 16, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) intends to seek approval of the following proposed new information collection: Yakima Basin Recreation Survey. Reclamation will use two separate forms to collect this information. Form No. 7-2570, Yakima Basin Reservoir Recreation Survey, and Form No. 7-2571, Yakima Basin River Recreation Survey. Before submitting the information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget for approval, Reclamation is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the information collection.

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) Central California Resource Advisory Council will meet as indicated below.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce an extension of the comment period for the proposed rule to establish a distinct population segment (DPS) of the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) for the greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and surrounding area and remove the Yellowstone DPS from the List of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted as they have already been incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered in the final decision and rule.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on the following information collections for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) allows NMFS to regulate the subsistence harvest of marine mammals by Alaska Natives when the affected stock of marine mammals is depleted and after the opportunity for a formal hearing on the proposed regulations. After designating the Cook Inlet stock of beluga whales as depleted, NMFS proposed regulations to limit the subsistence harvest from this stock. In December 2000, a formal hearing was conducted on the proposed regulations. In August 2004, a second formal hearing was conducted on proposed long term harvest regulations from 2005 through the CI beluga whale's recovery. The Administrative Law Judge presiding in the August 2004 hearings submitted his recommended decision to the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA) on November 8, 2005. The Judge's recommended decision is available for public review, and NMFS solicits comments on his recommendations.

This notice announces the date and location of a public meeting being held to discuss International Whaling Commission (IWC) issues, including the outcome of the Revised Management Scheme Working Group meeting held at the end of February.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a guidance for industry entitled ``Reports on the Status of Postmarketing Study CommitmentsImplementation of Section 130 of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997.'' This guidance provides recommendations on procedures, content, and format for submitting a postmarketing study status report for an approved human drug or licensed biological product; timeframes for FDA's review of postmarketing study commitments; and information about postmarketing study commitments that will be available to the public. The guidance is intended to assist applicants in meeting the requirements of section 130 of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997.

The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA), NOAA, announces temporary restrictions on gillnet fishing in the Southeast U.S. Restricted Area through March 31, 2006, consistent with the requirements of the ALWTRP's implementing regulations. NMFS is taking this action based on its determination that a right whale mortality, documented on January 22, 2006, was the result of an entanglement by gillnet gear within the Southeast U.S. Restricted Area. This action is necessary to protect North Atlantic right whales from further serious injury or mortality from entanglement in gillnet gear in the Southeast U.S. Restricted Area.

The President has assigned to the Secretary of Labor the function of the President contained within section 401(c) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1641(c)), to provide the specified final report to the Congress in relation to Proclamation 7959 of November 3, 2005. Proclamation 7959 revoked Proclamation 7924 that was issued September 8, 2005, and which suspended the provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 3141-3148) relating to prevailing-wage determinations by the Secretary of Labor within specified geographic areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The EPA is announcing three public hearings to be held jointly for two proposed rules``National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter'' and ``Revisions to Ambient Air Monitoring Regulations'' that were published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2006 (71 FR 2620 and 71 FR 2710). The hearings will be held concurrently in Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and San Franciso, California. In the proposed rule entitled ``National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter,'' EPA proposes to make revisions to the primary and secondary national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM) to provide requisite protection of public health and welfare, respectively, and to make corresponding revisions in monitoring reference methods and data handling conventions for PM. In the ``Revisions to Ambient Air Monitoring Regulations,'' EPA is proposing to revise the ambient air monitoring requirements for criteria pollutants. The proposal establishes ambient air monitoring requirements in support of the proposed revisions to the NAAQS for PM and proposes other changes to better serve current and future air quality management and research needs.

This Treasury decision establishes the 38,000-acre ``Covelo'' viticultural area in northern Mendocino County, California, about 150 miles north of San Francisco. We designate viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

Title 5 United States Code, Section 4314, requires that notice of the appointment of an individual to serve as a member of a performance review board shall be published in the Federal Register.

The notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board. This notice also describes the functions of the Board. Notice of this meeting is required under Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. This document is intended to notify members of the general public of their opportunity to attend. Individuals who will need special accommodations in order to attend the meeting (i.e., interpreting services, assistive listening devices, materials in alternative format) should notify Munira Mwalimu at 202-357-6938 or at Munira. Mwalimu@ed.gov no later than February 25, 2006. We will attempt to meet requests after this date, but cannot guarantee availability of the requested accommodation. The meeting site is accessible to individuals with disabilities.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the public comment period for the proposal to remove the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the lower 48 States of the United States, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended. The proposed delisting rule for the bald eagle was published on July 6, 1999 (64 FR 36454). Comments previously submitted on the July 6, 1999, proposed rule need not be resubmitted as they have been incorporated into the public record as part of this reopening of the comment period, and they will be fully considered in the preparation of the final rule. In reopening the comment period, we provide new information, respond to the comments we received in the proposed rule, and further clarify our reasons for proposing to delist the species. The best available scientific and commercial data available indicates that the bald eagle has recovered. The bald eagle population in the lower 48 States has increased from approximately 487 active nests in 1963, to an estimated minimum 7,066 breeding pairs today. The recovery of the bald eagle is due in part to habitat protection and management actions, and the reduction in levels of persistent organochlorine pesticides (such as DDT) occurring in the environment. This rule will not affect protection provided to the species under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) or the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). In addition, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act will continue to provide protection to the bald eagle, if delisting under the ESA is found to be warranted. To help clarify the BGEPA protections provided to the bald eagle, the Service is also soliciting public comments on two related draft bald eagle documents under the BGEPA that are being published simultaneously with this proposed delisting rule. First, we are publishing a notice of availability and request for public comments on draft National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines (Guidelines). The Guidelines provide guidance on how to comply with the requirements of the BGEPA by avoiding disturbance to bald eagles under different land use scenarios. Second, we are publishing a proposed rule to add the definition of ``disturb'' to our regulations at 50 CFR 22.3, which implement the BGEPA. These two documents are published separately in this part of today's Federal Register and include additional information about submitting comments on them.

In anticipation of possible removal (delisting) of the bald eagle in the 48 contiguous States from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) is proposing a definition of ``disturb'' under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) to guide post-delisting bald eagle management. Because BGEPA's prohibition against disturbance applies to both bald and golden eagles, the definition will apply to golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) as well as bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). If the bald eagle is delisted, the BGEPA will become the primary law protecting bald eagles. BGEPA prohibits take of bald and golden eagles and provides a statutory definition of ``take'' that includes ``disturb.'' Although disturbing eagles has been prohibited by BGEPA since the statute's enactment, the meaning of ``disturb'' has never been explicitly defined by the Service or by the courts. To define ``disturb,'' we rely on the common meaning of the term as applied to the conservation intent of BGEPA and the working definitions of ``disturb'' currently used by Federal and State agencies to manage bald eagles. This proposed definition of disturb will apply to Alaska, where the bald eagle has never been listed under the ESA, as well as the 48 contiguous States. (Eagles do not occur in Hawaii.) In addition to this proposed rulemaking, the Service is soliciting public comment on two related proposals published separately in this part of today's Federal Register. First, the Service is re-opening the public comment period on the proposed rule to remove the bald eagle from the list of threatened species under the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); we originally proposed delisting the bald eagle on July 6, 1999 (64 FR 36453). Second, we are soliciting comment on draft National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines.