March 1, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. Currently, the Employment Standards Administration is soliciting comments concerning the proposed collection: Rehabilitation Maintenance Certificate (OWCP-17). A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addresses section of this Notice.

In accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act, as amended, this notice announces the renewal of an existing computer matching program that SSA is currently conducting with the RRB.

Under section 101 of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) may allow the modification of the application of a mandatory safety standard to a mine if the Secretary determines either that an alternate method exists at a specific mine that will guarantee no less protection for the miners affected than that provided by the standard, or that the application of the standard at a specific mine will result in a diminution of safety to the affected miners. Final decisions on these petitions are based on the petitioner's statements, comments and information submitted by interested persons, and a field investigation of the conditions at the mine. As designee of the Secretary, we have granted or partially granted the requests for modification listed below. In some instances, the decisions are conditioned upon compliance with stipulations stated in the decision. The term FR Notice appears in the list of affirmative decisions below. The term refers to the Federal Register volume and page where we published a notice of the filing of the petition for modification.

The Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools proposes two priorities and two application requirements under the Emergency Response and Crisis Management (ERCM) Grant program. We may use one or more of these priorities and application requirements for competitions in Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 and later years. We also may use the priority and application requirements developed in FY 2005, and published in the Federal Register on June 21, 2005 (70 FR 35652), for competitions in FY 2006 and later years. We take this action to focus Federal financial assistance on supporting grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) that are at high risk for crisis situations, as well as those that have not yet received funding under this program. This action is also intended to modify an application requirement the Department established in FY 2005 for LEAs to support the implementation of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and to propose an additional application requirement for LEAs to develop written plans to address outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The following applicants have applied for scientific research permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended.

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 Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (the Fund), a government corporation within the Department of the Treasury, is soliciting comments concerning the ``New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) ProgramCommunity Development Entity (CDE) Certification Application'' (hereafter, the Application).

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food And Drug Administration (FDA) are sponsoring a public meeting on April 7, 2006 to provide draft U.S. positions and receive public comments on agenda items that will be discussed at the 34th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Ottawa, Canada on May 1-5, 2006. The Under Secretary and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to comment on the agenda items that will be discussed at this forthcoming Session of the CCFL.

FMCSA announces its denial of 113 applications from individuals who requested an exemption from the Federal vision standard applicable to interstate truck and bus drivers and the reasons for the denials. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from the vision standard if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The agency has concluded that granting exemptions for the 113 applicants would not likely provide a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

The Coast Guard is announcing a workshop for interested and affected parties regarding changes to the Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program (STEP) for ballast water treatment systems. Our goal in this program is to facilitate the development of effective ballast water treatment (BWT) technologies, through rigorous evaluations of prototype systems under shipboard conditions. This will create more options for vessel owners seeking alternatives to ballast water exchange for use in meeting the ballast water management (BWM) requirements established by the Coast Guard. To aid in the development of applications to STEP, the Coast Guard will hold a workshop to expand public awareness of STEP and present recent changes to the guidance materials on applications. We encourage all interested and/or affected stakeholders to attend the workshop.

In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed collection of information, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Proposed Collection: Title: The NIDA International Program Research Training Modules for International Application Needs Assessment Survey. Type of Information Collection Request: NEW. Need and Use of Information Collection: This is a request for a one-time clearance to undertake an educational needs assessment survey of NIDA's collaborating international drug abuse researchers. The purpose of this survey is to more precisely define the educational needs of the international drug abuse research community before proceeding with the development of formal distance learning programs. Reviews of distance education programs in the developing world often reveal that, ``systematically organized learning needs assessments are continually absent.'' (USAID 2001: The Use and Effect of Distance Education in Healthcare: What Do We Know? Operations Research Issue Paper 2) This survey will address that issue. The survey is based on recommendations received from current international drug abuse researchers and NIDA grantees. It is designed to be brief (2 pages) and succinct, asking respondents to prioritize their educational needs. The questions have been previously tested with persons who speak English as a second language. Total time to complete the survey is less than five minutes. The survey will cover the following elements: (1) Respondent background, including availability of educational technologies, (2) Educational needs, including a ranking of 10 proposed topics in drug abuse education, and (3) Collaborative needs, including an estimate of the value of online tools for research collaboration. The survey will not collect name, address, or other identifying information. Frequency of Response: This project will be conducted once. Affected Public: International drug abuse researchers who are currently affiliated with or wish to be affiliated with the U.S. drug abuse research community. Type of Respondents/Drug Abuse Researchers: physicians, scientists, mental health workers, and scientists-in-training. The reporting burden is as follows: Estimated Total Annual Number of Respondents: 250; Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1; Average Burden Hours per Response: 0.09. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours Requested: 22.5. There are no Capital Costs to report. There are no Operating or Maintenance Costs to report. The estimated annualized burden is summarized below.

The Department of Commerce, 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)).

The Department of Commerce (DOC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the continuing and proposed information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) designated Schneider Inspection Service, Inc. (Schneider), to provide domestic official inspection services under the United States Grain Standards Act, as amended (Act). Schneider's designation terminates June 30, 2006, therefore, GIPSA asked interested persons to submit an application for designation in the December 1, 2005, Federal Register (70 FR 72104). However, Champaign-Danville Grain Inspection Departments, Inc. (Champaign), a currently designated agency providing official inspection services, is purchasing Schneider. Subsequently, GIPSA is not proceeding further with the request for applications for designation in the Lake Village, Indiana, area, which is currently designated to Schneider. The designation of Champaign has been amended to include this geographic area.