March 9, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has prepared an Environmental Assessment in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as amended. Pursuant to the implementing regulations for NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508); the USDA Departmental Policy for the NEPA (7 CFR part 1b); the Natural Resources Conservation Service Regulations (7 CFR part 650); and the Natural Resources Conservation Service policy (General Manual Title 190, Part 410); the Natural Resources Conservation Service gives notice that an environmental impact statement is not being prepared for the grade stabilization of Midlands Creek, Papillion Creek Watershed, Sarpy County Nebraska. The Environmental Assessment was developed in coordination with the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District for a federally assisted action authorized as a congressional earmark for a compacted earthen fill dam grade stabilization structure. Upon consideration of the affected environment, alternatives, environmental consequences, and comments and coordination with concerned public and agencies, the State Conservationist for NRCS, Nebraska found that based on the significance and context and intensity that the proposed action is not a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. Thus, a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was made.

An open meeting of the Joint Committee of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted via teleconference. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comment, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

This document proposes to increase the maximum aggregate civil penalties for violations of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, as amended. This action would be taken pursuant to the Federal Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, which requires us to review and, as warranted, adjust penalties based on inflation at least every four years. Additionally, this document proposes to codify statutory amendments to our penalty provisions and to make a technical correction to the text of the agency's penalty regulation.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to discontinue acceptance of electronically filed Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return, and Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return, in the EDI and Proprietary formats effective October 28, 2006. Decline in use of these formats, coupled with increasing costs to maintain these formats, prompted this decision. This action pertains to e-filers who develop software or electronically transmit Forms 940 and 941.

As authorized by Pub. L. 105-383 and Pub. L. 107-295, the Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.- build requirement of the coastwise laws under certain circumstances. A request for such a waiver has been received by MARAD. The vessel, and a brief description of the proposed service, is listed below. The complete application is given in DOT docket 2006-24100 at https:// dms.dot.gov. Interested parties may comment on the effect this action may have on U.S. vessel builders or businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.-flag vessels. If MARAD determines, in accordance with Pub. L. 105- 383 and MARAD's regulations at 46 CFR part 388 (68 FR 23084; April 30, 2003), that the issuance of the waiver will have an unduly adverse effect on a U.S.-vessel builder or a business that uses U.S.-flag vessels in that business, a waiver will not be granted. Comments should refer to the docket number of this notice and the vessel name in order for MARAD to properly consider the comments. Comments should also state the commenter's interest in the waiver application, and address the waiver criteria given in Sec. 388.4 of MARAD's regulations at 46 CFR Part 388.

This document proposes to amend the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical regulations on informed consent by making two substantive changes. We propose to extend the period of time during which a signed consent form remains valid from 30 to 60 days and eliminate the requirement that a third party witness the patient or surrogate and practitioner signing the consent form, except in those circumstances where the patient or surrogate signs with an ``X'' due to a debilitating illness or disability, i.e., significant physical impairment and/or difficulty in executing a signature due to an underlying health condition(s), or is unable to read or write.

The Coast Guard announces its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) in connection with the development of proposed new regulations on the incidental discharge of dry cargo residue in the Great Lakes. Publication of this notice begins a public scoping process that will help determine the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS and identify the significant environmental issues related to this EIS (40 CFR 1506.6). This notice also solicits public participation in the scoping process, and announces the availability of a study on current dry cargo residue discharge practices in the Great Lakes.

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJTRO) Bridge across Oceanport Creek at mile 8.4, at Oceanport, New Jersey. This temporary deviation allows the NJTRO Bridge to remain in the closed position for two weekends from 6 a.m. on Saturday through 6 p.m. on Sunday. This deviation is necessary in order to facilitate scheduled bridge maintenance.

NMFS closes the commercial run-around gillnet fishery for king mackerel in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the southern Florida west coast subzone. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.

This rule was originally published in the Federal Register on October 13, 2005 (70 FR 59654). It implemented Section 105 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended by Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003. Because of an inadvertent error in the assignment of the correct part in the Code of Federal Regulations for this rule, the Department of State is redesignating the part from part 96 to part 104. The related section numbers are being redesignated from Sec. Sec. 96.1 and 96.2 to Sec. Sec. 104.1 and 104.2, respectively. There are no substantive or other changes to the regulations themselves.

In accordance with section 122(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 9622(i), notice is hereby given of a proposed Agreement for Recovery of Past Response Costs (``Agreement,'' Region 9 Docket No. 9- 2006-0004) pursuant to section 122(h) of CERCLA concerning the Stringfellow Acid Pits Superfund Site (the ``Site''), located near Glen Avon, California. The respondent to the Agreement is the state of California (the ``State''). The issues resolved in the Agreement stem from the fact that, from 1983 to 1996, the Agency provided federal funds to the State through a State Superfund Contract as a cooperative means to further the remediation of the Site. Section 104(c)(3) of CERCLA requires that, in such a cooperative agreement, the State shall nonetheless be responsible for 10% of the remedial action costs, or 50-100% of the total response costs if the State was an ``operator'' of the Site. Because the State was involved in selecting the original location and management techniques for the Site as a hazardous waste disposal facility, in 1995, a federal district court ruled that the State's role at the facility made it a liable ``operator'' for the purpose section 107(a) of CERCLA. This court ruling potentially affected the share of response costs for which the State would be liable pursuant to section 104(c)(3) of CERCLA. In November 2004, the Agency's Office of Inspector General concluded an audit of the assistance accounts accessed by the State through the State Superfund Contract and made recommendations on the balance due to the State for its response work, but also recommended that the State was not entitled to reimbursement for substantial claims for interest accrued on its incurred costs. The Office of Inspector General did not consider in its recommendation the State's potential liability as an ``operator'' of the Site. Through the proposed Agreement, the Agency will reimburse the State in an amount consistent with the recommendations of the Office of the Inspector General, and will not seek additional costs from the State for its potential liability as an ``operator'' of the Site. The State covenants to accept the settlement as a final determination of the amount of its reimbursement, precluding further claims for recovery of the interest accrued on the State's response costs. A portion of the payments from the Agency to the State will go specifically toward further investigation and response to the recently discovered perchlorate contamination at the Site. For thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this Notice, the Agency will receive written comments relating to the proposed Agreement. The Agency's response to any comments will be available for public inspection at the Agency's Region IX offices, located at 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105.

The California Coast Provincial Advisory Committee (CCPAC) will meet on March 29-30, 2006, in Ukiah, California. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss issues relating to implementing the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP).

The third edition of Volume II of GAO's Principles of Federal Appropriations Law is being prepared for publication by the Government Printing Office (GPO). Government departments, agencies, and other federal organizations that normally require more than one copy have been given an opportunity to request them through their agencies' account representatives at pre-publication rate. This notice is intended for other parties who might be interested in purchasing the book.