March 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has published two omnibus notices announcing an availability of grant funds for Fiscal Year 2006. The purpose of those notices was to provide the general public with a consolidated source of program and application information related to NOAA's competitive grant offerings. In those announcements, it was noted that additional program initiatives unanticipated at the time of the publication of this notice may be announced later in the year. This is such an announcement, for grant funding opportunities now being offered by programs within the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. Applicants must comply with all requirements contained in the full funding opportunity announcements for each project competition in this announcement.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has revised its procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act by revising Order 1050.1E, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, with Order 1050.1E, Change 1. The revisions include: changes for clarification, consistency, and addition of information; corrections; and editorial changes. This notice informs the public of the availability of the Final Order. This notice also provides the public with information on how to access Order 1050.1E, Change 1 on FAA's Office of Environment and Energy Web site.

The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 (CSLAA), enacted on December 23, 2004, directs the Secretary of Transportation and, through delegations, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation, to establish an experimental permit regime for developmental reusable suborbital rockets. The intent of Congress for the experimental permit regime is to reduce the regulatory burden on developers of reusable suborbital rockets. Congress intended that, ``[a]t a minimum, permits should be granted more quickly and with fewer requirements than licenses.'' (H. Rep. 108.429 Sec. VII) To address the intent of Congress and meet a reduced timeline for issuing permits, a congressionally mandated 120 day timeline, the FAA is preparing a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to evaluate the impacts of launches and reentries conducted under an experimental permit. The intent of the PEIS is to facilitate the development of a permit application package and the subsequent environmental review by FAA, and to ensure that the issuance of an experimental permit is consistent with the FAA's mission of protecting public health and safety, safety of property, and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. The proposed action for this PEIS is to issue experimental permits for the launch and reentry of reusable suborbital rockets. Suborbital rocket means a vehicle, rocket-propelled in whole or in part, intended for flight on a suborbital trajectory, the thrust of which is greater than its lift for the majority of the rocket-powered portion of its ascent. Suborbital trajectory means the intentional flight path of a launch vehicle, reentry vehicle, or any portion thereof, whose vacuum instantaneous impact point does not leave the surface of the Earth. The FAA will prepare the PEIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Parts 1500-1508), and the FAA procedures for implementing NEPA in FAA Order 1050.1E.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has filed the plats of survey of the lands described below in the BLM Wyoming State Office, Cheyenne, Wyoming, on February 3, 2006.

Technical information or comments are requested on the proposed Base (1% annual-chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and proposed BFE modifications for the communities listed below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that the community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The SAFMC and GMFMC will hold a joint Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC) ad hoc Sub-Committee meeting to determine appropriate king mackerel mixing rates for the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. The meeting will be held in Atlanta, GA. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The SEDAR Steering Committee will meet to discuss the SEDAR schedule of events for 2006; composition of the SEDAR 10, gag grouper, Review Panel; and scheduling of management activities for 2006. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

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 RP 2006-XX, Restaurant TipsAttributed Tip Income Program (ATIP).

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 Notice 2006-25, Qualifying Gasification Project Program.

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 Revenue Procedure 97-19, Timely Mailing Treated as Timely Filing.

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 Revenue Procedure 2005-16, Master and Prototype and Volume Submitter Plans.

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 4136, Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels.

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 8907, Nonconventional Source Fuel Credit.