August 1, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) reminds parties about the comment cycle applicable to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on the recommendations of the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks (Independent Panel). In addition, the Commission requests that, in addressing the issues raised in the NPRM, parties address the applicability of the Panel's recommendations to all types of natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, forest fires) as well as other types of incidents (e.g., terrorist attacks, flu pandemic, industrial accidents, etc.). Parties should also discuss whether the Panel's recommendations are broad enough to take into account the diverse topography of our Nation, the susceptibility of a region to a particular type of disaster, and the multitude of communications capabilities a region may possess.

NMFS has received a request from Eglin Air Force Base (EAFB) for the take of marine mammals, by Level B harassment, incidental to Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal School (NEODS) Training Operations at EAFB, Florida. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the Air Force to take, by Level B harassment, two species of cetaceans at EAFB beginning in July, 2006. NMFS is also requesting comments on its intent to promulgate regulations in 2007 governing the take of marine mammals over a 5-year period incidental to the activities described herein. NMFS issued an IHA for these activities in 2005 (70 FR 51341, August 30, 2005), however, the activities were not conducted.

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Act of October 19, 1965 (79 Stat. 985; 22 U.S.C. 2459), Executive Order 12047 of March 27, 1978, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 6501 note, et seq.), Delegation of Authority No. 234 of October 1, 1999, Delegation of Authority No. 236 of October 19, 1999, as amended, and Delegation of Authority No. 257 of April 15, 2003 [68 FR 19875], I hereby determine that the objects to be included in the exhibition ``New Ireland; Art of the South Pacific,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are imported pursuant to loan agreements with the foreign owners or custodians. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Missouri, from on or about October 13, 2006, until on or about January 7, 2007, and at possible additional venues yet to be determined, is in the national interest. Public Notice of these Determinations is ordered to be published in the Federal Register.

NMFS notifies the public of the reallocation of monkfish research days-at-sea (DAS) as exempted DAS. These are DAS that were set aside under the 2006 Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program, but were not distributed through the NOAA grant process. These exempted DAS may be used for the conduct of monkfish related research activities during fishing year (FY) 2006 (May 1, 2006, through April 30, 2007). Requests for a monkfish DAS exemption must be submitted with a complete application for an exempted fishing permit (EFP).

This document contains temporary regulations relating to income that is associated with a residual interest in a Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (REMIC) and that is allocated through certain entities to foreign persons who have invested in those entities. The regulations accelerate the time when income is recognized for withholding tax purposes to conform to the timing of income recognition for general income tax purposes. The foreign persons covered by these regulations include partners in domestic partnerships, shareholders of real estate investment trusts, shareholders of regulated investment companies, participants in common trust funds, and patrons of subchapter T cooperatives. These regulations are necessary to prevent inappropriate avoidance of current income tax liability by foreign persons to whom income from REMIC residual interests is allocated. The regulations clarify the timing of income under section 860G for purposes of determining a domestic partnership's responsibility under sections 1441 and 1442 for withholding tax with respect to a foreign partner's share of REMIC net income as a result of indirectly holding a residual interest. The regulations also provide that an excess inclusion is treated as income from sources within the United States. The text of the temporary regulations also serves as the text of the proposed regulations set forth in the notice of proposed rulemaking on this subject in the Proposed Rules section in this issue of the Federal Register.

An open meeting of the Area 3 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted (via teleconference). The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Area 2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted (via teleconference). The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has prepared a Draft Areawide Environmental Impact Statement consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, to disclose potential effects to the human environment. The Watershed Plan and Areawide Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Cape Cod Water Resources Restoration Project are combined into a single document. The purposes of the Project are to restore degraded salt marshes, restore anadromous fish passages, and improve water quality for shellfishing areas. Specifically, sponsors wish to: 1. Improve tidal flushing in salt marshes where man-made obstructions (i.e., road culverts) have restricted tidal flow. This will help restore native plant and animal communities in salt marshes, and improve biotic integrity. 2. Restore fish ladders and other fish passages that have deteriorated. This will allow greater numbers of anadromous fish (which spend most of their adult lives in salt water and migrate to freshwater streams, rivers, and lakes to reproduce; for example, alewife, blueback herring) to gain access to spawning areas, and support greater populations of other species (for example, striped bass, bluefish, weakfish, largemouth bass, chain pickerel) that depend on them for food. 3. Maintain and improve water quality affecting shellfish beds by treating stormwater runoff. This will help ensure that shellfish beds which are threatened with closure remain open, and maintain or extend the current shellfishing season for beds whose use is restricted during certain times of year. This Project is needed because human activity on Cape Cod has degraded its natural resources, including salt marshes, anadromous fish runs, and water quality over shellfish beds. The development of Cape Cod has required the construction of extensive road and railroad networks. Along the coast, culverts or bridges were needed for these networks to cross tidal marshes, and many of the openings through these structures are not large enough to allow adequate tidal flushing. When the culverts or bridges constrict flow, the tidal regime changes, which results in vegetation changes over time; what was once a thriving salt marsh can become a brackish or fresh water wetland dominated by invasive species. Together with funding from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), the Cape Cod Commission and the Buzzards Bay Project National Estuary Program identified over 182 sites where salt marshes have been altered by human activity. Human activity on Cape Cod has also resulted in damming or diverting streams, causing anadromous fish to lose access to spawning grounds. In addition, water flow may have been altered by cranberry growers and other farmers. Fish ladders and other fish passage facilities have been built to help ensure that fish get access to spawning areas, but these structures deteriorate over time (end of design life), or they may be of obsolete design and need replacement to function properly. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) identified 93 fish passage obstructions on Cape Cod. Cape Cod's economy depends on good water quality. Shellfishing, a multi-million dollar industry on the Cape, is only allowed in areas with excellent water quality. As land is developed, and more areas are paved, stormwater runoff may become contaminated with nutrients, metals, fertilizers, bacteria, etc. This runoff may carry enough fecal coliform bacteria to affect water quality in shellfishing areas, thus leading to closure of shellfishing areas, or restrictions on the periods when the beds can remain open. DMF and town officials identified over 160 stormwater discharge points into shellfishing areas. By controlling sources of runoff, separating clean water from contamination sources, and capturing and treating the most heavily contaminated runoff through a variety of measures (e.g., infiltration, constructed wetlands). Two alternatives were considered: Proposed Action/Recommended Plan and the No action alternative. No Action would continue the declining trend of water quality of shellfish waters, impaired anadromous fish runs and degraded salt marshes. The recommended plan is the Proposed Action (Cape Cod Water Resources Restoration Project) because it maximizes ecological benefits and is the National Ecosystem Restoration (NER) Plan. The Recommended Plan achieves the desired level of improvement for the least cost. For each project type (shellfish, fish passage, and salt marsh), the Restoration Project would provide a greater number of habitat units and greater other environmental benefits than the No Action Alternative. NRCS has developed a list of 76 projects that will meet the sponsors' objectives. All of these projects have received a planning-level analysis to ensure that they appear feasible and capable of providing the habitat benefits sought through this areawide Project. When the Project is authorized and funded, the sponsors will propose specific projects to NRCS. NRCS will review each project in more detail to determine the most cost-effective practice for that site and to verify that the habitat objectives will be achieved. The recommended plan would help to maintain or improve water quality in up to 26 shellfish areas affecting 7,300 acres of shellfish beds. Current laws and regulations require stormwater management for all new developments, which prevents or minimizes new development from causing the same water quality impairments that occurred in the past. The Project is expected to improve tidal flushing at 26 sites enhancing 1,500 acres of salt marsh. Current design guidelines prevent or minimize road or railroad construction from causing the same hydrological restrictions that occurred in the past. And through this Project it is expected that 24 fish passages on Cape Cod would be restored to full function improving access to 4,200 acres of spawning habitat. Written comments regarding this Draft Areawide EIS should be mailed to: Cecil B. Currin, Cape Cod Water Resources Restoration Project EIS, USDA-NRCS, 451 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002. Comments may also be submitted by sending a facsimile to (413) 253-4395 or by e-mail to cecil.currin@ma.usda.gov. Please include CCWRRP in the subject line. Project information is also available on the Internet at https:// www.ma.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/CCWRRP.

NASA is proposing to amend the clause at NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 1852.204-76, Security Requirements for Unclassified Information Technology Resources, to reflect the updated requirements of NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) 2810, ``Security of Information Technology''. The NPR was recently revised to address increasing cyber threats and to ensure consistency with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), which requires agencies to protect information and information systems in a manner that is commensurate with the sensitivity of the information processed, transmitted, or stored.

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; the Council on Environmental Quality Guidelines (40 CFR part 1500); and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service) Guidelines (7 CFR part 650); the Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Robert Jones, State Conservationist, finds that neither the proposed action nor any of the alternatives is a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, and determine that an environmental impact statement is not needed for the Construction in the Matanuska River of Spur Dike 5, at Circleview Estates, Palmer, AK.

The inventions listed below are owned by an agency of the U.S. Government and are available for licensing in the U.S. in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally-funded research and development. Foreign patent applications are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage for companies and may also be available for licensing.

We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule to revise and reorganize the regulations pertaining to the importation of fruits and vegetables to consolidate requirements of general applicability and eliminate redundant requirements, update terms and remove outdated requirements and references, update the regulations that apply to importations into territories under U.S. administration, and make various editorial and nonsubstantive changes to regulations to make them easier to use. We also proposed to make substantive changes to the regulations, including: Establishing criteria within the regulations that, if met, would allow us to approve certain new fruits and vegetables for importation into the United States and to acknowledge pest-free areas in foreign countries more effectively and expeditiously; doing away with the practice of listing specific commodities that may be imported subject to certain types of phytosanitary measures; and providing for the issuance of special use permits for fruits and vegetables. The proposed changes are intended to simplify and expedite our processes for approving certain new imports and pest-free areas while continuing to allow for public participation in the processes. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

The Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC) and its working groups will meet to discuss various issues relating to the training and fitness of merchant marine personnel. MERPAC advises the Secretary of Homeland Security on matters relating to the training, qualifications, licensing, and certification of seamen serving in the U.S. merchant marine. All meetings will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish safety zones throughout the Great Lakes. These zones are intended to restrict vessels from portions of the Great Lakes during live fire gun exercises that will be conducted by Coast Guard cutters and small boats. These safety zones are necessary to protect the public from the hazards associated with the firing of weapons.

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Public Law No. 104-13. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that does not display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Conectiv Energy Supply, Inc. (CESI) has applied to amend its authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act.

This notice identifies those petitions that the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) received by the deadline of July 20, 2006, for consideration in the 2006 Annual Review. Because of technical difficulties in receiving petitions, USTR requests parties who submitted petitions prior to July 20, 2006, to review the list of petitioners included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION and to notify the USTR of any petitions that were submitted to the GSP Subcommittee by 5 p.m., July 20, 2006, but not included in that list.

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

Ivania Castro and Edward Nissan (Applicants) each request an incidental take permit (ITP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The Applicants anticipate taking a total of about 0.97 acre of Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens)(scrub-jay) foraging, sheltering, and potential nesting habitat incidental to lot preparation for the construction of four single-family homes and supporting infrastructure in Brevard County, Florida (Project). Each of the Applicants seek an incidental take permit for a one-year term. The destruction of 0.97 acre of foraging, sheltering, and potential nesting habitat is expected to result in the take of two families of scrub-jays. The Applicants' Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP) describe the mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address the effects of the Projects to the Florida scrub-jay. These measures are outlined in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.