January 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 2004-18, Average Area Purchase Price Safe Harbors and Nationwide Purchase Prices under section 143.

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 an existing notice of proposed rulemaking and temporary regulations, REG- 109704-97 (TD 8471), HIPAA Mental Health Parity Act (Sec. 54.9812).

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 an existing final regulation, FI-46-89 (T.D. 8641), Treatment of Acquisition of Certain Financial Institutions; Certain Tax Consequences of Federal Financial Assistance to Financial Institutions (Sec. Sec. 1.597-2 and 1.597-4, 1.597-6 and 1.597-7).

The Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act) requires that each Federal agency provide notice to all employees, former employees, and applicants for employment about the rights and remedies available to them under the anti-discrimination laws and whistleblower protection laws that apply to them. This document fulfills the Postal ServiceTM's requirement under the regulations promulgated by the Office of Personnel Management to publish the initial notice of such rights and remedies in the Federal Register.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to define the term ``gluten-free'' for voluntary use in the labeling of foods, to mean that the food does not contain any of the following: An ingredient that is any species of the grains wheat, rye, barley, or a crossbred hybrid of these grains (all noted grains are collectively referred to as ``prohibited grains''); an ingredient that is derived from a prohibited grain and that has not been processed to remove gluten (e.g., wheat flour); an ingredient that is derived from a prohibited grain and that has been processed to remove gluten (e.g., wheat starch), if the use of that ingredient results in the presence of 20 parts per million (ppm) or more gluten in the food; or 20 ppm or more gluten. A food that bears the claim ``gluten-free'' or similar claim in its labeling and fails to meet the conditions specified in the proposed definition of ``gluten-free'' would be deemed misbranded. FDA also is proposing to deem misbranded a food bearing a gluten-free claim in its labeling if the food is inherently free of gluten and if the claim does not refer to all foods of that same type (e.g., ``milk, a gluten-free food'' or ``all milk is gluten-free''). In addition, a food made from oats that bears a gluten-free claim in its labeling would be deemed misbranded if the claim suggests that all such foods are gluten-free or if 20 ppm or more gluten is present in the food. Establishing a definition of the term ``gluten-free'' and uniform conditions for its use in the labeling of foods is needed to ensure that individuals with celiac disease are not misled and are provided with truthful and accurate information with respect to foods so labeled. This proposed action is in response to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA).

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published a notice in the Federal Register of June 7, 2006 (Vol. 71, No. 109), pages 32969-32987, presenting the data measures, data composites, and national standards to be used in the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR). This notice provides corrections to this notice. A consolidated version of the June 7 Federal Register Announcement incorporating these corrections is provided on the Children's Bureau's Web site (address). The following are the key changes in the document and the reasons for the changes: There are new specifications for each of the individual measures included in each composite. After publication of the June 7, Federal Register Announcement, ACF conducted trainings on the CFSR data indicators at each of the 10 ACF Regional Offices. The trainings were provided to key administrators and staff of State child welfare agencies. During these trainings, issues were identified and questions were raised regarding the individual measures included in the composite. After reviewing these issues and questions, ACF determined that more specific information about the measures was needed and that some measures required revision in order to better target the outcome being assessed. The increased specification includes using the precise terminology that is used in the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and describing in greater detail the children who are in the denominator and numerator of each measure. The revisions to some of the measures required changes in the syntax used to calculate the measures. There is a new definition of foster parent used by the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). The change was made in this definition because the definition of a foster parent used by NCANDS was recently revised. There is a new version of the table of ranges, percentiles, and national standards for the data indicators and measures to be used in the second round of the Child and Family Services Review. This table replaces the Table 1 provided in the June 7, 2006 Federal Register. It was revised to reflect new data and new national standards for all of the CFSR data indicators. The data in the table and the national standards for all of the data indicators and measures are different than those presented in the June 7 Federal Register notice. This difference is due to one or both of the following reasons: (1) A change in the syntax for calculating some of the measures, and (2) a change in the process for calculating the national standards. The reason for the change in the procedures for calculating the national standards is provided in the following bullet. There are revisions and corrections to Attachment B: Methodology for Developing the Composites. The revisions in Attachment B were made to (1) correct an error in the original attachment B, (2) provide the new coefficients (weights) for the composite measures that resulted from the changes in the syntax, and (3) explain the new procedure for calculating the national standards. The error in the original attachment B occurred in Step 10 of the process of calculating the composite scores. The new coefficients (weights) for each of the measures included in the composites are presented in Table 1 of the attachmentCoefficients (Weights) for the Measures Included in the Permanency Related Data Composites. The coefficients/weights changed due to changes in the syntax used to calculate some of the individual measures. The new procedure for calculating the national standards involved changes in the statistical requirements for fitting the data to a normal curve and to changes in the parameters used in calculating the sampling error.

EPA is issuing national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for four area source categories. These final NESHAP include emissions limits and/or work practice standards that reflect the generally available control technologies (GACT) and/or management practices in each of these area source categories.

The Department of Justice (the Department) is amending Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations to authorize access to FBI- maintained criminal justice information systems for the conduct of background checks for the purpose of issuing identification documents to retired law enforcement officers.

This notice announces several actions related to posting of stockyards; when required we physically post a sign providing public notice that the stockyard is subject to provisions of the Packers and Stockyards Act. We propose to post 10 stockyards. We have received information that these stockyards meet the definition of a stockyard under the Packers and Stockyards Act and, therefore, need to be posted. Posted stockyards are subject to the provisions of the Packers and Stockyards Act. In addition, we have posted 12 stockyards that were previously announced as proposed postings. We determined that the stockyards meet the definition of a stockyard under the Packers and Stockyards Act and, therefore, have been posted. Three other facilities, for which notices of proposed posting were announced, were not posted because they no longer meet the definition of a stockyard. These facilities were either abandoned or underwent a change so they no longer function as a stockyard. We are also deposting two stockyards. These facilities can no longer be used as stockyards and, therefore, are no longer required to be posted.

Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1981 (44 U.S.C, Chapter 35), the Peace Corps has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for approval of information collections, OMB Control Number 0420-0533, the Peace Corps Crisis Corps Volunteer Application Form. This is a renewal of an active information collection. The purpose of this information collection is necessary in order to identify prospective, interested, and available returned Peace Corps Volunteers who are completing their services for Crisis Corps Volunteer Service. The information is used to determine availability, suitability, and potential Crisis Corps placement applicants. The purpose of this notice is to allow for public comment on whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Peace Corps, including whether their information will have practical use; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; ways to enhance the quality, utility and the clarity of the information to be collected; and, ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of automated collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information technology. A copy of the information collection may be obtained from Ms. Mary Angelini, Director of the Crisis Corps, Peace Corps, 1111 20th Street, NW., Room 7305, Washington, DC 20526. Ms. Angelini may be contacted by telephone at 202-692-2250. Comments on the form should also be addressed to the attention of Ms. Angelini and should be received on or before march 26, 2007.

This notice announces the availability of the Draft Guidance for Munitions and Explosive of Concern Hazard Assessment (Guidance) for public comment. The Guidance was jointly developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, and Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials. The Guidance is available to support a recommended method for evaluating explosive safety hazards at military munitions response sites. It also presents approaches to support the evaluation of the effects of removal and remedial actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Restoration, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) regarding explosive hazards at munitions response sites. EPA is providing the public an opportunity to review and comment on the draft Guidance. The Guidance, comment form, and related materials can be found on EPA's Web site at https://www.epa.gov/fedfac/documents/ hazardassesswrkgrp.htm.

The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of a new information collection. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on November 3rd, 2006. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Joint Canada-U.S. Review Panel for Pacific hake / Whiting will hold a work session which is open to the public.