April 10, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice sets forth the schedule and summary agenda for a meeting of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and describes the functions of the Council. Notice of this meeting is required under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). Dates and Place: April 24, 2007, Washington, DC. The meeting will be held in Room 100 at the Keck Center of the National Academies at 500 5th St., NW., Washington, DC. Type of Meeting: Open. Further details on the meeting agenda will be posted on the PCAST Web site at: https://www.ostp.gov/PCAST/ pcast.html. Proposed Schedule and Agenda: The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is scheduled to meet in open session on Tuesday April 24, 2007, at approximately 9 a.m. The co-chairs of the PCAST subcommittee on networking and information technology are tentatively scheduled to lead a discussion on the findings of the PCAST review of the Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program. The PCAST will hear presentations on modes of interaction between the private sector and traditionally Federally funded research communities. The PCAST also is tentatively scheduled to hear presentations on personalized medicine as part of the Council's study of policy issues associated with realizing the benefits of scientific and technological advances in this area. This session will end at approximately 5 p.m. Additional information and the final agenda will be posted at the PCAST Web site at: https://www.ostp.gov/ PCAST/pcast.html. Public Comments: There will be time allocated for the public to speak on the above agenda items. This public comment time is designed for substantive commentary on PCAST's work topics, not for business marketing purposes. Please submit a request for the opportunity to make a public comment five (5) days in advance of the meeting. The time for public comments will be limited to no more than 5 minutes per person. Written comments are also welcome at any time following the meeting. Please notify Celia Merzbacher, PCAST Executive Director, at (202) 456- 7116, or fax your request/comments to (202) 456-6021.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, 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 a proposed revised information collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice seeks comments concerning the e-Grants application used to determine whether mitigation activities proposed for funding meets eligibility criteria. To better reflect all of the mitigation grant programs using the mitigation e-Grants application, the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) e-Grant Program, the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) e-Grant Program and the Repetitive Flood Claims (RFC) e-Grant Program have been combined and renamed to be called the Mitigation Grant Program/e-Grants.

Notice is hereby given that the Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) Conservation Science (Dr. William J. Sydeman, Responsible Party), 3820 Cypress Drive, 11 Petaluma, CA 94954 has been issued a permit to conduct scientific research on pinnipeds in California.

NMFS has received an application from Shell Offshore, Inc. (SOI) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting open-water offshore exploratory drilling on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil lease blocks in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to SOI to incidentally take, by Level B harassment, small numbers of several species of marine mammals between mid-July and November, 2007, incidental to conducting this drilling program.

NMFS has received an application from Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals incidental to conducting a low-energy marine seismic survey in the northeastern Indian Ocean during May-August 2007. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to SIO to incidentally take, by Level B harassment only, several species of marine mammals during the aforementioned activity.

The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR), will meet at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on Thursday, May 10, 2007 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. and Friday, May 11, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The primary purpose of this meeting is to discuss NEHRP program activities. The NEHRP Advisory Committee will also discuss its annual report to the NIST Director. The agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. The final agenda will be posted on the NEHRP Web site at https:// nehrp.gov/.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has officially filed the plats of survey of the lands described below in the BLM Idaho State Office, Boise, Idaho, effective 9 a.m., on the dates specified.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an appealable decision approving lands for conveyance pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act will be issued to Maserculiq, Incorporated. The lands are in the vicinity of the Native village of Marshall, Alaska, and are located in:

This action announces the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) intent to implement an expedited process for approving alternative testing methods for existing regulations for drinking water contaminants. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) authorizes EPA to approve the use of alternative testing methods through publication of a notice in the Federal Register instead of through rulemaking procedures. EPA plans to use this streamlined authority to make additional methods available for analyzing drinking water compliance and unregulated contaminant monitoring samples. This expedited approach will provide public water systems, laboratories, and primacy agencies with more timely access to new measurement techniques and greater flexibility in the selection of analytical methods, thereby reducing monitoring costs while maintaining public health protection. This notice requests comments on implementation aspects of the expedited method approval process.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Regulatory Division), in coordination with the Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD), has completed a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Hemet/San Jacinto Integrated Recharge and Recovery Project. EMWD requires authorization pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for 15.9 acres of fill into waters of the U.S.

This program is authorized by 42 U.S.C. 300u-2(a). The mission of the Office on Women's Health (OWH) is to promote the health of women and girls through gender-specific approaches. To that end, OWH has established activities to address critical women's health issues nationwide. These include: Developing and implementing model public/private partnerships that address the health issues of incarcerated and newly released women, largely women of color, living with HIV/AIDS/STDs or at increased risk for sexually transmitted infections. These may include piloting a comprehensive system of health related support services, such as ensuring access to health care and most current therapies, pre-release discharge planning, case managing transition processes, and establishing linkages to various community- based support and prevention services. Funding will be directed at activities designed to improve the delivery of services to women disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Ad Hoc Sector Omnibus Committee (Committee) in April, 2007, to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the SAB Committee on Valuing the Protection of Ecological Systems and Services (C-VPESS) to discuss a draft committee report related to valuing the protection of ecological systems and services.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request for a renewal of an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on 4/30/ 07. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. The ICR which is abstracted below describes the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost.

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.

We are notifying the public of our receipt of a petition for rulemaking, and we are soliciting public comment on that petition. The petition, sponsored by The Hunte Corporation, requests that we replace the definition of Class ``B'' licensee in the Animal Welfare Act regulations with four new categories of licensees: Pet distributor, exhibitor animal distributor, laboratory animal distributor, and other distributor.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a certificate under 35 U.S.C. 156(d)(5) for a third one-year interim extension of the term of U.S. Patent No. 4,650,787.