April 8, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement recommendations to improve the regulations at FAR 32.001, 32.5, and 52.232-16 related to requests for progress payments and the Standard Form (SF) 1443, Contractor's Request for Progress Payments form used to request those progress payments.

The Coast Guard seeks applications for membership on the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC). This Committee advises the Coast Guard on matters related to the training, qualification, licensing, certification, and fitness of seamen serving in the U.S. merchant marine.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a), the Office of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior is issuing public notice of its intent to amend an existing Privacy Act system of records notice, Interior, DOI-18, ``Discrimination Complaints.'' The revisions will update the system name, addresses of the system locations and system managers, the categories of individuals covered by the system statement, the routine uses of the records, and the storage, retrievability, and safeguards statements.

NMFS announces the receipt of two exempted fishing permit (EFP) applications, and the intent to issue EFPs for vessels participating in the EFP fisheries. The EFPs are necessary to allow activities that are otherwise prohibited by Federal regulations. The EFPs will be effective no earlier than May 1, 2008, and would expire no later than December 31, 2008, but could be terminated earlier under terms and conditions of the EFPs and other applicable laws.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a meeting of its Shrimp Review Panel via conference call.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is notifying the public that it intends to grant the pending applications of 22 existing Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) for refunding on October 1, 2008, subject to the availability of funds. Nine states do not participate in the EO 12372 process; therefore, their addresses are not included. A short description of the SBDC program follows in the supplementary information below. The SBA is publishing this notice at least 90 days before the expected refunding date. The SBDCs and their mailing addresses are listed below in the address section. A copy of this notice also is being furnished to the respective State single points of contact designated under the Executive Order. Each SBDC application must be consistent with any area-wide small business assistance plan adopted by a State-authorized agency.

The Department of the Navy hereby gives notice of its intent to grant to SPADAC, Inc., a revocable, nonassignable, exclusive license in the United States and certain foreign countries, the Government- owned invention described in U.S. Patent No. 7,120,620: Method and System for Forecasting Events and Threats Based on Geospatial Modeling, Navy Case No. 96,695 and any continuations, divisionals or re-issues thereof.

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or containing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on the reporting and recordkeeping requirements for ``New Animal Drugs for Investigational Use.''

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Coast Guard intends to submit Information Collection Requests (ICRs) and Analyses to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requesting an extension of their approval for the following collections of information: (1) 1625-0044, Outer Continental Shelf Activities Title 33 CFR Subchapter N; (2) 1625-0045, Adequacy Certification for Reception Facilities and Advance Notice33 CFR part 158; and (3) 1625- 0060, Vapor Control Systems for Facilities and Tank Vessels. Before submitting these ICRs to OMB, the Coast Guard is inviting comments as described below.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on the proposed information collection. The proposed collection is a revision of a currently approved collection. The purpose of the Child Nutrition Labeling Program is to aid schools and institutions participating in Child Nutrition Programs in determining the contribution a commercial product makes toward the food-based meal pattern requirements of these programs.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to reorganize and rewrite in plain language provisions applicable to burial benefits. These revisions are proposed as part of VA's rewrite and reorganization of all of its compensation and pension rules in a logical, claimant- focused, and user-friendly format. The intended effect of the proposed revisions is to assist claimants, beneficiaries, and VA personnel in locating and understanding these regulations regarding burial benefits.

The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), intends to obligate approximately USD 21 million to support cooperative agreement awards to organizations to address exploitive child labor and forced labor internationally. ILAB intends to award, through a competitive and merit-based process, cooperative agreements to organizations to develop and implement formal, non- formal, and vocational education projects as a means to combat exploitive child labor in the following five countries: Guinea, Jordan, Madagascar, Nicaragua, and Yemen. ILAB intends to fund projects that focus on withdrawing and preventing children who are engaged in, or at risk of engaging in, exploitive child labor through the provision of direct educational services. The projects should propose innovative ways to provide these educational services to target populations and address the gaps and challenges to basic education found in the countries mentioned above. ILAB also intends to award a cooperative agreement to an organization(s) to conduct research on forced labor in selected countries to be determined. ILAB intends to solicit cooperative agreement applications from qualified organizations (i.e., any commercial, international, educational, or non-profit organization, including any faith-based, community-based, or public international organizations(s), capable of successfully developing and implementing child labor projects) to implement these projects. Please refer to https://www.dol.gov/ilab/grants/main.htm for examples of previous notices of availability of funds and solicitations for cooperative agreement applications. Information on the specific sectors, geographical regions, and funding levels for the potential projects in the countries listed above will be addressed in a solicitation(s) for cooperative agreement applications to be published prior to September 30, 2008. Potential applicants should not submit inquiries to USDOL for further information on these award opportunities until after USDOL's publication of the solicitations. For a list of frequently asked questions on Solicitations for Cooperative Agreement Applications (based on last year's solicitations, SGAs 07-10 and 07-11), please visit https:// www.dol.gov/ilab/faq/faq0710.htm. Key Dates: The forthcoming solicitation(s) for cooperative agreement applications will be published on https://www.grants.gov and USDOL/ILAB's Web site. A brief synopsis of the solicitation(s) for cooperative agreement applications (SGA) and Web site links to the full-text SGAs will be published in the Federal Register. The SGA will remain open for at least 30 days from the date of publication. All cooperative agreement awards will be made on or before September 30, 2008. Submission Information: Applications in response to the forthcoming solicitation must be submitted via https://www.grants.gov. Any application sent by mail or other delivery services, e-mail, telegram, or facsimile (Fax) will not be accepted.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a February 4, 2008, revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) on behalf of the State of North Carolina for the purpose of revising the subarea motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for the Greensboro/ Winston-Salem/High Point area. The Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point 1-hour ozone maintenance area (hereafter referred to as the ``Triad Area'') is comprised of Davidson, Forsyth, and Guilford Counties and a portion of Davie County. The revisions to the subarea MVEBs are approvable because of an available safety margin for volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) for this Area.