September 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This publication is to serve as notice that on October 17, 2008, Subpart F of Title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 36, will be applicable to industry segment 7. Program participants in the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program's servicing and claims activities were assigned to one of nine industry segments as part of the planned phased implementation of the rules in Subpart F. All program participants were given notice of their respective segments and were afforded opportunity to comment during the regulatory development process (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section, below). Segment 7 participants will be under the authority of Subpart F rules on October 17, 2008. VA continues to work with these participants to ensure that all necessary servicing system modifications, defect corrections, interface testing and data transmission are addressed.

EPA is revoking certain tolerances for the insecticides/ nematicides aldicarb, ethoprop, and oxamyl; the insecticides disulfoton, malathion, and methyl parathion; the miticide/acaricide propargite; the fungicides o-phenylphenol and its sodium salt, triadimefon, triadimenol, and ziram; the herbicides ametryn, dicamba, diuron, oxyfluorfen, and paraquat; the growth regulator/herbicide dimethipin; and the antimicrobial/insecticidal fumigant propylene oxide. Also, EPA is modifying certain tolerances for the insecticide/ nematicide oxamyl; the insecticide fenitrothion; the miticide/acaricide propargite; the molluscicide metaldehyde; the fungicides triadimefon and tridemorph; the herbicides ametryn, 2,4-DB, dicamba, and diuron; and the antimicrobial/insecticidal fumigant propylene oxide. In addition, EPA is establishing tolerances for the insecticide/nematicide oxamyl; the molluscicide metaldehyde; the fungicides etridiazole and streptomycin; the herbicides 2,4-DB, dicamba, and diuron; and the antimicrobial/insecticidal fumigant propylene oxide and propylene chlorohydrin (a reaction product formed during the propylene oxide sterilization process). Finally, because tolerances expired in 2005, EPA is removing 40 CFR 180.167 for nicotine-containing compounds. The regulatory actions finalized in this document are in follow-up to the Agency's reregistration program under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and tolerance reassessment program under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), section 408(q).

In accordance with section 102(a)(4)(C) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989, this announcement notifies the public of past funding decisions made by the Department in a competition for funding under the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) for the Homeless Assistance Grants program. This announcement contains the names of the awardees and the amounts of the awards made available. Federal Register notices on these actions were not published at the time; however, the public was advised of these grant selections since they were posted on HUD's Web site. The postings contained listings of the selected applicants including descriptions of the projects.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the availability of the Proposed Middle Columbia River Steelhead Recovery Plan (Plan) for public review and comment. The Plan addresses the Middle Columbia River Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Distinct Population Segment (DPS), which spawns and rears in tributaries to the Columbia River in central and eastern Washington and Oregon. NMFS is soliciting review and comment from the public and all interested parties on the Proposed Plan.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that the NIST Blue Ribbon Commission on Management and Safety, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will meet Monday, October 6, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., in the NIST laboratory in Boulder, CO. This notice is the second meeting of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Management and Safety. The purpose of this meeting is to continue a high level review of NIST's management structure and systems as they relate to safety at the Institute. The Commission will ultimately provide consensus advice to the Department of Commerce on whether (a) The training, safety, security, and response protocols, (b) the implementation of those protocols and internal controls, and (c) the management structure at NIST are appropriate to ensure safe operations of all NIST programs. The agenda for this meeting will focus on NIST safety and management structure at the Boulder laboratories. The agenda may change to accommodate Commission business. The final agenda will be posted on the NIST Web site at https://www.nist.gov/director/blueribbon/.

In compliance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the Office of Science Education, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Proposed Collection Title: The Effectiveness of the NIH Curriculum Supplements Programs Survey. Information Collection Request: New. Need and Use of Information Collection: The survey will attempt to assess customer demographics and their satisfaction with the NIH curriculum supplements in presenting science in a more engaging and interactive way. The supplements help K-12 educators teach science by featuring the latest NIH research and utilized research-based instructional methods. A typical supplement contains two weeks of student activities on the science behind a health topic, such as cancer, sleep or obesity. Web-based simulations, animations and experiments enhance the ``pencil and paper'' activities. In addition to developing and distributing the supplements, OSE conducts professional workshops to help teachers successfully implement these lessons with their students. Since January 2000, over 6,000 teachers have attended an OSE workshop. Assessing the effectiveness of the NIH curriculum supplements and teacher workshops is critical to determining if OSE is successfully fulfilling its mission. OSE has the database infrastructure in place to easily collect data from supplement requesters and workshop attendees. At present, we do not have clearance to contact our customers to determine how NIH resources are meeting their educational needs.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) finds that a short period of additional time will permit all interested parties to file more thorough and thoughtful comments on a July 11, 2008 petition for Declaratory Ruling (Petition) filed by CTIAThe Wireless Association (CTIA). In its Petition, CTIA asked the Commission to clarify the provisions of section 332(c)(7)(B)(v) of the Communications Act, as amended, that CTIA contends are ambiguous and that have been unreasonably interpreted. CTIA further requested that the Commission preempt local ordinances and state laws that it believes violate section 253(a) of the Communications Act, as amended. The Commission states that an extension of time for comments and reply comments should lead to a more complete and better-informed record, and thus, it finds that good cause exists to provide all parties an extension of time for filing comments and reply comments on the Petition.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing its intention to take enforcement action against unapproved ophthalmic balanced salt solutions for irrigation of the eye during surgery and persons\1\ who manufacture or cause the manufacture of such products or their shipment in interstate commerce. Unapproved ophthalmic balanced salt solutions have been associated with adverse events, some of them leading to permanent loss of visual acuity, because of contamination of the product or other product defects. Ophthalmic balanced salt solutions are new drugs that require approved applications because they are not generally recognized as safe and effective. Two firms have approved applications to market these products. Manufacturers who wish to market ophthalmic balanced salt solutions must obtain FDA approval of a new drug application (NDA) or an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA).

The plats of survey of the described lands were officially filed in the Arizona State Office, Bureau of Land Management, Phoenix, Arizona, on dates indicated.