December 5, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of currently approved collection, and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on information needed to determine a deceased veteran's eligibility for burial benefits.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of continued commercial dredging of sand and gravel from the Missouri River in Missouri and Kansas. The proposed dredging will occur in a navigable waterway and the portion of dredged material that is too coarse or too fine to be used will be discharged back into the river, thereby requiring Department of the Army (DA) authorization under Section 10 of the River and Harbors Act and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Commercial dredging in the Missouri River has been ongoing for more than 50 years but has increased from approximately 1.3 million tons per year in 1974 to approximately 8 million tons in 2006. The current DA permits for six Missouri River commercial dredging operations will expire December 31, 2009 and those six operations and four proposed operations have applied for new DA permits to dredge up to 12.435 million tons per year beginning in 2010.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

Announcement is made of the availability for licensing of the invention set forth in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/043,242 entitled ``Chest Tube Clamp,'' filed April 8, 2008. The United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of the Army, has rights in this invention.

Announcement is made of the availability for licensing of the invention set forth in U.S. Patent Application No. 11/379,558 entitled ``Foley Catheter Adaptor,'' filed April 20, 2006(Patent Application Publication No. U.S. 2008/0009793, published January 10, 2008). The United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of the Army, has rights in this invention.

Announcement is made of the availability for licensing of the invention set forth in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/041,958 entitled ``Therapeutic Trigger Simulator,'' filed April 3, 2008. The United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of the Army, has rights in this invention.

The Denali Commission (Commission) is an independent Federal agency based on an innovative federal-state partnership designed to provide critical utilities, infrastructure and support for economic development and training in Alaska by delivering federal services in the most cost-effective manner possible. The Commission was created in 1998 with passage of the October 21, 1998 Denali Commission Act (Act) (Title III of Pub. L. 105-277, 42 U.S.C. 3121). The Denali Commission Act requires that the Commission develop proposed work plans for future spending and that the annual Work Plan be published in the Federal Register, providing an opportunity for a 30-day period of public review and written comment. This Federal Register notice serves to announce the 30-day opportunity for public comment on the Denali Commission Draft Work Plan for Federal Fiscal Year 2009.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, the Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary invites the general public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the Foreign Air Carrier Application for Statement of Authorization. The pre-existing information collection request previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) expires on January 31, 2009.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226-D [Revised]) (referred to as the ``Draft Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship EIS'' or ``Draft EIS''). This Draft EIS revises the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Completion of the West Valley Demonstration Project and Closure or Long-Term Management of Facilities at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226-D) issued for public comment in January 1996 (referred to as the ``1996 Cleanup and Closure Draft EIS''). This Draft EIS was prepared in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and the DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures (10 CFR part 1021). DOE and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) are joint lead agencies for preparing the Draft EIS, while the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) are cooperating agencies. NYSDEC and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) are involved agencies under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). This Draft EIS analyzes alternatives for decommissioning the site and/or long-term stewardship, as well as a No Action Alternative as required by NEPA and SEQRA. The Proposed Action is the completion of the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) and the decommissioning and/or long-term management or stewardship of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC). This includes the decontamination and decommissioning of the waste storage tanks and facilities used in the solidification of high-level radioactive waste, and any material and hardware used in connection with the WVDP. DOE needs to determine the manner in which facilities, materials, and hardware for which the Department is responsible will be managed or decommissioned in accordance with applicable Federal and State requirements. NYSERDA needs to determine what material or structures for which it is responsible will remain on site, and what institutional controls, engineered barriers, or stewardship provisions would be needed. For the Proposed Action, the three action alternatives evaluated in the Draft EIS are Sitewide Removal, Sitewide Close-In-Place, and Phased Decisionmaking. A No Action Alternative is also evaluated in accordance with NEPA, which would continue management and oversight of the WNYNSC under the conditions that will exist at the Starting Point of this EIS in 2011.

FinCEN invites comment on a renewal without change of an information collection contained in the form, ``Suspicious Activity Report by the Securities and Futures Industry (SAR-SF).'' The form will be used by the securities and futures industry to report suspicious activity to the Department of the Treasury. This request for comments also covers 31 CFR 103.17 and 31 CFR 103.19. This request for comments is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).

This document contains proposed regulations relating to withholding under section 3402(t) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). The proposed regulations reflect changes in the law made by the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 that require Federal, State, and local government entities to withhold income tax when making payments to persons providing property or services. These proposed regulations provide guidance to assist the government entities in complying with section 3402(t). The regulations also provide certain guidance to persons receiving payments for property or services from government entities. This document also contains proposed amendments to regulations under sections 3406, 6011, 6051, 6071, and 6302 of the Code.

OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements contained in the Cadmium in Construction Standard (29 CFR 1926.1127).