March 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The inventions listed below are assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Army. The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center intends to license these inventions exclusively in the field of virus detection in Agricultural and Veterinary Diagnostics and Agricultural and Veterinary Disease Detection, to NanoEngineering Corporation, a Florida Corporation with principal offices at 1717 Edgar StreetUnit 103, and West Palm Beach, Florida 33401-6976. The inventions to be licensed are U.S. Patent No. 6,051,189 issued April 18, 2000, and entitled ``System and method for detection, identification and monitoring of submicron-sized particles,'' U.S. Patent No. 6,485,686 issued November 26, 2002, and entitled ``Method and apparatus for counting submicron sized particles,'' U.S. Patent No. 6,491,872 issued December 10, 2002, and entitled ``Method and system for detecting and recording submicron sized particles,'' and U.S. Patent No. 7,250,138 issued July 31, 2007, and entitled ``Method and system for detecting and recording submicron sized particles.''

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), U.S. Department of the Interior, is submitting a request for renewal of the information collection for Home-living Programs and School Closure and Consolidation, currently authorized by OMB Control Number 1076-0164, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the DOE Loan Guarantee to Royal Bank of Scotland for Construction and Startup of the Topaz Solar Farm, San Luis Obispo County, California (DOE/EIS-0458D) (Draft EIS) for public review and comment, as well as the date, location and time for a public hearing. The Draft EIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the DOE's proposed action of issuing a Federal loan guarantee to support construction and startup of the Topaz Solar Farm Project located in San Luis Obispo County, California (Proposed Project). The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, as Lender-Applicant, with Topaz Solar Farms, LLC (Topaz) as the borrower, submitted an application to DOE under the Federal loan guarantee program pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005). Topaz is a limited liability company that is owned by First Solar, Inc. The loan guarantee would support the financing arranged by the Royal Bank of Scotland for the construction and start up of the Proposed Project. Topaz proposes to develop the Project on up to 4,100 acres of land. As proposed, the nominal 550-megawatt electric generation project would include the installation of about nine million photovoltaic (PV) solar modules within approximately 437 arrays and associated electric equipment. Generated electricity would be sold to Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) under a long-term power purchase agreement. The Project would be interconnected into PG&E's existing Morro Bay-Midway 230- kilovolt (kV) transmission line, which runs in an east-to-west direction through the site and portions of Kern County.

This Notice establishes the procedure for program offices operating under the authority of the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in conducting the objective merit review of discretionary financial assistance and Other Transaction Authority funding applications. The effective date for the Objective Merit Review Procedure contained in this notice is March 18, 2011.

This document announces receipt by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) of 29 petitions from 27 manufacturers seeking a 180-day extension of the compliance date related to recent amendments to the DOE test procedure for residential furnaces and boilers to address the standby mode and off mode energy consumption of those products. The petitioners demonstrated that meeting the specified compliance date would impose an undue hardship. Accordingly, today's Decision and Order grants these petitions to extend the compliance date by the requested 180 days.

The Custer and Gallatin National Forest's Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Columbus, Montana. The committee is meeting as authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self- Determination Act (Pub. L. 110-343) and in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose is to hold the first meeting of the newly formed committee.

This document contains final regulations under section 3042 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) relating to the enrollment of actuaries. These regulations update the eligibility requirements for performing actuarial services for ERISA-covered employee pension benefit plans, including the continuing professional education requirements, and the standards for performing such actuarial services. These regulations will affect employee pension benefit plans and the actuaries providing actuarial services to those plans.

The Department of Commerce, 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.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations by removing those portions that reflect approval of 13 new animal drug applications (NADAs). In a notice published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, FDA is withdrawing approval of these NADAs.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is withdrawing approval of 13 new animal drug applications (NADAs). In a final rule published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, FDA is amending the regulations to remove portions reflecting approval of these NADAs.

This proposed rule would amend postal regulations to improve the administration of the Post Office closing and consolidation process. In addition, certain procedures employed for the discontinuance of Post Offices would be applied to the discontinuance of other types of retail facilities operated by Postal Service employees.

This document describes corrections to a notice and request for comments that was published in the Federal Register on Monday, March 7, 2011 at 76 FR 12415 inviting 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)).

This rulemaking finalizes a February 24, 2010, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which DEA proposed to control the chemical precursor ergocristine as a List I chemical under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Clandestine laboratories are using this chemical as a substitute for the List I chemicals ergotamine and ergonovine to illicitly manufacture the schedule I controlled substance lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). This rule is being finalized as proposed. Therefore, handlers of ergocristine shall be subject to the chemical regulatory provisions of the CSA and its implementing regulations. This rulemaking does not establish a threshold for domestic and international transactions of ergocristine. As such, all transactions involving ergocristine, regardless of size, shall be regulated. This rulemaking also specifies that chemical mixtures containing ergocristine will not be exempt from regulatory requirements at any concentration. Therefore, all transactions of chemical mixtures containing any quantity of ergocristine shall be regulated and subject to control under the CSA.

An open meeting of the Area 3 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Area 6 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comment, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Small Business/ Self Employed Correspondence Exam Toll Free Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.