June 10, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FRA announced the first meeting of the Northeast Corridor Safety Committee, a Federal Advisory Committee mandated by Section 212 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) on June 6, 2011 (See 76 FR 32391). This meeting is postponed until further notice and will be rescheduled at a future date.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is withdrawing a notice soliciting comments on its proposed revision to the United States Standards for Grades of Processed Raisins. Based on the petitioner's request to withdraw their petition, the agency has decided not to proceed with this action.

The Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010 amended section 273(d) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (the Act), requiring the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to establish an electronic reporting system for certain manufacturers of dairy products to report sales information for a mandatory dairy product reporting program. The amendment further stated that the Secretary shall publish the information obtained for the preceding week not later than 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday of each week. This proposed rule offers procedures for the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to implement the amendment to section 273(d) the Act and announces the intention of AMS to request approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of associated information collection requirements. This proposed rule requests comments concerning changes proposed in this rule.

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

In the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register, the Treasury Department and the IRS are issuing temporary regulations that remove the duplicate filing requirement for Form 5472, ``Information Return of a 25% Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporation or a Foreign Corporation Engaged in a U.S. Trade or Business.'' Under this requirement, certain corporations that must file Form 5472 must also file a duplicate Form 5472 (including attachments and schedules) with the Internal Revenue Service Center in Philadelphia, PA. Because the IRS has determined that duplicate filing is no longer necessary, the requirement is being removed by the temporary regulations. The text of those temporary regulations also serves as the text of these proposed regulations.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Requirements (ICRs) abstracted below are being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs describe the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collections of information was published on April 1, 2011 (76 FR 18294).

This document contains proposed regulations for filing a claim for credit or refund. The regulations provide guidance to taxpayers generally as to the proper place to file a claim for credit or refund. The regulations are updated to reflect changes made by the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1976, the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, and the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000. The regulations further are updated to reflect that the IRS may prescribe additional claim forms.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 15 individuals for exemption from the prohibition against persons with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals with ITDM to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 13 individuals for exemption from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals to qualify as drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce without meeting the Federal vision standard.

Notice is hereby given in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. Appendix, that the National Park System Advisory Board will conduct a teleconference meeting on June 30, 2011. Members of the public may attend the meeting in person in Washington, DC. During this teleconference, the Board will make recommendations to the Director of the National Park Service concerning the National Park Service's 2016 centennial anniversary.

The Retirement Services, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offers the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on an existing information collection request (ICR) 3206-0208, Representative Payee Survey. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35) as amended by the Clinger-Cohen Act (Pub. L. 104-106), OPM is soliciting comments for this collection. The information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on March 21, 2011 at Volume 76 FR 15350 allowing for a 60-day public comment period. No comments were received for this information collection. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments. The Office of Management and Budget is particularly interested in comments that: 1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; 2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; 3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses.

This proposed rule proposes to extend the Endangered Species Act (ESA) section 9(a)(1)(A) through 9(a)(1)(G) prohibitions to all activities impacting the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of Atlantic sturgeon throughout its range except for two types of activities, scientific research and rescue/salvage activities, when those activities occur within the riverine range of the GOM DPS. The ESA section 9 prohibitions are comprehensive and pertain to any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Specifically, section 9 of the ESA prohibits the import, export, taking, possession, sale or offering for sale in interstate or foreign commerce, delivery, receiving of, carrying, transportation, or shipping in interstate or foreign commerce any such species, or violation of any regulation pertaining to such species. On October 6, 2010, we, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), proposed to list the DPS of Atlantic sturgeon in the GOM as threatened under the ESA. When a species is listed as ``threatened'' under the ESA, we are required to issue protective regulations under section 4(d) of the ESA. Such protective regulations are ones deemed ``necessary and advisable for the conservation of the species'' and may include any act prohibited for endangered species under section 9(a)(1) of the ESA. The prohibitions and exceptions proposed in this rule are deemed necessary and advisable for the conservation of this species. We expect that the result of extending such prohibitions will be to protect the GOM DPS of Atlantic sturgeon from direct forms of take, such as physical injury or killing, and from indirect forms of take, such as harm that results from habitat degradation while still allowing scientific research as well as salvage of dead fish and rescue of injured fish by experienced personnel. These actions will help preserve and recover the GOM DPS of Atlantic sturgeon by addressing the negative effects from stressors impeding recovery of the DPS.

As required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS has incorporated public comments into revisions of marine mammal stock assessment reports (SARs). The 2010 reports are final and available to the public.

Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] parts 1500-1508), the Department of the Navy (DoN), with the cooperation of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (EIS/LEIS) to evaluate the potential environmental effects associated with the continued withdrawal of approximately 1.1 million acres of public land in Kern, Inyo, and San Bernardino counties, California. This public land withdrawal comprises the current North and South ranges at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWSCL). The proposed land withdrawal extension will allow the DoN to continue defense-related research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) and training missions at NAWSCL, in addition to other land uses. The California Military Lands Withdrawal and Overflights Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-433, part of the California Desert Protection Act) withdrew and reserved the lands known then as the China Lake Naval Weapons Center (subsequently renamed NAWSCL) for defense-related purposes for a period of 20 years (until October 14, 2014). The Act provides that the DoN may seek extension of the withdrawal of such lands. As a part of the withdrawal process, the Secretary of the Navy is required to publish a draft EIS addressing the effects of continued withdrawal and hold public hearings in order to receive public comments on the proposal by October 12, 2012. The NAWSCL EIS/LEIS will examine current and proposed land uses in support of the DoN's military mission. The EIS/LEIS will specifically focus on those military land uses granted to the DoN under Public Law 103-433 that include: (1) Use as an RDT&E laboratory; (2) use as a range for air warfare weapons and weapons systems; (3) use as a high hazard training area for aerial gunnery, rocketry, electronic warfare and countermeasures, and tactical maneuvering and air support; (4) geothermal leasing and development, and related power production activities; and, (5) other defense-related purposes. The environmental analysis in the EIS/LEIS will be incorporated in an update to the May 2005 NAWSCL Comprehensive Land Use Management Plan (CLUMP). The CLUMP facilitates NAWSCL in planning for and managing land use and environmental resources on the withdrawn public lands in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) (43 U.S.C. 1701). The updated CLUMP will include an examination of both military land uses authorized under Public Law 103- 433 and those mission-compatible non-military land uses authorized in the 2005 CLUMP. Dates and Addresses: The DoN is initiating a 90-day public scoping process to identify community interests and specific issues to be addressed in the EIS/LEIS. This public scoping process starts with the publication of this Notice of Intent. Three public scoping meetings will be held to receive oral and/or written comments on issues to be addressed in the EIS/LEIS: 1. Tuesday, July 19, 2011, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Historic USO Building, 230 West Ridgecrest Boulevard, Ridgecrest, California 93555; 2. Wednesday, July 20, 2011, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Statham Hall, 138 Jackson Street, Lone Pine, California 93545; and 3. Thursday, July 21, 2011, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Trona Community Senior Center, 13187 Market Street, Trona, California 93562. Additional information concerning meeting times and locations is available on the NAWSCL EIS/LEIS Web site at https:// www.ChinalakeLEIS.com. Public scoping meeting schedules and locations will also be announced in local newspapers. Each of the public scoping meetings will consist of an informal, open house session with information stations staffed by DoN and BLM representatives. Comments, both written and oral, will be collected at each of the three public scoping meetings and on the project Web site.

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Act of October 19, 1965 (79 Stat. 985; 22 U.S.C. 2459), Executive Order 12047 of March 27, 1978, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 6501 note, et seq.), Delegation of Authority No. 234 of October 1, 1999, and Delegation of Authority No. 236-3 of August 28, 2000, I hereby determine that the object to be included in the exhibition ``Lee Ufan: Marking Infinity,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, is of cultural significance. The object is imported pursuant to a loan agreement with the foreign owner or custodian. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit object at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, from on or about June 24, 2011, until on or about September 28, 2011, and at possible additional exhibitions or venues yet to be determined, is in the national interest. I have ordered that Public Notice of these Determinations be published in the Federal Register.

On December 7, 2010, NRCS published in the Federal Register a Notice and request for comments to a currently approved information collection package with a public comment period closing on January 6, 2011. The Notice announced NRCS' intention to revise a currently approved information collection, Long-Term Contracting, to clarify for the public information that is no longer included in the collection. NRCS is hereby re-opening the public comment period for the Notice.

This notice announces an open meeting of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB), Natural Gas Subcommittee. SEAB was reestablished pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. No. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) (the Act). This notice is provided in accordance with the Act.