September 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended 5 U.S.C., App. (FACA), notice is hereby given that the Surface Transportation Board intends to renew the charter of the National Grain Car Council (NGCC).

This notice amends the notice of a major disaster declaration for the State of Texas (FEMA-4029-DR), dated September 9, 2011, and related determinations.

These cases involve employees who were required to have security clearances and were indefinitely suspended from their positions pending determinations concerning whether their security clearances should be revoked. The Board has recognized that, under certain circumstances, an agency may indefinitely suspend an employee based upon the suspension of access to classified information or pending the agency's investigation regarding that access, where the access is a condition of employment. See, e.g., Gonzalez v. Department of Homeland Security, 114 M.S.P.R. 318, ] 13 (2010); Jones v. Department of the Navy, 48 M.S.P.R. 680, 682, 689, aff'd as modified on recons., 51 M.S.P.R. 607 (1991), aff'd, 978 F.2d 1223 (Fed. Cir. 1992). On appeal of such an action, the Board lacks the authority to review the merits of the agency's decision to suspend an employee's access to classified material. Department of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518, 530-31 (1988). The Board may determine, however, whether the agency afforded an employee minimum due process with respect to the employee's constitutionally protected property interest in employment. See, e.g., Johnson v. Department of the Navy, 62 M.S.P.R. 487, 490-91 (1994); Kriner v. Department of the Navy, 61 M.S.P.R. 526, 531-35 (1994). In Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 546 (1985), the Court held that an agency's failure to provide a tenured public employee with an opportunity to present a response, either in person or in writing, to an appealable agency action that deprives him of his property right in his employment constitutes an abridgement of his constitutional right to minimum due process of law, i.e., prior notice and an opportunity to respond. In Gilbert v. Homar, 520 U.S. 924 (1997), the Court explained, in a case involving the suspension of a state employee, how its due process analysis would apply to discipline short of termination. The Board may also review whether the agency provided the employee with the procedural protections set forth in 5 U.S.C. 7513 in taking an action. Egan, 484 U.S. at 530; see also Cheney v. Department of Justice, 479 F.3d 1343, 1344-45 (Fed. Cir. 2007); King v. Alston, 75 F.3d 657, 661-63 (Fed. Cir. 1996). The Board applies a harmful error analysis in considering statutory violations. See, e.g., Ward v. U.S. Postal Service, 634 F.3d 1274, 1282 (Fed. Cir. 2011); Handy v. U.S. Postal Service, 754 F.3d 335, 337-38 (Fed. Cir. 1985). The cases thus present the following legal issues: (1) Should the Board apply the balancing test set forth in Homar, 520 U.S. 924, in determining whether an agency violates an employee's constitutional right to due process in indefinitely suspending him or her pending a security clearance determination; (2) If so, does that right include the right to have a deciding official who has the authority to change the outcome of the proposed indefinite suspension; (3) If the Board finds that an agency did not violate an employee's constitutional right to due process in this regard, how should the Board analyze whether the agency committed harmful procedural error in light of the restrictions set forth in Egan, 484 U.S. 518, on the Board's authority to analyze the merits of an agency's security clearance determination. Interested parties may submit amicus briefs or other comments on these issues no later than October 19, 2011. Amicus briefs must be filed with the Clerk of the Board. Briefs shall not exceed 30 pages in length. The text shall be double-spaced, except for quotations and footnotes, and the briefs shall be on 8\1/2\ by 11 inch paper with one inch margins on all four sides.

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 announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a guidance for industry entitled ``Reproductive and Developmental ToxicitiesIntegrating Study Results to Assess Concerns.'' This guidance describes an approach to estimating possible human developmental or reproductive risks associated with drug or biological product exposure when a nonclinical finding of toxicity has been identified, but definitive human data are unavailable. The guidance is intended for drug developers planning to submit new drug applications (NDAs) and biologics licensing applications (BLAs), and who are assessing nonclinical toxicity information.

This is a notice of an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) declaration for the State of New Mexico, dated 09/13/2011. Incident: Las Conchas Wildfire. Incident Period: 06/26/2011 through 08/03/2011. Effective Date: 09/13/2011. EIDL Loan Application Deadline Date: 06/13/2012.

This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (FEMA-4017-DR), dated 08/27/2011. Incident: Hurricane Irene. Incident Period: 08/21/2011 through 08/24/2011. Effective Date: 09/13/2011. Physical Loan Application Deadline Date: 10/26/2011. Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan Application Deadline Date: 05/28/2012.

This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (FEMA-4017-DR), dated 08/27/2011. Incident: Hurricane Irene. Incident Period: 08/21/2011 Through 08/24/2011. Effective Date: 09/13/2011. Physical Loan Application Deadline Date: 10/26/2011. EIDL Loan Application Deadline Date: 05/28/2012.

This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (FEMA-4017-DR), dated 08/27/2011. Incident: Hurricane Irene. Incident Period: 08/21/2011 through 08/24/2011. Dates: Effective Date: 09/13/2011. Physical Loan Application Deadline Date: 10/26/2011. EIDL Loan Application Deadline Date: 05/28/2012.

This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the State of Texas (FEMA-4029-DR), dated 09/09/2011. Incident: Wildfires. Incident Period: 08/30/2011 and continuing. Effective Date: 09/14/2011. Physical Loan Application Deadline Date: 11/08/2011. EIDL Loan Application Deadline Date: 06/06/2012.

This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the State of New York (FEMA-4031-DR), dated 09/13/ 2011. Incident: Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. Incident Period: 09/07/2011 and continuing.

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Amtrak Pelham Bay Railroad Bridge at mile 0.5, across the Hutchinson River at the Bronx, New York. The deviation is necessary to facilitate scheduled maintenance at the bridge. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed position for two days followed by a two hour advance notice requirement for 20 days.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a new collection for screening SNAP applicants during the certification process using the Prisoner Verification System (PVS) and the Deceased Matching System to determine eligibility. FNS plans to merge these requirements with data collection OMB 0584-0492, SNAP Repayment Demand and Program Disqualification, once approved by OMB.

On November 12, 2009, the Secretary of Education (Secretary) published in the Federal Register a notice of final requirements, definitions, and approval criteria for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) program (November 2009 Notice). In that notice, the Secretary established September 30, 2011 as the deadline by which States had to collect and publicly report data and other information on various SFSF indicators and descriptors. Since publication of the November 2009 notice, States have faced many challenges and competing priorities in trying to meet the requirements of some of the SFSF indicators by the September 30, 2011 deadline. As a result, a number of States will be unable to comply fully with the SFSF requirements by the September 30, 2011 deadline. Accordingly, in this interim final requirement, the Secretary extends that deadline to January 31, 2012.

On March 7, 2007, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), published in the Federal Register a notice announcing the implementation of a prototype for querying the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), then known as Proactive Disclosure Service (PDS). This notice announces that the prototype status is removed and that PDS is now known as Continuous Query.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, as amended), notice is hereby given that the following meeting of the Humanities Panel will be held via telephone conference call from the Old Post Office, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20506.

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 funding decisions made by the Department in a competition for funding under the FY2009 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the HOPE VI Main Street Program. This announcement contains the consolidated names and addresses of the award recipients under said NOFA.

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 funding decisions made by the Department in a competition for funding under the 2010 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing grants program. This announcement contains the names of the awardees and the amounts of the awards made available by HUD.

This action amends the Class E airspace areas at Burlington, VT, to accommodate the additional airspace needed for the Standard Instrument Approach Procedures developed for Burlington International Airport. This action enhances the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System. This action also makes a minor adjustment to the geographic coordinates of the airport and recognizes the name change of the Burlington VOR/DME.