April 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of the Treasury, 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, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning regulation section 601.601, Rules and Regulations.

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. HUD is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

On September 7, 2012, HUD published a final rule that revised the regulations governing the insurance of healthcare facilities under section 232 of the National Housing Act (Section 232). HUD's Section 232 program insures mortgage loans to facilitate the construction, substantial rehabilitation, purchase, and refinancing of nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, board and care homes, and assisted-living facilities. The amendments made by the September 7, 2012, final rule updated the Section 232 regulations to reflect current policy and practices, improve accountability and strengthen risk management in the program. The final rule provided an applicability date of April 9, 2013, for certain of the updated requirements. This final rule amendment changes the applicability date to July 12, 2013, for the purpose of allowing more time to transition to the new requirements.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, and the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act of 1988 (creating the San Pedro National Conservation Area), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Tucson Field Office, Tucson, Arizona, intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA) and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues. The RMP will replace the existing Safford RMP decisions for the BLM land within the planning area.

The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) Subcommittee, an entity within the federal Interagency Committee on Human Nutrition Research, has developed procedures jointly with its Canadian counterpart to allow interested parties to nominate nutrients for consideration for DRI review. This notice will serve to announce the opportunity to submit such information to the DRI Subcommittee as it considers updates for nutrients and food components that have previously been considered by Institute of Medicine DRI committees.

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 Fiscal Year 2012 (FY 2012) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Office of Native American Programs Training and Technical Assistance (ONAP T&TA). This announcement contains the consolidated names of this year's award recipients under the NOFA.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be requested.

NMFS implements a temporary emergency action that suspends existing monkfish possession limits for vessels issued both a Federal limited access Northeast multispecies permit and a limited access monkfish Category C or D permit that are fishing under a monkfish day- at-sea in the monkfish Northern Fishery Management Area. This action is necessary to help mitigate expected adverse economic and social harm resulting from substantial reductions to the 2013 annual catch limits for several stocks managed under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. The intent is to provide additional fishing opportunities to vessels affected by reductions to groundfish catch limits, without resulting in overfishing monkfish within the Northern or Southern Fishery Management Areas.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a new information collection.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Review and approval by OIRA ensures that we impose appropriate paperwork burdens. The RRB invites comments on the proposed collection of information to determine (1) the practical utility of the collection; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden of the collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information that is the subject of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments to the RRB or OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper consideration of your comments, it is best if the RRB and OIRA receive them within 30 days of the publication date. In accordance with Executive Order 12862, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) conducts a number of customer surveys designed to determine the kinds and quality of services our beneficiaries, claimants, employers and members of the public want and expect, as well as their satisfaction with existing RRB services. The information collected is used by RRB management to monitor customer satisfaction by determining to what extent services are satisfactory and where and to what extent services can be improved. The surveys are limited to data collections that solicit strictly voluntary opinions, and do not collect information which is required or regulated. The information collection, which was first approved by the OMB in 1997, provides the RRB with a generic clearance authority. This generic authority allows the RRB to submit a variety of new or revised customer survey instruments (needed to timely implement customer monitoring activities) to OMB for expedited review and approval. Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the initial 60-day notice (78 FR 13914 on March 1, 2013) required by 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.

Region 8 of the EPA is hereby giving notice of its reissuance of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permits for facilities or operations that generate, treat, and/or use/ dispose of sewage sludge by means of land application, landfill, and surface disposal in the States of CO, MT, ND, and WY and in Indian country in the States of CO, MT, ND, SD, WY and UT (except for the Goshute Indian Reservation and the Navajo Indian Reservation). The effective date of the general permits is May 13, 2013.

Pursuant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Significant New Alternatives Policy program, this action lists C7 Fluoroketone as an acceptable substitute, subject to narrowed use limits, for ozone-depleting substances used as streaming agents in the fire suppression and explosion protection sector. The program implements Section 612 of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990, which requires the Agency to evaluate substitutes and find them acceptable where they pose comparable or lower overall risk to human health and the environment than other available substitutes.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Forum on Environmental Measurements (FEM) is implementing an Agency-wide policy requiring organizations generating or using environmental data under certain Agency-funded assistance agreements to submit documentation of their competency prior to award of the agreement, or if that is not practicable, prior to beginning any work involving the generation or use of environmental data under the agreement. The Policy was originally approved on December 12, 2012 by the Science Technology Policy Council (STPC) and will be effective on May 15, 2013. The Policy will apply to all competitive and non-competitive assistance agreements expected to exceed a total maximum value of $200,000 (in federal funding) and awarded based on solicitations issued after May 14, 2013. The Policy will be reviewed against frequently asked questions within two years after its effective data and will either be reissued without revision, reissued with revisions, or rescinded.

In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, to provide the opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the Office of Extramural Research (OER) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is developing an electronic application form for the submission of requests to NIH for Certificates of Confidentiality (CoCs). Written comments and/or suggestions from the public and affected agencies are invited on one or more of the following points: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the function of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) 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) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. To Submit Comments and For Further Information: To obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, submit comments in writing, or request more information on the proposed project, contact: Dr. Ann M. Hardy, NIH Extramural Human Research Protections Officer and Coordinator, Certificates of Confidentiality, Office of Extramural Programs, OER, NIH, 3701 Rockledge Drive, Room 3002, Bethesda, MD 20892; or call the non-toll-free number (301) 435-2690; or email your request, including your address, to hardyan@od.nih.gov. Formal requests for additional plans and instruments must be requested in writing. Comment Due Date: Comments regarding this information collection are best assured of having their full effect if received within 60 days of the date of this publication. Proposed Collection: Certificate of Confidentiality Electronic Application System 0925-New, Office of Extramural Research (OER), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Need and Use of Information Collection: This application system will provide one electronic form to be used by all research organizations that wish to request a Certificate of Confidentiality (CoC) from NIH. As described in the authorizing legislation (Section 301(d) of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 241(d)), CoCs are issued by the agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including NIH, to authorize researchers conducting sensitive research to protect the privacy of human research subjects by enabling them to refuse to release names and identifying characteristics of subjects to anyone not connected with the research. At the NIH, the issuance of CoCs has been delegated to the individual NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs). The NIH ICs collectively issue approximately 1,000 new CoCs each year for eligible research projects. However, the process for submitting a CoC request is not consistent across the ICs, which creates confusion for applicants. To make the application process consistent across the entire agency, the OER is proposing to use an electronic application system that will be accessed by research organizations that wish to request a CoC from any NIH IC. Having one system for all CoC applications to NIH will be efficient for both applicants and NIH staff who process these requests. As is currently done, the NIH will use the information in the application to determine eligibility for a CoC and to issue the CoC to the requesting organization. Office of Management and Budget approval is requested for 3 years. There are no costs to respondents other than their time. The total estimated annualized burden hours is 1,500.

This action proposes to establish two new low-altitude RNAV routes, designated T-287 and T-299, in the Washington, DC area. The new routes would enhance the flow of air traffic to the west of the Washington-Dulles International Airport.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on February 15, 2013, vol. 78, no. 32, pages 11264-11265. NFDC Web Portal forms are used to collect aeronautical information, detailing the physical description and operational status of all components of the National Airspace System (NAS). This submission includes the additional public burden for the Special Flight Area processing tool.

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Paducah. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.

NMFS proposes management measures for the 2013 summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass recreational fisheries. This rule also proposes to implement an increase in the 2013 and 2014 black sea bass specifications, consistent with a new acceptable biological catch recommendation. The implementing regulations for these fisheries require NMFS to publish recreational measures for the fishing year and to provide an opportunity for public comment. The intent of these measures is to prevent overfishing of the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass resources.

The Secretary of Defense was previously authorized to establish a limited program to construct, renovate, repair, or expand elementary and secondary public schools on military installations in order to address capacity or facility condition deficiencies at such schools. Pursuant to Section 8108 of Public Law 113-6, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013, Congress made available an additional $270 million for the program and added a new eligibility criterion. This notice explains the additional criterion and the procedures for the DoD program, administered by OEA, to distribute the $270 million.