August 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Secretary of Education (1) invites publishers to submit tests for review and approval for use in the National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS); and (2) announces the date by which publishers must submit these tests.

This notice advises the public that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD; applicant) has applied to the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The permit application includes a proposed programmatic safe harbor agreement (agreement) between the applicant and the Service that would authorize incidental take resulting from voluntary activities to restore, maintain, enhance, or create habitat for the endangered Houston toad. The Service also announces the availability of a draft environmental assessment (EA) that has been prepared to evaluate the permit application in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. We are making the permit application package, including the draft safe harbor agreement, and draft environmental assessment available for public review and comment.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the Ocean Exploration Advisory Board (OEAB). OEAB members will discuss and provide advice on Federal ocean exploration programs, with a particular emphasis on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) activities; federal ocean exploration partners, including the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology, the Office of Naval Research, and NOAA's Integrated Ocean Observing System program; advising NOAA on out-year budget development with respect to ocean exploration; and other matters as described in the agenda found on the OEAB Web site at https:// oeab.noaa.gov.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is continuing its efforts to expedite and improve the overall patent process. Accordingly, the USPTO is exploring how to best utilize available electronic resources to provide examiners with information (e.g., prior art, search reports, etc.) from applicant's other applications as early as possible to increase patent examination quality and efficiency. These other applications, for example, could have the same or substantially the same disclosure (e.g., domestic parent and counterpart foreign applications) as the U.S. application being examined. In addition to improving patent examination quality and efficiency, providing the examiner with this information from applicant's other applications will reduce applicant's burden to provide this information to the USPTO. Further, the USPTO is seeking to reduce the issuance time of a patent by eliminating potentially unnecessary information from the front page of the patent. In particular, the USPTO is seeking public comment on what information, beyond a copy of the specification and drawing that is required by statute, should be part of the patent considering that complete information concerning U.S. patents and U.S. patent application publications are accessible to the public via the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. To assist the USPTO in determining the best way to address these two topics, the USPTO is hosting a roundtable event to obtain public input. The roundtable will be open for any member of the public and will provide a forum for a discussion of the questions identified in this notice. Written comments in response to these questions set forth in this Notice also are requested.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is hosting its third annual Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) meeting with industry users at its Alexandria Campus. CPC is a bilateral classification system jointly developed by the USPTO and the European Patent Office (EPO). CPC is jointly managed and maintained by both offices, and is available for public search for classification. The upcoming meeting is open to the public and will inform attendees on the latest and upcoming developments concerning the CPC. The meeting also will be an opportunity for attendees to share their views about the CPC.

HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Mid- Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Scallop Advisory Panel to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

The Department of State has submitted the information collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are requesting comments on this collection from all interested individuals and organizations. The purpose of this Notice is to allow 30 days for public comment.

In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data collections. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Title and purpose of information collection: Vocational Report; OMB 3220-0141. Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) provides for payment of disability annuities to qualified employees and widow(ers). The establishment of permanent disability for work in the applicant's ``regular occupation'' or for work in any regular employment is prescribed in 20 CFR 220.12 and 220.13 respectively. The RRB utilizes Form G-251, Vocational Report, to obtain an applicant's work history. This information is used by the RRB to determine the effect of a disability on an applicant's ability to work. Form G-251 is designed for use with the RRB's disability benefit application forms and is provided to all applicants for employee disability annuities and to those applicants for a widow(er)'s disability annuity who indicate that they have been employed at some time. The RRB recently received short-term approval of a Request for Emergency Clearance from the Office of Management and Budget for this information collection. In response to that request the RRB received comments from 3 railroad labor organizations commenting on the RRB's action. The comments centered on the collection of information associated with the following items: Item 12, ``Describe the essential duties of the position'': Comments received preferred the use of the term ``basic'' rather than ``essential'' stating the use of ``essential'' duties ``is subjective, and could mislead an employee to inadvertently fail to list something that may be significant to the Board's examiner.'' Item 13, ``Describe the environmental conditions that the position exposes you to'': Comments received preferred the use of the term ``hazards'' rather than ``conditions'' stating that the use of the term ``conditions'' may lead the employee respondent and the RRB claim examiners to different conclusions simply by changing the terms used, i.e., ``a hazard explains a present danger, or more importantly, a risk to the employee's life, health or safety. A condition, on the other hand, could be anything that either carries risk with it or is benign in nature.'' Item 14, ``Indicate below the kind and amount of physical activity this job involved during a typical 8-hour workday'': Comments received stated that many railroad operating employees do not have a routine day or typical work day and that the question does not adequately provide for employees ``who are subject to duty periods of 12 hours.'' Item 15, ``Has your employer made permanent adjustments to this job to accommodate you'': Comments ranged from the question ``asks an employee to speculate on the kind of accommodations an employer has made to accommodate them'' to ``employees may receive informal or temporary accommodations that do not rise to the level of a permanent accommodation.'' Additional comments expressed concern that RRB examiners may interpret non-permanent accommodations as an indicator that an employee may not have a disability. RRB staff responded to the railroad labor organizations' comments, specifically with regard to: Item 12: Whereas it was acknowledged that the use of either term ``essential'' or ``basic'' can be subjective, the RRB decided to use the term ``essential'' to address any allegations that the RRB awards disability benefits to individuals if they are incapable of performing a simple non-essential task. If a duty is unintentionally omitted, the RRB believes the information requested in subsequent questions 13 and 14 will capture that information. Lastly, the RRB assured commenters that the appropriate legal standard will be applied when adjudicating a disability application. Item 13: Use of the term ``conditions'' provides an RRB claims examiner with all the environmental conditions that an applicant is exposed to, not just the environmental hazards. It is intended to be inclusive and capture the essence of all experiences at work, whether they are hazardous or benign in nature. Item 14: The purpose of the question is to provide the RRB examiner with an understanding of the types of physical activities required in the performance of the applicant's jobs. The RRB uses 8 hours as the typical work schedule to estimate the hours worked daily by an employee. However, the instructions to Item 14 provide the employee the option to check the exact number of hours worked daily. Item 15: A work accommodation can be relevant in determining whether an individual is disabled. The RRB determined, consistent with RRB Legal Opinion 98-15, that accommodations are to be taken into consideration if they are essential to the performance of the employee's particular occupation and only if the accommodated job was performed consistently for at least 5 years. Item 15, allows the RRB to gather specific information about whether accommodations provided should be considered in accordance with Legal Opinion 98-15. Applicants are not asked to speculate about accommodations, but to provide information about accommodations actually put into effect. After a careful and thorough evaluation of the comments received, the RRB is now moving forward with a standard renewal of the information collection. No changes are proposed to Form G-251. Completion is required to obtain or retain a benefit. One response is requested of each respondent.

The City of Phoenix (applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an amendment to their enhancement of survival permit pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (Act), as amended. The requested amendment would authorize incidental take of the yellow-billed cuckoo as a result of operation and maintenance activities associated with the Rio Salado Project. We invite the public to review and comment on the permit application and the associated draft safe harbor agreement amendment (amendment).

Notice is hereby given that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (Corporation) has been appointed the sole receiver for the following financial institutions effective as of the Date Closed as indicated in the listing. This list (as updated from time to time in the Federal Register) may be relied upon as ``of record'' notice that the Corporation has been appointed receiver for purposes of the statement of policy published in the July 2, 1992 issue of the Federal Register (57 FR 29491). For further information concerning the identification of any institutions which have been placed in liquidation, please visit the Corporation Web site at www.fdic.gov/ bank/individual/failed/banklist.html or contact the Manager of Receivership Oversight in the appropriate service center.

In accordance with Section 122(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 9622(i), notice is hereby given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), Region 2, of a proposed settlement agreement pursuant to Section 122(h) of CERCLA, entered into by and EPA, Region 2, and The Sherwin-Williams Company, (``Settling Party''), pertaining to the Newstead Superfund Site (``Site'') located in the Town of Newstead, Erie County, New York. Under the Settlement Agreement, the Settling Party agrees to pay EPA $1,000,000.00 in reimbursement of past response costs incurred at the Site. The Settlement Agreement includes a covenant by EPA not to sue or to take administrative action against the Settling Party pursuant to Section 107(a) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9607(a), with regard to Past Response Costs as defined in the Settlement Agreement. For thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this notice, EPA will receive written comments relating to the Settlement Agreement. EPA will consider all comments received and may modify or withdraw its consent to the Settlement Agreement if comments received disclose facts or considerations that indicate that the proposed Settlement Agreement is inappropriate, improper or inadequate. EPA's response to any comments received will be available for public inspection at EPA Region 2 offices, 290 Broadway, New York, New York 10007-1866.

NCUA, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on a new collection of information, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Rock Island Railroad and Highway Drawbridge across the Upper Mississippi River, mile 482.9, at Rock Island, Illinois. The deviation is necessary to allow the bridge owner time to facilitate repairs to the locking mechanisms on the rail deck of the bridge. This deviation allows the bridge to be maintained in the closed-to-navigation position for critical repairs that are essential to the continued safe operation of the drawbridge.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) and its advisory entities will hold public meetings.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Groundfish Committee to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

The Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee and its working groups will meet to discuss matters relating to medical certification determinations for issuance of licenses, certificates of registry, merchant mariners' documents, medical standards and guidelines for the physical qualifications of operators of commercial vessels, medical examiner education, and medical research. The meetings will be open to the public.

The Defense Acquisition Regulations System has submitted to OMB for clearance, the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).