Agencies and Commissions 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The General Services Administration (GSA) is providing notice of a new record system, Excluded Parties List System (GSA/GOVT-8). The system contains information entered by Federal agencies that identifies individuals excluded from Federal Government procurement and nonprocurement programs and the applicable authority for the exclusion. System functions include Web Service capability, ad hoc search and report capabilities, integration with the Central Contractor Registration system to allow Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) and data sharing capabilities for Debar Maintenance users, and a new data field to accept the reporting of cage codes.

The Section 108 Study Group announces a public roundtable discussion on certain issues relating to the exceptions and limitations applicable to libraries and archives under the Copyright Act, and seeks written comments on these issues. This notice (1) announces a public roundtable discussion regarding the issues identified in this notice and (2) requests written comments from all interested parties on the issues described in this notice. These issues relate primarily to making and distributing copies pursuant to requests by individual users, as well as to provision of user access to unlicensed digital works.

Background On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) its approval authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act, as per 5 CFR 1320.16, to approve of and assign OMB control numbers to collection of information requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the Board under conditions set forth in 5 CFR 1320 Appendix A.1. Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies of the Paperwork Reduction Act Submission, supporting statements and approved collection of information instruments are placed into OMB's public docket files. The Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the State of Louisiana (FEMA1668DR), dated 11/ 02/2006. Incident: Severe Storms and Flooding. Incident Period: 10/16/2006 and continuing through 11/08/2006.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has established a new policy extending the maximum license term for certain 10 CFR Part 70 fuel cycle licensees who are required to submit Integrated Safety Analysis (ISA) summaries for approval. Such license terms are being extended from the current 10-year period to a 40-year period, on the next renewal of the affected license. The NRC is also extending the maximum license term to a 40-year period for new 10 CFR Part 70 license applicants, where the applicant is required to submit an ISA summary for approval. The 10-year term has been a matter of policy and practice since 1990 (55 FR 24948; June 19, 1990); it is not codified in the regulations. The NRC added Subpart H requirements to 10 CFR part 70 on September 18, 2000 (65 FR56211). The Subpart H requirements apply to licensees possessing greater than a critical mass of special nuclear material. Under Subpart H, both new applicants and existing licensees are required to conduct an ISA and submit an ISA summary to the NRC for approval. An ISA is a systematic analysis to identify facility and external hazards; potential accident sequences, including likelihood and consequences; and items relied on for safety to prevent potential accidents or mitigate the consequences. Licensees are required to keep their ISAs up-to-date. In addition to the initial ISA summary, licensees must submit the following information to the NRC: certain facility changes for the NRC's approval; annual summaries of facility changes that did not need the NRC's preapproval; and annual updates to the ISA summaries. Before the Subpart H requirements were implemented, the NRC relied on the 10-year license renewal as the main opportunity to review the facility safety basis. Now, along with the annual updates of the ISA summaries, the NRC is conducting more frequent reviews of the licensees' facility safety basis. Through the annual update of the ISA summaries, the NRC is kept informed of changes due to material degradation and aging throughout the lifetime of a facility. Thus, the Subpart H requirements permit the NRC to continue to support safe operations of licensed facilities on an ongoing basis, regardless of the duration of the license. On August 24, 2006, the NRC staff provided the Commission with a paper, SECY-06-0186, `Increasing Licensing Terms for Certain Fuel Cycle Facilities,' which recommended that the Commission approve a maximum license term of 40 years for certain fuel cycle facilities. The paper provided the basis for the staff's recommendation, including a description of the link with 10 CFR Part 70 reviews and a discussion of consistency with the NRC strategic goals for safety and effectiveness. In response to SECY-06-0186, the Commission issued a staff requirements memorandum (SRM) establishing the new policy described above. The Commission also approved of license terms for less than 40 years, on a case-by-case basis, where there are concerns with safety risk to the facility or in cases involving a new process or technology. SECY-06-0186 and the SRM on SECY-06-0186 are available in the NRC's Public Document Room or electronically from the ADAMS Publicly Available Records (PARS) component on the NRC Web site, https:// www.nrc.gov (the Electronic Reading Room).

The General Services Administration (GSA) has reviewed the lodging rate of a certain location in the State of Florida. Also, GSA is adding Greene County, Virginia to the County column for Charlottesville, Virginia, and will begin to receive Charlottesville's maximum per diem rate. The per diems prescribed in Bulletin 07-02 may be found at www.gsa.gov/perdiem.

Notice is hereby given of the appointment of members of the National Transportation Safety Board Performance Review Board.

This rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulation on Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans by substituting a new table that applies to any plan being terminated either in a distress termination or involuntarily by the PBGC with a valuation date falling in 2007, and is used to determine expected retirement ages for plan participants. This table is needed in order to compute the value of early retirement benefits and, thus, the total value of benefits under the plan.

Following receipt on November 2, 2006, of a request from the Committee on Finance of the U.S. Senate (Committee) under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)), the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) instituted investigation No. 332-481, Industrial Biotechnology: Development and Adoption by the U.S. Chemical and Biofuel Industries. Background: As requested by the Committee, the Commission will institute an investigation under section 332(g) with respect to the competitive conditions affecting certain industries that are developing and adopting new biotechnology processes and products. The Commission will transmit its report to the Committee by July 2, 2008. As requested by the Committee, the Commission's report will focus to the extent practicableon firms in the U.S. chemical industry that are developing bio-based products (e.g., fibers and plastics) and renewable chemical platforms, as well as U.S. producers of liquid biofuels. The Commission will 1. Describe and compare government policies in the United States and key competitor countries throughout the world relating to the development of products by these industries; 2. Analyze the extent of business activity in these industries, including, but not limited to, trends in production, financial performance, investment, research and development, and impediments to development and trade; 3. Examine factors affecting the development of bio-based products, including liquid biofuels, and renewable chemical platforms being developed by the U.S. chemical industry, including, but not limited to, globalization of supply chains, capital investment sources, strategic alliances, intellectual property rights, and technology transfer mechanisms; 4. Determine, to the extent feasible, how the adoption of industrial biotechnology processing and products impacts the productivity and competitiveness of firms in these industries; and 5. Assess how existing U.S. government programs may affect the production and utilization of agricultural feedstocks for liquid biofuels as well as bio-based products and renewable chemical platforms being developed by the U.S. chemical industry.

This action adds to the Procurement List a service to be furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities, and deletes from the Procurement List services previously furnished by such agencies.

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: Appeal Under the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act; OMB 3220- 0007 Under Section 7(b)(3) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), and section 5(c) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) any person aggrieved by a decision on his or her application for an annuity or benefit under that Act has the right to appeal to the RRB. This right is prescribed in 20 CFR 260 and 20 CFR 320. The notification letter sent to the individual at the time of the original action on the application informs the applicant of such right. When an individual protests a decision, the concerned bureau reviews the entire file and any additional evidence submitted and sends the applicant a letter explaining the basis of the determination. The applicant is then notified that if he or she wishes to protest further, they can appeal to the RRB's Bureau of Hearings and Appeals. The procedure pertaining to the filing of such an appeal is prescribed in 20 CFR 260.5 and 260.9 and 20 CFR 320.12 and 320.38. The form prescribed by the RRB for filing an appeal under the RRA or RUIA is form HA-1, Appeal Under the Railroad Retirement Act or Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. The form asks the applicant to furnish the basis for the appeal and what additional evidence, if any, is to be submitted. Completion is voluntary, however if the information is not provided the RRB cannot process the appeal. The RRB proposes no changes to Form HA-1. The completion time for the HA-1 is estimated at 20 minutes per response. The RRB estimates that approximately 650 Form HA-1's are completed annually. Additional Information or Comments: To request more information or to obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, and/or supporting material, please call the RRB Clearance Officer at (312) 751-3363 or send an e-mail request to Charles.Mierzwa@RRB.GOV. Comments regarding the information collection should be addressed to Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092 or send an e-mail to Ronald.Hodapp@RRB.GOV. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (the Committee) is clarifying the scope of the procurement preference and sourcing requirements for commodities and other products on the Procurement List and publishing those which have been identified as satisfying Governmentwide requirements and thus subject to Governmentwide procurement preference for 2007. The full list of products with Governmentwide procurement preference is posted on www.jwod.gov. Changes to the list as published in the Federal Register on April 28, 2006 (71 FR 25136-25143) are identified in this notice.

The Board is amending Regulation E, which implements the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and the official staff commentary to the regulation. The final rule clarifies that the requirement to obtain a consumer's authorization to initiate an electronic fund transfer to the consumer's account to collect a fee for an EFT or check that has been returned applies to any person that intends to collect the fee in that manner, and not to the account-holding financial institution. The final rule also provides guidance on the consumer notice requirements when a person initiates an electronic fund transfer to collect a returned item fee or engages in an electronic check conversion transaction. The amendments supersede corresponding provisions addressing these issues in the Board's January 2006 final rule and August 2006 interim final rule.

The Copyright Royalty Judges, on behalf of the Copyright Royalty Board of the Library of Congress, announce a cost of living adjustment of 1.3% in the royalty rates paid by colleges, universities, or other nonprofit educational institutions that are not affiliated with National Public Radio for the use of copyrighted published nondramatic musical compositions in the ASCAP, BMI and SESAC repertoires. The cost of living adjustment is based on the change in the Consumer Price Index from October 2005 to October 2006.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC, or Commission) has determined that, beginning January 9, 2007, it will distribute Administrative Protective Order (APO) Release documents in electronic format on either a compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD) to parties on the APO service list for Title VII and Safeguard investigations. Parties requiring paper copies will be accommodated based on receipt of a request made to the Secretary to the Commission. The request may be made at the time the party files its application for disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) or confidential business information (CBI) under APO. It may also be made subsequent to filing of the application at which point it will be accommodated within three (3) business days of receipt of the request. Each CD/DVD will include APO Release documents in PDF format. In addition, it will include an ASCII text file with a table of contents listing all document files included on the CD/DVD, as well as the investigation number and phase of the investigation for which the documents were submitted. Each CD/DVD will be color coded and clearly marked as containing BPI or CBI. It will also be labeled with the investigation number, phase of the investigation, and date of release. Multiple CDs or DVDs will be used when the cumulative size of all document files exceeds the amount of space available on an individual CD or DVD. The ITC is instituting this practice as a means of addressing several cost and resource issues with paper distribution, including increasing paper costs, greater storage and handling requirements, and higher postal costs for mailing the documents. In addition, feedback from the Service List community also indicated a preference for receiving APO Release documents in electronic form via CD/DVD. All obligations imposed on recipients of APO releases by Commission rules and APOs continue in force with respect to the releases made on CD and DVD.