Department of Homeland Security 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect changes in the organizational structure of CBP resulting from the establishment of the new Office of International Trade, as well as the nomenclature changes effected by the transfer in 2003 of CBP to the Department of Homeland Security and the subsequent renaming of the U.S. Customs Service as CBP.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Coast Guard intends to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requesting an extension of their approval for the following collection of information: 1625-0106, Unauthorized Entry into Cuban Territorial Waters. Before submitting this ICR to OMB, the Coast Guard is inviting comments as described below.

The Coast Guard is removing the existing drawbridge operation regulation for the draw of the U.S. 165 bridge, mile 110.1, on the Ouachita River at Columbia, Louisiana. The drawbridge has been removed from the waterway. Therefore, the regulation controlling the operation of the drawbridge is no longer necessary.

This document announces Custom and Border Protection's (CBP's) plan to conduct a National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test concerning Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Entry Summary, Accounts and Revenue capabilities. These new capabilities will provide enhanced account management functions for ACE Portal Accounts. This notice also announces that the types of Portal Accounts in ACE have been expanded. This notice invites public comment concerning any aspect of the planned test, describes the eligibility, procedural and documentation requirements for voluntary participation in the test, and outlines the development and evaluation methodology to be used in the test.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on an information collection requirement concerning the CBP Regulations for Customhouse Brokers. This request for comment is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13; 44 U.S.C. 3505(c)(2)).

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burdens, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on an information collection requirement concerning the Commercial Invoice. This request for comment is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (Pub. L. 104-13; 44 U.S.C. 3505(c)(2)).

The Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) will meet in Arlington, VA to discuss various issues relating to the marine transportation of hazardous materials in bulk. The meeting will be open to the public.

This notice requests individuals interested in serving on the South Texas Area Maritime Security (STAMS) Committee to submit their application for a potential opening on the committee to the Corpus Christi Captain of the Port/Federal Maritime Security Coordinator.

The Coast Guard National Maritime Center (NMC), which was located in Arlington, VA, has temporarily relocated to Kearneysville, WV, as part of a planned effort to restructure and centralize the Mariner Licensing and Documentation (MLD) Program. This notice provides information regarding both the NMC consolidation and the relocated NMC offices.

On August 2, 2007, we published a direct final rule. The direct final rule notified the public of our intent to amend vessel documentation regulations to eliminate the requirement to provide certain original documents to the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) for recording, and to eliminate the additional fee for filing by facsimile. We have not received an adverse comment, or notice of intent to submit an adverse comment, on the rule. Therefore, the rule will go into effect as scheduled.

Base (1% annual chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and modified BFEs are made final for the communities listed below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that each community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Comments are requested on the proposed Base (1 percent annual- chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and proposed BFE modifications for the communities listed in the table below. The purpose of this notice is to seek general information and comment regarding these proposed regulatory flood elevations. The BFEs and modified BFEs are a part of the floodplain management measures that the community is required either to adopt or show evidence of having in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In addition, these elevations, once finalized, will be used by insurance agents, and others to calculate appropriate flood insurance premium rates for new buildings and the contents in those buildings.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has submitted the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The submission describes the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e., the time, effort and resources used by respondents to respond) and cost, and includes the actual data collection instruments FEMA will use. Title: National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program Application Form. OMB Number: 1660-0021. Abstract: The Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP) annually receives more applications from qualified applicants than there are program slots available. Additional information is required to objectively evaluate the applicant's writing capability, professional accomplishments, and analytical ability. This information along with supporting documentation are used to select the most qualified participants for the EFOP. Affected Public: Individuals and households, and State, Local or Tribal Governments. Number of Respondents: 400. Estimated Time per Respondent: 1 Hour. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 800 Hours. Frequency of Response: Annually. Comments: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on the proposed information collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Nathan Lesser, Desk Officer, Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, and sent via electronic mail to oirasubmission@omb.eop.gov or faxed to (202) 395-6974. Comments must be submitted on or before November 15, 2007.

The Coast Guard will enforce the Navy Pier East Safety Zone in Chicago Harbor on October 15, 2007. This action is necessary to protect vessels and people from the hazards associated with fireworks displays. This safety zone will temporarily restrict vessel traffic from a portion of Chicago Harbor.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is extending the comment period on the revised National Response Plan now known as the National Response Framework (NRF). The NRF was drafted to build upon the current National Response Plan, incorporate lessons-learned from recent disasters, and to articulate more clearly the roles of the States, tribal, and local jurisdictions and the private sector to guide a successful response to natural disasters or terrorist attacks. The original comment period was scheduled to conclude on October 11, 2007. FEMA is extending the comment period until October 22, 2007.

The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will be meeting by teleconference: the meeting will be partially closed.

This is a notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the State of Texas (FEMA-1730-DR), dated October 2, 2007, and related determinations.

This interim final rule implements the management costs provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. In so doing, it simplifies and clarifies the method by which FEMA contributes to costs incurred by grantees and subgrantees in implementing the Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant programs and establishes fixed management cost rates for compensating eligible grantees and subgrantees.

The Coast Guard published a final rule in the Federal Register on August 9, 2007, that revised security regulations in Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai, HI (72 FR 44775). While the notice of proposed rulemaking preceding that final rule stated that the Kahe Point, Oahu security zone would be enforced only upon the occurrence of certain events, we did not reflect that provision in the regulatory text. This document corrects that error.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 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 a continuing information collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), this notice seeks comments concerning the Mission Assignment (MA) form that is used to record requests for Federal assistance by State and Federal entities to FEMA, and the Action Request (AR) form which is used to request Federal assistance. Title: Request for Federal Assistance FormHow to Process Mission Assignments in Federal Disaster Operations. OMB Number: 1660-0047. Abstract: The MA form is used to record a request for Federal assistance by States and Federal entities to FEMA, and may become the official FEMA obligating document if a mission assignment to another Federal agency results from the request. Mission assignments are directives provided by FEMA to another agency to perform specific work in disaster operations, on a reimbursable basis and are defined in the 44 CFR 206.2(a)(18) and to record Federal approving signatures. Affected Public: State, local or tribal governments and Federal Government. Number of Respondents: 56. Estimated Time per Respondent: 8 hours and 23 minutes. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,739. Estimated Cost: Cost to respondent is estimated to be approximately $61,195.41 annually. Comments: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on the proposed information collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Nathan Lesser, Desk Officer, Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, and sent via electronic mail to oirasubmission@omb.eop.gov or faxed to (202) 395-6974. Comments must be submitted on or before November 13, 2007.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the Monte Foundation Fireworks Extravaganza to be held at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California, on October 13, 2007. The fireworks display will be launched from the Seacliff State Beach Pier. This safety zone is established to ensure the safety of participants and spectators from the dangers associated with the pyrotechnics. Unauthorized persons or vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or remaining in the safety zone without permission of the Captain of the Port or his designated representative.

The Coast Guard proposes to change the drawbridge operation regulations of four Cape May County Bridge Commission (the Commission) bridges: The Corson Inlet Bridge, at mile 0.9, at Strathmere; the Stone Harbor Boulevard Bridge, at NJICW mile 102.0, across Great Channel at Stone Harbor; the Two-Mile Bridge, at NJICW mile 112.2, across Middle Thorofare in Wildwood Crest; and the Townsend Inlet Bridge, at mile 0.3 in Avalon, NJ. This proposal would allow the drawbridges to operate on an advance notice basis on particular dates at particular times during holidays in December of every year. This proposal would allow the draw tenders to spend the holiday with their families while still providing for the reasonable needs of navigation.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is accepting comments on the draft supporting documents to the National Response Framework (NRF). Composed of the Emergency Support Functions Annexes, Support Annexes, and Incident Annexes, these supplemental documents provide additional guidance that may be used in implementing the NRF. Combined with the NRF, these documents incorporate lessons-learned from recent disasters, and articulate more clearly the roles of the States, tribal, and local jurisdictions and the private sector to guide a successful response to natural disasters or terrorist attacks.

This interim rule lists communities where modification of the Base (1% annual-chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) is appropriate because of new scientific or technical data. New flood insurance premium rates will be calculated from the modified BFEs for new buildings and their contents.