Unknown. Final rule; request for comment
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/register/2007/01/23/07-265·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
--- schema: federal-register doc_type: fedreg source_file: FR-2007-01-23.xml --- 72 14 Tuesday, January 23, 2007 Contents Agricultural Agricultural Marketing Service RULES Soybean promotion, research, and consumer information: Qualified State Soybean Boards; correction, 2769 E7-875 Agriculture Agriculture Department See Agricultural Marketing Service See Food Safety and Inspection Service See Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration Air Force Air Force Department NOTICES Environmental statements; record of decision:
Anderson AFB, Guam; intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike capability; establishment and operation, 2871 E7-893 Alcohol Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2906 E7-857 Army Army Department NOTICES Military traffic management: Freight Carrier Registration Program; electronic data Interchange; intransit visibility of motor shipments; correction, 2928 C7-144 Children Children and Families Administration NOTICES Federal Child and Family Services Review; data measures and composites and national standards; correction, 2881-2890 E7-808 Commerce Commerce Department See Economic Analysis Bureau See International Trade Administration See National Institute of Standards and Technology See National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration See Patent and Trademark Office Defense Defense Department See Air Force Department See Army Department PROPOSED RULES Privacy Act; implementation, 2819-2823 E7-800 Drug Drug Enforcement Administration NOTICES *Applications, hearings, determinations, etc.:* Cedarburg Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 2907 E7-850 Organix Inc., 2907 E7-851 Economic Economic Analysis Bureau NOTICES Reports and guidance documents; availability, etc.:
Data sharing activity; data provided to Census Bureau for statistical purposes, 2854-2855 E7-938 Education Education Department NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2871-2872 E7-917 E7-918 Grants and cooperative agreements; availability, etc.: Teaching American History Program; technical assistance workshop, 2873 E7-939 Transition to Teaching Program; technical assistance workshop, 2873-2874 E7-940 Meetings: Tribal Colleges and Universities, President's Board of Advisors, 2874-2875 E7-876 Election Election Assistance Commission NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2875-2876 07-261 Energy Energy Department See Federal Energy Regulatory Commission NOTICES Atomic energy agreements; subsequent arrangements, 2876 E7-914 EPA Environmental Protection Agency RULES Air pollutants, hazardous; national emission standards:
Polyvinyl chloride and copolymers production, primary and secondary copper smelting, and primary nonferrous metals (zinc, cadmium, and beryllium), 2930-2961 E7-532 Air quality implementation plans; approval and promulgation; various States; air quality planning purposes; designation of areas: Texas, 2776-2783 E7-926 PROPOSED RULES Air quality implementation plans; approval and promulgation; various States; air quality planning purposes; designation of areas: Texas, 2825-2826 E7-925 Air quality implementation plans; approval and promulgation; various States:
Ohio, 2823-2825 E7-923 NOTICES Air pollution control: State operating permits programs— New Jersey, 2877-2878 E7-818 Air programs: State implementation plans; adequacy status for transportation conformity purposes— Michigan, 2878 E7-919 Air quality; prevention of significant deterioration (PSD): Permit determinations, etc.— Indeck Elwood, LLC, 2878-2879 E7-920 Toxic and hazardous substances control: Asbestos-containing materials in schools; State waiver requests— Kentucky, 2879-2880 E7-922 Executive Executive Office of the President See Presidential Documents Farm Farm Credit Administration NOTICES Committees; establishment, renewal, termination, etc.:
Farm Credit System Financial Assistance Corporation, 2880 E7-903 FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation PROPOSED RULES Criminal justice information systems: Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act; carriage of concealed weapons, 2817-2819 E7-150 Federal Emergency Federal Emergency Management Agency RULES Flood elevation determinations: North Carolina, 2783-2792 E7-886 PROPOSED RULES Flood elevation determinations: Various States, 2826-2833 E7-887 NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2894-2895 E7-890 Disaster and emergency areas:
Colorado, 2895-2897 E7-883 E7-884 E7-885 E7-888 Florida, 2897 E7-882 Hawaii, 2897-2898 E7-889 Kansas, 2898 E7-892 Missouri, 2898-2899 E7-879 Nebraska, 2899 E7-878 New Mexico, 2899 E7-881 New York, 2899-2900 E7-880 Federal Energy Federal Energy Regulatory Commission NOTICES Electric rate and corporate regulation combined filings, 2876-2877 E7-874 Federal Reserve Federal Reserve System NOTICES Banks and bank holding companies: Change in bank control, 2880 E7-846 Formations, acquisitions, and mergers, 2880-2881 E7-847 E7-921 Financial Financial Management Service See Fiscal Service Fiscal Fiscal Service RULES Marketable book-entry Treasury bills, notes, and bonds:
Securities eligible for purchase in Legacy Treasury Direct Correction, 2928 C7-209 Food Food and Drug Administration PROPOSED RULES Food for human consumption: Food labeling— Gluten-free; voluntary nutrition labeling, 2795-2817 E7-843 NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2890 E7-946 Meetings: Medical Devices Advisory Committee, 2890-2891 E7-946 Reports and guidance documents; availability, etc.: Fish; various fungal and bacterial disease control; hydrogen perioxide solution; data availability, 2891 E7-947 Food Food Safety and Inspection Service NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2852-2853 E7-949 GIPSA Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration NOTICES Stockyards; posting and deposting: 4/W Horse Sales et al., 2853-2854 07-257 Health Health and Human Services Department See Children and Families Administration See Food and Drug Administration See Health Resources and Services Administration See National Institutes of Health Health Health Resources and Services Administration NOTICES Committees; establishment, renewal, termination, etc.:
Blood Stem Cell Transplantation Advisory Council, 2892-2893 E7-891 Homeland Homeland Security Department See Federal Emergency Management Agency Interior Interior Department See Land Management Bureau See Minerals Management Service See National Park Service IRS Internal Revenue Service RULES Income taxes, etc.: Business electronic filing; guidance; correction, 2769 E7-858 PROPOSED RULES Income taxes: Unified rule for loss on subsidiary stock, 2964-3020 07-187 NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2923-2926 E7-853 E7-854 E7-855 E7-856 E7-863 E7-866 International International Trade Administration NOTICES Antidumping:
Carbazole violet pigment 23 from— China, 2855-2856 E7-929 Floor-standing, metal-top ironing tables and parts from— China, 2856 E7-868 Frozen fish fillets from— Vietnam, 2857 E7-867 Frozen warmwater shrimp from— Various countries, 2857-2858 E7-931 Stainless steel bar from— Various countries, 2858-2859 E7-862 Steel concrete reinforcing bars from— Korea, 2859 E7-930 Tissue paper products from— China, 2859-2860 E7-869 Reports and guidance documents; availability, etc.: Textile and apparel products from Vietnam; import monitoring program, 2860-2861 E7-928 Justice Justice Department See Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau See Drug Enforcement Administration See Federal Bureau of Investigation See National Institute of Corrections NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2905-2906 E7-859 Land Land Management Bureau NOTICES Meetings:
California Desert Advisory Council, 2900 E7-895 Resource Advisory Councils— Eastern Montana, 2900-2901 E7-894 Minerals Minerals Management Service NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2901-2905 E7-941 E7-942 National Archives National Archives and Records Administration RULES Grants and agreements: Nonprocurement debarment and suspension; OMB guidance; implementation, 2767-2769 E7-986 National Institute National Institute of Corrections NOTICES Meetings:
Advisory Board, 2907 07-255 National Institute National Institute of Standards and Technology NOTICES Information processing standards, Federal: Secure Hash Standard; new hash algorithm(s) development, 2861-2863 E7-927 NIH National Institutes of Health NOTICES Meetings: Fogarty International Center Advisory Board, 2893-2894 07-262 National Cancer Institute, 2894 07-263 07-264 NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RULES Fishery conservation and management: Alaska; fisheries of Exclusive Economic Zone— Pollock, 2793-2794 07-265 Caribbean, Gulf, and South Atlantic fisheries— Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic coastal migratory pelagic resources, 2792-2793 E7-945 NOTICES Endangered and threatened species:
Critical habitat designations— Puget Sound copper and quillback rockfishes, 2863-2866 E7-943 Meetings: National Sea Grant Review Panel, 2866 E7-848 New England Fishery Management Council, 2866-2867 E7-932 E7-934 Pacific Fishery Management Council, 2867-2868 E7-933 Scientific research permit applications, determinations, etc., 2868-2869 E7-944 National Park National Park Service NOTICES National Register of Historic Places; pending nominations, 2905 E7-852 Nuclear Nuclear Regulatory Commission NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2907-2908 E7-902 Meetings;
Sunshine Act, 2908-2909 07-279 Patent Patent and Trademark Office RULES Practice and procedure: Patent correspondence; electronic filing changes, 2770-2776 E7-906 NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2869-2871 E7-908 Peace Peace Corps NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2909 07-254 Postal Postal Service NOTICES Reports and guidance documents; availability, etc.: Federal antidiscrimination, whistleblower protection, and retaliation laws;
No FEAR Act notice, 2909-2910 E7-849 Presidential Presidential Documents PROCLAMATIONS *Special observances:* National Sanctity of Human Life Day (Proc. 8101), 3021-3024 07-310 EXECUTIVE ORDERS Regulatory Planning and Review; amendment to Executive Order 12866 (EO 13422), 2763-2765 07-293 Public Public Debt Bureau See Fiscal Service Research Research and Innovative Technology Administration NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2922-2923 E7-912 SEC Securities and Exchange Commission NOTICES Investment Company Act of 1940:
MFS Series Trust X et al., 2910-2913 E7-905 Self-regulatory organizations; proposed rule changes: Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc., 2913-2914 E7-907 National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., 2914-2915 E7-864 National Securities Clearing Corp., 2915-2916 E7-865 NYSE Arca, Inc., 2916-2920 E7-870 SBA Small Business Administration NOTICES Disaster loan areas: Kansas, 2920 E7-896 Nebraska, 2920 E7-897 Social Social Security Administration NOTICES Meetings: Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel, 2920-2921 E7-904 TVA Tennessee Valley Authority NOTICES Meetings;
Sunshine Act, 2921 07-286 Thrift Thrift Supervision Office NOTICES Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals, 2926-2927 E7-936 Transportation Transportation Department See Research and Innovative Technology Administration PROPOSED RULES Individuals with disabilities: Passenger vessels; accessibility guidelines, 2833-2851 E7-362 NOTICES Aviation proceedings: Agreements filed; weekly receipts, 2921-2922 E7-915 Treasury Treasury Department See Fiscal Service See Internal Revenue Service See Thrift Supervision Office Separate Parts In This Issue Part II Environmental Protection Agency, 2930-2961 E7-532 Part III Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service, 2964-3020 07-187 Part IV Executive Office of the President, Presidential Documents, 3021-3024 07-310 Reader Aids Consult the Reader Aids section at the end of this issue for phone numbers, online resources, finding aids, reminders, and notice of recently enacted public laws.
To subscribe to the Federal Register Table of Contents LISTSERV electronic mailing list, go to http://listserv.access.gpo.gov and select Online mailing list archives, FEDREGTOC-L, Join or leave the list (or change settings); then follow the instructions. 72 14 Tuesday, January 23, 2007 Rules and Regulations NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION 2 CFR Part 2600 36 CFR Parts 1206 and 1209 [DOCKET NUMBER: NARA-06-0010] RIN 3095-AB56 National Archives and Records Administration Implementation of OMB Guidance on Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension AGENCY:
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). ACTION: Final rule; request for comment. SUMMARY: The National Archives and Records Administration is establishing a new Part 2600 in 2 CFR that adopts the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, as supplemented by this new part, as NARA's policies and procedures for nonprocurement and debarment and suspension. NARA is removing 36 CFR part 1209, the part containing NARA's implementation of the government-wide common rule on nonprocurement debarment and suspension.
The new part in 2 CFR part 2600 will serve the same purpose as the common rule in a simpler way. This regulatory action is an administrative simplification that would make no substantive change in NARA's policy or procedures for nonprocurement debarment and suspension. DATES: This final rule is effective February 28, 2007. Comments on this final rule must be received by February 22, 2007 at the address shown below. NARA intends to publish any changes to the rule resulting from this comment period before the February 28, 2007, effective date.
ADDRESSES: NARA invites interested persons to submit comments on this final rule. Please include “Attn: RIN 3095-AB56” and your name and mailing address in your comments. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: • *Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.* Follow the instructions for submitting comments. • *Fax:* Submit comments by facsimile transmission to 301-837-0319. • *Mail:* Send comments to Regulations Comments Desk (NPOL), Room 4100, Policy and Planning Staff, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. • *Hand Delivery or Courier:* Deliver comments to 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura McCarthy at 301-837-3023 or fax number 301-837-0319. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 31, 2005, the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB)issued interim final guidance for government-wide procurement suspension and debarment (70 FR 51863). This guidance, located in 2 CFR Part 180, is substantively the same as the common rule, but is published in a form that each agency can adopt, thus eliminating the need for each agency to publish its separate version of the same rule. It also facilitates the ability to update government-side requirements without each agency having to re-promulgate its own rules. NARA's current regulation on nonprocurement suspension and debarment is found in 36 CFR Part 1209. In accordance with OMB's guidance, this final rule places NARA's nonprocurement debarment and suspension regulations in subtitle B of title 2 of the CFR, along with other agencies' nonprocurement debarment and suspension. The new 2 CFR part 2600 adopts the OMB guidelines with the same additions and clarifications that NARA made to the government-wide “common rule” on this subject issued November 26, 2003 (68 FR 66544, 66616). The substance of NARA's nonprocurement debarment and suspension regulations is unchanged. In light of the new part 2600, NARA is removing 36 CFR 1209, which is the current location for NARA's nonprocurement debarment and suspension regulations. NARA is also amending the section in 36 CFR part 1206 that provides the regulatory requirement provisions for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) to reflect the new CFR location of these nonprocurement suspension and debarment requirements. Because the regulatory amendments to 2 CFR part 2600 are an administrative simplification and there are no substantive changes in NARA's policy or procedures for nonprocurement debarment and suspension, NARA is publishing the revisions as a final rule with request for comments and not as a proposed rule. If NARA receives comments that result in any changes to the proposed final rule, the changes will be published before the February 28, 2007, effective date. Executive Order 12866 OMB has determined this rule to be a nonsignificant regulatory action for the purposes of Executive Order 12866 and it has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget. Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 605(b)) This final regulatory action will not have a significant adverse impact on a substantial number of small entities. Unfunded Mandates of 1995 (Sec. 202, Pub. L. 104-4) This regulatory action does not contain a Federal mandate that will result in the expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in aggregate, or by the private sector of $100 million or more in any one year. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C., Chapter 35) This regulatory action will not impose any additional reporting or recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act. Federalism (Executive Order 13132) This regulatory action does not have Federalism implications, as set forth in Executive Order 13132. It will not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. List of Subjects 2 CFR Part 2600 Administrative practice and procedures, Debarment and suspension, Grant programs, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. 36 CFR Part 1206 Archives and records, Grant programs—education, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. 36 CFR Part 1209 Administrative practice and procedure, Grant programs, Loan programs, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Accordingly, under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2104(a), NARA amends the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 2, Subtitle B, and Title 36 parts 1206 and 1209, as follows: Title 2—Grants and Agreements 1. Add Chapter 26, consisting of part 2600, to Subtitle B to read as follows: Chapter 26—National Archives and Records Administration PART 2600—NONPROCUREMENT DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION Sec. 2600.10 What does this part do? 2600.20 Does this part apply to me? 2600.30 What policies and procedures must I follow? Subpart A—General 2600.137 Who in NARA may grant an exception to let an excluded person participate in a covered transaction? Subpart B—Covered Transactions 2600.220 What contracts and subcontracts, in addition to those listed in 2 CFR 180.220, are covered transactions? Subpart C—Responsibilities of Participants Regarding Transactions 2600.332 What methods must I use to pass requirements down to participants at lower tiers with whom I intend to do business? Subpart D—Responsibilities of Federal Agency Officials Regarding Transactions 2600.437 What method do I use to communicate to a participant the requirements described in the OMB guidance at 2 CFR 180.435? Subparts E-J—[Reserved] Authority: Sec. 2455, Pub. L. 103-355, 108 Stat. 3327; E.O. 12549, 3 CFR, 1986 Comp., p. 189; E.O. 12689, 3 CFR, 1989 Comp., p. 235; 44 U.S.C. 2104(a). § 2600.10 What does this part do? This part adopts the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB)guidance in Subparts A through I of 2 CFR part 180, as supplemented by this part, as NARA's policies and procedures for nonprocurement debarment and suspension. It thereby gives regulatory effect for NARA to the OMB guidance as supplemented by this part. This part satisfies the requirements in section 3 of Executive Order 12549, “Debarment and Suspension” (3 CFR 1986 Comp., p. 189), Executive Order 12689, “Debarment and Suspension” (3 CFR 1989 Comp., p. 235) and 31 U.S.C. 6101 note (Section 2455, Pub. L. 103-355, 108 Stat. 3327). § 2600.20 Does this part apply to me? This part and, through this part, pertinent portions of the OMB guidance in Subparts A through I of 2 CFR part 180 (see table at 2 CFR 180.100(b)) apply to you if you are a—
(a)Participant or principal in a “covered transaction” (see Subpart B of 2 CFR part 180 and the definition of “nonprocurement transaction” at 2 CFR 180.970.
(b)Respondent in a NARA suspension or debarment action.
(c)NARA debarment or suspension official;
(d)NARA grants officer, agreements officer, or other official authorized to enter into any type of nonprocurement transaction that is a covered transaction; § 2600.30 What policies and procedures must I follow? NARA policies and procedures that you must follow are the policies and procedures specified in each applicable section of the OMB guidance in Subparts A through I of 2 CFR part 180, as that section is supplemented by the section in this part with the same section number. The contracts that are covered transactions, for example, are specified by section 220 of the OMB guidance (i.e., 2 CFR 180.220) as supplemented by section 220 in this part (i.e., § 2600.220). For any section of OMB guidance in Subparts A through I of 2 CFR 180 that has no corresponding section in this part, NARA policies and procedures are those in the OMB guidance. Subpart A—General § 2600.137 Who in NARA may grant an exception to let an excluded person participate in a covered transaction? The Archivist of the United States or designee may grant an exception permitting an excluded person to participate in a particular covered transaction as provided in the OMB guidance at 2 CFR 180.135. Subpart B—Covered Transactions § 2600.220 What contracts and subcontracts, in addition to those listed in 2 CFR 180.220, are covered transactions? Although the OMB guidance at 2 CFR 180.220(c) allows a Federal agency to do so (also see optional lower tier coverage in the figure in the Appendix to 2 CFR part 180), NARA does not extend coverage of nonprocurement suspension and debarment requirements beyond first-tier procurement contracts under a covered nonprocurement transaction. Subpart C—Responsibilities of Participants Regarding Transactions § 2600.332 What methods must I use to pass requirements down to participants at lower tiers with whom I intend to do business? You as a participant must include a term or condition in lower-tier transactions requiring lower-tier participants to comply with Subpart C of the OMB guidance in 2 CFR part 180. Subpart D—Responsibilities of Federal Agency Officials Regarding Transactions § 2600.437 What method do I use to communicate to a participant the requirements described in the OMB guidance at 2 CFR 180.435? To communicate to a participant the requirements described in 2 CFR 180.435 of the OMB guidance, you must include a term or condition in the transaction that requires the participant's compliance with subpart C of 2 CFR part 180 and requires the participant to include a similar term or condition in lower-tier covered transactions. Subparts E-J—[Reserved] Title 36—Parks, Forests, and Public Property Chapter XII—National Archives and Records Administration PART 1206—[AMENDED] 2. The authority citation for part 1206 continues to read as follows: Authority: 44 U.S.C. 2104(a); 44 U.S.C. 2501-2506. § 1206.72 [Amended] 3. Amend § 1206.72 by revising paragraph
(a)to read as follows: § 1206.72 Where can I find the regulatory requirements that apply to NHPRC grants?
(a)In addition to this part 1206, NARA has issued other regulations that apply to NHPRC grants in 36 CFR ch. XII, subchapter A and 2 CFR Part 2600. Additionally you must comply with 2 CFR Part 180. NARA also applies the principles and standards in the following Office of Management and Budget
(OMB)Circulars for NHPRC grants:
(1)OMB Circular A-21, “Cost Principles for Educational Institutions”;
(2)OMB Circular A-87, “Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments”;
(3)OMB Circular A-122, “Cost Principles for Nonprofit Organizations”; and
(4)OMB Circular A-133, “Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations.” PART 1209—[REMOVED] 4. Under authority 44 U.S.C. 2104(a); sec. 2455, Pub. L. 103-355, 108 Stat. 3327 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note); E.O. 12549 (3 CFR 1986 Comp., p. 189); E.O. 12689 (3 CFR 1989 Comp., p. 235) part 1209 is removed. Dated: January 18, 2007. Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States. [FR Doc. E7-986 Filed 1-22-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7515-01-P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service 7 CFR Part 1220 [Docket No. LS-06-06] Soybean Promotion and Research: Qualified State Soybean Boards; Correction AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Correcting amendment. SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS)published a final rule and termination order (final rule) in the **Federal Register** on November 28, 1995 (60 FR 58499) regarding technical amendments to the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Order (Order). AMS has found that section 1220.228(a)(1)(v)(A) pertaining to producer refunds, was mistakenly removed from the Order as part of the final rule. This document corrects the Order by adding the language that previously appeared in section 1220.228(a)(1)(v)(A). DATES: *Effective Date:* January 23, 2007. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Payne, Chief, Marketing Programs Branch, 202/720-1115 or via e-mail at *Kenneth.Payne@usda.gov* . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides a correcting amendment to the Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order that appears at 7 CFR part 1220. List of Subjects in 7 CFR 1220 Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Agricultural research, Marketing agreements, Soybeans and soybean products, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Accordingly, 7 CFR part 1220 is corrected by making the following amendment: PART 1220—SOYBEAN PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND CONSUMER INFORMATION 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1220 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6301-6311. 2. Amend § 1220.228 by adding paragraph (a)(1)(v) to read as follows: § 1220.228 Qualified State Soybean Boards. (a)(1) * * *
(v)If the entity is authorized or required to pay refunds to producers, any requests from producers for refunds for contributions to it by the producer following the termination of authority to pay refunds, will be honored by forwarding to the Board that portion of such refunds equal to the amount of credit received by the producer for contributions to it pursuant to § 1220.223(a)(3); Dated: January 17, 2007. Lloyd C. Day, Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service. [FR Doc. E7-875 Filed 1-22-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-02-P DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service 26 CFR Parts 1, 301 and 602 [TD 9300] RIN 1545-BC15 Guidance Necessary To Facilitate Business Electronic Filing; Correction AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION: Correction to final regulations. SUMMARY: This document contains correction to final regulations (TD 9300) that were published in the **Federal Register** on Friday, December 8, 2006 (71 FR 71040) designed to eliminate regulatory impediments to the electronic filing of certain income tax returns and other forms. DATES: The correction is effective December 8, 2006. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathan Rosen,
(202)622-4910 (not a toll-free number). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The correction notice that is the subject of this document is under sections 170, 556, 565, 936, 1017, 1368, 1377, 1502, 1503, 6038B and 7701 of the Internal Revenue Code. Need for Correction As published, final regulations (TD 9300) contain errors that may prove to be misleading and are in need of clarification. Correction of Publication Accordingly, the publication of the final regulations (TD 9300), which was the subject of FR Doc. E6-20734, is corrected as follows: On page 71041, column 1, in the preamble, under the paragraph heading “ *January 2006 Final Regulations Facilitating Electronic Filing* ”, last paragraph of the column, second line, the language “Treasury released TD 9243, (TD 9243,” is corrected to read “Treasury released final regulations (TD 9243,”. On page 71041, column 2, in the preamble, under the paragraph heading “ *May 2006 Regulations Facilitating Electronic Filing* ”, first paragraph, second line, the language “Treasury Department released TD 9264” is corrected to read “Treasury Department released final and temporary regulations (TD 9264, 2006-26 I.R.B. 1150 [71 FR 30591])”. LaNita Van Dyke, Chief, Publications and Regulations Branch, Legal Processing Division, Associate Chief Counsel, (Procedure and Administration). [FR Doc. E7-858 Filed 1-22-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4830-01-P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office 37 CFR Part 1 [Docket No.: PTO-P-2005-0021] RIN 0651-AB92 Changes To Facilitate Electronic Filing of Patent Correspondence AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is amending the rules of practice to support implementation of the Office's electronic filing system
(EFS)for patent correspondence, and in particular, the Web-based electronic filing system (EFS-Web). EFS-Web permits most patent correspondence, that is, most patent applications and other patent related documents, to be submitted in a portable document file (“PDF”) format. The major changes that the Office is adopting are changes to provide patent users with a process for showing that correspondence submitted in an application which has entered national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 submitted via EFS-Web was actually received by the Office by relying on the acknowledgment receipt, and to treat certain correspondence as received, for timeliness purposes, as of the date submitted by applicant rather than the date received by the Office if the correspondence is filed via EFS-Web. DATES: *Effective Date:* January 23, 2007. The changes apply to any paper, application, or reexamination proceeding filed in the Office on or after January 23, 2007. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred A. Silverberg ((571) 272-7719), Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, or Robert A. Clarke ((571) 272-7735), Deputy Director of the Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, directly by phone, or by facsimile to
(571)273-7719, or by mail addressed to: Mail Stop Comments-Patents, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is amending the rules of practice to support implementation of the Office's electronic filing system
(EFS)for patent correspondence, and in particular, the new Web-based electronic filing system (EFS-Web), which went into production (for the public) on March 17, 2006. Specifically, the changes in this final rule:
(1)Provide patent users with a process for showing that certain national stage correspondence submitted via EFS-Web was actually received by the Office by relying on the acknowledgment receipt; and
(2)create a new certificate of EFS-Web transmission, which will allow the Office to treat certain correspondence as received (for timeliness purposes) as of the date submitted by applicant rather than the date received by the Office if the correspondence is filed by EFS-Web. The procedure for the certificate of EFS-Web transmission is similar to the procedure for the existing certificate of mailing or transmission under § 1.8. For example, correspondence sent in reply to an Office action setting a three-month shortened statutory period for reply would be considered timely if transmitted via EFS-Web at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the last day of the three-month period for reply even though it was received in the Office more than three months from the mailing of the Office action. Thus, the rules are amended so that EFS-Web submissions would be treated analogously to submissions filed via First-Class Mail or facsimile transmission with a certificate of mailing or transmission. This notice is also making minor changes to §§ 1.4, 1.6, and 1.33 to align the rules of practice to existing practices regarding EFS-Web. *Discussion of EFS-Web:* The Office's electronic filing system previously provided two distinct electronic filing systems for filing patent correspondence namely:
(1)EFS-Web, and
(2)the client-side components ePAVE for form generation, validation and submission to the Office in combination with EFS-ABX for authoring the patent application specification. Prior to EFS-Web, the Office only provided for the electronic submission of limited patent correspondence using ePAVE and EFS-ABX. ePAVE and EFS-ABX were discontinued on November 1, 2006. *See Retirement of Electronic Filing System—Application Body Extensible Markup Language (EFS-ABX) and Electronic Packaging and Validation Engine (ePAVE) Components* , 1311 *Off. Gaz. Pat. Off* . 155 (October 24, 2006). Thus, EFS-Web is the sole system for electronic filing of most patent correspondence. EFS-Web permits most patent applications and other patent-related documents, to be submitted in a “PDF” file format. In addition, EFS-Web does not require any significant client side components (unlike ePAVE and EFS-ABX). Accordingly, EFS-Web allows users to streamline processing and filing of patent correspondence, and better integrates electronic filing into their current computer systems. Under EFS-Web, correspondence officially submitted is accorded a “receipt date,” which is the date the correspondence was received by the Office ( *e.g.* , in Alexandria, Virginia (Eastern Time zone)). The receipt date is not limited to an official business day, but can be a Saturday, Sunday or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. Correspondence is officially submitted to the Office via EFS-Web when a user clicks the submit button on the Confirm and Submit screen after the correspondence has been uploaded to the USPTO server for, *inter alia* , user review. An acknowledgment receipt is automatically, electronically sent to the person filing the correspondence after the correspondence is officially submitted. The acknowledgment receipt contains the “receipt date,” the time the correspondence was received at the Office (not the local time at the submitter's location), and a full listing of the correspondence submitted. Accordingly, an acknowledgment receipt is a legal equivalent of a post card receipt described in the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP), Section 503. As the acknowledgment receipt contains the time the correspondence was received at the Office, users may not be able to solely rely on the acknowledgment receipt to support a position that correspondence was submitted at a particular local time. Therefore, users are advised to keep a copy of papers submitted, including a certification of EFS-Web transmission under § 1.8, as evidence of the local time of all submissions to support a position that correspondence was submitted at a particular local time in the event such evidence is needed. For the filing of applications, the official filing date will continue to be stated on the Filing Receipt under § 1.54(b), which is sent to applicants after the submitted application parts are reviewed for compliance with the filing date requirements. An acknowledgment receipt will not be generated until EFS-Web correspondence is officially submitted to and received by the Office. If a user officially submits correspondence to the Office by clicking on the submit button on the Confirm and Submit screen in EFS-Web, but no acknowledgment receipt is generated thereafter, the user should check private PAIR, if possible, for the acknowledgment receipt, which should be entered in private PAIR a short period of time after the correspondence is officially submitted to the Office. If no acknowledgment receipt is available in private PAIR or the user does not have access to private PAIR, then the user should contact the Patent Electronic Business Center
(EBC)for assistance. If a user becomes disconnected from EFS-Web prior to officially submitting correspondence to the Office or who otherwise has difficulty submitting correspondence through EFS-Web, the user is encouraged to contact the Patent EBC for assistance. Full technical support is currently available through the Patent EBC during their Standard Hours of Operation, which are Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until midnight (eastern time), and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. (eastern time) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). The patent EBC may also be contacted by E-mail: *ebc@uspto.gov* or FAX: 571-273-0177. Limited assistance is available at all other times through the Office's Electronic Business Support
(EBS)at 1-800-786-9199 or 571-272-1000. If a transmission is attempted during a time when the Office's electronic filing system is down, the Office will not be able to accept any correspondence electronically. In this situation, the user is advised to use alternative filing methods. For the filing of an application, alternative methods to establish the filing date for an application are Express Mail under § 1.10 or hand-delivery to the Office. (Note that new applications filed under § 1.53 cannot be submitted by facsimile transmission (§ 1.6(d)(3)).) For other patent correspondence, alternative methods to establish timeliness of a submission are First-Class Mail with a certificate of mailing under § 1.8 (if applicable), facsimile transmission with a certificate of transmission under § 1.8 (if applicable), Express Mail under § 1.10, or hand-delivery to the Office. Certificate of mailing or transmission procedures under § 1.8 do not apply to:
(1)The filing of a national patent application specification and drawing or other correspondence for the purpose of obtaining an application filing date, including a request for a continued prosecution application of a design application under § 1.53(d) ( *see* § 1.8(a)(2)(i)(A));
(2)the filing of an international application for patent ( *see* § 1.8(a)(2)(i)(D));
(3)the filing of correspondence in an international application before the U.S. Receiving Office, the U.S. International Searching Authority, or the U.S. International Preliminary Examining Authority ( *see* § 1.8(a)(2)(i)(E)); and
(4)the filing of a copy of the international application and the basic national fee necessary to enter the national stage, as specified in § 1.495(b) ( *see* § 1.8(a)(2)(i)(F)) regardless of the media that is used. Likewise, if the user cannot pay fees on-line because the RAM interface is down, the user should pay fees via alternative methods such as authorizing payment to a deposit account or by a credit card in a document ( *e.g.* , a fee transmittal). Accordingly, users are strongly advised to submit their correspondence via EFS-Web sufficiently early in the day to allow time for alternative filing or payment methods when submissions via EFS or RAM cannot be initiated or correctly completed. As EFS-Web is easy to use and readily available twenty-four hours a day, every day, some users may find it tempting to include correspondence to multiple applications in one, single EFS-Web submission, or to submit the required reply piecemeal over multiple sessions. Such submissions may result in processing delays in the Office, and should be avoided. In order to facilitate proper processing of any correspondence submitted via EFS-Web, each submission session must be limited to correspondence for a single application, with each distinct reply being contained in a separate paper ( *see* § 1.4(c)). The application number or the patent number for which the correspondence pertains must be included in any submission to assure proper matching with the application file. For more information on EFS-Web, *see* the Legal Framework for EFS-Web ( *http://www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/efs/legal.htm* ), which provides guidance on the background statutes, regulations and policies that support the Office electronic filing system, including EFS-Web and the use of S-signature therein. The Legal Framework for EFS-Web is a valuable reference for applicants and patent practitioners using EFS-Web. Although EFS-Web accepts most patent correspondence, there are still certain types of correspondence that are not permitted to be filed by EFS-Web, such as any correspondence for reexamination proceedings. *See* the Legal Framework for EFS-Web for a current list of types of correspondence that are not permitted to be filed using EFS-Web. If any additional types of correspondence are permitted to be filed via EFS-Web, they will be announced on the Office's Web site and will be added to the Legal Framework for EFS-Web in due course. Therefore, users are advised to periodically review the Legal Framework for EFS-Web to view current information on types of correspondence that are not permitted to be filed through EFS-Web. Discussion of Specific Rules Sections 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, and 1.33 governing applicant correspondence are amended to reflect use of electronic commerce, in particular EFS-Web, as follows: *Section 1.4:* Section 1.4(d)(2) is amended to delete the reference to the character coded signature of paragraph (d)(3), which was only applicable to the ePAVE software, a component of the Office's older, discontinued patent electronic filing system. Since S-signatures are acceptable signatures in EFS-Web submissions in accordance with § 1.4(d)(2), this paragraph is also amended to eliminate the reference to “EFS Tag(ged) Image File Format (TIFF)” because EFS-Web does not accept TIFF attachments. In addition, a reference to § 1.6(a)(4) is added as a conforming amendment. Accordingly, the relevant phrase has been rewritten as “via the Office Electronic Filing System as an attachment as provided in § 1.6(a)(4).” A legible electronic image of a handwritten signature inserted, or copied and pasted by the person signing the correspondence into the correspondence may be considered to be an acceptable signature under § 1.4(d)(2) provided the signature is surrounded by a first single forward slash mark before the electronic image and a second single forward slash mark after the electronic image. That is, the legible electronic image of a handwritten signature must be enclosed between two single forward slashes, and the signer's name indicated below or adjacent to the signature as required by § 1.4(d)(2). The slashes must be inserted in the correspondence prior to, or at the same time as, the insertion of the signature. The slashes must not be added after the insertion of the signature. Section 1.4(d)(3) is amended to provide requirements in using Office forms. The character coded signature requirements of former paragraph (d)(3) have been removed because such requirements were only applicable to the ePAVE software, which is now discontinued. The Office provides forms to the public to use in certain situations to assist in the filing of correspondence for a certain purpose and to meet certain requirements. Use of the forms for purposes for which they were not designed is prohibited. No changes to certification statements on the Office forms ( *e.g.* , oath or declaration forms, terminal disclaimer forms, petition forms, and the nonpublication request form) may be made. For example, the following statements are certification statements on an oath or declaration form PTO/SB/01:
(1)“I believe the inventor(s) named below to be the original and first inventor(s) of the subject matter which is claimed and for which a patent is sought on the invention entitled;”
(2)“I hereby state that I have reviewed and understand the contents of the above-identified specification, including the claims, as amended by any amendment specifically referred to above;”
(3)“I acknowledge the duty to disclose information which is material to patentability as defined in 37 CFR 1.56, including for continuation-in-part applications, material information which became available between the filing date of the prior application and the national or PCT international filing date of the continuation-in-part application;” and
(4)“I hereby declare that all statements made herein of my own knowledge are true and that all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true; and further that these statements were made with the knowledge that willful false statements and the like so made are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under 18 U.S.C. 1001 and that such willful false statements may jeopardize the validity of the application or any patent issued thereon.” As another example, the following statement is a certification on the nonpublication request form PTO/SB/35: “I hereby certify that the invention disclosed in the attached application has not and will not be the subject of an application filed in another country, or under a multilateral international agreement, that requires publication at eighteen months after filing.” Other Office forms for patent applications or patents that contain certification statements include, but are not limited to, forms PTO/SB/01, PTO/SB/01A, PTO/SB/03, PTO/SB/03A, PTO/SB/04, PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/SB/28, PTO/SB/35, PTO/SB/51, PTO/SB/51s, PTO/SB/53, PTO/SB/62, PTO/SB/63, PTO/SB/64, PTO/SB/64a, PTO/SB/66, and PTO/SB/101-110. Most of the Office forms are static in that the forms do not allow users to customize the form to their particular needs. The existing text of a static form, other than a certification statement, may be modified, deleted or added to by a party, only if information identifying the form as an Office form ( *e.g.* , the form number and the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB)approval information in the header and footer of the form) is removed. For example, a static form could be amended to add additional signature blocks if the form number and OMB information is removed. EFS-Web forms, however, do allow for customization. For example, users may add, remove, or change certain additional data blocks ( *e.g.* , signature blocks) as needed by selecting the “add” or “remove” buttons on the EFS-Web forms. These EFS-Web forms can be customized in a way provided for by the form without removing the text identifying the form as an Office form ( *e.g.* , the form number and OMB information in the header and the footer). Currently, only forms PTO/SB/08 Information Disclosure Statement, PTO/SB/14 Application Data Sheet, PTO/SB/28 Petition to Make Special under the Accelerated Examination Program, PTO/SB/30 Request for Continued Examination
(RCE)Transmittal, and PTO/SB/66 Petition to Accept Unintentionally Delayed Payment of Maintenance Fee in an Expired Patent (37 CFR 1.378(c)) are EFS-Web forms. The presentation to the Office (whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating) of any form with text identifying the form as an Office form ( *e.g.* , the form number and the OMB information in the header and footer) by a party, whether a practitioner or non-practitioner, constitutes a certification under § 10.18(b) that the existing text and any certification statement on the form has not been altered other than permitted by EFS-Web customization. Section 1.4(d)(4) is amended to make conforming changes due to the removal of the character coded signature requirements of former paragraph (d)(3). *Section 1.6:* Section 1.6(a)(4) is added to indicate that most patent applications and other patent correspondence, including, *inter alia* , amendments, drawing changes and extensions of time, may be submitted using the Office electronic filing system only in accordance with the Office electronic filing system requirements (see the Legal Framework for EFS-Web, which sets forth the electronic filing system requirements ( *http://www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/efs/legal.htm* )). The phrase “using the Office electronic filing system only in accordance with the Office electronic filing system requirements” codifies and continues the current EFS practice. Under EFS-Web, correspondence is accorded a “receipt date” that is the date the correspondence is received (Eastern Time) at the Office's correspondence address set forth in § 1.1 ( *e.g.* , Alexandria, Virginia) when it was officially submitted. The receipt date is not limited to an official business day, but can be a Saturday, Sunday or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. Correspondence is officially submitted to the Office via EFS-Web when a user clicks the submit button on the Confirm and Submit screen after the correspondence has been uploaded to the USPTO server for, *inter alia* , user review. The “receipt date” is recorded on an acknowledgment receipt, which is automatically sent to the person filing the correspondence after the correspondence is officially submitted. Under EFS-Web, the acknowledgment receipt contains a full listing of the correspondence submitted, including the count of pages and/or byte size for each piece of correspondence in the submission. Accordingly, the acknowledgment receipt is a legal equivalent of a post card receipt described in the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP), Section 503. For the filing of applications, the official filing date will continue to be stated on the filing receipt under § 1.54(b), which is sent to applicants after the submitted application parts are reviewed for compliance with the filing date requirements. Section 1.6(g) is added to provide a new procedure for establishing that national stage correspondence, national stage filings, or follow-on correspondence required by § 1.495(b), which had been submitted via EFS was, in fact, received by the Office in the event that the Office has no evidence of receipt. To begin entry into the national stage, applicant is required to comply with § 1.495(b) within thirty months from the priority date. Thus, applicant must pay the basic national fee on or before thirty months from the priority date and be sure that a copy of the international application has been received by the U.S. Designated or Elected Office prior to expiration of thirty months from the priority date. Where the international application was filed with the United States Receiving Office as the competent receiving Office, the copy of the international application referred to in § 1.495(b) is not required. Payment of the basic national fee will indicate applicant's intention to enter the national stage and will provide a U.S. correspondence address in most instances. Applicants cannot pay the basic national fee with a surcharge after the thirty-month deadline. Failure to pay the basic national fee within thirty months from the priority date will result in abandonment of the application. The time for payment of the basic fee is not extendable. Similarly, the copy of the international application, if required under § 1.495(b), must be provided within thirty months from the priority date to avoid abandonment of the application. Accordingly, the ability to present evidence of timely receipt of national stage correspondence is critical to potentially avoid abandonment of the application. This new procedure is equivalent to the Office's domestic filing process for providing evidence of the Office's receipt of a continued prosecution application
(CPA)for a design application under § 1.53(d) submitted by facsimile transmission in the event that the Office does not have evidence of receipt, as set forth in § 1.6(f) and MPEP 502.01. For a CPA, the procedure for providing evidence of receipt by the Office requires a petition be filed requesting that the CPA be accorded a filing date as of the date the CPA is shown to have been transmitted to and received in the Office (§ 1.6(f)). The showing must include, *inter alia* , a copy of the sending unit's report confirming transmission of the application or evidence that came into being after the complete transmission of the application and within one business day of the complete transmission of the application. Under the new procedure for providing evidence of a prior submission via EFS-Web, the petition and showing necessary to accept the re-submission of the correspondence as being filed on an earlier date is the same as the petition and showing required under § 1.6(f) with the exception that the acknowledgment receipt, or other equivalent evidence, must be provided rather than the sender's facsimile report. If applicant has the acknowledgment receipt, applicant must include a copy of the acknowledgment receipt as evidence of the submission of the national stage correspondence. In the rare situations where applicant does not have the acknowledgment receipt, equivalent evidence, which is another piece of correspondence that shows substantially similar evidence that is provided by the acknowledgment receipt, will be considered in support of the petition. *Section 1.8:* Section 1.8(a)(1)(i) is amended by adding new paragraph
(C)to permit certain correspondence, excluding correspondence not entitled to a certificate of mailing or transmission or not permitted to be electronically transmitted, to be treated as being timely received on the local date at the location where submitted if filed with a certificate of transmission via the Office's electronic filing system, which is EFS-Web. *See* the Legal Framework for EFS-Web for a current list of types of correspondence that are not permitted to be filed using EFS-Web, such as any correspondence for reexamination proceedings. This rule change will provide a similar procedure for correspondence filed via EFS-Web that currently exists for correspondence filed via First-Class Mail under § 1.10 and facsimile transmission using a certificate of mailing or transmission under § 1.8. Users should place the certificate of transmission on the correspondence ( *e.g.* , transmittal letter) submitted under EFS-Web in a similar manner as they would for correspondence submitted by facsimile transmission. *See* MPEP 512 for more information on certificate of mailing or transmission under § 1.8. Prior to this amendment to § 1.8, a person could state on certain papers directed to the Office, the date on which the paper will be deposited in the United States Postal Service or transmitted by facsimile. This amendment to § 1.8 will permit a similar procedure for establishing timeliness when correspondence is filed via EFS-Web. Accordingly, if the date stated in the correspondence submitted via EFS-Web is within the period for reply, the reply, in most instances, will be considered to be timely. This is true even if the paper does not actually reach the Office until after the end of the period for reply. Even with such procedures under § 1.8, the Office will continue its usual practice of recording the receipt date ( *e.g.* , “Office Date” Stamp) on all papers received through the mail, by facsimile, or via EFS-Web except those filed under § 1.10 ( *See* MPEP 513). The receipt date will also be the date that is entered on Office records and from which any subsequent periods are calculated. The certificate of mailing or transmission under § 1.8 is not available for all correspondence. Paragraph (a)(2) of § 1.8 lists some correspondence for which the certification of mailing or transmission does not apply to, and no benefit will be given to such certificates if used. The list enumerated in § 1.8(a)(2) is not exhaustive, and the provisions of § 1.8 do not apply to the time periods or situations that have been explicitly excluded from § 1.8. For example, provisions of § 1.8(a) do not apply to time periods and situations set forth in §§ 1.217(e) and 1.703(f) because the exceptions are provided explicitly in §§ 1.217(e) and 1.703(f). Paragraphs
(b)and
(c)of § 1.8 will also apply to a certification of EFS-Web transmission by new paragraph (a)(1)(i)(C) of this section. Paragraphs
(b)and
(c)concern the situation where a paper containing a certificate was timely filed, but never received by the Office. Specifically, § 1.8(b) permits a party to notify the Office of a previous mailing, or transmission, of correspondence when a reasonable amount of time has elapsed from the time of mailing or transmitting of the correspondence, but Office records do not show receipt of the correspondence. Applicant may notify the Office of the previous mailing or transmission and supply a duplicate copy of the previously mailed or transmitted correspondence and a statement attesting on a personal knowledge basis or to the satisfaction of the Director to the previous timely mailing or transmission. If the person signing the statement did not sign the certificate of mailing or transmission, then the person signing the statement should explain how they have firsthand knowledge of the previous timely mailing or transmission. Such a statement should be filed promptly after the person becomes aware that the Office has not received the correspondence. Before notifying the Office of a previously submitted correspondence that appears not to have been received by the Office, applicants should check the Office's private Patent Application Information Retrieval
(PAIR)System to see if the correspondence has been entered into the application file. For EFS-Web submissions, applicants are encouraged to use the acknowledgment receipt generated by EFS-Web, if available, as part of the evidence to support the statement required by § 1.8(b)(3). An acknowledgment receipt is automatically electronically sent to the person filing the correspondence after the correspondence is officially submitted. As the acknowledgment receipt contains the time (Eastern Time) the correspondence was received at the Office, users may not be able to solely rely on the acknowledgment receipt to support a position that correspondence was submitted at a particular local time. Therefore, users are advised to keep a copy of papers submitted, including a certification of EFS-Web transmission, as evidence of the local time of all EFS-Web submissions to support a position that correspondence was submitted at a particular local time in the event such evidence is needed. *Section 1.33:* Section 1.33(a) is amended to accommodate changes due to electronic commerce. The Office anticipates that, in the near term future, applicants may have the option to view Office communications via the Office's private PAIR system instead of receiving mailed communications. Also, when a submitter files correspondence using EFS-Web, an acknowledgment receipt is typically generated and automatically sent via e-mail to the submitter. The acknowledgment receipt is also placed in the Office's electronic file and is viewable in private PAIR. To accommodate these processes, the phrases “, or otherwise make available,” and “the person associated with” was added so the third sentence will read as follows: “The Office will direct, or otherwise make available, all notices, official letters, and other communications relating to the application to the person associated with the correspondence address.” In addition, the word “generally” was added to the following sentence as a conforming change: “The Office will generally not engage in double correspondence with an applicant and a patent practitioner, or with more than one patent practitioner except as deemed necessary by the Director.” Rule Making Considerations Administrative Procedure Act This notice adopts changes to the rules of practice that concern the manner of submitting certain correspondence via the Office's electronic filing systems. Specifically, the changes in this final rule:
(1)Provide patent users with a process for showing that certain national stage correspondence submitted via EFS-Web was actually received by the Office by relying on the acknowledgment receipt; and
(2)treat certain correspondence as received (for timeliness purposes) as of the date submitted by applicant rather than the date received by the Office if the correspondence is filed by EFS-Web, which will provide a similar procedure as the existing certificate of mailing or transmission under § 1.8. Therefore, these rule changes involve interpretive rules, or rules of agency practice and procedure. *See Bachow Communications Inc.* v. *FCC,* 237 F.3d 683, 690 (D.C. Cir. 2001) (rules governing an application process are “rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice” and exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act's notice and comment requirement); *see also Merck & Co., Inc.* v. *Kessler,* 80 F.3d 1543, 1549-50, 38 USPQ2d 1347, 1351 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (the rules of practice promulgated under the authority of former 35 U.S.C. 6(a) (now in 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(2)) are not substantive rules (to which the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act apply)), and *Fressola* v. *Manbeck,* 36 USPQ2d 1211, 1215 (D.D.C. 1995) (“it is extremely doubtful whether any of the rules formulated to govern patent or trade-mark practice are other than ‘interpretive rules, general statements of policy, * * * procedure, or practice.’ ”) (quoting C.W. Ooms, The United States Patent Office and the Administrative Procedure Act, 38 Trademark Rep. 149, 153 (1948)). Accordingly, prior notice and an opportunity for public comment were not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) (or any other law), and thirty-day advance publication is not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d) (or any other law). Regulatory Flexibility Act As discussed previously, the changes in this final rule involve rules of agency practice and procedure under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), and prior notice and an opportunity for public comment were not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) (or any other law). As prior notice and an opportunity for public comment were not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 (or any other law) for the changes in this final rule, a regulatory flexibility analysis under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 *et seq.* ) is not required for the changes in this final rule. See 5 U.S.C. 603. Executive Order 13132 This rule making does not contain policies with federalism implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism Assessment under Executive Order 13132 (Aug. 4, 1999). Executive Order 12866 This rule making has been determined to be not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866 (Sept. 30, 1993). Paperwork Reduction Act This notice involves information collection requirements which are subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB)under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 *et seq.* ). The changes in this notice are limited to amending the rules of practice to support implementation of the Office's electronic filing system
(EFS)for patent correspondence, and in particular, the new web-based electronic filing system (EFS-Web). The changes in this final rule:
(1)Provide patent users with a process for showing that certain national stage correspondence submitted via EFS-Web was actually received by the Office by relying on the acknowledgment receipt; and
(2)treat certain correspondence as received (for timeliness purposes) as of the date submitted by applicant rather than the date received by the Office if the correspondence is filed by EFS-Web, which will provide a similar procedure as the existing certificate of mailing or transmission under § 1.8. The collections of information involved in this notice have been reviewed and previously approved by OMB under the following OMB control numbers: 0651-0021, 0651-0031 and 0651-0032. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is not resubmitting the information collections package for OMB control numbers 0651-0031 and 0651-0032 to OMB for its review and approval because the changes in this notice do not affect the information collection requirements associated with the information collection under OMB control numbers 0651-0031 and 0651-0032. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is resubmitting the information collections package for OMB control numbers 0651-0021 to OMB for its review and approval because the changes in this notice do affect the information collection requirements associated with the information collection under OMB control number 0651-0021. The title, description and respondent description of the information collection under OMB control number 0651-0021 are shown below with estimates of the annual reporting burdens. Included in the estimates is the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. *OMB Number:* 0651-0021. *Title:* Patent Cooperation Treaty. *Form Numbers:* PCT/RO/101, PCT/RO/134, PTO-1382, PTO-1390, PCT/IPEA/401, PTO/SB/61/PCT, PTO/SB/64/PCT, PCT/Model of power of attorney, PCT/Model of general power of attorney. *Type of Review:* Approved through March 2007. *Affected Public:* Individuals or households, businesses or other for-profits, not-for-profit institutions, farms, the Federal Government, and state, local or tribal governments. *Estimated Number of Respondents:* 355,655. *Estimated Time per Response:* 15 minutes to 8 hours. *Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours:* 347,889. *Needs and Uses:* The general purpose of the Patent Cooperation Treaty
(PCT)is to standardize the format and filing procedures so that applicants may file one international application in one location, in one language, and pay one initial set of fees to seek protection for an invention in more than 100 designated countries. This collection of information is necessary so that respondents can file an international patent application and so that the USPTO can fulfill its duties to process, search, and examine international patent applications under the provisions of the PCT. Interested persons are requested to send comments regarding these information collections, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Robert J. Spar, Director, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, or to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for the Patent and Trademark Office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to respond to nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number. List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 1 Administrative practice and procedure, Courts, Freedom of information, Inventions and patents, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Small businesses. For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 37 CFR part 1 is amended as follows: PART 1—RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES 1. The authority citation for 37 CFR part 1 continues to read as follows: Authority: 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(2). 2. Section 1.4 is amended by revising paragraphs (d)(2) introductory text, (d)(3), and (d)(4)(ii) to read as follows: § 1.4 Nature of correspondence and signature requirements.
(d)* * *
(2)*S-signature.* An S-signature is a signature inserted between forward slash marks, but not a handwritten signature as defined by § 1.4(d)(1). An S-signature includes any signature made by electronic or mechanical means, and any other mode of making or applying a signature not covered by a handwritten signature of § 1.4(d)(1). Correspondence being filed in the Office in paper, by facsimile transmission as provided in § 1.6(d), or via the Office electronic filing system as an attachment as provided in § 1.6(a)(4), for a patent application, patent, or a reexamination proceeding may be S-signature signed instead of being personally signed ( *i.e.* , with a handwritten signature) as provided for in paragraph (d)(1) of this section. The requirements for an S-signature under this paragraph (d)(2) of this section are as follows.
(3)*Forms.* The Office provides forms to the public to use in certain situations to assist in the filing of correspondence for a certain purpose and to meet certain requirements for patent applications and proceedings. Use of the forms for purposes for which they were not designed is prohibited. No changes to certification statements on the Office forms ( *e.g.* , oath or declaration forms, terminal disclaimer forms, petition forms, and nonpublication request form) may be made. The existing text of a form, other than a certification statement, may be modified, deleted, or added to, if all text identifying the form as an Office form is removed. The presentation to the Office (whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating) of any Office form with text identifying the form as an Office form by a party, whether a practitioner or non-practitioner, constitutes a certification under § 10.18(b) of this chapter that the existing text and any certification statements on the form have not been altered other than permitted by EFS-Web customization.
(4)* * *
(ii)*Certifications as to the signature:*
(A)*Of another:* A person submitting a document signed by another under paragraph (d)(2) of this section is obligated to have a reasonable basis to believe that the person whose signature is present on the document was actually inserted by that person, and should retain evidence of authenticity of the signature.
(B)*Self certification:* The person inserting a signature under paragraph (d)(2) of this section in a document submitted to the Office certifies that the inserted signature appearing in the document is his or her own signature. 3. Section 1.6 is amended by adding new paragraphs (a)(4) and
(g)to read as follows: § 1.6 Receipt of correspondence.
(a)* * *
(4)Correspondence may be submitted using the Office electronic filing system only in accordance with the Office electronic filing system requirements. Correspondence submitted to the Office by way of the Office electronic filing system will be accorded a receipt date, which is the date the correspondence is received at the correspondence address for the Office set forth in § 1.1 when it was officially submitted.
(g)*Submission of the national stage correspondence required by § 1.495 via the Office electronic filing system.* In the event that the Office has no evidence of receipt of the national stage correspondence required by § 1.495, which was submitted to the Office by the Office electronic filing system, the party who submitted the correspondence may petition the Director to accord the national stage correspondence a receipt date as of the date the correspondence is shown to have been officially submitted to the Office.
(1)The petition of this paragraph
(g)requires that the party who submitted such national stage correspondence:
(i)Informs the Office of the previous submission of the correspondence promptly after becoming aware that the Office has no evidence of receipt of the correspondence under § 1.495;
(ii)Supplies an additional copy of the previously submitted correspondence;
(iii)Includes a statement that attests on a personal knowledge basis, or to the satisfaction of the Director, that the correspondence was previously officially submitted; and
(iv)Supplies a copy of an acknowledgment receipt generated by the Office electronic filing system, or equivalent evidence, confirming the submission to support the statement of paragraph (g)(1)(iii) of this section.
(2)The Office may require additional evidence to determine if the national stage correspondence was submitted to the Office on the date in question. 4. Section 1.8 is amended by revising paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (b)(3) to read as follows: § 1.8 Certificate of mailing or transmission.
(a)* * *
(1)* * *
(i)The correspondence is mailed or transmitted prior to expiration of the set period of time by being:
(A)Addressed as set out in § 1.1(a) and deposited with the U.S. Postal Service with sufficient postage as first class mail;
(B)Transmitted by facsimile to the Patent and Trademark Office in accordance with § 1.6(d); or
(C)Transmitted via the Office electronic filing system in accordance with § 1.6(a)(4); and
(b)* * *
(3)Includes a statement that attests on a personal knowledge basis or to the satisfaction of the Director to the previous timely mailing, transmission or submission. If the correspondence was sent by facsimile transmission, a copy of the sending unit's report confirming transmission may be used to support this statement. If the correspondence was transmitted via the Office electronic filing system, a copy of an acknowledgment receipt generated by the Office electronic filing system confirming submission may be used to support this statement. 5. Section 1.33 is amended by revising the introductory text of paragraph
(a)to read as follows: § 1.33 Correspondence respecting patent applications, reexamination proceedings, and other proceedings.
(a)*Correspondence address and daytime telephone number.* When filing an application, a correspondence address must be set forth in either an application data sheet (§ 1.76), or elsewhere, in a clearly identifiable manner, in any paper submitted with an application filing. If no correspondence address is specified, the Office may treat the mailing address of the first named inventor (if provided, see §§ 1.76(b)(1) and 1.63(c)(2)) as the correspondence address. The Office will direct, or otherwise make available, all notices, official letters, and other communications relating to the application to the person associated with the correspondence address. For correspondence submitted via the Office's electronic filing system, however, an electronic acknowledgment receipt will be sent to the submitter. The Office will generally not engage in double correspondence with an applicant and a patent practitioner, or with more than one patent practitioner except as deemed necessary by the Director. If more than one correspondence address is specified in a single document, the Office will select one of the specified addresses for use as the correspondence address and, if given, will select the address associated with a Customer Number over a typed correspondence address. For the party to whom correspondence is to be addressed, a daytime telephone number should be supplied in a clearly identifiable manner and may be changed by any party who may change the correspondence address. The correspondence address may be changed as follows: Dated: January 17, 2007. Jon W. Dudas, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. [FR Doc. E7-906 Filed 1-22-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-16-P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Parts 52 and 81 [EPA-R06-OAR-2006-0386; FRL-8272-5] Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Texas; El Paso County Carbon Monoxide Redesignation to Attainment, and Approval of Maintenance Plan AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Direct final rule. SUMMARY: On January 20, 2006, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
(TCEQ)submitted a State Implementation Plan
(SIP)revision to request redesignation of the El Paso carbon monoxide
(CO)nonattainment area to attainment for the CO National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). This submittal also included a CO maintenance plan for the El Paso area and associated Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets (MVEBs). The maintenance plan was developed to ensure continued attainment of the CO NAAQS for a period of 10 years from the effective date of EPA approval of redesignation to attainment. In this action, EPA is approving the El Paso CO redesignation request and the maintenance plan with its associated MVEBs as satisfying the requirements of the Federal Clean Air Act
(CAA)as amended in 1990. DATES: This rule is effective on March 26, 2007 without further notice, unless EPA receives relevant adverse comment by February 22, 2007. ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-2006-0386, by one of the following methods: • *http://www.regulations.gov:* Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments. • *E-mail:* Mr. Thomas Diggs at *diggs.thomas@epa.gov* . Please also send a copy by e-mail to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below. • *Fax:* Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-L), at fax number 214-665-7263. • *Mail:* Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. • *Hand Delivery:* Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. *Instructions:* Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-2006-0386. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at *http://www.regulations.gov* , including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information
(CBI)or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. *Docket:* All documents in the docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in *http://www.regulations.gov* or in hard copy at the Air Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. The file will be made available by appointment for public inspection in the Region 6 FOIA Review Room between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm weekdays except for legal holidays. Contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT paragraph below or Mr. Bill Deese at 214-665-7253 to make an appointment. If possible, please make the appointment at least two working days in advance of your visit. There will be a 15 cent per page fee for making photocopies of documents. On the day of the visit, please check in at the EPA Region 6 reception area at 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas. The State submittal is also available for public inspection at the State Air Agency listed below during official business hours by appointment: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Office of Air Quality, 12124 Park 35 Circle, Austin, Texas 78753. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Riley, Air Planning Section, (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone
(214)665-8542; fax number 214-665-7263; e-mail address *riley.jeffrey@epa.gov* . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever “we” “us” or “our” is used, we mean the EPA. Table of Contents I. Background II. EPA's Evaluation of the El Paso Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan III. EPA's Evaluation of the Transportation Conformity Requirements IV. Consideration of Section 110(l) of the CAA V. Final Action VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews I. Background Under the 1990 Federal Clean Air Act
(CAA)Amendments, El Paso was designated and classified as a moderate nonattainment area for CO because it did not meet the 8-hour CO NAAQS for this criteria pollutant (56 FR 56694). El Paso's classification as a moderate nonattainment area under sections 107(d)(4)(A) and 186(a) of the CAA imposed a schedule for attainment of the CO NAAQS by December 31, 1995. The El Paso nonattainment area has unique considerations for CO attainment planning due to airshed contributions from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Section 179B of the 1990 CAA Amendments contains provisions for CO nonattainment areas affected by emissions emanating from outside the United States. Under CAA Section 179B, the EPA shall approve a SIP for the El Paso nonattainment area if the TCEQ establishes to the EPA's satisfaction that implementation of the plan would achieve timely attainment of the NAAQS but for emissions emanating from Ciudad Juarez. This provision prevents El Paso County from being reclassified to a higher level of nonattainment should monitors continue to record CO concentrations in excess of the NAAQS. To meet the CAA attainment schedule of December 31, 1995, Texas submitted an initial revision to the SIP for the El Paso CO moderate nonattainment area in a letter dated September 27, 1995. This submittal, as well as a February 1998 supplemental submittal, included air quality modeling demonstrating that El Paso would attain the CO NAAQS by December 31, 1995, but for emissions emanating outside of the United States from Mexico. The EPA approved a revision to the Texas SIP submitted to show attainment of the 8-hour CO NAAQS in the El Paso CO nonattainment area under Section 179B provisions, as well as approving the El Paso area's CO emissions budget and a CO contingency measure requirement. The State submitted the revisions to satisfy Section 179B and Part D requirements of the CAA. This approval was published July 2, 2003 (68 FR 39457) and became effective September 2, 2003. TCEQ also submitted all the requirements for the moderate area classification and EPA approved them. See further discussion in Section II.B.2. On January 20, 2006, the State of Texas submitted a revision to the SIP which consists of a request for redesignation of the El Paso carbon monoxide
(CO)nonattainment area to attainment for the CO NAAQS, as well as an 8-hour CO maintenance plan to ensure that El Paso County remains in attainment of the 8-hour CO NAAQS. In this action, we are approving a change in the legal designation of the El Paso area from nonattainment for CO to attainment, in addition to approving the maintenance plan that is designed to keep the area in attainment for CO until 2015. Under the CAA, we can change designations if acceptable data are available and if certain other requirements are met. Section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA provides that the Administrator may not promulgate a redesignation of a nonattainment area to attainment unless:
(i)The Administrator determines that the area has attained the national ambient air quality standard;
(ii)The Administrator has fully approved the applicable implementation plan for the area under CAA section 110(k);
(iii)The Administrator determines that the improvement in air quality is due to permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions resulting from implementation of the applicable implementation plan and applicable Federal air pollutant control regulations and other permanent and enforceable reductions;
(iv)The Administrator has fully approved a maintenance plan for the area as meeting the requirements of CAA section 175A; and,
(v)the State containing such area has met all requirements applicable to the area under section 110 and part D of the CAA. Before we can approve the redesignation request, we must decide that all applicable SIP elements have been fully approved. Approval of the applicable SIP elements may occur simultaneously with final approval of the redesignation request. The State of Texas has incorporated a CO maintenance plan into this submittal to satisfy the requirement of a fully approved maintenance plan for the area. II. EPA's Evaluation of the El Paso Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan We have reviewed the El Paso CO redesignation request and maintenance plan and believe that approval of the request is warranted, consistent with the requirements of CAA section 107(d)(3)(E). The following are descriptions of how the section 107(d)(3)(E) requirements are being addressed.
(a)Redesignation Criterion: The Area Must Have Attained the Carbon Monoxide
(CO)NAAQS Section 107(d)(3)(E)(i) of the CAA states that for an area to be redesignated to attainment, the Administrator must determine that the area has attained the applicable NAAQS. The area is designated attainment for the 1-hour CO NAAQS and designated nonattainment for the 8-hour CO NAAQS. As described in 40 CFR 50.8, the 8-hour CO NAAQS for carbon monoxide is 9 parts per million (ppm), (10 milligrams per cubic meter) for an 8-hour average concentration not to be exceeded more than once per year. 40 CFR 50.8 continues by stating that the levels of CO in the ambient air shall be measured by a reference method based on 40 CFR part 50, Appendix C and designated in accordance with 40 CFR part 53 or an equivalent method designated in accordance with 40 CFR part 53. Attainment of the 8-hour CO standard is not a momentary phenomenon based on short-term data. Instead, we consider an area to be in attainment if each of the 8-hour CO ambient air quality monitors in the area doesn't have more than one exceedance of the 8-hour CO standard over a one-year period. If any monitor in the area's CO monitoring network records more than one exceedance of the 8-hour CO standard during a one-year calendar period, then the area is in violation of the 8-hour CO NAAQS. In addition, our interpretation of the CAA and EPA national policy 1 has been that an area seeking redesignation to attainment must show attainment of the CO NAAQS for at least a continuous two-year calendar period. In addition, the area must also continue to show attainment through the date that we promulgate the redesignation in the **Federal Register** . 1 Refer to EPA's September 4, 1992, John Calcagni policy memorandum entitled “Procedures for Processing requests to Redesignate areas to Attainment.” The State of Texas' CO redesignation request for the El Paso area is based on an analysis of quality assured ambient air quality monitoring data that are relevant to the redesignation request. As presented in Chapter 3, Table 3-1 of the State's maintenance plan, ambient air quality monitoring data for consecutive calendar years 1999 through 2005 show a measured exceedance rate of the CO NAAQS of 1.0 or less per year, per monitor, in the El Paso nonattainment area. We have evaluated the ambient air quality data and have determined that the El Paso area has not violated the 8-hour CO standard and continues to demonstrate attainment. The El Paso nonattainment area has quality-assured data showing no violations of the 8-hour CO NAAQS for the most recent consecutive two-calendar-year period (2004 and 2005). Therefore, we believe the El Paso area has met the first component for redesignation: Demonstration of attainment of the CO NAAQS. We note too that the State of Texas has also committed, in the maintenance plan, to continue the necessary operation of the CO monitoring network in compliance with 40 CFR Part 58.
(b)Redesignation Criterion: The Area Must Have Met All Applicable Requirements Under Section 110 and Part D of the CAA To be redesignated to attainment, section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) requires that an area must meet all applicable requirements under section 110 and part D of the CAA. We interpret section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) to mean that for a redesignation to be approved by us, the State must meet all requirements that applied to the subject area prior to or at the time of the submission of a complete redesignation request. In our evaluation of a redesignation request, we don't need to consider other requirements of the CAA that became due after the date of the submission of a complete redesignation request. 1. CAA Section 110 Requirements Section 110(a)(2) of Title I of the CAA delineates the general requirements for a SIP, which include enforceable emissions limitations and other control measures, means, or techniques, provisions for the establishment and operation of appropriate devices necessary to collect data on ambient air quality, and programs to enforce the limitations. On July 2, 2003, we approved the El Paso CO element revisions to Texas's SIP as meeting the requirements of section 110(a)(2) of the CAA (see 68 FR 39457). 2. Part D Requirements Before the El Paso “moderate” CO nonattainment area may be redesignated to attainment, the State must have fulfilled the applicable requirements of part D. Under part D, an area's classification indicates the requirements to which it will be subject. Subpart 1 of part D sets forth the basic nonattainment requirements applicable to all nonattainment areas. Subpart 3 of Part D contains specific provisions for “moderate” CO nonattainment areas. The relevant subpart 1 requirements are contained in sections 172(c) and 176. Our General Preamble (see 57 FR 13529 to 13532, April 16, 1992) provides EPA's interpretations of the CAA requirements for “moderate” CO areas such as El Paso with CO design values that are less than or equal to 12.7 ppm. The General Preamble (see 57 FR 13530, *et seq.* ) provides that the applicable requirements of CAA section 172 are: 172(c)(3) (emissions inventory), 172(c)(5) (new source review permitting program), 172(c)(7) (the section 110(a)(2) air quality monitoring requirements), and 172(c)(9) (contingency measures). Regarding the requirements of sections 172(c)(3) (inventory) and 172(c)(9) (contingency measures), please refer to our discussion below of sections 187(a)(1) and 187(a)(3), which are the more specific provisions of subpart 3 of Part D of the CAA. It is also worth noting that we interpreted the requirements of sections 172(c)(2) (reasonable further progress—RFP) and 172(c)(6) (other measures) as being irrelevant to a redesignation request because they only have meaning for an area that is not attaining the standard. See EPA's September 4, 1992, John Calcagni memorandum entitled “Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment”, and the General Preamble, 57 FR at 13564, dated April 16, 1992. Finally, the State has not sought to exercise the options that would trigger sections 172(c)(4) (identification of certain emissions increases) and 172(c)(8) (equivalent techniques). Thus, these provisions are also not relevant to this redesignation request. For the section 172(c)(5) New Source Review
(NSR)requirements, the CAA requires all nonattainment areas to meet several requirements regarding NSR, including provisions to ensure that increased emissions will not result from any new or modified stationary major sources and a general offset rule. The State of Texas has an approved NSR program (see 60 FR 49781, September 27, 1995) that meets the requirements of CAA section 172(c)(5). For the CAA section 172(c)(7) provisions (compliance with the CAA section 110(a)(2) Air Quality Monitoring Requirements), our interpretations are presented in the General Preamble (57 FR 13535). CO nonattainment areas are to meet the “applicable” air quality monitoring requirements of section 110(a)(2) of the CAA. Information concerning CO monitoring in Texas is included in the Annual Monitoring Network Review
(MNR)prepared by the State and submitted to EPA. Our personnel have concurred with Texas' annual network reviews and have agreed that the El Paso network remains adequate. In Chapter 5, Section 5.4 of the maintenance plan, the State commits to the continued operation of the existing CO monitoring network according to applicable Federal regulations and guidelines (40 CFR part 58). The relevant subpart 3 provisions were created when the CAA was amended on November 15, 1990. The new CAA requirements for “moderate” CO areas, such as El Paso, required that the SIP be revised to include a 1990 base year emissions inventory (CAA section 187(a)(1)), contingency provisions (CAA section 187(a)(3)), corrections to existing motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs (CAA section 187(a)(4)), periodic emission inventories (CAA section 187(a)(5)), and the implementation of an oxygenated fuels program (CAA section 211(m)(1)). Sections 187(a)(2), (6), and
(7)do not apply to the El Paso area because its design value was below 12.7 ppm at the time of classification. How the State met these requirements and our approvals, are described below: A. 1990 base year emissions inventory (CAA section 187(a)(1)): EPA approved an emissions inventory on September 12, 1994 (see 59 FR 46766). B. Contingency provisions (CAA section 187(a)(3)): EPA approved the use of 46 tons per day in incremental CO reduction credits from the Texas low-enhanced vehicle inspection and maintenance program, as fulfillment of the State's CO attainment contingency measure requirement for the El Paso nonattainment area under section 172(c)(9) on July 2, 2003 (see 68 FR 39457). C. Corrections to the El Paso basic I/M program (CAA section 187(a)(4)): EPA approved the Texas Motorist Choice
(TMC)I/M Program (which includes El Paso) on November 14, 2001 (see 66 FR 57261). D. Periodic emissions inventories (CAA section 187(a)(5)): The State submitted an initial revision to the SIP for the El Paso CO moderate nonattainment area in a letter dated September 27, 1995. This submittal, as well as a February 1998 supplemental submittal contained a commitment to submit emission inventory updates. TCEQ continues to submit the Periodic Emissions Inventory
(PEI)every three years. E. Oxygenated fuels program implementation (CAA section 211(m)): EPA approved the El Paso oxygenated fuels program on September 12, 1994 (see 59 FR 46766).
(c)Redesignation Criterion: The Area Must Have a Fully Approved SIP Under Section 110(k) of the CAA Section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) of the CAA states that for an area to be redesignated to attainment, it must be determined that the Administrator has fully approved the applicable implementation plan for the area under section 110(k). As noted above, EPA previously approved SIP revisions for the El Paso CO nonattainment area that were required by the 1990 amendments to the CAA. In this action, we are also approving the maintenance plan proposed by the State, and the State's commitment to maintain an adequate monitoring network (contained in the maintenance plan). Thus, with this final rule to approve the El Paso redesignation request and maintenance plan, we will have fully approved the El Paso CO element of the SIP under section 110(k) of the CAA.
(d)Redesignation Criterion: The Area Must Show That the Improvement in Air Quality Is Due to Permanent and Enforceable Emissions Reductions Section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii) of the CAA provides that for an area to be redesignated to attainment, the Administrator must determine that the improvement in air quality is due to permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions resulting from implementation of the applicable implementation plan, implementation of applicable Federal air pollutant control regulations, and other permanent and enforceable reductions. The CO emissions reductions for El Paso, that are further described in Sections 3.5 and 5.3.3 of the El Paso maintenance plan, were achieved primarily through the Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program (FMVCP), an oxygenated fuels program, and a motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program. In general, the FMVCP provisions require vehicle manufacturers to meet more stringent vehicle emission limitations for new vehicles in future years. These emission limitations are phased in (as a percentage of new vehicles manufactured) over a period of years. As new, lower emitting vehicles replace older, higher emitting vehicles (“fleet turnover”), emission reductions are realized for a particular area such as El Paso. For example, EPA promulgated lower hydrocarbon
(HC)and CO exhaust emission standards in 1991, known as Tier I standards for new motor vehicles (light-duty vehicles and light-duty trucks) in response to the 1990 CAA amendments. These Tier I emissions standards were phased in with 40% of the 1994 model year fleet, 80% of the 1995 model year fleet, and 100% of the 1996 model year fleet. As stated in Section 5.3.3 of the maintenance plan, significant additional emission reductions were realized from El Paso's basic I/M program. The program requires annual inspections of vehicles at independent inspection stations. We note that further improvements to the El Paso area's basic I/M program, to meet the requirements of EPA's November 5, 1992 (57 FR 52950) I/M rule, and upgrading the I/M program to meet the requirements for a low-enhanced program, were approved by us into the SIP on November 14, 2001 (68 FR 39457). Oxygenated fuels are gasolines that are blended with additives that increase the level of oxygen in the fuel and, consequently, reduce CO tailpipe emissions. TAC Title 30, Chapter 114, Section 114.100, “Oxygenated Fuels Program”, contains the oxygenated fuels provisions for the El Paso nonattainment area. This rule requires all El Paso area gas stations to sell fuels containing a 2.7% minimum oxygen content (by weight) during the wintertime CO high pollution season. The use of oxygenated fuels has significantly reduced CO emissions and contributed to the area's attainment of the CO NAAQS. We have evaluated the various State and Federal control measures, and believe that the improvement in air quality in the El Paso nonattainment area has resulted from emission reductions that are permanent and enforceable.
(e)Redesignation Criterion: The Area Must Have a Fully Approved Maintenance Plan Under CAA Section 175A Section 107(d)(3)(E)(iv) of the CAA provides that for an area to be redesignated to attainment, the Administrator must have fully approved a maintenance plan for the area meeting the requirements of section 175A of the CAA. Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the elements of a maintenance plan for areas seeking redesignation from nonattainment to attainment. The maintenance plan must demonstrate continued attainment of the applicable NAAQS for at least ten years after the Administrator approves a redesignation to attainment. Eight years after the promulgation of the redesignation, the State must submit a revised maintenance plan that demonstrates continued attainment for the subsequent ten-year period following the initial ten year maintenance period. To address the possibility of future NAAQS violations, the maintenance plan must contain contingency measures, with a schedule for adoption and implementation, that are adequate to assure prompt correction of a violation. In addition, we issued further maintenance plan interpretations in the “General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990” (57 FR 13498, April 16, 1992), “General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990; Supplemental” (57 FR 18070, April 28, 1992), and the EPA guidance memorandum entitled “Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment” from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management Division, Office of Air Quality and Planning Standards, to Regional Air Division Directors, dated September 4, 1992 (hereafter the September 4, 1992 Calcagni Memorandum). In this **Federal Register** action, EPA is approving the maintenance plan for the El Paso CO nonattainment area because we believe, as detailed below, that the State's maintenance plan submittal meets the requirements of section 175A and is consistent with our interpretations of the CAA, as reflected in the documents referenced above. Our analysis of the pertinent maintenance plan requirements, with reference to the State's January 20, 2006, submittal, is provided as follows: 1. Emissions Inventories—Attainment Year and Projections EPA's interpretations of the CAA section 175A maintenance plan requirements are generally provided in the General Preamble (see 57 FR 13498, April 16, 1992) and the September 4, 1992, Calcagni Memorandum referenced above. Under our interpretations, areas seeking to redesignate to attainment for CO may demonstrate future maintenance of the CO NAAQS either by showing that future CO emissions will be equal to or less than the attainment year emissions or by providing a modeling demonstration. For the El Paso area, the State selected the emissions inventory approach for demonstrating maintenance of the CO NAAQS; however, the State also conducted “hot spot” CO modeling to demonstrate that CO exceedances are not currently occurring at a potential hot spot and will not occur at such locations in the future. The maintenance plan submitted by the TCEQ on January 20, 2006, includes comprehensive inventories of CO emissions for the El Paso area. These inventories include emissions from stationary point sources, area sources, non-road mobile sources, and on-road mobile sources. The State selected 2002 as the year from which to develop the attainment year inventory and included interim-year projections out to 2015. More detailed descriptions of the 2002 attainment year inventory and the projected inventories are documented in the maintenance plan in Chapter 2. Summary emission figures from the 2002 attainment year, the interim projected years, and the final maintenance year of 2015 are provided in Table 1 below. Table 1.—El Paso County CO Emissions for 2002-2015
(tpd)2002 2005 2011 2015 Point Source 4.67 4.42 4.78 5.03 Area Source 16.42 16.80 17.61 18.17 Nonroad Mobile 45.90 48.71 55.23 59.18 Onroad Mobile 360.34 325.50 245.16 232.02 Total 427.33 385.43 322.78 314.40 As presented in Chapter 3, Table 3-1 of the State's maintenance plan, ambient air quality monitoring data for consecutive calendar years 1999 through 2004 show a measured exceedance rate of the CO NAAQS of 1.0 or less per year, per monitor, in the El Paso nonattainment area. To further demonstrate maintenance of the CO NAAQS, the TCEQ agreed to additional “hot spot” modeling as requested by EPA on the basis of EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards' (OAQPS) September 30, 1994 Ozone/Carbon Monoxide Redesignations Reference Document. The modeling was done specifically to address two concerns—the El Paso CO monitoring network has a limited number of sites, and therefore may not have identified all the hot spots in the El Paso area; and in the future, urban growth may increase mobile emissions enough to cause exceedances of the NAAQS. The TCEQ performed CO modeling at a heavily utilized intersection to demonstrate that CO exceedances are not currently occurring at a potential hot spot and will not occur at that location in the future. A modeling protocol detailing hotspot selection, proposed model usage, and data analysis was submitted by the State on February 17, 2005, and was approved by EPA via a letter dated March 30, 2005. The modeling protocol and approach taken are detailed in Chapter 4 of the maintenance plan. As shown in Table 4-2 of the maintenance plan, the current
(base)case hot spot analysis predicted a maximum 8-hour CO concentration of 7.8 ppm, and the 2015 future case analysis predicted a maximum 8-hour CO concentration of 2.2 ppm. Both of these values are below the 9 ppm NAAQS, and demonstrate current and projected compliance with the CO standard. A more detailed evaluation by EPA of this hot spot analysis is provided in the TSD. 2. Demonstration of Maintenance—Projected Inventories As we noted above, total CO emissions were projected forward by the State for the years 2005, 2011, and 2015. We note the State's approach for developing the projected inventories follows EPA guidance on projected emissions and we believe they are acceptable. 2 The projected inventories show that CO emissions are not estimated to exceed the 2002 attainment level during the time period 2002 through 2015 and, therefore, the El Paso area has satisfactorily demonstrated maintenance. The year 2005 was selected as the year of designation of attainment for the 8-hour CO NAAQS, so the final projection year, 2015, was intended to represent the last year of the 10-year maintenance plan. The year 2011 was selected as an interim year for conformity determination. These projected inventories were developed using EPA-approved technologies and methodologies. No new control strategies for point and area sources were relied upon in the projected inventories. CO emission reductions anticipated from EPA's national rule for the Spark Ignition Small Engine Rule, Phase 1, were relied upon as a new control strategy for Nonroad sources. TCEQ relied upon emissions reductions anticipated from existing control strategies: FMVCP, Texas Oxygenated Fuel SIP, and the Texas I/M Program. Please see the TSD for more information on EPA's review and evaluation of the State's methodologies, modeling, inputs, etc., for developing the projected emissions inventories. 2 “Use of Actual Emissions in Maintenance Demonstrations for Ozone and Carbon Monoxide
(CO)Nonattainment Areas”, signed by D. Kent Berry, Acting Director, Air Quality Management Division, November 30, 1993. 3. Monitoring Network and Verification of Continued Attainment The TCEQ commits to maintain an appropriate air monitoring network for the El Paso area throughout the 10-year maintenance period. As required by 40 CFR Part 58.20(d), TCEQ will consult with EPA in annual review of the air monitoring network to determine the adequacy of the CO monitoring network, whether or not additional monitoring is needed, and if/when monitor sites can be discontinued. The TCEQ also commits to adhere to data quality requirements as specified in 40 CFR Part 58 Quality Assurance Requirements. Texas commits to track the progress of the maintenance plan by continuing to periodically update the emissions inventory (EI). It will compare the updated EIs against the projected 2005, 2011 and 2015 EIs. TCEQ also commits to continuing all the applicable control strategies, i.e., the measures approved into the El Paso SIP. For example, these measures include the Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program (FMVCP), an oxygenated fuels program, and a motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program. Based on the above, we are approving these commitments as satisfying the relevant requirements and we note that his final rulemaking approval will render the State's commitments federally enforceable. 4. Contingency Plan Section 175A(d) of the CAA requires that a maintenance plan include contingency provisions. To meet this requirement, the State has identified appropriate contingency measures along with a schedule for the development and implementation of such measures. In the January 20, 2006 submittal, Texas specifies the contingency trigger as a violation of the 8-hour CO standard base upon air quality monitoring data from the El Paso monitoring network. In the event that a monitored violation of the 8-hour CO standard occurs in any portion of the maintenance area, the State will first analyze the data to determine if the violation was caused by actions outside TCEQ's jurisdiction (e.g., emissions from Mexico or another state) or within its jurisdiction. If the violation was caused by actions outside TCEQ's jurisdiction, TCEQ will notify the EPA. If TCEQ determines the violation was caused by actions within TCEQ's jurisdiction, TCEQ commits to adopt and implement the identified contingency measures as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 18 months. The State will analyze one or more of the following contingency measures to reattain the standard: • Vehicle idling restrictions. • Improved vehicle I/M. • Improved traffic control measures. The maintenance plan indicates that the State may evaluate other potential strategies to address any future violations in the most appropriate and effective manner possible. Based on the above, we find that the contingency measures provided in the State's El Paso CO maintenance plan are sufficient and meet the requirements of section 175A(d) of the CAA. 5. Subsequent Maintenance Plan Revisions In accordance with section 175A(b) of the CAA, Texas has committed to submit a revised maintenance plan eight years after our approval of the redesignation. This provision for revising the maintenance plan is contained in Chapter 5, Section 5.1 of the El Paso CO maintenance plan. The maintenance plan adequately addresses the five basic components of a maintenance plan. EPA believes that the 8-hour CO maintenance plan SIP revision submitted by the State of Texas for the El Paso area meets the requirements of Section 175A of the CAA. For more information, please refer to our Technical Support Document. III. EPA's Evaluation of the Transportation Conformity Requirements Table 2 documents the motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for the El Paso CO nonattainment area that have been established by this CO redesignation request. The MVEB is that portion of the total allowable emissions defined in the SIP revision allocated to on-road mobile sources for a certain date for meeting the purpose of the SIP, in this case maintaining compliance with the NAAQS in the nonattainment or maintenance area. EPA's conformity rule (40 CFR part 51, subpart T and part 93, subpart A) requires that transportation plans, programs and projects in nonattainment or maintenance areas conform to the SIP. The motor vehicle emissions budget is one mechanism EPA has identified for demonstrating conformity. Upon the effective date of this SIP approval, all future transportation improvement programs and long range transportation plans for the El Paso area will have to show conformity to the budgets in this plan; previous budgets approved or found adequate will no longer be applicable. Table 2.—El Paso CO MVEB for 2002-2015
(tpd)Year MVEB 2002 29.66 2011 18.56 2015 16.63 Our analysis indicates that the above figures are consistent with maintenance of the CO NAAQS throughout the maintenance period. In accordance with EPA's adequacy process, these MVEBs were posted on EPA's adequacy Web site for public notice on May 4, 2006 and were open for comment until June 5, 2006. No comments were received during this period. Therefore, we are finding as adequate and approving the 29.66 tpd for 2002 through 2010, 18.56 tpd for 2011 through 2014, and 16.63 tpd for 2015 and beyond, CO emissions budgets for the El Paso area. Budget modeling was developed for TCEQ under contract by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), utilizing El Paso travel model datasets developed by the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization. The modeling incorporated two onroad source control strategies that apply in the El Paso area: The El Paso Oxygenated Fuel Program, and the I/M program (both detailed in Chapter 5, Section 5.3.3 of the maintenance plan). IV. Consideration of Section 110(l) of the CAA Section 110(l) of the CAA states that a SIP revision cannot be approved if the revision would interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress towards attainment of a NAAQS or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. As stated above, the El Paso area has shown continuous attainment of the CO NAAQS since 1999 and has met the applicable Federal requirements for redesignation to attainment. The maintenance plan will not interfere with attainment or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. No control measures in the El Paso SIP are being removed. V. Final Action EPA is approving the redesignation of the El Paso area to attainment of the 8-hour CO NAAQS, as well as approving the El Paso area CO maintenance plan. We also are approving the associated MVEBs. We have evaluated the State's submittal and have determined that it meets the applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act and EPA regulations, and is consistent with EPA policy. EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because we view this as a non-controversial amendment and anticipate no adverse comments. However, in the “Proposed Rules” section of today's **Federal Register** , we are publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposed rule to approve the SIP revision if relevant adverse comments are received on this direct final rule. We will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time. For further information about commenting on this rule, see the ADDRESSES section of this document. If EPA receives adverse comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the **Federal Register** informing the public that the rule will not take effect. We would address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. Please note that if we receive adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, we may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment. VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this action is not a “significant regulatory action” and therefore is not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, “Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use” (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 *et seq.* ). Because this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by state law, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4). This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action also does not have federalism implications because it does not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This action merely approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the CAA. This rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 “Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks” (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant. In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise satisfies the provisions of the CAA. Thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This rule does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 *et seq.* ). The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 *et seq.* , as added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior to publication of the rule in the **Federal Register** . A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the **Federal Register** . This action is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by March 26, 2007. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).) List of Subjects 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, Intergovernmental relations. 40 CFR Part 81 Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas. Dated: January 11, 2007. Richard E. Greene, Regional Administrator, Region 6. 40 CFR parts 52 and 81 are amended as follows: PART 52—[AMENDED] 1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows: Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 *et seq.* Subpart SS—Texas 2. In § 52.2270, the second table in paragraph
(e)entitled “EPA Approved Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the Texas SIP” is amended by adding an entry at the end of the table to read as follows: § 52.2270 Identification of plan.
(e)* * * EPA Approved Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the Texas SIP Name of SIP provision Applicable geographic or nonattainment area State submittal/effective date EPA approval date Comments * * * * * * * El Paso County Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan El Paso, TX 1/11/06 1/23/07 [Insert FR page number where document begins] PART 81—[AMENDED] 3. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows: Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, *et seq.* 4. Section 81.344 is amended by revising the Carbon Monoxide table entry for El Paso County to read as follows: § 81.344 Texas. Texas—Carbon Monoxide Designated area Designation Date 1 Type Category/classification Date 1 Type El Paso, El Paso County 1/23/07 Attainment. * * * * * * * 1 This date is November 15, 1990, unless otherwise noted. [FR Doc. E7-926 Filed 1-22-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Federal Emergency Management Agency 44 CFR Part 67 Final Flood Elevation Determinations AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: 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). DATES: The date of issuance of the Flood Insurance Rate Map
(FIRM)showing BFEs and modified BFEs for each community. This date may be obtained by contacting the office where the maps are available for inspection as indicated on the table below. ADDRESSES: The final BFEs for each community are available for inspection at the office of the Chief Executive Officer of each community. The respective addresses are listed in the table below. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William R. Blanton, Jr., Engineering Management Section, Mitigation Division, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472,
(202)646-3151. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA)makes the final determinations listed below for the modified BFEs for each community listed. These modified elevations have been published in newspapers of local circulation and ninety
(90)days have elapsed since that publication. The Mitigation Division Director of FEMA has resolved any appeals resulting from this notification. This final rule is issued in accordance with section 110 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, 42 U.S.C. 4104, and 44 CFR part 67. FEMA has developed criteria for floodplain management in floodprone areas in accordance with 44 CFR part 60. Interested lessees and owners of real property are encouraged to review the proof Flood Insurance Study and FIRM available at the address cited below for each community. The BFEs and modified BFEs are made final in the communities listed below. Elevations at selected locations in each community are shown. *National Environmental Policy Act.* This final rule is categorically excluded from the requirements of 44 CFR part 10, Environmental Consideration. An environmental impact assessment has not been prepared. *Regulatory Flexibility Act.* As flood elevation determinations are not within the scope of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required. *Regulatory Classification.* This final rule is not a significant regulatory action under the criteria of section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993, Regulatory Planning and Review, 58 FR 51735. *Executive Order 13132, Federalism.* This final rule involves no policies that have federalism implications under Executive Order 13132. *Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform.* This final rule meets the applicable standards of Executive Order 12988. List of Subjects in 44 CFR Part 67 Administrative practice and procedure, Flood insurance, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Accordingly, 44 CFR part 67 is amended as follows: PART 67—[AMENDED] 1. The authority citation for part 67 continues to read as follows: Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4001 *et seq.* ; Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp., p. 329; E.O. 12127, 44 FR 19367, 3 CFR, 1979 Comp., p. 376. § 67.11 [Amended] 2. The tables published under the authority of § 67.11 are amended as follows: Flooding source(s) Location of referenced elevation *Elevation in feet
(NGVD)+Elevation in feet
(NAVD)# Depth in feet above ground Modified Communities affected Guilford County, North Carolina and Incorporated Areas Docket Nos.: FEMA-D-7636, FEMA-D-7672 and FEMA-B-7465 Back Creek At the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +579 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 150 feet upstream of SR 100 +644 Tributary 2 At the confluence with Back Creek +589 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). At the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +635 Tributary (Stream No. 90) At the confluence with Back Creek +595 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.5 mile upstream of Sanitary Landfill Road +638 Beaver Creek (Stream No. 83) At the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +569 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.8 mile upstream of Mount Hope Church Road +668 Beaver Creek Tributary At the confluence with Beaver Creek +592 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.7 mile upstream of Brick Church Road +631 Benaja Creek (Stream No. 48) Approximately 1.2 miles upstream of Railroad Crossing +712 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1.4 miles upstream of Railroad Crossing +718 Big Alamance Creek (Stream No. 68) Approximately 1,000 feet upstream of the confluence with Big Alamance Creek Tributary 1 +686 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), Town of Pleasant Garden. Approximately 1.3 miles upstream of Minder Road +757 Big Alamance Creek Tributary 3 At the confluence with Big Alamance Creek +589 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 325 feet upstream of Thacker Dairy Road +613 Tributary 4 Approximately 100 feet upstream of the confluence with Big Alamance Creek +592 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.4 mile upstream of Alamance Church Road +672 Tributary 8 Approximately 900 feet upstream of the confluence with Big Alamance Creek +659 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), Town of Pleasant Garden. Approximately 100 feet upstream of Hagon Stone Park Road +712 Tributary 9 At the confluence with Big Alamance Creek Tributary 8 +663 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.8 mile upstream of Fieldview Road +713 Boulding Branch Approximately 50 feet upstream of Montileu Avenue +854 City of High Point. At North Centennial Street +888 Tributary 1 Approximately 225 feet upstream of the confluence with Boulding Branch +775 City of High Point. Approximately 1,350 feet upstream of Hickory Lane +844 Tributary 2 Approximately 200 feet downstream of Barcliff Drive +794 City of High Point. Approximately 350 feet upstream of Waynick Street +838 Tributary 3 Approximately 400 feet upstream of the confluence with Boulding Branch +798 City of High Point. Approximately 1,000 feet upstream of McGuinn Drive +849 Brush Creek (Stream No. 54) At the downstream side of Brass Eagle Loop +778 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 1,550 feet upstream of Airport Center Drive +879 Bull Run At the confluence with Deep River (Stream No. 1) +704 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro, Town of Jamestown. Approximately 1,000 feet upstream of Ruffin Road +845 Bull Run (Stream No. 28) At the confluence with Deep River(Stream No. 1) +704 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro, Town of Jamestown. Approximately 1,000 feet upstream of Ruffin Road +845 Bull Run Tributary 1 (Stream No. 29) At the confluence with Bull Run +778 City of Greensboro. Approximately 330 feet upstream of Old Fox Trail +808 Chocolate Creek At the confluence with North Prong Stinking Quarter Creek +616 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 3.0 miles upstream of Alamance Church Road +687 Copper Branch Approximately 1,150 feet upstream of the confluence with Deep River (Stream No. 1) +700 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 600 feet upstream of I-85 +822 Deep River Tributary 3 (Stream No. A) Approximately 50 feet upstream of Edinburgh Drive +762 City of High Point. Approximately 0.7 mile upstream of Edinburgh Drive +806 Deep River Tributary 30 Approximately 500 feet upstream of the confluence with West Fork Deep River (Stream No. 2) +762 City of High Point. Approximately 0.5 mile upstream of the confluence with West Fork Deep River (Stream No. 2) +800 Tributary 31 Approximately 750 feet upstream of the confluence with West Fork Deep River (Stream No. 2) +778 City of High Point. Approximately 650 feet upstream of Arden Place +863 East Belews Creek Tributary 1 At the Guilford/Forsyth County boundary +733 Town of Stokesdale. Approximately 1.2 miles upstream of Coldwater Road +786 Tributary 1A At the Guilford/Forsyth County boundary +733 Town of Stokesdale. Approximately 680 feet upstream of Coldwater Road +758 Tributary 2 At the Guilford/Forsyth County boundary +750 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.7 mile upstream of Water Oak Road +776 East Fork Deep River (Stream No. 23) Approximately 100 feet upstream of Regency Drive +799 City of Greensboro, City of High Point, Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1,275 feet upstream of Industrial Village +870 East Fork Deep River Tributary 1 At the confluence with East Deep River +842 City of Greensboro. Approximately 0.4 mile upstream of U.S. Route 421 +860 Tributary 2 Approximately 500 feet upstream of the confluence with East Fork Deep River +790 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro, City of High Point. Approximately 1,300 feet upstream of I-40 +866 Haw River Tributary 15 Approximately 0.5 mile upstream of the confluence with Haw River +635 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). At the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +665 Tributary 19 Approximately 1.0 mile upstream of the confluence with Haw River +844 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1.0 mile upstream of the confluence with Haw River +901 Hiatt Branch Approximately 1,650 feet downstream of U.S. 311 +823 City of High Point. Approximately 0.5 mile upstream of U.S. 311 +870 Horney Branch Approximately 100 feet upstream of Old Mill Road +839 City of High Point. Approximately 500 feet upstream of Viking Drive +864 Horsepen Creek (Stream No. 55) Approximately 120 feet downstream of railroad +742 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 200 feet downstream of Distribution Drive +835 Tributary 1 (Stream No. 57) At the confluence with Horsepen Creek +757 City of Greensboro. Approximately 1,375 feet upstream of Derbyshire Drive +833 Tributary 2 (Stream No. 56) At the confluence with Horsepen Creek +761 City of Greensboro. Approximately 1,800 feet upstream of Hobbs Road +853 Tributary A At the confluence with Horsepen Creek Tributary 2 +777 City of Greensboro. Approximately 300 feet upstream of Friendly Acres Drive +811 Tributary B At the confluence with Horsepen Creek Tributary 2 +778 City of Greensboro. Approximately 1.1 miles upstream of Hobbs Road +861 Tributary C At the confluence with Horsepen Creek +758 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 2,275 feet upstream of Four Farms Road +784 Tributary D At the confluence with Horsepen Creek +772 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 0.8 mile upstream of Chance Road +831 Tributary E At the confluence with Horsepen Creek +775 City of Greensboro. Approximately 150 feet upstream of Green Meadow Drive +826 Tributary F At the confluence with Horsepen Creek +785 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 400 feet upstream of Joseph Bryan Boulevard +822 Tributary G At the confluence with Horsepen Creek +797 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 0.6 mile upstream of the confluence with Horsepen Creek +828 Tributary H At the confluence with Horsepen Creek +796 City of Greensboro. Approximately 0.4 mile upstream of Ballinger Road +806 Tributary I At the confluence with Horsepen Creek Tributary H +806 City of Greensboro. Approximately 100 feet upstream of Friendway Road +861 Tributary J At the confluence with Horsepen Creek Tributary H +806 City of Greensboro. Approximately 700 feet upstream of Friendly Avenue +864 Tributary K At the confluence with Horsepen Creek +822 City of Greensboro. Approximately 250 feet upstream of North Chimney Rock Road +888 Jordan Branch At the confluence with North Buffalo Creek +704 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 50 feet downstream of Railroad +769 Kennedy Mill Creek At the Guilford/Davidson County boundary +801 City of High Point. Approximately 900 feet upstream of Hodgin Street +848 Tributary 1 At the Guilford/Davidson County boundary +815 City of High Point. Approximately 0.3 mile upstream of Woodbine Street +903 Tributary 1A At the confluence of Kennedy Mill Creek Tributary 1 +816 City of High Point. Approximately 1,400 feet upstream of the confluence with Kennedy Mill Creek Tributary 1 +839 Kings Creek At the Guilford/Forsyth County boundary +724 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), Town of Stokesdale. Approximately 1.4 miles upstream of Anthony Road +815 Knight Road Branch Approximately 1,700 feet upstream of the confluence with West Fork Deep River (Stream No. 2) +819 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. At the Guilford/Forsyth County boundary +838 Lake Hamilton At the confluence with North Buffalo Creek +785 City of Greensboro. Approximately 70 feet upstream of East Kemp Road +815 Long Branch (Stream No. 25) Approximately 1.6 miles upstream of West Wendover Avenue +837 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 550 feet upstream of I-40 +863 Mears Fork Creek At Strader Road +790 City of Summerfield. Approximately 0.7 mile upstream of Strader Road +805 Mile Branch Tributary 1 Approximately 700 feet upstream of the confluence with Mile Branch +729 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 0.7 mile upstream of the confluence with Mile Branch +780 Mile Run Creek At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek +729 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 150 feet downstream of Orchard Street +767 Muddy Creek At the confluence with North Buffalo Creek +713 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 850 feet upstream of North Dudley Street +777 Muddy Creek East Tributary At the Guilford/Randolph County boundary +814 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 1,000 feet upstream of Baker Road +855 Tributary 2 At the High Point ETJ/Archdale City boundary +789 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. At the High Point ETJ/Archdale City boundary +799 Tributary 4 At the Guilford/Randolph County boundary +771 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 1,500 feet upstream of Liberty Road +826 Tributary 5 At the High Point ETJ/Archdale City boundary +778 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 550 feet upstream of Liberty Road +814 Tributary 6 At the High Point ETJ/Archdale City boundary +777 City of High Point. Approximately 1,250 feet upstream of Liberty Road +816 North Buffalo Creek (Stream No. 66) Approximately 50 feet downstream of Rankin Mill Road +697 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 90 feet upstream of South Holden Road +816 North Buffalo Creek Tributary 1 At the confluence with Jordan Branch +747 City of Greensboro. Approximately 700 feet upstream of Allyson Avenue +779 Tributary 2 At the confluence with Muddy Creek +718 City of Greensboro. Approximately 0.4 mile upstream of Woodmore Drive +750 Tributary 3 At Briarcliff Road +744 City of Greensboro. Approximately 0.5 mile upstream of the confluence of North Buffalo Creek +756 Tributary 4 At the confluence with North Buffalo Creek +750 City of Greensboro. Approximately 200 feet upstream of South Aycock Street +769 Tributary 5 Approximately 950 feet upstream of the confluence with North Buffalo Creek Tributary A +775 City of Greensboro. Approximately 75 feet upstream of Forest Hill Drive +843 Tributary 6 At the confluence with Lake Hamilton +800 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 100 feet upstream of Waycross Drive +823 Tributary A At the confluence with North Buffalo Creek +760 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 0.4 mile upstream of Joseph M. Bryan Boulevard +806 North Little Alamance Creek Tributary 6 Approximately 700 feet upstream of the confluence with North Little Alamance Creek +627 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1,900 feet upstream of U.S. 70 +649 North Prong Stinking Quarter Creek (Stream No. 88) At the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +589 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 700 feet upstream of Liberty Road +735 North Prong Stinking Quarter Creek Tributary At the confluence with North Prong Stinking Quarter Creek +637 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 250 feet upstream of Coble Church Road +667 Payne Creek At the confluence of Payne Creek Tributary 2 +826 City of High Point. Approximately 130 feet upstream of Council Street +858 Payne Creek Tributary 1 (Stream No. 99) At State Route 68 +826 City of High Point. Approximately 170 feet upstream of West Rotary Drive +868 Tributary 1A (Stream No. 97) Approximately 100 feet upstream of State Route 68 +822 City of High Point. Approximately 800 feet upstream of Carr Street +863 Tributary 1B Approximately 50 feet upstream of the confluence with Payne Creek Tributary 1 (Stream No. 99) +807 City of High Point. Approximately 0.2 mile upstream of the confluence with Payne Creek +834 Tributary 1C Approximately 200 feet upstream of the confluence with Payne Creek Tributary 1 (Stream No. 99) +810 City of High Point. Approximately 1,400 feet upstream of the confluence with Payne Creek Tributary 1 (Stream No. 99) +839 Tributary 2 At the confluence with Payne Creek +826 City of High Point. Approximately 460 feet upstream of North Rotary Drive +868 Parks Creek Approximately 0.4 mile downstream of the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +633 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1,000 feet upstream of the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +656 Philadelphia Lake At the confluence with North Buffalo Creek +728 City of Greensboro. Approximately 1,100 feet upstream of West Cone Boulevard +810 Polecat Creek Tributary 2 Approximately 350 feet upstream of the confluence with Polecat Creek (Stream No. 42) +715 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), Town of Pleasant Garden. Approximately 2.0 miles upstream of the confluence with Polecat Creek (Stream No. 42) +745 Tributary 3 At the confluence with Polecat Creek Tributary 2 +718 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), Town of Pleasant Garden. Approximately 1.7 miles upstream of the confluence with Polecat Creek Tributary 2 +780 Reedy Fork Tributary 1 Approximately 1,200 feet upstream of the confluence with Reedy Fork Creek +626 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1,100 feet upstream of Turner Smith Road +728 Tributary 2 Approximately 1,100 feet upstream of the confluence with Reedy Fork Creek +640 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 350 feet upstream of Middlestream Road +743 Tributary 3 At the confluence with Reedy Fork Tributary 2 +686 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.8 mile upstream of Turner Smith Road +715 Tributary 4 Approximately 1,000 feet upstream of the confluence with Reedy Fork +620 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.6 mile upstream of Busick Quarry Road +636 Tributary 7 At the upstream side of Brookbank Road +779 City of Summerfield. Approximately 1.1 miles upstream of Brookbank Road +795 Tributary 8 Approximately 1,000 feet upstream of the confluence with Reedy Fork Creek +633 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.9 mile upstream of the confluence with Reedy Fork Creek +651 Tributary 9 At the upstream side of Reedy Fork Parkway +688 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 0.5 mile upstream of U.S. Route 29 +702 Tributary 10 Approximately 0.5 mile upstream of the confluence with Reedy Fork Creek +745 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 1.0 mile upstream of the confluence with Reedy Fork Creek +752 Rich Fork Tributary 1 (Stream No. 92) Approximately 100 feet upstream of the confluence of Rich Fork Tributary 1B (Stream No. 93) +791 City of High Point. Approximately 950 feet upstream of Greenwood Drive +846 Tributary 1 B1 Approximately 100 feet upstream of the confluence with Rich Fork Tributary 1B (Stream No. 93) +822 City of High Point. Approximately 375 feet upstream of Idol Street +858 Tributary 1A Approximately 100 feet downstream of Carolyndon Drive +781 City of High Point. Approximately 600 feet upstream of Westover Drive +853 Tributary 2 At the Guilford/Davidson County boundary +807 City of High Point. Approximately 0.3 mile upstream of the Guilford/Davidson County boundary +827 Tributary 1B (Stream No. 93) Approximately 100 feet upstream of State Route 68 +833 City of High Point. Approximately 400 feet upstream of Pinehurst Drive +833 Richland Creek (Stream No. 59) Approximately 0.5 mile upstream of Church Street +721 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 900 feet upstream of Guilford Courthouse National Park LP +805 (Stream No. 30) Approximately 200 feet upstream of the confluence of Stream No. 31 +837 City of High Point. Approximately 1,350 feet upstream of West Green Drive +877 Richland Creek Tributary 1 At the confluence with Richland Creek (Stream No. 59) +750 City of Greensboro. Approximately 1,500 feet upstream of Pheasant Run Drive +810 Tributary 2 Approximately 250 feet upstream of the confluence with Richland Creek (Stream No. 30) +713 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 0.6 mile upstream of the confluence with Richland Creek (Stream No. 30) +809 Tributary 3 Approximately 625 feet upstream of the confluence with Richland Creek +724 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 75 feet upstream of Lawndale Avenue +828 Tributary 4 At the confluence with Richland Creek Tributary 3 +753 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 1,500 feet upstream of Central Avenue +829 Tributary 5 At the confluence with Richland Creek Tributary 3 +745 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 1,700 feet upstream of I-85 +803 Tributary 6 Approximately 350 feet upstream of the confluence with Richland Creek (Stream No. 30) +752 City of High Point. Approximately 1,700 feet upstream of I-85 +783 Tributary 9 At the confluence with Richland Creek (Stream No. 30) +774 City of High Point. Approximately 2,100 feet upstream of the confluence with Richland Creek (Stream No. 30) +807 Tributary 10 Approximately 50 feet downstream of I-85
(BUS)+785 City of High Point. Approximately 400 feet upstream of East Springfield Road +828 Tributary 11 At the confluence with Richland Creek Tributary 10 +805 City of High Point. Approximately 650 feet upstream of Model Farm Road +837 Tributary 12 At Nathan Hunt Drive +793 City of High Point. Approximately 100 feet upstream of Tate Street +863 Tributary 14 At I-85
(BUS)+809 City of High Point. Approximately 400 feet upstream of Fraley Road +863 Tributary 15 Approximately 50 feet upstream of Surrett Drive +828 City of High Point. Approximately 100 feet upstream of South Elm Street +857 Tributary 17 At the confluence with Richland Creek (Stream No. 30) +849 City of High Point. Approximately 550 feet upstream of Lincoln Drive +869 Rock Creek Tributary (Stream No. 81) At Sedalia Road +640 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), Town of Sedalia. Approximately 1,900 feet upstream of Sedalia Road +648 Rock Creek Tributary 3 Approximately 750 feet upstream of the confluence with Rock Creek (Stream No. 80) +632 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1.1 miles upstream of the confluence with Rock Creek (Stream No. 80) +652 Rose Creek At the Guilford/Rockingham County boundary +679 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1,056 feet upstream of Chrismon Road +694 Ryan Creek At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek (Stream No. 67) +735 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 350 feet upstream of U.S. Route 220 +799 Sandy Ridge Tributary At the downstream side of NC 68 +800 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). At Gilmore Dairy Road +832 Smith Branch Approximately 1,700 feet upstream of the confluence with Reedy Fork Creek +675 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1.7 miles upstream of Turner Smith Road +758 South Buffalo Creek (Stream No. 67) Approximately 350 feet upstream of East Lee Street +715 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 1,100 feet upstream of Guilford College Road +876 South Buffalo Creek Tributary 1 At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek +807 City of Greensboro. Approximately 300 feet upstream of Pennoak Road +837 Tributary 2 At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek +792 City of Greensboro. Approximately 1,050 feet upstream of Bernav Avenue +855 Tributary 3 Approximately 600 feet upstream of the confluence with South Buffalo Creek +745 City of Greensboro. Approximately 1,500 feet upstream of Oak Street +834 Tributary 4 At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek +713 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 1,250 feet upstream of South English Street +770 Tributary 5 At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek +719 City of Greensboro. Approximately 1,100 feet upstream of South English Street +773 Tributary 6 At Bothwell Street +720 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 350 feet upstream of Barksdale Drive +737 Tributary 7 At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek +726 City of Greensboro. Approximately 900 feet upstream of Tuscaloosa Street +757 Tributary 8 At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek +728 City of Greensboro. Approximately 800 feet upstream of South Benbow Road +739 Tributary 9 At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek +735 City of Greensboro. Approximately 50 feet downstream of East Vandalia Road +746 Tributary 10 Approximately 180 feet upstream of the confluence with Ryan Creek +736 City of Greensboro. Approximately 50 feet downstream of Webster Road +807 Tributary 11 Approximately 100 feet upstream of the confluence with Ryan Creek +746 City of Greensboro. Approximately 750 feet upstream of Pinecraft Road +806 Tributary A At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek +807 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of Greensboro. Approximately 0.7 mile upstream of Tower Road +902 Tributary B At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek Tributary A +809 City of Greensboro. Approximately 550 feet upstream of Richland Street +886 South Prong Stinking Quarter Creek At the confluence with Stinking Quarter Creek +575 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). At the Guilford/Randolph County boundary +625 Tributary 1 At the confluence with South Prong Stinking Quarter Creek +575 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1.1 miles upstream of Smithwood Road +676 Stinking Quarter Creek At the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +556 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). At the confluence with South Prong Stinking Quarter Creek Tributary 1 and South Prong Stinking Quarter Creek +575 Tributary 2 At the confluence with Stinking Quarter Creek +559 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.7 mile upstream of the confluence with Stinking Quarter Creek +577 Stream No. 13 Approximately 800 feet upstream of East Hartley Drive +817 City of High Point. Approximately 0.6 mile upstream of SR 68 +881 Tributary 1 Approximately 400 feet upstream of the confluence with Stream No. 13 +806 City of High Point. Approximately 2,400 feet upstream of the confluence with Stream No. 13 +854 Tributary 2 Approximately 300 feet upstream of the confluence with Stream No. 13 +807 City of High Point. Approximately 1,700 feet upstream of the confluence with Stream No. 13 +825 Tributary 3 Approximately 250 feet upstream of the confluence with Stream No. 13 +817 City of High Point. Approximately 400 feet upstream of Pine Valley Road +856 Tributary 4 At the confluence with Stream No. 13 +818 City of High Point. Approximately 1,650 feet upstream of SR 68 +893 Tributary 5 At the confluence with Stream No. 13 +818 City of High Point. Approximately 1,150 feet upstream of SR 68 +866 Stream No. 27 Approximately 50 feet upstream of Rosecrest Drive +812 City of High Point. Approximately 1,850 feet upstream of Enterprise Drive +852 Tributary 2 Approximately 350 feet upstream of the confluence with Stream No. 27 +786 City of High Point. Approximately 1,700 feet upstream of Alpine Drive +833 Stream No. 31 Approximately 80 feet upstream of Vail Avenue +854 City of High Point. Approximately 300 feet upstream of Taylor Avenue +869 Stream No. 33 Approximately 150 feet upstream of Wise Avenue +813 City of High Point. Approximately 500 feet upstream of West Russell Avenue +850 Tributary 2 At the confluence with Stream No. 33 +813 City of High Point. Approximately 400 feet upstream of East Green Drive +841 Stream No. 34 Approximately 450 feet downstream of Habersham Road +817 City of High Point. Approximately 1,850 feet downstream of Pendleton Street +851 Stream No. 34 Tributary Approximately 100 feet upstream of the confluence with Stream No. 34 +753 City of High Point. Approximately 1,700 feet upstream of Triangle Lake Road +828 Stream No. 34A At the upstream side of Jackson Lake Road +745 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 200 feet upstream of Baker Road +827 Tributary 1 At the confluence with Stream No. 34A +752 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 1,650 feet upstream of the confluence with Stream No. 34A +782 Tributary 2 At the confluence with Stream No. 34A +753 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 1,650 feet upstream of the confluence with Stream No. 34A +793 Tributary 3 At the confluence with Stream No. 34A +769 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 0.5 mile upstream of the confluence with Stream No. 34A +820 Tributary 4 At the confluence with Stream No. 34A Tributary 3 +775 City of High Point. Approximately 1,700 feet upstream of the confluence with Stream No. 34A Tributary 3 +825 Tributary 6 At the confluence with Stream No. 34A +794 City of High Point. Approximately 450 feet upstream of North Hall Street +818 Tributary 7 At the confluence with Stream No. 34A +817 City of High Point. Approximately 1,350 feet upstream of Baker Road +864 Tickle Creek At the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +647 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1.0 mile upstream of the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +659 Travis Creek At the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +618 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 950 feet upstream of SR 61/Frieden Church Road +670 Tributary A to Travis Creek At the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +623 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 600 feet upstream of Howerton Road +674 Tributary to Travis Creek At the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +632 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.6 mile upstream from the Alamance/Guilford County boundary +660 Tributary to West Fork Deep River Approximately 1,550 feet upstream of the confluence with West Fork Deep River (Stream No. 2) +816 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas), City of High Point. Approximately 0.6 mile upstream of the confluence with West Fork Deep River (Stream No. 2) +831 Twin Lakes Tributary At the confluence with South Buffalo Creek +753 City of Greensboro. Approximately 100 feet downstream of Merryweather Road +827 Tributary 1 At the confluence with Twin Lakes Tributary +797 City of Greensboro. Approximately 100 feet downstream of Merritt Drive +828 Deep River Tributary 26 Approximately 800 feet downstream of the Guilford/Randolph County boundary +701 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 0.8 mile upstream of the Guilford/Randolph County boundary +722 Polecat Creek Tributary 4 At the Guilford/Randolph County boundary +695 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 1,400 feet upstream of SR 62 +712 Unnamed Tributary to West Fork Deep River Approximately 750 feet upstream of the confluence with West Fork Deep River Tributary 1 +832 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). Approximately 200 feet upstream of Adkins Road +855 West Fork Deep River (Stream No. 2) Approximately 1,750 feet upstream of the confluence with West Fork Deep River Tributary 1 (Stream No. 3) +833 Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas). At the Guilford/Forsyth County boundary +862 # Depth in feet above ground. * National Geodetic Vertical Datum. + North American Vertical Datum. ADDRESSES City of Greensboro Maps are available for inspection at Greensboro Stormwater Management Division, 2602 South Elm Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina. City of High Point Maps are available for inspection at the High Point City Hall, 211 South Hamilton Street, High Point, North Carolina. Town of Jamestown Maps are available for inspection at the Jamestown Town Hall, 301 East Main Street, Jamestown, North Carolina. Town of Pleasant Garden Maps are available for inspection at the Town of Pleasant Garden Kirkman Municipal Building, 4920 Alliance Church Road, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina. Town of Sedalia Maps are available for inspection at the Sedalia Town Hall, 6121 Burlington Road, Gibsonville, North Carolina. Town of Stokesdale Maps available for inspection at the Stokesdale Town Hall, 8416 U.S. Highway 158, Stokesdale, North Carolina. City of Summerfield Maps are available for inspection at the Summerfield Town Planning Office, 4117 Oak Ridge Road (Highway 150), Summerfield, North Carolina. Guilford County (Unincorporated Areas) Maps are available for inspection at the Guilford County Planning and Development Office, 201 South Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 83.100, “Flood Insurance.” Dated: January 12, 2007. David I. Maurstad, Director, Mitigation Division, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security. [FR Doc. E7-886 Filed 1-22-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 9110-01-P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 622 [Docket No. 001005281-0369-02; I.D. 010507D] Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Trip Limit Increase AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason trip limit increase. SUMMARY: NMFS increases the trip limit in the commercial hook-and-line fishery for king mackerel in the Florida east coast subzone to 75 fish per day in or from the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This trip limit increase is necessary to maximize the socioeconomic benefits of the quota. DATES: This rule is effective 12:01 a.m., local time, February 1, 2007, through March 31, 2007, unless changed by further notification in the **Federal Register** . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Branstetter, telephone: 727-824-5305, fax: 727-824-5308, e-mail: *Steve.Branstetter@noaa.gov* . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The fishery for coastal migratory pelagic fish (king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, cero, cobia, little tunny, and, in the Gulf of Mexico only, dolphin and bluefish) is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic (FMP). The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils (Councils) and is implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by regulations at 50 CFR part 622. Based on the Councils' recommended total allowable catch and the allocation ratios in the FMP, on April 30, 2001 (66 FR 17368, March 30, 2001) NMFS implemented a commercial quota of 2.25 million lb (1.02 million kg) for the eastern zone (Florida) of the Gulf migratory group of king mackerel. That quota is further divided into separate quotas for the Florida east coast subzone and the northern and southern Florida west coast subzones. The quota implemented for the Florida east coast subzone is 1,040,625 lb (472,020 kg) (50 CFR 622.42(c)(1)(i)(A)( *1* )). In accordance with 50 CFR 622.44(a)(2)(i), beginning on February 1, if less than 75 percent of the Florida east coast subzone quota has been harvested by that date, king mackerel in or from that subzone may be possessed on board or landed from a permitted vessel in amounts not exceeding 75 fish per day. The 75-fish daily trip limit will continue until a closure of the subzone's fishery has been effected or the fishing year ends on March 31, 2007. NMFS has determined that 75 percent of the quota for Gulf group king mackerel for vessels using hook-and-line gear in the Florida east coast subzone will not be reached before February 1, 2007. Accordingly, a 75-fish trip limit applies to vessels in the commercial hook-and-line fishery for king mackerel in or from the EEZ in the Florida east coast subzone effective 12:01 a.m., local time, February 1, 2007. The 75-fish trip limit will remain in effect until the fishery closes or until the end of the current fishing season (March 31, 2007) for this subzone. From November 1 through March 31, the Florida east coast subzone of the Gulf group king mackerel is that part of the eastern zone north of 25°20.4′ N. lat. (a line directly east from the Miami-Dade County, FL, boundary). Classification This action responds to the best available information recently obtained from the fishery. The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA,
(AA)finds good cause to waive the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to the authority set forth in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), as such prior notice and opportunity for public comment is unnecessary and contrary to the public interest. Such procedures are unnecessary because the rule itself already has been subject to notice and comment, and all that remains is to notify the public of the trip limit increase. Allowing prior notice and opportunity for public comment for this trip limit increase is contrary to the public interest because it requires time, thus delaying fishermen's ability to catch more king mackerel than the present trip limit allows and preventing fishermen from reaping the socioeconomic benefits derived from this increase in daily catch. As this action allows fishermen to increase their harvest of king mackerel from 50 fish to 75 fish per day in or from the EEZ of the Florida east coast subzone, the AA finds it relieves a restriction and may go into effect on its effective date pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1). This action is taken under 50 CFR 622.43(a) and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 *et seq.* Dated: January 18, 2007. James P. Burgess, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. E7-945 Filed 1-22-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-S DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 679 [Docket No. 060216044-6044-01; I.D. 011707G] Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pollock in Statistical Area 630 in the Gulf of Alaska AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 630 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2007 total allowable catch
(TAC)of pollock for Statistical Area 630 in the GOA. DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), January 22, 2007, through 1200 hrs, A.l.t., March 10, 2007. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Hogan, 907-586-7228. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fishery in the GOA exclusive economic zone according to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska
(FMP)prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Regulations governing fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679. The A season allowance of the 2007 TAC of pollock in Statistical Area 630 in the GOA is 3,234 metric tons
(mt)as established by the 2006 and 2007 harvest specifications for groundfish of the GOA (71 FR 10870, March 3, 2006). In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i), the Regional Administrator has determined that the A season allowance of the 2007 TAC of pollock in Statistical Area 630 in the GOA will soon be reached. Therefore, the Regional Administrator is establishing a directed fishing allowance of 2,934 mt, and is setting aside the remaining 300 mt as bycatch to support other anticipated groundfish fisheries. In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(iii), the Regional Administrator finds that this directed fishing allowance has been reached. Consequently, NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 630 in the GOA. After the effective date of this closure the maximum retainable amounts at § 679.20(e) and
(f)apply at any time during a trip. Classification This action responds to the best available information recently obtained from the fishery. The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds good cause to waive the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is impracticable and contrary to the public interest. This requirement is impracticable and contrary to the public interest as it would prevent NMFS from responding to the most recent fisheries data in a timely fashion and would delay the closure of pollock in Statistical Area 630 in the GOA. NMFS was unable to publish a notice providing time for public comment because the most recent, relevant data only became available as of January 17, 2007. The AA also finds good cause to waive the 30 day delay in the effective date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). This finding is based upon the reasons provided above for waiver of prior notice and opportunity for public comment. This action is required by § 679.20 and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 *et seq.* Dated: January 18, 2007. James P. Burgess, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 07-265 Filed 1-18-07; 2:04 pm]
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U.S. Code
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- Administrative provisions§ 2104
- Definitions§ 6101
- National stage: Commencement§ 371
- Statements or entries generally§ 1001
- Patent Trial and Appeal Board§ 6
- Powers and duties§ 2
- Rule making§ 553
- Definitions§ 601
- Initial regulatory flexibility analysis§ 603
- Purposes§ 3501
- Establishment, functions, and activities§ 272
- SHORT TITLE.§ 801
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- Congressional findings and declaration of purpose§ 7401
- Flood elevation determinations§ 4104
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CFR
- Are any procurement contracts included as covered transactions?§ 180.220
- What must I require of a primary tier participant?§ 180.435
- How are subparts A through I organized?§ 180.100
- Nonprocurement transaction.§ 180.970
- May a Federal agency grant an exception to let an excluded person participate in a covered transaction?§ 180.135
- Duty to disclose information material to patentability.§ 1.56
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34 references not yet in our index
- 2 CFR 2600
- 2 CFR 180
- 36 CFR 1209
- 36 CFR 1206
- Pub. L. 104-4
- Pub. L. 103-355
- 108 Stat. 3327
- 3 CFR 1986
- 3 CFR 1989
- 44 USC 2501-2506
- 7 CFR 1220
- 7 USC 6301-6311
- T.D. 9300
- T.D. 9243
- T.D. 9264
- 37 CFR 1
- 237 F.3d 683
- 80 F.3d 1543
- 40 CFR 50
- 40 CFR 53
- 40 CFR 58
- 40 CFR 51
- 40 CFR 52
- 40 CFR 81
- 44 CFR 67
- 44 CFR 60
- 44 CFR 10
- 5 USC 601-612
- 50 CFR 622
- 50 CFR 622.42(c)(1)(i)(A)
- 50 CFR 622.44(a)(2)(i)
- 50 CFR 622.43(a)
- 50 CFR 679
- 50 CFR 600
Citation graph
cites case law
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Final rule; request for comment
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