60994 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 198 / Thursday, October 14, 2004 / Notices 

hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

It is preferred that an appointment be 

made in advance of such inspection. 

How May I Obtain Electronic Access to 

This Document? 

You may view this document, as well 

as all other Department of Education 

documents published in the Federal 

Register, in text or Adobe Portable 

Document Format (PDF) on the Internet 

at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/

legislation/FedRegister. To use PDF you 

must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, 

which is available free at this site. If you 

have questions about using PDF, call the 

U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), 

toll free, at 1–888–293–6498; or in the 

Washington, DC, area at (202) 512–1530. 

Note: The official version of this 

document is the document published in 

the Federal Register. Free Internet 

access to the official edition of the 

Federal Register and the Code of 

Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/

nara/index.html.

Authority: 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2.

Dated: October 7, 2004. 

Sally L. Stroup, 

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 

Education.

[FR Doc. 04–23017 Filed 10–13–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Recognition of Accrediting Agencies, 

State Agencies for the Approval of 

Public Postsecondary Vocational 

Education, and State Agencies for the 

Approval of Nurse Education

AGENCY: National Advisory Committee 

on Institutional Quality and Integrity, 

Department of Education (The Advisory 

Committee). 

What Is the Purpose of This Notice? 

On August 11, 2004, we published a 

notice in the Federal Register to invite 

written comments on the petition for 

expansion of scope submitted by the 

Distance Education and Training 

Council (DETC) that will be reviewed at 

the Advisory Committee meeting to be 

held on December 13–15, 2004. This 

notice amends the requested scope of 

recognition to clarify the relationship 

between an institution’s recognition by 

DETC and the institution’s Title IV 

eligibility. This notice invites written 

comments on the amended scope of 

recognition requested by DETC. 

Petition for an Expansion of Scope 

1. Distance Education and Training 

Council, Accrediting Commission 

(Current scope of recognition: The 

accreditation of postsecondary 

institutions in the United States offering 

programs primarily by the distance 

education method up through the first 

professional degree level. Title IV Note: 

Accreditation by this agency does not 

enable the entities it accredits to 

establish eligibility to participate in 

Title IV programs.) (Requested scope of 

recognition: The accreditation of 

postsecondary institutions in the United 

States that offer degree programs 

primarily by the distance education 

method up through the first professional 

degree level, and are specifically 

certified by the agency as accredited for 

Title IV purposes; and the accreditation 

of postsecondary institutions in the 

United States not participating in Title 

IV that offer programs primarily by the 

distance education method up through 

the first professional degree level. Title 

IV Note: Accreditation by this agency 

does not enable the entities it accredits 

to establish eligibility to participate in 

Title IV programs, other than to permit 

degree-granting schools certified by 

DETC as accredited for Title IV 

purposes to establish eligibility to 

participate in the Distance Education 

Demonstration Program.) 

Where Should I Submit My Comments? 

Please submit your written comments 

by November 15, 2004 to Carol Griffiths, 

Accrediting Agency Evaluation, 

Accreditation and State Liaison. You 

may contact her at the U.S. Department 

of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 7th 

Floor, Room 7105, Washington, DC 

20006–8509, telephone: (202) 219–7011. 

Individuals who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339. 

What is the Authority for the Advisory 

Committee? 

The National Advisory Committee on 

Institutional Quality and Integrity is 

established under Section 114 of the 

Higher Education Act (HEA), as 

amended, 20 U.S.C. 1011c. One of the 

purposes of the Advisory Committee is 

to advise the Secretary of Education on 

the recognition of accrediting agencies 

and State approval agencies. 

Will This Be My Only Opportunity To 

Submit Written Comments? 

Yes, this notice announces the only 

opportunity you will have to submit 

written comments. However, another 

Federal Register notice will announce 

the meeting and invite individuals and/

or groups to submit requests to make 

oral presentations before the Advisory 

Committee on the agencies that the 

Committee will review. That notice, 

however, does not offer an opportunity 

to submit written comment. 

What Happens to the Comments That I 

Submit? 

We will review your comments, in 

response to this notice, as part of our 

evaluation of the Distance Education 

and Training Council’s compliance with 

the Secretary’s Criteria for Recognition 

of Accrediting Agencies. The Criteria 

are regulations found in 34 CFR Part 602 

(for accrediting agencies). 

We will also respond to your 

comments, as appropriate, in the staff 

analysis we present to the Advisory 

Committee at its December 2004 

meeting. Therefore, in order for us to 

give full consideration to your 

comments, it is important that we 

receive them by November 15, 2004. In 

all instances, your comments regarding 

the Distance Education and Training 

Council must relate to the Criteria for 

Recognition. 

What Happens To Comments Received 

After the Deadline?

We will review any comments 

received after the deadline. If such 

comments, upon investigation, reveal 

that the accrediting agency is not acting 

in accordance with the Criteria for 

Recognition, we will take action either 

before or after the meeting, as 

appropriate. 

Where Can I Inspect Petitions and 

Third-Party Comments Before and After 

the Meeting? 

Subject to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 

522, petitions, interim reports, and 

those third-party comments received in 

advance of the meeting, will, upon 

written request, be made available, by 

appointment, for inspection and 

copying at the U.S. Department of 

Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 7th 

Floor, Room 7105, Washington, DC 

20006–8509, telephone (202) 219–7011 

until November 17, 2004. They will be 

available again after the December 13–

15 Advisory Committee meeting. 

How May I Obtain Electronic Access to 

This Document? 

You may view this document, as well 

as all other Department of Education 

documents published in the Federal 

Register, in text or Adobe Portable 

Document Format (PDF) on the Internet 

at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/

legislation/FedRegister.

To use PDF you must have Adobe 

Acrobat Reader, which is available free 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 198 / Thursday, October 14, 2004 / Notices 60995

at this site. If you have questions about 

using PDF, call the U.S. Government 

Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1–

888–293–6498; or in the Washington, 

DC, area at (202) 512–1530.

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gpo/nara/

index.html.

Authority: 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2.

Dated: October 7, 2004. 

Sally L. Stroup, 

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 

Education.

[FR Doc. 04–23018 Filed 10–13–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[AMS–FRL–7827–5] 

California State Motor Vehicle 

Pollution Control Standards; Waiver of 

Federal Preemption for Off-Cycle 

Emission Test Requirements; Notice of 

Decision

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice regarding waiver of 

federal preemption. 

SUMMARY: EPA today, pursuant to 

section 209(b) of the Clean Air Act 

(Act), 42 U.S.C. 7543(b), is granting 

California its request for a waiver of 

federal preemption for its regulations 

controlling emissions from off-cycle 

aggressive driving and air-conditioning 

usage for motor vehicles under 8,501 

pounds gross vehicle weight rating. The 

California Air Resources Board (CARB) 

requested that EPA grant California a 

waiver of federal preemption for its 

regulations which incorporate EPA’s 

two supplemental federal test 

procedures (SFTP) and associated 

certification standards.

ADDRESSES: The Agency’s Decision 

Document, containing an explanation of 

the Assistant Administrator’s decision, 

as well as all documents relied upon in 

making that decision, including those 

submitted to EPA by CARB, are 

available at the EPA’s Air and Radiation 

Docket at EPA’s Docket Center. The 

Docket Center is open from 8:30 to 4:30 

p.m. Monday through Friday, at EPA 

West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution 

Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The 

reference number for this docket is 

OAR–2003–0187. 

Electronic copies of this Notice and 

the accompanying Decision Document 

are available via the Internet on the 

Office of Transportation and Air Quality 

(OTAQ) Web site (http://www.epa.gov/

OTAQ). Users can find these documents 

by accessing the OTAQ Web site and 

looking at the path entitled, 

‘‘Chronological List of All OTAQ 

Regulations.’’ This service is free of 

charge, except for any cost you already 

incur for Internet connectivity. The 

electronic Federal Register version of 

the Notice is made available on the day 

of publication on the primary Web site 

(http://www.epa.gov/docs/fedrgstr/EPAAIR). 

Please note that due to differences 

between the software used to develop 

the documents and the software into 

which the documents may be 

downloaded, changes in format, page 

length, etc., may occur.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David J. Dickinson, Certification and 

Compliance Division, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue (6405J), NW., 

Washington, DC 20460. Telephone: 

(202) 343–9256. E-Mail address: 

Dickinson.David@EPA.GOV.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I have 

decided to grant California a waiver of 

Federal preemption pursuant to section 

209(b) of the Act for amendments to its 

motor vehicle pollution control program 

regarding emissions from off-cycle 

aggressive driving (US06) and airconditioning (SC03) as set forth at 13 

California Code of Regulations 1960.1, 

2062, and 2101 and the incorporated 

‘‘California Exhaust Emission Standards 

and Test Procedures for 1988 and 

Subsequent Model Year Passenger Cars, 

Light-Duty Trucks and Medium-Duty 

Vehicles,’’ ‘‘California New vehicle 

Compliance Test Procedure,’’ and 

‘‘California Assembly-Line Test 

Procedures for 1988 and Subsequent 

Model Year Passenger Cars, Light-Duty 

Trucks and Medium-Duty Vehicles.’’

Section 209(b) of the Act provides 

that, if certain criteria are met, the 

Administrator shall waive Federal 

preemption for California to enforce 

new motor vehicle emission standards 

and accompanying enforcement 

procedures. The criteria include 

consideration of whether California 

arbitrarily and capriciously determined 

that its standards are, in the aggregate, 

at least as protective of public health 

and welfare as the applicable Federal 

standards; whether California needs 

State standards to meet compelling and 

extraordinary conditions; and whether 

California’s amendments are consistent 

with section 202(a) of the Act. 

CARB determined that its off-cycle 

aggressive driving and air-conditioning 

usage standards and accompanying 

enforcement procedures do not cause 

California’s standards, in the aggregate, 

to be less protective of public health and 

welfare than the applicable Federal 

standards. EPA received no comments 

that questioned CARB’s determination. 

EPA cannot make a finding that CARB’s 

determination, that its requirements are, 

in the aggregate, at least as protective of 

public health and welfare, is arbitrary 

and capricious. 

CARB has continually demonstrated 

the existence of compelling and 

extraordinary conditions justifying the 

need for its own motor vehicle pollution 

control program, which includes the 

subject standards and procedures. No 

information has been submitted to 

demonstrate that California no longer 

has a compelling and extraordinary 

need for its own program. Therefore, I 

agree that California continues to have 

compelling and extraordinary 

conditions which require its own 

program, and, thus, I cannot deny the 

waiver on the basis of the lack of 

compelling and extraordinary 

conditions. 

CARB has submitted information that 

the requirements of its emission 

standards and test procedures are 

technologically feasible and present no 

inconsistency with federal requirements 

and are, therefore, consistent with 

section 202(a) of the Act. No 

information has been presented to 

demonstrate that CARB’s requirements 

are inconsistent with section 202(a) of 

the Act, nor does EPA have any other 

reason to believe that CARB’s 

requirements are inconsistent with 

section 202(a). Thus, I cannot find that 

California’s requirements will be 

inconsistent with section 202(a) of the 

Act. Accordingly, I hereby grant the 

waiver requested by California. 

My decision will affect not only 

persons in California but also the 

manufacturers outside the State who 

must comply with California’s 

requirements in order to produce motor 

vehicles for sale in California. For this 

reason, I hereby determine and find that 

this is a final action of national 

applicability. 

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, 

judicial review of this final action may 

be sought only in the United States 

Court of Appeal for the District of 

Columbia Circuit. Petitions for review 

must be filed by December 13, 2004. 

Under section 307(b)(2) of the Act, 

judicial review of this final action may 

not be obtained in subsequent 

enforcement proceedings. 

As with past waiver decisions, this 

action is not a rule as defined by 

Executive Order 12866. Therefore, it is