Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 151 / Friday, August 7, 2009 / Proposed Rules 39591 

Affairs proposes to amend 38 CFR part 

1 as follows: 

PART 1—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

1. The authority citation for part 1 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), and as noted 

in specific sections. 

2. The authority citation preceding 

§ 1.900 is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: Sections 1.900 through 1.953 

are issued under the authority of 31 U.S.C. 

3711 through 3720E; 38 U.S.C. 501, 5302, 

5302A, 5314 and as noted in specific 

sections. 

3. Amend § 1.940 by adding 

introductory text, to read as follows: 

§ 1.940 Scope and application. 

Except as otherwise provided in 

§ 1.945: 

* * * * * 

4. Add § 1.945 to read as follows: 

§ 1.945 Authority to suspend or terminate 

collection action on certain benefit 

indebtedness; authority for refunds. 

(a) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

(Secretary) may suspend or terminate 

collection action on all or any part of an 

indebtedness owed to VA by a member 

of the Armed Forces who dies while on 

active duty, if the Secretary determines 

that such suspension or termination of 

collection is appropriate and in the best 

interest of the United States. 

(b) The Secretary may terminate 

collection action on all or any part of an 

amount owed to the United States for an 

indebtedness resulting from an 

individual’s participation in a benefits 

program administered by the Secretary, 

other than a program as described in 

paragraph (h) of this section, if the 

Secretary determines that such 

termination of collection is in the best 

interest of the United States. For 

purposes of this paragraph, an 

individual is any member of the Armed 

Forces or veteran who dies as a result 

of an injury incurred or aggravated in 

the line of duty while serving in a 

theater of combat operations in a war or 

in combat against a hostile force during 

a period of hostilities after September 

11, 2001. 

(c) For purposes of this section: 

(1) Theater of combat operations 

means the geographic area of operations 

where the Secretary in consultation 

with the Secretary of Defense 

determines that combat occurred. 

(2) Period of hostilities means an 

armed conflict in which members of the 

United States Armed Forces are 

subjected to danger comparable to 

danger to which members of the Armed 

Forces have been subjected in combat 

with enemy armed forces during a 

period of war, as determined by the 

Secretary in consultation with the 

Secretary of Defense. 

(d) The Secretary may refund amounts 

collected after the death of a member of 

the Armed Forces or veteran in 

accordance with this paragraph and 

paragraph (e) of this section. 

(1) In any case where all or any part 

of a debt of a member of the Armed 

Forces, as described under paragraph (a) 

of this section, was collected, the 

Secretary may refund the amount 

collected if, in the Secretary’s 

determination, the indebtedness would 

have been suspended or terminated 

under authority of 31 U.S.C. 3711(f). 

The member of the Armed Services 

must have been serving on active duty 

after September 11, 2001. In any case 

where all or any part of a debt of a 

covered member of the Armed Forces 

was collected, the Secretary may refund 

the amount collected, but only if the 

Secretary determines that, under the 

circumstances applicable with respect 

to the deceased member of the Armed 

Forces, it is appropriate to do so. 

(2) In any case where all or any part 

of a debt of a covered member of the 

Armed Forces or veteran, as described 

under paragraph (b) of this section, was 

collected after September 11, 2001, the 

Secretary may refund the amount 

collected if, in the Secretary’s 

determination, the indebtedness would 

have been terminated under authority of 

38 U.S.C. 5302A. In addition, the 

Secretary may refund the amount only 

if he or she determines that the 

deceased individual is equitably 

entitled to the refund. 

(e) Refunds under paragraph (d) of 

this section will be made to the estate 

of the decedent or, in its absence, to the 

decedent’s next-of-kin first listed below. 

(1) The decedent’s spouse. 

(2) The decedent’s children (in equal 

shares). 

(3) The decedent’s parents (in equal 

shares). 

(f) The authority exercised by the 

Secretary to suspend or terminate 

collection action and/or refund amounts 

collected on certain indebtedness is 

reserved to the Secretary and will not be 

delegated. 

(g) Requests for a determination to 

suspend or terminate collection action 

and/or refund amounts previously 

collected as described in this section 

will be submitted to the Office of the 

Secretary through the Office of the 

General Counsel. Such requests for 

suspension or termination and/or 

refund may be initiated by the head of 

the VA administration having 

responsibility for the program that gave 

rise to the indebtedness, or any 

concerned staff office, or by the 

Chairman of the Board of Veterans 

Appeals. When a recommendation for 

refund under this section is initiated by 

the head of a staff office, or by the 

Chairman, Board of Veterans Appeals, 

the views of the head of the 

administration that administers the 

program that gave rise to the 

indebtedness will be obtained and 

transmitted with the recommendation of 

the initiating office. 

(h) The provisions of this section 

concerning suspension or termination of 

collection actions and the refunding of 

moneys previously collected do not 

apply to any amounts owed the United 

States under any program carried out 

under 38 U.S.C. chapter 37. 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 5302A; 31 U.S.C. 

3711(f)) 

[FR Doc. E9–18939 Filed 8–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Part 4 

RIN 2900–AM70 

Grants to States for Construction or 

Acquisition of State Home Facilities— 

Update of Authorized Beds; Correction 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; Correction. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA) published a proposed rule 

in the Federal Register July 10, 2009, to 

amend its regulations regarding grants 

to States for construction or acquisition 

of State homes to update the maximum 

number of nursing home and 

domiciliary beds designated for each 

State and to amend the definition of 

‘‘State’’ for purposes of these grants to 

include Guam, the Northern Mariana 

Islands, and American Samoa. In the 

preamble, the table showing the changes 

in the maximum number of beds for 

each State contained an error for the 

number of beds for Vermont. This 

document corrects that error. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before September 8, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted by: Mail or hand-delivery to 

Director, Regulations Management 

(02REG), Department of Veterans 

Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., 

Room 1068, Washington, DC 20420; fax 

to (202) 273–9026; or e-mail at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. For further 

information concerning submission 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with PROPOSALS
39592 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 151 / Friday, August 7, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

addresses, please see the proposed rule 

published at 74 FR 33193, July 10, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James F. Burris, MD, Chief Consultant, 

Geriatrics and Extended Care State 

Home Construction Grant Program 

(114), Veterans Health Administration, 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 

20420, (202) 461–6774 (This is not a 

toll-free number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA 

published a document in the Federal 

Register on July 10, 2009, at 74 FR 

33192, amending its regulations 

regarding grants to States for 

construction or acquisition of State 

homes to update the maximum number 

of nursing home and domiciliary beds 

designated for each State, and to amend 

the definition of ‘‘State.’’ This document 

corrects an error in the preamble of the 

proposed rule in the maximum number 

of beds for the State of Vermont. 

However, in the regulatory text section 

of the proposed rule contains the correct 

number of 142 beds as shown in the 

table. 

In FR Doc. E9–16341, published July 

10, 2009, (74 FR 33192), make the 

following correction: On page 33194, in 

the third column of the table ‘‘New max 

# of beds (based on 2020 projection)’’ in 

the entry for Vermont, remove the 

number ‘‘1312’’ and add, in its place, 

‘‘142’’. 

William F. Russo, 

Director, Regulations Management. 

[FR Doc. E9–18683 Filed 8–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 52 and 96 

[EPA–R04–OAR–2009–0454; FRL–8942–3] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; North 

Carolina; Clean Air Interstate Rule 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve 

a revision to the North Carolina State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by 

the State of North Carolina through the 

North Carolina Department of 

Environment and Natural Resources on 

June 20, 2008. This revision addresses 

the requirements of EPA’s Clean Air 

Interstate Rule (CAIR). Although the DC 

Circuit Court found CAIR to be flawed, 

the rule was remanded without vacatur 

and thus remains in place. Thus, EPA is 

continuing to approve CAIR provisions 

into SIPs as appropriate. CAIR, as 

promulgated, requires States to reduce 

emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 

nitrogen oxides (NOX) that significantly 

contribute to, or interfere with 

maintenance of, the national ambient air 

quality standards (NAAQS) for fine 

particulates and/or ozone in any 

downwind state. CAIR establishes 

budgets for SO2 and NOX for States that 

contribute significantly to 

nonattainment in downwind States and 

requires the significantly contributing 

States to submit SIP revisions that 

implement these budgets. States have 

the flexibility to choose which control 

measures to adopt to achieve the 

budgets, including participation in EPAadministered cap-and-trade programs 

addressing SO2, NOX annual, and NOX

ozone season emissions. In the full SIP 

revision that EPA is proposing to 

approve, North Carolina will meet CAIR 

requirements by participating in these 

cap-and-trade programs. EPA is 

proposing to approve the full SIP 

revision, as interpreted and clarified 

herein, as fully implementing the CAIR 

requirements for North Carolina. 

Consequently, this action will also 

cause the CAIR Federal Implementation 

Plans (CAIR FIPs) concerning SO2, NOX

annual, and NOX ozone season 

emissions by North Carolina sources to 

be automatically withdrawn. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before September 8, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R04– 

OAR–2009–0454, by one of the 

following methods: 

1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow 

the on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

2. E-mail: benjamin.lynorae@epa.gov. 

3. Fax: 404–562–9019. 

4. Mail: EPA–R04–OAR–2009–0454, 

Regulatory Development Section, Air 

Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and 

Toxics Management Division, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 

Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960. 

5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Lynorae 

Benjamin, Chief, Regulatory 

Development Section, Air Planning 

Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics 

Management Division, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 

Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960. Such 

deliveries are only accepted during the 

Regional Office’s normal hours of 

operation. The Regional Office’s official 

hours of business are Monday through 

Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding Federal 

holidays. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–R04–OAR–2009– 

0454. 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 through http:// 

www.regulations.gov or e-mail, 

information that you consider to be CBI 

or otherwise protected. The http:// 

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 http:// 

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. For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at http:// 

www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 

Docket: All documents in the 

electronic docket are listed in the 

http://www.regulations.gov index. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

i.e., CBI or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the Internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available either electronically in http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the Regulatory Development Section, 

Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and 

Toxics Management Division, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 

Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960. EPA 

requests that if at all possible, you 

contact the person listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 

schedule your inspection. The Regional 


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