5204 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 1, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Chapter I 

[USCG–2004–19615] 

Exclusion Zones for Marine LNG Spills 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, Department of 

Homeland Security. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces 

the availability of its response to a 

petition for rulemaking requesting 

issuance of regulations establishing 

thermal and vapor dispersion exclusion 

zones for marine spills of liquefied 

natural gas (LNG), by the City of Fall 

River, MA. The Coast Guard has 

determined that such a rulemaking 

project is unnecessary. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions regarding this 

notice, call Commander John Cushing, 

U.S. Coast Guard, telephone 202–267–

1043 or via e-mail at 

jcushing@comdt.uscg.mil. If you have 

questions on viewing the docket, call 

Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, 

Docket Operations, telephone 202–493–

0402. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Coast 

Guard previously published three 

documents with requests for comments 

regarding the petition for a rulemaking 

by the City of Fall River, MA, on the 

subject of thermal and vapor dispersion 

exclusion zones for marine spills of 

LNG [see 69 FR 63979, Nov. 3, 2004; 70 

FR 11912, March 10, 2005; 70 FR 36363, 

June 23, 2005]. Supplementary 

information was posted and made 

available in the docket (see ‘‘Viewing 

the Notice’’). We received and reviewed 

91 comments. After reviewing the 

comments and reaching a decision, we 

wrote a letter back to the petitioner 

denying the petition (also available in 

the docket). 

The comments in support of 

establishing exclusion zones around 

transiting LNG ships focused on the 

consequences of a major LNG spill in 

close proximity to a densely populated 

urban area, particularly Fall River, MA. 

The comments in opposition to the 

establishment of the aforementioned 

exclusion zones cited the proven safety 

record of the LNG industry, the robust 

safety features designed into LNG ships, 

and the effective safety and security 

procedures that have already been 

established by regulation and industry 

best practices and guidelines. 

Taking into account the proven safety 

record of the LNG ships, we determined 

exclusion zone regulations are not 

needed because we already 

implemented policy (on June 14, 2005) 

through our Navigation and Vessel 

Inspection Circular (NVIC) 05–05, 

Guidance on Assessing the Suitability of 

a Waterway for Liquefied Natural Gas 

(LNG) Marine Traffic. This NVIC 

established a comprehensive process for 

a Waterway Suitability Assessment 

(WSA) to be completed and then 

reviewed and validated by the Coast 

Guard, in consultation with 

stakeholders at the port, to ensure all 

safety and security issues relating to the 

marine transportation of LNG for a 

proposed waterfront LNG facility are 

addressed. 

Viewing the Notice: To view the 

notice and related documents, go to 

http://dms.dot.gov at any time, click on 

‘‘Simple Search,’’ enter the last five 

digits of the docket number for this 

notice (19615), and click on ‘‘Search.’’

You may also visit the Docket 

Management Facility in room PL–401 

on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 

400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Dated: January 23, 2006. 

Howard L. Hime, 

Acting Director of Standards, Office of 

Prevention. 

[FR Doc. 06–920 Filed 1–31–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Part 17 

RIN 2900–AM21 

Medical: Informed Consent—Designate 

Health Care Professionals To Obtain 

Informed Consent 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This document would amend 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA) medical regulations on informed 

consent. The proposed rule authorizes 

VA to designate additional categories of 

health care professionals to obtain 

informed consent and sign the consent 

form. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before: April 3, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted by mail or hand delivery to: 

Director, Regulations Management 

(00REG1), Department of Veterans 

Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave., NW., Room 

1068, Washington, DC 20420; fax 

comments to (202) 273–9026; or e-mail 

comments through hhtp:// 

www.Regulations.gov. Comments 

should indicate that they are submitted 

in response to ‘‘RIN 2900–AM21’’. All 

comments received will be available for 

public inspection in the Office of 

Regulation Policy and Management, 

Room 1063B, between the hours of 8 

a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through 

Friday (except holidays). Please call 

(202) 273–9515 for an appointment. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ruth Cecire, PhD, Policy Analyst, Ethics 

Policy Service, National Center for 

Ethics in Health Care (10E), Veterans 

Health Administration, Department of 

Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20420; 202–501–

2012 (this is not a toll-free number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

7331 of title 38, United States Code 

(U.S.C.), directs the Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs to promulgate 

regulations to ensure that, to the 

maximum extent practicable all patient 

care carried out under the authority of 

title 38 is accomplished with the 

informed consent of the patient or the 

patient’s surrogate. These VA medical 

regulations, set forth at 38 CFR 17.32 

and titled ‘‘Informed Consent’’, were 

published in the Federal Register as a 

final rule on October 2, 1997 (62 FR 

53961). 

The proposed rule would amend VA 

medical regulations on informed 

consent and bring VA practice in line 

with broader community standards of 

care. Specifically, it would allow VA to 

designate appropriately trained health 

care professionals, (e.g. advance practice 

nurses and physician assistants) to 

conduct the informed consent 

discussion and sign the consent form. 

These changes will be documented in a 

revision to VHA Handbook 1004.1, 

Informed Consent for Clinical 

Treatments and Procedures. Any future 

expansion of the categories of 

designated health care professionals 

will be communicated to the field by the 

Under Secretary for Health’s Office. 

In the years since the informed 

consent regulation was first published, 

the way in which VA delivers health 

care to veterans has changed 

dramatically. In the past most VA health 

care was provided primarily in an 

inpatient setting and the informed 

consent discussion was conducted by 

the physician treating the patient. Today 

there is more of a team approach to 

clinical care. Other highly trained 

health care professionals work with the 

treating practitioner to educate patients 

and respond to their questions about the 

potential risks and benefits of and 


erjones on PROD1PC68 with PROPOSALS