62692 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

(2) Computation of credit—(i) The tax 

return preparer must either— 

(A) Complete the Earned Income 

Credit Worksheet in the Form 1040 

instructions or such other form and 

such other information as may be 

prescribed by the IRS; or 

(B) Otherwise record in one or more 

documents in the tax return preparer’s 

paper or electronic files the tax return 

preparer’s EIC computation, including 

the method and information used to 

make the computation. 

(ii) The tax return preparer’s 

completion of the Earned Income Credit 

Worksheet (or other record of the tax 

return preparer’s EIC computation 

permitted under paragraph (b)(2)(i)(B) of 

this section) must be based on 

information provided by the taxpayer to 

the tax return preparer or otherwise 

reasonably obtained by the tax return 

preparer. 

* * * * * 

(4) Retention of records—(i) The tax 

return preparer must retain— 

(A) A copy of the completed Form 

8867 (or successor form); 

(B) A copy of the completed Earned 

Income Credit Worksheet (or other 

record of the tax return preparer’s EIC 

computation permitted under paragraph 

(b)(2)(i)(B) of this section); and 

(C) A record of how and when the 

information used to complete Form 

8867 (or successor form) and the Earned 

Income Credit Worksheet (or other 

record of the tax return preparer’s EIC 

computation permitted under paragraph 

(b)(2)(i)(B) of this section) was obtained 

by the tax return preparer, including the 

identity of any person furnishing the 

information, as well as a copy of any 

document that was provided by the 

taxpayer and on which the tax return 

preparer relied to complete Form 8867 

(or successor form) or the Earned 

Income Credit Worksheet (or other 

record of the tax return preparer’s EIC 

computation permitted under paragraph 

(b)(2)(i)(B) of this section). 

(ii) The items in paragraph (b)(4)(i) of 

this section must be retained for three 

years from the due date of the return 

(determined without regard to any 

extension of time for filing) or the date 

the return or claim for refund was filed, 

whichever date is later, and may be 

retained on paper or electronically in 

the manner prescribed in applicable 

regulations, revenue rulings, revenue 

procedures, or other appropriate 

guidance (see § 601.601(d)(2) of this 

chapter). 

(c) Special rule for firms. A firm that 

employs a tax return preparer subject to 

a penalty under section 6695(g) is also 

subject to penalty if, and only if— 

(1) One or more members of the 

principal management (or principal 

officers) of the firm or a branch office 

participated in or knew of the failure to 

comply with the due diligence 

requirements of this section; 

(2) The firm failed to establish 

reasonable and appropriate procedures 

to ensure compliance with the due 

diligence requirements of this section; 

or 

(3) The firm disregarded its 

reasonable and appropriate compliance 

procedures through willfulness, 

recklessness, or gross indifference 

(including ignoring facts that would 

lead a person of reasonable prudence 

and competence to investigate or 

ascertain) in the preparation of the tax 

return or claim for refund with respect 

to which the penalty is imposed. 

(d) Exception to penalty. The section 

6695(g) penalty will not be applied with 

respect to a particular tax return or 

claim for refund if the tax return 

preparer can demonstrate to the 

satisfaction of the Internal Revenue 

Service that, considering all the facts 

and circumstances, the tax return 

preparer’s normal office procedures are 

reasonably designed and routinely 

followed to ensure compliance with the 

due diligence requirements of paragraph 

(b) of this section, and the failure to 

meet the due diligence requirements of 

paragraph (b) of this section with 

respect to the particular return or claim 

for refund was isolated and inadvertent. 

The preceding sentence does not apply 

to a firm that is subject to the penalty 

as a result of paragraph (c) of this 

section. 

(e) Effective/applicability date. This 

section is effective for tax returns and 

claims for refund filed after the date that 

these regulations are published as final 

regulations in the Federal Register, and 

applies to tax returns and claims for 

refund for tax years ending on or after 

December 31, 2011. 

Steven T. Miller, 

Deputy Commissioner for Services and 

Enforcement. 

[FR Doc. 2011–26247 Filed 10–6–11; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

33 CFR Part 334 

Atlantic Ocean off Wallops Island and 

Chincoteague Inlet, Virginia; Danger 

Zone 

AGENCY: United States Army Corps of 

Engineers, Department of Defense. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

and request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Corps of Engineers is 

proposing to amend an existing 

permanent danger zone in the waters of 

the Atlantic Ocean off Wallops Island 

and Chincoteague Inlet, Virginia. The 

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, Goddard Space Flight 

Center, Wallops Flight Facility conducts 

rocket-launching operations. The 

proposed amendment is necessary to 

protect the public from hazards 

associated with the rocket-launching 

operations. The proposed amendment 

would increase the danger zone to a 30 

nautical mile sector. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before November 10, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number COE– 

2011–0019, by any of the following 

methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

E-mail: 

david.b.olson@usace.army.mil. Include 

the docket number, COE–2011–0019, in 

the subject line of the message. 

Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

Attn: CECW–CO–R (David B. Olson), 

441 G Street NW., Washington, DC 

20314–1000. 

Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to 

security requirements, we cannot 

receive comments by hand delivery or 

courier. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

docket number COE–2011–0019. All 

comments received will be included in 

the public docket without change and 

may be made available on-line at 

http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided, 

unless the commenter indicates that 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 regulations.gov or email. The regulations.gov web site is an 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 62693 

anonymous access system, which means 

we will not know your identity or 

contact information unless you provide 

it in the body of your comment. If you 

send an e-mail directly to the Corps 

without going through 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, we recommend 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 we cannot read your 

comment because of technical 

difficulties and cannot contact you for 

clarification, we may not be able to 

consider your comment. Electronic 

comments should avoid the use of any 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to 

www.regulations.gov. All documents in 

the docket are listed. Although listed in 

the index, some information is not 

publicly available, such as 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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Olson, Headquarters, Operations 

and Regulatory Community of Practice, 

Washington, DC at 202–761–4922, or 

Nancy Hankins, Corps of Engineers, 

Norfolk District, Regulatory Branch, at 

757–201–6048. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to its authorities in Section 7 of the 

Rivers and Harbors Act of 1917 (40 Stat. 

266; 33 U.S.C. 1) and Chapter XIX of the 

Army Appropriations Act of 1919 (40 

Stat. 892; 33 U.S.C. 3), the Corps of 

Engineers is proposing amendments to 

regulations in 33 CFR Part 334 for a 

permanent danger zone in the waters of 

the Atlantic Ocean off Wallops Island 

and Chincoteague Inlet, Virginia. The 

proposed modification of the existing 

permanent danger zone is necessary to 

protect the public from hazards 

associated with rocket-launching 

operations. The proposed modification 

expands the danger zone to a 30 

nautical mile sector. 

Procedural Requirements 

a. Review Under Executive Order 12866 

This proposed rule is issued with 

respect to a military function of the 

Department of Defense and the 

provisions of Executive Order 12866 do 

not apply. 

b. Review Under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(Pub. L. 96–354) which requires the 

preparation of a regulatory flexibility 

analysis for any regulation that will 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

(i.e., small businesses and small 

governments). Unless information is 

obtained to the contrary during the 

public notice comment period, the 

Corps expects that the amendment of 

this danger zone would have practically 

no economic impact on the public, no 

anticipated navigational hazard, or 

interference with existing waterway 

traffic. This proposed rule if adopted, 

will have no significant economic 

impact on small entities. 

c. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act 

Due to the administrative nature of 

this action and because there is no 

intended change in the use of the area, 

the Corps expects that this regulation, if 

adopted, will not have a significant 

impact to the quality of the human 

environment and, therefore, preparation 

of an environmental impact statement 

will not be required. An environmental 

assessment will be prepared after the 

public notice period is closed and all 

comments have been received and 

considered. It may be reviewed at the 

District office listed at the end of FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above. 

d. Unfunded Mandates Act 

This proposed rule does not impose 

an enforceable duty among the private 

sector and, therefore, it is not a Federal 

private sector mandate and it is not 

subject to the requirements of either 

Section 202 or Section 205 of the 

Unfunded Mandates Act. We have also 

found under Section 203 of the Act, that 

small governments will not be 

significantly and uniquely affected by 

this rulemaking. 

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334 

Danger zones, Marine safety, 

Navigation (water), Restricted areas, 

Waterways. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, the Corps proposes to amend 

33 CFR part 334 as follows: 

PART 334—DANGER ZONE AND 

RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS 

1. The authority citation for 33 CFR 

part 334 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 40 Stat. 266 (33 U.S.C. 1) and 

40 Stat. 892 (33 U.S.C. 3). 

2. Revise § 334.130 to read as follows: 

§ 334.130 Atlantic Ocean off Wallops 

Island and Chincoteague Inlet, Va.; danger 

zone. 

(a) The area. An area immediately 

behind and directly offshore from 

Wallops Island defined by lines drawn 

as follows: Beginning at latitude 

37°53′00′′ N, longitude 75°29′48′′ W; 

thence to latitude 37°53′03′′ N, 

longitude 74°50′52′′ W; thence to 

latitude 37°38′28′′ N, longitude 

74°51′48′′ W; thence to latitude 

37°22′00′′ N, longitude 75°09′35′′ W; 

thence to latitude 37°19′11′′ N, 

longitude 75°30′00′′ W; thence to 

latitude 37°47′57′′ N, longitude 

75°32′19′′ W; and thence to latitude 

37°53′00′′ N, longitude 75°29′48′′ W. 

(b) The regulations. (1) Persons and 

vessels shall only be prohibited from 

entering the area when launch 

operations are being conducted. 

(2) In advance of scheduled launch 

operations which, in the opinion of the 

enforcing agency, may be dangerous to 

persons and watercraft, appropriate 

warnings will be issued to navigation 

interests through official government 

and civilian channels or in such other 

manner as the District Engineer, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, may direct. 

Such warnings will specify the location, 

time, and duration of operations, and 

give other pertinent information as may 

be required in the interest of safety. 

Announcement of area of closure will 

appear in the weekly ‘‘Notice to 

Mariners.’’ 

(3) The intent to conduct rocketlaunching operations in the area shall 

also be indicated by visual signals 

consisting of a large orange-colored 

‘‘blimp-shaped’’ balloon by day and a 

rotating alternately red and white 

beacon by night. The balloon shall be 

flown at latitude 37°50′38′′ N, longitude 

75°28′47′′ W and the beacon shall be 

displayed about 200 feet above mean 

high water at latitude 37°50′16′′ N, 

longitude 75°29′07′′ W. The appropriate 

signals shall be displayed 30 minutes 

prior to rocket-launching time and shall 

remain displayed until the danger no 

longer exists. 

(4) In addition to visual signals and 

prior to conducting launch operations, 

the area will be patrolled by aircraft or 

surface vessels and monitored by radars 

and cameras to ensure no persons or 

watercraft are within the danger zone or 

designated area of interest within the 

danger zone. Patrol aircraft and surface 

vessels are equipped with marine band 

radios and may attempt to hail 

watercraft and request that they leave 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
62694 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

the designated area and remain clear of 

the area at a safe distance until launch 

operations are complete, and launch 

will not occur until the designated area 

is clear. Patrol aircraft may also employ 

the method of warning known as 

‘‘buzzing’’ which consists of low flight 

by the airplane and repeated opening 

and closing of the throttle. Surveillance 

vessels may also come close to 

watercraft and employ flashing light to 

establish communications to indicate 

that the watercraft is entering the 

designated hazard area. 

(5) Any watercraft being so warned 

shall immediately leave designated area 

until the conclusion of launch 

operations, and shall remain at a 

distance that it will be safe from falling 

debris. 

(6) Nothing in this regulation shall be 

intended to prevent commercial fishing 

or the lawful use of approved waterfowl 

hunting blinds along the shorelines of 

the Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops 

Island, Virginia, provided that all 

necessary licenses and permits have 

been obtained from the Virginia Marine 

Resources Commission, Virginia 

Department of Game and Inland 

Fisheries, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. Commercial fishermen and 

waterfowl hunters must observe all 

warnings and range clearances during 

hazardous range operations. 

(c) Enforcement. The regulations in 

this section shall be enforced by the 

Director, National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, Goddard Space 

Flight Center, Wallops Flight Facility 

Wallops Island, Va., or such agencies as 

he or she may designate. 

Dated: September 30, 2011. 

Michael G. Ensch, 

Chief, Operations and Regulatory, Directorate 

of Civil Works. 

[FR Doc. 2011–26198 Filed 10–7–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

36 CFR Parts 212, 214, 215, 218, 222, 

228, 241, 251, 254, and 292 

RIN 0596—AB45 

Appeal of Decisions Relating to 

Occupancy or Use of National Forest 

System Lands and Resources 

AGENCY: USDA, Forest Service. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comment. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service, United 

States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), is proposing to update, rename, 

and relocate the administrative appeal 

regulations governing occupancy or use 

of National Forest System (NFS) lands 

and resources. The appeal process for 

decisions related to occupancy or use of 

NFS lands and resources has remained 

substantially unchanged since 1989. 

The proposed rule simplifies the appeal 

process, shortens the appeal period, and 

reduces the cost of appeal while still 

providing a fair and deliberate 

procedure by which eligible individuals 

and entities may obtain administrative 

review of certain types of Forest Service 

decisions affecting their occupancy or 

use of NFS lands or resources. The 

proposed rule also relocates the 

provision entitled ‘‘Mediation of Term 

Grazing Permit Disputes’’ to a more 

appropriate location in the range 

management regulations. Finally, 

conforming technical revisions to other 

parts of the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR) affected by this proposed rule are 

being made. 

DATES: Comments must be received in 

writing by December 12, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments through 

the Web site http://www.regulations.gov 

or mail written comments to Director, 

Ecosystem Management Coordination, 

Mailstop 1104, Forest Service, USDA, 

1400 Independence Ave, SW., 

Washington, D.C. 20250–1103. All 

comments, including names and 

addresses when provided, are placed in 

the record and are available for public 

inspection and copying. Persons 

wishing to inspect the comments are 

encouraged to call ahead 202–205–1323 

to facilitate entry into the building. 

Comments concerning the 

information collection requirements 

contained in this proposed rule should 

reference OMB No. 0596–New and the 

docket number, date, and page number 

of this issue of the Federal Register. 

Comments concerning the information 

collection requirements may be 

submitted as provided for comments on 

the proposed rule. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deb 

Beighley, Assistant Director, Appeals 

and Litigation, Ecosystem Management 

Coordination staff, 202–205–1277, or 

Mike McGee, Appeals Specialist, 

Ecosystem Management Coordination 

staff, 202–205–1323. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

1. Background and Need for the Proposed 

Rule 

2. Section-by-Section Analysis of Proposed 

Rule Changes 

3. Conforming Substantive Changes to Other 

Parts of Title 36 of the CFR 

4. Conforming Technical Changes to Other 

Parts of Title 36 of the CFR 

5. Regulatory Certifications 

1. Background and Need for the 

Proposed Rule 

On January 23, 1989, the Forest 

Service, USDA adopted a new 

administrative appeal rule at 36 CFR 

part 251, subpart C (54 FR 3362) (the 

251 Appeal Rule). The 251 Appeal Rule 

set procedures for holders of or, in some 

cases, applicants for a written 

authorization to occupy and use NFS 

lands and resources to appeal certain 

Forest Service decisions with regard to 

the issuance, approval, or 

administration of the written 

instrument. The rule established who 

may appeal, the kinds of decisions that 

can and cannot be appealed, the 

responsibilities of parties to the appeal, 

and the various timeframes that govern 

the conduct of an appeal. The appeal 

procedures vary depending on whether 

the decision subject to appeal was made 

by a District Ranger, Forest or Grassland 

Supervisor, Regional Forester, or the 

Chief. Except for the addition of a 

section governing mediation of term 

grazing permit disputes in 1999, the 251 

Appeal Rule has changed little since its 

adoption in 1989. 

As a result of technological advances, 

communications improvements, and the 

Agency’s experience administering the 

251 Appeal Rule for the past 20 years, 

the Forest Service has identified several 

modifications that will simplify the 

appeal process, shorten the appeal time 

period, and achieve cost savings. 

The proposed rule relocates the 251 

Appeal Rule to a new part 214, entitled 

‘‘Appeal of Decisions Relating to 

Occupancy or Use of National Forest 

System Lands and Resources.’’ Current 

provisions in the 251 Appeal Rule will 

be rewritten or replaced with new 

provisions, and part 251, subpart C, will 

be removed. The proposed rule also 

moves the provision governing 

mediation of term grazing permit 

disputes to a new subpart D under the 

range management regulations found at 

36 CFR part 222, since mediation is 

unique to the range management 

program and is not part of the 

administrative review process under the 

251 Appeal Rule. 

The following table provides a 

crosswalk between the 251 Appeal Rule 

and the proposed rule. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS