Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 181 / Thursday, September 18, 1997 / Proposed Rules 48969

to review the data in the corrected

administrative record and to submit

comments to the agency with the

important public health interests

involved.

Moreover, the agency does not intend

to provide any additional extensions of

the comment period. Interested persons

will have 75 days to consider these

materials and comment to the agency, if

desired. Interested persons already have

had 75 days to review the concepts in

the proposed rule and the data in the

administrative record, which represent

the great bulk of the material in the

updated and corrected administrative

record. Much of the material in the

administrative record has been on

display at the Dockets Management

Branch since long before the proposed

rule was published on June 4, 1997. A

notice appeared in the Federal Register

of September 21, 1995 (60 FR 49194),

announcing: The availability of AER’s

associated with the use of dietary

supplements containing ephedrine

alkaloids; redacted copies of

accompanying medical records, where

available; and a bibliography of

published medical and scientific

literature relevant to the AER’s. Much of

the clinical data and other information

has been in the administrative record

either since October 1995, the date of

the meeting of the Special Working

Group on Dietary Supplements

Containing Ephedrine Alkaloids

(Working Group) or since August 1996,

the date of the meeting of the Food

Advisory Committee and Special

Working Group. Other than the new

information announced in this

document, the agency has not added

new data to the administrative record

since January 1997. Nevertheless, for the

reasons mentioned earlier in this notice,

the agency is providing a new, full 75-

day comment period that is equal to the

comment period that FDA provided

when it published the initial proposal.

Thus, FDA is providing a total of 150

days for comment in this proceeding.

Interested persons may on or before

December 2, 1997, submit to the Dockets

Management Branch (address above)

written comments regarding this

proposal. Two copies of any comments

are to be submitted, except that

individuals may submit one copy.

Comments are to be identified with the

docket number found in brackets in the

heading of this document. Received

comments may be seen in the office

above between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.,

Monday through Friday.

Dated: September 12, 1997.

William B. Schultz,

Deputy Commissioner for Policy.

[FR Doc. 97–24734 Filed 9–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–01–F

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 21

RIN 2900–AI58

Veterans Education: Reduction in

Required Reports

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This document proposes to

amend the educational assistance and

educational benefits regulations of the

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It

proposes to change the nature of the

information to be reported by veterans

and servicemembers receiving

educational assistance under the

Montgomery GI Bill—Active Duty

program and the number of reports

required of educational institutions in

which these veterans and

servicemembers are enrolled. It appears

that these changes would streamline the

operation of this program and reduce

the information collection burden for

this program, while maintaining the

program’s integrity. This document also

requests Paperwork Reduction Act

comments concerning the collections of

information contained in this document.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before November 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver written

comments to: Director, Office of

Regulations Management (02D),

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810

Vermont Ave., NW, Room 1154,

Washington, DC 20420. Comments

should indicate that they are submitted

in response to ‘‘RIN 2900–AI58’’. All

written comments received will be

available for public inspection at the

above address in the Office of

Regulations Management, Room 1158,

between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30

p.m., Monday through Friday (except

holidays).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: June

C. Schaeffer, Assistant Director for

Policy and Program Administration,

Education Service, Veterans Benefits

Administration, 202–273–7187.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

document proposes to amend the ‘‘ALL

VOLUNTEER FORCE EDUCATIONAL

ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

(MONTGOMERY GI BILL—ACTIVE

DUTY)’’ regulations set forth at 38 CFR

Part 21, Subpart K. Except for

correspondence course enrollments, a

veteran or servicemember receiving

educational assistance under these

provisions is required to verify, after the

fact, pursuit of a program of education

each month (referred to below as

monthly verification). Current

regulations specify the information that

must be reported in the monthly

verification. Except in advance payment

and lump sum payment cases, VA does

not pay educational assistance until VA

receives this monthly verification.

Since pursuit of a program of

education is a necessary prerequisite to

receipt of educational assistance under

the educational programs VA

administers, current regulations also

require (see § 21.7156) a veteran or

servicemember to report, on a ‘‘without

delay’’ basis (referred to below as

‘‘without delay’’ reporting), each change

in her or his hours of credit being

pursued and any changes in the status

of his or her pursuit of the program.

This duty to provide ‘‘without delay’’

reporting is in addition to the monthly

verification described above. Further,

under § 21.7156 educational institutions

also are required ‘‘without delay’’ or

within specified time frames (all

reporting required of educational

institutions ‘‘without delay’’ or within

specified time frames is referred to

below as ‘‘without delay’’ reporting) to

report changes in the number of hours

of credit pursued and changes in

attendance.

The common purpose of these

information collections is to allow VA

to determine whether a veteran or

servicemember continues to be entitled

to educational assistance and, if so, to

release the monthly payment to the

veteran or servicemember.

However, it does not appear necessary

to obtain monthly verification from a

veteran who has received an advance

payment for the month in question.

Advance payments are not submitted by

VA directly to the veteran. Instead, they

are delivered to the educational

institution where the veteran is

pursuing a program of education. If the

veteran does not begin training, the

educational institution returns the

payment to VA instead of delivering it

to the veteran. Accordingly, it appears

that no useful purpose is served by

requiring a veteran to provide a monthly

verification concerning pursuit of a

program of education for a month for

which he or she has received an

advance payment. Therefore, it is

proposed to amend § 21.7154 to

eliminate the requirement that the

veteran provide monthly verification for

those monthly periods for which
48970 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 181 / Thursday, September 18, 1997 / Proposed Rules

advance payments have been made

through the institution. If the veteran

does have a change in status or

enrollment during that period after

receipt of the payment, he or she, and

the educational institution, still would

remain obligated to provide VA

notification by ‘‘without delay’’

reporting (see § 21.7156).

By statute (38 U.S.C. 3034(c)) VA is

required to make lump-sum payments to

veterans and servicemembers for an

entire term, quarter, or semester when

the veteran or servicemember is

attending less than half-time. Inasmuch

as these individuals do not receive

payments each month, it appears that

monthly verification is not needed to

release such a payment. Again, the

veteran or servicemember and the

educational institution would still be

obligated to provide VA ‘‘without

delay’’ reporting of any relevant changes

in status or enrollment that may occur

after the release of the lump-sum

payment (see § 21.7156). Therefore, it

appears that no useful purpose is served

by requiring these individuals to

provide monthly verification.

Accordingly, it is proposed to amend

§ 21.7154 to eliminate this requirement.

Furthermore, under the current

§ 21.7154 a veteran is required to certify

in the monthly verification actual class

attendance. Before December 18, 1989,

VA was required by statute to reduce an

individual’s monthly educational

assistance if that individual were

pursuing a course not leading to a

standard college degree and had

excessive absences. VA is no longer

required by statute to make those

reductions. Accordingly, it appears that

actual attendance certification is no

longer necessary to be included in a

monthly verification. It is proposed to

amend § 21.7154 to eliminate this

requirement.

With respect to veterans in courses

not leading to a standard college degree,

the regulations require monthly

certification of attendance from a

veteran. Some have questioned whether

the regulations require the veteran’s

certification also to contain a report

from the educational institution. In

those cases in which no status change

occurred during the previous month, the

educational institution’s verification

was not intended to be included. It is

unnecessary and delays receipt of the

document by VA. In cases where a

change occurs, the educational

institution must submit that information

within the time frames for ‘‘without

delay’’ reporting, but may do so

separately. Accordingly, it is proposed

to change § 21.7156 to more clearly set

forth the intended meaning.

Occasionally, a veteran or

servicemember will enroll in more

hours than the minimum required to be

a full-time student under the statute.

Often such a student, provided he or she

is enrolled in a standard term, quarter,

or semester, will add or drop courses

with no effect on his or her status as a

full-time student and payment to the

student will not be affected. It is

proposed that under these

circumstances, neither the student nor

the educational institution would be

required to report the changes. Such

reporting would not appear to be

necessary since the changes would not

affect payment to the student. However,

when the student is enrolled in a

nonstandard term, VA is proposing to

continue to require such a student and

the educational institution to report all

credit hour changes by ‘‘without delay’’

reporting. Under the regulatory criteria

for determining what constitutes a fulltime enrollment in a nonstandard term,

complicated computation is necessary

in each individual case. Since the

student may not be able readily to make

those calculations, he or she would be

less likely to be able to ascertain

whether the change in credit hour status

should be reported to VA.

Additional changes are included in

the proposed rule for purposes of

clarity.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520),

collections of information are set forth

in the proposed 38 CFR 21.7154,

21.7156(a), and 21.7156(b). Accordingly,

under section 3507(d) of the Act, VA

has submitted a copy of this rulemaking

action to the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) for its review of the

collections of information.

OMB assigns control numbers to

collections of information it approves.

VA may not conduct or sponsor, and a

person is not required to respond to, a

collection of information unless it

displays a currently valid OMB control

number.

Comments on the collections of

information should be submitted to the

Office of Management and Budget,

Attention: Desk Officer for the

Department of Veterans Affairs, Office

of Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Washington, DC 20503, with copies to

the Director, Office of Regulations

Management (02D), Department of

Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave.,

NW, Washington, DC 20420. Comments

should indicate that they are submitted

in response to ‘‘RIN 2900–AI58.’’

Title: Monthly verification of pursuit.

Summary of collection of information:

The collection of information in the

proposed §§ 21.7154 and 21.7156(a)

would implement a statutory provision

that permits, but does not require, VA

to require reports showing an eligible

veteran’s satisfactory pursuit of a

program of education before releasing a

payment of educational assistance. The

statute specifically allows a monthly

certification received from the veteran

to satisfy this requirement. VA estimates

that adoption of the proposed changes

to § 21.7154 would annually eliminate

at least 500 reports that individuals are

currently required to submit and also

would shorten other reports, and

thereby reduce the total annual

reporting burden on individuals by

5,739 hours.

Description of need for information

and proposed use of information: The

information that would be required

under §§ 21.7154 and 21.7156(a) is

needed to help VA determine whether

educational assistance should continue

to be paid to a veteran and to verify the

correct monthly rate of educational

assistance payable to a veteran. The

monthly rate is based on the student’s

training time, which in turn is based on

the number of credit hours in which the

student is enrolled.

Description of likely respondents:

Veterans eligible to receive educational

assistance under the Montgomery GI

Bill—Active Duty program.

Estimated number of respondents:

318,129.

Estimated frequency of responses:

Monthly while the veteran continues to

pursue a program of education,

provided the veteran has not been paid

in a lump sum.

Estimated average burden per

collection: 5 minutes.

Estimated total annual reporting and

recordkeeping burden: 185,571 hours of

reporting burden. VA estimates that

there will be no recordkeeping burden.

Title: Report of Change in Enrollment.

Summary of collection of information:

The collection of information in the

proposed revisions to § 21.7156(b)

would implement a statutory provision

that requires an educational institution

to report without delay changes,

including interruptions and

terminations, in a veteran’s or

servicemember’s enrollment. VA

estimates that adoption of these

proposed changes would annually

eliminate 21,841 reports that

educational institutions are currently

required to submit and reduce the total

annual reporting burden on educational

institutions by 1,830 hours.

Description of need for information

and proposed use of information: The
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 181 / Thursday, September 18, 1997 / Proposed Rules 48971

information required in § 21.7156(b) is

needed to help VA determine the

monthly rate of educational assistance

payable to a veteran or servicemember.

The monthly rate is based on the

student’s training time, which in turn is

based on the number of credit hours in

which the student is enrolled.

Description of likely respondents:

Educational institutions.

Estimated number of respondents:

7,481.

Estimated frequency of responses:

Occasionally, when a veteran or

servicemember changes her or his

pursuit of a program of education,

unless the individual was a full-time

student both before and after the

change.

Estimated average burden per

collection: 5 minutes.

Estimated total annual reporting and

recordkeeping burden: 52,230 hours of

reporting burden. VA does not believe

that there will be additional

recordkeeping burden.

The Department considers comments

by the public on proposed collections of

information in—

• Evaluating whether the proposed

collections of information are necessary

for the proposed performance of the

functions of the Department, including

whether the information will have

practical utility;

• Evaluating the accuracy of the

Department’s estimate of the burden of

the proposed collections of information,

including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used;

• Enhancing the quality, usefulness,

and clarity of the information to be

collected;

• Minimizing the burden of the

collections of information on those who

are to respond, including through the

use of appropriate automated,

electronic, mechanical, or other

technological collection techniques or

other forms of information technology,

e.g., permitting electronic submission of

responses.

OMB is required to make a decision

concerning the proposed collections of

information contained in this proposed

rule between 30 and 60 days after

publication of this document in the

Federal Register. Therefore, a comment

to OMB is best assured of having its full

effect if OMB receives it within 30 days

of publication. This does not affect the

deadline for the public to comment on

the proposed regulations.

Executive Order 12866

This proposed rule has been reviewed

by OMB under Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs

hereby certifies that this proposed rule,

if promulgated, would not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities as

they are defined in the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601–612. The

adoption of the proposed rule would

have only minuscule effects on the

activity of any educational institution.

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this

proposed rule, therefore, is exempt from

the initial and final regulatory flexibility

analyses requirements of sections 603

and 604.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance number for the program affected

by this proposed rule is 64.124.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 21

Administrative practice and

procedure, Armed forces, Civil rights,

Claims, Colleges and universities,

Conflict of interests, Defense

Department, Education, Employment,

Grant programs-education, Grant

programs-veterans, Health care, Loan

programs-education, Loan programsveterans, Manpower training programs,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Schools, Travel and

transportation expenses, Veterans,

Vocational education, Vocational

rehabilitation.

Approved: September 5, 1997.

Hershel W. Gober,

Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

For the reasons set out above, 38 CFR

part 21, subpart K, is amended as set

forth below.

PART 21—VOCATIONAL

REHABILITATION AND EDUCATION

Subpart K—All Volunteer Force

Educational Assistance Program

(Montgomery GI Bill—Active Duty)

1. The authority citation for part 21,

subpart K, is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), 38 U.S.C. chs.

30, 36, unless otherwise noted.

2. In § 21.7154, paragraphs (a) and (b)

are redesignated as paragraphs (b) and

(c), respectively; newly redesignated

paragraph (b)(2)(i) is amended by

removing ‘‘payment,’’ and adding, in its

place, ‘‘payment;’’; newly redesignated

paragraph (b)(2)(ii) is amended by

removing ‘‘period, and’’ and adding, in

its place, ‘‘period; and’’; paragraph (a) is

added, and the introductory text for the

section, the paragraph heading for

newly redesignated paragraph (b), and

newly redesignated paragraph (b)(1) are

revised, to read as follows:

§ 21.7154 Pursuit and absences.

Except as provided in this section, an

individual must submit a verification to

VA each month of his or her enrollment

during the period for which the

individual is to be paid. This

verification shall be in a form prescribed

by the Secretary.

(a) Exceptions to the monthly

verification requirement. An individual

does not have to submit a monthly

verification as described in the

introductory text of this section when

the individual—

(1) Is enrolled in a correspondence

course;

(2) Has received a lump-sum payment

for the training completed during a

month; or

(3) Has received an advance payment

for the training completed during a

month.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3034, 3684)

(b) Items to be reported on all monthly

verifications. (1) The monthly

verification for all veterans and

servicemembers will include a report on

the following items when applicable:

(i) Continued enrollment in and

actual pursuit of the course;

(ii) The individual’s unsatisfactory

conduct, progress, or attendance;

(iii) The date of interruption or

termination of training;

(iv) Changes in the number of credit

hours or in the number of clock hours

of attendance other than those described

in § 21.7156(a);

(v) Nonpunitive grades; and

(vi) Any other changes or

modifications in the course as certified

at enrollment.

* * * * *

3. In § 21.7156, the introductory text

and paragraph (a) introductory text are

removed; paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3),

(b), and (c) are redesignated as

paragraphs (b)(3), (b)(4), (b)(5), (c), and

(d), respectively; newly redesignated

paragraph (c)(2) is amended by

removing ‘‘(b)(1)’’ and adding, in its

place, ‘‘(c)(1)’’; and the section heading

is revised, paragraphs (a), (b)(1), and

(b)(2) are added, and newly

redesignated paragraph (b)(3) is revised,

to read as follows:

§ 21.7156 Other required reports.

(a) Reports from veterans and

servicemembers. (1) A veteran or

servicemember enrolled full time in a

program of education for a standard

term, quarter, or semester must report

without delay to VA:

(i) A change in his or her credit hours

or clock hours of attendance if that

change would result in less than fulltime enrollment;
48972 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 181 / Thursday, September 18, 1997 / Proposed Rules

(ii) Any change in his or her pursuit

that would result in less than full-time

enrollment; and

(iii) Any interruption or termination

of his or her attendance.

(2) A veteran or servicemember not

described in paragraph (a)(1) of this

section must report without delay to

VA:

(i) Any change in his or her credit

hours or clock hours of attendance;

(ii) Any change in his or her pursuit;

and

(iii) Any interruption or termination

of his or her attendance.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3680(g))

(b) Interruptions, terminations, or

changes in hours of credit or

attendance. (1) Except as provided in

paragraph (b)(2) of this section, an

educational institution must report

without delay to VA each time a veteran

or servicemember:

(i) Interrupts or terminates his or her

training for any reason; or

(ii) Changes his or her credit hours or

clock hours of attendance.

(2) An educational institution does

not need to report a change in a

veteran’s or servicemember’s hours of

credit or attendance when:

(i) The veteran or servicemember is

enrolled full time in a program of

education for a standard term, quarter,

or semester before the change;

(ii) The veteran or servicemember

continues to be enrolled full time after

the change; and

(iii) The tuition and fees charged to

the servicemember have not been

adjusted as a result of the change.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3034, 3684)

(3) If the change in status or change

in number of credit hours or clock hours

of attendance occurs on a day other than

one indicated by paragraph (b)(4) or

(b)(5) of this section, the educational

institution will initiate a report of the

change in time for VA to receive it

within 30 days of the date on which the

change occurs.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–24776 Filed 9–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[MI 52–01–7260; FRL–5894–6]

Approval and Promulgation of

Implementation Plans; Michigan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) is proposing approval of

the requested revisions to the Michigan

State Implementation Plan (SIP) for

ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide,

nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter and

lead. The requested revisions are

Michigan’s Emissions Averaging and

Emission Reduction Credit Trading

Rules and supporting documents. These

rules were submitted by the State of

Michigan on April 17, 1996 as an

optional revision to the SIP. The EPA

has determined through its evaluation of

the rules that they can be approvable

upon submission of corrections to

certain deficiencies that are identified in

this notice.

DATES: Comments on this proposed

action must be received by October 20,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to: Carlton T. Nash, Chief,

Regulation Development Section, Air

Programs Branch (AR–18J), United

States Environmental Protection

Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson

Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.

Copies of the State’s submittal and

EPA’s analysis (Technical Support

Document) are available for inspection

at the following location: United States

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77

West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,

Illinois 60604. (Please telephone Alexis

Cain or Rick Tonielli before visiting the

Region 5 Office.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alexis Cain at (312) 886–7018 or Rick

Tonielli at (312) 886–6068.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Michigan submitted these rules as a

SIP revision to allow sources of

emissions of ozone precursors (NOX and

VOCs) and non-ozone criteria pollutants

(CO, SO2, NO2, PM–10 and lead)

flexibility in complying with

requirements already in the SIP. The

program provides emissions sources

with a financial incentive to reduce

emissions below levels required by

applicable Federal and State

requirements and below their actual

emissions of the recent past. Sources

that make these extra reductions beyond

requirements generate emission

reduction credits (ERCs) that they can

use later or sell to other sources. ERCs

may be used by sources to comply with

emissions limits. The program is not a

means of limiting emissions; instead,

trading and averaging are meant to

provide an opportunity to comply with

existing emission limits in a more cost

effective manner. Michigan’s emissions

trading credit and averaging rules are

not a required SIP submission under the

Clean Air Act (the Act).

Outline of State Program

Michigan’s SIP submittal includes

both ‘‘open market’’ trading and

emissions averaging. In an open market

trading system, credits are first

generated, then subsequently traded, so

that generation and use of the credit are

separated in time. Open market

programs rely on continual credit

generation to ensure that use of

previously generated credits is balanced

by generation of new credits, so that

‘‘spikes’’ in emissions are not created by

credit use. Sources participating in an

open market trading program generate

discrete emission reductions, referred to

as emission reduction credits (ERCs) in

the Michigan program, by reducing

emissions below a baseline over a

discrete time period. The generation

baseline is established by existing

requirements, and is determined by the

lower of allowable emissions or actual

past emissions. Credits can either be

used at a later time by the generator

source or be sold to another source; the

use of credits allows a source to emit

above its emission limit while

remaining in compliance.

The Michigan program also allows

emissions averaging at sources that are

subject to Reasonably Available Control

Technology (RACT) requirements and

are under common ownership and

control. Under Michigan’s emissions

averaging provisions, one source can

exceed a permitted emissions limit, as

long as there is a simultaneous

reduction, equaling 110 percent of the

exceedance, at another source under the

same ownership or control, but not

necessarily at the same location. In both

the open market and emission averaging

provisions of Michigan’s rule, 10

percent of the emission reductions

generated are retired for an

environmental benefit.

Sources can trade and average

emissions of volatile organic

compounds (VOCs) as a group, nitrogen

oxides (NOX), and all criteria pollutants

other than ozone. VOC and NOX ERCs

must be designated as either ozone

season or non-ozone season credits;

VOC and NOX ERCs generated outside

of the ozone season cannot be used

during the ozone season.

Under the Michigan plan, sources

which generate ERCs or engage in

emissions averaging must provide the

Michigan Department of Environmental

Quality (MDEQ) with a notice that

includes information about the source