13312 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2012 / Notices 

Secretary publishes in the Federal 

Register a synopsis of each arbitration 

panel decision affecting the 

administration of vending facilities on 

Federal and other property. 

Background 

Rutherford Beard (Complainant) 

alleged that the Michigan Commission 

for the Blind, the State licensing agency 

(SLA), violated the Act and 

implementing regulations in 34 CFR 

part 395. Specifically, Complainant 

alleged that the SLA violated the Act 

and its implementing regulations and 

State rules and regulations governing 

the Randolph-Sheppard Vending 

Facility Program with respect to the 

closing of his vending facility at the 

Lewis Cass Building for renovation and 

plumbing repairs, resulting in loss of 

income for the Complainant’s cafeteria. 

Complainant further alleged that the 

Lewis Cass Building Cafeteria was not a 

suitable location because the SLA was 

aware of a history of plumbing problems 

in the building. Consequently, when the 

cafeteria was closed for renovation and 

plumbing repairs, Complainant alleged 

that this was proof of the lack of 

suitability for a cafeteria at the Lewis 

Cass Building. Thus, the Complainant 

requested reimbursement from the SLA 

for loss of income during the renovation 

period. 

The SLA argued that the Lewis Cass 

Building Cafeteria was a suitable 

vending location and opportunity for a 

blind vendor. The SLA acknowledged 

that, while it was aware that the 

building had previous plumbing 

problems, it was not aware of the 

severity of the plumbing issue. Also, the 

SLA alleged that it had no responsibility 

to repair the plumbing in the Lewis Cass 

Building because the building was 

under the jurisdiction of the State’s 

Department of Management and Budget. 

The SLA further alleged that 

Complainant, as a small business 

operator, had the responsibility for his 

own profitability. Moreover, the SLA 

alleged that Complainant was unable to 

provide evidence showing the amount 

of lost income during the renovation 

period. 

Complainant filed a request with the 

SLA for lost income. The SLA denied 

Complainant’s request. Subsequently, 

Complainant appealed this decision 

with the SLA by filing a request for a 

State fair hearing. A hearing was held 

and the administrative law judge (ALJ) 

recommended that Complainant’s claim 

be denied. The SLA adopted the ALJ’s 

recommendation as a final 

administrative agency action and 

Complainant’s grievance was denied. 

Complainant then filed a request for 

Federal arbitration with the Department. 

A hearing on this matter was held on 

March 16, 2011. The central issue, as 

determined by the arbitration panel, was 

whether the SLA’s failure to compensate 

Complainant for loss of income during 

the renovation period of the Lewis Cass 

Building Cafeteria violated the Act and 

its implementing regulations, and State 

rules and regulations governing the 

Randolph-Sheppard Vending Facility 

Program. 

Synopsis of the Arbitration Panel 

Decision 

After reviewing all of the testimony 

and evidence, the majority of the panel 

found that the Lewis Cass Building 

Cafeteria was a suitable opportunity for 

Complainant and as such, Complainant 

was responsible for routine building 

maintenance. The panel majority 

concluded that, although the SLA was 

aware of the previous building 

plumbing problems, the SLA had no 

authority to repair the plumbing 

problems. Additionally, the panel 

majority found that Complainant did 

not provide competent evidence to 

support his allegation of lost income. 

Although Complainant had anticipated 

larger profits from operating a cafeteria 

at this location, this grievance was not 

substantiated by the evidence provided 

to the panel. Thus, the panel majority 

found that Complainant’s estimate of 

$70,000 for lost profits was speculative 

and that it had no basis to rule that 

Complainant actually lost income or, if 

so, how much income Complainant lost. 

One panel member concurred in part 

and dissented in part. This panel 

member concurred with the panel 

majority’s finding that there was no 

evidence presented by Complainant to 

support reimbursement by the SLA for 

his alleged loss of income during the 

renovation period of the cafeteria. At the 

same time, this panel member dissented 

from the panel majority’s findings, 

suggesting that it was not reasonable to 

place the entire burden of propertyrelated losses or damages on operators 

and suggested that the SLA undertake 

rulemaking to clarify such situations, 

should they occur in the future. 

The views and opinions expressed by 

the panel do not necessarily represent 

the views and opinions of the 

Department. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

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 via the Federal Digital System 

at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you 

can view this document, as well as all 

other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF). To use PDF you must 

have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at this site. You may also 

access documents of the Department 

published in the Federal Register by 

using the article search feature at 

www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, 

through the advanced search feature at 

this site, you can limit your search to 

documents published by the 

Department. 

Dated: March 1, 2012. 

Alexa Posny, 

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5411 Filed 3–5–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

National Committee on Foreign 

Medical Education and Accreditation 

AGENCY: National Committee on Foreign 

Medical Education and Accreditation, 

Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. 

Department of Education. 

ACTION: The purpose of this notice is to 

announce the upcoming meeting of the 

National Committee on Foreign Medical 

Education and Accreditation 

(NCFMEA). Parts of this meeting will be 

open to the public, and the public is 

invited to attend those portions. 

Meeting Date and Place: The public 

meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 

10, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. until 

approximately 5 p.m., at the U.S. 

Department of Education, Eighth Floor 

Conference Center, Office of 

Postsecondary Education, 1990 K St. 

NW., Washington, DC 20006. 

Function: The NCFMEA was 

established by the Secretary of 

Education under Section 102 of the 

Higher Education Act of 1965, as 

amended. The NCFMEA’s 

responsibilities are to: 

• Upon request of a foreign country, 

evaluate the standards of accreditation 

applied to medical schools in that 

country; and, 

• Determine the comparability of 

those standards to standards for 

accreditation applied to United States 

medical schools. 

Comparability of the applicable 

accreditation standards is an eligibility 

requirement for foreign medical schools 

to participate in the William D. Ford 

Federal Direct Student Loan Program, 

20 U.S.C. §§ 1087a et seq. 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2012 / Notices 13313 

Meeting Agenda: The NCFMEA will 

review the standards of accreditation 

applied to medical schools by several 

foreign countries to determine whether 

those standards are comparable to the 

standards of accreditation applied to 

medical schools in the United States 

and/or reports previously requested of 

countries by the NCFMEA. Discussion 

of the standards of accreditation will be 

held in sessions open to the public. 

Discussions resulting in specific 

determinations of comparability are 

closed to the public in order that each 

country may be properly notified of the 

decision. 

The countries scheduled to be 

discussed at the meeting include 

Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Nevis, and 

Saba. The meeting agenda, as well as the 

staff analyses pertaining to the meeting 

will be posted on the Department of 

Education’s web site prior to the 

meeting at the following address: 

http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/ 

list/ncfmea.html. 

Reasonable Accommodations: The 

meeting site is accessible to individuals 

with disabilities. If you will need an 

auxiliary aid or service to participate in 

the meeting (e.g., interpreting service, 

assistive listening device, or materials in 

an alternate format), notify the contact 

person listed in this notice by March 23, 

2012, although we will attempt to meet 

a request received after that date. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carol Griffiths, Acting Executive 

Director for the NCFMEA, U.S. 

Department of Education, 1990 K Street 

NW., Room 8073, Washington, DC 

20006–8129, telephone: 202 219–7035; 

fax: 202 502–7874, or email: 

Carol.Griffiths@ed.gov. 

Electronic Access to this Document: 

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 via the Federal Digital System 

at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you 

can view this document, as well as all 

other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF). To use PDF, you must 

have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at: www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Eduardo M. Ochoa, 

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 

Education. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5377 Filed 3–5–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Agency Information Collection 

Extension 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE), pursuant to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, intends to 

reinstate and extend for three years, an 

information collection request with the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). The information collection 

request, Historic Preservation for Energy 

Efficiency Programs, was initially 

approved on December 1, 2010 under 

OMB Control No. 1910–5155 and 

expired on June 30, 2011. The 

reinstatement and extension will allow 

DOE to continue data collection on the 

status of Weatherization Assistance 

Program (WAP), State Energy Program 

(SEP) and Energy Efficiency and 

Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) 

Program activities to ensure that 

recipients are compliant with Section 

106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act (NHPA). Comments are 

invited on: (a) Whether the extended 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including through the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 

DATES: Comments regarding this 

proposed information collection must 

be received on or before May 7, 2012. 

If you anticipate difficulty in submitting 

comments within that period, contact 

the person listed below as soon as 

possible. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

sent to Christine Platt Patrick, EE–2K, 

U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Ave. SW., Washington, 

DC 20585, Email: 

Christine.Platt@ee.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christine Platt Patrick, EE–2K, U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Ave. SW., Washington, 

DC 20585, Email: 

Christine.Platt@ee.doe.gov. 

Additional information and reporting 

guidance concerning the Historic 

Preservation reporting requirement for 

the Weatherization Assistance Program 

(WAP), State Energy Program (SEP) and 

Energy Efficiency and Conservation 

Block Grant (EECBG) Program are 

available for review at the following 

Web site: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/ 

wip/historic_preservation.html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

information collection request contains: 

(1) OMB No. 1910–5155; (2) Information 

Collection Request Title: Historic 

Preservation for Energy Efficiency 

Programs; (3) Type of Review: 

Reinstatement; (4) Purpose: To collect 

data on the status of Weatherization 

Assistance Program (WAP), State Energy 

Program (SEP), and Energy Efficiency 

and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) 

Program activities to ensure compliance 

with Section 106 of the NHPA; (5) 

Annual Estimated Number of 

Respondents: 2,473; (6) Annual 

Estimated Number of Total Responses: 

2,473; (7) Annual Estimated Number of 

Burden Hours: 5,264; (8) Annual 

Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping 

Cost Burden: 0. 

Statutory Authority: Section 106 of 

the National Historic Preservation Act 

(Pub. L. 89–665 106) establishes that 

WAP, SEP and EECBG recipients must 

retain sufficient documentation to 

demonstrate that the recipient (or 

subrecipient) has received required 

approval(s) prior to the expenditure of 

project funds to alter any historic 

structure or site. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 27, 

2012. 

Henry Kelly, 

Acting Assistance Secretary, Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5382 Filed 3–5–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

U.S. Energy Information 

Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Extension 

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information 

Administration (EIA), U.S. Department 

of Energy. 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES