25658 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 1, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

PART 117—DRAWBRIDGE 

OPERATION REGULATIONS 

1. The authority citation for part 117 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 33 CFR 1.05–1; 

Department of Homeland Security Delegation 

No. 0170.1. 

2. § 117.118 is added to read as 

follows: 

§ 117.118 Tombigbee River. 

The draw of the Meridian and Bigbee 

Railroad (MNBR) vertical lift span 

bridge across the Tombigbee River, mile 

128.6 (Black Warrior Tombigbee (BWT) 

Waterway mile 173.6), at Naheola, shall 

operate as follows: 

(a) The draw shall be maintained in 

the fully open-to-navigation position for 

vessels at all times, except during 

periods when it is closed for the passage 

of rail traffic. 

(b) When a train approaches the 

bridge, it will stop and a crewmember 

from the train will observe the waterway 

for approaching vessels. If vessels are 

observed approaching the bridge, they 

will be allowed to pass prior to lowering 

the bridge. The crewmember will then 

announce via radiotelephone on VHF– 

FM channel 16 that the bridge is 

preparing to be lowered. If, after two 

minutes, no response has been received, 

the crewmember will initiate the 

lowering sequence. 

(c) After the train has completely 

passed over the bridge, the crewmember 

will initiate the raising sequence. When 

the bridge is in the fully open-tonavigation position, the crewmember 

will announce via radiotelephone on 

VHF–FM channel 16 that the bridge is 

in the fully open-to-navigation position. 

(d) To request openings of the bridge 

when the lift span is in the closed-tonavigation position, mariners may 

contact the MNBR via VHF–FM channel 

16 or by telephone at 205–654–4364. 

Dated: April 17, 2012. 

Roy A. Nash, 

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, 

Eighth Coast Guard District. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10449 Filed 4–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9910–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

34 CFR Chapter VI 

[Docket ID ED–2012–OPE–0008] 

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee; 

Public Hearings 

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary 

Education, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Intent to establish negotiated 

rulemaking committee. 

SUMMARY: We announce our intention to 

establish a negotiated rulemaking 

committee to prepare proposed 

regulations for the Federal Student Aid 

Programs authorized by the Higher 

Education Act of 1965, as amended 

(HEA). The committee will include 

representatives of organizations or 

groups with interests that are 

significantly affected by the subject 

matter of the proposed regulations. We 

also announce two public hearings at 

which interested parties may suggest 

additional issues that should be 

considered for action by the negotiating 

committee. In addition, for anyone 

unable to attend a public hearing, we 

announce that the Department will 

accept written comments. 

DATES: The dates, times, and locations 

of the public hearings are listed under 

the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

of this notice. We must receive written 

comments suggesting issues that should 

be considered for action by the 

negotiating committee on or before May 

31, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments 

through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 

or via postal mail, commercial delivery, 

or hand delivery. We will not accept 

comments by fax or by email. To ensure 

that we do not receive duplicate copies, 

please submit your comments only 

once. In addition, please include the 

Docket ID at the top of your comments. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

www.regulations.gov to submit your 

comments electronically. Information 

on using Regulations.gov, including 

instructions for accessing agency 

documents, submitting comments, and 

viewing the docket is available on the 

site under ‘‘How to Use 

Regulations.gov.’’ 

• Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, 

or Hand Delivery: If you mail or deliver 

your comments about these proposed 

regulations, address them to Wendy 

Macias, U.S. Department of Education, 

1990 K Street NW., Room 8017, 

Washington, DC 20006. 

Privacy Note: The Department’s policy is 

to make all comments received from 

members of the public available for public 

viewing in their entirety on the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. 

Therefore, commenters should be careful to 

include in their comments only information 

that they wish to make publicly available. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information about the public hearings, 

go to http://www2.ed.gov/policy/ 

highered/reg/hearulemaking/2012/

index.html or contact: Wendy Macias, 

U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K 

Street NW., Room 8017, Washington, 

DC 20006. Telephone: (202) 502–7526. 

Email: Wendy.Macias@ed.gov. 

For information about negotiated 

rulemaking in general, see The 

Negotiated Rulemaking Process for Title 

IV Regulations, Frequently Asked 

Questions at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/ 

highered/reg/hearulemaking/hea08/negreg-faq.html or contact: Wendy Macias, 

U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K 

Street NW., Room 8017, Washington, 

DC 20006. Telephone: (202) 502–7526. 

Email: Wendy.Macias@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain this document in an accessible 

format (e.g., braille, large print, 

audiotape, or compact disc) by 

contacting Wendy Macias, U.S. 

Department of Education, 1990 K Street 

NW., Room 8017, Washington, DC 

20006. Telephone: (202) 502–7526. 

Email: Wendy.Macias@ed.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

492 of the HEA requires that, before 

publishing any proposed regulations to 

implement programs authorized under 

Title IV of the HEA, the Secretary obtain 

public involvement in the development 

of the proposed regulations. After 

obtaining advice and recommendations 

from the public, the Secretary conducts 

negotiated rulemaking to develop the 

proposed regulations. We announce our 

intent to develop proposed Title IV 

regulations by following the negotiated 

rulemaking procedures in section 492 of 

the HEA. 

We intend to select participants for 

the negotiated rulemaking committee 

from nominees of the organizations and 

groups that represent the interests 

significantly affected by the proposed 

regulations. To the extent possible, we 

will select, from the nominees, 

individual negotiators who reflect the 

diversity among program participants, 

in accordance with section 492(b)(1) of 

the HEA. 

Regulatory Issues 

We intend to convene a committee to 

develop proposed regulations designed 

to prevent fraud and otherwise ensure 

proper use of Title IV, HEA program 

funds, especially within the context of 

current technologies. In particular, we 

intend to propose regulations to address 

the use of debit cards and other banking 

mechanisms for disbursing Federal 

Student Aid funds. In addition, we 

intend to propose regulations to 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 1, 2012 / Proposed Rules 25659 

improve and streamline the campusbased Federal Student Aid programs. 

On September 26, 2011, the 

Department’s Office of Inspector 

General issued an Investigative Program 

Advisory Report alerting the 

Department to the increasingly common 

discovery of groups of individuals who 

conspire to defraud the Title IV, HEA 

programs through distance education 

programs (the report is available at 

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/

oig/invtreports/l42l0001.pdf). In 

response to the report, on October 20, 

2011, the Department issued Dear 

Colleague Letter GEN–11–17 (available 

at http://ifap.’ed.gov/dpcletters/

GEN1117.html) recommending actions 

that institutions can take to detect and 

prevent fraud in distance education 

programs and convened a Departmentwide task force on the subject. The 

Department is now considering 

suggestions for regulatory changes to 

further help institutions combat fraud 

and protect students and taxpayers from 

fraudulent activity. 

In addition, we are considering 

regulatory changes related to the 

disbursement of Title IV, HEA program 

funds, particularly electronic funds 

transfers (EFTs) made directly to a 

student’s bank account and available to 

the student via debit or another bankprovided card. We are interested in how 

or whether the use of EFTs, in lieu of 

checks, could provide one means to 

help prevent fraud or identify those 

involved in fraud rings. We are also 

interested in whether students should 

have a greater role in deciding to accept 

debit cards or other banking services 

provided through an institutionallycontrolled process or contracted 

provider, particularly in view of the 

costs and fees associated with the use of 

those cards and services. We are 

requesting public input on these areas 

and others that the public believes 

should be addressed through regulations 

to ensure the proper use of Title IV, 

HEA program funds. 

Finally, pursuant to Executive Order 

13563, the Department issued its final 

‘‘Plan for Retrospective Analysis of 

Existing Regulations’’ in August 2011 

(the plan is available at http://www2.

ed.gov/policy/gen/reg/retrospectiveanalysis/index.html). The Department’s 

plan creates a defined policy, method, 

and schedule for identifying significant 

regulations, as determined under 

Executive Order 12866, that may be 

outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or 

excessively burdensome, as well as 

regulations that can be modified, 

streamlined, expanded, or repealed to 

be more effective and efficient, achieve 

better outcomes for students, and be 

easy to understand. As part of the 

retrospective analysis of existing 

regulations, the Department identified 

the need to review the regulations in 34 

CFR parts 673, 674, 675, and 676 

governing the campus-based Federal 

Student Aid programs (i.e., the Federal 

Perkins Loan, Federal Supplemental 

Educational Opportunity Grants, and 

Federal Work-Study programs). The 

Department is considering whether to 

update and streamline the regulations 

governing these programs. We will 

consider changes that improve the 

administration and efficiency of these 

programs while reducing burden on 

regulated parties. 

After a complete review of the public 

comments presented at the public 

hearings and in the written submissions, 

we will publish a document (or 

documents) announcing the specific 

subject areas for which we intend to 

establish a negotiated rulemaking 

committee, and a request for 

nominations for individual negotiators 

for the committee who represent the 

interests significantly affected by the 

proposed regulations. 

Public Hearings 

We will hold two public hearings for 

interested parties to discuss the 

rulemaking agenda. The public hearings 

will be held on: 

• May 23, 2012, at South Mountain 

Community College, 7050 South 24th 

Street, Student Union Building, Room 

100–ABC, Phoenix, AZ 85042. 

• May 31, 2012, at the U.S. 

Department of Education, 1990 K Street 

NW., 8th Floor Conference Center, 

Washington, DC 20006. 

The public hearings will be held from 

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., local time. 

Further information on the public 

hearing sites, including directions, is 

available at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/

highered/reg/hearulemaking/2012/

index.html. 

Individuals desiring to present 

comments at the public hearings must 

register by sending an email to 

negreg2012@ed.gov. The email should 

include the name of the presenter along 

with a general timeframe during which 

the individual would like to speak (for 

example, a presenter could indicate 

morning or afternoon, or before 11:00 

a.m. or after 3:00 p.m.). We will attempt 

to accommodate each speaker’s 

preference but, if we are unable to do so, 

we will make the determination on a 

first-come first-served basis (based on 

the time and date the email was 

received). It is likely that each 

participant will be limited to five 

minutes. The Department will notify 

registrants indicating the specific 

location and time slot reserved for them. 

An individual may make only one 

presentation at the public hearings. If 

we receive more registrations than we 

are able to accommodate, the 

Department reserves the right to reject 

the registration of an entity or 

individual that is affiliated with an 

entity or individual that is already 

scheduled to present comments, and to 

select among registrants to ensure that a 

broad range of entities and individuals 

is allowed to present. We will accept 

walk-in registrations for any remaining 

time slots on a first-come first-served 

basis beginning at 8:30 a.m. on the day 

of the public hearing at the 

Department’s on-site registration table. 

Speakers may also submit written 

comments. In addition, for anyone who 

does not present at a public hearing, the 

Department will accept written 

comments through May 31, 2012. (See 

the ADDRESSES sections of this notice for 

submission information.) 

Schedule for Negotiations 

We anticipate that any committee 

established after the public hearings 

will begin negotiations in September 

2012, with the committee meeting for 

up to three sessions of approximately 

three days each at roughly monthly 

intervals. The committee will meet in 

the Washington, DC area. The dates and 

locations of these meetings will be 

published in a subsequent document in 

the Federal Register, and will be posted 

on the Department’s Web site at: http:// 

www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/ 

hearulemaking/2012/index.html. 

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: http:// 

www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, 

through the advanced search feature at 

this site, you can limit your search to 

documents published by the 

Department. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1098a. 

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25660 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 1, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

Dated: April 26, 2012. 

David A. Bergeron, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, 

Planning, and Innovation, delegated the 

authority to perform the functions and duties 

of the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 

Education. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10488 Filed 4–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R9–OAR–2011–0130; FRL 9667–7] 

State of Nevada; Regional Haze State 

and Federal Implementation Plans; 

BART Determination for Reid Gardner 

Generating Station 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Announcement of second public 

hearing and extension of public 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: In addition to the public 

hearing previously scheduled for this 

action, EPA is holding a second public 

hearing at a different location earlier in 

the day on May 3, 2012. The public 

hearings are for the proposed rule, 

‘‘Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; State of 

Nevada; Regional Haze State and 

Federal Implementation Plans; BART 

Determination for Reid Gardner 

Generating Station.’’ EPA also is 

extending the closing date of the public 

comment period for the proposed rule to 

June 4, 2012 to allow for 30 days of 

public comment following the public 

hearings. 

DATES: The second public hearing is on 

May 3, 2012. Any comments on this 

proposal are due by June 4, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Public hearings: EPA will 

hold a second public hearing at the Big 

Auditorium in the Moapa Band of 

Paiutes Administration Building on 1 

Lincoln Street (cross street is 

Reservation Road) in Moapa, Nevada. 

In a previous Federal Register notice 

published on April 18, 2012 (77 FR 

23191), EPA announced a public 

hearing in Ron Dalley Theater at the 

Moapa Valley Empowerment High 

School on 2400 St. Joseph Street in 

Overton, Nevada, with an open house at 

the same location. This hearing will 

proceed as scheduled. Additional 

information about both hearings is 

provided in SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

Public comments: Submit your 

comments, identified by Docket ID No. 

EPA–R09–OAR–2011–0130 by one of 

the following methods: 

1. Federal Rulemaking portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. Email: Webb.Thomas@epa.gov. 

3. Fax: 415–947–3579 (Attention: 

Thomas Webb). 

4. Mail: Thomas Webb, EPA Region 9, 

Planning Office, Air Division, 75 

Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, 

California 94105. 

5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Such 

deliveries are only accepted Monday 

through Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., 

excluding federal holidays. Special 

arrangements should be made for 

deliveries of boxed information. 

For detailed instructions concerning 

how to submit comments on this 

proposed rule, see the previous Federal 

Register notice of proposed rulemaking 

published on April 12, 2012 (77 FR 

21896, 21897). The EPA Region 9 web 

site for the rulemaking, which includes 

the proposal and information about the 

public hearings, is at http:// 

www.epa.gov/region9/air/actions/

nv.html#reid. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions about the public 

hearings, please contact Thomas Webb, 

EPA Region IX at 415–947–4139 or 

Webb.Thomas@epa.gov. If you require a 

reasonable accommodation, please 

contact Terisa Williams, EPA Region IX 

Reasonable Accommodations 

Coordinator at 415–972–3829, or 

Williams.Terisa@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public 

hearings: The public hearings are to 

provide the public with an opportunity 

to present oral comments regarding 

proposed Regional Haze State and 

Federal Implementation Plans for the 

determination of Best Available Retrofit 

Technology at the Reid Gardner 

Generating Station in the State of 

Nevada. The proposed rule requires the 

Reid Gardner Generating Station to meet 

an emissions limit for oxides of nitrogen 

at Units 1, 2 and 3 of 0.20 lbs/MMBtu 

on a 30-day rolling average. 

Details about the two hearings are as 

follows: 

1. In a previous Federal Register 

notice published on April 18, 2012, EPA 

announced a public hearing in Ron 

Dalley Theater at the Moapa Valley 

Empowerment High School on 2400 St. 

Joseph Street in Overton, Nevada from 

6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on May 3, 2012, 

with an open house at the same location 

from 5 to 6 p.m. This hearing will 

proceed as scheduled. We are holding 

two public hearings on the same day at 

different times and locations for the 

convenience of the public. 

2. EPA will hold a second public 

hearing at the Big Auditorium in the 

Moapa Band of Paiutes Administration 

Building on 1 Lincoln Street (cross 

street is Reservation Road) in Moapa, 

Nevada. The formal hearing will begin 

at 1 p.m. and end at 4 p.m. An 

informational open house at the same 

location will precede the public hearing 

from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. We will 

not record public comments at the open 

house. 

The proposed rule (77 FR 21896, Apr. 

12, 2012) for which EPA will hold the 

public hearings is available at http:// 

www.epa.gov/region9/air/actions/nv.

html#reid and also in the docket 

identified below. The public hearings 

will provide interested parties the 

opportunity to present data, views, or 

arguments concerning the proposal. 

EPA may ask clarifying questions during 

the oral presentations, but will not 

respond to the presentations at that 

time. We will consider written 

statements and supporting information 

submitted during the comment period 

with the same weight as any oral 

comments and supporting information 

presented at the public hearings. At the 

public hearings, the hearing officer may 

limit the time available for each 

commenter to address the proposal to 

five minutes or less if the hearing officer 

determines it is appropriate. We will not 

provide equipment for commenters to 

show overhead slides or make 

computerized slide presentations. Any 

person may provide written or oral 

comments and data pertaining to our 

proposal at the public hearings. We will 

include verbatim transcripts, in English, 

of the hearing and written statements in 

the rulemaking docket. 

Extension of comment period: EPA is 

extending the public comment period 

for the proposed rule to align with the 

dates of the public hearings. The 

comment period will now end on June 

4, 2012, 30 days after the public 

hearings. 

EPA has established a docket for the 

proposed rule under Docket ID No. 

EPA–R09–OAR–2011–0130 (available at 

http://www.regulations.gov). 

Dated: April 25, 2012. 

Deborah Jordan, 

Air Division Director, Region IX. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10589 Filed 4–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

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