27700 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 97 /Wednesday, May 20, 1998 / Proposed Rules

its implementing Federal regulations

and whether the other requirements of

30 CFR Parts 730, 731, and 732 have

been met.

National Environmental Policy Act

No environmental impact statement is

required for this rule since section

702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d))

provides that agency decisions on

proposed State regulatory program

provisions do not constitute major

Federal actions within the meaning of

section 102(2)(C) of the National

Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C.

4332(2)(C)).

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule does not contain

information collection requirements that

require approval by OMB under the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

3507 et seq.).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Department of the Interior has

determined that this rule will not have

a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5

U.S.C. 601 et seq.). The State submittal

which is the subject of this rule is based

upon counterpart Federal regulations for

which an economic analysis was

prepared and certification made that

such regulations would not have a

significant economic effect upon a

substantial number of small entities.

Accordingly, this rule will ensure that

existing requirements previously

promulgated by OSM will be

implemented by the State. In making the

determination as to whether this rule

would have a significant economic

impact, the Department relied upon the

data and assumptions for the

counterpart Federal regulations.

Unfunded Mandates

This rule will not impose a cost of

$100 million or more in any given year

on any governmental entity or the

private sector.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 917

Intergovernmental relations, Surface

mining, Underground mining.

Dated: May 13, 1998.

Allen D. Klein,

Regional Director, Appalachian Regional

Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 98–13340 Filed 5–19–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 20

46 CFR Part 5

[USCG–1998–3472]

RIN 2115–AF59

Rules of Practice, Procedure, and

Evidence for Administrative

Proceedings of the Coast Guard

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Reopening of comment period

on notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is reopening

the period for public comment on its

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

(NPRM), Rules of Practice, Procedures,

and Evidence for Administrative

Proceedings of the Coast Guard. Because

of several requests for extension, the

Coast Guard is reopening the period for

30 days.

DATES: Comments must reach the Coast

Guard on or before June 19, 1998.

ADDRESSES: You may mail comments to

the Docket Management Facility

[USCG–1998–3472], U.S. Department of

Transportation (DOT), Room PL–401,

400 Seventh Street SW., Washington,

DC 20590–0001, or deliver them to room

PL–401, located on the Plaza Level of

the Nassif Building at the same address

between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday

through Friday, except Federal holidays.

The telephone number is 202–366–

9329.

The Docket Management Facility

maintains the public docket for this

rulemaking. Comments, and documents

as indicated in this preamble, will

become part of this docket and will be

available for inspection or copying at

room PL–401, located on the Plaza Level

of the Nassif Building at the above

address between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, except Federal

holidays. You may also electronically

access the public docket for this

rulemaking on the Internet at http://

dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For information on the public docket,

contact Carol Kelley, Coast Guard

Dockets Team Leader, or Paulette

Twine, Chief, Documentary Services

Division, U.S. Department of

Transportation, telephone 202–366–

9329; for information concerning the

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM)

provisions, contact George J. Jordan,

Attorney-Advisor, Office of the Chief

Administrative Law Judge, between 9:00

a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays. His

telephone number is 202–267–0006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

(NPRM), published on April 6, 1998 (63

FR 16731), encouraged interested

persons to participate in this rulemaking

by submitting written data, views, or

arguments by May 6, 1998. This request

does the same, except that it asks them

by June 19, 1998.

Persons submitting comments should

include their names and addresses,

identifying this rulemaking (USCG–

1998–3472) and the specific section of

this document to which each comment

applies, and give the reason for each

comment. Please submit one copy of all

comments and attachments in an

unbound format, no larger than 81⁄2 by

1 inches, suitable for copying and

electronic filing to the DOT Docket

Management Facility at the address

under ADDRESSES. If you want

acknowledgment of receipt of your

comment, enclose a stamped, selfaddressed postcard or envelope.

The Coast Guard will consider all

comments received during the comment

period. It may change this proposed rule

in view of the comments.

The Coast Guard plans no public

meeting. Persons may request a public

meeting by writing to the Docket

Management Facility at the address

under ADDRESSES. The request must

identify this docket (USCG–1998–3472)

and should include the reasons why a

public meeting would be helpful to this

rulemaking. If an opportunity for oral

presentations will help the rulemaking

procedures, the Coast Guard will hold a

public meeting at a time and place

announced by a later notice in the

Federal Register.

Background and Purpose

The Coast Guard seeks to improve its

adjudication process. This improvement

would also affect certain actions

involving merchant mariners. First, the

proposed rule would consolidate all

Coast Guard adjudicative procedures to

include the following: the suspension

and revocation (S&R) of merchant

mariners’ licenses, certificates of

registry, and documents and the

procedures involving class II civil

penalties. Second, the proposed rule

would eliminate unnecessary

procedures from S&R proceedings. The

Coast Guard expects the proposed rule

to facilitate the efficient use of

administrative resources relating to

Coast Guard adjudication. It would save

time, effort, and money for all parties
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 97 /Wednesday, May 20, 1998 / Proposed Rules 27701

who are or may become involved in

Coast Guard actions.

Signed: 14 May 1998.

Robert S. Horowitz,

Chief Counsel (Acting).

[FR Doc. 98–13400 Filed 5–19–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–15–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 21

RIN 2900–AI31

Advance Payments and Lump-Sum

Payments of Educational Assistance

AGENCIES: Defense; Coast Guard,

Transportation; and Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This document proposes to

amend the educational assistance

regulations of the Department of

Veterans Affairs (VA) dealing with the

advance payment and lump-sum

payment of educational assistance. VA

is proposing to amend these regulations

by removing provisions that no longer

apply and by making other changes for

the purpose of clarification. This will

make these regulations easier to use.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before July 20, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-deliver

written comments to: Director, Office of

Regulations Management (02D),

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810

Vermont Avenue, NW, Room 1154,

Washington, DC 20420. Comments

should indicate that they are submitted

in response to ‘‘RIN 2900–AI31’’. All

written comments received will be

available for public inspection at the

above address in the Office of

Regulations Management between the

hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday

through Friday (except holidays).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William G. Susling, Jr., Education

Advisor, Education Service, Veterans

Benefits Administration, 202–273–7187.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For many

decades VA by statute has permitted

veterans, servicemembers, eligible

persons, and reservists to receive an

advance payment of educational

assistance provided that they request

such a payment and certain other

requirements are met. These payments

have covered educational assistance

scheduled to be paid to the individual

during the first month or fraction of a

month and the following month in a

term or school year. Similarly, some

individuals in some of the educational

programs VA administers are able in

certain circumstances to receive a lumpsum payment covering the educational

assistance due for an entire term.

The regulations governing these

payments have accumulated obsolete

provisions over the years, and have been

written in a way that is not always easy

to understand. This proposed rule

removes these obsolete provisions and

makes other clarifying changes.

Moreover, VA may make advance

payments under many of the

educational programs the department

administers. The rules governing

advance payments are the same for all

of those educational programs. There

appears to be no need to repeat those

rules in each subpart of part 21, 38 CFR.

Consequently, VA is proposing to

replace the repetition of those rules with

references to the complete statement of

the advance payment rules that are

proposed in subpart D.

Current regulations allow VA to make

lump-sum payments to trainees in both

the Survivors’ and Dependents’

Educational Assistance program (DEA)

and in the Montgomery GI Bill—Active

Duty (MGIB). The rules for making these

payments are the same for both

programs. There appears to be no need

to repeat these rules in both of the

affected subparts of Part 21, 38 CFR.

Consequently, VA is proposing to

replace the repetition of those rules with

references to the complete statement of

the lump-sum payment rules that are

proposed in subpart D. There are no

substantive changes in this proposed

rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) has determined that the

proposed 38 CFR 21.4138(a) would

constitute a collection of information

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520).

Accordingly, under § 3507(d) of the Act

VA has submitted a copy of this

rulemaking action to OMB for its

review.

Title: Request for an Advance

Payment of Educational Assistance.

Summary of collection of information:

The collection of information in the

proposed revisions to § 21.4138(a) in

this rulemaking proceeding implements

a statutory provision that mandates that

an individual who wishes to receive an

advance payment of educational

assistance must ask for it.

Description of need for information

and proposed use of information: The

information required in § 21.4138(a) is

needed so that VA may make advance

payments of educational assistance to

those who want such payments.

Description of likely respondents.

Veterans, reservists, and eligible persons

receiving educational assistance under

the programs VA administers.

Estimated number of respondents:

75,000 each year.

Estimated frequency of responses:

Occasionally, when a veteran, reservist,

or eligible person wants an advance

payment of educational assistance at the

start of an enrollment period.

Estimated total annual reporting and

recordkeeping burden: 6,250 hours of

reporting burden. VA does not believe

that there will be additional

recordkeeping burden.

Estimated average burden per

respondent: 5 minutes.

The Department considers comments

by the public on proposed collections of

information in—

• Evaluating whether the proposed

collection(s) 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;

• Minimizing the burden of the

collection 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 collection 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.

The Department of Defense (DOD) and

VA are jointly issuing this proposed rule

insofar as it relates to the Post-Vietnam

Era Veterans’ Educational Assistance

program. This program is funded by

DOD and administered by VA. DOD, the

Department of Transportation (Coast

Guard), and VA are jointly issuing this

proposed rule insofar as it relates to the

Montgomery GI Bill—Selected Reserve.

This program is funded by DOD and the

Coast Guard, and is administered by