Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 249 / Monday, December 30, 2024 / Notices 106591 

3This rule derives from the text of two provisions 

of the CSA. First, Congress defined the term 

‘‘practitioner’’ to mean ‘‘a physician . . . or other 

person licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted, 

by . . . the jurisdiction in which he practices . . . , 

to distribute, dispense, . . . [or] administer . . . a 

controlled substance in the course of professional 

practice.’’ 21 U.S.C. 802(21). Second, in setting the 

requirements for obtaining a practitioner’s 

registration, Congress directed that ‘‘[t]he Attorney 

General shall register practitioners . . . if the 

applicant is authorized to dispense . . . controlled 

substances under the laws of the State in which he 

practices.’’ 21 U.S.C. 823(g)(1). Because Congress 

has clearly mandated that a practitioner possess 

state authority in order to be deemed a practitioner 

under the CSA, DEA has held repeatedly that 

revocation of a practitioner’s registration is the 

appropriate sanction whenever he is no longer 

authorized to dispense controlled substances under 

the laws of the state in which he practices. See, e.g., 

James L. Hooper, M.D., 76 FR 71371–72; Sheran 

Arden Yeates, M.D., 71 FR 39130, 39131 (2006); 

Dominick A. Ricci, M.D., 58 FR 51104, 51105 

(1993); Bobby Watts, M.D., 53 FR 11919, 11920 

(1988); Frederick Marsh Blanton, M.D., 43 FR 

27617. 

1Based on the Government’s submissions in its 

RFAA dated June 11, 2024, the Agency finds that 

service of the OSC on Registrant was adequate. 

Specifically, the included Declaration from a DEA 

Diversion Investigator (DI) indicates that on June 

14, 2021, a DEA Task Force Officer (TFO) 

personally served a copy of the OSC to Registrant 

at the West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason, 

Tennessee, where Registrant remained incarcerated. 

RFAAX 3, at 2–3, Attachment C. 

2Under the Administrative Procedure Act, an 

agency ‘‘may take official notice of facts at any stage 

in a proceeding—even in the final decision.’’ 

United States Department of Justice, Attorney 

General’s Manual on the Administrative Procedure 

Act 80 (1947) (Wm. W. Gaunt & Sons, Inc., Reprint 

1979). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 556(e), ‘‘[w]hen an 

agency decision rests on official notice of a material 

fact not appearing in the evidence in the record, a 

party is entitled, on timely request, to an 

opportunity to show the contrary.’’ Accordingly, 

Registrant may dispute the Agency’s finding by 

filing a properly supported motion for 

reconsideration of findings of fact within fifteen 

calendar days of the date of this Order. Any such 

motion and response shall be filed and served by 

email to the other party and to the DEA Office of 

the Administrator, Drug Enforcement 

Administration at dea.addo.attorneys@dea.gov. 

prescribe includes physicians ‘licensed, 

registered, or otherwise permitted, by 

the United States or the jurisdiction in 

which he practices’ to dispense 

controlled substances. § 802(21).’’). The 

Agency has applied these principles 

consistently. See, e.g., James L. Hooper, 

M.D., 76 FR 71,371, 71,372 (2011), pet. 

for rev. denied, 481 F. App’x 826 (4th 

Cir. 2012); Frederick Marsh Blanton, 

M.D., 43 FR 27616, 27617 (1978).3

According to California statute, 

‘‘dispense’’ means ‘‘to deliver a 

controlled substance to an ultimate user 

or research subject by or pursuant to the 

lawful order of a practitioner, including 

the prescribing, furnishing, packaging, 

labeling, or compounding necessary to 

prepare the substance for that delivery.’’ 

Cal. Health & Safety Code section 11010 

(West 2024). Further, a ‘‘practitioner’’ 

means a person ‘‘licensed, registered, or 

otherwise permitted, to distribute, 

dispense, conduct research with respect 

to, or administer, a controlled substance 

in the course of professional practice or 

research in [the] state.’’ Id. 

section 11026(c). 

Here, the undisputed evidence in the 

record is that Registrant currently lacks 

authority to practice as a dentist in 

California. As discussed above, an 

individual must be a licensed 

practitioner to dispense a controlled 

substance in California. Thus, because 

Registrant currently lacks authority to 

practice as a dentist in California and, 

therefore, is not currently authorized to 

handle controlled substances in 

California, Registrant is not eligible to 

maintain a DEA registration. 

Accordingly, the Agency will order that 

Registrant’s DEA registration be 

revoked. 

Order 

Pursuant to 28 CFR 0.100(b) and the 

authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 

824(a), I hereby revoke DEA Certificate 

of Registration No. FR4257792 issued to 

Samreen Riaz, D.D.S. Further, pursuant 

to 28 CFR 0.100(b) and the authority 

vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(g)(1), I 

hereby deny any pending applications 

of Samreen Riaz, D.D.S., to renew or 

modify this registration, as well as any 

other pending application of Samreen 

Riaz, D.D.S., for additional registration 

in California. This Order is effective 

January 29, 2025. 

Signing Authority 

This document of the Drug 

Enforcement Administration was signed 

on December 20, 2024, by Administrator 

Anne Milgram. That document with the 

original signature and date is 

maintained by DEA. For administrative 

purposes only, and in compliance with 

requirements of the Office of the Federal 

Register, the undersigned DEA Federal 

Register Liaison Officer has been 

authorized to sign and submit the 

document in electronic format for 

publication, as an official document of 

DEA. This administrative process in no 

way alters the legal effect of this 

document upon publication in the 

Federal Register. 

Heather Achbach, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Drug 

Enforcement Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31319 Filed 12–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–09–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Drug Enforcement Administration 

Jeffrey W. Young, Jr., N.P.; Decision 

and Order 

On June 8, 2021, the Drug 

Enforcement Administration (DEA or 

Government) issued an Order to Show 

Cause (OSC) to Jeffrey W. Young, Jr., 

N.P., of Jackson, Tennessee (Registrant). 

Request for Final Agency Action 

(RFAA), Exhibit (RFAAX) 2, at 1, 4. The 

OSC proposed the revocation of 

Registrant’s Certificate of Registration 

No. MY1093424, alleging that 

Registrant’s registration should be 

revoked because Registrant is ‘‘currently 

without authority to handle controlled 

substances in Tennessee, the state in 

which [he is] registered with DEA.’’ Id. 

at 2 (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)). 

The OSC notified Registrant of his 

right to file a written request for hearing, 

and that if he failed to file such a 

request, he would be deemed to have 

waived his right to a hearing and be in 

default. Id. at 2–3 (citing 21 CFR 

1301.43). Here, Registrant did not 

request a hearing. RFAA, at 2.1 ‘‘A 

default, unless excused, shall be 

deemed to constitute a waiver of the 

registrant’s/applicant’s right to a hearing 

and an admission of the factual 

allegations of the [OSC].’’ 21 CFR 

1301.43(e). 

Further, ‘‘[i]n the event that a 

registrant . . . is deemed to be in 

default . . . DEA may then file a request 

for final agency action with the 

Administrator, along with a record to 

support its request. In such 

circumstances, the Administrator may 

enter a default final order pursuant to 

[21 CFR] § 1316.67.’’ Id. § 1301.43(f)(1). 

Here, the Government has requested 

final agency action based on Registrant’s 

default pursuant to 21 CFR 1301.43(e). 

RFAA, at 1. 

Findings of Fact 

The Agency finds that, in light of 

Registrant’s default, the factual 

allegations in the OSC are admitted. 

According to the OSC, on September 30, 

2019, Registrant’s Tennessee registered 

nurse license and Tennessee advanced 

practice registered nurse certificate both 

expired. RFAAX 2, 2. According to 

Tennessee online records, of which the 

Agency takes official notice, both 

Registrant’s Tennessee registered nurse 

license and Tennessee advanced 

practice registered nurse certificate are 

revoked.2 NURSYS License Verification 

Search, https://www.nursys.com/LQC/ 

LQCSearch.aspx (last visited date of 

signature of this Order). Accordingly, 

the Agency finds that Registrant is not 

licensed to practice as a nurse 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
106592 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 249 / Monday, December 30, 2024 / Notices 

3This rule derives from the text of two provisions 

of the CSA. First, Congress defined the term 

‘‘practitioner’’ to mean ‘‘a physician . . . or other 

person licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted, 

by . . . the jurisdiction in which he practices . . . , 

to distribute, dispense, . . . [or] administer . . . a 

controlled substance in the course of professional 

practice.’’ 21 U.S.C. 802(21). Second, in setting the 

requirements for obtaining a practitioner’s 

registration, Congress directed that ‘‘[t]he Attorney 

General shall register practitioners . . . if the 

applicant is authorized to dispense . . . controlled 

substances under the laws of the State in which he 

practices.’’ 21 U.S.C. 823(g)(1). Because Congress 

has clearly mandated that a practitioner possess 

state authority in order to be deemed a practitioner 

under the CSA, DEA has held repeatedly that 

revocation of a practitioner’s registration is the 

appropriate sanction whenever he is no longer 

authorized to dispense controlled substances under 

the laws of the state in which he practices. See, e.g., 

James L. Hooper, M.D., 76 FR at 71371–72; Sheran 

Arden Yeates, M.D., 71 FR 39130, 39131 (2006); 

Dominick A. Ricci, M.D., 58 FR 51104, 51105 

(1993); Bobby Watts, M.D., 53 FR 11919, 11,920 

(1988); Frederick Marsh Blanton, M.D., 43 FR at 

27617. 

practitioner in Tennessee, the state in 

which he is registered with DEA. 

Discussion 

Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3), the 

Attorney General is authorized to 

suspend or revoke a registration issued 

under 21 U.S.C. 823 ‘‘upon a finding 

that the registrant . . . has had his State 

license or registration suspended . . . 

[or] revoked . . . by competent State 

authority and is no longer authorized by 

State law to engage in the . . . 

dispensing of controlled substances.’’ 

With respect to a practitioner, DEA has 

also long held that the possession of 

authority to dispense controlled 

substances under the laws of the state in 

which a practitioner engages in 

professional practice is a fundamental 

condition for obtaining and maintaining 

a practitioner’s registration. Gonzales v. 

Oregon, 546 U.S. 243, 270 (2006) (‘‘The 

Attorney General can register a 

physician to dispense controlled 

substances ‘if the applicant is 

authorized to dispense . . . controlled 

substances under the laws of the State 

in which he practices.’ . . . The very 

definition of a ‘practitioner’ eligible to 

prescribe includes physicians ‘licensed, 

registered, or otherwise permitted, by 

the United States or the jurisdiction in 

which he practices’ to dispense 

controlled substances. § 802(21).’’). The 

Agency has applied these principles 

consistently. See, e.g., James L. Hooper, 

M.D., 76 FR 71371, 71372 (2011), pet. 

for rev. denied, 481 F. App’x 826 (4th 

Cir. 2012); Frederick Marsh Blanton, 

M.D., 43 FR 27616, 27617 (1978).3

According to Tennessee statute, 

‘‘dispense’’ means ‘‘to deliver a 

controlled substance to an ultimate user 

or research subject by or pursuant to the 

lawful order of a practitioner, including 

the prescribing, administering, 

packaging, labeling, or compounding 

necessary to prepare the substance for 

that delivery.’’ Tenn. Code Ann. § 39– 

17–402(7) (2024). Further, a 

‘‘practitioner’’ means ‘‘a physician . . . 

or other person licensed, registered or 

otherwise permitted to distribute, 

dispense, conduct research with respect 

to or administer a controlled substance 

in the course of professional practice or 

research in [the] state.’’ Id. § 39–17– 

402(23)(A). 

Here, the undisputed evidence in the 

record is that Registrant lacks authority 

to practice as a nurse practitioner in 

Tennessee. As discussed above, an 

individual must be a licensed 

practitioner to dispense a controlled 

substance in Tennessee. Thus, because 

Registrant lacks authority to practice as 

a nurse practitioner in Tennessee and, 

therefore, is not authorized to handle 

controlled substances in Tennessee, 

Registrant is not eligible to maintain a 

DEA registration. Accordingly, the 

Agency will order that Registrant’s DEA 

registration be revoked. 

Order 

Pursuant to 28 CFR0.100(b) and the 

authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 

824(a), I hereby revoke DEA Certificate 

of Registration No. MY1093424, issued 

to Jeffrey W. Young, Jr., N.P. Further, 

pursuant to 28 CFR 0.100(b) and the 

authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 

823(g)(1), I hereby deny any pending 

applications of Jeffrey W. Young, Jr., 

N.P., to renew or modify this 

registration, as well as any other 

pending application of Jeffrey W. 

Young, Jr., N.P., for additional 

registration in Tennessee. This Order is 

effective January 29, 2025. 

Signing Authority 

This document of the Drug 

Enforcement Administration was signed 

on December 20, 2024, by Administrator 

Anne Milgram. That document with the 

original signature and date is 

maintained by DEA. For administrative 

purposes only, and in compliance with 

requirements of the Office of the Federal 

Register, the undersigned DEA Federal 

Register Liaison Officer has been 

authorized to sign and submit the 

document in electronic format for 

publication, as an official document of 

DEA. This administrative process in no 

way alters the legal effect of this 

document upon publication in the 

Federal Register. 

Heather Achbach, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Drug 

Enforcement Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31329 Filed 12–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–09–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Notice of Lodging of Proposed 

Consent Decree Under the 

Comprehensive Environmental 

Response Compensation and Liability 

Act 

On December 19, 2024, the 

Department of Justice lodged a proposed 

Consent Decree with the United States 

District Court for the Western District of 

Virginia in the lawsuit entitled United 

States and Commonwealth of Virginia, 

Secretary of Natural and Historic 

Resources v. FMC Corporation, Civil 

Action No. 5:24–CR–108. 

The lawsuit was initiated by a 

complaint filed by the United States and 

the Commonwealth of Virginia (the 

‘‘Trustees’’) in their capacity as the 

legally designated trustees for natural 

resources in Virginia. The complaint 

alleged, inter alia, that the Defendant 

was liable for damages for injury to, 

destruction of, or loss of natural 

resources resulting from the release of 

hazardous substances at and from the 

Avtex Fibers, Inc. Site (the ‘‘Site’’) in 

Front Royal, Virginia, pursuant to three 

statutes: the Comprehensive 

Environmental Response, Compensation 

and Liability Act of 1980, the Virginia 

State Water Control Law, and the 

Virginia Waste Management Act. 

The Consent Decree resolves the 

claims of the Trustees against the 

Defendant for a total payment of 

$1,674,361. Of this amount, $1,393,219 

will be paid into the United States’ 

Natural Resource Damages Assessment 

and Restoration ‘‘(NRDAR’’) Fund 

managed by the U.S. Department of the 

Interior, which will reimburse the 

Department’s natural resource damages 

assessment activities and fund projects 

aimed at restoring the injured natural 

resources at the Site. The remaining 

$281,142 will be paid to the 

Commonwealth of Virginia for 

restoration of injured natural resources 

arising from groundwater contamination 

at the Site, and to reimburse the 

Commonwealth’s natural resource 

damages assessment costs. In addition, 

as part of the settlement the United 

States will pay $2,496,305 into the 

NRDAR Fund to support restoration 

projects. This latter amount will resolve 

the alleged liability of four settling 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1