Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 18, 2000 / Proposed Rules 20787

blood accompanied by any necessary

supporting documentation.

(2) If your request does not meet these

requirements, the deciding Bureau

official may deny the request without

further review. If your request meets

these requirements, the deciding Bureau

official will examine the Bureau records

and any other information that you

provide, and will make a decision.

(c) The deciding Bureau official must

notify you in writing of a decision

issued under this section. The

notification must:

(1) Include a statement that the

decision may be appealed under 25 CFR

part 70;

(2) Identify the official to whom you

may appeal; and

(3) Enclose a copy of subpart E of this

part.

(d) The deciding Bureau official’s

decision must be delivered to you by

certified mail, return receipt requested,

at the address appearing on your request

or change of address received by the

deciding Bureau official, or in person. If

the notification of the decision is

delivered in person, you will be

required to sign and date an

acknowledgment that you received both

the notification and a copy of subpart E.

You will be provided a copy of this

acknowledgment as a receipt.

(e) If you disagree with a decision

made under this section, you may file

an appeal if you are named in the CDIB

or the amendment or invalidation of the

CDIB. You may authorize a

representative, including an attorney, to

file an appeal in your behalf.

§ 70.38 Can my Certificate of Degree of

Indian or Alaska Native Blood be sent to an

authorized third party?

Yes. Upon your request, the CDIB may

be sent or released to an authorized

representative or other designated third

party.

Dated: April 7, 2000.

Kevin Gover,

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.

[FR Doc. 00–9421 Filed 4–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 1

RIN 2900–AJ49

Outer Burial Receptacles

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: By statute the Department of

Veterans Affairs (VA) is authorized to

provide a monetary allowance for each

new burial in a VA national cemetery

where a privately-purchased outer

burial receptacle is used in lieu of a

government-furnished graveliner. This

document proposes to establish a

mechanism for implementing these

provisions.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before June 19, 2000.

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; or fax comments

to (202) 273–9289; or e-mail comments

to ‘‘OGCRegulations@mail.va.gov’’.

Comments should indicate that they are

submitted in response to ‘‘RIN 2900–

AJ49.’’ All comments received will be

available for public inspection in the

Office of Regulations Management,

Room 1158, between the hours of 8 a.m.

and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday

(except holidays).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken

Greenberg, Staff Assistant, Office of

Operations Support (402), National

Cemetery Administration, Department

of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420.

Telephone: 202–273–5179 (this is not a

toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public

Law 100–322 authorizes VA to provide

a graveliner at no cost to the family for

the casketed remains of individuals

buried in open national cemeteries.

Typically, a graveliner is pre-cast

concrete or thermoplastic in the form of

a box with a removable lid. The casket

is placed inside the graveliner which

assist in maintaining the integrity of the

soil around the grave by reducing the

likelihood of a sunken grave.

Public Law 104–275 was enacted on

October 9, 1996. The Public Law

allowed VA to provide a monetary

allowance for each new burial in a VA

national cemetery where a privatelypurchased outer burial receptacle is

used in lieu of a government-furnished

graveliner.

Under the Public Law, the monetary

allowance is equal to the average cost of

the government-furnished graveliner

which would have been furnished,

minus any administrative costs incurred

by VA. As an example, if it costs VA an

average of $125 to purchase a graveliner

and the administrative cost to process

an allowance for a privately-purchased

outer burial receptacle is $10, VA would

pay a monetary allowance of $115

toward the cost of the privatelypurchased outer burial receptacle. VA

would update the allowance annually

by notice in the Federal Register to

reflect the current average cost of

purchasing graveliners by VA minus the

administrative cost for VA to process

the allowance. Under the proposed rule,

the next allowance payable for

interments occurring during the period

from October 9, 1996, through December

31, 1999, would be the rate determined

for fiscal year 1999. This would reduce

the administrative burden required to

calculate allowances, and would

expedite payment to recipients. Further,

this is warranted since the average cost

to the government to purchase

graveliners has not varied significant

since 1996.

The average cost of graveliners would

not include graveliners procured and

pre-placed in gravesites as part of

cemetery gravesite development projects

or double depth graveliners. The costs

of these two types of graveliners

purchased are not representative of the

cost of a single-depth graveliner

purchased for installation at the time of

interment. The double depth liners hold

two caskets, whereas the single depth

liners hold one casket. Pre-placed liners

are procured as part of a larger gravesite

development construction project.

The proposed rule provides that an

application for payment of the monetary

allowance would not be required.

Currently, all information necessary for

identifying the individual entitled to

payment of the monetary allowance is

included in information already being

collected under the National Cemetery

Administration’s Burial Operation

Support System (BOSS).

Further, we have a method for

determining in almost all cases those

individuals entitled to the allowance for

purchasing outer burial receptacles

prior to January 1, 2000. In almost all

cases when an outer burial receptacle

was purchased, the person listed as the

next of kin paid for it. Accordingly, we

believe there is a basis for a

presumption that such person paid for

the outer burial receptacle. Accordingly,

for burials during the period October 9,

1996, through December 31, 1999, the

allowance would be paid to the person

identified as the next of kin in records

contained in the BOSS. However, if a

person who is not listed as the next of

kin provides evidence that he or she

paid for the outer burial receptacle, the

allowance would be paid instead to that

person.

In burials where a casket already

exists in a grave with or without a

graveliner, placement of a second casket

in an outer burial receptacle would not

be permitted in the same grave unless

the national cemetery director

20788 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 18, 2000 / Proposed Rules

determines that the already interred

casket would not be damaged.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Secretary certifies that this

proposed rule 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

proposed rule would not affect the sale

of outer burial receptacles. Further, the

basic provisions of the proposed rule

reflect statutory requirements.

Accordingly, pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

605(b), the proposed rule is exempt

from the initial and final regulatory

flexibility analyses requirements of

sections 603 and 604.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number for programs affected by this

regulation is 64.201.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 1

Administrative practice and

procedure, Archives and records,

Cemeteries, Claims, Courts, Flags,

Freedom of information, Government

contracts, Government employees,

Government property, Infants and

children, Inventions and patents,

Investigations, Parking, Penalties, Postal

Service, Privacy, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Seals and

insignia, Security measures, wages.

Approved: March 13, 2000.

Togo D. West, Jr.,

Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 38 CFR part 1 is proposed to

be amended as follows:

PART 1—GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The authority citation for part 1

continues to read as follows:

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

otherwise noted.

2. Section 1.629 is added to read as

follows:

§ 1.629 Monetary allowance in lieu of a

government-furnished outer burial

receptacle.

(a) Definitions. Outer Burial

Receptacle. For the purpose of this

section, an outer burial receptacle

means a graveliner, burial vault, or other

similar type of container for a casket.

(b) Purpose. This section provides for

payment of a monetary allowance for an

outer burial receptacle for any interment

in a VA national cemetery where a

privately-purchased outer burial

receptacle has been used in lieu of a

government-furnished graveliner.

(c) Second Interments. In burials

where a casket already exists in a grave

with or without a graveliner, placement

of a second casket in an outer burial

receptacle will not be permitted in the

same grave unless the national cemetery

director determines that the already

interred casket will not be damaged.

(d) Payment of monetary allowance.

VA will pay a monetary allowance for

each burial in a VA national cemetery

where a privately-purchased outer

burial receptacle was used on and after

October 9, 1996. For burials on or after

January 1, 2000, the person identified in

records contained in the National

Cemetery Administration Burial

Operations Support System as the

person who privately purchased the

outer burial receptacle will be paid the

monetary allowance. For burials during

the period October 9, 1996, through

December 31, 1999, the allowance will

be paid to the person identified as the

next of kin in records contained in the

National Cemetery Administration

Burial Operations Support System based

on the presumption that such person

privately purchased the outer burial

receptacles (however, if a person who is

not listed as the next of kin provides

evidence that he or she privately

purchased the outer burial receptacle,

the allowance will be paid instead to

that person). No application is required

to receive payment of a monetary

allowance.

(e) Amount of the allowance. (1) For

calendar year 2000 and each calendar

year thereafter, the allowance will be

the average cost, as determined by VA,

of government-furnished graveliners,

less the administrative costs incurred by

VA in processing and paying the

allowance.

(i) The average cost of governmentfurnished graveliners will be based

upon the actual average cost to the

government of such graveliners during

the most recent fiscal year ending prior

to the start of the calendar year for

which the amount of the allowance will

be used. This average cost will be

determined by taking VA’s total cost

during that fiscal year for single-depth

graveliners which were procured for

placement at the time of interment and

dividing it by the total number of such

graveliners procured by VA during that

fiscal year. The calculation shall

exclude both graveliners procured and

pre-placed in gravesites as part of

cemetery gravesite development projects

and all double-depth graveliners.

(ii) The administrative costs incurred

by VA will consist of those costs that

relate to processing and paying an

allowance, as determined by VA, for the

calendar year ending prior to the start of

the calendar year for which the amount

of the allowance will be used.

(2) For calendar year 2000 and each

calendar year thereafter, the amount of

the allowance for each calendar year

will be published in the ‘‘Notices’’

section of the Federal Register. The

Federal Register Notice will also

provide, as information, the determined

average cost of government-furnished

graveliners and the determined amount

of the administrative costs to be

deducted.

(3) The published allowance amount

for interments which occur during

calendar year 2000 will also be used for

payment of any allowances for

interments which occurred during the

period from October 9, 1996, through

December 31, 1999.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 2306(d)).

[FR Doc. 00–9602 Filed 4–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[PA 4091b; FRL–6569–1]

Approval and Promulgation of Air

Quality Implementation Plans;

Pennsylvania; Approval of VOC and

NOx RACT Determinations for

Individual Sources

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve

revisions to the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania’s State Implementation

Plan (SIP). The revisions impose

reasonably available control technology

(RACT) on twenty-six major sources of

volatile organic compounds (VOC) and

nitrogen oxides (NOx) located in

Pennsylvania. EPA is proposing these

revisions to establish RACT

requirements in accordance with the

Clean Air Act. In the ‘‘Rules and

Regulations’’ section of this Federal

Register, EPA is approving the State’s

SIP submittal as a direct final rule

without prior proposal because the

Agency views this as a noncontroversial

submittal and anticipates no adverse

comments. A more detailed description

of the state submittal and EPA’s

evaluation are included in the Technical

Support Documents (TSD) prepared in

support of this rulemaking action. A

copy of the TSD’s are available, upon

request, from the EPA Regional Office

listed in the ADDRESSES section of this

document. If EPA receives no adverse

comments, EPA will not take further

action on this proposed rule. If EPA