61046 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 202 / Thursday, October 20, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

review may be filed, and shall not 

postpone the effectiveness of such rule 

or action. This action may not be 

challenged later in proceedings to 

enforce its requirements. (See section 

307(b)(2).) 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control, Intergovernmental 

relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur oxides, Waste 

treatment and disposal. 

Dated: October 13, 2005. 

Robert W. Varney, 

Regional Administrator, EPA New England. 

■ 40 CFR part 62 is amended as follows: 

PART 62—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 62 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Subpart W—Massachusetts 

■ 2. Subpart W is amended by adding a 

new § 62.5475 and a new undesignated 

center heading to read as follows: 

Air Emissions From Existing 

Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste 

Incineration Units 

§ 62.5475 Identification of Plan—negative 

declaration. 

On August 23, 2005, the 

Massachusetts Department of 

Environmental Protection submitted a 

letter certifying that there are no 

existing commercial and industrial solid 

waste incineration units in the State 

subject to the emission guidelines under 

part 60, subpart DDDD of this chapter. 

[FR Doc. 05–20985 Filed 10–19–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

41 CFR Part 301–10 

[FTR Amendment 2005–05; FTR Case 2005–

303] 

RIN 3090–AI13 

Federal Travel Regulation; 

Transportation Expenses; 

Government-Furnished Automobiles 

(GFA) 

AGENCY: Office of Governmentwide 

Policy, General Services Administration 

(GSA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The General Services 

Administration (GSA) is amending the 

Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) by 

revising the mileage reimbursement rate 

reflecting costs of operating a 

Government-furnished automobile 

(GFA), and revising the table on how to 

determine distance measurements for 

travel. It also clarifies that, if 

determined to be advantageous to the 

Government, the employee may be 

reimbursed for mileage between the 

residence and office to a common 

carrier terminal, or from the residence 

directly to a common carrier terminal 

when on official travel requiring an 

overnight stay. An explanation of these 

changes is addressed in the 

‘‘Supplementary Information’’ below. 

The FTR and any corresponding 

documents may be accessed at GSA’s 

website at http://www.gsa.gov/ftr. 

DATES: Effective Date: October 20, 2005. 

Applicability Date: FTR Part 301–10, 

§ 301–10.310, as amended by this rule, 

is applicable for all travel performed on 

and after February 4, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

Regulatory Secretariat (VIR), Room 

4035, GS Building, Washington, DC, 

20405, (202) 208–7312, for information 

pertaining to status or publication 

schedules. For clarification of content, 

contact Ms. Umeki Gray Thorne, Office 

of Governmentwide Policy, Travel 

Management Policy, at (202) 208–7636. 

Please cite FTR Amendment 2005–05, 

FTR case 2005–303. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

This final rule amends the Federal 

Travel Regulation (FTR) as follows: 

• Revises the table in § 301–10.302. 

• Revises the section heading in 

§ 301–10.306 to clarify that an employee 

may be reimbursed for use of a privately 

owned vehicle for round-trip travel 

between the residence and office to a 

common carrier terminal, or from a 

residence directly to a common carrier 

terminal on travel requiring an 

overnight stay. 

• Revises § 301–10.310, by increasing 

the current reimbursement rate of 

$0.270 per mile (when a GFA is 

available to an employee) to $0.285 per 

mile, and increasing the reimbursement 

rate of $0.105 per mile (when a GFA is 

assigned directly to an employee) to 

$0.125. In consultation with the GSA 

Fleet, these rates are based on updated 

data reflecting agency costs to operate a 

GFA. 

B. Executive Order 12866 

This is not a significant regulatory 

action and, therefore, was not subject to 

review under Section 6(b) of Executive 

Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. This 

rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 

804. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This final rule is not required to be 

published in the Federal Register for 

notice and comment; therefore, the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, 

et seq., does not apply. 

D. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act does 

not apply because the changes to the 

FTR do not impose recordkeeping or 

information collection requirements, or 

the collection of information from 

offerors, contractors, or members of the 

public that require the approval of the 

Office of Management and Budget under 

44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq. 

E. Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act 

This final rule is also exempt from 

congressional review prescribed under 5 

U.S.C. 801 since it relates solely to 

agency management and personnel. 

List of Subjects in 41 CFR Part 301–10 

Government employees, Travel and 

transportation expenses. 

Dated: May 27, 2005. 

Stephen A. Perry, 

Administrator of General Services. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, under 5 U.S.C. 5701–5709, 

GSA amends 41 CFR part 301–10 as set 

forth below: 

PART 301–10—TRANSPORTATION 

EXPENSES 

■ 1. The authority citation for 41 CFR 

part 301–10 is revised to read as 

follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5707; 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 

49 U.S.C. 40118, Office of Management and 

Budget Circular No. A–126, ‘‘Improving the 

Management and Use of Government 

Aircraft.’’ Revised May 22, 1992. 

§ 301–10.302 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 301–10.302—

a. In the table, in the second column, 

in the first entry under the heading 

‘‘The distance between your origin and 

destination is’’, by revising the first 

entry to read ‘‘As shown in paper or 

electronic standard highway mileage 

guides, or the actual miles driven as 

determined from odometer readings.’’; 

and 

b. In the table, in the second column, 

in the second entry under the heading 

‘‘The distance between your origin and 

destination is’’, by revising the first 

sentence to read ‘‘As determined from 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 202 / Thursday, October 20, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 61047 

charts issued by the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA).’’

■ 3. Amend § 301–10.306 by revising 

the section heading to read as follows: 

§ 301–10.306 What will I be reimbursed if 

authorized to use a POV instead of a taxi 

between my residence and office to a 

common carrier terminal, or from my 

residence directly to a common carrier 

terminal on travel requiring an overnight 

stay? 

§ 301–10.310 [Amended] 

■ 4. Amend § 301–10.310 in paragraph 

(a) by removing ‘‘vehicle’’ and ‘‘27.0 

cents’’ and adding ‘‘automobile’’ and 

‘‘28.5 cents’’ in its place, respectively; 

and by removing from paragraph (b) 

‘‘10.5 cents’’ and adding ‘‘12.5 cents’’ in 

its place. 

[FR Doc. 05–20216 Filed 10–19–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–14–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 

42 CFR Part 73 

Possession, Use, and Transfer of 

Select Agents and Toxins—

Reconstructed Replication Competent 

Forms of the 1918 Pandemic Influenza 

Virus Containing Any Portion of the 

Coding Regions of All Eight Gene 

Segments 

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC), Department of Health 

and Human Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Interim final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adding reconstructed 

replication competent forms of the 1918 

pandemic influenza virus containing 

any portion of the coding regions of all 

eight gene segments to the list of HHS 

select agents and toxins. We are taking 

this action for several reasons. First the 

pandemic influenza virus of 1918–19 

killed up to 50 million people 

worldwide, including an estimated 

675,000 deaths in the United States. 

Also, the complete coding sequence for 

the 1918 pandemic influenza A H1N1 

virus was recently identified, which 

will make it possible for those with 

knowledge of reverse genetics to 

reconstruct this virus. In addition, the 

first published study on a reconstructed 

1918 pandemic influenza virus 

demonstrated the high virulence of this 

virus in cell culture, embryonated eggs, 

and in mice relative to other human 

influenza viruses. Therefore, we have 

determined that the reconstructed 

replication competent forms of the 1918 

pandemic influenza virus containing 

any portion of the coding regions of all 

eight gene segments have the potential 

to pose a severe threat to public health 

and safety. 

DATES: The interim final rule is effective 

on October 20, 2005. Written comments 

must be submitted on or before 

December 19, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the change to 

the list of HHS select agents and toxins 

should be marked ‘‘Comments on the 

reconstructed replication competent 

forms of the 1918 pandemic influenza 

virus containing any portion of the 

coding regions of all eight gene 

segments’’ and mailed to: Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, 

Division of Select Agents and Toxins, 

1600 Clifton Rd., MS E–79, Atlanta, GA 

30333. Comments may be e-mailed to: 

SAPcomments@cdc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Hemphill, Chief of Policy, 

Division of Select Agents and Toxins, 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., MS E–79, 

Atlanta, GA 30333. Telephone: (404) 

498–2255. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

complete coding sequence for the 1918 

pandemic influenza A H1N1 virus has 

been recently identified (Taubenberger 

et al., 2005, Nature, vol. 437, pp. 889–

893). Scientists from the Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention together 

with collaborators at Mount Sinai 

School of Medicine, NY, Armed Forces 

Institute of Pathology, MD, and 

Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, GA, 

reconstructed the 1918 pandemic 

influenza virus by using reverse genetics 

to study the properties associated with 

its extraordinary virulence (Tumpey et 

al., Characterization of the 

Reconstructed 1918 Spanish Influenza 

Pandemic Virus, Science 2005 310: 77–

80). With the publication of the 

complete coding sequence, it will be 

possible for other scientists with 

knowledge of reverse genetics 

technology to reconstruct the 1918 

pandemic influenza virus at other 

institutions. 

The pandemic influenza virus of 

1918–19 killed up to 50 million people 

worldwide, including an estimated 

675,000 deaths in the United States. The 

1918 pandemic influenza virus’ (H1N1) 

most striking feature was the unusually 

high death rate among healthy adults 

aged 15 to 34 years. The question of 

whether the reconstructed 1918 

pandemic influenza virus should be 

regulated as a select agent was 

considered by the Intragovernmental 

Select Agents and Toxins Technical 

Advisory Committee (ISATTAC). The 

criteria used by the ISATTAC for 

reviewing the reconstructed 1918 

pandemic influenza virus for inclusion 

on the select agent list were: degree of 

pathogenicity, communicability, ease of 

dissemination, route of exposure, 

environmental stability, ease of 

production, ability to genetically 

manipulate or alter, long-term health 

effects, acute morbidity, acute mortality, 

available treatment, status of immunity, 

vulnerability of special populations, and 

the burden or impact on the health care 

system. Based on these criteria, the 

ISATTAC determined that the 

reconstructed 1918 pandemic influenza 

virus could pose an immediate severe 

threat to public health and safety if it is 

not safely and securely maintained. 

Further, the ISATTAC noted that the 

biological and molecular properties that 

enabled the 1918 pandemic influenza 

virus to cause such widespread illness 

and death are not completely 

understood and that it is not known 

how virulent the reconstructed virus 

would be in the population today. In 

making its determination, the ISATTAC 

considered both the historical data 

regarding the original 1918 pandemic 

influenza virus and data from current in 

vitro and in vivo animal studies. The 

apparent virulence of this virus, 

together with the fact that the level of 

immunity in the general population and 

the ability of the virus to readily 

transmit among persons are unknown at 

this time, makes it prudent to 

immediately regulate this virus as a 

select agent. Although studies with this 

virus can lead to significant public 

health benefits for understanding 

pandemic influenza, improved 

diagnostics, and the development of 

more effective countermeasures, there 

are also potential risks of the misuse of 

this agent for purposes of bioterrorism 

as well as accidental release. Thus, if 

misused, the 1918 pandemic influenza 

virus may pose a biological threat to 

public health and/or national security. 

The Public Health Security and 

Bioterrorism Preparedness and 

Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism 

Act) requires the regulation of each 

biological agent that has the potential to 

pose a severe threat to public health and 

safety. Congress recognized that a delay 

in the regulation of such biological 

agents was contrary to the public 

interest by requiring in the Bioterrorism 

Act that the initial Select Agent 

regulations be promulgated as an 

interim final rule. Therefore, the 

Secretary has determined that prior 

notice and opportunity for public