12668 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 8, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

Correction to Final Rule

Accordingly, pursuant to the

authority delegated to me, the

description of the Class D airspace area

at Luke AFB, AZ, as published in the

Federal Register on January 19, 1995

(60 FR 3741) and the description in

FAA Order 7400.9B, which is

incorporated by reference in 14 CFR

71.7, are corrected as follows:

§ 71.7 [Corrected]

On page 3742, in the second column,

the description for the Luke AFB, AZ

Class D airspace is corrected as follows:

AWP AZ D Phoenix, Luke Air Force Base, AZ

[Corrected]

Phoenix Luke Air Force Base, AZ

(Lat. 33°32′06′′ N, long. 112°22′59′′ W)

Luke Air Force Base TACAN

(Lat. 33°32′16′′ N, long. 112°22′49′′ W)

That airspace extending upward from the

surface to and including 3,600 feet MSL

within a 4.4-mile radius of the Luke AFB and

within 2.0 miles each side of the Luke

TACAN 220° radial, extending from the 4.4-

mile radius to 5.2 miles southwest of the

Luke TACAN, and excluding that portion

within the Glendale, AZ Class D airspace

area. This Class D airspace area is effective

during the specific dates and times

established in advance by a Notice to

Airmen. The effective date and time will

thereafter be continuously published in the

Airport/Facility Directory.

Issued in Los Angeles, California, on

February 22, 1995.

Richard R. Lien,

Manager, Air Traffic Division, Western-Pacific

Region.

[FR Doc. 95–5642 Filed 3–7–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

14 CFR Part 1262

RIN 2700–AC00

Equal Access to Justice Act in Agency

Proceedings

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and

Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NASA is amending its

regulations under the Equal Access to

Justice Act by updating the definition of

‘‘Adversary Adjudication’’ to conform to

the amendments of 5 U.S.C.

504(b)(1)(C); to delete references to the

NASA Board of Contract Appeals in 14

CFR 1262.307(a), since its functions

have been assumed by the Armed

Services Board of Contract Appeals

pursuant to an interagency

Memorandum of Agreement dated June

28, 1993, and effective July 12, 1993;

and to correct typographical errors in

§§ 1262.104(b)(4) and 1262.309.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 8, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara

Najjar-Wilson, Office of the General

Counsel, 202–358–2465.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NASA

published its final rule, 14 CFR Part

1262, ‘‘Implementation of the Equal

Access to Justice Act in Agency

Proceedings,’’ in the Federal Register on

April 23, 1986 (51 FR 15311). These

changes to the rule are administrative in

nature and do not require a period for

public comment.

NASA has determined that this

regulation is not a major rule as defined

in Executive Order 12866.

This rule is not subject to the

requirements of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601–612, since

it will not exert a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small

business entities.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 1262

Claims, Equal access to justice,

Lawyers.

For reasons set forth in the Summary

of the Preamble, 14 CFR Part 1262 is

amended as follows:

PART 1262—EQUAL ACCESS TO

JUSTICE ACT IN AGENCY

PROCEDURES

1. The authority citation of 14 CFR

Part 1262 is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 504; 42 U.S.C.

2473(c)(1).

2. Section 1262.101 is amended by

revising paragraph (b)(1) to read as

follows:

§ 1262.101 Purpose of these rules.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) Adversary adjudication means:

(i) An adjudication under 5 U.S.C. 554

in which the position of the United

States is represented by counsel or

otherwise, but excludes an adjudication

for the purpose of establishing or fixing

a rate or for the purpose of granting or

renewing a license;

(ii) Any appeal of a decision made

pursuant to section 6 of the Contract

Disputes Act (CDA) of 1978, as amended

(41 U.S.C. 605) before an agency board

of contract appeals as provided in

section 8 of the CDA (41 U.S.C. 607);

(iii) Any hearing conducted under

Chapter 38 of Title 31 (added by section

6104 of the Program Fraud Civil

Remedies Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99–509,

100 Stat. 1948, Oct. 21, 1986), 31 U.S.C.

3801, et seq., as amended); and

(iv) The Religious Freedom

Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 (added

by section 4(b), of RFRA (Pub. L. 103–

141, 107 Stat. 1489, Nov. 16, 1993), 42

U.S.C. 2000bb).

* * * * *

3. Section 1262.103 is revised to read

as follows:

§ 1262.103 Proceedings covered.

(a) The Act applies to the following

adversary adjudications conducted by

the Agency:

(1) Adjudications under 5 U.S.C. 554

in which the position of NASA or any

other agency of the United States, or any

component of an agency, is presented by

an attorney or other representative who

enters an appearance and participates in

the proceedings;

(2) Appeals of decisions made

pursuant to section 6 of the Contract

Disputes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C. 605)

before the Board of Contract Appeals

(BCA) as provided in Section 8 of that

Act (41 U.S.C. 607);

(3) Any hearing conducted under

Chapter 38 of Title 31 (31 U.S.C. 3801,

et seq., as amended); and

(4) Adjudications under the Religious

Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42

U.S.C. 2000bb).

(b) The Act does not apply to:

(1) Any proceeding in which this

Agency may prescribe a lawful present

or future rate;

(2) Proceedings to grant or renew

licenses (note, however, that

proceedings to modify, suspend, or

revoke licenses are covered if they are

otherwise adversary adjudications); and

(3) Proceedings which are covered by

a compromise or settlement agreement,

unless specifically consented to in such

agreement.

(c) NASA may also designate a

proceeding as an adversary adjudication

for purposes of the Act by so stating in

an order initiating the proceeding or

designating the matter for hearing. The

Agency’s failure to designate a

proceeding as an adversary adjudication

shall not preclude the filling of an

application by a party who believes the

proceeding is covered by the Act;

whether the proceeding is covered will

then be an issue for resolution in

proceedings on the application.

(d) If a proceeding includes both

matters covered by the Act and matters

specifically excluded from coverage,

any award made will include only fees

and expenses related to covered issues.

4. In Section 1262.104, paragraph

(b)(4), the citation ‘‘12 U.S.C. 1441j(a))’’

is revised to read ‘‘(12 U.S.C. 1141j(a))’’.

5. Section 1262.307 is amended by

revising paragraph (a) introductory text

to read as follows:
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 8, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 12669

§ 1262.307 Decision.

(a) The adjudicative officer shall issue

an initial decision on the application

with 90 calendar days after completion

of proceedings on the application. The

decision shall include written findings

and conclusions on such of the

following as are relevant to the decision:

* * * * *

§ 1262.309 [Amended]

6. In section 1262.309, last sentence,

the word ‘‘amont’’ is revised to read

‘‘amount’’.

Dated: March 3, 1995.

Daniel S. Goldin,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95–5669 Filed 3–7–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7510–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

21 CFR Part 179

[Docket Nos. 89F–0011 and 93F–0384]

Irradiation in the Production,

Processing, and Handling of Food

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration,

HHS.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) is amending the

food additive regulations to provide for

the safe use of sources of radiation to

irradiate frozen, packaged meats for use

in the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA) space flight

programs. FDA is also amending the

food additive regulations to permit the

use of packaging materials that are not

otherwise listed in the regulations

regarding food irradiation in the

irradiation of frozen, packaged meats for

use in the NASA space flight programs.

This action is in response to two

petitions filed by NASA.

DATES: Effective March 8, 1995; written

objections and requests for a hearing by

April 7, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Submit written objections to

the Dockets Management Branch (HFA–

305), Food and Drug Administration,

rm. 1–23, 12420 Parklawn Dr.,

Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patricia A. Hansen, Center for Food

Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS–

206), Food and Drug Administration,

200 C St. SW., Washington, DC 20204,

202–418–3098.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

In a notice published in the Federal

Register of February 6, 1989 (54 FR

5679), FDA announced that a food

additive petition (FAP 9M4125) had

been filed by NASA, Washington, DC

20546, proposing that the food additive

regulations be amended to provide for

the safe use of sources of radiation to

process beefsteaks for use in space flight

programs.

In a tentative final rule published in

the Federal Register of December 8,

1993 (58 FR 64526), FDA announced its

tentative decision to amend the food

additive regulations to provide for the

safe use of sources of radiation to

irradiate frozen, packaged beefsteak for

use in NASA’s space flight programs.

FDA also announced its tentative final

decision to amend the food additive

regulations to permit the use of

packaging materials that are not listed in

the regulations regarding food

irradiation in the irradiation of frozen,

packaged beefsteak for use in the NASA

space flight programs. The agency

published a tentative final rule before

proceeding to final action because it was

including provisions regarding the

packaging materials to be used with the

beefsteaks that it had not announced in

the notice of filing for the petition (FAP

9M4125). Interested persons were given

the opportunity to comment on FDA’s

tentative decision. FDA did not receive

any comments in response to this

tentative final rule.

In the meantime, in a notice

published in the Federal Register of

November 19, 1993 (58 FR 61093), FDA

announced that a food additive petition

(FAP 3M4394) had been filed by NASA,

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center,

Houston, TX 77058, proposing that the

food additive regulations be amended to

provide for the safe use of sources of

radiation to process certain prepackaged

meats for use in NASA space flight

programs and to permit the use of

packaging materials that are not listed in

the regulations regarding food

irradiation in the irradiation of the

meats for use in NASA space flight

programs. Interested persons were given

the opportunity to comment on the

environmental assessment submitted in

the petition. No comments were

received.

The amendment to the food additive

regulations proposed in FAP 9M4125 is

encompassed by that proposed in FAP

3M4394. This rule is the agency’s final

decision with respect to both FAP

3M4394 and FAP 9M4125.

II. Evaluation of Safety

In assessing the safety of food

additives, including the use of

irradiation in the processing of food, the

agency usually considers the effects of

lifetime daily exposure to the additive.

The requested use, however, is limited

to NASA’s space flight programs. The

amount of irradiated meat that could be

consumed by individuals in the

programs would constitute an extremely

small fraction of their diets when

considered over a lifetime. Because of

this factor, questions regarding acute

hazards, including those resulting from

pathogenic organisms that could be

present in the food, are more significant

in evaluating this petitioned use of a

source of radiation than they would

ordinarily be in deciding whether to list

a food additive. The petitions have

requested that FDA authorize the use of

irradiation processing only under

conditions that ensure the microbial

sterility of the product and the integrity

of the product packaging. NASA has

stated that it will ensure these qualities

of sterility and packaging integrity by

requiring adherence to an irradiation

processing protocol (scheduled process)

that it submitted with both petitions

(Ref. 1). NASA’s protocol specifies a

minimum dose of 44 kiloGrays (kGy) in

order to ensure sterility of the treated

meat (Ref. 1).

Having evaluated the data in the

petitions and other relevant material in

its files, the agency finds that radiationsterilized meats will be at least as

nutritious as those sterilized by

conventional means. FDA also finds that

the total amount of radiolytic products

that are produced in the meats during

irradiation processing, and that will be

consumed by individuals in the space

flight programs, will be too small to be

of any toxicological significance.

Likewise, FDA finds that the total

amount of radiolytic products that could

be formed in the packaging materials

during irradiation processing, and then

migrate to the food and subsequently be

consumed by individuals in the space

flight programs, is too small to be of any

toxicological significance (Refs. 2 and

3).

Section 179.25(c) (21 CFR 179.25(c))

restricts packaging materials used in the

irradiation of prepackaged foods to

those materials listed in § 179.45 (21

CFR 179.45), namely, those that have

been demonstrated to be safe for use

during irradiation of prepackaged foods,

assuming that those foods would be

consumed daily over a lifetime. The

agency finds that this restriction is

unnecessary for packaging that is to be

used only in space flight programs. The