Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 103 / Monday, June 1, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 26091 

Risks and Safety Risks. This rule is not 

an economically significant rule and 

does not create an environmental risk to 

health or risk to safety that may 

disproportionately affect children. 

Indian Tribal Governments 

This rule does not have tribal 

implications under Executive Order 

13175, Consultation and Coordination 

with Indian Tribal Governments, 

because it does not have a substantial 

direct effect on one or more Indian 

tribes, on the relationship between the 

Federal Government and Indian tribes, 

or on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes. 

Energy Effects 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Executive Order 13211, Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use. We have 

determined that it is not a ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ under that order because 

it is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ 

under Executive Order 12866 and is not 

likely to have a significant adverse effect 

on the supply, distribution, or use of 

energy. The Administrator of the Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

has not designated it as a significant 

energy action. Therefore, it does not 

require a Statement of Energy Effects 

under Executive Order 13211. 

Technical Standards 

The National Technology Transfer 

and Advancement Act (NTTAA) (15 

U.S.C. 272 note) directs agencies to use 

voluntary consensus standards in their 

regulatory activities unless the agency 

provides Congress, through the Office of 

Management and Budget, with an 

explanation of why using these 

standards would be inconsistent with 

applicable law or otherwise impractical. 

Voluntary consensus standards are 

technical standards (e.g., specifications 

of materials, performance, design, or 

operation; test methods; sampling 

procedures; and related management 

systems practices) that are developed or 

adopted by voluntary consensus 

standards bodies. 

This rule does not use technical 

standards. Therefore, we did not 

consider the use of voluntary consensus 

standards. 

Environment 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Department of Homeland Security 

Management Directive 023–01 and 

Commandant Instruction M16475.lD, 

which guide the Coast Guard in 

complying with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321–4370f), and 

have concluded this action is one of a 

category of actions which do not 

individually or cumulatively have a 

significant effect on the human 

environment. This rule is categorically 

excluded, under figure 2–1, paragraph 

(34)(g), of the Instruction. This rule 

involves the establishment of a safety 

zone. 

An environmental analysis checklist 

and a categorical exclusion 

determination are available in the 

docket where indicated under 

ADDRESSES. 

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165 

Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation 

(water), Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Security measures, 

Waterways. 

■ For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 

CFR part 165 as follows: 

PART 165—REGULATED NAVIGATION 

AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 165 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1226, 1231; 46 U.S.C. 

Chapter 701, 3306, 3703; 50 U.S.C. 191, 195; 

33 CFR 1.05–1, 6.04–1, 6.04–6, 160.5; Pub. L. 

107–295, 116 Stat. 2064; Department of 

Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1. 

■ 2. Add a new temporary zone 

§ 165.T11–162 to read as follows: 

§ 165.T11–162 Safety Zone; Paradise Point 

Fourth of July Fireworks; Mission Bay, San 

Diego, CA. 

(a) Location. The limits of the safety 

zone are all the navigable waters within 

600 feet of the fireworks barge located 

at approximately 32°46.36′ N, 

117°14.57′ W. 

(b) Enforcement Period. This section 

will be enforced from 8:45 p.m. to 9:30 

p.m. on July 3, 2009. If the event 

concludes prior to the scheduled 

termination time, the Captain of the Port 

will cease enforcement of this safety 

zone and will announce that fact via 

Broadcast Notice to Mariners. 

(c) Definitions. The following 

definition applies to this section: 

designated representative means any 

commissioned, warrant, and petty 

officers of the Coast Guard on board 

Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, 

and local, state, and federal law 

enforcement vessels who have been 

authorized to act on the behalf of the 

Captain of the Port. 

(d) Regulations. (1) Entry into, transit 

through or anchoring within this safety 

zone is prohibited unless authorized by 

the Captain of the Port of San Diego or 

his designated on-scene representative. 

(2) Mariners requesting permission to 

transit through the safety zone may 

request authorization to do so from the 

Patrol Commander (PATCOM). The 

PATCOM may be contacted on VHF–FM 

Channel 16. 

(3) All persons and vessels shall 

comply with the instructions of the 

Coast Guard Captain of the Port or the 

designated representative. 

(4) Upon being hailed by U.S. Coast 

Guard patrol personnel by siren, radio, 

flashing light, or other means, the 

operator of a vessel shall proceed as 

directed. 

(5) The Coast Guard may be assisted 

by other federal, state, or local agencies. 

Dated: May 5, 2009. 

T.H. Farris, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port San Diego. 

[FR Doc. E9–12601 Filed 5–29–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

36 CFR Part 223, 261 

RIN 0596–AB81 

Sale and Disposal of National Forest 

System Timber; Special Forest 

Products and Forest Botanical 

Products 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of delay of effective date. 

SUMMARY: The Department is delaying 

the effective date of this rule. The 

Department previously delayed the 

effective date on March 30, 2009. More 

time is needed for the Forest Service to 

properly respond to the comments and 

to consider any potential changes to the 

rule. A Federal Register document will 

be published in the future that responds 

to the comments and sets the effective 

date. The rule regulates the sustainable 

free use, commercial harvest, and sale of 

special forest products and forest 

botanical products from National Forest 

System lands. 

DATES: Effective May 29, 2009, the 

effective date for the rule published at 

73 FR 79367, December 29, 2008, and 

delayed at 74 FR 14049, March 30, 2009, 

is delayed indefinitely. Forest Service 

will publish notification in the Federal 

Register when an effective date is 

established. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard Fitzgerald, Forest Service, 

Forest Management Staff, (202) 205– 

26092 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 103 / Monday, June 1, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

1753. Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern 

Standard Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department is delaying the effective 

date of the final rule published 

December 29, 2008 (73 FR 79367), 

which regulates the sustainable free use, 

commercial harvest, and sale of special 

forest products and forest botanical 

products from National Forest System 

lands. The Department previously 

delayed the effective date on March 30, 

2009 (74 FR 14049). Further delay is 

necessary, because more time is needed 

for the Forest Service to properly 

respond to the comments and to 

consider any potential changes to the 

rule. 

Dated: May 27, 2009. 

Ann Bartuska, 

Acting Deputy Under Secretary, Natural 

Resources and Environment. 

[FR Doc. E9–12685 Filed 5–29–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Part 38 

RIN 2900–AM53 

Headstone and Marker Application 

Process 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule amends the 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 

regulations concerning headstones and 

markers furnished by the Government 

through the VA headstone and marker 

program. It updates ordering procedures 

for headstones and markers and 

provides instructions for requesting the 

addition of a new emblem of belief to 

VA’s list of emblems available for 

inscription on Government-furnished 

headstones and markers. Additionally, 

this final rule establishes criteria to 

guide VA’s decisions on requests to add 

new emblems of belief to the list. 

DATES: Effective Date: July 1, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lindee Lenox, Director, Memorial 

Programs Service, Office of Field 

Programs, National Cemetery 

Administration, Department of Veterans 

Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20420. Telephone: 

(202) 501–3100 (this is not a toll-free 

number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

January 19, 2007, VA published a notice 

of proposed rulemaking in the Federal 

Register (72 FR 2480). We proposed to 

amend VA’s regulations concerning 

procedures for ordering Governmentfurnished headstones and markers and 

to establish requirements for requesting 

the addition of a new emblem of belief 

to VA’s list of emblems available for 

inscription on headstones and markers. 

We provided a 60-day comment period, 

which ended on March 20, 2007, and 

received 538 comments from 522 

individuals and 16 organizations. Of the 

538 comments, 256 expressed support 

for VA’s approval of a specific emblem 

of belief. Several other commenters 

suggested that VA conduct a review of 

all existing emblem inscriptions to 

ensure compliance with the proposed 

rule. Since the proposed rule concerned 

the procedures for adding a new 

emblem to the list of emblems available 

for inscription, not whether a specific 

emblem should be added pursuant to 

the proposed procedures or whether 

each of the 2,774,634 graves currently 

maintained by VA are marked in 

accordance with the proposed 

procedures, these comments are beyond 

the scope of this rulemaking and will 

not be addressed in this document. 

Several commenters generally 

questioned the rulemaking process and 

our standard statements of compliance 

with regulatory law. A few commenters 

also requested that we send them 

separate, written responses to each of 

their comments. VA is required to 

follow the rulemaking procedures 

established by the Administrative 

Procedure Act, other Federal statutes, 

and various Executive Orders. 

Comments concerning those procedures 

are also beyond the scope of this 

rulemaking and will not be addressed in 

this document. 

Based on the rationale set forth in the 

proposed rule and in this document, we 

adopt the provisions of the proposed 

rule as a final rule with the changes 

indicated below. 

Application Process 

Many commenters recommended that 

VA establish a period within which it 

must act on a request to add a new 

emblem of belief to its list of emblems 

available for inscription on 

Government-furnished headstones and 

markers. We disagree and will not make 

any changes based on these comments. 

To ensure that individuals are 

afforded every opportunity to 

substantiate their claims and receive the 

full benefit of VA’s duty to assist, VA 

has not established arbitrary or 

unnecessary deadlines for deciding 

applications for veterans benefits. For 

the same reasons, we decline to 

establish such a deadline for emblem 

requests. Under 38 CFR 38.632(f), VA 

will provide individuals who submit an 

incomplete emblem request notice 

concerning the status of their request 

and an opportunity to submit additional 

information. Also, in § 38.632(g), we 

clarify that VA will decide applications 

for new emblems only if they are 

complete. Although we decline to 

establish an arbitrary deadline for 

deciding an emblem request, 

§ 38.632(g)(1) limits such requests to 

cases of immediate need. The request 

must relate to an application for a 

Government-furnished headstone or 

marker for an eligible deceased 

individual. Previously organizations 

could request that VA add their emblem 

to the list of emblems available for 

inscription when there was no 

immediate need. Many of the 

submissions we received from 

organizations were not actual 

applications, but merely letters of 

interest that required research, review, 

and written responses. Under the new 

‘‘immediate need’’ requirement in 

§ 38.632(g)(1), VA will be able to 

process applications for new emblems 

within a reasonable time after an 

interment or other memorial ceremony. 

Several commenters suggested that 

VA could provide greater transparency 

in the emblem request process by 

providing notice of receipt of requests 

and information concerning the status of 

requests. 

We agree that it is important to keep 

applicants apprised of the status of their 

requests. As described above regarding 

§ 38.632(g), VA will decide complete 

requests as soon as possible. Upon 

receipt of an incomplete request to add 

a new emblem of belief, § 38.632(f) 

provides that VA will notify the 

applicant in writing of any missing 

information and that he or she has 60 

days to submit the information. Further, 

if the Under Secretary for Memorial 

Affairs determines that an emblem 

represents a belief but would adversely 

affect the dignity and solemnity of the 

cemetery environment, § 38.632(h)(2) 

provides for additional notice to the 

individual concerning remedial options. 

These measures provide sufficient 

transparency, and we decline to impose 

additional administrative requirements 

at this time. 

Some commenters suggested that VA 

allow living veterans and 

servicemembers, particularly 

servicemembers deployed to or serving 

in combat zones, to request a new 

emblem of belief in advance of need. We