Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2001 / Proposed Rules 13463

paragraph for determining resident

payments. If he or she determines that

the payments are too high or too low by

more than 5 percent of the total

operating budget, he or she shall

recalculate resident payments under the

criteria set forth above, except that the

calculations shall be based on the

current fiscal year (actual amounts for

the elapsed portion and projected

amounts for the remainder).

(2) If the revenues of a residence do

not meet the expenses of the residence

resulting in an inability to pay actual

operating expenses, the medical center

of jurisdiction shall provide the funds

necessary to return the residence to

fiscal solvency in accordance with the

provisions of this section.

(e) The length of stay in housing

under the Compensated Work Therapy/

Transitional Residences program is

based on the individual needs of each

resident, as determined by consensus of

the resident and his/her VA Clinical

Treatment team. However, the length of

stay should not exceed 12 months.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1772)

[FR Doc. 01–5404 Filed 3–5–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 19

RIN 2900–AK62

Appeals Regulations: Title for

Members of the Board of Veterans’

Appeals

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This document proposes to

amend the Department of Veterans

Affairs’ (VA) Appeals Regulations to

provide that a Member of the Board of

Veterans’ Appeals (Board) may also be

known as a Veterans Law Judge. A

companion document in the ‘‘Rules and

Regulations’’ section of this issue of the

Federal Register contains other actions

regarding this matter.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before May 7, 2001.

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–

AK62.’’ All comments received will be

available for public inspection in the

Office of Regulations Management,

Room 1158, between the hours of 8:00

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

Friday (except holidays).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven L. Keller, Senior Deputy Vice

Chairman (01C), Board of Veterans’

Appeals, Department of Veterans

Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20420 (202–565–5978).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board

is an administrative body that decides

appeals from denials of claims for

veterans’ benefits, after an opportunity

for a hearing. There are currently 59

Board ‘‘Members,’’ who decide 35,000

to 40,000 such appeals per year.

Board Members other than the

Chairman are appointed by the

Secretary of Veterans Affairs, with the

approval of the President of the United

States, 38 U.S.C. 7101A(a)(1), and must

be licensed attorneys, 38 U.S.C.

7101A(a)(2). Board Members are

compensated at rates equivalent to the

rates payable to Administrative Law

Judges. 38 U.S.C. 7101A(b).

In a document published in the

Federal Register on September 14, 2000

(65 FR 55461), we amended VA’s

Appeals Regulations by providing that a

Member of the Board may also be

known as a Veterans Law Judge.

Consistent with legal authority, we

published the amendment without

providing an opportunity for noticeand-comment. Six veterans service

organizations in a letter to the Acting

Secretary opposed the amendment and

argued that they should have been

provided an opportunity to comment

before we made such a change. Under

these circumstances, in a companion

document in the ‘‘Rules and

Regulations’’ section of this issue of the

Federal Register we rescinded the

amendment. However, in this document

we are proposing to amend the

regulations to again provide that a

Member of the Board may also be

known as a Veterans Law Judge.

This proposal to allow the use of the

title Veterans Law Judge is based on the

following analyses.

Throughout the Executive Branch,

individuals who decide appeals at the

administrative level after the

opportunity for a hearing—as do Board

Members—are known as ‘‘judges.’’ E.g.,

‘‘Administrative Law Judges,’’ 5 U.S.C.

3105; ‘‘Administrative Appeals Judges’’

at the Benefits Review Board at the

Department of Labor, 20 CFR 801.2;

‘‘Administrative Judges’’ at The

Financial Assistance Appeals Board of

the Department of Energy, 10 CFR

1024.3; ‘‘Administrative Judges’’ at the

Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission, 29 CFR 1614.109;

‘‘Administrative Judges’’ at the

Personnel Appeals Board of the General

Accounting Office, 4 CFR 28.3;

‘‘Administrative Judges’’ at the Merit

Systems Protection Board, 5 CFR

1201.4; ‘‘Administrative Judges’’ at the

National Aeronautics and Space

Administration, 14 CFR 1259.404; and

‘‘Administrative Judges’’ at the Office of

Hearings and Appeals, Small Business

Administration, 13 CFR 134.101. See

also ‘‘Administrative Appeals Judges’’ at

the Office of Hearings and Appeals of

the Social Security Administration, 20

CFR 416.924(g) (decide appeals from

decisions of administrative law judges,

but without the opportunity for a

hearing); ‘‘Immigration Judges’’ at the

Executive Office for Immigration

Review in the Department of Justice, 8

CFR 1.1(l) (initial decisions in

immigration cases).

In our view, the title Veterans Law

Judge would convey a Board Member’s

function to veterans more accurately

than the term ‘‘Member.’’ In addition,

we believe that the title would enhance

the confidence of veterans in the

administrative appellate process by

providing recognition that appeals in

the VA system are adjudicated by legal

professionals, as are benefit appeals in

other administrative systems.

The letter from the six veterans

service organizations asserted that VA

could not accomplish through

regulation what Congress chose not to

do by statute. We are aware of no legal

authority to support this view. The

letter from the six veterans service

organizations also opposed the

proposed change by arguing that the

title Veterans Law Judge ‘‘will

intimidate veterans and could lead them

to believe the agency is more concerned

with formality rather than deciding

claims in a non-adversarial setting.’’ The

comments from the six veterans service

organizations will be considered in

connection with any other comments

received in response to this proposed

rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This document contains no provisions

constituting a collection of information

under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44

U.S.C. 3501–3520).

Executive Order 12866

This document has been reviewed by

the Office of Management and Budget

under Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Secretary hereby certifies that

this proposed rule would not have a

13464 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2001 / Proposed Rules

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. This

proposed rule does not affect small

businesses. Therefore, pursuant to 5

U.S.C. 605(b), this rule is exempt from

the initial and final regulatory flexibility

analyses requirements of sections 603

and 604.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 19

Administrative practice and

procedure, Claims, Veterans.

Dated: February 21, 2001.

Anthony J. Principi,

Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, we propose to amend 38 CFR

part 19 as set forth below:

PART 19—BOARD OF VETERANS’

APPEALS: APPEALS REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 19

continues to read as follows:

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

otherwise noted.

2. Section 19.2 is revised to read as

follows:

§ 19.2 Composition of the Board; Titles.

(a) The Board consists of a Chairman,

Vice Chairman, Deputy Vice Chairmen,

Members and professional,

administrative, clerical and

stenographic personnel. Deputy Vice

Chairmen are Members of the Board

who are appointed to that office by the

Secretary upon the recommendation of

the Chairman.

(b) A Member of the Board (other than

the Chairman) may also be known as a

Veterans Law Judge. An individual

designated as an acting Member

pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 7101(c)(1) may

also be known as an acting Veterans

Law Judge.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), 512, 7101(a)).

[FR Doc. 01–5452 Filed 3–5–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 63

[AD–FRL–6950–9]

RIN 2060–AC28

Ethylene Oxide Emissions Standards

for Sterilization Facilities

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed amendments.

SUMMARY: This proposal amends the

emission standards for sterilization

facilities by eliminating maximum

achievable control technology (MACT)

requirements for chamber exhaust vents.

This action is being proposed to

eliminate safety problems associated

with the existing requirements. This

proposal also amends testing and

monitoring requirements for

sterilization chamber, aeration, and

chamber exhaust vents. Specific testing

and monitoring requirements are being

removed or simplified to correct

technical problems associated with the

existing requirements.

DATES: Submit comments on or before

May 7, 2001.

Public hearing. If anyone contacts the

EPA requesting to speak at a public

hearing by March 26, 2001, a public

hearing will be held on April 5, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments. Written

comments should be submitted (in

duplicate if possible) to: Air and

Radiation Docket and Information

Center (6102), Attention Docket Number

A–88–03, U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20460. The EPA

requests a separate copy also be sent to

the contact person listed below (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Docket. Docket No. A–88–03 contains

supporting information used in

developing the standards. The docket is

located at the U.S. EPA, 401 M Street,

SW., Washington, DC 20460, in room

M–1500, Waterside Mall (ground floor),

and may be inspected from 8:30 a.m. to

5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

excluding legal holidays.

Public Hearing. If a public hearing is

held, it will be held at 10 a.m. in the

EPA’s Office of Administration

Auditorium, Research Triangle Park,

North Carolina, or at an alternate site

nearby.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Markwordt, Policy, Planning, and

Standards Group, Emission Standards

Division, (MD–13), U.S. EPA, Research

Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711,

telephone number (919) 541–0837,

electronic mail address

markwordt.david@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments. Comments and data may be

submitted by electronic mail (e-mail) to:

a-and-r-docket@epa.gov. Electronic

comments must be submitted as an

ASCII file to avoid the use of special

characters and encryption problems and

will also be accepted on disks in

WordPerfect version 5.1, 6.1 or Corel 8

file format. All comments and data

submitted in electronic form must note

the Docket No. A–88–03. No

confidential business information (CBI)

should be submitted by e-mail.

Electronic comments may be filed

online at many Federal Depository

Libraries.

Commenters wishing to submit

proprietary information for

consideration must clearly distinguish

such information from other comments

and clearly label it as CBI. Send

submissions containing such

proprietary information directly to the

following address, and not to the public

docket, to ensure that proprietary

information is not inadvertently placed

in the docket: Attention: David

Markwordt, C/O OAQPS Document

Control Officer, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 411 W. Chapel Hill

Street, (Room 740B), Durham NC 27701.

The EPA will disclose information

identified as CBI only to the extent

allowed by the procedures set forth in

40 CFR part 2. If no claim of

confidentiality accompanies a

submission when it is received by the

EPA, the information may be made

available to the public without further

notice to the commenters.

Public Hearing. Persons interested in

presenting oral testimony or inquiring

as to whether a hearing is to be held

should contact Dorothy Apple, Policy,

Planning, and Standards Group,

Emission Standards Division (MD–13),

U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, North

Carolina 27711, telephone number:

(919) 541–4487 at least 2 days in

advance of the public hearing. Persons

interested in attending the public

hearing must also call Dorothy Apple to

verify the time, date, and location of the

hearing. The public hearing will provide

interested parties the opportunity to

present data, views, or arguments

concerning these proposed emission

standards amendments.

Docket. The docket is an organized

and complete file of all the information

we considered in the development of

this rulemaking. The docket is a

dynamic file because material is added

throughout the rulemaking process. The

docketing system is intended to allow

members of the public and industries

involved to readily identify and locate

documents so that they can effectively

participate in the rulemaking process.

Along with the proposed and

promulgated standards and their

preambles, the contents of the docket

will serve as the record in the case of

judicial review. (See section

307(d)(7)(A) of the Clean Air Act

(CAA)). The regulatory text and other

materials related to this rulemaking are

available for review in the docket or

copies may be mailed on request from

the Air Docket by calling (202) 260–