January 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FMCSA solicits nominations and applications from interested persons to serve as motor carrier industry representatives on the Board of Directors of the Unified Carrier Registration Plan, which governs the Uniform Carrier Registration Agreement (UCRA), as authorized by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The Agency will appoint five members from the motor carrier industry. The UCRA governs the registration and the collection and distribution of fees paid by for- hire and private motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies. The UCRA replaced the Single State Registration System (SSRS), which was repealed January 1, 2008.

NMFS is required by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), to develop plans for the conservation and survival of federally listed species, i.e., recovery plans. NMFS is announcing its intent to prepare a recovery plan for the Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) and requests information from the public.

FMCSA previously announced its decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 22 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from the vision requirement if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The Agency has concluded that granting these exemptions will provide a level of safety that will be equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

Notice is hereby given that a complaint was filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission on December 29, 2009, under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1337, on behalf of Nokia Corporation of Finland and Nokia Inc. of White Plains, New York. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 based upon the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of certain electronic devices, including mobile phones, portable music players, and computers, by reason of infringement of certain claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,714,091; 6,834,181; 6,895,256; 6,518,957; 6,073,036; 6,262,735; and 6,924,789. The complaint further alleges that an industry in the United States exists as required by subsection (a)(2) of section 337.

FEMA gives notice that the statewide per capita threshold for recommending cost share adjustments for major disasters declared on or after January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010, is $125.

This notice amends the notice of a major disaster declaration for the State of Alabama (FEMA-1866-DR), dated December 22, 2009, and related determinations.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a petition for rulemaking submitted by the Natural Resources Defense Council (PRM- 50-90). The petitioner requested that the NRC amend the regulations that govern domestic licensing of highly enriched uranium (HEU) production and utilization facilities to establish a date when the NRC would no longer license the domestic use or export of HEU except for restricted use by a few specialized facilities. The petitioner has not demonstrated that existing NRC licensing, security and export regulations do not currently provide for reasonable assurance of adequate protection of the public health and safety, and the common defense and security of the United States.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the filing of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Petition for Exemption from Federal Preemption of Massachusetts' 90% Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency Standard for Non-weatherized Gas Furnaces (hereafter ``Massachusetts Petition'' or ``Petition'''). To help DOE evaluate the merits of the Massachusetts Petition, DOE invites interested members of the public to submit comments they might have on the Massachusetts Petition and information related to the evaluation factors outlined in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA or ``the Act'').

Notice is hereby given of the intention of NRCS to issue a series of revised conservation practice standards in the National Handbook of Conservation Practices. These standards include: Air Filtration and Scrubbing (Code 371), Animal Trails and Walkways (Code 575), Combustion System Improvement (Code 372), Conservation Crop Rotation (Code 328), Diversion (Code 362), Dust Control on Unpaved Roads and Surfaces (Code 373), Forage Harvest Management (Code 511), Herbaceous Weed Control (Code 315), Range Planting (Code 550), and Riparian Herbaceous Cover (Code 390). NRCS State Conservationists who choose to adopt these practices for use within their States will incorporate them into Section IV of their respective electronic Field Office Technical Guides. These practices may be used in conservation systems that treat highly erodible land (HEL) or on land determined to be a wetland. Section 343 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 requires NRCS to make available for public review and comment all proposed revisions to conservation practice standards used to carry out HEL and wetland provisions of the law.

EPA Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 today are modifying the 2008 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permits for stormwater discharges associated with construction activity in order to extend by one year the expiration date of the permit. Hereinafter, these NPDES general permits will be referred to as ``permit'' or ``2008 construction general permit'' or ``2008 CGP.'' The 2008 CGP was originally issued for a period of two (2) years. Today, EPA is modifying the CGP in order to extend the 2 year term of the 2008 CGP by one year so that it expires on June 30, 2011, instead of June 30, 2010, resulting in a permit that will be in effect for a total period of three (3) years. By Federal law, no NPDES permit may be issued for a period that exceeds five (5) years.

EPA has entered into a Consent Agreement with Hydro Aluminum North America, Inc. and Hydro Aluminum Precision Tubing North America, LLC, wholly owned subsidiaries of Norsk Hydro Aluminum North America, Inc. (Hydro) to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), and their implementing regulations at 16 facilities listed below:

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a meeting of the NASA Advisory Council Exploration Committee.

FMCSA announces its decision to exempt forty-six individuals from its rule prohibiting persons with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) from operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. The exemptions will enable these individuals to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) application and habitat conservation plan (HCP). Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC (applicant) requests a 24-year ITP under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicant anticipates taking approximately 100 acres (ac) of Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens)occupied habitat incidental to land clearing and phosphate mining in Manatee County, Florida (project). The applicant's HCP describes the mitigation and

This document contains a technical correction to the final rule regarding the certification, compliance and enforcement regulations that was published on January 5, 2010. In that final rule, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) adopted regulations to implement reporting requirements for energy conservation standards and energy

This notice announces that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has forwarded the Information Collection Request (ICR), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 1652-0041 abstracted below, to OMB for review and approval of an extension of the currently approved collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. TSA published a Federal Register notice, with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments, of the following collection of information on October 27, 2009, 74 FR 55248. The collection involves the electronic submission of numerical ratings and written comments about the quality of training instruction from students who graduate from the NEDCTP Explosives Detection Canine Handlers Course.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is deleting a system of records entitled ``Veterans and Dependents (Living and Deceased) National Cemetery System Correspondence and Inquiry File-VA'' (40VA42), which was first published at 42 FR 49749 (September 27, 1977). The System of Records was created to track inquiries from Veterans and their dependents regarding: burial location requests, issuances of headstones and markers, gravesite reservations, and other matters involving the National Cemetery Administration's (NCA) Memorial Programs. VA no longer maintains the System of Records. New data has not been added to these records in several years and all previously existing files have been destroyed in accordance with applicable records disposal schedules; therefore, the System of Records is dormant.

The President adjusted the rates of basic pay and locality payments for certain categories of Federal employees effective in January 2010. This notice documents those pay adjustments for the public record.