April 2, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the regulations implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (1988)) (NEPA), MMS will reopen the comment period for a period of 45 days from the date of this Federal Register notice. Public scoping meetings will be held during this 45-day period to solicit information that will be used to prepare a PEIS to evaluate potential environmental effects of multiple G&G activities on the Atlantic OCS. These activities are associated with Atlantic OCS siting for renewable energy projects, oil and gas exploration, and marine minerals extraction; these activities could take place over a period of several years. The purpose of the scoping meetings will be to receive comments on the scope of the PEIS, identify significant resources and issues to be analyzed in the PEIS, and identify possible alternatives to the proposed action.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) requests comments on the Preliminary Revised 5-Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2007- 2012. This is the Preliminary Revised Program (PRP), required by the order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Dept. of Interior, DC Cir. No. 07-1247, 07-1344, for lease sales covering the 2007-2012 time frame.

The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the new information collection, Forest Landscape Value and Special Place Mapping for National Forest Planning.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of EUROCAE WG-72: RTCA Special Committee 216: Aeronautical Systems Security (Joint Meeting).

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) provides notice that it is establishing fourteen (14) new systems of records subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a. These systems of records are maintained by the ODNI.

On March 22, 2010, we published in the Federal Register (75 FR 13515) a notice inviting applications for new awards for FY 2010 for the Ready-to-Learn Television Program. There is an error in one of the dates in that notice.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes to amend the lightning protection airworthiness standards by establishing new lightning protection regulations for electrical and electronic systems installed on aircraft certificated under parts 23, 27, and 29, and revising lightning protection regulations for electrical and electronic systems installed on airplanes certificated under part 25. The proposed rulemaking would establish two levels of lightning protection for aircraft systems based on consequences of system function failure: Catastrophic consequences which would prevent continued safe flight and landing and hazardous or major consequences which would reduce the capability of the aircraft or the ability of the flightcrew to respond to an adverse operating condition. The proposed rulemaking would also establish lightning protection for aircraft systems according to the aircraft's potential for lightning exposure. Compliance with the new requirements would be based on demonstration of effective lightning protection for electrical and electronic systems. The proposed airworthiness standards would establish consistent lightning protection requirements for electrical and electronic systems.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in response to a number of requests to reduce the costs due one year after filing a provisional application, is considering a change that would effectively provide a 12-month extension to the 12-month provisional application period (creating a net 24-month period). This change would be implemented through the missing parts practice in nonprovisional applications. Currently the missing parts practice permits an applicant on payment of a surcharge to pay the up-front filing fees and submit an executed oath or declaration after the filing of a nonprovisional application within a two-month time period set by the USPTO that is extendable on payment of extension of time fees for an additional five months. Under the proposal, applicants would be permitted to file a nonprovisional application with at least one claim within the 12-month statutory period after the provisional application was filed, pay the basic filing fee, and submit an executed oath or declaration. In addition, the nonprovisional application would need to be in condition for publication and applicant would not be able to file a nonpublication request. Applicants would be given a 12-month period to decide whether the nonprovisional application should be completed by paying the required surcharge and the search, examination and any excess claim fees due within that 12-month period. The proposal would benefit applicants by permitting additional time to determine if patent protection should be sought at a relatively low cost and by permitting applicants to focus efforts on commercialization during this period. The proposal would benefit the USPTO and the public by adding publications to the body of prior art, and by removing from the USPTO's workload those nonprovisional applications for which the applicants have decided not to pursue examination. Importantly, the extended missing parts period would not affect the 12-month priority period provided by the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and, thus, any foreign filings would still need to be made within 12 months of the filing date of the provisional application if applicant wishes to rely on the provisional application in the foreign- filed application.

Section 2510 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Act) established the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) by amending section 1240I of the Food Security Act of 1985. The Secretary of Agriculture delegated the authority for AWEP to the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), who is Vice President of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). NRCS is an agency of the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Effective upon publication of this notice, NRCS announces the availability of approximately $20.7 million in AWEP financial assistance during fiscal year (FY) 2010 to support new AWEP projects. The AWEP is a voluntary conservation initiative that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to implement agricultural water enhancement activities on agricultural land for the purposes of conserving surface and ground water and improving water quality. As part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), AWEP operates through program contracts with producers to plan and implement conservation practices in project areas established through partnership agreements. The purpose of this notice is to inform agricultural producers of the potential availability of program funds and to solicit proposals from potential partners seeking partnership agreements with the Chief to promote the conservation of ground and surface water and the improvement of water quality. This is not a grant program to partners, and all Federal funding offered through this authority will be paid directly to agricultural producers through individual contract agreements.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) proposes to exempt fourteen (14) new systems of records from subsections (c)(3); (d)(1), (2), (3), (4); (e)(1) and (e)(4)(G), (H), (I); and (f) of the Privacy Act, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k).

The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. Currently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting comments on the Model CHIP Employer Notice. A copy of the information collection request (ICR) may be

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces voluntary product standard DOC PS 20-10 ``American Softwood Lumber Standard'' which will supersede DOC PS 20-05. The Standard establishes standard sizes and requirements for developing and coordinating the lumber grades of the various species of softwood lumber, the assignment of design values, and the preparation of grading rules applicable to each species. Its provisions include implementation of the Standard through an accreditation and certification program; establishment of principal trade classifications and lumber sizes for yard, structural, factory/shop use: Classification, measurement, grading and grade-marking of lumber; Definitions of terms and procedures to provide a basis for the use of uniform methods in the grading, inspection, measurement and description of softwood lumber; commercial names of the principal softwood species: Definitions of terms used in describing standard grades in lumber; and commonly used industry abbreviations. The Standard also includes the organization and functions of the American Lumber Standard Committee, the Board of Review, and the National Grading Rule Committee.

On March 10, 2010, NMFS announced its intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the potential environmental impacts of a proposed rule to revise federal regulations implementing the Section 104 permit provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) with written comments due by May 10, 2010. NMFS has decided to allow additional time for submission of public comments on this action.

The domestic purchasing requirement of section 1605(a) of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) will not be applied as a condition of Recovery Act financing in Public Housing Capital Fund Recovery Formula and Competitive Grant Programs (Capital Fund Recovery Program) with respect to Canadian iron, steel, and manufactured products in procurement above $7,804,000 for construction services through September 30, 2011.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

The Forest Service will prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Young Dodge project. The Young Dodge project includes urban interface fuels treatments, vegetation management, watershed rehabilitation activities, wildlife habitat improvement, and access management changes, including road decommissioning. The project is located in the Young Dodge planning subunit on the Rexford Ranger District, Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln County, Montana, and seven miles northwest of Eureka, Montana. The Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS for this project was published in the Federal Register (70 FR 14315) on February 22, 2008, and the notice of the Final EIS (70 FR 38131) on May 1, 2008. The Record of Decision on this project was administratively appealed to the Regional Forester per 36 CFR part 215. The Regional Forester reversed the decision on July 24, 2008, citing insufficient evidence or rationale to explain why an analysis of potential effects on the goshawk was not warranted. A Supplemental EIS is being prepared to

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.