November 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree, to address a lawsuit filed by WildEarth Guardians: WildEarth Guardians v. Jackson, Civil Action No. 1:10-cv- 01672-RPM (D. CO). On or about July 14, 2010, WildEarth Guardians filed a complaint alleging that EPA Administrator Jackson failed to fulfill a mandatory duty to respond to an administrative petition to object to issuance of air permit No. 96OPMR129 to the Public Service Company of Colorado doing business as Xcel Energy to operate the Pawnee coal-fired power plant in Morgan County, Colorado (the ``Pawnee Petition'') within the 60 days specified in section 505(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act and asking the court to enter judgment: (i) Declaring that EPA has violated the Clean Air Act by failing to grant or deny the administrative petition; and, (ii) Ordering EPA to grant or deny the administrative petition in accordance with an expeditious schedule prescribed by the Court. On September 1, 2010, WildEarth Guardians filed a first amended complaint alleging that EPA Administrator Jackson failed to fulfill a mandatory duty to respond to administrative petitions to object to the issuance of air permit No. 96OPAD137 to Xcel Energy to operate the Cherokee coal-fired power plant in Denver, Colorado (the ``Cherokee Petition'') and air permit No. 960PBO131 to Xcel Energy to operate the Valmont coal-fired power plant in Boulder County, Colorado (the ``Valmont Petition''). Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, EPA agrees to: (i) Sign a response to the Pawnee Petition no later than June 30, 2011; (ii) sign a response to the Valmont Petition no later than September 30, 2011; and, (iii) sign a response to the Cherokee Petition no later than October 31, 2011.

EPA is taking final action to approve a request from the State of Georgia, through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Environmental Protection Division (EPD), to grant a one-year extension of the attainment date for the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for the Atlanta, Georgia Area (hereafter referred to as the ``Atlanta Area''). This request was sent to EPA via letter from EPD on June 9, 2010. The Atlanta Area consists of Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton Counties in Georgia. In today's action, EPA is finalizing a determination that the State of Georgia has met the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requirements to obtain a one-year extension to its attainment date for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Atlanta Area. As a result, EPA is approving a one-year extension of the 1997 8- hour ozone moderate attainment date for the Atlanta Area. Specifically, EPA (through this final action) is extending the Atlanta Area's attainment date from June 15, 2010, to June 15, 2011.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve the State of Delaware's negative declaration and request for EPA withdrawal of its section 111(d)/129 plan (the plan) approval for HMIWI units.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2011. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.

In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (``CAA'' or the ``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by Sierra Club and Kentucky Environmental Foundation (collectively ``Plaintiffs'') in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia: Sierra Club, et al. v. Jackson, No. 10-cv-00889-CKK (D. DC). On May 26, 2010, Plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging that EPA failed to perform nondiscretionary duties, under section 110(k)(2) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7410(k)(2), to take action on certain State Implementation Plan (``SIP'') submittals by the State of Kentucky. The proposed consent decree establishes deadlines for EPA to take action.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) is seeking comments on a proposed information collection related to funds provided under the Tribal Energy Development Capacity (TEDC) program. Indian tribes, including Alaska Native regional and village corporations, may be considered for funding under the TEDC if they provide certain information as part of an application. Once an application is accepted, the Indian tribe must then submit reports regarding the progress of their project. This notice requests comments on the information collection associated with the application and progress reports.

This notice announces three fact-finding informal airspace meetings to solicit information from airspace users and others concerning a proposal to revise the Class B airspace area at Salt Lake City, UT. The purpose of these meetings is to provide interested parties an opportunity to present views, recommendations, and comments on the proposal. All comments received during these meetings will be considered prior to any revision or issuance of a notice of proposed rulemaking.

The Department of Labor (DOL) hereby announces the submission of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Application for OSHA Training Grant,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

This document corrects the preamble to a proposed rule published in the Federal Register of November 24, 2010, regarding Assessments, Large Bank Pricing. This correction clarifies that the comment period for the Assessments, Large Bank Pricing ends January 3, 2011.

This document informs the public that an appeal of the closing of the Eugene Post Office's University Station in Eugene, Oregon, has been filed. It identifies preliminary steps and provides a procedural schedule. Publication of this document will allow the Postal Service, petitioner, and others to take appropriate action.

It is the policy of the Commission to publish settlements which it provisionally accepts under the Consumer Product Safety Act in the Federal Register in accordance with the terms of 16 CFR 1118.20(e). Published below is a provisionally-accepted Settlement Agreement with Jake's Fireworks, Inc., Far East Imports, Inc., Wholesale Fireworks Enterprises LLC, Pacific Northwest Fireworks, Inc., containing a civil penalty of $100,000.00.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recently announced the availability of the Draft Revised Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) for public review and comment. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for details. We now reopen the comment period. If you have previously submitted comments, please do not resubmit them, because we have already incorporated them in the public record and will fully consider them in developing our final recovery plan.

NextEra Energy Resources (NextEra) applied to interconnect its proposed 150-megawatt (MW) Crowned Ridge Wind Energy Center Project (Project) with the Western Area Power Administration's (Western) existing Watertown Substation in Codington County, South Dakota. The proposed Project would be located in Codington and Grant counties, South Dakota. Western will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the proposal to interconnect the Project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) NEPA Implementing Procedures, and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA. Western's need for agency action is precipitated by NextEra's application to interconnect with Western's power transmission system. Western needs to consider NextEra's interconnection request under its Open Access Transmission Service Tariff (Tariff). This EIS will address Western's Federal action of interconnecting the proposed Project to Western's transmission system, making changes within Western's existing Watertown Substation to physically connect NextEra's proposed Project, and making any necessary system modifications to accommodate the interconnection. By taking these actions, power generated by NextEra's proposed Project would use Western's transmission system to reach the market. Portions of NextEra's proposed Project may affect floodplains and wetlands, so this Notice of Intent (NOI) also serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or wetland action in accordance with DOE floodplain and wetland environmental review requirements.

The Department of Energy received a petition from the Hanford Challenge on August 18, 2009, requesting the initiation of a rulemaking regarding safety policies at DOE's nuclear facilities. The petition calls for DOE to establish by regulation a safety program using the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's ``Safety-Conscious Work Environment'' guidelines as a model. DOE published this petition and a request for comment on October 16, 2009. DOE denies the petition for rulemaking.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a program expansion of its Conference Cooperative Agreement Program (U13), awarded to the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution (Brookings). The goal of this expansion is to plan and hold meetings and conferences that will ensure broad stakeholder input on FDA programs and initiatives related to disseminating information from active medical product surveillance activities and other sources of product information.

The Department of Labor (DOL) hereby announces the submission of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Portable Fire ExtinguishersAnnual Maintenance Certification Record,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

The Department of Labor (DOL) hereby announces the submission of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Welding, Cutting and Brazing,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text of a section 36(b)(1) arms sales notification. This is published to fulfill the requirements of section 155 of Public Law 104-164 dated 21 July 1996.