December 1, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule amends Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulation on Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans by substituting a new table for determining expected retirement ages for participants in pension plans undergoing distress or involuntary termination with valuation dates falling in 2011. This table is needed in order to compute the value of early retirement benefits and, thus, the total value of benefits under a plan.

In compliance with the requirements of section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) has submitted the information collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review of the information collection requirements. Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained below. The Commission issued a Notice in the Federal Register (75 FR 57744, 09/22/2010) requesting public comments. FERC received no comments on the FERC-555 and has made this notation in its submission to OMB.

On June 25, 2010, HUD issued a rule interpreting certain provisions of RESPA as applied to the payment of fees to real estate brokers and agents by home warranty companies. The public was invited to comment on the interpretive rule. After reviewing and considering the comments, HUD determined that changes are not needed to the interpretive rule. Through this document, HUD responds to certain questions raised in the comments. HUD believes that its response to these questions serves to provide additional guidance relating to matters covered in the interpretive rule and the comments.

Pursuant to its authority under the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988 (SPTA), NMFS issues regulations to modify the procedures that U.S. purse seine vessels use to request fishing licenses to fish in areas managed under the SPTA. This rule also establishes a system for allocating licenses in the event more applications are received than there are licenses available. Such an allocation system is needed because the number of applications is approaching the number of available licenses, and may exceed that number. The license allocation system includes objective criteria to be used by NMFS in prioritizing among license applicants. The license application procedures are modified in accordance with the allocation system, and are designed to provide license holders and prospective license applicants with a clear and certain regulatory process. The regulations for vessels licensed under the SPTA are also modified to require that the vessel monitoring system units (VMS units), also known as mobile transmitting units, installed and carried on the vessels are a type that is NMFS-approved.

Free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in January, February, and March of 2011. Certain fishermen and shark dealers are required to attend a workshop to meet regulatory requirements and maintain valid permits. Specifically, the Atlantic Shark Identification Workshop is mandatory for all federally permitted Atlantic shark dealers. The Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshop is mandatory for vessel owners and operators who use bottom longline, pelagic longline, or gillnet gear, and who have also been issued shark or swordfish limited access permits. Additional free workshops will be conducted during 2011.

NMFS extends the pollock specifications implemented by a July 20, 2010, emergency rule, which is scheduled to expire on January 11, 2011. Specifically, this temporary rule maintains the new stock status determination criteria for pollock and associated increases in pollock catch limits under the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP), for an additional 186 days, in order to implement pollock catch limits through either the end of fishing year (FY) 2010 (i.e., through April 30, 2011) or until superseded by limits for FY 2011.

NMFS issues this temporary rule to revise the existing procedures for closing and reopening areas of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for the royal red component of the Gulf shrimp fishery in response to a fishery interaction of the Gulf shrimp fishery with oil or oil byproducts from the Deepwater Horizon MC252 oil spill. The revisions to the procedures for closing and reopening allow for timely adjustment to the spatial and temporal scale of closed areas to fishing for royal red shrimp in response to new information regarding a fishery interaction with the Gulf shrimp fishery with sub- surface oil and oil byproducts. To facilitate timely notice to the public of such closures, the closed portions of Federal waters will be updated on a regular basis and announced to the public via NOAA Weather Radio, Fishery Bulletin, and NOAA Web site updates, or the public may obtain the information by calling the Deepwater MC252 Oil Spill Hotline at 800-627-6622. The action being taken pursuant to this temporary rule is to prohibit royal red shrimp fishing in a specific area of the Gulf in response to a known interaction of this component of the shrimp fishery with sub-surface oil and oil byproducts. This temporary rule would remain in effect for 10 days, unless superseded by subsequent rulemaking. The intended effect of this temporary rule is to promote seafood safety and consumer confidence in seafood products.

EPA issued a notice in the Federal Register of August 11, 2010, concerning the voluntary cancellation of multiple pesticide products. This document is being issued to rescind the cancellation of Sergeant's Pet Care Products' pesticide product, EPA Reg. No. 2517-79.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507. The Office of Thrift Supervision within the Department of the Treasury will submit the proposed information collection requirement described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. Today, OTS is soliciting public comments on its proposal to extend this information collection.

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is extending the time in which comments and reply comments can be filed in response to its Notice of Inquiry requesting public input on the desirability and means of bringing sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, under Federal jurisdiction.

HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees from the Ames Laboratory, Ames, Iowa, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On October 6, 2010, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7384q(b), the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: