August 17, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and regulations implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 1500- 1508), and in accordance with the requirements of the California Military Lands Withdrawal and Overflights Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-433, part of the California Desert Protection Act), the Department of the Navy (DoN), in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), has prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS). Separately, and in accordance with the Engle Act of 1958 (Pub. L. 85-337) and 43 CFR part 2310, the DoN submitted a land withdrawal renewal application to BLM. The Draft EIS/LEIS evaluates the potential environmental effects associated with the proposed Congressional reauthorization of the current land withdrawal of approximately 1.03 million acres of public land in Kern, Inyo, and San Bernardino counties, California. The proposed 25-year withdrawal would comprise the current North and South ranges at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWSCL), California. The Draft EIS/LEIS also addresses an increase of up to 25 percent in the tempo of military activity within current land use areas approved for designated uses, and the implementation of an update of the installation's Comprehensive Land Use Management Plan (CLUMP). The proposed action would enable the DoN to meet its mission to support state-of-the-art air warfare weapons systems testing and evaluation, and the readiness of the military services, using existing facilities and infrastructure, and on safe, operationally realistic, and instrumented land ranges. With the filing of the Draft EIS/LEIS and submission of the application to renew the public land withdrawal, the DoN and BLM are initiating a 90-day public comment period and have scheduled three public open house meetings to receive oral and written comments on the Draft EIS/LEIS and the proposed renewal of the public land withdrawal. This notice announces the dates and locations of the public meetings and provides supplementary information. Dates and Addresses: The 90-day public comment period for the Draft EIS/LEIS began on August 10, 2012 and will end on November 8, 2012. The DoN and BLM will hold three public meetings, using an open house format, to inform the public about the Draft EIS/LEIS and the public land withdrawal renewal process. Representatives from the DoN and BLM will be available to discuss and answer questions on the proposed action and alternatives, the land withdrawal renewal, the environmental planning process, and the findings presented in the Draft EIS/LEIS. Public open house meetings will be held at each location between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on the following dates: 1. Tuesday, October 2, 2012, SpringHill Suites, 113 East Sydnor Avenue, Ridgecrest, California 93555. 2. Wednesday, October 3, 2012, Trona Community Senior Center, 13187 Market Street, Trona, California 93562. 3. Thursday, October 4, 2012, Statham Hall, 138 North Jackson Street, Lone Pine, California 93545. Federal, state and local agencies and officials, and interested groups and individuals are encouraged to provide oral or written comments in person at any of the public meetings. A stenographer will be present to transcribe oral comments. Comments also may be submitted in writing anytime during the public comment period to: Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, ATTN: NAWSCL Land Withdrawal Renewal EIS/LEIS Project Manager (Mr. Gene Beale), 1220 Pacific Highway, San Diego, California 92132-5190. In addition, comments may be submitted any time during the public comment period via the project Web site: https://www.chinalakeleis.com. All statements, whether oral, oral transcription, written, or submitted via the web site during the public review period will become part of the public record on the Draft EIS/LEIS and be considered in preparing the Final EIS/LEIS if postmarked or received by November 8, 2012.

This action extends the comment period for an NPRM that was published on May 21, 2012. In that document, the FAA proposed to update and revise the regulations for repair stations. This extension is a result of formal requests from repair stations and industry associations to extend the comment period to the proposal. This extension is necessary to afford all interested parties an opportunity to present their views on the proposed rulemaking.

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

The Committee is proposing to add services to the Procurement List that will be provided by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities.

FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that FRA and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will jointly prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to study potential service upgrades and rail corridor improvements to the Salinas to San Luis Obispo portion of the Coast Corridor. The objective of the EIS/EIR is to evaluate alternatives and present environmental analysis to help make decisions regarding the type of service upgrades and rail improvements to be provided in the corridor, including variations in train frequency, trip time, and on- time performance. FRA is also issuing this notice to solicit public and agency input into the development of the scope of the EIS/EIR, whether to tier the environmental process, and to advise the public that public and agency participation resulting from outreach activities conducted by Caltrans and its representatives will be considered in the preparation of the EIS/EIR.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Requirements of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), VA's Implementing Regulations (38 CFR part 26), as well as the settlement agreement resulting from Planning Association for Richmond, et al. v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, C-06-02321-SBA (filed 6 June 2008), VA has prepared a Draft EIS for the proposed implementation of the SFVAMC LRDP in San Francisco, California. The SFVAMC LRDP involves development and construction of patient care buildings, research buildings, business occupancy buildings, and parking structures, as well as retrofitting seismically deficient buildings. The Draft EIS identifies and evaluates environmental factors associated with new construction, demolition, as well as seismic retrofit to upgrade the SFVAMC for purposes of meeting the needs of Veterans of the North Coast and San Francisco Bay Area over the next 20 years.

EPA is seeking public comment on a proposal to enhance opportunities for stakeholders to provide input during its review of pesticide registrations under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and associated consultations under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposal was jointly prepared by EPA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in the U.S. Department of Interior. The proposal describes significant changes to EPA's registration review process which are intended to facilitate ESA pesticide consultations and coordination across these Federal agencies, and calls for a greater role for USDA.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of cyprodinil in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document, associated with Pesticide Petition (PP) 1E7854, and establishes a tolerance in or on leaf petioles subgroup 4B, associated with PP 1E7869. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) and Syngenta Crop Protection requested the tolerances associated with PP 1E7854 and 1E7869, respectively, under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The Department of Energy (DOE) issues a framework document to consider whether to amend the energy conservation standards for residential dehumidifiers. DOE also announces a public meeting to discuss and receive comments on issues that it will address in this rulemaking proceeding. DOE is initiating data collection for considering amended energy conservation standards for residential dehumidifiers. DOE also encourages written comments on potential amended standards, including comments on the issues identified in the framework document. The framework document, which is intended to inform stakeholders and facilitate the rulemaking process, is available at https://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliancestandards/resi dential/ dehumidifiers.html.

FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that FRA and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) will jointly prepare a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to study potential infrastructure investments along the Oregon portion of the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor (PNWRC). The objective of the Tier 1 EIS is to evaluate a reasonable range of alternatives and select a rail corridor as well as making decisions regarding the level of intercity passenger rail service provided in the corridor, including variations in train frequency, trip time, and on-time performance. Alternatives under consideration will include taking no action (No-Build Alternative), as well as multiple build alternatives between Eugene-Springfield and the Columbia River in Portland. The build alternatives may include infrastructure improvements to the existing rail corridor, the development of a new rail corridor, or a combination of both. FRA is also issuing this notice to solicit public and agency input in the development of the scope of the EIS and to advise the public that outreach activities conducted by FRA and ODOT will be considered in the preparation of the EIS.

Pursuant to the Notice of Motion requesting termination of the panel review by a participant and consented to by all the participants, the panel review is terminated as of August 9, 2012. A panel has not been appointed to this panel review. Pursuant to Rule 71(2) of the Rules of Procedure for Article 1904 Binational Panel Review, this panel review is terminated.

The Big Horn County Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Greybull, Wyoming. The committee is meeting as authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (Pub. L. 112- 141) and in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose is to hold the sixth meeting and to vote on project proposals.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) issue this early scoping notice to advise other agencies and the public that they intend to explore potential alternatives for expanding the existing Tacoma Link light rail transit system in Tacoma, Pierce County Washington, in order to improve connections to the regional transit system and major activity centers. This notice invites the public to help frame the upcoming alternatives analysis by commenting on: the project's purpose and need, the transportation problems to be addressed by the study, potential solutions to the problems, the relevant transportation and community impacts and benefits to be considered, the appropriate extent of the study area, and ways for the public to participate in the alternatives analysis process. The alternatives analysis is likely to conclude with the identification of a preferred mode and corridor. If preparation of an environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is warranted following completion of the planning alternatives analysis, FTA will publish a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS. This early scoping process is intended to support the alternatives analysis and a future National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping process, as appropriate. In addition, it supports FTA planning requirements associated with the New Starts (``Section 5309'') funding program for certain kinds of major capital investments. While recent legislation may lead to changes in the New Starts process, Sound Transit will comply with relevant FTA requirements relating to planning and project development to help it analyze and screen alternatives in preparation for NEPA. Public meetings are described immediately below. Following that is a more detailed discussion of the project and this early scoping process.