January 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document requests comments on a petition for rule making filed by Champlain Communications Corp. (``Petitioner''), licensee of Station WLFE-FM, Channel 272A, St. Albans, Vermont. Petitioner requests that the Commission upgrade Channel 272A to Channel 272C3 and reallot Channel 272C3 from St. Albans to Grand Isle, Vermont, thus providing Grand Isle with its first local aural transmission service. To accommodate the foregoing changes, FM Station WRGR, Channel 272A, Tupper Lake, New York, has agreed to substitute Channel 271C3 for Channel 272A and move its transmitter to a new site. The coordinates for proposed Channel 272C3 at Grand Isle, Vermont, are 44-44-07 NL and 73-30-57 WL with a site restriction of 17.4 kilometers (10.8 miles) west of Grand Isle. The coordinates for proposed Channel 271C3 at Tupper Lake are 44-07-21 NL and 74-31-52 WL, with a site restriction of 12.6 kilometers (7.8 miles) southwest of Tupper Lake.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), propose to revise our rules for, and related to, the transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights. This proposed rule effectuates a settlement agreement we entered into with the National Mining Association (NMA) in connection with NMA's judicial challenge to certain provisions of our December 19, 2000, final ownership and control rule (2000 ownership and control rule or 2000 rule). In this proposed rule, we propose to: Revise the regulatory definitions of transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights and successor in interest; revise the regulatory provisions relating to transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights; and create separate rules for successors in interest. The primary purpose of the proposed rule is to distinguish clearly the circumstances that will constitute a transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights (requiring a regulatory authority's approval and, at a minimum, a permit revision) or result in a successor in interest (requiring the issuance of a new permit) from those that will only require a permittee to provide information updates. The proposed rule also affords us an opportunity to ensure our rules are consistent with recent legal developments. This proposed rulemaking does not suspend or withdraw any of the provisions of our 2000 ownership and control rule, nor does it affect any of our proposed revisions to the 2000 rule published on December 29, 2003. This proposed rule is authorized under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, as amended (SMCRA or the Act).

This rule makes final a June 15, 2004, interim rule that amended regulations regarding eligibility for mortgages on Hawaiian home lands to reflect a statutory change to the National Housing Act. The June 15, 2004, interim rule solicited public comments. No comments were received by HUD on the interim rule. This final rule adopts the interim rule, therefore, without change.

EPA proposes to extend the Project XL Final Rule for New York State Public Utilities; Hazardous Waste Management Systems (XL Rule). The XL Rule was published as a final rule in the Federal Register on Monday, July 12, 1999 and, by its terms, expires, on January 10, 2005. The details of the XL Rule can be found in 64 FR 37636 (July 12, 1999). No further changes are being made to the XL Rule other than the change in expiration date. Because the requirements outlined in the XL Rule do not become effective until New York State adopts equivalent requirements through a State rulemaking and receives EPA authorization for these equivalent State requirements, EPA proposes to extend the XL Rule for a period of 72 months from the effective date of the rule resulting from today's proposal. To date, the State has not adopted an equivalent rule and thus the XL Project for New York Public State Utilities has not been implemented. The XL Rule must be extended to facilitate completion of the New York State Public Utilities XL Project.

This document contains final regulations that would modify the circumstances under which certain forms of distribution previously available are permitted to be eliminated from qualified defined contribution plans. These final regulations affect qualified retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and participants.

The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) and the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) of Canada, under international agreement, jointly publish and presently administer the St. Lawrence Seaway Regulations and Rules (Practices and Procedures in Canada) in their respective jurisdictions. Under agreement with the SLSMC, the SLSDC is proposing to amend the joint regulations by updating the Seaway Regulations and Rules in various categories. The proposed changes would update the following sections of the Regulation and Rules: Condition of Vessels; Preclearance and Security for Tolls; Seaway Navigation; Dangerous Cargo; Toll Assessment and Payment; Information and Reports; and General. These amendments are necessary to take account of updated procedures and/or technology and will enhance the safety of transits through the Seaway.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day petition finding for petitions to list Bromus arizonicus (Arizona brome) and Nassella cernua (nodding needlegrass) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. We find that neither petition presented substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing one or both of these species may be warranted. We will not be initiating a further status review in response to the petitions to list.

On July 22, 2004 the National Labor Relations Board published in the Federal Register proposed changes to its rules to provide a mechanism to have preelection disputes decided with finality by the Regional Director as part of its ongoing efforts to address the needs of employers, individuals and labor organizations and to further the fundamental purposes of the Act. One comment was received in response to this publication. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, AFL-CIO, supported the proposed changes, but expressed the view that the changes did not address what it considered to be major problems in the Board's representation process. Upon consideration of that comment, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is adopting the proposed changes and publishing the rules as final.

FMCSA is reviewing and reconsidering the regulations on hours of service of drivers published on April 28, 2003 (68 FR 22456) and amended on September 30, 2003 (68 FR 56208). The regulations were vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 16, 2004 (Public Citizen et al. v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 374 F.3d 1209). Congress subsequently provided that the 2003 regulations will remain in effect until the effective date of a new final rule addressing the issues raised by the court or September 30, 2005, whichever occurs first (Section 7(f) of the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part V). FMCSA is reconsidering the 2003 regulations to determine what changes may be necessary to be consistent with the holdings and dicta of the Public Citizen decision. In order to allow effective public participation in the process before the statutory deadline, FMCSA is publishing this NPRM concurrently with its ongoing research and analysis of the issues raised by the court. To facilitate discussion, the agency is putting forward the 2003 rule as the ``proposal'' on which public comments are sought. This NPRM, however, asks the public to comment on what changes to that rule, if any, are necessary to respond to the concerns raised by the court, and to provide data or studies that would support changes to, or continued use of, the 2003 rule. The NPRM includes specific information on a variety of topics and specific questions for comment. FMCSA is not considering changes to the hours-of-service regulations applicable to drivers and operators of passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).

NMFS is notifying the owners and operators of registered vessels of their assignments for the A season Atka mackerel fishery in harvest limit area (HLA) 542 and/or 543 of the Aleutian Islands subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the harvest of the A season HLA limits established for area 542 and area 543 pursuant to the interim 2005 harvest specifications for groundfish in the BSAI.

The Coast Guard is establishing fixed security zones in the navigable waters of the United States around each of the three piers at the Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO), California (formerly United States Naval Weapons Center Concord, California), any combination of which can be enforced by the Captain of the Port (COTP) San Francisco Bay during the onloading or offloading of military equipment and ordnance, depending on which pier, or piers, are being used. In light of recent terrorist actions against the United States, these security zones are necessary to ensure the safe onloading and offloading of military equipment and to ensure the safety of the public from potential subversive acts. The security zones prohibit all persons and vessels from entering, transiting through or anchoring within portions of the Suisun Bay within 500 yards of any MOTCO pier, or piers, where military onload or offload operations are taking place, unless authorized by the COTP or his designated representative.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 737-600, -700, -700C, -800, and -900 series airplanes. This proposed AD would require repetitive general visual inspections for dirt, debris, and drain blockage and cleaning of the aft fairing cavities of the engine struts; and modification of the aft fairings, which would terminate the repetitive general visual inspections. This proposed AD is prompted by a report indicating that water had accumulated in the cavities of the engine strut aft fairings. We are proposing this AD to prevent drain blockage by debris that, when combined with leaking, flammable fluid lines passing through the engine strut aft fairing, could allow flammable fluids to build up in the cavity of the aft fairing, and consequently could be ignited by the engine exhaust nozzle located below the engine strut, resulting in an explosion or uncontrolled fire.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the McDonnell Douglas airplanes listed above. This AD requires identifying the part number of the cargo compartment smoke detectors and, if necessary, revising the Limitations section of the airplane flight manual to include procedures for testing the smoke detection system after the last engine is started. This AD also provides for the optional replacement of the subject smoke detectors with modified smoke detectors, which would terminate the operational limitation. This AD is prompted by a report indicating that the cargo smoke detectors can ``lock up'' during electrical power transfer from the auxiliary power unit to the engines. We are issuing this AD to identify and provide corrective action for a potentially inoperative smoke detector in the cargo compartment and ensure that the flightcrew is alerted in the event of a cargo compartment fire.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau proposes to establish the ``High Valley'' viticultural area in Lake County, California. Located above the eastern shore of Clear Lake near the town of Clearlake Oaks, the proposed 14,000-acre area is about 85 miles north of San Francisco, and is largely within the established Clear Lake and North Coast viticultural areas. We designate viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase. We invite comments on this proposed addition to our regulations.

This rule invites comments on modifications to the requirements to be an approved manufacturer of date products under the Federal date marketing order (order). The order regulates the handling of domestic dates produced or packed in Riverside County, California, and is administered locally by the California Date Administrative Committee (committee). The committee's approved product manufacturer program helps assure that higher quality whole and pitted dates are shipped within the USA and to Canada. This rule would clarify the application procedures and qualifications for a manufacturer to continue to be listed as an approved manufacturer of date products. This proposal would also require an applicant who is also a date handler under the order to be in compliance with the order. These modifications would help safeguard the integrity of the approved date product manufacturer program under the order and the quality of whole and pitted dates that are shipped within the USA and Canada.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is issuing final revisions to its rule on credit union mergers, federal share insurance terminations, and conversions from federal share insurance to nonfederal insurance. The final rule establishes disclosure requirements to ensure that members have the opportunity to be fully and properly informed before they vote on whether to convert from federal insurance to nonfederal insurance. The rule provides protections to members who may lose federal insurance because they have large insured accounts at two federally-insured credit unions that are merging or they have term accounts at a federally-insured credit union that is converting to nonfederal insurance. The rule also requires merging credit unions to analyze the premerger requirements imposed on credit unions by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and provides other miscellaneous updates to the existing rule governing credit union mergers, terminations, and conversions of share insurance.

This notice proposed to establish Class E4 airspace at Cocoa Beach Patrick AFB, FL. Class E4 airspace designated as an extension to Class D airspace is required when the control tower is open to contain existing Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and other Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport. This action would establish a Class E4 airspace extension that is 6.8 miles wide and extends 7.3 miles northeast of the airport. This airspace is currently being protected by Notice to Airmen.

These special conditions are issued for Cessna Aircraft Company Model 501 and 551 series airplanes modified by Shadin Company, Inc. These airplanes will have novel and unusual design features when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. The modification incorporates the installation of two Shadin Company Air Data Computers (ADC), Model ADC-6000. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for the protection of these systems from the effects of high-intensity-radiated fields (HIRF). These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

EPA is proposing to find that the Las Vegas Valley nonattainment area in the State of Nevada has attained the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for carbon monoxide by the applicable December 31, 2000 attainment date. Based on this proposal, EPA also proposes to determine that the Clean Air Act's requirements for contingency provisions will no longer apply to the area.

The Department seeks comment on a proposal to revise its rules on charter operations. This proposal arises from a petition filed by the National Air Carrier Association (NACA). NACA seeks to make changes to the definitions and standards the Department uses to determine whether to grant or deny foreign air carrier requests to conduct certain types of international charter flights. The Department grants NACA's petition, and proposes to make some, but not all of the changes sought by NACA. The Department proposes to make revisions to definitions relating to charter types, and to modify the Department's current charter application form so as to require updated reciprocity information as well as numbers of U.S.-homeland services vs. U.S.-non-homeland services. The Department does not anticipate adopting NACA's requests to impose a reciprocity standard that ensures substantially equivalent opportunities for U.S. carriers in the homeland of the applicant, or to accord U.S. carriers a right of ``first refusal'' over foreign carrier requests to conduct certain U.S.-originating charter operations. Specifically, the Department proposes to clarify the definition of ``fifth freedom charter'' by adding definitions of ``sixth- and seventh-freedom charters.'' The Department also proposes modifications to OST Form 4540 (Foreign Air Carrier Application for Statement of Authorization). Specifically, the Department proposes to require an updated reciprocity statement by foreign carriers for a statement of authorization to allow us to ensure that our reciprocity standards have been satisfied and are properly supported. The Department also proposes to require that foreign carrier applicants for a statement of authorization include historical data relative to the applicant's U.S.- home country operations to allow the Department to readily evaluate levels of third- and fourth-freedom versus fifth-, sixth-, and seventh- freedom operations. This data will allow the Department to satisfy any concerns we might have as to the applicant's reliance on fifth-, sixth- and seventh-freedom operations. These proposed modifications will ensure that the Department has the most current information on the state of reciprocity for each foreign carrier applicant for fifth-, sixth-, or seventh-freedom charter authority.

The Coast Guard is establishing permanent safety zones on a portion of Lake Ontario. These safety zones are necessary to ensure the safety of spectators and vessels from the hazards associated with fireworks displays. These safety zones restrict vessel traffic from portions of Lake Ontario, New York, during annual fireworks displays.

This direct final rule makes a minor editorial correction to the definition of ``transmission line'' in the Federal safety regulations for natural gas pipelines. The correction is intended to clarify that gathering lines are excluded from the definition of transmission line. Because gathering lines have never been included in the definition of transmission line, the correction will not result in any substantive change in the definition.

This final rule describes the general rules and procedures applicable to the collection, through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP), of delinquent, nontax debts owed to Federal agencies. TOP is a program administered by the Financial Management Service (FMS), a bureau of the Treasury Department.

This proposed rule would revise the regulations under the single-family mortgage insurance program that require mortgagees to report the status of all single-family mortgages insured by HUD that are in default after 60 days or that are 90 or more days delinquent, as applicable. The rule would require mortgagees to report to HUD mortgages that are 30 or more days delinquent on the last day of the month. The Department believes that the rule would, among other things, provide HUD with more recent delinquency information. The receipt of more up-to-date information will enable HUD to better monitor its loss mitigation program and strengthen the soundness of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Mortgage Insurance Funds.