February 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces the availability of, and requests comment on, a proposed Technical Standard Order (TSO) on battery-based emergency power units (BEPU). The TSO prescribes minimum performance standards that BEPU must meet to be identified with the marketing ``TSO-C174.''

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Tule Lake Vertical Lift Span Highway and Railroad Bridge across the Corpus ChristiPort Aransas Channel, mile 14.0, at Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas. This deviation allows the bridge to remain closed to navigation for four hours on two consecutive days. This temporary deviation is necessary for the removal of scaffolding used during the maintenance of the rope sheaves and for the cleaning and lubrication of the haul and counterweight ropes of the drawbridge.

DOT proposes to add a system of records relating to aviation consumer protection to the list of DOT Privacy Act Systems of Records that are exempt from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act. Public comment is invited.

Background. Notice is hereby given of the final approval of proposed information collection(s) by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) under OMB delegated authority, as per 5 CFR 1320.16 (OMB Regulations on Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public). Board- approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies of the OMB 83-Is and supporting statements and approved collection of information instrument(s) are placed into OMB's public docket files. The Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The Flathead County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Kalispell, Montana on March 9th. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss upcoming RAC Projects.

The Forest Service proposes to develop a network of defensible fuel profile zones (DFPZ's), establish group selection harvest units, and conduct area thinnings on the Almanor Ranger District in the Lassen National Forest. The DFPZ's, group selection harvest units, and area thinnings total an estimated 5,905, 1,245, and 3,285 acres respectively, and are spread over a 33,000 acre project area. Included in this proposal are the use of National Forest system roads, the use of temporary roads, and the decommissioning of some system and temporary roads. The project would be implemented through a combination of commercial timber sales, service contracts, and force account crews. These management activities were developed to implement and be consistent with the Lassen National Forest (LNF) Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP, 1993), as amended by the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act FEIS, FSEIS, and ROD's (1999, 2003), and the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment FEIS, FSEIS, and ROD's (2001, 2004). Decision to Be Made: The decision to be made is whether to implement the proposed action as described above, to meet the purpose and need for action through some other combination of activities, or to take no action at this time. Scoping Process: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received in writing within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. The project was initially listed in the Forest's February 2004 quarterly edition of the Schedule of Proposed Actions (SOPA). Scoping letters were sent in June 2004 to those who responded to the SOPA and other identified interest and affected individuals and government agencies. In the SOPA, the mode of environmental documentation was predicted as an environmental assessment. At this time, the environmental analysis will be documented in an environmental impact statement. Since only minor changes are being made to the proposed action that was previously scoped, the scoping period at this time is brief. Those who responded during the June 2004 scoping period will be contacted again. In addition, scoping letters previously received by the Forest Service from the first scoping period will continue to be used for this process. A public scoping meeting is not anticipated at this time. The scoping process will be used to identify issues regarding the proposed action. An issue is defined as point of dispute, debate, or disagreement related to a specific proposed action based on its anticipated effects. Significant issues brought to our attention are used during an environmental analysis to develop alternatives to the proposed action. Some issues raised in scoping may be considered non- significant because they are: (1) Beyond the scope of the proposed action and its purpose and need; (2) already decided by law, regulation, or the Land and Resource Management Plan; (3) irrelevant to the decision to be made; or (4) conjectural and not supported by scientific or factual evidence. Alternatives: Alternatives proposed to date are the Proposed Action as described above and the No Action. Identification of Permits or Licenses Required: No permits or licenses have been identified to implement the proposed action. Lead, Joint Lead, and Cooperating Agencies: The USDA Forest Service is the lead agency for this proposal; there are no cooperating agencies. Estimated Dates for Filing: The expected filing date with the Environmental Protection Agency for the draft EIS April 18, 2005. The expected filing date for the final EIS is June 27, 2005. Person to Which Comments May be Mailed: Comments may be submitted to: Alfred Vazquez District Ranger, Almanor Ranger District, at P.O. Box 767, Chester, CA, 96020 or (530) 258-5194 (fax) during normal business hours. The Almanor Ranger District business hours are from 8 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. Electronic comments, in acceptable plain text (.txt), rich text (.rtf), or Word (.doc) formats, may be submitted to: comments-pacificsouthwest-lassen-almanor@fs.fed.us using Subject: Creeks Forest Health Recovery Project. Reviewer's Obligation to Comment: The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability of the draft EIS in the Federal Register. The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of draft statements must structure their participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, it is very important that those interested in this proposal action participate by the close of the 45 day comment period so that substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the final environmental impact statement. To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.

Among other changes to patent and trademark fees, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (Consolidated Appropriations Act), splits the patent application filing fee into a separate filing fee, search fee and examination fee, and requires an additional fee (application size fee) for applications whose specification and drawings exceed 100 sheets of paper, during fiscal years 2005 and 2006. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is in this notice proposing changes in the Office's practice for handling patent applications filed without the appropriate filing, search, and examination fees. The Office has implemented the changes to the patent fees provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act in a separate rulemaking.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations revising the Holtec International HI-STORM 100 cask system listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to include Amendment No. 2 to Certificate of Compliance Number (CoC No.) 1014. Amendment No. 2 will modify the cask design to include changes to materials used in construction, changes to the types of fuel that can be loaded, changes to shielding and confinement methodologies and assumptions, revisions to various temperature limits, changes in allowable fuel enrichments, and other changes to reflect current NRC staff guidance and use of industry codes, under a general license.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations revising the Transnuclear, Inc., Standardized Advanced NUHOMS[reg] System listing within the ``List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks'' to include Amendment No. 1 to Certificate of Compliance Number (CoC No.) 1029. Amendment No. 1 would add another Dry Shielded Canister, designated NUHOMS[reg]-24PT4, to the authorized contents of the Standardized Advanced NUHOMS[reg] System. Also, the NRC staff is proposing that changes be made to the rule to correct a typographical error that incorrectly states the expiration date of the CoC.

In accordance with section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of requests by the technical registrants to amend their registrations to terminate uses of certain products containing the pesticide azinphos-methyl. The requests would terminate azinphos- methyl use in or on caneberries, cotton, cranberries, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, and southern pine seed orchards. EPA intends to grant these requests at the close of the comment period for this announcement unless, based on substantive comments received during the comment period or other relevant information, the Agency determines that the requests merit further review. Upon granting these requests, any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will be permitted only if such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms as described in the final order.

The FAA proposes to amend the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and digital flight data recorder (DFDR) regulations for certain air carriers, operators, and aircraft manufacturers. This proposed rule would increase the duration of CVR and flight data recorder (FDR) recordings; increase the data recording rate of certain DFDR parameters; require physical separation of the DFDR and CVR; improve the reliability of the power supply to both the CVR and DFDR; and if data-link communication equipment is installed, require that all data- link communications received on an aircraft be recorded. This proposal is based on recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the investigations of several accidents and incidents, and includes other revisions that the FAA has determined are necessary. The proposed improvements to the CVR and DFDR systems are intended to improve the quality and quantity of information recorded and increase the potential for retaining important information needed during accident and incident investigations.

The Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary is announcing a public meeting of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee.

This notice provides information to Federal agencies subject to the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) that did not award a task order to an eTravel Service (eTS) vendor by December 31, 2004. This notice provides guidance to assist those agencies with this FTR requirement.

TVA will convene a meeting of the Regional Resource Stewardship Council (Regional Council) to obtain views and advice on the topic of improving review of requests for changes in land plans. Under the TVA Act, TVA is charged with the proper use and conservation of natural resources for the purpose of fostering the orderly and proper physical, economic and social development of the Tennessee Valley region. The Regional Council was established to advise TVA on its natural resource stewardship activities. Notice of this meeting is given under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 2, (FACA). The meeting agenda includes the following: (1) Update discussion of second-term Council advice implementation. (2) Agency presentations and discussion on land planning. (3) Public comments on the topic of review of land planning. (4) Council discussion and advice on land planning issues. The Regional Council will hear opinions and views of citizens by providing a public comment session. The public comment session will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. EST on Thursday, March 17, 2005. Citizens who wish to express views and opinions on the topic of TVA lands planning may do so during the Public Comment portion of the agenda. Public Comments participation is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Speakers addressing the Regional Council are requested to limit their remarks to no more than 5 minutes. Persons wishing to speak are requested to register at the door and are then called on by the Regional Council Chair during the public comment period. Handout materials should be limited to one printed page. Written comments are also invited and may be mailed to the Regional Resource Stewardship Council, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT 11A, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902.

The Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) is proposing to reorganize the way it imposes reporting requirements on the Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks) by issuing the requirements in a reporting manual to be titled Data Reporting Manual (DRM). When issued, the DRM would be an enforceable order issued pursuant to the Finance Board's investigatory powers. As part of this reorganization, the Finance Board is proposing to remove from its regulations certain reporting requirements and reissuing them as part of the DRM. The Finance Board also is proposing to add a new part 914, which would address a Bank's obligation with respect to reporting requirements and make its books and records available to the Finance Board. Lastly, the Finance Board is proposing to add a new section to part 917, which would impose on each Bank's board of directors the obligation to establish policies and procedures with respect to regulatory reporting.

The Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act, we invite comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this notice.

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 take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning an existing final and temporary regulations, IA-62-91 (TD 8482), Capitalization and Inclusion in Inventory of Certain Costs (Sec. Sec. 1.263A-2 and 1.263A-3).

The EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the particulate matter (PM) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission requirements for Pfizer, Inc. (Pfizer). Pfizer operates a medicinal chemical manufacturing facility in Vigo County, Indiana. On October 7, 2004, Indiana submitted a request for PM and SO2 emission limit revisions as an amendment to its State Implementation Plan (SIP). Pfizer has removed five boilers from its facility. Indiana has requested the deletion of the site-specific PM and SO2 emission limits for all five removed boilers. A new boiler has replaced three of the removed boilers. It is subject to the applicable New Source Performance Standards. There will be no increase in PM or SO2 emissions as a result of the requested revisions.