March 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are extending the compliance dates for non-accelerated filers and foreign private issuers that were published on March 1, 2004, in Release No. 33-8392 [69 FR 9722] for certain amendments to Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Items 308(a) and (b) of Regulations S-K and S-B, and the corresponding provisions in Forms 20-F and 40-F, that require companies, other than registered investment companies, to include in their annual reports a report of management on the company's internal control over financial reporting, and to evaluate, as of the end of each fiscal period, any change in the company's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the company's internal control over financial reporting. We are also extending the compliance dates for non-accelerated filers and foreign private issuers for amendments to certain representations that must be included in the certifications required by Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14 regarding a company's internal control over financial reporting.

This rule modifies the requirements for approved manufacturers of date products under the marketing order regulating the handling of domestic dates produced or packed in Riverside County, California. The marketing order is administered locally by the California Date Administrative Committee (committee). The committee's approved product manufacturer program helps assure that only high quality whole and pitted dates are shipped within the United States and exported to Canada. This rule clarifies the application procedures and qualification requirements for an approved manufacturer of date products. This rule also specifies that a regulated date handler must be in compliance with the marketing order to be an approved manufacturer of date products. These modifications will help safeguard the integrity of the approved date product manufacturer program, as well as the quality of whole and pitted dates marketed both domestically and in Canada.

This document denies a petition for rulemaking submitted by Mr. Richard T. Ince of C & J Technology Inc., to amend provisions of the Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) for rearview mirrors pertaining to the test procedure for school bus driving mirrors.

On December 8, 2004, NHTSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register that proposed to amend 49 CFR part 572 to add specifications and qualification requirements for a 5th percentile adult female test dummy for use in vehicle side impact tests. In that NPRM, NHTSA established a March 8, 2005, deadline for submission of written comments. NHTSA has received a request from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers to extend the comment period ``to facilitate a comprehensive technical evaluation of that test device and allow manufacturers the opportunity to perform necessary fleet testing with the proposed test device.'' In response to that request, NHTSA is extending the comment period to April 12, 2005.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A320 series airplanes. This proposed AD would require post-maintenance bleeding of accumulated air from, or ground functional testing of, the ram air turbine (RAT) system; modifying and reidentifying the airborne ground check module of the RAT system; and replacing the RAT reducer assembly if applicable. This proposed AD is prompted by reports of unsuccessful in-flight RAT tests during which a deployed RAT failed to pressurize the blue hydraulic circuit of the RAT system. We are proposing this AD to prevent failure of the RAT during an in-flight emergency, which could lead to loss of hydraulic and electrical power and reduced controllability of the airplane.

This document proposes superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to Eurocopter France (Eurocopter) Model EC 155B, SA-365N and N1, AS-365N2, and AS 365 N3 helicopters. That AD currently requires inspecting the hydraulic brake hose (hose) for crazing, pinching, distortion, or leaks at the torque link hinge and replacing the hose, if necessary. That AD also requires inspecting the hose and the emergency flotation gear pipe to ensure adequate clearance, and adjusting the landing gear leg, if necessary. This action would require the same actions as the existing AD and would add a model to the applicability. This proposal is prompted by notification by the manufacturer and the European Authority that another affected model helicopter, the Model EC155B1, may have the same unsafe condition and should be added to the existing AD. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent failure of a hose, resulting in failure of hydraulic pressure to the brakes on the affected landing gear wheel, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter during a run-on landing.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau proposes to establish the 27,500-acre Fort Ross-Seaview viticultural area in western Sonoma County, California. 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.

We are amending the Oriental fruit fly regulations by removing a portion of Orange County, CA, from the list of quarantined areas and by removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area. This action is necessary to relieve restrictions that are no longer needed to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States. We have determined that the Oriental fruit fly has been eradicated from this portion of Orange County, CA, and that the quarantine and restrictions are no longer necessary. This portion of Orange County, CA, was the last remaining area in California quarantined for the Oriental fruit fly. Therefore, as a result of this action, there are no longer any areas in the continental United States quarantined for the Oriental fruit fly.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Kern County Air Pollution Control District (KCAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions concern the emission of particulate matter (PM-10) from wood combustion and the recision of a rule exempting wet plumes from opacity measurement. We are proposing approval of a local rule and a recision of a rule that administer regulations and regulate emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

EPA is revising the format of 40 CFR part 52 for materials submitted by the State of South Dakota that are incorporated by reference (IBR) into its State Implementation Plan (SIP). The regulations affected by this format change have all been previously submitted by South Dakota and approved by EPA.

The Federal Trade Commission is amending the premerger notification rules, which require the parties to certain mergers or acquisitions to file reports with the Commission and with the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and to wait a specified period of time before consummating such transactions, pursuant to section 7A of the Clayton Act (``the Act''). The filing and waiting period requirements enable these enforcement agencies to determine whether a proposed merger or acquisition may violate the antitrust laws if consummated and, when appropriate, to seek a preliminary injunction in federal court to prevent consummation. This rulemaking introduces a number of changes that attempt to reconcile, as far as is practical, the current disparate treatment of corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and other types of non-corporate entities under the rules, particularly in the areas of acquisitions of interests in these entities; formations of the entities; and the application of certain exemptions, including the intraperson exemption. This rulemaking also makes technical corrections in other provisions in the rules.

In accordance with the Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special Programs Improvement Act, which reorganized the Department's pipeline and hazardous materials safety programs into the new Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), this document revises all references to the former Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) in 49 CFR parts 190 through 199 to reflect the creation of PHMSA. This document also updates the Office of Pipeline Safety's internet and mailing addresses, docket procedures, titles, section numbers, penalty considerations and cap adjustments, terminology, and other changes conforming part 190 with the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002. The amendments made by this rule reflect the changed organizational posture of the agency and update the part 190 enforcement procedures to reflect current public law. This rule does not impose any new operating requirements on pipeline owners and operators.

In this document, the Commission proposes rules to implement Section 202 of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004 (``SHVERA''), which creates Section 340 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''), and amends the copyright laws in order to provide satellite carriers with the authority to offer Commission-determined ``significantly-viewed'' signals of out-of-market broadcast stations to subscribers. This document achieves the SHVERA's statutory objectives to publish and maintain a list of the stations and the communities containing such stations that are eligible for ``significantly viewed'' status; and commence a rulemaking proceeding to implement new Section 340.

NMFS announces the final initial 2004 fishing year specifications for the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) fishery to set BFT quotas for each of the established domestic fishing categories, to set General category effort controls, and to establish a catch-and-release provision for recreational and commercial BFT handgear vessels during a respective quota category closure. This action is necessary to implement recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), as required by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), and to achieve domestic management objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

We are amending the Oriental fruit fly regulations by removing a portion of Los Angeles County, CA, from the list of quarantined areas and by removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from this area. This action is necessary to relieve restrictions that are no longer needed to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States. We have determined that the Oriental fruit fly has been eradicated from this portion of Los Angeles County, CA, and that the quarantine and restrictions are no longer necessary.

This document seeks public comment on a speed of answer requirement for the provision of Video Relay Service (VRS). The speed of answer requirement is currently waived as a mandatory minimum standard for VRS. The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) has reviewed the comments provided in response to the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) contained in the 2004 TRS Report and Order, and found that they lack specificity on certain elements of a speed of answer rule. In this document, the Commission is seeking additional comment on whether a speed of answer rule should be adopted for VRS and, if so, what the rule should be.

This document grants four new FM broadcast allotments in Adams, Massachusetts; Ashtabula, Ohio; Crested Butte, Colorado; Lawrence Park, Pennsylvania. The Audio Division, Media Bureau, at the request of Dana Puopolo, allots Channel 255A at Adams, Massachusetts, as the community's local aural transmission service. That allotment also requires a site change for Channel 255A at Rosendale, NY. Channel 255A is allotted to Adams in compliance with the Commission's minimum distance separation requirements with a site restriction of 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) west of the community. The reference coordinates for Channel 255A at Adams are 42-37-12 NL and 73-08-12 WL. The reference coordinates for Channel 255A at Rosendale are 41-54-47 NL and 74-09-00 WL. Since Adams is located within 320 kilometers (200 miles) of the U.S.-Canadian border, concurrence from the Canadian government has been received. See Supplementary Information, infra.

Under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), EPA is proposing revisions to the reporting requirements for the dioxin and dioxin-like compounds category. Toxic equivalents (TEQs) are a weighted quantity measure based on the toxicity of each member of the dioxin and dioxin-like compounds category relative to the most toxic members of the category, i.e., 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and 1,2,3,7,8-pentachlorodibenzo-p- dioxin. Under EPCRA section 313, EPA currently requires that facilities report dioxin and dioxin-like compounds in units of total grams for the entire category, and provide a single distribution of the individual dioxin and dioxin-like compounds at the facility. This distribution must represent either total releases, or releases to the media (air, land, water) for which the facility has the best information. The three options discussed in this proposed rule would require reporting (on a new TRI Form R-D) of available information on all relevant portions of the form (e.g., for each waste stream). One option would require the additional reporting of TEQs only. The two preferred options would require reporting of the mass quantity of each individual member of the category and differ primarily in whether the Agency or the facility would perform TEQ computations. Under each of these options, this new information would be in addition to the total grams data currently reported for the entire category and would replace the current reporting of a single distribution of the members of the category. EPA is proposing these revisions in response to requests from members of the public that EPA provide facilities with a method of reporting TEQ data. Comment is specifically sought on all options as well as EPA's preferences for implementing TEQ reporting.

EPA proposes to approve the section 111(d)/129 State Plan submitted by Tennessee for the Pollution Control District (PCD) of the Metro Public Health Department for Nashville/Davidson County on May 28, 2002, for implementing and enforcing the Emissions Guidelines applicable to existing Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incinerators. The Plan was submitted to satisfy Federal Clean Air Act requirements. In the final rules section of this Federal Register, the EPA is approving the Nashville/Davidson County State Plan revision as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial revision amendment and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to the direct final rule, no further activity is contemplated in relation to this proposed rule. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a second comment period on this rule. Any parties interested in commenting on this rule should do so at this time.

This rule states BIS's licensing policy regarding transactions involving entities sanctioned by the State Department under three specified statutes, imposes a new license requirement for certain entities sanctioned by the State Department, and identifies one specific entity subject to this new license requirement, Tula Instrument Design Bureau of Russia.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposes to amend its fire protection regulations for nuclear power facilities operating prior to January 1, 1979. The amendment would allow nuclear power plant licensees to use manual actions by plant operators as an alternative method to achieve hot shutdown conditions in the event of fires in certain plant areas, provided that the actions are evaluated against specified criteria and determined to be acceptable and that fire detectors and an automatic fire suppression system are provided in the fire area. The Commission believes that the proposed action would provide realistically conservative regulatory acceptance criteria for operator manual actions to achieve and maintain hot shutdown condition. The NRC is also proposing and requesting comments on a draft regulatory guide to support this proposed rulemaking. The NRC has developed the Regulatory Guide Series to describe and make available to the public such information as methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating specific problems or postulated accidents, and data that the staff needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses. The draft regulatory guide, entitled ``Demonstrating the Feasibility and Reliability of Operator Manual Actions in Response to Fire,'' is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1136, which should be mentioned in all related correspondence. This proposed regulatory guide offers guidance for NRC licensees and applicants to use in implementing the feasibility and reliability criteria that the staff developed for post-fire operator manual actions.

The Coast Guard is amending the special local regulations at 33 CFR 100.518, established for marine events held annually in the Severn River, Annapolis, Maryland by publishing the name of the events, the dates and modifying the boundaries of the regulated area. The marine events included in this rule include the Safety at Sea Seminar, U.S. Naval Academy crew races and the Blue Angels air show. This rule is intended to restrict vessel traffic in portions of the Severn River during the period of these marine events and is necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during the event.

This action amends Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations, part 71 (14 CFR 71) by revising Class E airspace at Macon, MO. A review of controlled airspace currently titled Macon-Fower, MO revealed it does not conform to proper format, does not reflect the correct name of the airport nor its correct airport reference point (ARP) and does not comply with criteria for 700 feet above ground level (AGL) airspace required for diverse departures. The area is renamed, modified and enlarged to conform to the criteria in FAA Orders.

This document amends the Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') Regulations on an interim basis to implement the preferential tariff treatment and other customs-related provisions of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement entered into by the United States and the Republic of Chile.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 620 of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2005 first seasonal allowance of the pollock total allowable catch (TAC) for Statistical Area 620 of the GOA.