April 21, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim final rule changing the assessment collection requirements prescribed under the Vidalia onion marketing order (order). The order regulates the handling of Vidalia onions grown in Georgia and is administered locally by the Vidalia Onion Committee (Committee). This rule continues in effect the action that allows handlers to mail their assessment payments to the Committee office without incurring late payment penalties as long as the payment is postmarked on or before the due date. Prior to this change, assessment payments received in the Committee office later than 4 p.m. on the Tuesday following the week in which shipments were made were subject to late payment penalties.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IX announces the deletion of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Superfund Site in Salinas, Monterey County, California from the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL is Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300 which is the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), which EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended. EPA and the State of California, through the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), have determined that the remedial action for the site has been successfully executed.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'' or ``Commission'') is amending Regulation S-X to amend the date for compliance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004), Share-Based Payment (``Statement No. 123R'') so that each registrant that is not a small business issuer will be required to prepare financial statements in accordance with Statement 123R beginning with the first interim or annual reporting period of the registrant's first fiscal year beginning on or after June 15, 2005. We also are amending the effective date for compliance with Statement No. 123R so that each small business issuer will be required to prepare financial statements in accordance with Statement 123R beginning with the first interim or annual reporting period of the registrant's first fiscal year beginning on or after December 15, 2005.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation published in the Federal Register of April 6, 2005, a final rule amending parts 303, 325, and 327 and revising subparts A and B of part 347. The regulations contained in subpart C of part 347 were not included in the publication. This document corrects the final rule by adding the regulations in subpart C of part 347 to the regulatory text.

DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to add policy pertaining to package marking with passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. The proposed changes require contractors to affix passive RFID tags at the case and palletized unit load levels when shipping packaged operational rations, clothing, individual equipment, tools, personal demand items, or weapon system repair parts, to the Defense Distribution Depot in Susquehanna, PA, or the Defense Distribution Depot in San Joaquin, CA.

The Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards (UTQGS) contain detailed testing procedures for generating consumer information about the treadwear, traction, and temperature resistance of passenger car tires. To ensure the uniformity of treadwear grades, the grading procedures specify a 400-mile test course located near San Angelo, Texas. Two or four-vehicle convoys equipped with candidate tires travel along this course to evaluate the tire treadwear performance. Because of flooding now affecting several water crossings along a small portion of the test course, NHTSA is issuing this interim final rule to revise the specified treadwear test course route. This change will not compromise the reliability of the treadwear grades, and will not impose or relax any substantive requirements or burdens on manufacturers.

The FAA adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Glaser-Dirks Flugzeugbau GmbH (DG Flugzeugbau) Model DG-800B sailplanes equipped with a SOLO 2625 engine or a Mid-West AE 50T engine. This AD requires you to modify the coolant pump and fuel pump electrical circuits, remove the non-resettable digital engine indicator (DEI) circuit breaker (4-ampere) and replace with a resettable 5-ampere circuit breaker, secure (for sailplanes with a SOLO 2625 engine) the choke butterfly valve axis, install edge protection at the sharp edges of the resettable 5-ampere DEI circuit breaker, and incorporate changes in the FAA-approved sailplane flight manual. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the airworthiness authority for Germany. We are issuing this AD to prevent electrical failure of the fuel and coolant pumps if a non-resettable circuit breaker trips. This could result in power loss with the inability to restart the fuel pump during a critical phase of flight (for example, takeoff under own power).

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to certain McDonnell Douglas series airplanes. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections of the electrical connectors of the explosive cartridge wiring of the engine fire extinguisher containers to verify if the identification number labels are installed and legible; repetitive electrical tests of all explosive cartridge wiring of the engine fire extinguisher containers to verify proper installation and function; and corrective actions if necessary. This new AD requires an inspection of the emergency shut off wire assembly; installation of lanyards on the electrical connectors for the engine fire extinguishing agent containers and for the auxiliary power unit fire extinguishing agent containers if applicable; and related investigative/corrective actions, as applicable. This AD is prompted by reports of cross-wired electrical connectors of the engine fire extinguishing agent containers. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cross-wired electrical connectors of the fire extinguishing system, which could release fire extinguishing agent into the incorrect engine nacelle in the event of an engine fire.