June 1, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, this technical amendment revises 46 CFR part 531.99 and Form FMC-78 to reflect the Office of Management and Budget's current control number.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau proposes to establish the Rattlesnake Hills viticultural area in Yakima County in south central Washington State. The proposed 68,500-acre area is totally within the established Columbia Valley viticultural area. 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.

The Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (Board) is amending the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) regulations to accommodate new TSP lifecycle investment allocation funds, eliminate references to open seasons (which Congress repealed), and to require participants to file all death benefit beneficiary designation forms with the TSP record keeper. The Executive Director is also removing obsolete and unhelpful provisions from the regulations, eliminating references to TSP form numbers, notifying TSP participants of a new mailing address for loan payments, and otherwise making the regulations easier to understand.

The FAA withdraws a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposed a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all EMBRAER Model ERJ 170 series airplanes. That action would have required inspecting the engine fire handles of the overhead panel in the cockpit, and replacing the engine fire handles if necessary. Since the NPRM was issued, we have received new data that the identified unsafe condition has been corrected on all airplanes that would have been subject to the NPRM. Accordingly, the proposed AD is withdrawn.

This document requests comments on a petition for rule making filed by Press Communications, LLC (``Petitioner''), licensee of FM Station WKOE, Channel 292A, Ocean City, New Jersey. Petitioner requests that the Commission substitute 293A for Channel 292A, Station WKOE, and reallot Channel 293A from Ocean City to Bass River Township, New Jersey. The coordinates for Channel 293A at Bass River Township are 39- 39-00 NL and 74-21-20 WL, with a site restriction of 10.4 kilometers (6.4 miles) northeast of Bass River Township.

EPA issued a final rule on May 6, 2005, (70 FR 24280) that adds the following transportation related PM2.5 precursors to the transportation conformity regulations: nitrogen oxides (NOX), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulfur oxides (SOX), and ammonia (NH3). The final rule specifies when each of these precursors must be considered in conformity determinations in PM2.5 nonattainment and maintenance areas before and after PM2.5 state air quality implementation plans (SIPs) are submitted. The preamble to the final rule contains two minor errors. This notice is intended to correct these errors. All other preamble and regulatory text printed in the May 6, 2005, final rule is correct. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is EPA's federal partner in implementing the transportation conformity regulation. We have consulted with DOT on the development of these corrections, and DOT concurs.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of cis -3-hexen-1-ol also known as leaf alcohol or 3-hexen-1-ol, (3Z)- (CAS Reg. No. 928-96-1) when used as an inert ingredient - an odorant or alerting agent in certain pesticide formulations. Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of cis -3-hexen-1-ol.

This order amends certain features of the pooling standards and transportation credit provisions of the Upper Midwest (UMW) milk marketing order on an interim basis. More than the required number of producers in the UMW marketing area have approved the issuance of the interim order as amended.

NMFS is implementing approved measures contained in Framework Adjustment 40B (FW 40B) to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). FW 40B was developed by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) to modify existing effort control programs implemented under Amendment 13 to the FMP to improve the effectiveness of these programs, to create additional opportunities for commercial fishing vessels in the fishery to target healthy groundfish stocks, and to increase the information available to assess groundfish bycatch in the herring fishery. This final rule implements several revisions to the Days-at-Sea (DAS) Leasing and Transfer Programs, modifies provisions for the Closed Area (CA) II Yellowtail Flounder Special Access Program (SAP), revises the allocation criteria for the Georges Bank (GB) Cod Hook Sector (Sector), establishes a DAS credit for vessels standing by an entangled whale, implements new notification requirements for Category 1 herring vessels, and removes the net limit for Trip gillnet vessels.

The Federal Aviation Administration proposes to amend commercial space transportation regulations by adding procedures for obtaining a safety approval. Application for a safety approval is voluntary. A safety approval is an FAA determination that a licensed launch or reentry may be conducted using a launch vehicle, reentry vehicle, safety system, process, service, or personnel approved under this part. The safety approval holder could then offer a launch vehicle, reentry vehicle, safety system, process, service, or personnel to prospective launch and reentry licensees for use within a defined and proven envelope. Those licensees would not need added FAA approval of that portion of their license application. Proposed rules are needed to establish the procedures for obtaining a safety approval from the FAA.

In this document, interested parties are invited to comment to refresh the record on Carrier Identification Code (CIC) Conservation and the Definition of ``Entity'' for purposes of CIC assignments.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing this final regulation to amend the Federal Employees Health Benefits Acquisition Regulation (FEHBAR). It establishes requirements, including audit, for Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) experience-rated carriers' Large Provider Agreements. It also modifies the dollar threshold for review of carriers' subcontract agreements; revises the definitions of Cost or Pricing Data and Experience-rate to reflect mental health parity requirements; updates the contract records retention requirement; updates the FEHB Clause Matrix; and conforms subpart and paragraph references to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) revisions made since we last updated the FEHBAR.