July 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On April 19, 2005, FRA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to correct an inadvertent, small omission from FRA Form 4 (Boiler Specification Card) in the Steam Locomotive Inspection and Maintenance Standards. The form is used to record information about inspections of steam locomotive boilers. FRA received two comments supporting the adoption of the proposed rule. Therefore, FRA adopts the proposed rule as a final rule.

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its regulations to correct an incorrect address for the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). This action is editorial in nature and is intended to improve the accuracy of the agency's regulations.

The Coast Guard proposes to temporarily change the regulations that govern the operation of the Route 35 Bridge, at New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway (NJICW) mile 1.1, across Manasquan River, at Brielle, New Jersey. The bridge will be closed to navigation on three four-month closure periods beginning from 8 a.m. November 1, 2006 until 5 p.m. March 1, 2007; from 8 a.m. on November 1, 2007 until 5 p.m. March 1, 2008; and from 8 a.m. on November 1, 2008 until 5 p.m. March 1, 2009. The extensive structural, mechanical, and electrical repairs and improvements necessitate these closures.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its public information regulations to implement more comprehensively the exemptions contained in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This action incorporates exemptions one, two, and three of the FOIA into FDA's public information regulations. Exemption one applies to information that is classified in the interest of national defense or foreign policy. Exemption two applies to records that are related solely to an agency's internal personnel rules and practices. Exemption three incorporates the various nondisclosure provisions that are contained in other Federal statutes.

The Federal Election Commission is amending its rules regarding contributions to the separate segregated fund (``SSF'') of a trade association by employee-stockholders and executive and administrative personnel of corporations that are members of the trade association (collectively, ``solicitable class employees''). The revised rules will no longer prohibit corporate members of a trade association from using a payroll deduction or check-off system for employee contributions to the trade association's SSF. Instead, these final rules will allow a corporate member of a trade association to provide incidental services to collect and forward contributions from its solicitable class employees to the SSF of the trade association, including use of a payroll deduction or check-off system, upon written request of the trade association. These final rules will also require any member corporation that provides incidental services for contributions to a trade association's SSF, as well as the corporation's subsidiaries, divisions, branches and affiliates, to provide the same services for contributions to the SSF of any labor organization that represents members working for the corporation, or the corporation's subsidiaries, divisions, branches or affiliates, upon written request of the labor organization and at a cost not to exceed actual expenses incurred. Additional information appears in the Supplementary Information that follows.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has examined and found suitable for classification for lease or conveyance under the provisions of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, approximately 5 acres of public lands in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. The Ten Mile Water and Sewer District proposes to use the land for office and warehouse space for the District.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, and the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 2000 (Steens Act), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is initiating preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze and undertake the North Steens Ecosystem Restoration Project (North Steens Project).

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 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, U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 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)).

NASA hereby gives notice that Phoenix Systems International, Inc. of Pine Brooke, NJ, has applied for an exclusive foreign patent license to practice the invention described and claimed in NASA Case No. KSC-12664-3 PCT entitled ``Emission Control System,'' which is assigned to the United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Written objections to the prospective grant of an exclusive license to Phoenix Systems International, Inc. should be sent to Assistant Chief Counsel/Patent Counsel, NASA, Mail Code: CC-A, Office of the Chief Counsel, John F. Kennedy Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 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 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 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 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

In this document, we conclude a proceeding to collect $280,098,000 in regulatory fees for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005. These fees are mandated by Congress and are collected to recover the regulatory costs associated with the Commission's enforcement, policy and rulemaking, user information, and international activities. We also deny the petition for reconsideration filed by Cingular Wireless LLC of the Commission's FY 2004 Report and Order.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction act of 1995 (Public Law 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review of a currently approved information collection. RI 20-120, Request for Change to Unreduced Annuity, is used to collect information OPM needs to comply with wishes of the retired Federal employee whose marriage has ended. Comments are particularly invited on:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a request for review of a revised information collection. RI 78-11, Medicare Part B Certification, collects information from annuitants, their spouses, and survivor annuitants to determine their eligibility under the Retired Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for a Government contribution toward the cost of Part B of Medicare. Approximately 100 RI 78-11 forms are completed annually. Each form requires approximately 10 minutes complete. The annual estimated burden is 17 hours. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606-8358, FAX (202) 418-3251 or via e-mail to mbtoomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.

The Department of the Army proposes to revise its regulation concerning obtaining information from financial institutions. The regulation prescribes policies for the Department of the Army to obtain information on a customer's financial records from financial institutions.

The FAA is correcting a typographical error in an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that was published in the Federal Register on June 22, 2005 (70 FR 36011). The error resulted in an incomplete listing of the affected airplanes. This AD applies to all EMBRAER Model EMB-135 airplanes, and all Model EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, - 145XR, -145MP, and -145EP airplanes. This AD requires repetitive inspections of the electrical connectors of the electric fuel pumps to detect discrepancies, application of anti-corrosion spray, replacement of all fuel pumps with improved fuel pumps, repetitive inspections after all six fuel pumps are replaced, and applicable corrective actions.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain McDonnell Douglas airplanes identified above. This AD requires repetitive functional tests for noisy or improper operation of the exterior emergency control handle assemblies of the mid, overwing, and aft passenger doors, and corrective actions if necessary. This AD also provides for optional terminating action for the repetitive tests. This AD is prompted by a report that the exterior emergency control mechanism handles were inoperative on a McDonnell Douglas Model MD-11 airplane. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the passenger doors to operate properly in an emergency condition, which could delay an emergency evacuation and possibly result in injury to passengers and flightcrew.

On June 16, 2005, in Kiswok Industries Pvt. Ltd. and Calcutta Ferrous Ltd. v. United States, Slip Op. 05-73, the Court of International Trade (CIT) affirmed the Department of Commerce (the Department) Final Results of Redetermination on Remand dated July 9, 2004. Consistent with the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) in Timken Co. v. United States, 893 F.2d 337 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (Timken), the Department will continue to order the suspension of liquidation of the subject merchandise, where appropriate, until there is a ``conclusive'' decision in this case. If the case is not appealed, or if it is affirmed on appeal, the Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to liquidate all relevant entries from Calcutta Ferrous Ltd.