July 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard proposes to temporarily alter the effective period of the safety zone defined in 33 CFR 165.162 for the annual New York Super Boat Race. This temporary rule would change the effective date for this safety zone from Sunday, September 11, 2005 to Saturday, September 10, 2005 to permit the race sponsors to avoid interfering with various 9-11 memorial activities scheduled for the currently regulated date. This action is proposed to protect life on navigable waters during the event. No other changes to the original regulation are proposed.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone around a petroleum and gas production facility in Green Canyon 787 of the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. The facility needs to be protected from vessels operating outside the normal shipping channels and fairways, and placing a safety zone around this area will significantly reduce the threat of allisions, oil spills and releases of natural gas. This rule prohibits all vessels from entering or remaining in the specified area around the facility's location except under specified conditions.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone around a petroleum and gas production facility in Green Canyon 782 of the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. The facility needs to be protected from vessels operating outside the normal shipping channels and fairways, and placing a safety zone around this area will significantly reduce the threat of allisions, oil spills and releases of natural gas. This rule prohibits all vessels from entering or remaining in the specified area around the facility's location except under specified conditions.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone restricting all vessel traffic on Lake Ontario, Near Hamlin Beach State Park, Monroe County, New York, due to Catamaran Sailboat Races, August 6, 2005 and August 7, 2005. This temporary safety zone is necessary to ensure the safety of both the participants and spectators of the sail boat races.

The Coast Guard proposes to change the drawbridge operating regulations governing the operation of the Willis Amtrak Portal Bridge, mile 5.0, across the Hackensack River at Little Snake Hill, New Jersey. This notice of proposed rulemaking would allow the bridge owner to expand the two time periods in the morning and in the afternoon, Monday through Friday, when the bridge may remain closed to vessel traffic.

The Coast Guard is establishing temporary moving security zones around all escorted high capacity passenger vessels during their transit in the navigable waters of the Seventeenth Coast Guard District. These temporary security zones prohibit any vessel from entering within 100 yards of an escorted high capacity passenger vessel while in transit. These temporary security zones are necessary to mitigate potential terrorist acts and enhance public and maritime safety and security.

This document contains final regulations concerning the definition and tax treatment of a stapled foreign corporation, which generally is treated for tax purposes as a domestic corporation under section 269B of the Internal Revenue Code.

EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maryland. This revision pertains to a Consent Order establishing volatile organic compound (VOC) reasonably available control technology (RACT) for Perdue Farms, Incorporated. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

This document proposes to amend the Department of Homeland Security regulations pertaining to the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection's field organization by establishing a new port-of-entry in the Tri-Cities area of the States of Tennessee and Virginia, including the Tri-Cities Regional Airport. The new port-of-entry would include the same geographical boundaries of the current Customs and Border Protection User Fee Port No. 2082, which encompasses Sullivan County, Tennessee; Washington County, Tennessee; and Washington County, Virginia. The user-fee status of Tri-Cities Regional Airport, located in Blountville, Tennessee, will be terminated. These changes will assist the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection in its continuing efforts to provide better service to carriers, importers and the general public.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 is issuing this notice of intent to delete the North Sea Municipal Landfill Superfund Site (Site), located in Southampton, New York from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this action. The NPL is Appendix B of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR part 300, which EPA promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended. The EPA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, have determined that responsible parties have implemented all appropriate response actions required. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' Section of today's Federal Register, we are publishing a direct final deletion of the North Sea Municipal Landfill Superfund Site without prior notice of this action because we view this as a noncontroversial revision and anticipate no significant adverse comment. We have explained our reasons for this deletion in the preamble to the direct final deletion. If we receive no significant adverse comment(s) on this notice of intent to delete or the direct final notice of deletion, we will not take further action on this notice of intent to delete. If we receive significant adverse comment(s), we will withdraw the direct final notice of deletion and it will not take effect. We will, as appropriate, address all public comments. If, after evaluating public comments, EPA decides to proceed with deletion, we will do so in a subsequent final deletion notice based on this notice of intent to delete. We will not institute a second comment period on this notice of intent to delete. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time. For additional information, see the direct final notice of deletion which is located in the Rules section of this Federal Register.

This proposed rule is issued by the Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to place the substance embutramide, including its salts, into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This proposed action is based on a recommendation from the Acting Assistant Secretary for Health of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and on an evaluation of the relevant data by DEA. If finalized, this action will impose the regulatory controls and criminal sanctions applicable to Schedule III on those who handle embutramide and products containing embutramide.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``CFTC'') and the Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'') (collectively ``Commissions'') are adopting technical amendments to certain references in rules under the Commodity Exchange Act (``CEA'') and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') that set forth the method for determining market capitalization and dollar value of average daily trading volume, to reflect new terminology and rule designations that will become effective as a result of the adoption by the SEC of Regulation NMS. Specifically, the phrase ``reported securities as defined in Sec. 240.11Ac1-1'' will be replaced with the phrase ``NMS securities as defined in Sec. 242.600.''

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the bovine tuberculosis regulations regarding State and zone classifications by raising the designation of California from modified accredited advanced to accredited-free. The interim rule was based on our determination that California met the criteria for designation as an accredited-free State.

This action amends Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations, part 71 (14 CFR 71) by revising Class E airspace areas at Dodge City Regional Airport, KS. A review of the Class E airspace surface area and the Class E airspace area extending upward from 700 feet above ground level (AGL) at Dodge City Regional Airport, KS reveals neither area complies with criteria in FAA Orders. These airspace areas and their legal descriptions are modified to conform to the criteria in FAA Orders.

An examination of the controlled airspace for Abilene Municipal Airport, KS has revealed a discrepancy in the size of the Class E airspace area. This action modifies the Class E5 airspace area beginning at 700 feet above the surface by deleting the airspace area extension and increasing the radius from 6.3-miles to 6.9-miles of the airport. This action brings the Class E5 airspace area into compliance with FAA directives.

This SNPRM supplements a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Federal Register on November 24, 2003. In this supplemental notice, the FAA is proposing to modify the previously proposed description of the Minneapolis, MN, Class B airspace area. Specifically, this action proposes to add an additional area that is necessary to contain large turbine-powered aircraft within the Class B airspace area during aircraft operations to the new Runway 17/35 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International (Wold Chamberlain) Airport (MSP). The proposed modifications would enhance safety and improve the management of increased aircraft operations in the Minneapolis terminal area. Further, this effort supports the FAA's national airspace redesign goal of optimizing terminal and en route airspace areas to reduce aircraft delays and improve system capacity.

This final rule amends the agency's National Driver Register (NDR) regulations to implement new reporting requirements mandated by the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (MCSIA). MCSIA amended the NDR Act to require that a State, before issuing or renewing a motor vehicle operator's license, must verify an individual's eligibility to receive a license through informational checks of both the NDR and the Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS). The final rule amends the NDR regulations to reflect this statutory change. The final rule also provides an updated listing of the NDR reporting codes in the Appendix to reflect the codes that should be implemented by participating States by September 30, 2005. The final rule clarifies that pointer records reported to the NDR must only regard individuals who have been convicted or whose license has been denied, canceled, revoked, or suspended for one of the offenses identified in the Appendix. Finally, the final rule adds a definition for the term ``employers or prospective employers of motor vehicle operators.''

NCUA proposes to add a new part to NCUA's regulations to implement new, post-employment restrictions that will apply to certain senior NCUA examiners starting December 17, 2005. The proposed rule prohibits senior NCUA examiners, for a year after leaving NCUA employment, from accepting employment with a credit union if they had continuing, broad responsibility for examination of that credit union for two or more months during their last 12 months of NCUA employment.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) seeks public comment on a proposal to allow low-income designated credit unions that offer secondary capital accounts to begin redeeming the funds in those accounts when they are within five years of maturity, and to require prior approval of a plan for the use of secondary capital before such accounts can be offered.

On July 30, 2004, EPA promulgated national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for the plywood and composite wood products (PCWP) source category. The Administrator subsequently received a petition for reconsideration of certain provisions in the final rule. By a letter dated December 6, 2004, the Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation granted the petition for reconsideration, explaining that we would publish a notice in the Federal Register to respond to the petition. We are issuing that notice and requesting comment on the approach used to delist a low-risk subcategory of PCWP affected sources, as outlined in the final rule, and on an issue related to the final rule's start-up, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) provisions. We are not requesting comments on any other provisions of the final PCWP rule or any other rule. The petitioners also requested that we stay the effectiveness of the risk- based provisions of the final rule, pending reconsideration of those provisions. As stated in the December 6, 2004 letter, we are declining to take that action at the present time.

We (MSHA) are proposing to revise our existing health standards for asbestos exposure at metal and nonmetal mines, surface coal mines, and surface areas of underground coal mines. The proposed rule would reduce the full-shift permissible exposure limit and the excursion limit for airborne asbestos fibers, and make several nonsubstantive changes to add clarity to the standard. Exposure to asbestos has been associated with lung and other cancers, mesotheliomas, and asbestosis. This proposed rule would help assure that fewer miners who work in an environment where asbestos is present would suffer material impairment of health or functional capacity over their working lifetime.

This final rule is issued by the Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to place the substance pregabalin [(S)-3-(aminomethyl)-5-methylhexanoic acid], including its salts, and all products containing pregabalin into Schedule V of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). As a result of this rule, the regulatory controls and criminal sanctions of Schedule V will be applicable to the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, importation and exportation of pregabalin and products containing pregabalin.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) is issuing a final regulation that sets forth safety and soundness requirements with respect to mortgage fraud reporting in furtherance of the supervisory responsibilities of OFHEO under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992.

NMFS apportions amounts of the non-specified reserve of groundfish to the yellowfin sole initial total allowable catch (ITAC) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the fishery to continue operating. It is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the fishery management plan for the BSAI.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations to implement a National Source Tracking System for certain sealed sources. The proposed amendments would require licensees to report certain transactions involving these sealed sources to the National Source Tracking System. These transactions would include manufacture, transfer, receipt, or disposal of the nationally tracked source. The proposed amendment would also require each licensee to provide its initial inventory of nationally tracked sources to the National Source Tracking System and annually verify and reconcile the information in the system with the licensee's actual inventory. In addition, the proposed amendment would require manufacturers to assign a unique serial number to each nationally tracked source.