August 30, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On July 18, 2005, President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the completion of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) with India. The proposed cooperation outlined in the NSSP has progressed through a series of reciprocal steps that built on one another, including steps related to creating the appropriate environment for successful high-technology commerce. This rule implements two steps the United States has agreed to take as part of the final phase of NSSP, namely, the removal of license requirements for exports and reexports of items controlled unilaterally by the United States for nuclear nonproliferation reasons to India and the removal of six Indian entities from the Entity List.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight is issuing this final rule amending its rules of practice and procedure to adjust each civil money penalty within its jurisdiction to account for inflation, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 630 of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the C season allowance of the 2005 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 630 of the GOA.

This interim rule amends SBA's HUBZone, 8(a) Business Development, Government Contracting and Size Standard regulations to implement provisions of the Small Business Act including the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, specifically, Subtitle E of Division K entitled the Small Business Reauthorization and Manufacturing Assistance Act of 2004. Consistent with the new statutory requirements under Subtitle E, this interim rule: Amends the definitions of the terms ``business concern,'' ``affiliation,'' ``HUBZone small business concern'' and ``qualified HUBZone small business concern;'' amends the HUBZone eligibility requirements for tribally-owned HUBZone concerns; extends qualified HUBZone areas to include military base closure areas for a period of five years; revises the definition of a ``qualified non-metropolitan county;'' extends the redesignation period for HUBZone areas through the release of the 2010 census data; and provides a five percent HUBZone evaluation price preference for agricultural commodities in international food aid procurements. Pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, SBA has determined that there is good cause to issue this rule as an interim rule with an immediate effective date. However, SBA encourages and will consider all timely public comments in developing the final rule.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern particulate matter (PM-10) emissions from fugitive dust sources. We are proposing to approve amendments to local rules that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

This action proposes amendments to the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for integrated iron and steel manufacturing. The proposed amendments would add a new compliance option, revise emission limitations, reduce the frequency of repeat performance tests for certain emissions units, add corrective action requirements, and clarify certain monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.

With this action EPA is proposing to authorize use of 610,665 kilograms of methyl bromide for supplemental critical uses in 2005 through the allocation of additional critical stock allowances (CSAs). This allocation would supplement the critical use allowances (CUAs) and CSAs previously allocated for 2005, as published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2004 (69 FR 76982). Further, EPA is proposing to amend the existing list of exempted critical uses. With today's action EPA is proposing to exempt methyl bromide for critical uses beyond the phaseout under the authority of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) and in accordance with the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Protocol). In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of today's Federal Register, we are authorizing these CSAs and critical uses as a direct final rule without prior proposal because we view this as a noncontroversial action and expect no adverse comment. We have explained our reasons for this authorization in the Preamble to the direct final rule. If we receive no adverse comment, we will not take further action on this proposed rule. If we receive adverse comment, we will withdraw the direct final rule and it will not take effect. We will address all public comments in the subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. We will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time.

Section 938 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 requires the Secretary to establish a process for Medicare contractors to provide eligible participating physicians and beneficiaries with a determination of coverage relating to medical necessity for certain physicians' services before the services are furnished. This rule is intended to afford the physician and beneficiary the opportunity to know the financial liability for a service before expenses are incurred. This proposed rule would establish reasonable limits on physicians' services for which a prior determination of coverage may be requested and discusses generally our plans for establishing the procedures by which those determinations may be obtained.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the Stormwater Conveyance System Construction Project located off of Northerly Island, Lake Michigan, Chicago, IL. The safety zone is necessary to protect vessels and persons from potential hazards during the initial tunneling phase of the project. This phase will involve extensive blasting operations. This safety zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of Lake Michigan in Chicago, IL.

This notice reopens the comment period for a notice of proposed rulemaking for proposed changes to regulations regarding payments by State, district or local party committees for salaries and wages of employees who spend 25 percent or less of their compensated time in a month on activities in connection with a Federal election. The proposed changes would require these expenses to be paid using at least some Federal funds, consistent with the rulings of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Shays v. Federal Election Commission.

We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (the listings) that we use to evaluate claims involving impairments that affect multiple body systems. We apply these criteria when you claim benefits based on disability under title II and title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). The revisions reflect current medical knowledge, methods of evaluating impairments that affect multiple body systems, treatment, and our adjudicative experience.

This notice proposes to reform the structure of the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) program for light trucks and proposes to establish higher CAFE standards for model year (MY) 2008-2011 light trucks. Reforming the CAFE program would enable it to achieve larger fuel savings while enhancing safety and preventing adverse economic consequences. During a transition period of MYs 2008-2010, manufacturers may comply with CAFE standards established under the reformed structure (Reformed CAFE) or with standards established in the traditional way (Unreformed CAFE). This will permit manufacturers to gain experience with the Reformed CAFE standards. In MY 2011, all manufacturers would be required to comply with a Reformed CAFE standard. The reform is based on vehicle size. Under Reformed CAFE, fuel economy standards are restructured so that they are based on a measure of vehicle size called ``footprint,'' the product of multiplying a vehicle's wheelbase by its track width. Vehicles would be divided into footprint categories, each representing a different range of footprint. A target level of average fuel economy is proposed for each footprint category, with smaller footprint light trucks expected to achieve more fuel economy and larger ones, less. Each manufacturer would still be required to comply with a single overall average fuel economy level for each model year of production. A particular manufacturer's compliance obligation for a model year is calculated as the harmonic average of the fuel economy targets in each size category, weighted by the distribution of manufacturer's production volumes across the size categories. The proposed Unreformed CAFE standards are: 22.5 miles per gallon (mpg) for MY 2008, 23.1 mpg for MY 2009, and 23.5 mpg for MY 2010. The Reformed CAFE standards for those model years would be set at levels intended to ensure that the industry-wide costs of the Reformed standards are roughly equivalent to the industry-wide costs of the Unreformed CAFE standards in those model years. For MY 2011, the Reformed CAFE standard would be set at the level that maximizes net benefits, accounting for unquantified benefits and costs. We believe that all of the proposed standards would be set at the maximum feasible level, while accounting for technological feasibility, economic practicability and other relevant factors. Since a manufacturer's compliance obligation for a model year under Reformed CAFE depends in part on its actual production in that model year, the obligation cannot be calculated with absolute precision until the final production figures for that model year become known. However, a manufacturer could calculate its obligation with a reasonably high degree of accuracy in advance of that model year, based on its product plans for the year. Prior to and during the model year, the manufacturer would be able to track all of the key variables in the formula used for calculating the obligation (e.g., distribution of production among the categories and vehicle fuel economy). This notice publishes estimates of the compliance obligations, by manufacturer, for MYs 2008-2011 under Reformed CAFE, using the fuel economy targets proposed by NHTSA and the product plans submitted to NHTSA by the manufacturers in response to a request for product plans published in December 2003. This rulemaking is mandated by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which was enacted in the aftermath of the energy crisis created by the oil embargo of 1973-74. The concerns about energy security and the effects of energy prices and supply on national economic well-being that led to the enactment of EPCA remain alive today. Sustained growth in the demand for oil worldwide, coupled with tight crude oil supplies, is the driving force behind the sharp price increases seen over the past several years. Increasingly, the oil consumed in the U.S. originates in countries with political and economic situations that raise concerns about future oil supply and prices. We recognize that financial difficulties currently exist in the motor vehicle industry and that a substantial number of job losses have been announced recently at large full-line manufacturers. Accordingly, we have carefully balanced the cost of the rule with the benefits of conservation. We believe that, compared to Unreformed CAFE, Reformed CAFE would enhance overall fuel savings while providing vehicle makers the flexibility they need to respond to changing market conditions. Reformed CAFE would also provide a more equitable regulatory framework by creating a level-playing field for manufacturers, regardless of whether they are full-line or limited-line manufacturers. We are particularly encouraged that Reformed CAFE would reduce the adverse safety risks generated by the Unreformed CAFE program. The transition from the Unreformed to the Reformed system would begin soon, but ample lead time is provided before Reformed CAFE takes full effect in MY 2011. We recognize also that our proposals were derived from analyses of information from a variety of sources, including the product plans submitted by the manufacturers in early 2004. We fully anticipate that the manufacturers will respond to this proposal by providing revised plans that reflect events since then. We will evaluate the revised plans, the public comments, and other information and analysis in selecting the most appropriate standards for MYs 2008-2011.

This action corrects and clarifies certain text of the final rule entitled ``Standards of Performance for New and Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Steam Generating Units.'' The final rule was published in the Federal Register on May 18, 2005 (70 FR 28606). This action corrects certain section designations set forth in the final rule at 70 FR 28652. In addition, this action corrects certain revisions set forth in the final rule at 70 FR 28678. These corrections do not affect the substance of the action, nor do they change the rights or obligations of any party. Rather, this action merely corrects certain section designations to eliminate duplication with other rules. Thus, it is proper to issue these final rule corrections without notice and comment. Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), provides that, when an agency for good cause finds that notice and public procedure are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, the agency may issue a rule without providing notice and an opportunity for public comment. We have determined that there is good cause for making this action final without prior proposal and opportunity for comment because the changes to the rule are minor technical corrections, are noncontroversial, and do not substantively change the agency actions taken in the final rule. Thus, notice and public procedure are unnecessary. We find that this constitutes good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).