August 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the public comment period on the proposed designation of critical habitat for Atriplex coronata var. notatior under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (Act), and the availability of a draft economic analysis of the proposed designation of critical habitat. We are reopening the comment period to allow all interested parties an opportunity to comment simultaneously on the proposed rule and the associated draft economic analysis. Comments previously submitted on this proposed rule need not be resubmitted as they have already been incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered in our final determination of critical habitat for this taxon.

This document amends the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) interpretive rule that provides guidance to the public on the types of property that TSA considers weapons, explosives, and incendiaries prohibited in airport sterile areas, in the cabins of aircraft, or in passengers' checked baggage. This document also amends TSA's guidance on the types of items permitted in sterile areas, the cabins of aircraft, and in passengers' checked baggage. This document adds as permitted items certain small scissors that persons with ostomies need.

The EPA is proposing to grant a petition submitted by Saturn Corporation (Saturn) to exclude or ``delist'' wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) sludge generated from conversion coating on aluminum at Saturn's integrated automotive assembly facility located at 100 Saturn Parkway in Spring Hill, Tennessee, from the requirements of the hazardous waste regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This exclusion would be valid only when the sludge is disposed of in a Subtitle D landfill that is permitted, licensed, or registered by a state to manage industrial solid waste. The EPA used the Delisting Risk Assessment Software (DRAS) in the evaluation of the potential impact of the petitioned waste on human health and the environment. The EPA bases its proposed decision to grant the petition based on an evaluation of waste-specific information provided by Saturn. This proposed decision, if finalized, conditionally excludes the petitioned waste from the requirements of the RCRA hazardous waste regulations. If finalized, the EPA would conclude that Saturn's petitioned waste is nonhazardous with respect to the original listing criteria and that there are no other factors that would cause the waste to be hazardous.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, also the Agency or we in this preamble) today is granting a petition to modify an exclusion (or delisting) from the lists of hazardous waste previously granted to BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC (BMW) in Greer, South Carolina. This action responds to a petition for amendment submitted by BMW to eliminate the total concentration limits in its wastewater treatment sludge covered by its current conditional exclusion. EPA received public comments on the November 26, 2004, Proposed Rule (69 FR 68851) and took into account all public comments before granting this final rule. The Agency re-evaluated the specific information initially provided by the petitioner in its original request and delistings granted to other automobile manufactures for their F019 waste. This final decision eliminates the total concentration limits for barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, and cyanide from its conditionally excluded wastewater treatment sludge from the requirements of the hazardous waste regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The waste will still be subject to local, State, and Federal regulations for nonhazardous solid wastes.

By this action, EPA is soliciting comments, data and information for determining how to calculate the reductions in volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions achieved in ozone nonattainment and maintenance areas from the implementation of rules which limit the VOC content of architectural coatings (commonly referred to as architectural industrial maintenance, or AIM, coatings). In addition to submitting comments, data and information, interested parties may also request to meet with EPA to present their recommended approaches and rationales.

This emergency rule, implemented under the authority of the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery management plan (FMP), establishes a salmon conservation zone for the primary Pacific whiting (whiting) fishery, shoreward of a boundary line approximating the 100-fm (183-m) depth contour. Under this rule, fishing for Pacific whiting within the salmon conservation zone is prohibited.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Texas regulatory program (Texas program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Texas proposes to revise its fish and wildlife habitat revegetation guidelines by adding technical standards for reclaiming mined land to habitat suitable for bobwhite quail and other grassland bird species and by making associated changes to existing guidelines. Texas intends to revise its program to encourage reclamation practices that are suitable for grassland bird species. This document gives the times and locations that the Texas program and proposed amendment to that program are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

As a part of its review of regulations under section 2222 of the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-208, Sept. 30, 1996) (EGRPRA), the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) is issuing a final rule, which reduces regulatory burden on savings associations by updating and revising various application and reporting requirements. Specifically, the final rule: modifies the branch office and agency office application and notice requirements, harmonizes publication and public comment procedures for various applications and notices, and revises the meeting procedures. The final rule also eliminates various obsolete rules.

In this document, the Commission concludes that because speed of answer is central to the provision of ``functionally equivalent'' telecommunications relay service (TRS), and video relay service (VRS) is now widely usedif not the preferred form of TRS, VRS providers must provide service in compliance with the speed of answer rule adopted to be eligible for compensation from the Interstate TRS Fund. The rule establishes for the first time, mandatory speed of answer requirement for VRS, requires VRS to be officered 24/7, and permit VRS providers to be compensated for providing VRS mail. Also, in this document, the Commission closes TRS Docket No. CC 98-67.

This rule revises the container and pack requirements currently prescribed under the marketing order (order) covering oranges and grapefruit grown in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The order regulates the handling of such fruit and is administered locally by the Texas Valley Citrus Committee (Committee). This rule revises the orange and grapefruit rules and regulations and container requirements by adding eight new containers to the list of authorized containers for use by Texas citrus handlers, removing one obsolete container, and by combining all the requirements on authorized bags into one grouping for easier reference. Other changes would revise incorrect references to the U.S. grade standards for oranges and grapefruit grown in Texas. These changes are expected to help handlers compete more effectively in the marketplace, better meet the needs of buyers, and to improve producer returns.

This document responds to petitions for reconsideration requesting changes to a final rule published on February 27, 2004 (February 2004 final rule). The February 2004 final rule amended the upper interior impact requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 201, ``Occupant protection in interior impact.'' Among other matters, to address the safety consequences of certain new vehicle designs, the February 2004 final rule added new targets to door frames and seat belt mounting structures found in some vehicles. This document amends the definition of ``seat belt mounting structure'' to ensure that the definition is not unnecessarily broad, and clarifies several issues related to existing target relocation procedures. This document also delays the implementation of the new requirements for door frames and seat belt mounting structures from September 1, 2005 until December 1, 2005.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim final rule which decreased the assessment rate established for the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee (Committee) for the 2005-2006 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.105 to $0.10 per hundredweight of onions handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of onions grown in designated counties in Idaho, and Malheur County, Oregon. Authorization to assess onion handlers enables the Committee to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the program. The fiscal period began July 1 and ends June 30. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

In this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), we (NHTSA) seek to address the problem of motor home and travel trailer overloading by proposing to amend the Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) on tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars. We are also proposing a related amendment to our safety standard for tire selection and rims for light vehicles. We propose to require manufacturers of motor homes and travel trailers over 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) GVWR to provide information to consumers in a label that is intended to inform the consumer about the vehicle's cargo carrying capacity (CCC). This information would be helpful both at the time the consumer is making a purchase decision and also as the consumer uses his or her vehicle. We also propose to require that the size of tires on the same motor homes and travel trailers be the same as the size of the tires listed on the tire information label required by the standard on tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars. We are limiting our CCC label to motor homes and travel trailers with a GVWR greater than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) as these are the vehicles that have large open interior areas that consumers fill with cargo. Recreational vehicles (RV) with GVWRs equal to or less than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) will be required to have less detailed CCC information as a result of an amendment to the FMVSS on tire selection and rims, which becomes effective September 1, 2005. It should be noted that on June 1, 2007, the FMVSS on tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars will apply to vehicles with a GVWR greater than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) and the FMVSS on tire selection and rims will apply to vehicles with a GVWR equal to or less than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds). It is our belief that this proposed rule complements the efforts of the recreational vehicle industry to provide consumers with information in order to help reduce overloading motor homes and travel trailers. This rulemaking responds to a petition from Ms. Justine May. In addition, this proposed rule would provide regulatory relief for dealers from a labeling requirement in the safety standard on tire selection and rims for light vehicles. The standard's requirement may currently require dealers which add even small amounts of weight to re- label the vehicles. Under the proposed amendment, dealers that add weight in excess of 0.5 percent of the vehicles' gross vehicle weight ratings would be required to disclose this extra weight on labels affixed to the vehicles. Dealers could add lesser amounts of weight without needing to change or add labels.

This rule prescribes the hunting seasons, hours, areas, and daily bag and possession limits of mourning, white-winged, and white- tipped doves; band-tailed pigeons; rails; moorhens and gallinules; woodcock; common snipe; sandhill cranes; sea ducks; early (September) waterfowl seasons; migratory game birds in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands; and some extended falconry seasons. Taking of migratory birds is prohibited unless specifically provided for by annual regulations. This rule permits taking of designated species during the 2005-06 season.

This document responds to Section 4(b) and Section 3(b)(2) of Anton's Law, which directed NHTSA to initiate rulemaking on child restraint system safety, with a specific focus on booster seats and restraints for children who weigh more than 50 pounds (lb). After the enactment of Anton's Law, this agency increased the applicability of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, Child restraint systems, from restraints recommended for children up to 50 lb to restraints recommended for children up to 65 lb. Today's document proposes a further expansion, to restraints recommended for children up to 80 lb. It also proposes to require booster seats and other restraints to meet performance criteria when tested with a crash test dummy representative of a 10-year-old child. Section 4(a) and all other provisions of Section 3 were addressed in rulemaking documents issued previously by NHTSA.

This regulation establishes time-limited tolerances for residues of methoxyfenozide in or on sorghum grain, sorghum grain forage, and sorghum grain stover. This action is in response to EPA's granting of an emergency exemption under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) authorizing use of the pesticide on sorghum grain. This regulation establishes a maximum permissible level for residues of methoxyfenozide in these food commodities. These tolerances will expire and are revoked on December 31, 2007.

In this document, the Commission grants petitions for reconsideration of the 2004 TRS Report & Order. Through this action, the Commission reverses its conclusion that translation from American Sign Language (ASL) into Spanish is not a telecommunications relay service (TRS) eligible for compensation from the Interstate TRS Fund. This decision will allow Spanish-speaking people who are deaf to communicate with others who speak only Spanish and will allow them to integrate more fully into society.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is relocating Circular A-122, ``Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations,'' to Title 2 in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), subtitle A, chapter II, part 230. This relocation is part of our broader initiative to create 2 CFR as a single location where the public can find both OMB guidance for grants and agreements and the associated Federal agency implementing regulations. The broader initiative provides a good foundation for streamlining and simplifying the policy framework for grants and agreements, one objective of OMB and Federal agency efforts to implement the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-107).

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is relocating OMB Circular A-21, ``Cost Principles for Educational Institutions,'' to Title 2 in the Code of Federal Regulations (2 CFR), subtitle A, chapter II, part 220. This relocation is part of our broader initiative to create 2 CFR as a single location where the public can find both OMB guidance for grants and agreements and the associated Federal agency implementing regulations. The broader initiative provides a good foundation for streamlining and simplifying the policy framework for grants and agreements, one objective of OMB and Federal agency efforts to implement the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-107). Furthermore, this document makes changes to 2 CFR part 215, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations (OMB Circular A-110). The changes will add to part 215 new references to 2 CFR parts 220, 225, and 230 for the cost principles in OMB Circulars A- 21, A-87, and A-122, respectively; will update part 215 to include a citation for the Social Security Administration's grant regulation; and will correct part 215 to add the amendatory language of A-110 published on October 8, 1999, and to correct a typographic error.

This document and the four Federal Register documents following it in this issue of the Federal Register are related to a broad initiative that established Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) as the single location where the public can find both OMB guidance for grants and agreements and the associated Federal agency implementing regulations. The Federal Register document that established Title 2 CFR (see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section) describes this broad initiative. The initiative provides a good foundation for streamlining and simplifying the policy framework for grants and agreements, which is one objective of OMB and the Federal agencies in implementing the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-107). The Federal Register documents following this one publish four additional parts in subtitle A, 2 CFR. These four parts contain guidance to Federal agencies that presently is in three separate OMB circulars and one other OMB policy document. The four documents following this one are discussed further in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. This first document provides an overview for the sequence of the five Federal Register documents published by OMB in this issue of the Federal Register. It also makes changes to 2 CFR part 1, the part in 2 CFR that provides general information about the title. The changes conform part 1 with the four parts of OMB guidance added by the documents following this one.

This rule prescribes final early-season frameworks from which the States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands may select season dates, limits, and other options for the 2005-06 migratory bird hunting seasons. Early seasons are those that generally open prior to October 1, and include seasons in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The effect of this final rule is to facilitate the selection of hunting seasons by the States and Territories to further the annual establishment of the early-season migratory bird hunting regulations.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 620 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 620 of the GOA.

This document confirms the effective date of the direct final rule which revises Class E airspace at Newton, KS.

This document corrects an error in the amendatory instruction in a final rule pertaining to the Revised Format of 40 CFR part 52 for Materials Being Incorporated by Reference for Minnesota.

On July 1, 2005, the EPA issued direct final amendments to the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for Miscellaneous Organic Chemical Manufacturing, along with a parallel proposal to be used as the basis for final action in the event EPA received any adverse comments on the direct final amendments. Because adverse comment was received, EPA is withdrawing the corresponding parts of the direct final rule. We stated in that direct final rule that if we received adverse comment by August 1, 2005, we would publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register. We will address all comments in a subsequent final rule based on the parallel proposal published on July 1, 2005. As stated in the parallel proposal, we will not institute a second comment period on this action.