September 8, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Trade Commission is amending Sec. 4.14(b) of its Rules of Practice to provide that the number of Commissioners needed for a quorum will be a majority of those sitting and not recused in a matter.

NMFS announces the closure of the Closed Area I (CAI) Scallop Access Area for general category scallop vessels for the remainder of the 2005 fishing year (through February 28, 2006). This closure is based on a determination by the Northeast Regional Administrator (RA) that general category scallop vessels will have made all of the 162 allowed trips by 0001 hr local time September 8, 2005. This action is being taken to prevent the allocation of general category trips in CAI Scallop Access Area from being exceeded during the 2005 fishing year in accordance with the regulations implemented under Framework 16 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and Framework 39 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP (Joint Frameworks) and the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

In a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on August 23, 2005 (Docket No. 04-083-1), we proposed to amend the regulations by adding Argentina to the list of regions considered free of exotic Newcastle disease (END) and announced the availability of a qualitative evaluation regarding the END status of Argentina. The proposed rule contained an incorrect Internet address and incomplete instructions on how to access the qualitative evaluation. This document corrects those errors.

This document corrects a portion of the Notice of Inquiry issued August 30, 2005.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for General Electric Company (GE) CF34-3A1 turbofan engines installed on Bombardier series Regional Jets with certain high pressure turbine (HPT) rotating components installed. This AD requires removal from service of certain HPT components prior to the parts exceeding their designated life limits. This AD results from the discovery that the manufacturer removed certain part numbers of HPT rotating components from the Life Limits section of the CF34 Engine Manual, SEI-756. The effect of this manual change was the removal of life limits from certain components that are eligible for installation in GE CF34-3A1 engines. We are issuing this AD to impose life limits on these HPT rotating components to prevent low cycle fatigue (LCF) cracking and failure of those components, which could result in uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane.

This Treasury decision expands by 30,200 acres the existing Russian River Valley viticultural area in Sonoma County, California, to a total of 126,600 acres. 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.

This document amends NHTSA's regulation on civil penalties by increasing the maximum aggregate civil penalties for violations of statutes and regulations administered by NHTSA pertaining to odometer tampering and disclosure requirements and vehicle theft protection. This action is taken pursuant to the Federal Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, which requires us to review and, as warranted, adjust penalties based on inflation at least every four years.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the withdrawal of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) concerning needle-bearing devices. FDA is concerned about the significant health risk posed by needlestick and other percutaneous injuries but FDA believes that the actions it has taken and continues to take along with the actions taken by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are addressing the issue adequately at this time.

The EPA is proposing to approve the State Implementation Plan revision submitted on June 22, 2004 by the State of New York to revise the Carbon Monoxide maintenance plan for Onondaga County, New York. EPA is proposing to approve this New York CO maintenance plan because it provides for continued maintenance of the CO National Ambient Air Quality Standard. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, EPA is proposing to approve the State's SIP submittal, as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If EPA receives no adverse comments, EPA will not take further action on this proposed rule. If EPA receives adverse comments, EPA will withdraw the direct final rule and it will not take effect. EPA will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing revisions to the RCRA hazardous waste permitting program, originally proposed on October 12, 2001, to allow for a ``standardized permit.'' The standardized permit will be available to RCRA treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDs) otherwise subject to RCRA permitting that generate and then store or non-thermally treat hazardous waste on- site in tanks, containers, and containment buildings. The standardized permit will also be available to facilities which receive hazardous waste generated off-site by a generator under the same ownership as the receiving facility, and which then store or non- thermally treat the hazardous waste in containers, tanks, or containment buildings. The standardized permit will streamline the permitting process by allowing facilities to obtain and modify permits more easily, while still achieving the same level of environmental protection as individual permits. This rule finalizes the proposal, with changes based on public comments. In the preamble to proposed rule, the Agency also requested comments on other permitting-related topics including: how cleanups under non-RCRA state cleanup programs might be reflected in RCRA permits; the conclusions about captive insurance in a March, 2001 report by EPA's Inspector General; and whether insurers that provide financial assurance for hazardous waste and PCB facilities have a minimum rating from commercial rating services. The Agency is not taking action at this point on these questions.