September 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Arctic Village, AK to the size necessary to contain aircraft executing two new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP) and an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) departure procedure. Adoption of this proposal would result in establishing Class E airspace upward from 700 feet (ft.) above the surface and from 1,200 ft. above the surface at Arctic Village, Alaska.

The Coast Guard is temporarily altering the effective period of the safety zone defined in 33 CFR 165.162 for the annual New York Super Boat Race. This temporary rule changes the effective date for this safety zone from Sunday, September 11, 2005 to Saturday, September 10, 2005. This action is required to protect life on navigable waters during the event.

On June 2, 2005, the State of Indiana, through the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), submitted: A request for the EPA to redesignate the area of Evansville (Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties) from nonattainment to attainment of the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS); and a request for EPA approval of an Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision containing a 10- year maintenance plan for the Evansville area. EPA is proposing to approve the State's request to redesignate the Evansville area to attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA's proposed approval of the redesignation request is based on the determination that the Evansville area and the State of Indiana have met the criteria for redesignation to attainment specified in the Clean Air Act (CAA), including the determination that the Evansville area has attained the 8-hour ozone standard. In conjunction with the proposed approval of the redesignation request for the Evansville area, EPA is proposing to approve the State's plan to maintain the attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS through 2015 in this area as a revision to the Indiana SIP. EPA is also proposing to approve 2015 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets (MVEBs), which are supported by and consistent with the 10-year maintenance plan for this area, for purposes of transportation conformity.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Goodrich De-icing and Specialty Systems ``FASTprop'' propeller de- icers, part numbers P4E1188 series, P4E1601 series, P4E2200 series, P4E2271-10, P4E2575-7, P4E2575-10, P4E2598-10, P5855BSW, P6199SW, P6592SW, P6662SW, and P6975-11, installed. This AD requires inspection, repair, or replacement of those ``FASTprop'' propeller de-icers that fail daily visual checks. This AD results from reports of Goodrich ``FASTprop'' propeller de-icers becoming loose or debonded, and detaching from propeller blades during operation.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Fokker Model F27 Mark 200, 400, 500, and 600 airplanes. This AD requires a general visual inspection of the rotary knobs for the fuel tank isolation valves to determine if the seal wire has been installed correctly, and corrective actions if necessary. This AD results from investigation of a recent accident, which found that the rotary knobs controlling the fuel tank isolating valves had been in the shut position. We are issuing this AD to ensure that the rotary knobs are not inadvertently moved to the shut position, which could result in fuel starvation to both engines and consequent inability to maintain controlled flight and landing.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Hartzell Propeller Inc. propellers. This AD requires inspecting the propeller blades and other critical propeller parts for corrosion and mechanical damage. This AD results from two events where a ``Z- shank'' blade failed and separated and the results of teardown inspections that detected corrosion in the blade bore. We are issuing this AD to detect corrosion and mechanical damage that can cause failure of a propeller, which could result in loss of control of the airplane.

On September 2, 2005, the Coast Guard published a notice and requested comments on a proposed change to regulations governing six drawbridges across Bayou Lafourche, south of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. The proposed rule would change bridge schedules so that they would remain closed to navigation at various times on weekdays during the school year to facilitate the safe, efficient movement of staff, students and other residents within the parish. That notice was signed August 26, 2005, before Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and caused that city to be flooded. We have changed the address and docket number where comments on the proposed rule should be sent because of flood conditions in New Orleans.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 610 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 610 of the GOA.

We are planning to update and revise the rules we use to evaluate growth impairments of individuals under age 18 who apply for, or receive, disability benefits under title II and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments based on disability under title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). The rules we plan on revising are in section 100.00 in the Listing of Impairments in appendix 1 to subpart P of part 404 of our regulations (the listings). We invite you to send us comments and suggestions for updating and revising these rules. After we have considered your comments and suggestions, as well as information about advances in medical knowledge, treatment, and methods of evaluating growth impairments, along with our program experience, we intend to publish for public comment a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will propose specific revisions to the rules.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations governing the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The proposed rule would implement the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) proposed standards for doses that could occur after 10,000 years but within the period of geologic stability. The proposed rule also specifies a value to be used to represent climate change after 10,000 years, as called for by EPA, and specifies that calculations of radiation doses for workers use the same weighting factors that EPA is proposing for calculating individual doses to members of the public.

This Treasury decision establishes the Niagara Escarpment viticultural area in Niagara County, New York. 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.

On August 24, 2005, TTB published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register regarding the certification requirements for imported natural wine. We also published a temporary rule on the same subject in the same issue. In that notice of proposed rulemaking, a cross reference contains an incorrect CFR section number. This document corrects that error.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is proposing to raise the asset size threshold and revise the other criteria for determining whether a bank holding company (BHC) qualifies for the Board's Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement (Regulation Y, Appendix C) (Policy Statement) and an exemption from the Board's risk-based and leverage capital adequacy guidelines for BHCs (Regulation Y, Appendices A and D) (Capital Guidelines). The proposal would increase the asset size threshold from $150 million to $500 million in consolidated assets for determining whether a BHC would qualify for the Policy Statement and an exemption from the Capital Guidelines; modify the qualitative criteria used in determining whether a BHC that is under the asset size threshold nevertheless would not qualify for the Policy Statement or the exemption from the Capital Guidelines; and clarify the treatment under the Policy Statement of subordinated debt associated with trust preferred securities.

The EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of New York. This revision will establish an updated ten-year carbon monoxide (CO) maintenance plan for the Onondaga County attainment area. Onondaga County was redesignated to attainment of the CO National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) on September 29, 1993 and a maintenance plan was also approved at that time. By this action, EPA is approving the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (New York) second maintenance plan for Onondaga County because it provides for continued attainment for an additional ten years of the CO NAAQS. In addition, EPA is approving New York's revised Part 225-3 (Oxygenated Gasoline Program provisions).

This proposed rule would establish regulations for HUD's new Good Neighbor Next Door (GNND) Sales Program. The requirements for the new program are closely modeled on those for HUD's Officer Next Door (OND) and Teacher Next Door (TND) Sales Programs. The GNND Sales Program would replace and build upon the success of these two existing sales programs. The purpose of the GNND Sales Program is to improve the quality of life in distressed urban communities by encouraging law enforcement officers, teachers, and firefighters/emergency responders whose daily responsibilities and duties represent a nexus to the needs of the community to purchase and live in homes in these communities. Although the requirements governing the new GNND Sales Program would be similar to the existing requirements for the Officer and Teacher Next Door Sales Programs, HUD is also proposing to make several important modifications and improvements to the existing requirements.

On August 10, 2005, (70 FR 46576) the Commission published final rules in a Report and Order, which implemented allocation changes to the frequency range between 5900 kHz and 27.5 GHz in furtherance of decisions that were made at the World Radiocommunication Conference (Geneva 2003) (WRC-03). This document contains corrections to 47 CFR 2.101 and 2.106.

The Federal Communications Commission is correcting a Final Rule summary that was published in the Federal Register on August 31, 2005 (70 FR 51658). In this document, the Commission corrects paragraph (c)(6) of the 47 CFR 76.66.

Pursuant to Subtitle A (Reliability Standards) of the Electricity Modernization Act of 2005, which added a new section 215 to the Federal Power Act (FPA), the Commission is proposing to amend its regulations to incorporate: (1) Criteria that an entity must satisfy in order to qualify to be the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) that will propose and enforce Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System in the United States, subject to Commission approval; (2) Procedures governing enforcement actions by the ERO and the Commission; (3) Criteria under which the ERO may enter into an agreement to delegate authority to a Regional Entity for the purpose of proposing Reliability Standards to the ERO and enforcing Reliability Standards; (4) Procedures for the establishment of Regional Advisory Bodies that may provide advice to the Commission, the ERO or a Regional Entity on matters of governance, applicable Reliability Standards, the reasonableness of proposed fees within a region, and any other responsibilities requested by the Commission; (5) Regulations governing the issuance of periodic reliability reports by the ERO that assess the reliability and adequacy of the Bulk-Power System in North America; and (6) Regulations pertaining to the funding of the ERO.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for certain waters of the Lower Mississippi River. This safety zone is needed to protect persons and vessels from the potential safety hazards associated with the New Greenville Bridge construction. Entry into this zone is prohibited to all vessels and mariners unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) Lower Mississippi River or a designated representative.

NMFS announces its decision to deny a petition for emergency or interim rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act). The Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), a marine conservation group composed of approximately 90,000 members, petitioned the U.S. Department of Commerce to immediately promulgate an emergency or interim rule under the Magnuson-Stevens Act to prevent overfishing of red snapper resulting from bycatch in the shrimp trawl fishery of the Gulf of Mexico. NMFS finds the emergency or interim rulemaking is not warranted, and additional management measures to end overfishing of red snapper would better be addressed through a Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) regulatory amendment and development of a fishery management plan (FMP) amendment.

In this document, the Commission seeks comment on proposed modifications/clarifications to rules governing the exchange of customer account information between local and long distance carriers.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the interim final rule on use of materials derived from cattle in human food and cosmetics published in the Federal Register of July 14, 2004. In the July 14, 2004, interim final rule, FDA designated certain materials from cattle, including the entire small intestine, as ``prohibited cattle materials'' and banned the use of such materials in human food, including dietary supplements, and in cosmetics. FDA is taking this action in response to comments received on the interim final rule. Information was provided in comments that persuaded the agency that the distal ileum, one of three portions of the small intestine, could be consistently and effectively removed from the small intestine, such that the remainder of the small intestine, formerly a prohibited cattle material, could be used for human food or cosmetics. We (FDA) are also clarifying that milk and milk products, hide and hide-derived products, and tallow derivatives are not prohibited cattle materials. Comments also led the agency to reconsider the method cited in the interim final rule for determining insoluble impurities in tallow and to cite instead a method that is less costly to use and requires less specialized equipment. FDA issued the interim final rule to minimize human exposure to materials that scientific studies have demonstrated are highly likely to contain the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent in cattle infected with the disease. FDA believes that the amended provisions of the interim final rule provide the same level of protection from human exposure to the agent that causes BSE as the original provisions.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending its interim final rule, ``Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of Non- Ambulatory Cattle,'' published in the Federal Register on January 12, 2004. The amendments permit beef small intestine, excluding the distal ileum, to be used for human food, provided that such product is derived from cattle that were slaughtered in an official establishment in the United States or in a certified foreign establishment from a foreign country that is eligible to export beef products to the United States. Although the distal ileum is the only portion of the small intestine in which BSE infectivity has been confirmed, the January 2004 interim final rule requires that the entire small intestine of all cattle be removed and disposed of as inedible. FSIS is taking this action based on the Agency's evaluation of this issue and of the comments received on the interim final rule, as well as comments received on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking published in July 2004. FSIS has concluded that the distal ileum can be effectively removed from the rest of the small intestine. FSIS has determined that removal of the distal ileum in accordance with the amendments in this document will provide the same level of protection from human exposure to the BSE agent as does the exclusion of the entire small intestine from the human food supply.