March 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document describes EPA's plans and schedule for the review of the air quality criteria and national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for lead. This review will take into account newly emerging research on the effects of airborne lead on human health and the environment. The schedule for this review incorporates Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) review and is consistent with the recent decision made by the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division that ordered completion of this lead review by September 1, 2008 (Missouri Coalition for the Environment v. EPA, Civil Action No. 4:04-CV-00660 (ERW) (E.D. Mo. Sept. 14, 2005)).

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amounts of Community Development Quota (CDQ) and non-CDQ pollock from the Aleutian Islands subarea to the Bering Sea subarea. These actions are necessary to provide opportunity for harvest of the 2006 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock, consistent with the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP).

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended (RCRA), allows EPA to authorize State hazardous waste management programs if EPA finds that such programs are equivalent and consistent with the Federal program and provide adequate enforcement of compliance. Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 272 is used by EPA to codify its decision to authorize individual State programs and incorporates by reference those provisions of the State statutes and regulations that are subject to EPA's inspection and enforcement authorities as authorized provisions of the State's program. This final rule revises the codification of the Montana authorized program. In addition, today's document corrects errors made in the September 30, 2005 Federal Register authorization document for Montana.

The Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) is delegating to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator his authority to engage in activities with States and State legislators to consider proposals related to safety belt use laws.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) request comments and suggestions to assist in the preparation of proposed regulations governing Gas Hydrate Production Incentives. The rule would provide incentives to promote natural gas production from the natural gas hydrate resources on Federal lands in Alaska and in Federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf. We encourage the public to provide comments and suggestions to help clarify and define the requirements for Gas Hydrate Production Incentives as described in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

This rule corrects the direct final rule published on January 4, 2006. This final rule amends the current regulation in order to make it consistent with section 329 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 (``Act'') and section 105 of the Tongass Timber Reform Act (``TTRA''). Section 329 of the Act placed certain restrictions and requirements upon the Secretary of Agriculture (``Secretary'') pertaining to the construction of roads for the sale of National Forest timber and other forest products. As of the effective date of the section, April 1, 1999, the Forest Service implemented necessary changes to the timber sale program and revised the Forest Service Manual and Handbook. However, revisions to relevant sections of the Code of Federal Regulations were not made. This final rule makes technical amendments to the subpart to make it consistent with section 329. Additionally, this final rule revises Subpart B to make it consistent with section 105 of the TTRA, which eliminated a restriction applicable to timber sales on National Forest lands in the State of Alaska.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of flumiclorac pentyl in or on undelinted cottonseed and cotton gin byproducts. Valent U.S.A. Corporation requested this tolerance under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).

On April 18, 2000, EPA published a proposed rule (65 FR 20788) to approve reasonably available control technology (RACT) determinations submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for twenty-six major sources of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and/or volatile organic compounds (VOC). In separate final rules, EPA has already approved the RACT determinations for ten of the twenty-six sources covered by the April 18, 2000 proposed rule. In the rules portion of today's Federal Register, EPA is approving the RACT determinations for an additional thirteen of twenty- six sources covered by the April 18, 2000 proposed rule. EPA is hereby withdrawing its April 18, 2000 proposed rule with regard to the remaining three sources. The April 18, 2000 (65 FR 20788) proposed rule is being withdrawn with regard to Doverspike Brothers Coal Co., Hedstrom Corporation, and the thermal coal dryers at EME Homer City, LP. These three formerly RACT-subject sources have been permanently shut down and the Pennsylvania DEP has indicated to EPA that no RACT need be approved for them.

The staff denied a petition for reconsideration filed by H. David Hedrick of a Report and Order this proceeding, which had denied Hedrick's rulemaking petition and granted a mutually exclusive allotment of Channel *245A at Reynolds, Georgia, reserved for noncommercial educational use. The staff determined that the reconsideration petition did not demonstrate any errors of fact or law and that Hedrick's rulemaking petition was properly rejected because he filed late comments. See 66 FR 5956 (February 8, 2002).

The Federal Communications Commission published in the Federal Register, of February 23, 2006, a document which allotted Channel 278A at Roma, Texas, as that community's second local FM service. See 71 FR 9267. The document designation number was inadvertently listed in the headings section as DA 06-265. This document corrects the document designation number from DA 06-265 to DA 06-262.

This document extends for 180 days the transition periods for unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) equipment operating in the 5.250-5.350 GHz bands. This action will allow parties to continue to obtain equipment authorizations for such equipment and to market it under the rules in effect prior to the adoption of the 5 GHz U-NII Report and Order pending the development of measurement procedures for evaluating these devices for compliance with the new rules.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Saab Model SAAB-Fairchild SF340A (SAAB/SF340A) and SAAB 340B airplanes. This proposed AD would require a one-time inspection to see if a faulty uplock axle for the shock strut of the main landing gear (MLG) is installed, and replacing the uplock axle with a new uplock axle if necessary. This proposed AD results from a report of a cracked uplock axle caused by hydrogen embrittlement during the manufacturing process. We are proposing this AD to prevent failure of the uplock mechanism, which, combined with a loss of hydraulic pressure, could result in an uncommanded extension of the MLG.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Raytheon Model Hawker 800XP airplanes. This proposed AD would require inspecting certain bus bars in the DA-A panel to ensure that the bus bars match the panel configuration and clearance is adequate between the bus bars and adjacent components, and performing corrective action if necessary. This proposed AD results from two reports of inadequate clearance between the bus bars in the DA-A panel. We are proposing this AD to prevent insufficient electrical isolation for the electrical bus configuration and inability of the flightcrew to isolate the bus bars in an emergency situation involving a dual generator failure, which could result in extra loads on the main ship batteries and consequent loss of power to the main essential bus.

This proposed rule would establish standards for recipients under the Indian Housing Block Grant Program to purchase insurance through nonprofit insurance entities owned and controlled by Indian tribes and tribally designated housing entities.

The Postal Service currently allows Periodicals mailers to prepare two types of mixed area distribution center (ADC) bundles and sacks, including a new type of optional mixed ADC bundle and sack that improves service for Periodicals without adding processing costs. We are proposing to make this optional separation a requirement beginning July 6, 2006.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain EMBRAER Model EMB-120, -120ER, -120FC, -120QC, and -120RT airplanes. This proposed AD would require replacing the shut-off and crossbleed valves of the bleed air system with new valves having hermetically sealed switches. This proposed AD results from fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. We are proposing this AD to prevent a potential source of ignition near a fuel tank, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in a fuel tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane.

The document corrects an effective date in a final rule published in the Federal Register on February 27, 2006. That action amended Commission regulations to include certain rules governing the conduct of entities authorized to make sales of electricity and related products under market-based rate authorizations.

NMFS, upon application from BP Exploration (Alaska), (BP), is issuing regulations to govern the unintentional takings of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to operation of an offshore oil and gas platform at the Northstar facility in the Beaufort Sea in state waters. Issuance of regulations, and Letters of Authorization (LOAs) under these regulations, governing the unintentional incidental takes of marine mammals in connection with particular activities is required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) when the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), after notice and opportunity for comment, finds, as here, that such takes will have a negligible impact on the species and stocks of marine mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of them for subsistence uses. These regulations do not authorize BP's oil development activities as such authorization is not within the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Rather, NMFS' regulations together with Letters of Authorization (LOAs) authorize the unintentional incidental take of marine mammals in connection with this activity and prescribe methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species and their habitat, and on the availability of the species for subsistence uses.

We are amending the regulations governing the importation of fruits and vegetables in order to allow certain types of peppers grown in approved registered production sites in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua to be imported, under certain conditions, into the United States without treatment. The conditions to which the importation of peppers will be subject, including trapping, pre-harvest inspection, and shipping procedures, are designed to prevent the introduction of quarantine pests into the United States. This action will allow for the importation of peppers from those countries in Central America while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests into the United States.

The Board is publishing technical amendments to Regulation AA (Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices) to update the addresses of the Federal Reserve Banks where consumer complaints regarding a state member bank may be sent.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is making a correction to the section of the Code of Federal Regulations which specifies maturity requirements for avocados grown in South Florida. The D date for the Meya variety of avocados is listed incorrectly.

The Department of Justice, Tax Division, is amending 28 CFR part 16 to exempt a newly revised Privacy Act system of records entitled ``Files of Applicants For Attorney and Non-Attorney Positions with the Tax Division, Justice/TAX-003,'' as described in today's notice section of the Federal Register, from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3) and (d)(1). The exemptions will be applied only to the extent that information in a record is subject to exemption pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(5). The exemptions are necessary to protect the confidentiality of employment records. The Department also is deleting as obsolete provisions exempting two former Tax Division systems of records: ``Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Request Files, Justice/TAX-004;'' and ``Tax Division Special Project Files, Justice/TAX-005.'' The records in TAX-004 are now covered by a Departmentwide system notice, ``Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, and Mandatory Declassification Review Requests and Administrative Appeals, DOJ-004''. The relevant records in TAX-005 are now part of the revised system entitled ``Criminal Tax Case Files, Special Project Files, Docket Cards, and Associated Records, Justice/TAX-001.''