May 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document corrects final and temporary regulations (TD 9257) that were published in the Federal Register on Monday, April 10, 2006 (71 FR 17990) applying to a deemed sale or acquisition of an insurance company's assets pursuant to an election under section 338 of the Internal Revenue Code, to a sale or acquisition of an insurance trade or business subject to section 1060, and to the acquisition of insurance contracts through assumption reinsurance.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Honeywell International Inc. ALF502L series and ALF502R series turbofan engines. That AD currently establishes stress rupture retirement life limits for certain third stage turbine discs used in conjunction with certain third stage turbine nozzles. This AD brings requirements forward and unchanged, from the previous AD for ALF502R series turbofan engines. Also, this AD establishes new reduced stress rupture retirement life limits for certain part numbers (P/Ns) of third stage turbine disc and shaft assemblies installed in ALF502L series turbofan engines. This AD also requires removing those same parts from service using a drawdown schedule. This AD results from a report of failure of a third stage turbine disc and shaft assembly, leading to turbine blade release and separation of the exhaust nozzle. We are issuing this AD to prevent total loss of engine power, in-flight engine shutdown, release of turbine blades, separation of the exhaust nozzle, and possible damage to the airplane.

NMFS proposes specifications for the spiny dogfish fishery for the 2006 through 2008 fishing years (May 1, 2006, through April 30, 2009). The implementing regulations for the Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) require NMFS to publish specifications for up to a period of 5 years and to provide an opportunity for public comment. The intent of this rulemaking is to specify the commercial quota and other management measures, such as possession limits, to rebuild the spiny dogfish resource. NMFS also proposes that the possession limits for dogfish be set at 600 lb (272 kg) for both quota periods 1 and 2 of the fishery.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Cirrus Design Corporation (CDC) Model SR20 and SR22 airplanes. This proposed AD would require you to check the maintenance records to determine whether the brake caliper piston O-ring seals were replaced at the last annual or 100-hour inspection. If the O-rings were not replaced, this proposed AD would require you to replace the O-ring seals with new seals or replace brake calipers. This proposed AD would also require you to modify the main landing gear wheel fairings to add temperature indicator sticker inspection holes, trim the wheel fairings to prevent them from holding fluids, install temperature indicator stickers on the brake calipers, and insert Revision A6 (with revised preflight walk-around and taxi procedures) into the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH). This proposed AD results from several reports of airplanes experiencing brake fires and two airplanes losing directional control. We are issuing this proposed AD to detect, correct, and prevent overheating damage to the brake caliper piston O-ring seals, which could result in leakage of brake hydraulic fluid. Consequently, this could lead to the loss of braking with loss of airplane directional control or brake fire.

This document withdraws a notice of proposed rulemaking (REG- 131264-04) regarding the treatment of manufacturer incentive payments. The proposed regulations were published in the Federal Register on August 13, 2004 (69 FR 50112). After consideration of additional issues, the IRS and Treasury Department have decided to withdraw the proposed regulations.

The Department of Homeland Security has given notice of a new Department-wide system of records pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 for Department of Homeland Security General Training Records. In this proposed rulemaking, the Department proposes to exempt portions of this system of records from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act in order to preserve the objectivity and fairness of testing and examination material.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to amend the Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (DEAR) to revise and expand policy and requirements for contractor internal audits, through the use of DOE's Cooperative Audit Strategy. The amendments would ensure that internal contractor audits are conducted in a manner that ensures reliability.

NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is transferring 5,871 lb (2,663 kg) of commercial summer flounder quota to the Commonwealth of Virginia from its 2006 quota. By this action, NMFS adjusts the quotas and announces the revised commercial quota for each state involved.

This document contains a correction to final regulations that were published in the Federal Register on Friday, March 24, 2006 (71 FR 14798) concerning content requirements applicable to explanations of qualified joint and survivor annuities and qualified preretirement survivor annuities payable under certain retirement plans.

In the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Energy Policy Act), Congress amended section 211(k) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to remove the oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline (RFG). On February 22, 2006, EPA published a direct final rule to amend regulations to remove the oxygen content standard and associated compliance requirements from the RFG regulations. We stated in the direct final rule that if EPA received adverse comment, we would publish a timely withdrawal of the provisions on which we received adverse comment and address the adverse comments in a subsequent final rule based on a parallel notice of proposed rulemaking also published on February 22, 2006. We received adverse comment on the amendments to remove the oxygen content standard in the direct final rule. As a result, in a separate action we are withdrawing those amendments from the direct final rule. This final action addresses the adverse comments we received and finalizes the removal of the oxygen content standard and associated compliance requirements from the RFG regulations.

This amendment supersedes an existing airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to certain Bombardier Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes, that currently requires installation of protective tape on the fire and overheat control unit located in the flight compartment. This amendment requires the installation of protective tape and adds repetitive inspections of the condition of the protective tape and related corrective action. This amendment also mandates eventual replacement of the existing fire and overheat control unit with a modified unit, which ends the repetitive inspections. Additionally, this amendment adds airplanes to the applicability in the existing AD. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent fluid contamination inside the fire and overheat control unit, which could result in a false fire alarm and consequent emergency landing. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions clarify system testing and reporting requirements for gasoline dispensing facilities that are currently required to implement Stage II Vapor Recovery. EPA is proposing to approve these revisions in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 737-600, -700, -700C, -800, and -900 series airplanes. This proposed AD would require testing the electrical resistance of the bond between the bulkhead fitting for the fuel feed line and the front spar of the left and right wings, inspecting an adjacent bonding jumper to make sure it is installed correctly, and performing corrective and other specified actions as applicable. This proposed AD results from fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. We are proposing this AD to prevent arcing or sparking in the fuel tank in the event of a lightning strike, which could result in an uncontrolled fire or explosion.

The Captain of the Port Portland, Oregon will begin, on April 23, 2006, enforcing a small area of the greater Large Passenger Vessel Security and Safety Zones that were published in the Federal Register on September 12, 2003. The zones provide for the security and safety of large passenger vessels in the navigable waters of Captain of the Port Portland, Oregon zone and adjacent waters. These security and safety zones will be enforced for passenger cruise ships only and only from the mouth of the Columbia River at buoy 14 upriver to, and including, Astoria, Oregon until October 31, 2006.

The Coast Guard is removing the existing drawbridge operation regulation for the draw of the U.S. 90 bascule bridge across the Back Bay of Biloxi, mile 0.4, between Biloxi and Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The bridge was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and will be replaced with a fixed bridge. Since the movable span of the bridge has been removed, the regulation controlling the opening and closing of the bridge is no longer necessary.

This rule identifies communities, where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), that are scheduled for suspension on the effective dates listed within this rule because of noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. If FEMA receives documentation that the community has adopted the required floodplain management measures prior to the effective suspension date given in this rule, the suspension will not occur and a notice of this will be provided by publication in the Federal Register on a subsequent date.

We use the Listing of Impairments (the listings) in appendix 1 to subpart P of this part, at the third step of the sequential evaluation process when we evaluate your claim for benefits based on disability under title II and title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). This final rule extends until July 2, 2007, the date on which the listings for the digestive system will no longer be effective. Other than extending the date during which the digestive listings will be effective, we have made no revisions to the listings; they remain the same as they now appear in the Code of Federal Regulations. This extension will ensure that we continue to have medical evaluation criteria in the listings to adjudicate disability claims in this body system at the third step of the sequential evaluation process.

The Department is seeking additional comments on our proposal to clarify policies that it may use to evaluate air carriers' citizenship during initial and continuing fitness reviews. Our proposal would affect how we determine ``actual control'' of the carrier in situations where the foreign investor's home country has an open skies air services agreement with the United States, and permits reciprocal investment opportunities in its own national air carriers for U.S. investors. We continue to believe that our proposed policy would remove unnecessary restrictions on U.S. air carriers' access to the global capital market without compromising the statutory requirement that U.S. citizens remain in actual control of such carriers. We are issuing a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) because, after reviewing comments submitted on the NPRM and in consultation with other Executive Branch agencies, we have decided to strengthen the proposal in several areas. We have revised the proposed rule further to ensure that U.S. citizens will have actual control of the air carrier. We are also mindful of the strong interest in this proposal expressed by members of Congress. This SNPRM will furnish Congress the opportunity to review the proposal in its refined form, and to undertake a more informed assessment of its likely consequences. Our NPRM proposal would allow for delegation to foreign investors of decision-making authority regarding commercial issues, but in the areas of organizational documents, safety, security, and the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program the NPRM would not permit these delegations. In a key refinement of our original proposal, we now propose in this SNPRM to require that any such delegation of authority to foreign interests by the U.S. citizen majority owners be revocable. We are proposing this change to ensure that, notwithstanding their ability to delegate decision-making authority over certain commercial matters (as described in the NPRM) to foreign investor interests, the U.S. voting shareholders of a U.S. airline will retain actual control of the airline. We originally proposed to reserve exclusively to U.S. citizens decisions relating to organizational documents, safety, security, and CRAF. In another refinement, in keeping with suggestions received from the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense as well as the Federal Aviation Administration, we are now proposing to broaden the scope of the decision-making that must remain under the actual control of U.S. citizens. The aspects of control of safety and security decisions would no longer be limited to those implementing FAA and TSA safety and security regulations, but would cover safety and security decisions generally. Similarly, the proposed control of CRAF decisions would be expanded to cover all national defense airlift commitments. Our proposed expansion of the coverage of these three areas will ensure that all critical elements of a carrier's decision-making that could impact safety, security, and national defense airlift are fully covered, and that our review of a carrier's compliance with these requirements will not be unduly narrow. We tentatively conclude that, as modified, this proposal will eliminate unnecessary and anachronistic limitations on the ability of eligible foreign minority investors to participate in the commercial decision-making at a U.S. airline in which they have made an otherwise statutorily-permitted investment. At the same time, it should eliminate any doubt that the voting stockholders (75 percent of whom are U.S. citizens) and the board of directors (two-thirds of whom are U.S. citizens) will retain full control over decisions regarding safety, security, and contributions to our national defense airlift capability, and that those U.S. citizens also retain ``actual control'' of the carrier as a whole as required by statute.

EPA proposes to approve revisions to the Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions were submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to establish and require reasonably available control technology (RACT) for seven major sources of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) pursuant to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's (Pennsylvania or the Commonwealth) SIP-approved generic RACT regulations. EPA is proposing to approve these revisions in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA).

This document makes a minor correction to the regulatory language for the proposed rule entitled ``Treatment of Data Influenced by Exceptional Events.'' The proposed rule was initially published in the Federal Register on March 10, 2006.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering modifying its approach to develop risk-informed and performance-based requirements applicable to nuclear power reactors. The NRC is considering an approach that, in addition to the ongoing effort to revise some specific regulations to make them risk-informed and performance-based, would establish a comprehensive set of risk-informed and performance-based requirements applicable for all nuclear power reactor technologies as an alternative to current requirements. This new rule would take advantage of operating experience, lessons learned from the current rulemaking activities, advances in the use of risk- informed technology, and would focus NRC and industry resources on the most risk-significant aspects of plant operations to better ensure public health and safety. The set of new alternative requirements would be intended primarily for new power reactors although they would be available to existing reactor licensees. At the conclusion of this ANPR phase and taking into consideration public comment, the NRC will determine how to proceed regarding making the requirements for nuclear power plants risk-informed and performance-based.

The Coast Guard proposes to change the regulations governing the State Route 433 (S433) pontoon span bridge across Liberty Bayou, mile 2.0, at Slidell, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. The State of Louisiana, Department of Transportation and Development, has requested that the notice required for an opening of the draw be changed from 12 hours to 4 hours.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish special local regulations during the ``Catholic Charities Dragon Boat Races'', a marine event to be held September 9, 2006 on the waters of the Patapsco River, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD. These special local regulations are necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during the event. This action is intended to temporarily restrict vessel traffic in a portion of the Baltimore Inner Harbor during the event.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a temporary safety zone for the Town of Weymouth's Fourth of July Celebration Fireworks in Weymouth, Massachusetts, currently scheduled to occur on July 1, 2006 with a rain date of July 2, 2006. The safety zone is needed to protect the maritime public from the potential hazards posed by a fireworks display. The safety zone will prohibit entry into or movement within this portion of the Weymouth Fore River during its effective period.