July 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document makes a correction to the final rule published in the Federal Register on June 21, 2006 (71 FR 35760). That rule changed the airman medical certification standards to disqualify an airman based on an alcohol test result of 0.04 or greater breath alcohol concentration (BAC) or a refusal to take a drug or alcohol test required by the Department of Transportation (DOT) or a DOT agency.

The Coast Guard proposes to amend the permanent special local regulation for the Annual Gasparilla Marine Parade, Hillsborough Bay, and Tampa Bay, FL. This proposed rule would change the date of the event by moving it up one week, from the first weekend in February to the last weekend in January. Additionally, this regulation will create a parade staging area and a 50 foot safety zone around officially entered parade boats during the parade. This action is necessary because the date on which the parade is held annually has changed. Restricting access to the parade staging area box is necessary to ensure the official parade boats are properly lined up to begin the parade. A 50 foot safety zone around officially entered parade boats is necessary to ensure the safety of the parade participants due to safety concerns caused by an increasing number of spectator vessels that gather to watch the parade.

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) has placed in the docket and on its Web site for public review and comment draft guidelines which address accessibility to and in passenger vessels which are permitted to carry more than 150 passengers or more than 49 overnight passengers. In addition, the draft addresses all ferries regardless of size and passenger capacity, and certain tenders which carry 60 or more passengers. Comments will be accepted on the draft guidelines and the Access Board will consider those comments prior to issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) initiates a comprehensive rulemaking to address and implement the recommendations presented by the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks (Independent Panel). The Independent Panel's report described the impact of the worst natural disaster in the Nation's history as well as the overall public and private response efforts. In addition, the report included recommendations which relate to: pre-positioning the communications industry and the government for disasters in order to achieve greater network reliability and resiliency; improving recovery coordination to address existing shortcomings and to maximize the use of existing resources; improving the operability and interoperability of public safety and 911 communications in times of crisis; and improving communication of emergency information to the public. The Commission, in this proceeding, is to take the lessons learned from this disaster and build upon them to promote more effective, efficient response and recovery efforts as well as heightened readiness and preparedness in the future. To accomplish this goal, the Commission invites comment on what actions the Commission can take to address the Independent Panel's recommendations.

The MMS is proposing to amend its existing regulations for reporting production and royalties on oil, gas, coal, and geothermal resources produced on Federal and Indian leases in order to align the regulations with current MMS business practices. These amendments reflect changes that were implemented as a result of a major reengineering of MMS's financial system and other legal requirements.

This document contains temporary regulations regarding additional items of return information disclosable to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (Bureau) of the Department of Commerce. The text of these temporary regulations serves as the text of the proposed regulations set forth in the notice of proposed rulemaking on this subject in the Proposed Rules section of this issue of the Federal Register.

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) has decided to establish an advisory committee to assist it in revising and updating accessibility guidelines for telecommunications products and accessibility standards for electronic and information technology. The Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (Committee) includes organizations which represent the interests affected by these accessibility guidelines and standards. This notice also announces the time and place of the first Committee meeting, which will be open to the public.

This action corrects the regulatory text of a final rule published August 8, 2003, (FR Doc. 03-20285) that implemented the guideline harvest level (GHL) for the charter sport fishery for Pacific halibut in waters off Alaska. This action is necessary to correct a typographical error in regulations implementing the GHL.

NMFS issues a final rule implementing changes to the regulations for the Crab Rationalization Program. This action is necessary to correct two discrepancies in the scope of the sideboard protections for Gulf of Alaska (GOA) groundfish fisheries provided in a previous rulemaking. Specifically, this action would remove the sideboard restrictions from vessels that did not generate Bering Sea snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) quota share and would apply the sideboards to federally permitted vessels operating in the State of Alaska (State) parallel fisheries. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (FMP), the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), and other applicable law.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Model SAAB-Fairchild SF340A and SAAB 340B airplanes. The existing AD currently requires repetitive inspections for wear of the brushes and leads and for loose rivets of the direct current (DC) starter generator, and related investigative/ corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD would require installing new improved generator control units (GCUs). Installing the GCUs would end the repetitive inspection requirements of the existing AD. This proposed AD results from reports of premature failures of the DC starter generator prior to scheduled overhaul. We are proposing this AD to prevent failure of the starter generator, which could cause a low voltage situation in flight and result in increased pilot workload and reduced redundancy of the electrical powered systems.

It is the policy of the United States Government to prevent exports that would make a material contribution to the military capability of the People's Republic of China (PRC), while facilitating U.S. exports to legitimate civil end-users in the PRC. Consistent with this policy, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) proposes to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by revising and clarifying United States licensing requirements and licensing policy on exports and reexports of goods and technology to the PRC. The proposed amendments include a revision to the licensing review policy for items controlled on the Commerce Control List (CCL) for reasons of national security, including a new control based on knowledge of a military end-use on exports to the PRC of certain CCL items that otherwise do not require a license to the PRC. The items subject to this license requirement will be set forth in a list. This rule further proposes to revise the licensing review policy for items controlled for reasons of chemical and biological proliferation, nuclear nonproliferation, and missile technology for export to the PRC, requiring that applications involving such items be reviewed in conjunction with the revised national security licensing policy. This rule proposes the creation of a new authorization for validated end-users in certain destinations, including the PRC, to whom certain, specified items may be exported or reexported. Such validated end-users would be placed on a list in the EAR after review and approval by the United States Government. Finally, this rule proposes to require exporters to obtain an End- User Certificate, issued by the PRC Ministry of Commerce, for all items that both require a license to the PRC for any reason and exceed a total value of $5,000. The current PRC End-Use Certificate applies only to items controlled for national security reasons. This rule also proposes to eliminate the current requirement that exporters submit PRC End-User Certificates to BIS with their license applications but provides that they must retain them for five years.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect approval of an abbreviated new animal drug application (ANADA) filed by Altana Inc. The ANADA provides for veterinary prescription use of gentamicin sulfate, betamethasone valerate, clotrimazole ointment for the treatment of canine otitis externa.

In this document, we amend our rules to align oversight of the Universal Service Fund (USF) with the responsibilities of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Office of the Managing Director (OMD). Specifically, we assign certain audit activities formerly assigned to the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB), including oversight of the annual part 54 audit of the Universal Service Administrative Corporation (USAC), to the OIG and assign calculation of the quarterly USF contribution factor to OMD. The Commission has in place a number of mechanisms to oversee the USF and its current Administrator, USAC. In this document, we shift responsibility for two of these mechanisms, the annual audit of USAC and calculation of the USF contribution factor, to the OIG and OMD, respectively. These changes better align these USF oversight functions with the divisions within the Commission that can execute them most effectively.

This document contains a correction to notice of proposed rulemaking that was published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 (71 FR 29847) regarding the credit for expenses for household and dependent care services necessary for gainful employment.

This final rule responds to comments on and revises the deadline for submission of the 2006 emergency Medicare graduate medical education (GME) affiliation agreements. The deadlines to submit the emergency Medicare GME affiliation agreements for the 2005 through 2006 and 2006 through 2007 academic years are changed from on or before June 30, 2006 and July 1, 2006, respectively, to on or before October 9, 2006.

NMFS proposes to modify the regulations implementing the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to allow vessels issued either a General Category Atlantic sea scallop permit or a limited access sea scallop permit, when not fishing under a scallop days-at-sea (DAS) limitation, to fish for scallops with small dredges (combined width not to exceed 10.5 ft (3.2 m)) within the Great South Channel Scallop Dredge Exemption Area. This proposed rule responds to a request from the fishing industry to add this area to the list of exempted fisheries. The intent of this action is to allow small scallop dredge vessels to harvest scallops in a manner that is consistent with the bycatch reduction objectives of the FMP.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), issue a final rule to revise the current critical habitat for the northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) by designating additional areas within the North Pacific Ocean. Two specific areas are designated, one in the Gulf of Alaska and another in the Bering Sea, comprising a total of approximately 95,200 square kilometers (36,750 square miles) of marine habitat. As described in the impacts analysis prepared for this action, we considered the economic impacts, impacts to national security, and other relevant impacts and concluded that the benefits of exclusion of any area from the critical habitat designation do not outweigh the benefits of inclusion. As a result, we did not exclude any areas from the designation. We solicited information and comments from the public in a proposed rule. This final rule is being issued to meet the deadline established in a remand order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

EPA is proposing an exemption to the phaseout of methyl bromide to meet the needs of 2007 critical uses. Specifically, EPA is proposing uses that will qualify for the 2007 critical use exemption and the amount of methyl bromide that may be produced, imported, or supplied from stocks for those uses in 2007. EPA is taking action under the authority of the Clean Air Act to reflect recent consensus Decisions taken by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Protocol) at the 17th Meeting of the Parties (MOP). EPA is seeking comment on the list of critical uses and on EPA's determination of the amounts of methyl bromide needed to satisfy those uses.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone encompassing portions of the navigable waters on the St. Lawrence River on July 8, 2006 for the French Festival Fireworks. This safety zone is necessary to ensure the safety of spectators and vessels from the hazards associated with fireworks displays. This safety zone is intended to restrict vessel traffic from a portion of the St. Lawrence River, Cape Vincent, NY.

NMFS issues a final rule to implement the annual harvest guideline for Pacific sardine in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the Pacific coast for the fishing season of January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2006. This harvest guideline has been calculated according to the regulations implementing the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and establishes allowable harvest levels for Pacific sardine off the Pacific coast.

This document announces the availability of a document requesting a stay of the effectiveness of various pesticide tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for sulfuryl fluoride and fluoride, and opens a public comment period on this document. This request for a stay was filed in conjunction with objections and requests for hearings that were submitted in response to promulgation of these tolerances. The stay request relies primarily on the recent report of the National Research Council on fluoride.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect approval of a supplemental abbreviated new animal drug application (ANADA) filed by Med-Pharmex, Inc. The supplemental ANADA provides for revisions to labeling for ivermectin liquid, administered by mouth or nasogastric tube to horses for treatment and control of various internal parasites or parasitic conditions.

This rule would increase the assessment rates established for the Nectarine Administrative Committee and the Peach Commodity Committee (committees) for the 2006-07 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.20 to $0.21 per 25-pound container or container equivalent of nectarines and peaches handled. The committees locally administer the marketing orders that regulate the handling of nectarines and peaches grown in California. Authorization to assess nectarine and peach handlers enables the committees to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the programs. The fiscal period runs from March 1 through the last day of February. The assessment rates would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect approval of a new animal drug application (ANADA) filed by IVX Animal Health, Inc. The ANADA provides for veterinary prescription use of griseofulvin powder orally as a systemic antifungal agent in horses.