July 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The interim final rules published at 70 FR 74649, on December 16, 2005, are adopted as final with only minor changes. These regulations reflect and implement amendments to the Social Security Act (the Act) made by part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA), Public Law (Pub. L.) 108-458. Section 7213(a)(1)(A) of Pub. L. 108-458 requires that we limit individuals to three replacement SSN cards per year and ten replacement SSN cards during a lifetime. The provision permits us to allow for reasonable exceptions from these limits on a case-by-case basis in compelling circumstances. This provision also helps us to further strengthen the security and integrity of the SSN issuance process.

We are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the North Dakota regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``North Dakota program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). North Dakota intends to revise its program to incorporate the additional flexibility afforded by the revised Federal regulations, clarify ambiguities, and improve operational efficiency. This document gives the times and locations that the North Dakota program and proposed amendment to that program are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

OSM is announcing the receipt of a proposed amendment to the Pennsylvania regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Pennsylvania program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The proposed amendment (Administrative Record Number PA 887.00) was submitted to clarify the requirements for shaft and slope development and other issues relating to blasting at a mine site. This document gives the times and locations that the Pennsylvania program and this submittal are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

These special conditions are issued for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model G-1159 Gulfstream II airplanes modified by Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Dallas, Texas. These modified airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. The modification incorporates the installation of dual electronic attitude direction indicators (ADI) and dual horizontal situation indicators (HSI). The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for the protection of these systems from the effects of high- intensity radiated fields (HIRF). These special conditions contain the additional safety standards the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that provided by the existing airworthiness standards.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Raytheon (Beech) Model 400 and 400A series airplanes. This AD requires, among other actions, reviewing the airplane logbook to determine whether certain generator control unit (GCU) installation kits are installed, and replacing any incorrect GCU. This AD results from reports of over-voltage conditions of the direct current (DC) starter generator. We are issuing this AD to prevent such over-voltage conditions due to the incompatibility between certain GCUs, which could result in the loss of normal electrical power, damage to some electrical components, or blown fuses during flight, and consequent unrecoverable loss of some or all essential equipment.

This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to certain McDonnell Douglas airplane models, that requires a one-time inspection for chafing or signs of arcing of the wire bundle for the auxiliary hydraulic pump, and other specified and corrective actions, as applicable. This AD also requires that, for certain airplanes, installation of additional protective sleeving on the upper portion of the auxiliary hydraulic pump wire assembly. This AD results from reports of shorted wires and evidence of arcing on the power cables of the auxiliary hydraulic pump, as well a fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. We are issuing this AD to prevent shorted wires or arcing at the auxiliary hydraulic pump, which could result in loss of auxiliary hydraulic power, or a fire in the wheel well of the airplane. The actions specified by this AD are also intended to reduce the potential of an ignition source adjacent to the fuel tanks, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in a fuel tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to reflect changes to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Annex that were agreed to by MTCR member countries at the September 2005 Plenary in Madrid, Spain. The amendments set forth in this rule also reflect a change to make one additional missile technology (MT) controlled item available for certain license exceptions.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Raytheon Aircraft Company (Raytheon) (formerly Beech) Models C90A, B200, B200C, B300, and B300C airplanes. This proposed AD would require you to inspect the flight controls for improper assembly or damage, and if any improperly assembled or damaged flight controls are found, take corrective action. This proposed AD results from a report of inspections of several affected airplanes with improperly assembled or damaged flight controls. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct improperly assembled or damaged flight controls, which could result in an unsafe condition by reducing capabilities of the flight controls and lead to loss of control of the airplane.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Greenland turbot in the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2006 Greenland turbot total allowable catch (TAC) in the Bering Sea subarea of the BSAI.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 announces the deletion of the Internal Parcel of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Priorities List (RMA/NPL) Site from the National Priorities List (NPL). All areas originally proposed for deletion (71 FR 24627), except for a three-acre area which encompasses the Rail Yard Treatment System, are being deleted (see map). The Rail Yard Treatment System is excluded from the Internal Parcel due to a delay in developing the Interim Construction Completion Report. With the Rail Yard area excluded, the Internal Parcel consists of 7,396 acres (11.5 square miles) of the On-Post Operable Unit of RMA. The NPL constitutes Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300, which is the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), which EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended. EPA and the State of Colorado, through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), have determined that the Internal Parcel of the RMA/NPL Site poses no significant threat to public health or the environment and, therefore, no further remedial measures pursuant to CERCLA are appropriate. This partial deletion pertains to the surface media (soil, surface water, sediment), structures, and groundwater of the Internal Parcel of the On-Post OU of the RMA/NPL Site. The Internal Parcel includes groundwater that is east of E Street with the exception of a small area in the northwest corner of Section 6. The Rail Yard Treatment System and the rest of the On-Post OU, including groundwater below RMA that is west of E Street and the small area in the northwest corner of Section 6, as well as the Off-Post OU will remain on the NPL. This partial deletion of the Internal Parcel will not change Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300, which was previously amended in January 2003 (68 FR 2699) to reflect that a partial deletion of 1.5 square miles from the RMA/NPL Site had occurred.

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) is proposing to amend its regulations implementing the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, as amended. The Privacy Act has been amended multiple times since OSHRC first promulgated its regulations in 1979. The proposed amendments to OSHRC's regulations at 29 CFR part 2400 will assist the agency in complying with the requirements of the Privacy Act.

This document amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adjudication regulations to define the term ``psychosis.'' The term is used but not defined in certain statutes that provide presumptive service connection for compensation. The intended effect of this amendment is consistent application of these statutory provisions.

This document proposes amendments to title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR) to reflect changes to the customs user fee statute made by section 337 of the Trade Act of 2002 and section 2004(f) of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004. The statutory amendments made by section 337 concern the fees payable for customs services provided in connection with the informal entry or release of shipments at express consignment carrier facilities and centralized hub facilities, and primarily serve to replace the annual lump sum payment procedure with a quarterly payment procedure based on a specific fee for each individual air waybill or bill of lading. Section 2004(f) amended the user fee statute to authorize, for merchandise that is formally entered at these sites, the assessment of merchandise processing fees provided for in 19 U.S.C. 58c(a)(9), in addition to the fees that are currently assessed on individual air waybills or bills of lading. Lastly, pursuant to the authority established in 19 U.S.C. 58c(b)(9)(B)(i), this document proposes to raise the existing $0.66 fee assessed on individual air waybills or bills of lading to $1.00 to more equitably align it with the actual costs incurred by CBP in processing these items.

By this order, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) grants clarification and rehearing in part of Order No. 667-A. Order No. 667-A granted rehearing in part and denied rehearing in part of Order No. 667, which amended the Commission's regulations to implement repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 and enactment of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (hereinafter Service or we) is proposing to establish the 2006-07 early-season hunting regulations for certain migratory game birds. We annually prescribe frameworks, or outer limits, for dates and times when hunting may occur and the maximum number of birds that may be taken and possessed in early seasons. Early seasons may open as early as September 1, and include seasons in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These frameworks are necessary to allow State selections of specific final seasons and limits and to allow recreational harvest at levels compatible with population status and habitat conditions.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) proposes to amend the Common Crop Insurance Regulations; Northern Potato Crop Insurance Provisions, Northern Potato Crop Insurance Quality Endorsement, Northern Potato Crop Insurance Processing Quality Endorsement, Potato Crop Insurance Certified Seed Endorsement, Northern Potato Crop Insurance Storage Coverage Endorsement, and the Central and Southern Potato Crop Insurance Provisions. The intended effect of this action is to provide policy changes and clarify existing policy provisions to better meet the needs of the insureds, and to reduce vulnerability to fraud, waste and abuse. The changes are intended to apply for the 2008 and succeeding crop years.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations to include jurisdiction over certain radium sources, accelerator-produced radioactive materials, and certain naturally occurring radioactive material, as required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), which was signed into law on August 8, 2005. The EPAct expanded the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 definition of byproduct material to include any discrete source of radium-226, any material made radioactive by use of a particle accelerator, and any discrete source of naturally occurring radioactive material, other than source material, that the Commission, in consultation with other Federal officials named in the EPAct, determines would pose a similar threat to the public health and safety or the common defense and security as a discrete source of radium-226, that are extracted or converted after extraction for use for a commercial, medical, or research activity. In so doing, these materials were placed under the NRC's regulatory authority. The EPAct also mandated that the Commission, after consultation with States and other stakeholders, issue final regulations establishing requirements that the Commission determines necessary under the EPAct. This rulemaking effort is being undertaken in response to that mandate and includes significant contributions from many States that have regulated the naturally occurring and accelerator-produced radioactive material, the Organization of Agreement States, Inc., and the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. (CRCPD). In addition, this proposed rule was informed and guided by the CRCPD's applicable Suggested State Regulations for the Control of Radiation. Licensees and individuals who are engaged in activities involving the newly defined byproduct material in both Agreement States and non-Agreement States and United States Territories may be affected by this rulemaking.

On June 12, 2006 (71 FR 33804), EPA proposed new source standards of performance for stationary spark ignition internal combustion engines. EPA also proposed national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines that either are located at area sources of hazardous air pollutant emissions or that have a site rating of less than or equal to 500 brake horsepower, and are located at major sources of hazardous air pollutant emissions. In this notice, we are announcing a 30-day extension of the public comment period.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is amending 7 CFR part 2902, Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement, to be consistent with the statutory changes to section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (FSRIA) that were effected when the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was signed into law on August 8, 2005. In addition, USDA amends part 2902 in order to clarify that biobased products from certain designated countries must be treated by procuring agencies as eligible for the procurement preference under FSRIA. Finally, this rule amends part 2902 to clarify the USDA intent to exclude from the preferred procurement program biobased products that are merely incidental to Federal funding. The amendment is issued as an immediately effective interim rule, with opportunity for public comment.

The Department of Homeland Security established the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Technology (US-VISIT) program in 2003 to verify the identities and travel documents of aliens. US-VISIT automates this verification by comparing biometric identifiers, and by comparing biometric identifiers with information drawn from intelligence and law enforcement watchlists and databases. Aliens subject to US-VISIT may be required to provide fingerscans, photographs, or other biometric identifiers upon arrival at, or departure from, the United States. Currently, aliens entering the United States pursuant to a nonimmigrant visa, or those traveling without a visa as part of the Visa Waiver Program, are subject to US- VISIT requirements, with certain limited exceptions. Under this proposed rule, the Department of Homeland Security will be extending US-VISIT requirements to all aliens with the exception of aliens who are specifically exempted and Canadian citizens applying for admission as B1/B2 visitors for business or pleasure.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission clarifies one issue regarding Order No. 2006-A. Order Nos. 2006-A and 2006 require all public utilities that own, control, or operate facilities for transmitting electric energy in interstate commerce to file revised open access transmission tariffs containing standard small generator interconnection procedures and a standard small generator interconnection agreement, and to provide interconnection service under them to small generating facilities of no more than 20 megawatts.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is classifying fecal calprotectin immunological test systems into class II (special controls). The special control that will apply to these devices is the guidance document entitled, ``Class II Special Controls Guidance Document: Fecal Calprotectin Immunological Test Systems.'' The agency is classifying these devices into class II (special controls) in order to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of these devices. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, FDA is announcing the availability of a guidance document that will serve as the special control for these devices.

This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Eurocopter Canada Limited (Eurocopter) Model BO 105 LS A-3 helicopters that requires replacing certain fixed bolts and nuts, re-identifying certain main rotor nuts, and revising the Airworthiness Limitations Time Change Items (TCI) list to reflect the new life limits and new part numbers. This amendment is prompted by a re-evaluation of certain fatigue-critical parts, which resulted in establishing new life limits for certain like-numbered parts and re-identifying a certain existing part with a different part number, or in some cases, replacing them with new parts. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent fatigue failure of the fixed bolts and nuts, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 10, is publishing a direct final notice of deletion of the Arctic Surplus Site (Site), located in Fairbanks, Alaska, from the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is appendix B of 40 CFR part 300, which is the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). This direct final deletion is being published by EPA with the concurrence of the State of Alaska, through the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) because EPA has determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been completed and, therefore, further remedial action pursuant to CERCLA is not appropriate.