August 18, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Cessna Aircraft Company (Cessna) Models 172R, 172S, 182T, T182T, 206H, and T206H airplanes. This AD requires you to inspect the two end fittings on each of the flexible fuel hoses located in the engine compartment for the correct torque values, and, if any incorrect torque values are found during the inspection, tighten the hose end fittings to the correct torque values. This AD results from one report of loose fuel hose connections to the fuel injector servo on a Cessna Model 172S airplane. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct any incorrect torque values of the end fittings of flexible fuel hoses in the engine compartment, which could result in the loss of fuel flow and fuel leakage. Loss of fuel flow could result in partial or complete loss of engine power and fuel leakage could result in an engine compartment fire.

The FAA adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Stemme GmbH & Co. KG (Stemme) Models S10, S10-V, and S10-VT sailplanes. This AD requires you to inspect the connection between the aileron push-rod and the connecting shaft to determine if a safety washer is installed. If there is no safety washer installed, this AD requires you to modify the aileron control assembly. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the airworthiness authority for Germany. We are issuing this AD to prevent a loose bearing in the aileron control lever, which could result in separation of the aileron control system. Separation of the aileron control system could lead to loss of aileron control.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for GE CF6-80 series turbofan engines with certain stage 1 high- pressure turbine (HPT) rotor disks. That AD currently requires an initial inspection as a qualification for the mandatory rework procedures for certain disks, and repetitive inspections only for certain disks for which the rework procedures were not required. That action also requires reworking certain disks before further flight, and removes certain CF6-80E1 series disks from service. This AD requires the same actions but shortens the compliance schedule for HPT disks that have not been previously inspected using AD 2004-04-07, which this AD supersedes. This AD results from a recent report of an uncontained failure of a stage 1 HPT disk. We are issuing this AD to detect and prevent cracks in the bottoms of the dovetail slots that could propagate to failure of the disk and cause an uncontained engine failure.

The Coast Guard announces the enactment of statutory changes that will affect the financial responsibility of vessel owners and operators for oil pollution from their vessels. The Delaware River Protection Act of 2006 amends limits of liability under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) for discharges and substantial threats of discharge of oil from vessels. This statutory change will also result in future changes to Coast Guard regulations related to proof of financial responsibility by vessel owners and operators for discharges of oil from vessels.

The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) announces final priorities under the Special Demonstration Programs administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). The Assistant Secretary may use one or more of these priorities for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2006 and later years. This notice announces two prioritiesa priority for model demonstrations for assistive technology (AT) device reutilization and a priority for a National Assistive Technology Device Reutilization Coordination and Technical Assistance Center (Center). These priorities are intended to increase access to AT devices for individuals with disabilities. The term ``AT devices'' includes a wide range of AT, such as computers, durable medical equipment, augmentative and alternative communication, and other devices.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an environmental impact statement (EIS) will be prepared for the proposed U.S. Highway (U.S.) 69/Loop 49 North Lindale Reliever Route (LRR) project in Smith County, Texas.

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service proposes to amend a system of records notice to its existing inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

In accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(e) and 37 CFR 404.7(a)(I)(i), announcement is made of the intent to grant an exclusive, royalty- bearing, revocable license to U.S. patent number 6,399,332 issued June 4, 2002 entitled ``Bacterial Superantigen Vaccines,'' and U.S. patent number 6,713,284 issued March 30, 2004 entitled ``Bacterial Superantigen Vaccines,'' and all pending foreign patents to Integrated Biotherapeutics, Inc. with its principal place of business at Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Rosenstock Hall, Frederick, MD 21702.

EPA has authorized the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) access to information which has been submitted to EPA under all sections of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Some of the information may be claimed or determined to be Confidential Business Information (CBI).

This action modifies the Class D and the Class E airspace areas at Cannon AFB, Clovis, NM, to provide controlled airspace for Category (CAT) E aircraft performing a circling approach within Class D and Class E Airspace.

We are revising the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment systems (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs to implement changes arising from our continuing experience with these systems, and to implement a number of changes made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-171). In addition, in the Addendum to this final rule, we describe the changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the rates for Medicare hospital inpatient services for operating costs and capital-related costs. We also are setting forth rate-of-increase limits as well as policy changes for hospitals and hospital units excluded from the IPPS that are paid in full or in part on a reasonable cost basis subject to these limits. These changes are applicable to discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2006. In this final rule, we discuss public comments we received on our proposals to refine the diagnosis-related group (DRG) system under the IPPS to better recognize severity of illness among patientsto use a hospital-specific relative value (HSRV) cost center weighting methodology to adjust DRG relative weights; and to implement consolidated severity-adjusted DRGs or alternative severity adjustment methods. Among the other policy changes that we are making are those changes related to: limited revisions of the reclassification of cases to DRGs; the long-term care (LTC)-DRGs and relative weights; the wage data, including the occupational mix data, used to compute the wage index; applications for new technologies and medical services add-on payments; payments to hospitals for the direct and indirect costs of graduate medical education; submission of hospital quality data; payments to sole community hospitals and Medicare-dependent, small rural hospitals; and provisions governing emergency services under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1986 (EMTALA). We are responding to requested public comments on a number of other issues that include performance-based hospital payments for services and health information technology, as well as how to improve health data transparency for consumers. In addition, we are responding to public comments received on a proposed rule issued in the Federal Register on May 17, 2006 that proposed to revise the methodology for calculating the occupational mix adjustment to the wage index for the FY 2007 hospital inpatient prospective payment system by applying an adjustment to 100 percent of the wage index using new 2006 occupational mix survey data collected from hospitals. We are finalizing two policy documents published in the Federal Register relating to the implementation of the Health Care Infrastructure Improvement Program, a hospital loan program for cancer research, established under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. This final rule also revises the definition of the term ``unit'' to specify the exclusion of units of drugs sold to approved Medicare Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP) vendors for use under the CAP from average sales price (ASP) calculations for a period of up to 3 years, at which time we will reevaluate our policy.