September 8, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

DoD has issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to update text on acquisition planning. This rule is a result of a transformation initiative undertaken by DoD to dramatically change the purpose and content of the DFARS.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect approval of a new animal drug application (NADA) filed by Intervet Inc. The NADA provides for use of a zilpaterol hydrochloride Type A medicated article to formulate Type B and Type C medicated feeds for cattle fed in confinement for slaughter.

DoD has adopted as final, with changes, an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement Section 1092 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005. Section 1092 requires that DoD contractor personnel who interact with detainees receive training regarding the applicable international obligations and laws of the United States.

DoD has issued an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement Section 1211 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006. Section 1211 prohibits DoD from acquiring United States Munitions List items from Communist Chinese military companies.

The Railroad Retirement Board (Board) amends its regulations to include the option of electronic filing by railroad employers of requests for reconsideration of initial decisions under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA). Part 320 currently requires that reconsideration requests be submitted in writing. The amended rule allows reconsideration requests to be made by railroad employers either in writing or electronically. In addition, Sec. 320.10(c) and 320.10(d) inadvertently contain inaccurate references. This amended rule corrects those references.

We recently amended the regulations to establish a herd certification program and interstate movement restrictions for cervids to control the spread of chronic wasting disease. That final rule had an effective date of October 19, 2006. We are delaying that effective date until further notice, to give the agency time to consider several petitions we recently received that asked for the rule not to take effect as scheduled. This delay is needed to allow the agency to consider the issues raised in the petitions and decide what action to take in response to them.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the pine shoot beetle regulations by designating the State of Wisconsin, in its entirety, as a quarantined area based on the detection of new pine shoot beetle infested areas in the State, as well as its decision to no longer enforce intrastate movement restrictions. The interim rule was necessary to prevent the spread of pine shoot beetle, a pest of pine trees, into noninfested areas of the United States.

In the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register, the IRS is issuing temporary regulations under section 45G of the Internal Revenue Code relating to the railroad track maintenance credit determined for qualified railroad track maintenance expenditures paid or incurred by a Class II or Class III railroad and other eligible taxpayers during the taxable year. The temporary regulations reflect changes to the law made by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 and the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005. The text of those temporary regulations also serves as the text of these proposed regulations. This document also provides notice of a public hearing on these proposed regulations.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to certain Boeing Model 747-400, 747-400D, and 747- 400F series airplanes. The existing AD currently requires reviewing airplane maintenance records; inspecting the yaw damper actuator portion of the upper and lower rudder power control modules (PCMs) for cracking, and replacing the PCMs if necessary; and reporting all airplane maintenance records review and inspection results to the manufacturer. This new AD expands the applicability and discontinues certain requirements of the existing AD. This AD adds repetitive inspections of the PCMs, and replacement of the PCMs if necessary. This AD results from manufacturer findings that the inspections required by the existing AD must be performed at regular intervals. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking in the yaw damper actuator portion of the upper and lower rudder PCMs, which could result in an uncommanded left rudder hardover, consequent increased pilot workload, and possible runway departure upon landing.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Hartzell Propeller Inc. ( )HC-( )2Y( )-( ) series propellers with non- suffix serial number (SN) propeller hubs installed on Lycoming O-, IO-, LO-, and AEIO-360 series reciprocating engines. This AD requires initial and repetitive eddy current inspections (ECI) of the front cylinder half of the propeller hub for cracks and removing cracked hubs from service before further flight. In addition, this AD allows installation of an improved design propeller hub (suffix SN ``A'' or ``B'') as terminating action to the repetitive ECI. This AD results from a report of a propeller blade separating from a propeller hub. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the propeller hub causing blade separation and subsequent loss of airplane control.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Gulfstream Model GV and GV-SP series airplanes. This AD requires repairing the force link assembly wire harness. This AD results from a report indicating that the wiring harness outer shield and insulation on the primary conductors may have been inadvertently cut due to an improper method used to remove the wiring outer jacket. We are issuing this AD to prevent the loss of the hardover prevention system (HOPS) in the roll axis due to a short circuit in the wiring harness, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane.

NMFS announces the closure of the Closed Area II Scallop Access Area (CAII) to scallop vessels until February 28, 2007. This closure, effective 0001 hours on September 6, 2006, is based on a determination by the Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (RA), that scallop vessels are projected to catch the yellowtail flounder (YT) bycatch total allowable catch (TAC) for CAII by September 6, 2006. Upon closure, scallop vessels are prohibited from being in CAII until February 28, 2007. This action is being taken to prevent the scallop fleet from exceeding the YT TAC allocated to CAII during the 2006 fishing year in accordance with the regulations implemented under the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP), Northeast (NE) Multispecies FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Raytheon Aircraft Company (RAC) Models 1900, 1900C, and 1900D airplanes. This AD contains the same information as emergency AD 2006- 18-51 and publishes the action in the Federal Register. This AD requires you to do a one-time visual inspection of both the left and right wing rear spar lower caps for cracking and other damage such as loose or missing fasteners; repair any cracks or damage found; and report any cracks or damage found to the FAA and RAC. This AD results from extensive cracks found in the wing rear spar lower caps and rear spar web of two of the affected airplanes. One of the airplanes also had missing fasteners. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking and other damage in the wing rear spar lower caps of the affected airplanes before the cracks or damage lead to failure. Such a wing failure could result in the wing separating from the airplane with consequent loss of control.

EPA is proposing amendments to the ``Standards of Performance for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills'' (Landfills NSPS), to the ``Emission Guidelines and Compliance Times for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills'' (landfills emission guidelines), to the ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Municipal Solid Waste Landfills'' (Landfills NESHAP), and to the ``Federal Plan Requirements for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills that Commenced Construction Prior to May 30, 1991 and Have Not Been Modified or Reconstructed since May 30, 1991'' (landfills Federal plan). The proposed amendments to the Landfills NSPS are supplemental amendments to those proposed on May 23, 2002. Based on public comments on the proposed amendments and additional analysis, we are proposing supplemental amendments to the Landfills NSPS to clarify what constitutes treated landfill gas. We are also proposing amendments to the Landfills NSPS, emission guidelines, Federal plan, and Landfills NESHAP to clarify who is responsible for compliance activities where multiple parties are involved in the ownership or operation of a landfill and the associated landfill gas collection, control, and/or treatment systems. In addition, we are proposing revisions to both the Landfills NSPS and the Landfills NESHAP regarding startup, shutdown, malfunction, and routine maintenance. The proposed amendments to the Landfills NSPS would also serve to amend the emission guidelines and the Federal plan for existing municipal solid waste landfills because these rules incorporate the provisions of the ``Standards of Performance for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills.'' We are proposing changes to the emission guidelines and Federal plan themselves to reflect the proposed changes to the Landfills NSPS where these rules did not directly incorporate the provisions of the Landfills NSPS.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is adopting amendments to the disclosure requirements for executive and director compensation, related person transactions, director independence and other corporate governance matters and security ownership of officers and directors. These amendments apply to disclosure in proxy and information statements, periodic reports, current reports and other filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and to registration statements under the Exchange Act and the Securities Act of 1933. We are also adopting a requirement that disclosure under the amended items generally be provided in plain English. The amendments are intended to make proxy and information statements, reports and registration statements easier to understand. They are also intended to provide investors with a clearer and more complete picture of the compensation earned by a company's principal executive officer, principal financial officer and highest paid executive officers and members of its board of directors. In addition, they are intended to provide better information about key financial relationships among companies and their executive officers, directors, significant shareholders and their respective immediate family members. In Release No. 33-8735, published elsewhere in the proposed rules section of this issue of the Federal Register, we also request additional comments regarding the proposal to require compensation disclosure for three additional highly compensated employees.