October 4, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule finalizes the provisions of the proposed rule published on May 30, 2006 and responds to public comments received as a result of the proposed rule. This final rule authorizes approval of annual waivers, under certain circumstances, from two provisions in the current Head Start transportation regulation (45 CFR part 1310): the requirement that each child be seated in a child restraint system while the vehicle is in motion, and the requirement that each bus have at least one bus monitor on board at all times. Waivers would be granted when the Head Start or Early Head Start grantee demonstrates that compliance with the requirement(s) for which the waiver is being sought will result in a significant disruption to the Head Start program or the Early Head Start program and that waiving the requirement(s) is in the best interest of the children involved. The rule also revises the definition of child restraint system in the regulation to remove the reference to weight which now conflicts with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The regulation also reflects new effective dates for Sec. 1310.12(a) and 1310.22(a) on the required use of school buses or allowable alternate vehicles and the required availability of such vehicles adapted for use of children with disabilities, as the result of enactment of Section 224 of Public Law 109-149 and Section 7012 of Public Law 109-234.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) seeks comments on the economic impact of its regulations on small entities. As required by Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, we are attempting to identify rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. We also request comments on ways to make these regulations easier to read and understand. The focus of this notice is rules that specifically relate to passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, trailers, incomplete vehicles, motorcycles, and motor vehicle equipment.

DoD has issued an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement the United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement and the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement with respect to Guatemala. The Free Trade Agreements waive the applicability of the Buy American Act for some foreign supplies and construction materials and specify procurement procedures designed to ensure fairness.

This document announces the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirement in the final rule published on August 29, 2006 (FR 71 51382). The sections of the final rule pending approval of this information collection will become effective on the date included in the published final rule; October 29, 2006.

DoD has issued an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement Section 833(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006. Section 833(a) requires the posting of a notice on the FedBizOps Internet site, when certain exceptions to domestic source requirements apply to an acquisition.

DoD is making technical amendments to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to update reference numbers and correct typographical errors.

DoD has issued an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement Section 803 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006. Section 803 places limitations on the acquisition of a major weapon system as a commercial item.

The Department of State is amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to reflect modifications to the U.S. arms embargo against Haiti. The embargo is revised to permit exports of defense articles and services that are destined for security units under the command of the Government of Haiti, or under the command of the United Nations (UN) and UN- authorized missions, and to allow exports of personal protective clothing, including flak jackets and helmets, for use by personnel from the United Nations and other international organizations, representatives of the media, and development workers and associated personnel.

The EPA issued a final rule on November 29, 2005, which took action on elements of the program to implement the 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or standard)Phase 2. The preamble contains a discussion of the Clean Air Act's (CAA's) reasonable further progress (RFP) requirements, and this document clarifies the correct citation in the CAA that should have been referenced. Finally, this document is modifying several incorrect citations in Appendix A of the preamble which addresses calculation of RFP targets. This action is needed so States will have the correct version of the Phase 2 rule. The intended effect is to correct the errors in the Phase 2 rule.

The State of New Hampshire has amended the regulations previously approved by EPA under Subtitle I of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA has determined that these amendments satisfy all requirements needed for program approval and is approving the State's changes through this immediate final action. EPA is publishing this rule to approve the changes without a prior tentative determination because we believe this action is not controversial and do not expect comments that oppose it. Unless we get written comments which oppose this approval during the comment period, the decision to approve New Hampshire's amendments to its underground storage tank (UST) program will take effect as provided below. If we receive comments that oppose this action, we will publish a document in the Federal Register withdrawing this rule before it takes effect, and the separate document in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register will serve as the proposal to approve the amendments.

DEA proposes to amend its regulations to update the list of non-traditional countries authorized to export narcotic raw materials (NRM) to the United States. This change would replace Yugoslavia with Spain. This proposed rule seeks to maintain a consistent and reliable supply of narcotic raw materials from a limited number of countries consistent with United States obligations under international treaties and resolutions.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain McDonnell Douglas Model 717-200 airplanes. This AD requires replacing the lightning critical clamp bases of the fuel tank vent system with improved clamp bases; and checking the electrical bond of the modified self-bonding mounting clamps and corrective action if necessary. This AD results from an investigation that revealed the aluminum foil strip on the nylon base of the ground clamps can fracture or separate from the base. We are issuing this AD to ensure that the fuel pipes are properly bonded to the airplane structure. Improper bonding could prevent electrical energy from a lightning strike from dissipating to the airplane structure, which could result in a fuel tank explosion.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of acetic acid ethenyl ester, polymer with 1-ethenyl-2-pyrrolidinone; when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation. BASF Corporation submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of acetic acid ethenyl ester, polymer with 1-ethenyl-2- pyrrolidinone.

In this document, the Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') announces decisions on four issues involving the Telemarketing Sales Rule (``TSR''): the denial of a petition submitted by Voice Mail Broadcasting Corporation (``VMBC'') requesting creation of a new safe harbor for the TSR that would permit the use of prerecorded messages in calls to established customers; a new proposal to amend the TSR by expressly prohibiting unsolicited prerecorded telemarketing calls without the consumer's prior written agreement; revocation of the Commission's previously announced policy of forbearance from bringing enforcement actions against sellers and telemarketers who make prerecorded telemarketing calls to established customers effective January 2, 2007; and a new proposal to amend the prescribed method for measuring the maximum allowable call abandonment rate in the TSR's existing safe harbor provision, in response to a petition from the Direct Marketing Association, Inc. (``DMA''). The Commission is requesting public comment on the proposed amendments during a comment period ending November 6, 2006.