November 8, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard requests public comments on our current ballast water management reporting and recordkeeping requirements. To provide additional opportunity for public comment, public meetings will be held in the Great Lakes and Gulf of Mexico regions. All stakeholders and interested parties are encouraged to submit comments to the docket and to attend a public meeting in or near their region.

This Treasury decision establishes the 39,200-acre Tracy Hills viticultural area in San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties, California, approximately 55 miles east-southeast of San Francisco. We designate viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) previously extended its official inspection program to include testing of barley protein. Testing is provided using near-infrared spectroscopy analyzers that were previously approved for different grains. GIPSA is establishing in the fee schedule a generic fee for all near-infrared measurements (NIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses, which is identical to existing fees. The fee for barley protein testing is included in this fee and is identical to the fees already established for other measurements (wheat protein; soybean oil and protein; and corn oil, protein, and starch). Also, GIPSA is amending regulations under the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA) to establish performance tolerances for protein analyzers used to predict the percentage of protein in barley.

EPA proposes to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the state of Iowa. This revision proposes updates to Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) amendment dates, makes a clarification to the state air quality rules for laundry activities listed under construction permit exemptions, and adopts American Meteorological Society/Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model (AERMOD). The proposed SIP revisions are necessary for consistency with Federal regulations.

The FAA proposes to revise an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Turbomeca S.A. Arrius 2F turboshaft engines. That AD currently requires replacing certain O-rings on the check valve piston in the lubrication unit, at repetitive intervals. This proposed AD would require the same actions except reduce the applicability from all Turbomeca S.A. Arrius 2F turboshaft engines, to Turbomeca S.A. Arrius 2F turboshaft engines that have not incorporated modification Tf75. This proposed AD results from Turbomeca S.A. introducing a check valve piston design requiring no O-ring. We are proposing this AD to prevent an uncommanded in-flight shutdown of the engine, which could result in a forced autorotation landing and damage to the helicopter.

We are adopting amendments to the language of the third-party and issuer tender offer best-price rules to clarify that the provisions apply only with respect to the consideration offered and paid for securities tendered in a tender offer. We also are amending the third- party and issuer tender offer best-price rules to provide that any consideration that is offered and paid according to employment compensation, severance or other employee benefit arrangements entered into with security holders of the subject company that meet certain requirements will not be prohibited by the rules. Finally, we are amending the third-party and issuer tender offer best-price rules to provide a safe harbor provision so that arrangements that are approved by certain independent directors of either the subject company's or the bidder's board of directors, as applicable, will not be prohibited by the rules. These amendments are intended to make it clear that the best-price rule was not intended to capture employment compensation, severance or other employee benefit arrangements. We are also making a technical amendment to correct a cross-reference in the rules that govern the ability to delegate authority for purposes of granting exemptions under the best-price rule.

The Coast Guard is proposing a supplemental change to its notice of proposed rulemaking for modifying the Cortez and Anna Maria drawbridge operating regulations. This supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking is necessary to address written concerns from the public regarding the original notice of proposed rulemaking and oral comments received during a public meeting. Additionally, city officials from Anna Maria, Brandenton Beach and Longboat Key contributed their input to this rulemaking in an effort to relieve vehicular congestion on the above bridges.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to develop procedures for the acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in appropriate circumstances. On April 24, 2006, the Department of Energy (DOE) published proposed procedures in the Federal Register for public comment. Today DOE is issuing the final rule governing procedures for the acquisition of petroleum for the SPR, including acquisition by direct purchase and transfer of royalty oil from the Department of the Interior (DOI). The final rule also has provisions concerning the deferral of scheduled deliveries of petroleum for the SPR. With the exception of some minor clarification changes and definitional and editorial adjustments, these final procedures are substantially the same as those proposed.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission or FCC) furthers its ongoing efforts to ensure that its rules governing the Maritime Radio Services continue to promote maritime safety, maximize effective and efficient use of the spectrum available for maritime communications, accommodate technological innovation, avoid unnecessary regulatory burdens, and maintain consistency with international maritime standards to the extent consistent with the United States public interest. The Commission also seeks in this proceeding to ensure that it regulates the Maritime Radio Services in a manner that advances our Nation's homeland security.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as during production installation of the Garmin G1000 supplemental type certificate (STC) some parts of the installed fuel system indicating system were contaminated with particles from the manufacturing process. This AD requires actions that are intended to address the unsafe condition described in the MCAI.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to implement a National Source Tracking System for certain sealed sources. The amendments require licensees to report certain transactions involving these sealed sources to the National Source Tracking System. These transactions include manufacture, transfer, receipt, disassembly, or disposal of nationally tracked sources. The amendments also require each licensee to provide its initial inventory of nationally tracked sources to the National Source Tracking System and annually reconcile the information in the system with the licensee's actual inventory. In addition, the amendments require manufacturers to assign a unique serial number to each nationally tracked source.

This document grants a petition for rulemaking filed by Jeraldine Anderson d/b/a Carrizo Springs Broadcasting requesting the allotment of Channel 295A at Carrizo Springs, Texas. The coordinates for Channel 295A at Carrizo Springs, Texas, are 28-27-00 NL and 99-50- 30 WL. There is a site restriction 8.1 kilometers (5.1 miles) south of the community. A counterproposal filed by Linda Crawford is dismissed as defective.

The Environmental Protection Agency is promulgating a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, the Ground Water Rule, to provide for increased protection against microbial pathogens in public water systems that use ground water sources. This final rule is in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act as amended, which requires the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate National Primary Drinking Water Regulations requiring disinfection as a treatment technique for all public water systems, including surface water systems and, as necessary, ground water systems. The Ground Water Rule establishes a risk-targeted approach to target ground water systems that are susceptible to fecal contamination, instead of requiring disinfection for all ground water systems. The occurrence of fecal indicators in a drinking water supply is an indication of the potential presence of microbial pathogens that may pose a threat to public health. This rule requires ground water systems that are at risk of fecal contamination to take corrective action to reduce cases of illnesses and deaths due to exposure to microbial pathogens.