November 9, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that would remove several restrictions regarding the identification of animals and the processing of ruminant materials from BSE minimal-risk regions, as well as BSE-based restrictions on gelatin derived from bovine hides. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to add an exception to the requirement for a written determination before using a fixed-price type contract for a development program effort. The exception would apply to contracts for systems integration of commercial off-the-shelf information technology products under the DoD Enterprise Software Initiative.

In a Federal Register notice published on October 4, 2006, 71 FR 58716, the FTC requested comment on two proposed amendments to the TSR. The Notice stated that comments must be submitted on or before November 6, 2006. In response to a request for an extension of the comment period received on October 30, 2006, the Commission has extended the comment period for an additional 40 days.

This document contains final regulations relating to the computation and allocation of the credit for increasing research activities for members of a controlled group of corporations or a group of trades or businesses under common control. These final regulations reflect changes made to section 41 by the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1989, which introduced the current computational regime for the credit, and the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, which introduced the alternative incremental research credit.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Lake County Air Quality Management District (LCAQMD), Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD), San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD), and Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). Under authority of the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act), we are proposing to approve local rules that address particulate matter (PM-10) emissions from open burning, general area sources, cotton gins, incinerators, and fuel burning equipment.

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Department of the Treasury gives notice of a proposed amendment to this part to exempt a new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) system of records entitled ``IRS 42.002, Excise Tax Compliance Programs'' from certain provisions of the Privacy Act.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

This document corrects a change made by a final rule published October 31, 2006 amending the regulations for the 2005 Dairy Disaster Assistance Payment Program (DDAP-II). A correction is needed because the final rule of October 31 incorrectly numbered the sections of the new subpart E that was added to 7 CFR part 1430.

On October 31, 2006, SBA published in the Federal Register a direct final rule to amend SBA regulations to reflect the new structure of the Office of Disaster Assistance following an office reorganization (71 FR 63674). In the preamble to the regulation, SBA stated in the DATES section that this rule is effective November 30, 2006 without further action, unless adverse comment is received on or before the effective date. If adverse comment is received, SBA will publish a timely withdrawal of the rule in the Federal Register. SBA is correcting the DATES caption for this direct final rule to clarify the timeframe for public comment, and to allow sufficient time for SBA to withdraw the rule if any significant adverse comments are received.

This action proposes national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for certain area source facilities. Specifically, this proposal sets forth two regulatory alternatives. The first alternative (Regulatory Alternative 1) proposes emission standards for bulk gasoline terminals, pipeline facilities, and bulk gasoline plants. The second alternative (Regulatory Alternative 2) is identical to the first alternative, except that it also proposes emission standards for gasoline dispensing facilities. We are proposing these emission standards for hazardous air pollutants pursuant to Clean Air Act section 112(c)(3) and 112(d)(5). This action also announces that we are not regulating the above-noted facilities under Clean Air Act section 112(c)(6). We estimate that the proposed standards would result in an annual reduction of about 3,300 and 3,400 tons of hazardous air pollutant emissions (including about 120 and 125 tons of benzene), and about 45,000 and 46,200 tons of volatile organic compound emissions for the proposed Regulatory Alternatives 1 and 2, respectively. This represents about a 9 and 10 percent reduction of emissions from area sources in the gasoline distribution source category for the proposed Regulatory Alternatives 1 and 2, respectively.

This proposed rule reflects amendments made by section 102 of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 to the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act regarding substitutes for fluid milk in the National School Lunch Program. This rule would implement a legislative provision on milk substitutes that follows current regulations on menu exceptions for students with disabilities and would add new requirements for substitutions for fluid milk for children with medical or other special dietary needs. Specifically, this proposed rule would establish nutritional standards for nondairy beverage alternatives to fluid milk, as well as requirements for substitutions for fluid milk for non-disabled students with medical or special dietary needs. It would allow the parent or legal guardian of a child with medical or special dietary needs to request a fluid milk substitute. In addition, it would allow schools to select acceptable fluid milk substitutes that meet the nutritional standards established in this proposed rule, and would continue to make school food authorities responsible for substitution expenses that exceed the Federal reimbursement. This rule, as proposed, would ensure consistency among milk substitutes offered in the school lunch and breakfast programs, and would make certain that students who consume nondairy beverage alternates receive important nutrients found in fluid milk.

This final rule sets forth an update to the 60-day national episode rates and the national per-visit amounts under the Medicare prospective payment system for home health services. In addition, this final rule sets forth policy changes related to Medicare payment for certain durable medical equipment for the purpose of implementing sections 1834(a)(5) and 1834(a)(7) of the Social Security Act, as amended by section 5101 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. This final rule also responds to public comments on the August 3, 2006, proposed rule that pertain to a number of issues including the requirement that home health payments are based on the reporting of specific quality data by home health agencies.