November 13, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is denying a request for a waiver of the Nonmanufacturer Rule for Personal Computers based on our discovery of small business manufacturers for this class of product. Denying this waiver will require recipients of contracts set aside for small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, or SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program to provide the products of small business manufacturers or processors on such contracts.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. The requested information is used to assess a Public Housing Authority's (PHA's) management capabilities and performance in administering a housing choice voucher program. Assessment ratings are used as tool in addressing any potential deficiencies.

This final rule implements the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996. The rule adjusts the amount of the statutory civil penalty for violation of the Seaway Regulations and Rules under the authority of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972, as amended (PWSA).

The inventions listed below are owned by an agency of the U.S. Government and are available for licensing in the U.S. in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally-funded research and development. Foreign patent applications are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage for companies and may also be available for licensing.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision of the Low Enhanced Vehicle Inspection/Maintenance Program for the State of Louisiana. This revision exempts the two newest model year gasoline-fueled passenger cars and trucks from On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) testing. We are taking this action in accordance with Sections 110 and 182 of the Clean Air Act.

This notice announces the availability of the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the Orange County Southern Subregion Natural Community Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan), for public review and comment. The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is considering the proposed action of issuing three 75-year incidental take permits, pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), for 32 species in response to receipt of applications from the County of Orange (County), Rancho Mission Viejo, LLC (RMV) and Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD) (Applicants). The proposed permits would authorize take of individual members of animal species listed under the ESA. The permits are needed because take of species could occur during proposed urban development activities and associated infrastructure on Rancho Mission Viejo, expansion of the Prima Deshecha Landfill, the extension of Avenida La Pata, maintenance and operation of Santa Margarita Water District facilities, and reserve management activities within an approximately 132,000-acre Plan Area in southern Orange County, California. The Orange County Southern Subregion Habitat Conservation Plan also serves as a proposed Natural Community Conservation Plan under the State of California's Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (NCCPA). The EIS analyzes the impacts of the Plan/NCCP and a Master Streambed Alteration Agreement which involves action by the County of Orange and the California Department of Fish and Game. For that reason, the EIS also serves as an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to satisfy requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in addition to those of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Comments regarding the Final EIS/EIR may be submitted to the Service pursuant to NEPA during a 30-day waiting period [See DATES].

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Model BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ airplanes equipped with certain hydraulic accumulators. This AD requires inspecting the hydraulic accumulators to identify certain serial numbers, and replacing any affected accumulator with a new or serviceable accumulator. Operators may delay doing the replacement by doing repetitive inspections of the affected hydraulic accumulators for signs of failure (leaking or cracking), and replacing any failed accumulator with a new or serviceable unit. This AD results from a report that one hydraulic accumulator failed in service, which caused the loss of the yellow hydraulic system when the airplane was configured for landing. We are issuing this AD to prevent damage to the pressure skin, failure of certain hydraulic systems, contamination of the cabin with hydraulic mist, increased workload for the flightcrew associated with the loss of one or more hydraulic circuits, and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is further delaying, until December 1, 2008, the applicability date of a certain requirement of a final rule published in the Federal Register of December 3, 1999 (64 FR 67720) (the final rule). The final rule implements the Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1987 (PDMA), as modified by the Prescription Drug Amendments of 1992 (PDA), and the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 (the Modernization Act). The provisions of the final rule became effective on December 4, 2000, except for certain provisions whose effective or applicability dates were delayed in five subsequent Federal Register notices, until December 1, 2006. The provision with the delayed applicability date would prohibit wholesale distribution of blood derivatives by registered blood establishments that meet the definition of a ``health care entity.'' In the Federal Register of February 1, 2006 (71 FR 5200), FDA published a proposed rule specific to the distribution of blood derivatives by registered blood establishments that qualify as health care entities (the proposed rule). The proposed rule would amend certain limited provisions of the final rule to allow certain registered blood establishments that qualify as health care entities to distribute blood derivatives. In response to the proposed rule, FDA received substantive comments. As explained in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document, further delaying the applicability of Sec. 203.3(q) (21 CFR 203.3(q)) to the wholesale distribution of blood derivatives by health care entities is necessary to give the agency additional time to address comments on the proposed rule, consider whether regulatory changes are appropriate, and, if so, to initiate such changes.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is hosting an electronic public discussion on methods that can be used to evaluate the potential of imported plants to become invasive species if they are introduced into the United States. Any interested person can register for the electronic discussion, which will allow participants to upload files and interact with other participants and with APHIS staff.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of the Interior (DOI), United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), effective August 3, 2006. The purpose of the MOU is to address how both Parties may cooperatively handle migratory bird protection and conservation in accordance with the requirements of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and Executive Order (EO) 13186.

Under the provisions of Title 49, U.S.C. 47153(c), notice is being given that the FAA is considering a request from the City of Madison, MS to waive the requirement that a 8.765-acre parcel of surplus property, located at the Bruce Campbell Field, be used for aeronautical purposes.

Under the provisions of Title 49, U.S.C. Section 47153(c), notice is being given that the FAA is considering a request from the City of Tifton and Tift County to waive the requirement that approximately 2-acres of surplus property, located at the Henry Tift Myers Airport, be used for aeronautical purposes.

The FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) revision of a current information collection. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on June 28, 2006, vol. 71, no. 124, page 36868-36869. The information collected is needed for the applicant's noise certification compliance report in order to demonstrate compliance with part 36.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for the construction and improvement of existing patrol roads and the removal of non-native (giant cane, Arundo donax) vegetation along 111 miles of the Rio Grande (Proposed Action) in Webb County, Texas. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the decision-making agency for this project. This EIS is being prepared in support of the proposal by the Office of Border Patrol's (OBP) Laredo North and Laredo South Stations for controlling and deterring the influx of illegal immigration and contraband into the United States. Due to the increased violent activity in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and increase in drug trafficking in Webb County, the Secretary of Homeland Security has mandated this effort as the top priority of the OBP's Laredo Sector. The Laredo Sector has a need to secure the border by obtaining an unobstructed line of sight to the Rio Grande and a continuous patrol road. These actions are intended to gain and maintain control of the border to further prevent the influx of illegal aliens and drugs into the United States. Prior NEPA documents, developed to address those project portions which have been previously constructed or proposed to be constructed, will be incorporated into the DEIS by reference. Direct project impacts of the remaining portions of the project, as well as cumulative impacts of the comprehensive project, will also be addressed. Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations, a scoping process will be conducted. As part of this process, a public workshop/open house will be held to identify issues of concern for analysis during the NEPA process.