December 27, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 777-200 and -300 series airplanes equipped with Rolls-Royce engines. This AD requires repetitive inspections to detect cracks of the outer V-blades of the thrust reverser, and corrective action if necessary. This AD also provides for optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections. This AD results from reports of cracked outer V-blades in the thrust reversers. We are issuing this AD to prevent separation of a thrust reverser from the airplane during normal reverse thrust or during a refused takeoff, which could result in impact damage to other airplane areas. If a thrust reverser separates from the airplane during a refused takeoff, the engine could produce forward thrust, resulting in unexpected thrust asymmetry and a possible runway excursion.

On October 18, 2006, on page 61441 of the Federal Register (71 FR 61441), a notice of proposed rulemaking and notice of public hearing announced that a public hearing concerning guidance on the taxation of the exchange of property for an annuity contract will be held February 16, 2007 in the auditorium of the New Carrollton Federal Building, 5000 Ellin Road, Lanham, MD 20706. The location of the public hearing has changed.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) proposes to amend the Common Crop Insurance Regulations, Millet Crop Insurance Provisions to remove the reduction in indemnity for any unharvested millet acreage to better meet the needs of insured producers. The changes will apply for the 2008 and succeeding crop years.

This notice advises the public of HUD's decision to extend for an additional period ending December 31, 2007, or for such other period as specified in this notice (e.g., Uniform Financial Reporting Standards (UFRS) and Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) waivers) certain HUD regulations and other administrative requirements governing HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) programs that were identified and waived or deferred under notices of Regulatory and Administrative Waivers Granted for Public and Indian Housing Programs to Assist with Recovery and Relief in Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma Disaster Areas, published October 3, 2005, November 1, 2005, and March 13, 2006. The requirements in these three notices were waived or deferred in order to facilitate the delivery of safe and decent housing under these programs to families and individuals who were displaced from their housing by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. This notice provides that entities that administer PIH programs, which include public housing agencies (PHAs), tribally designated housing entities (TDHEs), and local and tribal governments, and that are located in an area declared by the President to be a federal disaster area as a result of Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma, and that previously notified HUD that they were deferring compliance with the program requirements identified in the three Federal Register notices, may continue to defer compliance with the regulations and requirements listed in this notice for an additional period ending December 31, 2007, or for such other period as specified in this notice (e.g., for UFRS and PHAS waivers). The additional waiver period is subject to the program administrator submitting a notification to HUD, within 45 calendar days of the effective date of this notice, advising of the intent to defer compliance with the program requirements identified in this notice, unless a specific waiver provision states: (1) That the waiver will be applied automatically or (2) the specific waiver does not require such notification. PIH program administrators that are not located in a disaster area but are continuing to assist with Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma recovery and relief and have requested and were approved for waiver of the regulations and administrative requirements listed in this notice under the original waiver notices, may request waiver or deferral of the requirements for an additional period ending December 31, 2007, or for such other period as specified in this notice (e.g., under UFRS and PHAS waivers), with justification of the need for more time, unless a specific waiver provision states it will be applied automatically. HUD will review and respond to waiver requests through an expedited process that assigns priority to these requests and maximizes use of electronic communications to speed response time. PIH program administrators, located in an area declared a federal disaster area as a result of Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma, or PIH program administrators not located in such an area but continuing to assist with Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma relief and recovery efforts, may defer compliance or request waiver of a regulation or other administrative requirement, respectively, through the expedited waiver process provided in this notice. This notice applies only to PIH programs or to cross-cutting regulatory or administrative requirements that are applicable to PIH program administrators. In addition to the regulatory and administrative requirements cited in the notice of waivers granted to assist with recovery and relief in Hurricane Katrina disaster areas, this notice includes a waiver, identified in Section III.A.2 of the notices of waivers granted to assist with recovery and relief in Hurricane Rita disaster areas, for an extension for improved performance by certain PHAs located in areas declared a federal disaster area as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507. The Office of Thrift Supervision within the Department of the Treasury will submit the proposed information collection requirement described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. Today, OTS is soliciting public comments on its proposal to extend this information collection.

NMFS apportions amounts of the non-specified reserve of groundfish to the initial total allowable catch (ITAC) for arrowtooth flounder and flathead sole in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the fishery to continue operating. It is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the fishery management plan for the BSAI.

Pursuant to section 2(b) of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended by section 4 of the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, 90 Stat. 1083, 30 U.S.C. 201 (b), and to the regulations adopted as 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 3410, all interested parties are hereby invited to participate with Ark Land Company on a pro rata cost sharing basis in its program for the exploration of coal deposits owned by the United States of America in the following-described lands in Campbell County, WY:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees at the Oak Ridge Thermal Diffusion Plant (S-50), Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On November 9, 2006, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7384q(b), the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees at the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies Cancer Research Hospital, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On November 9, 2006, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7384q(b), the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC:

This Final Policy Statement describes the terms and conditions on which the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will classify High- Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes that are converted to High-Occupancy/Toll (HOT) lanes as ``fixed guideway miles'' for purposes of the transit funding formulas administered by FTA. The Final Policy Statement also describes when HOT lanes shall not be classfied as fixed guideway miles in FTA's funding formulas.

The Fish and Wildlife Service announces that a Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Finding of No Significant Impact for Grand Cote National Wildlife Refuge are available for distribution. The plan was prepared pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, and in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and describes how the refuge will be managed for the next 15 years. The compatibility determinations for hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, environmental education and interpretation, all-terrain vehicle use, cooperative farming, and resource research studies, are also available within the plan.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``the Commission'' is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, and to allow 60 days for comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on requirements relating to information collected to assist the Commission in the prevention of market manipulation.

On September 11, 2006, the FAA issued a proposed order, which requested written views on the FAA's tentative determination to place temporary limitations on flight operations at New York's LaGuardia Airport (LaGuardia). The temporary limits are intended to prevent the congestion-related delays that would otherwise occur during the interval between the expiration of the High Density Rule and the effective date of a long-term regulation. In response to comments, the FAA is issuing a final order (the Order) that adopts the proposed limitations with some modifications. The limitations will permit 75 scheduled and six unscheduled operations per hour between 6 a.m. through 9:59 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday and from 12 noon through 9:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on Sundays.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System.

The Financial Management Service, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection. By this notice, the Financial Management Service solicits comments concerning the Form 1199A ``Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form'' and Form 1200 ``Go Direct Sign Up Form for Direct Deposit of Federal Benefit Payments.''

The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a proposal to harvest timber and to develop a road management plan for the Central Kupreanof Timber Harvest on the northwest and central part of Kupreanof Island, on the Petersburg Ranger Districts, Tongass National Forest. The proposed action provides for multiple timber sale opportunities and will result in the production of approximately 40 million board feet (mmbf) of timber from approximately 2,025 acres of forested land. Up to 11.1 miles of new forest system road and up to 7.0 miles of temporary road may be necessary for timber harvest. A range of alternatives, responsive to significant issues, will be developed and will include a no action alternative. The existing log transfer facility (LTF) at Little Hamilton in Hamilton Bay would be used. This project is within the Mitkof/Kupreanof biogeographic province. The Record of Decision will disclose whether and where the Forest Supervisor has decided to provide timber harvest units, roads and associated timber harvesting facilities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing changes to the methods used to calculate the fuel economy estimates that are posted on window stickers of all new cars and light trucks sold in the United States. This final rule will greatly improve the EPA fuel economy estimates to more accurately inform consumers about the fuel economy they can expect to achieve in the real world. The new test methods take into account several important factors that affect fuel economy in the real world, but are missing from the existing fuel economy tests. Key among these factors are high speeds, aggressive accelerations and decelerations, the use of air conditioning, and operation in cold temperatures. Under the new methods, the city miles per gallon (mpg) estimates for the manufacturers of most vehicles will drop by about 12 percent on average relative to today's estimates, and city mpg estimates for some vehicles will drop by as much as 30 percent. The highway mpg estimates for most vehicles will drop on average by about 8 percent, with some estimates dropping by as much as 25 percent relative to today's estimates. These changes will take effect starting with 2008 model year vehicles, available at dealers in 2007. We also are adopting a new fuel economy label design with a new look and updated information that should be more useful to prospective car buyers. The new label features more prominent fuel cost information, an easy-to-use graphic for comparing the fuel economy of different vehicles, clearer text, and a Web site address for more information. Manufacturers will be phasing in the new design during the 2008 model year. Finally, for the first time we are requiring fuel economy labeling of certain passenger vehicles between 8,500 and 10,000 lbs gross vehicle weight rating. Because of the Department of Transportation's recent regulation that brings medium-duty passenger vehicles into the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program starting in 2011, EPA is now statutorily obligated to include these vehicles in the fuel economy labeling program. Medium-duty passenger vehicles are a subset of vehicles between 8,500 and 10,000 lbs gross vehicle weight that includes large sport utility vehicles and vans, but not pickup trucks. Vehicle manufacturers are required to post fuel economy labels on medium-duty passenger vehicles beginning with the 2011 model year.