December 29, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone from the mouth of the Cape Fear River to the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge to provide for the safety of the public during the transit and mooring of a vessel carrying four (4) large industrial cranes. The cranes are of such size and dimension that they will create a significant obstruction to safe navigation for other vessels operating in the vicinity. Restricting vessel traffic is necessary to ensure the safety of the public. Vessel traffic will only be restricted during the transit of the vessel.

As required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Department of Energy (DOE) will hold a ``scoping workshop'' (i.e., an informal public meeting) to discuss and receive comments on its plans for developing energy conservation standards for battery chargers and external power supplies. DOE encourages written comments on these subjects. To inform stakeholders and facilitate this process, DOE has prepared two documents, available at: https://www.eere.energy.gov/ buildings/appliancestandards/residential/batteryexternal.html .

EPA is taking direct final action on amendments to the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for shipbuilding and ship repair (surface coating) operations (subpart II) promulgated on December 15, 1995 (60 FR 64330), under the authority of section 112(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). These direct final rule amendments close an unintended gap in the scope of activities subject to the NESHAP by amending the definition of ``ship'' to include all marine or fresh-water vessels that are either (1) 20 meters or more in length regardless of the purpose for which the vessel is constructed or used, or (2) less than 20 meters in length and designed and built specifically for military or commercial purposes. All shipbuilding and ship repair coating operations performed on ``ships,'' as so defined, are subject to Subpart II if they take place at an ``affected source,'' as defined in 40 CFR 63.782. The only exception is that this NESHAP shall not be construed to apply to coating activities that are subject to emission limitations or work practices under the NESHAP for the boat manufacturing at 40 CFR part 63 subpart VVVV. We have also added a definition of ``commercial'' to further clarify the types of nonmilitary vessels less than 20 meters that we consider to be ships. The amended definition of ``ship'' renders the term ``pleasure craft'' unnecessary and the amendments, therefore, eliminate the use of that term in subpart II.

In a document published in the Federal Register at 67 FR 65915 on October 29, 2002, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposed to amend that portion of its Schedule for Rating Disabilities that addresses the Skin in order to clarify how to evaluate multiple superficial or deep scars in a uniform and consistent manner. Based on the nature of the public comments received, VA has decided that it would be appropriate to revise the proposed rule and publish a new proposed rule. This document withdraws that proposed rule.

This regulation establishes a tolerance for residues of the insecticide zeta-cypermethrin, in or on almond, hulls; animal feed, nongrass, group 18, forage; animal feed, nongrass, group 18, hay; berry, group 13; cilantro, leaves; food/feed items (other than those covered by a higher tolerance as a result of use on growing crops) in food/feed handling establishments; fruit, pome, group 11; fruit, stone, group 12; grape; grass, forage, group 17; grass, hay, group 17; nut, tree, group 14; peanut; rapeseed; sunflower; sunflower, refined oil; turnip, greens; vegetable, cucurbit, group 9; and vegetable, root and tuber, group 1, except sugar beet. FMC Corporation and Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested this tolerance under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).

On June 8, 2005, the Department of Labor (DOL) published interim final regulations that govern its responsibilities under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, as amended (EEOICPA or Act). Part B of the Act provides lump-sum payments of $150,000 and medical benefits to covered employees and, where applicable, to survivors of such employees, of the Department of Energy (DOE), its predecessor agencies and certain of its vendors, contractors and subcontractors. Part B also provides lump-sum payments of $50,000 and medical benefits to individuals found eligible by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for $100,000 under section 5 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) and, where applicable, to their survivors. Part E of the Act provides variable lump-sum payments (based on a worker's permanent impairment and/or calendar years of qualifying wage-loss) and medical benefits for covered DOE contractor employees and, where applicable, provides variable lump-sum payments to survivors of such employees (based on a worker's death due to a covered illness and any calendar years of qualifying wage-loss). Part E also provides these same payments and benefits to uranium miners, millers and ore transporters covered by section 5 of RECA and, where applicable, to survivors of such employees. At the same time the Department published the interim final regulations, it also invited written comments and advice from interested parties regarding possible changes to those regulations. This document amends the interim final regulations based on comments that the Department received.

The OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (collectively, the ``agencies'') are publishing this joint final rule to reinsert a provision that was inadvertently deleted when the agencies revised their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations in August 2005. This change is technical only and does not make any substantive revisions. The agencies are also amending their CRA regulations to increase the asset-size threshold to be used to define ``small bank'' and ``intermediate small bank.'' The regulation is amended to state the increase in the threshold amount based on the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is adopting, as interim final rules, amendments to the disclosure requirements for executive and director compensation. The amendments to Item 402 of Regulations S- K and S-B revise Summary Compensation Table and Director Compensation Table disclosure with respect to stock awards and option awards to provide disclosure of the compensation cost of awards over the requisite service period, as described in Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004) Share-Based Payment (FAS 123R). FAS 123R defines a requisite service period as the period or periods over which an employee is required to provide service in exchange for a share-based payment. The revised disclosure replaces disclosure in the Summary Compensation Table and Director Compensation Table of the aggregate grant date fair value of awards computed in accordance with FAS 123R. The amendments revise the Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table to add a column showing, on a grant-by-grant basis, the full grant date fair value of awards computed in accordance with FAS 123R. The amendments also revise the Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table to include information concerning repriced or materially modified options, stock appreciation rights and similar option-like instruments, disclosing the incremental fair value computed as of the repricing or modification date computed in accordance with FAS 123R. The amendments to the Director Compensation Table in Item 402 of Regulation S-K require footnote disclosure corresponding to the new Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table fair value disclosures. The amendments are intended to provide investors with more complete and useful disclosure about executive compensation. Disclosing the compensation cost of stock and option awards over the requisite service period will give investors a better idea of the compensation earned by an executive or director during a particular reporting period, consistent with the principles underlying the financial statement disclosure; and retaining the requirement to disclose the grant date fair value will give investors useful information about the total impact of compensation decisions made by a company in a particular reporting period.

NMFS announces that the percentage of the tilefish annual total allowable landings (TAL) available to the Part-time permit category for the 2007 fishing year has been harvested. Commercial vessels fishing under the Part-time tilefish category may not harvest tilefish from within the Golden Tilefish Management Unit for the remainder of the 2007 fishing year (through October 31, 2007). Regulations governing the tilefish fishery require publication of this notification to advise the public of this closure.

This final rule implements Amendment 16-4 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and sets the 2007-2008 harvest specifications and management measures for groundfish taken in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Amendment 16-4 modifies the FMP to implement revised rebuilding plans for seven overfished species: bocaccio, canary rockfish, cowcod, darkblotched rockfish, Pacific ocean perch (POP), widow rockfish, and yelloweye rockfish. Groundfish harvest specifications and management measures for 2007-2008 are intended to: achieve but not exceed optimum yields (OYs); prevent overfishing; rebuild overfished species; reduce and minimize the bycatch and discard of overfished and depleted stocks; provide harvest opportunity for the recreational and commercial fishing sectors; and, within the commercial fisheries, achieve harvest guidelines and limited entry and open access allocations for non-overfished species. Together, Amendment 16-4 and the 2007-2008 harvest specifications and management measures are intended to rebuild overfished stocks as soon as possible, taking into account the status and biology of the stocks, the needs of fishing communities, and the interaction of the overfished stocks within the marine ecosystem. In addition to the management measures implemented specifically for the groundfish fisheries, this rule implements a new Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area (YRCA) off Washington State, which will be closed to commercial salmon troll fishing to reduce incidental mortality of yelloweye rockfish in the salmon troll fishery.