January 9, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule is being issued to adjust civil monetary penalties (CMPs) provided by law within the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce (the Department). Recent changes to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), as amended by the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Patriot Act), Public Law 109-177, increased the penalties for two violations. The intent of this rule is to make the Department's regulations consistent with those changes.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary security zone encompassing certain waters of the Potomac River and Anacostia River in order to safeguard high-ranking public officials from terrorist acts and incidents. This action is necessary to ensure the safety of persons and property, and prevent terrorist acts or incidents. This rule prohibits vessels and people from entering the security zone and requires vessels and persons in the security zone to depart the security zone, unless specifically exempt under the provisions in this rule or granted specific permission from the Coast Guard Captain of the Port Baltimore.

This amendment supersedes an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for the specified Bell Helicopter Textron Canada (BHTC) model helicopters. The existing AD currently requires certain inspections and checks of the tail rotor blade (blade) for a deformation, a crack, and a bent or deformed tail rotor weight (weight). Also, that AD requires, before further flight, replacing each blade with an airworthy blade if a deformation, a crack, or a bent or deformed weight is found. This action contains the same actions as the existing AD and also adds to the applicability certain serial-numbered blades inadvertently omitted from the current AD. This action also requires replacing each affected blade, which is a terminating action. This amendment is prompted by three reports of skin cracks originating near the blade trailing edge balance weight. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent blade failure and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

Technical information or comments are requested on the proposed Base (1% annual chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and proposed BFEs modifications for the communities listed below. The BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that the community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

This rulemaking establishes a new subpart in 601 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to establish emergency relief procedures for granting relief from Federal transit policy statements, circulars, guidance documents, and regulations in times of national or regional emergencies.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is proposing to amend its accounting and reporting regulations, in Parts 101 and 141, to require public utilities and licensees to continue to follow the Commission's Uniform System of Accounts (USofA) and to file annual and quarterly financial reports when they have ceased making jurisdictional sales of electric energy, or providing jurisdictional transmission service, but continue collecting amounts pursuant to a Commission-accepted tariff or rate schedule, or a Commission order. The proposed rulemaking is intended to close a gap in the Commission's regulations which apply now only to operating public utilities and licensees. Under the existing regulations, the Commission cannot oversee, monitor, or audit costs that provide information necessary to the Commission's oversight responsibilities and the protection of the public interest. The Commission also is seeking comments regarding the applicability of Part 125, Preservation of Records of Public Utilities and Licensees, to public utilities or licensees which have ceased operations, as described above, but continue to collect amounts pursuant to a Commission-approved tariff or rate schedule, or a Commission order. This notice of proposed rulemaking reasonably interprets the current language of Part 125 to require the continued application of Part 125 to nonoperating public utilities and licensees, but seeks comments as to whether revisions to Part 125 may be necessary.

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:

This action revises Class D airspace at Mesa, AZ, Falcon Field Airport. The airspace is modified to accommodate general aviation pilots transitioning the Phoenix area as described in the forthcoming proposed Phoenix Class B airspace redesign. Revising the Mesa Falcon Field airspace provides a wider corridor for general aviation pilots to transition north and south beneath the proposed Phoenix Class B airspace and remain west of the Mesa Falcon Field Airport Class D airspace.

The Coast Guard is establishing a permanent security zone due to changes in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tankship mooring arrangements following the activation of two new berths within a slip at the Southern LNG Facility on the Savannah River. The security zone includes all the waters from surface to bottom of the northeastern most mooring dolphin to the southeastern most mooring dolphin and continues west along the North and South shoreline of the mooring slip to the shoreline of the right descending bank of the Savannah River. This regulation is necessary to protect life and property on the navigable waters of the Savannah River and within the LNG slip due to potential security risks associated with the LNG Facility.

We are proposing to amend the regulations regarding the importation of animals and animal products to establish conditions for the importation of the following commodities from regions that present a minimal risk of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) into the United States: Live bovines for any use born on or after a date determined by APHIS to be the date of effective enforcement of a ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban in the region of export; blood and blood products derived from bovines; and casings and part of the small intestine derived from bovines. We are proposing these amendments after conducting a risk assessment and comprehensive evaluation of the issues that concluded that such bovines and bovine products can be safely imported under the conditions described in this proposed rule.