January 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Base (1% annual chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and modified BFEs are made final for the communities listed below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that each 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 document contains correction to final regulations (TD 9300) that were published in the Federal Register on Friday, December 8, 2006 (71 FR 71040) designed to eliminate regulatory impediments to the electronic filing of certain income tax returns and other forms.

This rule proposed updates and implements policies and procedures for the Privacy Act Program in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and organizations provided administrative support by the Washington Headquarters Services.

The Department is proposing to issue a new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) rule to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of disability by passenger vessels. This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) concerns service and policy issues. Issues concerning physical accessibility standards will be addressed at a later time, in conjunction with proposed passenger vessel accessibility guidelines drafted by the Access Board. Comment Closing Date: Comments should be submitted by April 23, 2007. Late-filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable.

This document contains proposed regulations under sections 358, 362(e)(2) and 1502 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). The regulations apply to corporations filing consolidated returns. The regulations implement aspects of the repeal of the General Utilities doctrine by redetermining members' bases in subsidiary stock and requiring certain reductions in subsidiary stock basis on a transfer of the stock. The regulations also promote the clear reflection of income by redetermining members' bases in subsidiary stock and reducing the subsidiary's attributes to prevent the duplication of loss. Additionally, the regulations provide guidance limiting the application of section 362(e)(2) with respect to transactions between members of a consolidated group.

On December 16, 2005, EPA published final rules entitled, ``Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Other Solid Waste Incineration Units.'' Following that final action, the Administrator received a petition for reconsideration. In response to the petition, on June 28, 2006, EPA announced our reconsideration of whether SSI should be excluded from the other solid waste incineration units (OSWI) rules and requested comment on this issue. After carefully considering all of the comments and information received through our reconsideration process, we have concluded that no additional changes are necessary to the final OSWI rules. With respect to all other issues raised by the petitioner, we deny the request for reconsideration.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'' or ``CFTC'') has amended its regulations to require that all persons registered with the Commission as futures commission merchants (``FCMs''), subject to an exception for certain notice-registered securities brokers or dealers (``BDs''), must become and remain members of at least one registered futures association (``RFA''). This action is consistent with the regulatory philosophy underlying the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (``CFMA'').

This rule would establish the quantity of spearmint oil produced in the Far West, by class that handlers may purchase from, or handle for, producers during the 2007-2008 marketing year, which begins on June 1, 2007. This rule invites comments on the establishment of salable quantities and allotment percentages for Class 1 (Scotch) spearmint oil of 886,667 pounds and 45 percent, respectively, and for Class 3 (Native) spearmint oil of 1,062,336 pounds and 48 percent, respectively. The Spearmint Oil Administrative Committee (Committee), the agency responsible for local administration of the marketing order for spearmint oil produced in the Far West, recommended these limitations for the purpose of avoiding extreme fluctuations in supplies and prices to help maintain stability in the spearmint oil market.

Section 4011 of ERISA requires certain underfunded plans to notify participants of plan funding status and the limits on the PBGC's guarantee. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 repealed section 4011 for plan years beginning after 2006 and replaced the disclosure requirement under that section with a disclosure requirement under Title I of ERISA. This rule amends PBGC's regulation on Disclosure to Participants to reflect that statutory change.

DoD has issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to add policy regarding notification of potential safety issues under DoD contracts. The rule contains a contract clause requiring contractors to promptly notify the Government of any nonconformance or deficiency that could impact item safety.

DoD has issued an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement Section 833(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006. Section 833(b) expands the foreign source restrictions applicable to the acquisition of clothing to also include clothing materials and components, other than sensors, electronics, or other items added to, and not normally associated with, clothing and the materials and components thereof.

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 reports of interference between the wing spar lower boom and the wheel fairing attaching screw. We are issuing this AD to require actions to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

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 a report of a master cylinder yoke failure. We are issuing this AD to require actions to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

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 cracking in the wing main landing gear (MLG) rib 5 forward attachment lug, which could affect the structural integrity of the MLG attachment. This AD requires actions that are intended to address the unsafe condition described in the MCAI.

On January 23, 2006, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the regulated navigation area in Savannah, Georgia, to address changes in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tankship mooring locations following the creation of two new berths within a slip at the Southern LNG facility on the Savannah River. The previous rule only addressed facility and vessel requirements when an LNG vessel was underway or was moored parallel to the navigational channel outside of the slip. This interim rule describes requirements for three different potential mooring situations following the expansion: an LNG tankship moored outside of the slip, one or more LNG tankships moored inside the slip, and LNG tankships moored both inside and outside of the slip. This interim rule will become effective on February 20, 2007. However, we still encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting comments and related material to the docket. We will accept comments for 60 days from the date this rule is published in the Federal Register, after which we intend to publish a final rule. Any comments received will be considered in the final rule. This interim rule is necessary to ensure safe navigation of the Savannah River and the safe transfer of LNG in the Port of Savannah.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all Airbus Model A300-600 series airplanes. The existing AD currently requires inspections of the lower door surrounding structure to detect cracks and corrosion; inspections to detect cracking of the holes of the corner doublers, the fail-safe ring, and the door frames of the door structures; and repair if necessary. The existing AD also provides for optional terminating action for certain inspections. This proposed AD would retain all requirements of the existing AD, mandate the previously optional terminating action, reduce the applicability of the existing AD, and add repetitive inspections behind scuff plates for certain affected airplanes. This proposed AD results from a determination that further rulemaking is necessary to improve the fatigue behavior of the cabin door surroundings. We are proposing this AD to prevent corrosion between the scuff plates at exit and cargo doors and fatigue cracks originating from certain fastener holes located in adjacent structure, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the door surroundings.

This interim final rule implements two provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (NDAA FY06), Public Law 109-163. First, Section 715 of the NDAA FY06 extends the time frame certain dependents of Active Duty Service Members (ADSM) who die while on active duty for more than 30 days shall receive TRICARE medical benefits at active duty dependent payment rates. Second, Section 592 of the NDAA FY06 modifies the requirement for those intermediaries who provide adoption placements. Additionally, this interim final rule makes an administrative clarification to the following two eligibility provisions: those placed in the legal custody of a member or former member; and those placed in the home of a member or former member in anticipation of adoption. This clarification makes a distinction between the two groups and specifies that for placement into legal custody by court order, the court order must be for a period of 12 consecutive months. Public comments are invited and will be considered for possible revisions to the final rule.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all Airbus Model A310 series airplanes. The existing AD currently requires inspections of the lower door surrounding structure to detect cracks and corrosion; inspections to detect cracking of the holes of the corner doublers, the fail-safe ring, and the door frames of the door structures; and repair if necessary. The existing AD also provides for optional terminating action for certain inspections. This proposed AD would retain all requirements of the existing AD, mandate the previously optional terminating action, and reduce the applicability of the existing AD. This proposed AD results from a determination that further rulemaking is necessary to improve the fatigue behavior of the cabin door surroundings. We are proposing this AD to prevent corrosion between the scuff plates at exit and cargo doors and fatigue cracks originating from certain fastener holes located in adjacent structure, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the door surroundings.

The Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) Region V is issuing a notice of intent to delete the Avenue E Groundwater Contamination Superfund Site (Site) located in Traverse City, Michigan, from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comments on this notice of intent to delete. The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is found at Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300 which is the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of Michigan, through the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' Section of today's Federal Register, we are publishing a direct final notice of deletion of the Avenue E Groundwater Contamination Superfund Site without prior notice of intent to delete because we view this as a non-controversial revision and anticipate no adverse comment. We have explained our reasons for this deletion in the preamble to the direct final notice of deletion. If we receive no adverse comment(s) on this notice of deletion or the direct final notice of deletion, we will not take further action on this notice of intent to delete. If we receive timely adverse comment(s), we will withdraw the direct final notice of deletion, and it will not take effect. We will, as appropriate, address all public comments in a subsequent final deletion notice based on adverse comments received on this notice of intent to delete. We will not institute a second comment period on this notice of intent to delete. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time. For additional information, see the direct final notice of deletion which is located in the Rules section of this Federal Register.

This document provides the time and location of the public meeting which will be held by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled ``Rail Transportation Security,'' which was published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2006.

On August 18, 2005, NHTSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to amend our certification regulation to require that, in addition to the vehicle identification number (VIN), a suffix that identified attributes about the bus body be recorded on the certification label of each bus manufactured in two or more stages. The NPRM also proposed a new regulation to require manufacturers of buses manufactured in two or more stages to obtain a manufacturer's identifier and to submit information to NHTSA about the bus bodies manufactured. NHTSA has identified an alternative approach to obtain accurate bus accident data for analysis and safety improvement that it believes is more efficient and less burdensome. Therefore, we are terminating this rulemaking.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing a new regulation on nonprocurement debarment and suspension in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) as the final step of a four step process in streamlining the government-wide nonprocurement suspension and debarment rules. The purpose of this government-wide initiative is to make the rule on nonprocurement suspension and debarment easier to find and use by the regulated community. The first step in this process was the update to the nonprocurement suspension and debarment common rule published in the Federal Register on November 26, 2003. The second step was the establishment of Title 2 in the Code of Federal Regulations on May 11, 2004. The third step was the publication of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) guidance on nonprocurement suspension and debarment as adoptable guidance of the new 2 CFR on August 31, 2005. This rule adopts OMB guidance on nonprocurement debarment and suspension. The EPA is also removing a regulation containing the existing EPA implementation of the government-wide common rule on nonprocurement debarment and suspension. This regulatory action makes no substantive change in EPA policy or procedures for nonprocurement debarment and suspension.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 610 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2007 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 610 in the GOA.

This action revises EPA's definition of volatile organic compounds (VOC) for purposes of preparing State implementation plans (SIPs) to attain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone under title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA). This revision would add 1,1,1,2,2,3,4,5,5,5-decafluoro-3-methoxy-4-trifluoromethyl-pe ntane [also known as HFE-7300 or L-14787 or C2F5CF(OCH3)CF(CF3)2 ] to the list of compounds excluded from the definition of VOC on the basis that this compound makes a negligible contribution to tropospheric ozone formation. If you use or produce HFE-7300 and are subject to EPA regulations limiting the use of VOC in your product, limiting the VOC emissions from your facility, or otherwise controlling your use of VOC for purposes related to attaining the ozone NAAQS, then you will not count HFE-7300 as a VOC in determining whether you meet these regulatory obligations. This action may also affect whether HFE- 7300 is considered as a VOC for State regulatory purposes, depending on whether the State relies on EPA's definition of VOC. As a result, if you are subject to certain Federal regulations limiting emissions of VOCs, your emissions of HFE-7300 may not be regulated for some purposes.