January 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document grants a request for an extension of time to file reply comments on a proposed process to address phantom traffic issues and a related proposal for the creation and exchange of call detail records filed by the Supporters of the Missoula Plan, an intercarrier compensation reform plan filed July 24, 2006 by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' Task Force on Intercarrier Compensation (the NARUC Task Force). The Order modifies the pleading cycle by reopening the comment period in order to facilitate the development of a more substantive and complete record in this proceeding.

We are revising our rules that deal with automatic cost-of- living increases to primary insurance amounts under title II of the Social Security Act (the Act). The revision is necessary because, beginning with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will publish the CPI to three decimal places. The CPI is currently published to one decimal place as is now reflected in our regulations. With this revision, our rules will conform to the change in the reporting of the CPI.

The Deputy for Acquisition Management, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) is issuing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit comments that can be used to assist the Department of the Navy (DON) in drafting a proposed Navy Marine Corps Acquisition Regulation Supplement contract clause or statement of work requirements that will incentivize contractors to pursue and implement CPI on DON major defense contracts. In particular, the primary focus will be to incentivize proactive business process improvement activities that identify increased efficiencies, cost avoidance, and cost savings, and provide the greatest motivation for contractors to share related savings with the DON to the maximum extent practicable.

This action proposes to modify the Class E airspace at Valdez, AK. Two new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) are being published for the Valdez Airport. Adoption of this proposal would result in modification of Class E airspace upward from 700 feet (ft.) and 1,200 ft. above the surface at Valdez, AK.

This action announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) review of the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Program, which is conducted under the Beef Promotion and Research Order (Order), under the criteria contained in section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA).

This notice supersedes prior Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Organic Program's (NOP) published guidelines used to submit petitions to amend the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List). The National List identifies the synthetic substances that may be used and the non-synthetic substances that may not be used in organic production. The National List also identifies synthetic and non-synthetic substances that may be used in organic handling. This notice provides guidance on who may submit petitions, what substances may be petitioned and the information that is required to be included within a submitted petition. Additionally, this notice establishes new commercial availability evaluation criteria that will be applied during the petition review of non-organic agricultural substances for inclusion onto or removal from Sec. 205.606 of the National List.

In support of its mission to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing to amend its regulations governing Federal employment suitability. The proposed regulations would: authorize agencies to debar from employment for up to three years those found unsuitable, extend the suitability process to those applying for or who are in positions that can be non-competitively converted to the competitive service, provide additional procedural protections for those found unsuitable for Federal employment, and clarify the scope of authority for the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or Board) to review actions taken under the regulations. OPM is also proposing changes to make the regulations more readable.

The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (the ``Commission'') is an independent adjudicatory agency that provides hearings and appellate review of cases arising under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the ``Mine Act''). Hearings are held before the Commission's Administrative Law Judges, and appellate review is provided by a five-member Review Commission appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. On July 18, 2006, the Commission published an interim rule to implement the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (the ``MINER Act''), which amended the Mine Act to improve the safety of miners, particularly in underground coal mines. The MINER Act provides for Commission review of disputes arising over emergency response plans for underground coal mines. The interim rule established procedures for the submission and consideration of such disputes. The Commission invited public comment on the interim rule. The Commission has reviewed the comments on the interim rule and has decided to make certain changes in the rule. This publication makes final changes to Rule 24, the rule designed to implement the MINER Act. In connection with revising Rule 24, the Commission is also amending four of its other procedural rules to make them consistent with Rule 24.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III announces its intent to delete Berkley Products Company Dump Superfund Site (Site), located in West Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this proposed action. The NPL constitutes Appendix B of 40 CFR Part 300, which is the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), which EPA promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). EPA bases its proposal to delete the Site on the determination by EPA and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), that all appropriate actions under CERCLA, other than operation and maintenance and five- year reviews, have been implemented to protect human health, welfare and the environment. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' Section of today's Federal Register, EPA is publishing a direct final notice of deletion of Berkley Products Company Dump Superfund Site without prior notice of intent to delete because EPA views this as a noncontroversial revision and anticipates no adverse comment. EPA has explained its reasons for this deletion in the preamble to the direct final deletion. If EPA receives no adverse comment(s) on this notice of intent to delete or the direct final notice of deletion, EPA will not take further action. If EPA receives adverse comment(s), EPA will withdraw the direct final notice of deletion and it will not take effect. EPA will, as appropriate, address all public comments in a subsequent final deletion notice based 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 makes corrections to Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2006-17-12. That AD applies to Rolls-Royce plc RB211 series turbofan engines. We published AD 2006-17-12 in the Federal Register on August 23, 2006 (71 FR 49339). An incorrect engine model number exists in the applicability paragraph and in the title of Table 5. Also, an incorrect serial number appears in Table 1. This document corrects these numbers. In all other respects, the original document remains the same.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) proposes to amend the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to incorporate new performance standards for electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) installed in commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) manufactured on or after the date 2 years following the effective date of a final rule. On-board hours-of-service recording devices meeting FMCSA's current requirements and voluntarily installed in CMVs manufactured before the implementation date of a final rule may continue to be used for the remainder of the service life of those CMVs. Under the proposal, motor carriers that have demonstrated a history of serious noncompliance with the hours-of-service (HOS) rules would be subject to mandatory installation of EOBRs meeting the new performance standards. If FMCSA determined, based on HOS records reviewed during each of two compliance reviews conducted within a 2- year period, that a motor carrier had a 10 percent or greater violation rate (``pattern violation'') for any regulation in proposed Appendix C to Part 385, FMCSA would issue the carrier an EOBR remedial directive. The motor carrier would be required to install EOBRs in all of its CMVs regardless of their date of manufacture and to use the devices for HOS recordkeeping for a period of 2 years, unless the carrier already had equipped its vehicles with automatic on-board recording devices (AOBRDs) meeting the Agency's current requirements under 49 CFR 395.15 and could demonstrate to FMCSA that its drivers understand how to use the devices. We also propose changes to the safety fitness standard that would require this group of carriers to install, use, and maintain EOBRs in order to meet the new standard. Finally, FMCSA would encourage industrywide use of EOBRs by providing the following incentives for motor carriers to voluntarily use EOBRs in their CMVs: Revising the Agency's compliance review procedures to permit examination of a random sample of drivers' records of duty status; providing partial relief from HOS supporting documents requirements, if certain conditions are satisfied; and other potential incentives made possible by the inherent safety and driver health benefits of EOBR technology.

The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') requests public comment on the overall costs, benefits, and regulatory and economic impact of its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (``the Guides''), as part of the Commission's systematic review of all current regulations and guides. The Commission is also releasing consumer research it commissioned regarding the messages conveyed by consumer endorsements. The Commission is seeking comment on this research and upon several other specific endorsement-related issues.

This document corrects Figures 1 and 3 of the final rule requiring manufacturers to label portable generators with performance and technical data related to performance and safety.

NMFS is notifying the owners and operators of registered vessels of their assignments for the 2007 A season Atka mackerel fishery in harvest limit area (HLA) 542 and/or 543 of the Aleutian Islands subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the harvest of the 2007 A season HLA limits established for area 542 and area 543 pursuant to the 2006 and 2007 harvest specifications for groundfish in the BSAI.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to amend the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) regulations regarding discontinuance of a health plan to include situations in which a health plan becomes incapacitated, either temporarily or permanently, as the result of a disaster.

The states of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska have submitted updated regulations for delegation of EPA authority for implementation and enforcement of NSPS, NESHAP, and MACT. The submissions cover new EPA standards and, in some instances, revisions to standards previously delegated. EPA's review of the pertinent regulations shows that they contain adequate and effective procedures for the implementation and enforcement of these Federal standards. This action informs the public of delegations to the above-mentioned agencies.

This document reopens the comment period for the proposed rule published on December 4, 2006 (71 FR 70335), which establishes procedures that an Indian tribe must follow in seeking to conduct gaming on lands acquired after October 17, 1988.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for General Electric Company (GE) CF34-10E series turbofan engines. This proposed AD would require revising the combustor case published life limit and removing combustor cases from service before reaching a reduced life limit. This proposed AD results from GE's evaluation of the effects to the combustor case due to installing version 5.10 software in the full-authority digital electronic control (FADEC), and revising the combustor case published life limit. We are proposing this AD to prevent uncontained combustor case failure resulting in an in- flight engine shutdown and possible damage to the airplane.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Turbomeca Arrius 2 F turboshaft engines. That AD currently requires removing from service certain serial number (SN) fuel control units (FCUs) or replacing the constant delta pressure diaphragm in those FCUs. This proposed AD would require replacing all FCUs not incorporating modification Tf 55 with FCUs that incorporate modification Tf 55. This proposed AD results from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Turbomeca expanding the applicability to the full population of FCUs installed on Arrius 2 F turboshaft engines. FCUs not incorporating modification Tf 55 are susceptible to having an improperly assembled constant delta pressure (delta P) diaphragm. We are proposing this AD to prevent an uncommanded engine in-flight shutdown on a single-engine helicopter, resulting in a forced autorotation landing or an accident.

This final rule updates OTS regulations that require a savings association to obtain approval (or non-objection) before it may include subordinated debt securities or mandatorily redeemable preferred stock in supplementary (tier 2) capital. The final rule removes several unnecessary or outdated requirements and conforms certain provisions, such as maturity period requirements and purchaser restrictions, to the rules issued by the other federal banking agencies. The final rule also reconciles conflicting rules, adds appropriate statutory cross- references, and rewrites the rule in plain language.

Using data from Management Information System annual reports, FRA has determined that the 2005 rail industry random testing positive rates were 0.73 percent for drugs and 0.17 percent for alcohol. Because the industry-wide random drug testing positive rate has remained below 1.0 percent for the last two years, the Federal Railroad Administrator (Administrator) has determined that the minimum annual random drug testing rate for the period January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007, will remain at 25 percent of covered railroad employees. In addition, because the industry-wide random alcohol testing violation rate has remained below 0.5 percent for the last two years, the Administrator has determined that the minimum random alcohol testing rate will remain at 10 percent of covered railroad employees for the period January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) propose to amend our regulations to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct). The EPAct requires the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to develop regulations establishing environmental performance and reclamation standards for abandoned coal refuse remining operations. These standards must distinguish between refuse removal operations and on-site refuse reprocessing operations and must be premised on the distinct differences between removal operations, on- site reprocessing operations, and other types of surface coal mining operations. The Secretary may devise different performance standards than any of those set forth in sections 515 and 516 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), and separate permit systems if the Secretary determines, on a standard-by-standard basis, that a different standard may facilitate refuse removal and on-site refuse reprocessing operations in a manner that would provide the same level of environmental protection as under sections 515 and 516. We are proposing changes to our rules that respond to the EPAct's requirements.

On September 27, 2006, the Postal Service published a proposal in the Federal Register (71 FR 56587) providing new mailing standards to accompany the R2006-1 price change proposal currently before the Postal Rate Commission. In this revised proposal we respond to the comments we received, summarize our changes, and further revise the mailing standards. Our pricing proposal reflects changes in operations and the marketplace and will enhance efficiency, offer more choices, and ensure that all types of mail cover their costs. We include incentives to create mailpieces compatible with our processing systems and to deposit flats and parcels closer to where they are delivered. Our proposal includes a new ``forever stamp'' to make future price changes more convenient for consumers. The forever stamp will always equal the First-Class Mail single piece 1-ounce letter price, without the addition of extra postage. We also propose new shape-based prices for First-Class Mail, with lower rates for many letter-size pieces over 1 ounce. Our proposal will make the Priority Mail flat-rate boxes a permanent product offering, and we will add a new 1-pound pricing option for Express Mail. For commercial mailers we propose new sorting options to reduce the number of trays in a mailing and new scheme preparations to give mailers access to lower rates and to better align flat-size mail preparation with mail processing. We also add a new automated Address Change Service to reduce the costs associated with undeliverable-as- addressed mail. First-Class Mail parcel mailers will have new barcode options, and we propose new opportunities for mailers to combine Standard Mail and Package Services parcels in the same mailing. Periodicals mailers will have new incentives to use efficient containers, and we revise the copalletization standards as a permanent offering to encourage more publishers to combine mailings. We also add new prices for the editorial portion of a mailing to give mailers of high-editorial-content publications access to lower, destination entry rates.

This rule provides a partial exemption to the minimum grade requirements under the marketing order for tomatoes grown in Florida (order). The Florida Tomato Committee (Committee) locally administers the order. Under the order, Florida tomatoes must meet at least a U.S. No. 2 grade before they can be shipped and sold outside the regulated area. This rule exempts UglyRipeTM (UglyRipe) tomatoes from the shape requirements associated with the U.S. No. 2 grade. This change increases the volume of UglyRipe tomatoes that will meet the order requirements, and will help increase shipments and availability of these tomatoes for consumers.

This rule increases the assessment rate established for the Florida Tomato Committee (Committee) for the 2006-07 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.025 to $0.035 per 25-pound container or equivalent of tomatoes handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of tomatoes grown in Florida. Assessments upon Florida tomato handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal period begins August 1 and ends July 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.