April 18, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS issues a proposed rule to amend vessel identification regulations of the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP). The current regulatory text requires all commercial fishing vessels and recreational charter vessels to display their official numbers on the port and starboard sides of the deckhouse or hull, and on an appropriate weather deck (horizontal or flat surface) so as to be visible from enforcement vessels and aircraft. The proposed rule would amend the regulatory text to provide an exemption to HMS recreational charter vessels in complying with the vessel identification requirements. The regulation is necessary to clarify that vessel identification requirements apply to HMS commercial fishing vessels and not to HMS recreational charter vessels.

The FDIC is finalizing the proposed rule to amend existing FDIC ethics regulations involving extensions of credit, ownership of stock, and definitions. It implements the Preserving Independence of Financial Institution Examinations Act of 2003, which amended sections 212 and 213 of title 18 of the United States Code. These sections continue generally to impose criminal penalties on examiners' borrowing from banks they have examined, and financial institutions' extending a loan to anyone who examines or has authority to examine that institution. The statutory amendment, however, decriminalizes extensions of credit to examiners for credit cards and for primary residential home loans from institutions that they examine or have authority to examine if these loans are made on the same terms and conditions as are available to other cardholders and borrowers and satisfy other criteria contained in the statute as amended. Additionally, the final rule clarifies and makes minor revisions to definitions and restrictions for FDIC employees' acquisition, ownership, or control of securities of FDIC-insured depository institutions and certain holding companies.

On February 15, 2007, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA), submitted a request for a redesignation of its portion of the Youngstown area to attainment of the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), and a request for EPA approval of an ozone maintenance plan for Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana Counties, Ohio. The State public hearing on the submittal was held on January 9, 2007. EPA is proposing to determine that the Youngstown area has attained the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA believes that the State's ozone maintenance plan for the area is acceptable and, in conjunction with projected emissions in the Pennsylvania portion of the area (Mercer County), will provide for maintenance of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS in these Counties through 2018. EPA is proposing approval of the State's request to redesignate Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana Counties, Ohio to attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA is also proposing to approve the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets (MVEBs) for Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana Counties, Ohio for purposes of transportation conformity determinations.

On May 30, 2006, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) submitted a request for EPA approval of a redesignation of St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties to attainment of the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and of an ozone maintenance plan for St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties as a revision to the Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP). Today, EPA is proposing to approve Indiana's request and corresponding SIP revision. EPA is also proposing to approve the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets (MVEBs) for these Counties, as supported by the ozone maintenance plan for this area, for purposes of transportation conformity determinations.

This notice announces the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirement in the final rule published on February 13, 2007 (72 FR 6884). The sections of the final rule pending approval of this information collection request are effective upon publication of this notice.

EPA is proposing to exempt from the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) section 408 requirement of a tolerance, residues of coat proteins from viruses that naturally infect plants that humans consume when such coat proteins are produced in living plants as part of a plant-incorporated protectant (PIP) and the criteria proposed for this exemption are met. EPA believes there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result from aggregate exposure to such residues, including all anticipated dietary exposures and all other exposures for which there is reliable information. This proposed exemption would eliminate the need to establish a maximum permissible level in food for these residues.

This document denies a Petition for Reconsideration filed jointly by Vernon R. Baldwin, Inc., Morgan County Industries, Inc., and Vernon R. Baldwin (``Petitioners'') directed to a letter which returned their Joint Petition for Rule Making (``Joint Petition''). The Joint Petition was defective because the proposed site at Mt. Vernon failed to provide a 70 dBu signal over the entire community due to terrain obstruction. This document finds that it is not in the public interest to allow Petitioners on reconsideration to reinstate and amend their Joint Petition with a new site because a Petition for Rule Making must be technically correct at the time of filing. With this action, the proceeding is terminated.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission or FCC) declines, for now, to establish a schedule for Private Land Mobile Radio (PLMR) systems in the 150-174 MHz and 421-512 MHz bands to transition to 6.25 kHz technology; and revises the implementation date of the 6.25 kHz requirement for equipment certification from January 1, 2005 to January 1, 2011.

When EPA approved Utah's Rule Recodification on February 14, 2006, we inadvertently incorporated by reference rules into the State Implementation Plan (SIP). When EPA approved Utah's Continuous Emission Monitoring Program on May 15, 2003, we inadvertently failed to remove the older version of the Continuous Emission Monitoring Program rule from the SIP. When EPA approved Revisions to the Utah Administrative Code on November 1, 2006, we inadvertently incorporated by reference incorrect state rules. Finally, when EPA approved Carbon Monoxide provisions for Provo, we inadvertently failed to remove the older version of Control Measures For Area and Point SourcesCarbon MonoxideProvo. EPA is correcting these errors with this document.

This final rule takes two actions: It establishes the 2007 harvest specifications for Pacific whiting (whiting) in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and state waters off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California; and, it announces inseason changes to management measures in the commercial and recreational Pacific Coast groundfish fisheries. These actions are authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The 2007 whiting harvest specifications include the level of the acceptable biological catch (ABC), optimum yield (OY), tribal allocation, and allocations for the non-tribal commercial whiting sectors, and are intended to establish allowable harvest levels of whiting based on the best available scientific information. The inseason changes to fishery management measures are intended to allow fisheries to access more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and depleted species, and to reduce possible confusion to the public over differing state and Federal regulations.