July 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This proposed rule would amend HUD's regulations with respect to the design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act and its amendments by updating and clarifying the references to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) building standard for accessibility and by codifying the current HUD recognized safe harbors under the Act. The ANSI A117.1 standard is the technical standard for the design of facilities that are accessible to persons with disabilities, including housing facilities, and is commonly referred to as ``ANSI A117.1.'' The ANSI A117.1 standard is referenced in the 1988 amendments to the Fair Housing Act. Compliance with ANSI A117.1 satisfies the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act and its amendments. This proposed rule would update the references to the ANSI A117.1 to adopt the 2003 edition of the standard. This proposed rule would also clarify that compliance with the appropriate requirements of the 1986, 1992, and 1998 editions also remains sufficient to meet the design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act and its amendments.

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) proposes a rule on the use of Reclamation land, facilities, and waterbodies. When finalized, the proposed rule will supersede the current rule which was originally published in 1983 and partially revised in April 2006.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on Lake Ontario, Oswego, NY. This zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of Lake Ontario during the Oswego Harborfest Fireworks display on July 28, 2007. This temporary safety zone is necessary to protect spectators and vessels from the hazards associated with fireworks displays.

The Federal Trade Commission published a document in the Federal Register on May 23, 2007 (72 FR 28906) requesting public comments on the Commission's Guides for Select Leather and Imitation Leather Products (``Leather Guides''). Inadvertently, the ADDRESSES Block of the Federal Register Notice did not state that if the Notice appeared at https://www.regulations.gov, members of the public could file an electronic comment through that Web site, as well as by accessing the following Web site: https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc- leatherguides, and following the instructions on the web-based form.

In this document, the Commission seeks comment on proposed rules and guidance to implement sections 612 and 616 of the Communications Act. In the context of its review of recent merger transactions and comments filed in its Annual Assessment of the Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming, the Commission determined to review the program carriage complaint processes and initiate a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding leased access rules.

The Federal Communications Commission seeks comment on whether to license Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations as an application of the Fixed-Satellite Service in the conventional and extended Ku-band frequencies. The Commission initiates this proceeding in response to a petition for rulemaking filed by General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies, Inc. General Dynamics asks the Commission to amend parts 2 and 25 of the rules to allocate spectrum for use with VMES in the FSS in the Ku- band uplink at 14.0-14.5 GHz and Ku-band downlink at 11.7-12.2 GHz on a primary basis, and in the extended Ku-band downlink at 10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz on a non-protected basis, and to adopt Ku-band VMES licensing and service rules modeled on the Commission's rules for Ku- band Earth Stations on Vessels. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on the proposed adoption of co-primary allocation for VMES applications in the conventional Ku-band frequencies, and also seeks comment on service rules for VMES, possibly modeled on the current ESV rules. The NPRM observes that some of the broader applications of VMES, involving use, by the general public, of ultra-small antennas on cars and trucks, raise additional technical questions with respect to compliance with the Commission's Ku-band interference avoidance requirements. The NPRM therefore seeks comment on whether the broad commercial use, by the general public, of ultra-small antennas on vehicles traversing throughout the United States raises the potential for harmful interference to other FSS licensees or Federal government space research service and radio astronomy service operations, and, if so, whether there are technical rules that the Commission could adopt to mitigate against such harms.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is promulgating mandatory criteria for the environmentally protective use of chat in transportation projects carried out, in whole or in part, with Federal funds. Specifically, chat used in such transportation projects will be safe and environmentally protective if it is used in asphalt concrete, in slurry seals, microsurfacing, or in epoxy seals for anti-skid on bridge decking. Chat used in such transportation projects will also meet EPA's criteria if it is used in Portland cement concrete, flowable fill, stabilized base, chip seals, or as road base providing, on a case-by-case basis, either: Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP, EPA SW-846 Method 1312) tests are conducted on the proposed material and the leachate testing results show that concentrations in the leachate do not exceed the Drinking Water Standards for lead and cadmium and the fresh water chronic National Recommended Water Quality Criterion for zinc of 120 ug/l; or EPA (or a State environmental Agency, if it chooses to do so) has determined, based on a site-specific risk assessment and after notice and opportunity for public comment, that the releases from the chat mixture in its proposed use will not cause an exceedance of the National Primary Drinking Water Standards for lead and cadmium in potential drinking water sources and the fresh water chronic National Recommended Water Quality Criterion for zinc of 120 ug/l in surface water. Furthermore, this rule also establishes a criterion that other uses of chat will be safe and environmentally protective and are acceptable if they are part of, and otherwise authorized by, a State or Federal response action undertaken in accordance with Federal or State environmental laws, with consideration of a site-specific risk assessment. This rule does not require that chat be sized (dry or wet) prior to its use, as long as this rule's criteria are complied with. EPA is also establishing recommended criteria as guidance on the environmentally protective use of chat for non-transportation cement and concrete projects. Finally, the Agency is establishing certification and recordkeeping requirements for all chat, except that under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The chat covered by this rule is from the lead and zinc mining areas of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, known as the Tri-State Mining District.

On April 13, 2007, the U.S. Department of Labor published a proposed rule entitled Explosives with a comment period that ended 7/ 12/2007. On July 9, 2007, the comment period was extended to 9/10/2007. At this time the U.S. Department of Labor is closing the comment period effective July 17, 2007. The Department intends to re-propose the Explosives NPRM at a later date in order to clarify the intent of the rulemaking.

The Department of State, in consultation with the Departments of Defense and Commerce, is amending the text of the United States Munitions List (USML), Category XVSpacecraft Systems and Associated Equipment to clarify the coverage and to alter one of the five performance characteristics that define radiation-hardened microelectronic circuits that are subject to the licensing jurisdiction of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

We are proposing to amend our Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection Services user fee regulations to update an address that appears in several places. We are also proposing to make several nonsubstantive changes to the Veterinary Services user fees regulations to correct errors and to clarify the services covered by certain existing user fees. These proposed changes, which do not affect any existing fees, are necessary to ensure that the user fee regulations are up-to-date and ensure their clarity.

This action modifies the integrity management regulations for hazardous liquid and natural gas transmission pipelines. The modifications include adding an eight-month window to the period for reassessing hazardous liquid pipelines; modifying notification requirements for operators of hazardous liquid and natural gas pipelines; repealing a requirement for gas operators to notify local authorities; and allowing alternatives in calculating pressure reduction when making an immediate repair on a hazardous liquid pipeline. This action is intended to improve pipeline safety by clarifying the integrity management regulations and providing operators with increased flexibility in implementing their integrity management (IM) programs.

The Postal Service is revising portions of title 39, Code of Federal Regulations, to clarify the division of investigatory responsibilities between the Office of the Inspector General of the Postal Service and the Postal Inspection Service.

This rule sets forth BIS policy concerning voluntary self- disclosures of violations of part 760 (Restrictive Trade Practices or Boycotts) of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and violations of part 762 (Recordkeeping) of the EAR that relate to part 760. This rule also sets forth the factors that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) considers when deciding whether to pursue administrative charges or settle allegations of such violations as well as the factors that BIS considers when deciding what level of penalty to seek in administrative antiboycott cases.

We are evaluating our regulatory program to determine whether we should revise our regulations regarding the importation, interstate movement, and environmental release of genetically engineered organisms. We are seeking public comment on the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) we have prepared relative to the regulatory revisions we are considering. The DEIS evaluates the alternatives we have identified in terms of their potential effects on the human environment compared to the effects of our current regulatory program. We believe our ongoing evaluation of these alternatives would benefit from the submission of additional views and data from the public, and we are especially interested in receiving comments on the subset of DEIS alternatives described in this notice.

This document confirms the effective date of the direct final rule which revises Class E airspace at Hugoton, KS.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are designating critical habitat for the Peck's cave amphipod (Stygobromus pecki), Comal Springs dryopid beetle (Stygoparnus comalensis), and Comal Springs riffle beetle (Heterelmis comalensis) in areas of occupied, spring-related aquatic habitat in Texas under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The three listed species are known only from four spring systems in central Texas: Comal Springs and Hueco Springs in Comal County, and Fern Bank Springs and San Marcos Springs in Hays County. The total area designated as critical habitat for the amphipod is about 38.5 acres (ac) (15.6 hectares (ha)), for the dryopid beetle it is about 39.5 ac (16.0 ha), and for the riffle beetle it is about 30.3 ac (12.3 ha).

In this document, the Commission denies a petition for rulemaking seeking a two-year extension, until February 18, 2010, of the requirement that all cellular licensees provide analog service to subscribers and roamers whose equipment conforms to the Advanced Mobile Phone Service standard. It also adopts related measures to ensure the continuity of wireless coverage to affected consumers following sunset of the analog service requirement and to ensure that interested parties are fully informed of the sunset.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish special local regulations during the ``Poquoson Seafood Festival Workboat Races'', a marine event to be held October 14, 2007 on the waters of the Back River, Poquoson, Virginia. These special local regulations are necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during the event. This action is intended to temporarily restrict vessel traffic in a portion of the Back River during the event.

The Coast Guard is establishing temporary special local regulations for the ``SBIPFountain Powerboats Kilo Run and Super Boat Grand Prix'', a marine event to be held August 3 and August 5, 2007, on the waters of the Pamlico River, near Washington, North Carolina. These special local regulations are necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during the event. This action is intended to restrict vessel traffic in portions of the Pamlico River during the event.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish temporary special local regulations during the ``Cambridge Offshore Challenge'', a marine event to be held over the waters of the Choptank River at Cambridge, Maryland. These special local regulations are necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during the event. This action is intended to restrict vessel traffic in the Choptank River during the event.

This document contains final and temporary regulations that provide guidance to state and local governments that issue qualified zone academy bonds and to banks, insurance companies, and other taxpayers that hold those bonds on the program requirements for qualified zone academy bonds. The temporary regulations implement the amendments to section 1397E of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) (discussed in this preamble) and provide guidance on the maximum term, permissible use of proceeds, and remedial actions for qualified zone academy bonds. The text of these temporary regulations also serves as the text of the proposed regulations set forth in the notice of proposed rulemaking on this subject in the Proposed Rules section in this issue of the Federal Register. The portions of this rule that are final regulations provide necessary cross-references to the temporary regulations.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is amending its open access regulations governing standards for business practices and electronic communications with interstate natural gas pipelines and public utilities. The Commission is incorporating by reference certain standards promulgated by the Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ) and the Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ) of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB). Through this rulemaking, the Commission is seeking to improve coordination between the gas and electric industries in order to improve communications about scheduling of gas- fired generators.

On July 27, 2006 the Department of Homeland Security published a notice of proposed rulemaking to exempt portions of the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) system of records from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act because of criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement requirements. No comments were received so this final rule adopts the proposed rule of July 27, 2006, without change.

EPA is updating the materials submitted by Virginia that are incorporated by reference (IBR) into the State implementation plan (SIP). The regulations affected by this update have been previously submitted by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and approved by EPA. This update affects the SIP materials that are available for public inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center located at EPA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and the Regional Office.