July 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

As part of its statutory authority and responsibility to analyze sentencing issues, including operation of the federal sentencing guidelines, and in accordance with Rule 5.2 of its Rules of Practice and Procedure, the Commission is seeking comment on possible priority policy issues for the amendment cycle ending May 1, 2008.

FMCSA announces that it has received an application for exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) from Centennial Communications (``Centennial'') for all of its commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and drivers that operate in interstate commerce. The exemption would allow Centennial's drivers and CMVs to be completely exempt from the FMCSRs. Centennial, a regional provider of telecommunications services, requests a blanket exemption, and believes that if the exemption is not granted, the burden of complying with the regulations will have a negative impact on the company's operations. Centennial contends that there will be no negative safety impact if the exemption is granted, as it maintains that it currently has very thorough safety practices in place. FMCSA requests public comment on the Centennial application for exemption.

NARA is giving public notice that the agency has submitted to OMB for approval the information collections described in this notice. The public is invited to comment on the proposed information collections pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Director of the Office of Water and Watersheds, EPA Region 10, is publishing notice of the availability of two draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permits (numbers AK-G70-0000 and AK-G70-1000) to provide Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) authorization for log transfer facilities (LTFs) operating in Alaska. General permit (GP) AK-G70-0000 (the ``Pre-1985'' GP) includes section 402 modifications to section 404 permits issued to LTFs prior to October 22, 1985, in accordance with section 407 of the Water Quality Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-4). All other LTFs can apply to be authorized to discharge under AK-G70-1000 (the ``Post-1985'' GP) if they meet eligibility requirements. The draft Post-1985 GP is a reissuance of a previously issued LTF GP that became effective on March 21, 2000, and was subsequently modified on April 27, 2004 (69 FR 19417). The Post-1985 GP expired on March 21, 2005, and has been administratively extended since that time. The draft Pre-1985 GP contains additional modifications to section 404 permits issued to LTFs prior to October 22, 1985. The modifications implemented by the Pre-1985 GP became effective as of April 27, 2004, and did not expire because the section 404 permits had no expiration date. New LTFs or existing LTFs not currently authorized to discharge, and which meet the eligibility criteria under the Post-1985 permit, must submit a written Notice of Intent (NOI) to be covered at least 60 days prior to the anticipated commencement of in-water log storage or transfer operations. For existing LTFs that are operating under an administratively extended permit pursuant to 40 CFR 122.6, NOIs were to be submitted 180 days prior to the expiration of the permit (i.e., September 22, 2004). If changes have occurred since that time that require a revised NOI to be submitted, such revised NOIs must be submitted no later than 60 days from the effective date of the final GP. Pre-1985 LTFs seeking coverage or continued coverage under GP No. AK-G70-0000 must submit written Notification within 90 days of the effective date of the final Pre-1985 permit if they have not already done so. Facility operators which received a section 404 permit from the Army Corps of Engineers prior to October 22, 1985, but who did not provide Notification under the Pre-1985 GP and who fail to submit a timely written Notification in accordance with the proposed 2007 modifications, must seek coverage under the Post-1985 permit prior to commencing discharges of bark and wood debris. In order to be authorized to discharge under the Post-1985 GP, owners or operators of an LTF must: (1) Submit a NOI as described in Part V to EPA and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC); (2) develop and implement a Pollution Prevention Plan (PPP); (3) receive written authorization for a project area zone of deposit (ZOD) from ADEC; and, (4) receive written authorization to discharge bark and wood debris from EPA. In order to be able to discharge in compliance with the Pre-1985 GP modifications, owners or operators of an LTF must: (1) Submit a Notification to EPA and ADEC; (2) develop and implement a PPP; (3) receive written authorization for a project area ZOD from ADEC; and, (4) receive a NPDES number from EPA. A fact sheet has been prepared which sets forth the principle factual, legal, policy, and scientific information considered in the development of the general permits. Both GPs contain a combination of technology-based requirements and water quality-based effluent limits, standards, or conditions. Public Comment and Public Hearing: Interested persons may submit written comments on the draft GPs to the attention of Kai Shum at the address below. Copies of the draft GPs and fact sheet are available upon request. The permits and fact sheet may also be downloaded from the Region 10 Web site at: https://www.epa.gov/r10earth/waterpermits.htm (click on ``draft permits'', then ``Alaska''). All comments should include the name, address, and telephone number of the commenter and a concise statement of comment and the relevant facts upon which it is based. Comments of either support or concern which are directed at specific, cited permit requirements are appreciated. The EPA and ADEC will host a public hearing to present information relevant to the LTF GPs, to answer questions, and to receive verbal comments on the draft general permits. The hearing is scheduled as follows: Thursday, September 6, 2007, 7 p.m.-11 p.m.; Centennial Hall and Convention Center; 101 Eagan Drive; Juneau, Alaska 99801. After the expiration date of the Public Notice on September 25, the Director, Office of Water and Watersheds, EPA Region 10, will make a final determination with respect to issuance of the permits. Response to comments will be published with the final permits. The proposed requirements contained in the draft GPs will become final 30 days after publication of the final permits in the Federal Register.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2007. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.