August 8, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations governing Presidential Rank Awards to implement the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act of 2002, which extends eligibility for Presidential Rank Awards to certain senior career employees. The amendments will also enhance the clarity of the regulations and improve readability.

On May 8, 2007, at 72 FR 26037, the Department of Justice issued a proposed rule to amend Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 16, to exempt the following new system of records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act: The National Security Division (NSD), ``Foreign Intelligence and Counterintelligence Records System (JUSTICE/NSD-001),'' which incorporated three previous systems of records of the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review (OIPR). This records system must be exempted from sections of the Privacy Act since, in most cases, disclosure of the existence of records pertaining to an individual would hinder authorized United States intelligence activities by informing that individual of the existence, nature, or scope of information that is properly classified pursuant to Executive Order 12958, as amended, and thereby cause damage to the national security. Further it is necessary to exempt this system to ensure unhampered and effective collection and analysis of foreign intelligence and counterintelligence information and to protect the identities of confidential sources.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Boeing Model 727 airplanes. This proposed AD would require repetitive external high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspections of the crown skin for cracks at certain stringer attachment holes, and repair if necessary. This proposed AD results from a report of cracks at multiple locations on certain areas of the crown skin. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracks of the crown skin, which could result in rapid decompression of the airplane.

We are proposing to amend the regulations on importing nursery stock by providing an option in which the postentry quarantine growing period for articles of Chrysanthemum spp., Leucanthemella serotina, and Nipponanthemum nipponicum that are imported from certain locations would be reduced from 6 months to 2 months, provided that the grower of those plants has implemented a systems approach to prevent the imported articles from being infected with chrysanthemum white rust. This proposal replaces part of a previous proposal that would also have provided an option in which the length of the postentry quarantine period for potential hosts of chrysanthemum white rust would have been reduced provided that the grower entered into a disease-prevention program. We are issuing this reproposal to further discuss the evidence that led us to conclude that a 2-month postentry quarantine period is adequate and to clarify how the systems approach would work. We are also proposing to amend the definition of from. The definition proposed in this document would replace the definition of from that was included in a previous proposal. We are proposing the new definition in response to concerns raised by comments on the previous proposal.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is hosting a technical conference to discuss the proposed changes to electronic filing and electronic file and document format instructions that are associated with the Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued July 27, 2007. 72 FR 42330 (August 2, 2007). The conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the offices of the Commission.

This rule decreases the assessment rate established for the Washington Cherry Marketing Committee (Committee) for the 2007-2008 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.50 to $0.40 per ton for Washington sweet cherries. The Committee is responsible for local administration of the marketing order regulating the handling of sweet cherries grown in designated counties in Washington. Assessments upon handlers of sweet cherries are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal period for the marketing order begins April 1 and ends March 31. The assessment rate remains in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended or terminated.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is publishing a new set of regulations to implement the amendments to the affirmative action provisions of the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (``VEVRAA'') that were made by the Jobs for Veterans Act (``JVA'') enacted in 2002. The JVA amendments raised the threshold dollar amount of the Government contracts that are subject to the affirmative action provisions of VEVRAA, changed the categories of veterans protected by the law, and changed the manner in which the mandatory job listing requirement is to be implemented. The final regulations published today apply only to covered Government contracts entered into or modified on or after December 1, 2003. The existing VEVRAA implementing regulations found in 41 CFR part 60-250 will continue to apply to Government contracts entered into before December 1, 2003.

NMFS issues this proposed rule to require all vessels fishing pursuant to the harvest guidelines, quotas, and other management measures governing the open access groundfish fishery, and all trawl vessels to provide declaration reports and to activate and use a vessel monitoring system (VMS) transceiver while fishing off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California. NMFS has implemented a series of large-scale geographically-defined closed areas intended to: Minimize the bycatch of overfished groundfish species, minimize the bycatch of protected salmon species, and protect Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) from harm through contact with fishing gear. This action is intended to improve the monitoring of compliance with those closed areas through regular VMS transmissions of vessel locations for those vessel subject to groundfish closed area restrictions.

This regulation establishes import tolerances for residues of fenazaquin, 4-tert-butylphenethyl quinazolin-4-yl ether, in or on apple at 0.2 parts per million (ppm); in or on pear at 0.2 ppm; in or on citrus fruit group 10, except grapefruit, at 0.5 ppm; and in or on citrus oil at 10 ppm. Gowan Company requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

On June 22, 2007, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR) with regard to potential reforms to improve the operation of organized wholesale electric markets. 72 FR 36,275 (July 2, 2007). The Commission is extending the date for filing comments on the ANOPR at the request of interested parties.

This amendment establishes, amends, suspends, or revokes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and/or Weather Takeoff Minimums for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, addition of new obstacles, or changes in air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (``Commission'') published in the Federal Register of Wednesday, June 27, 2007, a document, wherein Sec. Sec. 90.20(d)(42), 90.157, 90.203(n) and 90.235(e) was incorrectly amended. This document corrects those amendments.

DOT is providing notice of a petition from the Board of Commissioners in Perry County, IN, to change the time zone boundary for the County from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone, and DOT's request for additional information from Perry County to aid in its determination of whether this change would serve the convenience of commerce, the statutory standard for a time zone change. Other persons supporting or opposing the change to Perry County's time zone boundary are also requested to provide comment. The final rule will be based on all of the information received during the entire rulemaking proceeding and whether the statutory standard has been met.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for TCM IO-550-N, TSIO-520-BE, TSIO-550-A, TSIO-550-B, TSIO-550-C, TSIO-550-E, and TSIO-550-G reciprocating engines. This AD requires removing before further flight, certain Kelly Aerospace Power Systems turbochargers, part number (P/N) 466304-0003, listed by serial number in this AD. This AD results from four incidents of the turbine rotor separating from the shaft of the turbocharger. We are issuing this AD to prevent the turbine rotor from separating from the shaft of the turbocharger due to a machining defect in the turbocharger compressor. This condition could result in full engine power loss, loss of engine lubricant, or smoke in the airplane cabin.