August 15, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule amends the Department of State's regulation implementing the requirements of the Passport Services Enhancement Act of 2005, amending the Passport Act of June 4, 1920, to authorize the Secretary of State to establish and collect a surcharge to cover the costs of meeting the increased demand for passports as a result of actions taken to comply with section 7209(b) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA). The Passport Services Enhancement Act authorizes the Department of State to assess a surcharge on applicable fees for the filing of each passport application to offset its additional costs. This rule will raise the surcharge based on a current estimate of the increased passport demand due to actions taken to comply with section 7209(b) of IRTPA. The surcharge will continue to be collected from within the passport application fee and will not increase the overall current cost of the passport to the applicant.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is amending the regulations relating to the unlawful hiring or continued employment of unauthorized aliens. The amended regulation describes the legal obligations of an employer, under current immigration law, when the employer receives a no-match letter from the Social Security Administration or receives a letter regarding employment verification forms from the Department of Homeland Security. It also describes ``safe-harbor'' procedures that the employer can follow in response to such a letter and thereby be certain that the Department of Homeland Security will not use the letter as any part of an allegation that the employer had constructive knowledge that the employee referred to in the letter was an alien not authorized to work in the United States. The final rule adds two more examples to the current regulation's definition of ``knowing'' to illustrate situations that may lead to a finding that an employer had such constructive knowledge. These additional examples involve an employer's failure to take reasonable steps in response to either of two events: The employer receives a written notice from the Social Security Administration (such as an ``Employer Correction Request'' commonly known as an employer ``no match letter'') that the combination of name and Social Security account number submitted to the Social Security Administration for an employee does not match agency records; or the employer receives written notice from the Department of Homeland Security that the immigration status or employment-authorization documentation presented or referenced by the employee in completing Form I-9 was not assigned to the employee according to Department of Homeland Security records. (Form I-9 is retained by the employer and made available to DHS investigators on request, such as during an audit.) The rule also states that DHS will continue to review the totality of relevant circumstances in determining if an employer had constructive knowledge that an employee was an unauthorized alien in a situation described in any of the regulation's examples. The ``safe-harbor'' procedures include attempting to resolve the no-match and, if it cannot be resolved within a certain period of time, verifying again the employee's identity and employment authorization through a specified process.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the zucchini yellow mosaic virus-weak strain (ZYMV-WK) on cucurbits, including, cucumbers, cantaloupes, watermelons, muskmelons, winter and summer squash, pumpkins, zucchini and other cucurbits when applied/used as a viruscide to protect curcurbit crop plants against severe strains of zucchini yellow mosaic virus. Bio-Oz Biotechnologies Limited submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of ZYMV-WK strain.

This regulation establishes tolerances for the combined residues of lambda-cyhalothrin, 1:1 mixture of (S)-[alpha]-cyano-3- phenoxybenzyl-(Z)-(1R,3R)-3-(2-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-e nyl)-2,2- dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate and (R)-[alpha]-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl- (Z)-(1S,3S)-3-(2-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-enyl)-2,2- dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate and its epimer expressed as epimer of lambda-cyhalothrin, a 1:1 mixture of (S)-[alpha]-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl- (Z)-(1S,3S)-3-(2-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-enyl)-2,2- dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate and (R)-[alpha]-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl- (Z)-(1R,3R)-3-(2-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-enyl)-2,2- dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate in or on cucurbit vegetables (Group 9), tuberous and corm vegetables (Subgroup 1C), grass (forage, fodder, and hay) (Group 17), barley, buckwheat, oat, rye, wild rice, and pistachios. Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. and the Interregional Project No. 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

These special conditions are issued for the Boeing Model 787-8 airplane. This airplane will have novel or unusual design features when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. The fuselage of the Boeing Model 787-8 series airplane will be made of composite materials rather than conventional aluminum. While the regulations include flame propagation standards for some materials commonly found in inaccessible areas of the airplane, they do not yet incorporate standards for materials used to construct the fuselage. Therefore, special conditions are needed to address this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing standards. Additional special conditions will be issued for other novel or unusual design features of the Boeing Model 787-8 airplanes.

The Coast Guard will enforce the Navy Pier Southeast Safety Zone in Chicago Harbor during August 2007 through January 2008. This action is necessary to protect vessels and people from the hazards associated with fireworks displays. This safety zone will restrict vessel traffic from a portion of the Captain of the Port Lake Michigan Zone.

Arkansas has applied to the EPA for Final authorization of the changes to its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA has determined that these changes satisfy all requirements needed to qualify for Final authorization, and is authorizing the State's changes through this immediate final action. The EPA is publishing this rule to authorize the changes without a prior proposal because we believe this action is not controversial and do not expect comments that oppose it. Unless we receive written comments which oppose this authorization during the comment period, the decision to authorize Arkansas' changes to its hazardous waste program will take effect. If we receive comments that oppose this action, we will publish a document in the Federal Register withdrawing this rule before it takes effect, and a separate document in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register will serve as a proposal to authorize the changes.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulations on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans and Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans prescribe interest assumptions for valuing and paying benefits under terminating single-employer plans. This final rule amends the regulations to adopt interest assumptions for plans with valuation dates in September 2007. Interest assumptions are also published on the PBGC's Web site (https://www.pbgc.gov).

The Coast Guard will enforce special local regulations during the ``Ragin' on the River'' power boat race to be held Labor Day weekend, September 1 and 2, 2007, on the waters of the Susquehanna River, adjacent to Port Deposit, Maryland. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during the event. The effect will be to restrict general navigation in the regulated area for the safety of participants and vessels transiting the event area.

This final rule modifies HUD's regulations for transition funding under the Operating Fund Program. The Operating Fund Program, as revised by a September 19, 2005, final rule, adopted a new formula for determining the payment of operating subsidy to public housing agencies (PHAs). Transition funding is based on the difference in subsidy levels between the new formula and the formula in effect prior to the implementation of the September 19, 2005, final rule. As a result of the new formula, PHAs may experience either an increase or decrease in the amount of funding that they receive. This final rule revises the schedule for those PHAs that will experience a decline in funding, by extending the transition phase-in period an additional year. This final rule follows publication of the two proposed rules published on November 24, 2006, and takes into consideration the public comments received on the proposed rules. With the exception of a technical change, this final rule adopts the proposed regulatory changes without change.

The Coast Guard is establishing temporary special local regulations for the ``Crystal Coast Super Boat Grand Prix'', a power boat race to be held on the waters of Bogue Banks adjacent to Morehead City, NC. 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 Morehead City Turning Basin including sections of the Intra-Coastal Waterways and Morehead City Channel during the power boat race.

This final rule makes editorial corrections and minor changes to the Department of State Acquisition Regulation (DOSAR). No proposed rule was issued as these corrections and changes do not affect the general public; therefore, prior public comment is not required per Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 1.301(b).

At the request of Linda Crawford d/b/a Waukomis Broadcasting, Channel 292A is allotted at Waukomis, Oklahoma, as the community's first local aural transmission service. Channel 292A is allotted at Waukomis, Oklahoma, at Petitioner's requested site 6.3 kilometers (3.9 miles) southwest of the community at coordinates 36-14-01 NL and 97-56- 25 WL.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for species that comprise the deep-water species fishery by vessels using trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary because the third seasonal apportionment of the 2007 Pacific halibut bycatch allowance specified for the deep-water species fishery in the GOA has been reached.

NMFS announces that the spiny dogfish commercial quota available to the coastal states from Maine through Florida for the semi-annual quota period, May 1, 2007 - October 31, 2007, has been harvested. Therefore, effective 0001 hours, August 14, 2007, federally permitted commercial vessels may not fish for, possess, transfer, or land spiny dogfish until November 1, 2007, when the Period 2 quota becomes available. Regulations governing the spiny dogfish fishery require publication of this notification to advise the coastal states from Maine through Florida that the quota has been harvested and to advise vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no Federal commercial quota is available for landing spiny dogfish in these states. This action is necessary to prevent the fishery from exceeding its Period 1 quota and to allow for effective management of this stock.

This action removes the Class E4 Airspace at Columbus Lawson Army Air Field (AAF), Columbus, Ga. This Class E4 airspace was associated with a Nondirectional Radio Beacon (NDB) Runway (RWY) 03 Standard Instrument Approach Procedure (SIAP), which has been cancelled, as RWY 03-21 has been permanently closed.

In this document, the Commission proposes rules to address issues that were left unresolved in the Commission's Second Report and Order, FCC 07-33. Specifically, the Commission seeks comment on how to ensure that the amount of subscription-based radio service is limited, whether the Commission can and should impose spectrum fees on portions of the digital bandwidth used by broadcasters to provide subscription services, whether statutory requirements and subscription regulations should apply to subscription-based services, whether any new public interest requirements should be imposed on digital audio broadcasters, whether enhanced public disclosure rules should apply to radio stations, and whether the rules regarding unattended stations should be reviewed and modified.