August 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Based on the agency's evaluation, the NHTSA denies a petition for rulemaking from Ricon Corporation (Ricon) to amend S6.1/S7.4 (threshold warning signal requirement and related test procedure), S6.10.2.3 (anti-stow interlock requirement) and S6.10.2.7/S7.6 (occupied inner roll stop interlock requirement and related test procedure) of FMVSS No. 403. The NHTSA believes that the rulemaking is unnecessary because granting the proposed amendments would not result in a substantial increase in the effectiveness and safety benefit of the requirements and related test procedures. The NHTSA also believes that the current requirements and test procedures are appropriate and objective ways of ensuring compliance.

This action proposes to establish Restricted Area 3405 (R- 3405) at Sullivan, IN. The United States (U.S.) Navy requests that the FAA take action to establish R-3405 for the protection of nonparticipating aircraft from a tethered aerostat balloon used to deploy radar, electro-optic, camera, and other sensor packages at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Crane's Glendora Lake Test Facility.

Technical information or comments are requested on the proposed Base (1% annual chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and proposed BFEs modifications for the communities listed below. The BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that the community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The Coast Guard will enforce the special local regulations in the navigable waters of San Francisco Bay for the annual U.S. Navy and City of San Francisco sponsored Fleet Week Parade of Navy Ships and Blue Angels Flight Demonstration to be held on October 4, 2007, through October 7, 2007. This action is necessary to ensure the safety of event participants and spectators. During the enforcement period, no persons or vessels may enter the regulated area without permission of the Captain of the Port (COTP) or his designated representative.

Base (1% annual chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and modified BFEs are made final for the communities listed below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that each community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

In an interim rule published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2007, with an effective date of August 31, 2007, we amended the phytosanitary treatment regulations by making several changes to the requirements for cold treatment enclosures and the requirements for conducting cold treatment. A final rule that was published in the Federal Register on July 18, 2007, and effective August 17, 2007, reorganized the cold treatment regulations by moving requirements regarding cold treatment that had previously been contained in the regulations governing the importation of fruits and vegetables to the section of the regulations containing the requirements for cold treatment enclosures and conducting cold treatment. This technical amendment indicates how the changes in the July 2 interim rule will appear in the regulations as they have been reorganized by the July 18 final rule.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Boeing Model 737-100, -200, -200C, -300, -400, and -500 series airplanes. For certain airplanes, this proposed AD would require replacing the outboard stabilizing fitting and certain adjacent components of the main landing gear (MLG) support beam. This proposed AD would also require repetitive inspections for discrepancies of the outboard stabilizing fitting, walking beam hanger, and rear spar attachment, and corrective actions if necessary. For certain airplanes, this proposed AD would provide an alternative one-time inspection of the outboard stabilizing fitting for discrepancies and corrective actions if necessary, which would extend the compliance time for the replacement of the outboard stabilizing fitting. For certain other airplanes, this proposed AD would also require performing a torque check of the aft pin of the outboard stabilizing fitting, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD results from reports of findings of fatigue cracking of the outboard stabilizing fitting and stress corrosion cracking of the bolts attaching the fitting to the wing rear spar. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct that cracking, which could result in disconnection of the MLG actuator from the rear spar and support beam, and consequent damage to the hydraulic system causing hydraulic fluid leakage and loss of control of the airplane.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain McDonnell Douglas airplanes. The existing AD currently requires an initial general visual or dye penetrant inspection, repetitive dye penetrant inspections, and replacement, as necessary, of the rudder pedal bracket. The existing AD also requires, for certain airplanes, replacing the rudder pedal bracket assemblies with new, improved parts, which would terminate the repetitive inspections. This proposed AD would, for certain airplanes, reduce initial inspection thresholds, remove an inspection option, and lengthen the repetitive inspection intervals. This proposed AD results from reports of failures of the captain's rudder pedal brackets before reaching the initial inspection threshold identified in the existing AD. We are proposing this AD to prevent failure of the rudder pedal bracket assembly, which could result in the loss of rudder and braking control at either the captain's or first officer's position.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 747 airplanes. This proposed AD would require inspecting the trunnion fork assembly of the wing landing gears to determine the part number and serial number and to determine the category of the trunnion fork assemblies. For certain airplanes, this proposed AD also would require, if necessary, various inspections to detect discrepancies of the trunnion fork assemblies, related investigative/corrective actions, and a terminating action. This proposed AD results from a report of a fractured trunnion fork assembly. We are proposing this AD to prevent a fractured trunnion fork assembly, which could result in the collapse of a wing landing gear on the ground and possible damage to hydraulic equipment and the aileron and spoiler cables. Such damage could result in reduced controllability of the airplane.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

This document contains a correction to final and temporary regulations (TD 9334) that were published in the Federal Register on Friday, July 6, 2007 (72 FR 36871) providing guidance relating to the requirement of a return to accompany payment of excise taxes under section 4965 of the Internal Revenue Code and the time for filing that return.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Pratt & Whitney (PW) JT9D-7R4 turbofan engines. That AD currently requires inspection of the blade root thickness of 1st stage fan blades identified by part number (P/N) and serial number (SN) in the AD. This AD requires the same actions but corrects 12 P/Ns, adds 10 part SNs, and adds the definition of next fan blade exposure to the compliance section. This AD results from the discovery of inaccurate part quantity, part numbers, and serial numbers used in AD 2005-26-09. We are issuing this AD to prevent 1st stage fan blade fracture and uncontained engine failure, resulting in possible damage to the airplane.

The Federal Election Commission requests comments on proposed revisions to its rules governing electioneering communications. These proposed rules would implement the Supreme Court's decision in FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., which held that the prohibition on the use of corporate and labor organization funds for electioneering communications is unconstitutional as applied to certain types of electioneering communications. The Commission has made no final decision on the issues presented in this rulemaking. Further information is provided in the supplementary information that follows.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to amend the regulations at 33 CFR 334.1380 for the existing danger zone in the vicinity of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The proposed amendment will reflect the current operational and safety procedures at the Ulupau Crater Weapons Training Range and highlight a change in the hours that weapons firing may occur. These regulations are necessary to protect the public from potentially hazardous conditions which may exist as a result from use of the areas by the United States Marine Corps.

This final rule sets forth the hospice wage index for fiscal year 2008. This final rule also revises the methodology for updating the wage index for rural areas without hospital wage data and provides clarification of selected existing Medicare hospice regulations and policies.

The Department of Defense (the Department or DoD) is amending 32 CFR by adding new regulations to implement the consumer protections provisions of Public Law 109-364, the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, section 670, ``Limitations on Terms of Consumer Credit Extended to Service Members and Dependents'' (October 17, 2006). Section 670 requires the Secretary of Defense to prescribe regulations to carry out the new section. The final rule regulates the terms of certain credit extensions to active duty service members and their dependents.

This final rule sets forth the State requirements to provide information to us for purposes of estimating improper payments in Medicaid and SCHIP. The Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) requires heads of Federal agencies to estimate and report to the Congress annually these estimates of improper payments for the programs they oversee, and submit a report on actions the agency is taking to reduce erroneous payments. This final rule responds to the public comments on the August 28, 2006 interim final rule (71 FR 51050) and sets forth State requirements for submitting claims and policies to the CMS Federal contractors for purposes of conducting fee-for-service and managed care reviews. This final rule also sets forth the State requirements for conducting eligibility reviews and estimating case and payment error rates due to errors in eligibility determinations.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (hereinafter, Service or we) proposes special migratory bird hunting regulations for certain Tribes on Federal Indian reservations, off-reservation trust lands, and ceded lands for the 2007-08 migratory bird hunting season.

In this document, the Commission eliminates barriers to competitive entry in multiple dwelling units (MDUs) and in multiunit premises, when a new entrant seeks to compete against an incumbent provider. The Commission concluded that cutting and repairing sheet rock adds significantly to the physical difficulty and cost of wiring an MDU. In this document, the Commission again concludes that cable wiring located behind sheet rock qualifies as physically inaccessible under the Commission's rules for purposes of determining the demarcation point between home wiring and home run wiring. This ruling will facilitate competition in video distribution markets by clarifying the circumstances under which the existing cable home run wiring in MDUs can be made available to alternative video service providers.

This final rule amends regulations on insurer reporting requirements. The appendices list those passenger motor vehicle insurers that are required to file reports on their motor vehicle theft loss experiences. An insurer included in any of these appendices must file three copies of its report for the 2004 calendar year before October 25, 2007. If the passenger motor vehicle insurers remain listed, they must submit reports by each subsequent October 25.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency) is amending its regulations to change the titles of certain SBA officials mentioned in the regulations. These nomenclature changes within SBA's management will conform SBA's management titles to those commonly used across the Federal Government. No changes will be made to the responsibilities, reporting relationship, or other regulatory duties of the SBA officials whose titles are changed.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) clarifies by final rule that automatic roaming is a common carrier obligation for commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) carriers, requiring them to provide roaming services to other carriers upon reasonable request and on a just, reasonable, and non-discriminatory basis.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury is revising the general license for certain publishing activities contained in the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, Burmese Sanctions Regulations, Sudanese Sanctions Regulations, and Iranian Transactions Regulations.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

The EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Connecticut. This revision proposes to establish early fine particulate (PM2.5) transportation conformity emission budgets for the Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT PM2.5 nonattainment area. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.