December 20, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on the Cowlitz River, in the vicinity of Cottonwood Island at the entrance of the Cowlitz River extending up the Cowlitz River 1.5 river miles. The Captain of the Port, Portland, Oregon is taking this action to safeguard individuals and vessels from safety hazards associated with dredging operations. Entry into this safety zone is prohibited unless authorized by Captain of the Port, Portland or the Master of the on- scene dredge vessel.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is issuing regulations under the Presidential Libraries Act (PLA) amendments of 1986 (codified at 44 U.S.C. 2112). Section 2112 requires the Archivist of the United States to promulgate architectural and design standards for Presidential libraries and to report to Congress before he accepts title to or enters into an agreement to use land, a facility, and equipment as a Presidential library. The Archivist must also report to Congress before accepting a gift for the purpose of making any physical or material change or addition to an existing library. Because new Presidential libraries have traditionally been built by private, nonprofit charitable foundations, either by themselves or in collaboration with state and local government or universities, this proposed rule will affect these nonfederal entities.

The Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, has approved a temporary deviation from the regulations governing the operation of the Coleman Memorial Bridge, at mile 7.0, across York River at Yorktown, VA. This deviation allows the drawbridge to remain closed-to-navigation beginning at 7 a.m. on Saturday, December 15, 2007, until and including 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, December 22, 2007 and from 7 a.m. on Monday, on December 24, 2007 until and including 11:59 p.m. on Monday, December 31, 2007, to facilitate mechanical repairs to the operating machinery of the swing span.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is clarifying: the effective date for compliance with the requirements of Order No. 697; which entities are required to file updated market power analyses for the Commission's regional review; the data required for the horizontal market power analyses; and what constitute ``seller- specific terms and conditions'' that sellers may list in their market- based rate tariffs in addition to the standard provisions listed in Appendix C to Order No. 697.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to change the travel cost principle to ensure a consistent application of the limitation on allowable contractor airfare costs.

The public comment period is being extended an additional 30 days for the proposed rule governing the disposal of special forest products from National Forest System lands. The original notice called for comments to be submitted by December 21, 2007 (FR 72, 59496-59506, published on Monday, October 22, 2007). As stated in the original Public Notice, special forest products include, but are not limited to, wildflowers, mushrooms, moss, nuts, seeds, tree sap, and Christmas trees. The proposed rule also formally establishes a pilot program to charge and collect fees for the harvest and sale of forest botanical products on National Forest System lands. The proposed rule is intended to facilitate sustainable harvest of special forest products and forest botanical products. Public comment is invited and will be considered in the development of the final rule.

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:

We are correcting an error in the amendatory instructions in our direct final rule that added four varieties to the list of rust- resistant Berberis species or cultivars in the black stem rust quarantine and regulations. The direct final rule was published in the Federal Register on June 12, 2007 (72 FR 32165-32167, Docket No. APHIS- 2007-0072) and became effective on August 13, 2007.

The Department of State (Department) published a Proposed Rule regarding sponsor sanctions and program terminations, together with a request for comments, on May 31, 2007. A total of 49 comments were submitted, reviewed and evaluated. The Department herewith adopts the Proposed Rule, with minor edits, as a Final Rule.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission published a final rule amending regulations that would become effective January 3, 2008. The final rule, published December 4, 2007 (72 FR 68043) related to the reporting of annual dose to workers, the definition of Total Effective Dose Equivalent (TEDE), the labeling of certain containers holding licensed material, and the determination of cumulative occupational radiation dose. The NRC is deferring the effective date of the final rule until Office of Budget and Management (OMB) review and clearance of the rule's information collections is completed. NRC anticipates the new effective date for this rule will be February 15, 2008. The NRC will publish a subsequent document to confirm this effective date.

The Board is publishing a final rule amending the staff commentary that interprets the requirements of Regulation C (Home Mortgage Disclosure). The staff commentary is amended to increase the asset-size exemption threshold for depository institutions based on the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The adjustment from $36 million to $37 million reflects the increase of that index by 2.70% percent during the twelve-month period ending in November 2007. Thus, depository institutions with assets of $37 million or less as of December 31, 2007, are exempt from collecting data in 2008.

EPA is conditionally approving a revision to the Michigan State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted on July 16, 2007. This revision incorporates provisions related to the implementation of EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), promulgated on May 12, 2005, and subsequently revised on April 28, 2006, and December 13, 2006, and the CAIR Federal Implementation Plan (CAIR FIP) concerning sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) annual, and NOX ozone season emissions for the state of Michigan, promulgated on April 28, 2006, and subsequently revised December 13, 2006. EPA is not making any changes to the CAIR FIP, but is, to the extent EPA approves Michigan's SIP revision, amending the appropriate appendices in the CAIR FIP trading rules simply to note that approval. The SIP revision that EPA is conditionally approving is an abbreviated SIP revision that addresses: The applicability provisions for the NOX ozone season trading program under the CAIR FIP and supporting definitions of terms; the methodology to be used to allocate NOX annual and ozone season NOX allowances under the CAIR FIP and supporting definitions of terms; and provisions for opt-in units under the CAIR FIP. Michigan will be submitting additional SO2 rules in the future.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations to revise the security requirements and material control and accounting (MC&A) requirements for a geologic repository operations area (GROA). The goal of this rulemaking is to ensure that effective security measures are in place for the protection of high- level radioactive waste (HLW) and other radioactive material at a GROA given the post-September 11, 2001, threat environment. New requirements for specific training enhancements, improved access authorization, enhancements to defensive strategies, and enhanced reporting requirements would be incorporated. The proposed rule would establish general performance objectives and corresponding system capabilities for the GROA MC&A program, with a focus on strengthening, streamlining, and consolidating all MC&A regulations specific to a GROA. In addition, the proposed rule would require the emergency plan to address radiological emergencies.

The Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee for Off-Road Vehicle Management at Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) is established under the authority of 16 U.S.C. 1a-2(c), and in accordance with the Negotiated Rulemaking Act, 5 U.S.C. 561-570. The establishment of this Committee is in the public interest and supports the NPS in performing its duties and responsibilities under the NPS Organic Act, 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.; Executive Order 11644, as amended by Executive Order 11989; 36 CFR 4.10; the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; the enabling legislation for the Seashore, 16 U.S.C. 459 et seq.; and other legal authorities. An unusual combination of events in the preparation, approval, and transmission of this notice has resulted in the publication of this notice less than 15 days before the date of the first meeting and official date of establishment. The National Park Service has made extraordinary efforts to provide other forms of notification to all Committee members and to the public.

This action proposes special conditions for the Aviation Technology Group, Inc., Javelin Model 100 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with high altitude operations. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for these design features. These proposed 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 airworthiness standards.