2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Postal ServiceTM is making several minor revisions to its regulations governing the purchasing of property and services to comply with certain findings and suggestions of the Government Accountability Office, and to clarify a variety of procedural matters.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) is publishing migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations in Alaska for the 2008 season. This proposed rule establishes regulations that prescribe dates when harvesting of birds may occur, species that can be taken, and methods and means excluded from use. These regulations were developed under a Co-management process involving the Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Native representatives. These regulations enable the continuation of customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory birds in Alaska. The rulemaking is necessary because the regulations governing the subsistence harvest of migratory birds in Alaska are subject to annual review. This rulemaking proposes region-specific regulations that go into effect on April 2, 2008, and expire on August 31, 2008.

This rule prescribes special early and late season migratory bird hunting regulations for certain tribes on Federal Indian reservations, off-reservation trust lands, and ceded lands. This responds to tribal requests for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (hereinafter Service or we) recognition of their authority to regulate hunting under established guidelines. This rule allows the establishment of season bag limits and, thus, harvest at levels compatible with populations and habitat conditions.

Black coral resources in the Au'au Channel, Hawaii, have declined, possibly due to fishing pressure and an alien invasive soft coral. Current fishing regulations require minimum sizes for the harvest of living black coral colonies of 48 inches (122 cm) in height or one inch (2.54 cm) in stem diameter. Current regulations also exempt certain fishermen from the minimum stem diameter requirement, allowing the harvest of black coral with a smaller \3/4\ inch (1.91 cm) stem diameter by anyone who had reported black coral harvests to the State of Hawaii within the five years prior to April 17, 2002. This final rule removes that exemption to reduce the impacts of fishing on Au'Au Channel black coral resources.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the BNSF Railway Company Swing Bridge across the Charenton Drainage and Navigational Canal, mile 0.4, at Baldwin, St. Mary Parish, LA. This deviation provides for the bridge to remain closed to navigation for 5 days with three hour openings each day to conduct maintenance repairs to the drawbridge.

This proposed rule would revise HUD's regulations that apply to pet ownership in HUD-assisted housing for the elderly and persons with disabilities by conforming the exceptions for animals that assist persons with disabilities to those that apply to HUD's public housing programs, as defined in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is proposing to amend the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule in order to provide increased clarity, to tailor requirements to particular industry sectors, and to streamline certain requirements for a facility owner or operator subject to the rule. Specifically, EPA is proposing to: Exempt hot-mix asphalt; exempt pesticide application equipment and related mix containers used at farms; exempt heating oil containers at single-family residences; amend the facility diagram requirement to provide additional flexibility for all facilities; amend the definition of ``facility'' to clarify the flexibility associated with describing a facility's boundaries; define ``loading/unloading rack'' to clarify the equipment subject to the provisions for facility tank car and tank truck loading/unloading racks; provide streamlined requirements for a subset of qualified facilities; amend the general secondary containment requirement to provide more clarity; amend the security requirements for all facilities; amend the integrity testing requirements to allow a greater amount of flexibility in the use of industry standards at all facilities; amend the integrity testing requirements for containers that store animal fat or vegetable oil and meet certain criteria; streamline a number of requirements for oil production facilities; and exempt completely buried oil storage tanks at nuclear power generation facilities. These changes tailor requirements to particular industries for easier and increased compliance, resulting in greater protection of human health and the environment. EPA is also providing clarification in the preamble to this proposed rule on additional issues raised by the regulated community.

NMFS is opening directed fishing for groundfish by vessels using trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time, October 10, 2007. This action is necessary to fully use the 2007 Pacific halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) limit specified for vessels using trawl gear in the GOA.

The EPA published a proposed rule in the July 11, 2007 Federal Register requesting comments on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone. The document contained an incorrect fax number for submitting comments to the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center. Because of the incorrect fax number, we are allowing an additional 3 days for submittal of faxed comments. Only faxed comments will be granted an additional 3 days for submittal.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim final rule which decreased the assessment rate established for the Washington-Oregon Fresh Prune Marketing Committee (Committee) for the 2007-2008 and subsequent fiscal periods from $1.75 to $1.00 per ton of prunes handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order, which regulates the handling of fresh prunes grown in designated counties in Washington and in Umatilla County, Oregon. Assessments upon fresh prune handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal period begins April 1 and ends March 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

This rule identifies communities, where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), that are scheduled for suspension on the effective dates listed within this rule because of noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. If the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) receives documentation that the community has adopted the required floodplain management measures prior to the effective suspension date given in this rule, the suspension will not occur and a notice of this will be provided by publication in the Federal Register on a subsequent date.

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

EPA is taking direct final action under the Clean Air Act to approve a revision to the San Francisco Bay Area portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision consists of transportation conformity criteria and procedures related to interagency consultation and enforceability of certain transportation- related control measures and mitigation measures. The intended effect is to update the transportation conformity criteria and procedures in the applicable SIP.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Boeing Model 727 airplanes. This AD requires doing an initial detailed inspection for cracks in the aft pressure bulkhead web; repairing any discrepancy; and doing repetitive detailed inspections, and doing related investigative actions, if necessary. This AD results from reports of cracking in the aft pressure bulkhead web. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct a cracked pressure bulkhead web, which could result in rapid decompression of the airplane.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has determined that energy conservation standards for liquid-immersed and medium-voltage, dry-type distribution transformers will result in significant conservation of energy, are technologically feasible, and are economically justified. On this basis, DOE is today adopting energy conservation standards for liquid-immersed and medium-voltage, dry-type distribution transformers. Today's rule does not set energy conservation standards for underground mining distribution transformers.

In this Order, the Commission establishes a new framework to govern the provision of in-region, long distance services by the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) and their independent incumbent local exchange carrier (incumbent LEC) affiliates. The new framework permits the BOCs to provide in-region, interstate, long distance services either directly or through affiliates that are neither section 272 separate affiliates nor Commission rule 64.1903 separate affiliates, subject to nondominant carrier regulation, as long as they comply with certain targeted safeguards and other continuing statutory and regulatory obligations.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) considers petitions for reconsideration and/or clarification (Petitions) of the Order that adopted the Commission's rule, which required that certain local exchange carriers (LECs) and commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers have an emergency backup power source for all assets that are normally powered from local AC commercial power. The Commission modifies its rules to address several meritorious issues raised in the petitions. These modifications will facilitate carrier compliance and reduce the burden on LECs and CMRS providers, while continuing to further important homeland security and public safety goals.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain McDonnell Douglas Model 717-200 airplanes. This proposed AD would require modification of the conduit for the forward boost pump of the center fuel tank. This proposed AD results from the finding that a potential chafing condition exists in the volute assembly of the forward boost pump for the center fuel tank. We are proposing this AD to prevent chafing of the forward boost pump wiring that could lead to arcing to the inside of the 45-degree angle fitting, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in a fuel tank explosion and consequent loss 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) issued 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 FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for GE CF6-80C2A5F turbofan engines installed on, but not limited to, Airbus A300F4-605R airplanes. This AD requires removing previous software versions from the engine electronic control unit (ECU). Engines with new version software will have increased margin to flameout. This AD results from reports of engine flameout events during flight, including reports of events where all engines simultaneously experienced a flameout or other adverse operation. Although the root cause investigation is not yet complete, we believe that exposure to ice crystals during flight is associated with these flameout events. We are issuing this AD to minimize the potential of an all-engine flameout event caused by ice accretion and shedding during flight.

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. These novel or unusual design features are associated with composite materials chosen for the construction of the fuel tank skin and structure. For these design features, the applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for wing and fuel tank structure with respect to postcrash fire safety. 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. We will issue additional special conditions for other novel or unusual design features of the Boeing Model 787-8 airplanes.

The Coast Guard published a final rule in the Federal Register on August 9, 2007, that revised security regulations in Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai, HI (72 FR 44775). While the notice of proposed rulemaking preceding that final rule stated that the Kahe Point, Oahu security zone would be enforced only upon the occurrence of certain events, we did not reflect that provision in the regulatory text. This document corrects that error.

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 Boeing Model 787-8 airplanes will use high capacity lithium ion battery technology in on- board systems. For these design features, the applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards. 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 United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) published a final rule in the Federal Register of September 10, 2007, revising the rules of practice in title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to conform them to certain amendments made to the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) that took effect on April 1, 2007. This document corrects errors in that final rule.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on the Calumet Sag Channel and Little Calumet River, Blue Island, IL. This zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of the Calumet Sag Channel during the Blue Island Regatta November 3 and November 4, 2007. This temporary safety zone will establish restrictions upon, and control the movement of, vessels in a specified area immediately prior to, during, and immediately after the regatta.