2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document amends U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect both continuing and new import restrictions on certain archaeological material from Mali. Import restrictions that were previously imposed by Treasury Decision (T.D.) 97-80 and extended by T.D. 02-55, that are due to expire on September 19, 2007, are extended. The Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State, has made the requisite determination for the extension of import restrictions that previously existed and for amending the agreement so that it applies also to material from archaeological sites throughout Mali, including those of the Paleolithic Era (Stone Age), necessitating additional subcategories of stone objects in the Designated List. Accordingly, these import restrictions will remain in effect until September 19, 2012, and title 19 of the CBP regulations is being amended to reflect this amended bilateral agreement. These restrictions are being extended pursuant to determinations of the United States Department of State made under the terms of the 1970 Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act in accordance with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. This document also contains the amended Designated List of Archaeological Material that describes the articles to which the restrictions apply, including the additional subcategories of stone objects.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II Office announces the deletion of the Grand Street Mercury Superfund Site from the National Priorities List (NPL). The Grand Street Mercury Site is located in the city of Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. The NPL constitutes Appendix B to the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR part 300, which EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as amended. EPA and the State of New Jersey, through the Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) have determined that all appropriate response actions have been implemented and no further response actions are required. In addition, EPA and the NJDEP have determined that the remedial action taken at the Grand Street Mercury Site is protective of public health, welfare, and the environment.

This action removes an erroneous reference to a section that appears in the applicability section of operating requirements for commuter and on-demand operations. The intent of this action is to ensure that the regulations are clear and accurate.

This notice proposes special conditions for the Adam Aircraft Industries Model A700 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with an External Centerline Fuel Tank (ECFT) that increases the total capacity of fuel by 184 gallons. The tank is located below the fuselage pressure shell immediately below the wing. The Adam A700 ECFT is a novel, unusual and a potentially unsafe design feature that may pose a hazard to the occupants during a gear-up or emergency landing due to fuel leakage and subsequent fire. Traditional aircraft construction places the fuel tanks in a protected area within the wings and/or fuselage. Fuel tanks located in these areas are well above the fuselage skin and are inherently protected by the wing and fuselage structure. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. 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.

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 the United Kingdom (UK) to identify and correct an unsafe condition on B/E Aerospace Skyluxe II (AA2) passenger seats. The MCAI states the following:

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) provided by an aviation authority of the United Kingdom (UK) to identify and correct an unsafe condition on Rolls-Royce plc RB211 Trent 500 series turbofan engines. The MCAI states the following:

We are amending the regulations concerning the importation of animals and animal products by adding the Republic of Georgia to the list of regions where African swine fever exists. We are taking this action because outbreaks of African swine fever have been confirmed in various locations throughout Georgia. This action will restrict the importation of pork and pork products into the United States from Georgia and is necessary to prevent the introduction of African swine fever into the United States.

The Coast Guard proposes to temporarily change the drawbridge operating regulations governing the operation of the Hamilton Avenue Bridge, mile 1.2, across the Gowanus Canal at Brooklyn, New York. This proposed rule would allow the bridge owner to require a four-hour notice for bridge openings from November 5, 2007 to January 15, 2009. This rule is necessary to facilitate rehabilitation construction at the bridge.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list Sclerocactus brevispinus (Pariette cactus) as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We also propose to change the taxonomy of the currently threatened Sclerocactus glaucus ``complex'' to three distinct species: Sclerocactus brevispinus, S. glaucus, and S. wetlandicus. Because these species make up what was formerly the ``complex'', each will maintain its status of being listed as threatened. After review of all available scientific and commercial information, we find that reclassifying S. brevispinus as endangered is warranted but precluded by higher priority actions to amend the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. However, S. brevispinus is currently listed as threatened as part of the S. glaucus (Uinta Basin hookless cactus) complex. We further propose to revise the taxonomy of S. glaucus (Uinta Basin hookless cactus) (previously considered a ``complex''), which is currently listed as a threatened species. In accordance with the best available scientific information, we propose to recognize the three distinct species: S. brevispinus, S. glaucus, and S. wetlandicus. Because each of these three species constitute the S. glaucus complex, we consider all three species to be threatened under the Act. In addition, we propose common names for S. glaucus and S. wetlandicus.

In this rulemaking, EPA is making certain technical corrections to the rules establishing emission standards for nonroad diesel engines. In addition, we are amending those rules to provide nonroad diesel equipment manufacturers with a production technical relief provision for Tier 3 equipment which is similar to the technical relief provision already available for Tier 4 equipment. Like the Tier 4 provisions, the new Tier 3 technical relief provision deals with a situation where an equipment manufacturer which is not vertically integrated with its engine supplier is unable to complete redesign of the equipment within the time required by rule (here, the Tier 3 rule). To be eligible, the equipment manufacturer must show both that its inability to furnish a compliant equipment design is due to the engine supplier, and that the equipment manufacturer has exhausted other flexibilities already provided by the Tier 3 rule. The amount of relief under the Tier 3 technical relief provision is somewhat less than is available under the parallel Tier 4 provision, however. The Tier 3 Technical flexibility will apply up to a maximum of an additional 50% of production beyond the original 80% provided by the Tier 3 production flexibility provision. In addition, each grant of Tier 3 technical relief is associated with the likelihood of earlier use of Tier 4 nonroad diesel engines. The rule thus provides that for each one percent of use of Tier 3 technical relief, some percentage of the automatic Tier 4 production flexibility for the same engine power category, and some percentage of potential Tier 4 technical relief, is no longer available. The percentage varies based on the type of engine for which Tier 3 technical relief is granted, the largest Tier 4 ``penalty'' being associated with use of the higher emitting earlier tier engines.

This document makes a correction to Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2007-17-03, which was published in the Federal Register on August 21, 2007 (72 FR 46541), and applies to certain Pacific Aerospace Corporation Ltd Model 750XL airplanes. AD 2007-17-03 requires inspecting the inboard end of the rear spar for security of the blind rivets, inspecting the radii of the rear spar upper and lower flanges for cracking, inspecting the aft flange of the inboard rib for cracking, replacing the rear spar if cracks are found in any of the inspections, and replacing rear spar blind rivets with bolts or rivets. The paragraph following the section heading Materials Incorporated by Reference does not have a paragraph designator. This document corrects that paragraph by inserting the paragraph designator ``(i)'' preceding the paragraph text.

This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposes to require the pilot of any private aircraft arriving in the United States from a foreign port or location or departing the United States for a foreign port or location to transmit to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) an advance electronic transmission of information regarding each individual traveling onboard the aircraft. This NPRM also proposes to add data elements to the existing notice of arrival requirements and proposes a new notice of departure requirement. The notice of arrival and notice of departure information would be required to be submitted to CBP through an approved electronic data interchange system in the same transmission as the corresponding arrival or departure manifest information. Under the NPRM, this data must be received by CBP no later than 60 minutes before an arriving private aircraft departs from a foreign location and no later than 60 minutes before a private aircraft departs a United States airport or location for a foreign port or place. Finally, this NPRM proposes to clarify landing rights procedures and departure clearance procedures as well as expressly setting forth CBP's authority to restrict aircraft from landing in the United States based on security and/or risk assessments; or, based on those assessments, to specifically designate and limit the airports from where aircraft may land or depart.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Hawker Beechcraft Model 400, 400A, and 400T series airplanes. This AD requires modifying the attachment fasteners on the engine cowling panels. This AD results from several reports of loose attachment fasteners found on the engine cowling panels, and subsequently the panels either peeling back or separating from the airplane during flight. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the attachment fasteners on the engine cowling panels, which could result in separation of a panel from the airplane, and consequent damage to airplane structure. These conditions could adversely affect continued safe flight and landing of the airplane, or cause injury to people or damage to property on the ground.

The Parole Commission is amending its regulations to incorporate a procedural alternative that allows a parolee or supervised releasee to initiate the process of accepting a revocation decision without the need of a revocation hearing. This ``advanced consent'' alternative has been used in a pilot project in the District of Columbia since October 2005 and has assisted in the prompt resolution of revocation cases. Through this amendment, the Commission is formalizing the adoption of this variation of the expedited revocation procedure and simplifying the format and language of the rule.

The FDIC is seeking comments on alternative methods for allocating dividends as part of a permanent final rule to implement the dividend requirements of the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 (Reform Act) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Conforming Amendments Act of 2005 (Amendments Act). The existing FDIC regulations on assessment dividends will expire on December 31, 2008.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is extending to October 24, 2007, the comment period for the interim final rule (IFR) that appeared in the Federal Register of June 25, 2007 (72 FR 34959). In the IFR, FDA requested comments on a procedure for a petition to request an exemption from 100 percent identity testing of dietary ingredients. The agency is taking this action in response to requests for an extension to allow interested persons additional time to submit comments.

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 Rural Utilities Service, an agency delivering the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Utilities Programs, hereinafter referred to as Rural Development and/or the Agency, gives notice that no adverse comments were received regarding the direct final rule amending its regulations to update the eligibility criteria for the Community Connect Broadband Grant Program (Community Connect Grant Program) requirements of the Agency, and confirms the effective date of the direct final rule.

EPA is proposing to approve a revision to the Missouri State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted on May 18, 2007. This revision addresses the requirements of EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), promulgated on May 12, 2005, and subsequently revised on April 28, 2006, and December 13, 2006. EPA is proposing to determine that the SIP revision fully meets the CAIR requirements for Missouri. If EPA approves the revisions, we will also withdraw the CAIR Federal Implementation Plans (CAIR FIPs) concerning SO2, NOX annual, NOX ozone season emissions for Missouri. The CAIR FIPs for all States in the CAIR region were promulgated on April 28, 2006, and subsequently revised on December 13, 2006. CAIR requires States to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) that significantly contribute to, and interfere with maintenance of, the national ambient air quality standards for fine particulates and/or ozone in any downwind state. CAIR establishes State budgets for SO2 and NOX and requires States to submit SIP revisions that implement these budgets in States that EPA concluded did contribute to nonattainment in downwind states. States have the flexibility to choose which control measures to adopt to achieve the budgets, including participating in the EPA-administered cap-and-trade programs. In the SIP revision that EPA is proposing to approve, Missouri would meet CAIR requirements by participating in the EPA- administered cap-and-trade programs addressing SO2, NOX annual, and NOX ozone season emissions.

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.

The Coast Guard proposes to make administrative changes to the requirements for merchant mariner training and service. The proposed regulation would remove the expiration date of the radar-observer endorsement from the merchant mariner's license, allow for an apprentice mate of towing vessels to reduce sea-service time for mate (pilot) of towing vessels by completing additional approved training, and would provide an alternate path to mate (pilot) of towing vessels for master of steam or motor vessels not more than 200 gross register tons. These changes are intended to eliminate confusion and clarify training and service requirements.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (MDAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the usage of solvents. We are approving a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

In this action, EPA proposes national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for area sources engaged in paint stripping and miscellaneous surface coating operations. EPA has listed ``Paint Stripping,'' ``Plastic Parts and Products (Surface Coating),'' and ``Autobody Refinishing Paint Shops'' as area sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) that contribute to the risk to public health in urban areas under the Integrated Urban Air Toxics Strategy. These three source categories are being combined into one set of standards for the purposes of this rulemaking. Paint stripping operations subject to the standards being proposed include the use of methylene chloride- containing chemicals to remove paint and other coatings. Plastic parts and products surface coating operations include the application of coatings to miscellaneous parts and/or products made of metal or plastic, or combinations of metal and plastic. Autobody refinishing includes the application of coating to motor vehicles and mobile equipment. These proposed standards, when final, would require all methylene chloride (MeCl) containing paint stripping and miscellaneous surface coating operations at area sources to comply with equipment requirements and/or management practices that minimize specific HAP emissions. The standards would also establish training requirements for persons who spray apply coatings. These standards, when final, would apply to all area sources that perform methylene chloride-containing paint stripping and miscellaneous surface coating activities, except when other NESHAP apply.

This interim rule amends Department of Homeland Security regulations to establish the requirements and procedures for aliens seeking U nonimmigrant status. The U nonimmigrant classification is available to alien victims of certain criminal activity who assist government officials in investigating or prosecuting such criminal activity. The purpose of the U nonimmigrant classification is to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute such crimes as domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking in persons, while offering protection to alien crime victims in keeping with the humanitarian interests of the United States. This interim rule outlines the eligibility and application requirements for the U nonimmigrant classification and the benefits and limitations relating to those granted U nonimmigrant status. This interim rule also amends existing regulations to include U nonimmigrants among the nonimmigrant status holders able to seek a waiver of documentary requirements to gain admission to the United States, and to permit nonimmigrants to change status to that of a U nonimmigrant where applicable. This rule also establishes a filing fee for U nonimmigrant petitions. Aliens who have been granted interim relief from USCIS are encouraged to file for U nonimmigrant status within 180 days of the effective date of this interim rule. USCIS will no longer issue interim relief upon the effective date of this rule; however, if the alien has properly filed a petition for U nonimmigrant status, but USCIS has not yet adjudicated that petition, interim relief will be extended until USCIS completes its adjudication of the petition.

The Indian Health Service is amending its regulations governing contracts under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to reflect a change of address due to the relocation of the Claims Branch.