2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA is revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 747-400, 747-400D, and 747-400F series airplanes. The original NPRM would have required replacement of an electronic flight instrument system/engine indicating and crew alerting system (EFIS/EICAS) interface unit (EIU) located on the E2-6 shelf of the main equipment center with a new or modified EIU. The original NPRM resulted from two instances where all six integrated display units (IDUs) on the flight deck panels went blank in flight. This action revises the original NPRM by reducing the compliance time for replacing the EIU. We are proposing this supplemental NPRM to prevent loss of the IDUs due to failure of all three EIUs, which could result in the inability of the flightcrew to maintain safe flight and landing of the airplane.

This document contains corrections to final and temporary regulations that were published in the Federal Register on Friday, July 20, 2007 relating to the discharge of liens under section 7425 and return of wrongfully levied property under section 6343.

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) has established a Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (Committee) to assist it in revising and updating accessibility guidelines for telecommunications products and accessibility standards for electronic and information technology. This notice announces the dates, time, and location of the next committee meeting.

The Coast Guard is proposing to change the special local regulations for the Head of the Connecticut Regatta by moving the regulated area of the race from the southern tip of Gildersleeve Island and Light Number 87 to the northern tip of Gildersleeve Island and Light Number 87. This regulation is needed to better protect race participants from recreational and commercial vessel traffic.

This document contains corrections to notice of proposed rulemaking by cross-reference to temporary regulations that was published in the Federal Register on Friday, July 20, 2007 relating to the discharge of liens under section 7425 and return of wrongfully levied property under section 6343.

This document contains a correction to notice of proposed rulemaking that was published in the Federal Register on Thursday, August 2, 2007 providing guidance regarding the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax consequences of the severance of trusts in a manner that is effective under state law, but that does not meet the requirements of a qualified severance. These proposed regulations also provide guidance regarding the GST tax consequences of a qualified severance of a trust with an inclusion ratio between zero and one into more than two resulting trusts and provide special funding rules applicable to the non pro rata division of certain assets between or among resulting trusts.

NMFS issues a final rule implementing measures adopted by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to facilitate conservation and management of AMLR. This final rule requires the use of the Centralized satellite-linked vessel monitoring system (VMS) by all U.S. vessels harvesting AMLR and makes use of VMS by the harvesting vessel a condition of import for all U.S. dealers seeking to import shipments of toothfish (Dissostichus) into the United States. This final rule also exempts all shipments of fresh toothfish from the NMFS preapproval process and allows importers of frozen toothfish to submit the U.S. Customs 7501 entry number subsequent to their initial application for preapproval. This final rule requires the use of Electronic Catch Documents for all U.S. dealers seeking to import shipments of toothfish into the United States. Paper-based catch documents for toothfish will no longer be accepted. This final rule also requires the use of a seal excluder device on krill vessels using trawl gear in the Area of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (Convention Area). This final rule adds or amends definitions of ``Antarctic marine living resources'', ``export'', ``import'', ``international observer'', ``land or landing'', ``mobile transceiver unit'', ``national observer'', ``Office for Law Enforcement (OLE)'', ``Port State'', ``re- export'', ``seal excluder device'', ``transship or transshipment'', and ``vessel monitoring system (VMS)''. This final rule also expands the list of requirements and prohibitions regarding scientific observers and clarifies the duties and responsibilities of the observers on the vessels and of the vessel owners hosting the observers. This final rule identifies new information on all vessels licensed by CCAMLR Members to harvest AMLR in the area identified in the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (Convention). The intent of this rule is to incorporate new conservation measures, to revise procedures to facilitate enforcement, and to fulfill U.S. obligations in CCAMLR.

This rule amends Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of changes in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding of new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

This action will establish Class E surface airspace at Everett, WA. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate aircraft executing Special Visual Flight Rules (SVFR) operations at Everett, Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field), Everett, WA. This will improve the safety of SVFR aircraft at the Everett, Snohomish County Airport. Additionally this action also corrects the geographic location of Everett, Snohomish County Airport.

This rule adopts as final, with the modifications set forth in this document, proposed amendments to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations concerning electronic manifest transmission requirements relative to travelers (passengers, crew members, and, in some instances, non-crew members) onboard international commercial flights and voyages arriving in and departing from the United States. The rule is designed to enhance national security and the level of security provided under the regulations for the commercial air and sea travel industries, and consequently increase national security in general. The rule also implements the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which requires that electronic manifest information for passengers onboard commercial aircraft arriving in and departing from the United States, and passengers and crew onboard arriving and departing commercial vessels (with certain exceptions), be vetted by DHS against a government-established and maintained terrorist watch list prior to departure of the aircraft or vessel. Under this final rule, there are three options for air carriers to transmit manifest data for aircraft departing from or en route to the United States: Transmission of passenger manifests in batch form by an interactive method no later than 30 minutes prior to the securing of the aircraft doors (APIS 30); transmission of individual passenger manifest information as each passenger checks in for the flight, up to, but no later than, the time the flight crew secures the aircraft doors (APIS interactive Quick Query or AQQ); and transmission of passenger manifests in batch form by a non-interactive method no later than 30 minutes prior to the securing of the aircraft doors (APIS 30 ``non- interactive''). For sea travel, CBP will require vessel carriers to transmit passenger and crew manifests for vessels departing from the United States no later than 60 minutes prior to departure. For vessels departing from foreign ports destined to arrive at a U.S. port, CBP is retaining the current requirement to transmit passenger and crew arrival manifest data at least 24 hours and up to 96 hours prior to the vessel's entry at the U.S. port of arrival.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is proposing to amend the Transportation Security regulations to exempt a new system of records from several provisions of the Privacy Act. Secure Flight Records (DHS/TSA 019) will include records used as a part of a passenger watch list matching program known as Secure Flight. The Secure Flight program implements a mandate of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) (Pub. L. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3638, Dec. 17, 2004) and is consistent with TSA's authority under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA). Section 4012(a)(1) of the IRTPA requires TSA to assume from air carriers the comparison of passenger information for domestic flights to the consolidated and integrated terrorist watch list maintained by the Federal Government. Further, Section 4012(a)(2) of IRTPA similarly requires the DHS to compare passenger information for international flights to and from the United States against the consolidated and integrated terrorist watch list before departure of such flights. Under the Secure Flight program, TSA would assume the current watch list matching function to the No Fly and Selectee from aircraft operators. TSA is proposing exemptions for DHS/TSA 019 to the extent necessary to protect the integrity of investigatory information that may be included in the system of records.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) finalizes the Common Crop Insurance Regulations; Millet Crop Insurance Provisions to remove the reduction in indemnity for any unharvested millet acreage to better meet the needs of insured producers.

In this final rule, we, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), revise the regulations that implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty that regulates international trade in certain protected species. CITES uses a system of permits and certificates to help ensure that international trade is legal and does not threaten the survival of wildlife or plant species in the wild. In this final rule, we have retained most of the general information in the current 50 CFR part 23, but reorganized the sections and added provisions from certain applicable resolutions and decisions adopted by the CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP) at its second through thirteenth meetings (CoP2 - CoP13). The revised regulations will help us more effectively promote species conservation, continue to fulfill our responsibilities under the Treaty, and help those affected by CITES to understand how to conduct lawful international trade in CITES species.

EPA issued a final rule in the Federal Register of June 27, 2007, concerning the establishment of tolerances for residues of buprofezin on various commodities. This document is being issued to correct a typographical omission.

This document contains corrections to the authority citation to the final regulations, 47 CFR Part 54, which were published in the Federal Register of Tuesday, June 17, 1997, 62 FR 32912. The regulations implemented the statutory requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 relating to universal service.

This document requests comments on a petition for rulemaking filed by Kevin J. Youngers requesting the allotment of Channel 249C2 at Blanca, Colorado, as the community's first local aural transmission service. To accommodate the allotment, United States CP, LLC, permittee on Channel 249A at Westcliffe, Colorado, has consented to substitute Channel 269A for Channel 249A at Westcliffe. Channel 249C2 can be allotted at Blanca, Colorado with a site restriction of 6.6 kilometers (4.1 miles) east of the community at coordinates 37-26-35 NL and 105- 26-29 WL .

The Federal Communications Commission initiates a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) to address technical issues related to potential interference unique to the ``reverse band'' operating environment in the 17/24 GHz BSS. In the NPRM in this proceeding, the Commission sought comment on what measures were needed to address issues concerning reverse band operations. These included measures to mitigate against space-path interference between DBS and 17/24 GHz BSS satellites (space-path interference) and to protect 17/24 GHz BSS subscribers from DBS feeder links (ground-path interference). The record on these issues is insufficient to develop requirements. While most commenters advocate certain general approaches, we need more information to build on the generalities and derive specific requirements. Thus, we seek further comment on the issues concerning reverse band operations.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (``Commission'' or DRBC) will hold a public hearing to receive comments on a proposed amendment to the Commission's Water Quality Regulations, Water Code, and Comprehensive Plan to extend through May 15, 2008 the temporary classification of the Lower Delaware River as Significant Resource Waters (SRW). Permanent classification is anticipated following an additional notice and comment rulemaking that is expected to begin shortly. Extending the temporary classification will help to protect the exceptional scenic, recreational and water quality values of the Lower Delaware from degradation pending completion of that process.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary security zone in certain waters of the Upper Potomac River surrounding the motor vessel Odyssey III, a 230-foot passenger vessel. This action is necessary in order to ensure the security of high-ranking public officials and safeguard the public at large against terrorist acts or incidents during activities associated with a dinner cruise held in conjunction with the Global Air Chiefs Conference, in Washington, DC, on September 23, 2007. This rule prohibits vessels and people from entering the security zone and requires vessels and persons in the security zone to depart the zone, unless specifically exempt under the provisions in this rule or granted specific permission from the Coast Guard Captain of the Port Baltimore, Maryland, or his designated representative.

EPA is approving revisions to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) on November 19, 2004, for the purpose of incorporating EPA's July 18, 1997, revisions to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and to ensure consistency between state and Federal regulations. The revisions consist of the amendments published in the South Carolina State Register on September 24, 2004, revising Regulation 61-62.5, Standard Number 2, Ambient Air Quality Standards.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues Permanent Resident Cards (Forms I-551) to lawful permanent residents to serve as evidence of immigration status, registration, identity, and employment authorization, and as an entry document upon return from a trip outside of the United States. Currently, there are numerous lawful permanent residents who possess cards without expiration dates. USCIS intends to terminate the validity of such Forms I-551. This rule proposes to establish a 120-day period for lawful permanent residents who have Forms I-551 that do not bear expiration dates to apply for replacement cards. This rule also proposes to amend USCIS regulations to remove references to outdated application procedures for Forms I- 551. The application process proposed by this rule will enable USCIS to issue more secure Forms I-551 to affected aliens, update cardholder information, conduct background checks, and electronically store applicants' biometric information that can be used for biometric comparison and authentication purposes consistent with the goals of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002. In addition, USCIS proposes to notify the public of the termination date for Forms I-551 without expiration dates by a subsequent Notice published in the Federal Register. This rule also proposes to correct the title and edition date of the ``Application to Replace Lawful Permanent Resident Card,'' Form I-90.

This document contains regulations that provide rules concerning the application of sections 704(c)(1)(B) and 737 to distributions of property after two partnerships engage in an assets- over merger. The proposed regulations affect partnerships and their partners. This document also provides a notice of public hearing on these proposed regulations.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Section 857 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (Pub. L. 109-364).

We are revising the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment systems (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs to implement changes arising from our continuing experience with these systems, and to implement certain provisions made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-171), the Medicare Improvements and Extension Act under Division B, Title I of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-432), and the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act (Pub. L. 109-417). In addition, in the Addendum to this final rule with comment period, we describe the changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the rates for Medicare hospital inpatient services for operating costs and capital-related costs. We also are setting forth the rate of increase limits for certain hospitals and hospital units excluded from the IPPS that are paid on a reasonable cost basis subject to these limits, or that have a portion of a prospective payment system payment based on reasonable cost principles. These changes are applicable to discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2007. In this final rule with comment period, as part of our efforts to further refine the diagnosis related group (DRG) system under the IPPS to better recognize severity of illness among patients, for FY 2008, we are adopting a Medicare Severity DRG (MS DRG) classification system for the IPPS. We are also adopting the structure of the MS-DRG system for the LTCH prospective payment system (referred to as MS-LTC-DRGs) for FY 2008. Among the other policy decisions and changes that we are making, we are making changes related to: limited revisions of the reclassification of cases to MS-DRGs, the relative weights for the MS- LTC-DRGs; applications for new technologies and medical services add-on payments; the wage data, including the occupational mix data, used to compute the FY 2008 wage indices; payments to hospitals for the indirect costs of graduate medical education; submission of hospital quality data; provisions governing the application of sanctions relating to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1986 (EMTALA); provisions governing the disclosure of physician ownership in hospitals and patient safety measures; and provisions relating to services furnished to beneficiaries in custody of penal authorities.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received and requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking, dated May 29, 2007, filed by Thomas E. Magette of EnergySolutions. The petition was docketed by the NRC on June 6, 2007, and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-50-88. The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations to provide a regulatory framework that would allow funds from licensees' decommissioning trust funds to be used for the cost of disposal of ``major radioactive components'' (MRCs) that have been removed from reactors prior to the permanent cessation of operations.