2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document corrects a final rule (FR document E7-10037), which was published in the Federal Register of Thursday, May 24, 2007 (72 FR 29077), regarding the Acquisition Regulation: Implementation of DOE's Cooperative Audit Strategy for Its Management and Operating Contracts. This correction revises the date of the clause at 48 CFR 970.5203-1.

In the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register, the IRS is issuing temporary regulations relating to the discharge of liens under section 7425 and return of wrongfully levied upon property under section 6343 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) of 1986. Those regulations clarify that such notices and claims should be sent to the IRS official and office specified in the relevant IRS publications. The regulations will affect parties seeking to provide the IRS with notice of a nonjudicial foreclosure sale and parties making administrative requests for return of wrongfully levied property. The text of those regulations also serves as the text of these proposed regulations.

This final rule adds: The one-year London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) as an acceptable index for the HUD-insured one-, 3-, 5-, 7-, and 10-year Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) products, and the one- month Constant Maturity Treasury (CMT), the one-month LIBOR, and the one-year (12-month) LIBOR as acceptable indices to adjust interest rates on the HUD-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM). Under current regulations, only the weekly average yield of U.S. Treasury securities, adjusted to a constant maturity of one year (commonly referred to as the one-year CMT), may be used to adjust interest rates on HUD-insured ARMs and HECMs. This final rule follows a June 19, 2006, proposed rule and includes HECMs in response to public comment on the June 19, 2006, proposed rule.

We published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on May 1, 2007, (72 FR 23775), initiating a review of the United States Standards for Soybeans to determine their effectiveness and responsiveness to current grain industry needs. The notice provided an opportunity for interested parties to forward written comments to GIPSA until July 2, 2007. As a result of a request from the soybean industry, we are reopening the comment period to provide interested parties with additional time in which to comment.

This final rule establishes the procedures for imposing exclusions for certain violations of the Medicare program and is based on the procedures that the Office of Inspector General has published for civil money penalties, assessments, and exclusions under their delegated authority. Implementation of this final rule protects beneficiaries from persons (that is, health care providers and entities) found in noncompliance with Medicare regulations, and otherwise improves the safeguard provisions under the Medicare statute. This final rule also establishes procedures that enable a person targeted for exclusion from the Medicare program to request the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to act on its behalf to recommend to the Inspector General that the exclusion from Medicare be waived due to hardship that would be placed on Medicare beneficiaries as a result of the person's exclusion.

We are revising the United States Standards for Sorghum to amend the definitions of the classes Sorghum, White sorghum, and Tannin sorghum, and to amend the definition of nongrain sorghum. We are amending the grade limits for broken kernels and foreign material (BNFM), and the subfactor foreign material (FM). Additionally, we are inserting a total count limit for other material into the standards and revising the method of certifying test weight (TW). Further, we are changing the inspection plan tolerances for BNFM and FM. These changes will help facilitate the marketing of sorghum.

This document contains a correction to the final rule (FAA- 2007-27594; 07-ASO-3), which was published in the Federal Register of May 8, 2007, (72 FR 25962), establishing Class D and E airspace at Aguadilla, PR. This action corrects errors in the summary and legal description for the Class E4 airspace at Aguadilla, PR.

These special conditions are issued to Symphony Aircraft Industries, Inc. for a type design change to the SA160 airplane. This airplane will have novel and unusual design features when compared to the state of technology envisaged in the applicable airworthiness standards. These novel and unusual design features include the installation of electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) displays (Entegra Avionics Suite) manufactured by Avidyne Corporation for which the applicable regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate airworthiness standards for the protection of these systems from the effects of high intensity radiated fields (HIRF). These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to the airworthiness standards applicable to these airplanes.

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of North Dakota. The revision, adopted by North Dakota on February 1, 2005, to Chapter 33-15-15 of the North Dakota Administrative Code (Prevention of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality), incorporates EPA's December 31, 2002 NSR Reforms. North Dakota submitted the request for approval of these rule revisions into the State Implementation Plan (SIP) on February 10, 2005. North Dakota has a federally-approved Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program for new and modified sources impacting attainment areas in the State. North Dakota is in attainment for all pollutants, and does not have a SIP-approved non-attainment permit program. This action is being taken under section 110 of the Clean Air Act.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Cessna Aircraft Company (Cessna), Models 172, 182, and 206 series airplanes. This proposed AD would require you to remove the seats, modify the seat base/back attach brackets, and reinstall the seats of all the crew seats of the affected airplanes and seats 3 and 4 on Model 206 series airplanes. This proposed AD results from reports of the seat base/back attach bracket failing where it is welded to the seat base. We are proposing this AD to prevent failure of the seat base/back attach brackets, which could result in the seats collapsing backwards during flight with consequent loss of control.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the regulations for food additives permitted (FAP) in feed to provide for the safe use of selenium yeast as a source of supplemental selenium in feed supplements for limit feeding for beef cattle and in salt mineral mixes for free-choice feeding for beef cattle. This action is in response to an amendment of a food additive petition filed by Alltech, Inc.

This document proposes to amend the requirements of the Commission's rules applicable to transmitters operating on an unlicensed basis in the 57-64 GHz frequency range (``the 60 GHz band''). The proposed changes would allow longer communication ranges for unlicensed point-to-point 60 GHz broadband digital systems and thereby extend the ability of such systems to supply very high speed broadband service to office buildings and other commercial facilities. The Commission believes these proposals would encourage broader deployment of point-to-point digital systems in this band without increasing the potential for harmful interference, and thereby further the Commission's objective of promoting the availability of broadband connectivity to all Americans.

On May 30, 2006, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) submitted a request for EPA approval of redesignation of LaPorte County to attainment of the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). In this submittal, IDEM also requested EPA approval of an Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision containing a plan to maintain the ozone standard in LaPorte County through 2020 and established 2020 motor vehicle Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) emission budgets for LaPorte County. EPA is making a determination that LaPorte County, Indiana has attained the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This determination is based on three years of complete, quality assured ambient air quality monitoring data for the 2003-2005 ozone seasons that demonstrate that the 8-hour ozone NAAQS has been attained in LaPorte County. Quality assured monitoring data for 2006 show that the area continues to attain the ozone standard. EPA is approving, as a SIP revision, the State's ozone maintenance plan for LaPorte County. As a result, Indiana has satisfied the criteria for redesignation of LaPorte County to attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, and EPA is approving Indiana's ozone redesignation request for this area. Further, EPA is approving, for purposes of transportation conformity, the motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for VOC and NOX for the year 2020 that are contained in the 8-hour ozone maintenance plan for this area.

EPA is approving revisions to the Minnesota State Implementation Plan (SIP) for sulfur dioxide (SO2). Specifically, the revisions involve Flint Hills Resources, L.P. (Flint Hills) of Dakota County, Minnesota. In these revisions, Flint Hills is expanding operations at its petroleum refinery. To account for the increased SO2 emissions from the expansion, Flint Hills is closing its sulfuric acid plant. An analysis of the revisions shows that air quality in the area will be protected after the modifications are made at the facility. Minnesota has also included additional monitoring requirements in the revisions. EPA proposed approval of this revision on April 9, 2007. One comment was received on the proposed rule, but the comment did not involve the proposed revision. The comment is addressed in this action.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Minnesota State Implementation Plan (SIP) for sulfur dioxide (SO2). Specifically, the revisions involve Continental Nitrogen & Resource Corporation (Continental Nitrogen) of Dakota County, Minnesota submitted on April 23, 2007. The emission limits for the Continental Nitrogen steam boilers have been removed. Continental Nitrogen has physically disconnected its three boilers. The boilers cannot operate, thus there are no emissions.

DOT proposes to relocate the time zone boundary in Indiana to move Knox, Daviess, Martin, Pike, and Dubois Counties from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone. This action is taken at the request of the Boards of Commissioners of each of the counties. DOT requests comment on whether this change would serve the convenience of commerce, the statutory standard for a time zone change and whether the time zone boundary should be changed for other contiguous counties in southwestern Indiana. Persons supporting or opposing the change should not assume that the change will be made merely because DOT is making the proposal. The final rule will be based on all of the information received during the entire rulemaking proceeding and whether the statutory standard has been met.

NMFS is prohibiting retention of shortraker rockfish in Statistical Area 610 of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). NMFS is requiring that shortraker rockfish in this area be treated in the same manner as prohibited species and discarded at sea with a minimum of injury. This action is necessary because the 2007 total allowable catch (TAC) of shortraker rockfish in this area has been reached.

This document amends Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulations to increase the monthly rates of basic educational assistance payable under the Montgomery GI BillSelected Reserve (MGIB-SR) program for fiscal years 2005 and 2006 in accordance with statutory requirements, increase the percentage of basic educational assistance payable to reservists pursuing apprenticeship or other on- the-job training in accordance with the Veterans Benefits Act of 2004, and remove obsolete education break-pay provisions.

We are adopting as a final rule, with several changes, an interim rule that, among other things, amended the regulations to allow for the use of additional numbering systems for purposes of animal and premises identification. As amended by this document, the rule recognizes additional numbering systems for the identification of animals in interstate commerce and State/Tribe/Federal/industry cooperative disease control and eradication programs. Additionally, the rule amends the regulations to authorize the use of a numbering system to identify premises where animals are managed or held. These regulatory changes are necessary to allow the use, for official purposes, of the new numbering systems in the National Animal Identification System. Use of the new numbering systems is not required by this final rule.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a petition for rulemaking (PRM-50-86) submitted by Sherwood Martinelli. The petitioner requested that the NRC amend its regulations to provide financial protection for individuals harmed by releases of nuclear material following an incident or attack at a nuclear facility, and to require licensees to pay for satellite communication systems for nuclear power plant communities to ``protect human health and the environment.'' The petitioner also requested that nuclear facilities licensed by the NRC or the Federal government provide adequate funding to enable every family living within 10 miles of a nuclear facility to build, stock, and maintain a personal family shelter to allow families to shelter in place during releases of nuclear material following an incident or attack at a nuclear facility.

Pursuant to section 343(a) of the Trade Act of 2002 and implementing regulations, truck carriers and other eligible parties are required to transmit advance electronic truck cargo information to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through a CBP-approved electronic data interchange. In a previous document, CBP designated the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Truck Manifest System as the approved interchange and announced that the requirement that advance electronic cargo information be transmitted through ACE would be phased in by groups of ports of entry. This document announces that at all land border ports in Maine and Minnesota truck carriers will be required to file electronic manifests through the ACE Truck Manifest System.

This proposed rule would allow public housing agencies (PHAs) to use proceeds under either the Capital Fund or Operating Fund programs for financing activities, including payments of debt service and customary financing costs for the modernization and development of public housing, including public housing in mixed-finance developments. The pledge of public housing projects and other property generally involves the long-term commitment of public housing funds. This proposed rule would support HUD's objective to enhance PHA capital improvement planning and the public housing program transition to asset management decision-making by establishing program requirements, submission requirements, and the approval process for PHAs to request authorization from HUD to pledge either capital or operating funds for debt service payments.

This document contains final regulations under section 1502. Section 1.1502-19(d) governs basis determinations and adjustments of subsidiary stock in certain transactions involving members of a consolidated group. Section 1.1502-80(c) governs the determination of when subsidiary stock is treated as worthless under section 165. These final regulations affect affiliated groups of corporations filing consolidated returns.

In this order, EPA denies objections to an order denying a petition requesting the modification or revocation of the pesticide tolerances for alachlor, chlorothalonil, and metribuzin, established under section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). The petition was filed on December 17, 2004, by the States of New York, California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The petitioners claimed that EPA had improperly removed an additional safety factor for the protection of infants and children from the risk assessments for these pesticide tolerances and that inclusion of this safety factor rendered the tolerances unsafe. EPA issued an order denying that petition, in part, on August 2, 2006. On October 2, 2006, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts filed objections to EPA's denial order.