2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is announcing that the comment period on the proposed rule amendments for the Standards of Performance for Petroleum Refineries, published on May 14, 2007, is being extended until August 27, 2007.

NMFS proposes a regulation to implement the annual harvest guideline for Pacific sardine in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast for the fishing season of January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007. This harvest guideline has been calculated according to the regulations implementing the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and establishes allowable harvest levels for Pacific sardine off the Pacific coast.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is publishing its proposed List of Fisheries (LOF) for 2008, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The proposed LOF for 2008 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals. NMFS must categorize each commercial fishery on the LOF into one of three categories under the MMPA based upon the level of serious injury and mortality of marine mammals that occurs incidental to each fishery. The categorization of a fishery in the LOF determines whether participants in that fishery are subject to certain provisions of the MMPA, such as registration, observer coverage, and take reduction plan requirements.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II is issuing a notice of intent to delete the Mannheim Avenue Dump Superfund Site (Site) located in Galloway Township, New Jersey from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comments on this notice of intent. The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is found at Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300, which is the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of New Jersey, through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, including operation and maintenance and five-year reviews, have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' Section of today's Federal Register, we are publishing a direct final notice of deletion of the Mannheim Avenue Dump Superfund Site without prior notice of intent to delete because we view this as a noncontroversial revision and anticipate no adverse comment. We have explained our reasons for this deletion in the preamble to the direct final deletion. If we receive no adverse comment(s) on this notice of intent to delete or the direct final notice of deletion, we will not take further action on this notice of intent to delete. If we receive adverse comment(s), we will withdraw the direct final notice of deletion and it will not take effect. We will, as appropriate, address all public comments in a subsequent final deletion notice based on this notice of intent to delete. We will not institute a second comment period on this notice of intent to delete. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time. For additional information, see the direct final notice of deletion which is located in the Rules section of this Federal Register.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) proposes to amend the regulations for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (refuge) that pertain to existing programs for migratory game bird hunting, upland game hunting, big game hunting, and sport fishing. These changes would take effect with the 2007-2008 season and would implement the recently completed Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for the refuge. This amendment would replace current refuge regulations found at 50 CFR 32.32 (Illinois), place the proposed regulations at 50 CFR 32.42 (Minnesota) to match the State listing with the location of the refuge headquarters, and cross reference those regulations in 50 CFR 32.34 (Iowa) and 32.69 (Wisconsin).

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:

This document corrects the docket number to a proposed rule published in the Federal Register of Thursday, June 14, 2007, regarding Requirements for Amateur Rocket Activities.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the Westport PAL Fireworks in Westport, CT. The safety zone is necessary to protect the life and property of the maritime community from the hazards posed by the fireworks display. Entry into or movement within this safety zone during the enforcement period is prohibited without approval of the Captain of the Port, Long Island Sound.

The Department of Health and Human Services (``HHS'' or the ``Department'') adopted, by an interim final rule, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance at 2 CFR part 180 on nonprocurement debarment and suspension including some provisions specific to HHS. Public comment on this action was solicited in a Federal Register notice dated March 1, 2007. No comments were received; therefore, the Department makes no changes to its interim final rule and it remains in effect as of March 1, 2007. Pursuant to the requirements in OMB guidance, HHS makes final the following regulatory actions: Removes its existing regulation on nonprocurement debarment at 45 CFR part 76, establishes a new part 376 in title 2 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) adopting OMB's guidance and adding provisions specific to HHS, and revises the reference in 45 CFR 74.13 to reflect the new citation to 2 CFR part 376.

The EPA is providing notice that it has responded to 4 petitions for reconsideration of a final rule published in the Federal Register on April 28, 2006. The rule promulgated Federal implementation plans (FIPs) for the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and responded to a petition from North Carolina that was submitted under section 126 of the Clean Air Act (CAIR FIPs-Section 126 Rule). Subsequent to publishing the rule, EPA received 4 petitions for reconsideration from ARRIPA (dated June 26, 2006), Colver Power Project (dated June 27, 2006), the State of North Carolina (dated June 26, 2006), and Southern Environmental Law Center (on behalf of Southern Environmental Law Center, Sierra Club, and Environment North Carolina) (dated June 27, 2006). The EPA considered the petitions and supporting information along with information contained in the rulemaking docket (Docket No. EPA-OAR-HQ-2004-0076) in reaching a decision on the petitions. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson denied the petitions for reconsideration in separate letters to the petitioners dated February 27, 2007 to ARRIPA and to Colver Power Project and dated May 7, 2007 to Southern Environmental Law Center and to the State of North Carolina. The letters explain EPA's reasons for the denials.

The Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration/ Wage and Hour Division undertook a review of the Family and Medical Leave Act (``FMLA'' or the ``Act'') and its regulations, and published a Request for Information (``RFI'') in the Federal Register on December 1, 2006 (71 FR 69504). The RFI asked the public to assist the Department by furnishing information about their experiences with the Act and comments on the effectiveness of the FMLA regulations. More than 15,000 comments were submitted in response to the RFI. The following report summarizes comments the Department received from its RFI.

In this document, the Commission rescinds the procedures it adopted in 2001 on an emergency, interim basis to require the filing or re-filing of certain documents electronically (i.e., by facsimile or e- mail), by overnight delivery, or by hand delivery to the Commission's Capitol Heights, Maryland location. Filings will no longer be accepted by e-mail or facsimile, unless specifically authorized by the Commission's rules.

The General Services Administration (GSA), Office of Governmentwide Policy (OGP), plans to establish the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Standard Mileage Rate for moving purposes as the rate at which agencies will reimburse an employee for using a privately owned vehicle (POV) for relocation. The FTR and any corresponding documents may be accessed at GSA's website at https://www.gsa.gov/ftr.

NMFS issues a proposed rule to implement daily bag limits for sport-caught albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) and bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off California under the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP). This proposed rule would be implemented as a conservation measure as part of the 2007-2009 biennial management cycle as established in the HMS FMP Framework provisions for changes to routine management measures.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a petition for rulemaking dated November 3, 2005, which was filed with the Commission by Barbara Hamrick, Chair, Organization of Agreement States (OAS). The petition was docketed by the NRC on November 16, 2005, and has been assigned docket number PRM-34-06. The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations to require that an individual receive at least 40 hours of radiation safety training before using sources of radiation for industrial radiography, by revising the requirements for at least two qualified individuals to be present at a temporary job site, and by clarifying how many individuals are required to meet surveillance requirements. The petitioner also requests that NUREG-1556, Volume 2, be revised to reflect the proposed amendments. As part of the petition for rulemaking review process, the NRC will hold a transcribed public meeting with the petitioner to obtain information about two specific issues relative to the petition. The meeting is open to the public and all interested parties may participate.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim final rule that reapportioned the membership of the Mushroom Council (Council) to reflect shifts in United States mushroom production. The final rule continues in effect the realignment of the Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order's (Order) four United States geographic regions, and reallocates Council member representation in two of the four United States geographic regions (Regions 1 and 4). The Council, which administers the Order, proposed the amendments in conformance with Order requirements to reviewat least every 5 years and not more than every three yearsthe geographic distribution of United States mushroom production volume and import volume. These changes to the Council are effective for the Secretary of Agriculture's 2008 appointments.

This action summarizes the results under the criteria contained in section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), of an Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) review of Marketing Order No. 948, regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Colorado (order). AMS has determined that the order should be continued.

NCUA proposes to amend its rule governing the purchase, sale, and pledge of eligible obligations, as a result of recommendations from its annual regulatory review process, by adding a conflict of interest provision substantially similar to the conflict of interest provision in NCUA's general lending rule. This addition is intended to help ensure that a federal credit union's (FCU) decisions regarding the purchase, sale, and pledge of eligible obligations are made with the FCU's best interests in mind.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the Trustees of Reservations July Fireworks on July 4, 2007. The safety zone is necessary to protect the life and property of the maritime public from the potential hazards posed by a fireworks display. The safety zone temporarily prohibits entry into or movement within this portion of Ipswich Bay during its closure period.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the Town of Hingham Fourth of July Fireworks on July 1, 2007. The safety zone is necessary to protect the life and property of the maritime public from the potential hazards posed by a fireworks display. The safety zone temporarily prohibits entry into or movement within this portion of Hingham Inner Harbor during its closure period.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the ``Salem Harbor Celebrates the 4th of July Fireworks'' display on July 4, 2007, in Salem, Massachusetts. The safety zone is necessary to protect the life and property of the maritime public from the potential hazards posed by a fireworks display. The safety zone temporarily prohibits entry into or movement within this portion of the Pickering Wharf Channel during its closure period.

This regulation establishes a temporary exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the tobacco mild green mosaic tobamovirus (TMGMV) on grass and grass hay when applied/used as a bioherbicide against the weed tropical soda apple. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR4), on behalf of BioProdex, Inc. submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA), requesting the temporary tolerance exemption. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of TMGMV. The temporary tolerance exemption expires on June 30, 2009.

The SEC is publishing this interpretive release to provide guidance for management regarding its evaluation and assessment of internal control over financial reporting. The guidance sets forth an approach by which management can conduct a top-down, risk-based evaluation of internal control over financial reporting. An evaluation that complies with this interpretive guidance is one way to satisfy the evaluation requirements of Rules 13a-15(c) and 15d-15(c) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The FDIC proposes to amend its rule concerning the period of time that officers and all employees of state nonmember banks who make or participate in investment decisions for the accounts of customers (``certain employees'') have to report their personal securities transactions after the end of the calendar quarter. The revision would extend the time period from 10-business days to 30-calendar days after the end of the calendar quarter for bank officers and certain employees to report personal securities transactions to the bank. This revision reflects certain developments in Federal securities regulations.

The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) is clarifying its regulations regarding stock benefit plans established after mutual-to- stock conversions or in mutual holding company structures. In addition, OTS is modifying the voting requirements for the adoption of certain stock benefit plans in mutual holding company structures by providing that the plans must be approved by a majority of the minority shares voting on the plan. Also, OTS is making several minor changes to the regulations governing mutual-to-stock conversions and minority stock issuances.