February 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 737-300, -400, and -500 series airplanes. This AD requires repetitive inspections for cracking of the body buttock line (BBL) 0.07 floor beam between body station (BS) 651 and BS 676 and between BS 698 and BS 717, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This AD also provides an optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections. This AD results from reports of cracking in the BBL 0.07 floor beam. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the main deck floor beams at certain body stations due to fatigue cracking, which could result in rapid decompression of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This 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:

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This 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:

EPA proposes to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maryland. The revisions update the SIP's reference to the EPA definition of ``Volatile organic compounds (VOC).'' In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's SIP submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to certain Boeing Model 767-200, -300, and -300F series airplanes. That AD currently requires reworking the surface of the ground stud bracket of the left and right transformer rectifier units (TRUs) and the airplane structure mounting surface, and measuring the resistance from the bracket to the structure and the ground lugs to the bracket using a bonding meter. This new AD revises the applicability of the existing AD to include additional airplanes and requires, among other actions, installation of a new ground stud bracket using faying surface bonding. This AD results from a report of loss of all direct current (DC) power generation during a flight, due to inadequate electrical ground path between the ground bracket of the TRUs/main battery charger (MBC) and the structure. We are issuing this AD to prevent depletion of the main battery while in flight, resulting from the loss of both TRUs and the MBC, and consequent loss of all DC power, which could impact the safe flight and landing of the airplane due to the loss of function or malfunction of essential/critical systems and displays in the cockpit.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (the Councils) have agreed to issue an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to incorporate increased thresholds for application of the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and the Free Trade Agreements, as determined by the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Commonwealth of Virginia State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions pertain to administrative amendments to the Commonwealth regulation governing source-specific nitrogen oxides (NOX) reasonable available control technology (RACT). EPA is approving these revisions to the Commonwealth of Virginia SIP in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to update and clarify policy for synopses of proposed contract actions and to delete all references to Numbered Notes (hereafter referred to as ``Notes'').

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement revisions to the regulations related to the administration of the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS).

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in order to address the issues of contractor personnel that are providing support to the mission of the United States Government in a designated operational area or supporting a diplomatic or consular mission outside the United States, but are not authorized to accompany the U.S. Armed Forces.

In this document, the Commission modifies the leased access rate formula; adopts customer service obligations that require minimal standards and equal treatment of leased access programmers with other programmers; eliminates the requirement for an independent accountant to review leased access rates; requires annual reporting of leased access statistics; adopts expedited time frames for resolution of complaints and modifies the discovery process.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to revise designated critical habitat for the contiguous United States distinct population segment of the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) (lynx) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). In the contiguous United States, the lynx generally inhabits cold, moist boreal forests. Approximately 42,753 square miles (mi\2\) (110,727 square kilometers (km\2\)) fall within the boundaries of the proposed revised critical habitat designation. The proposed revised designation would add an additional 40,913 mi\2\ (105,959 km\2\) to the existing critical habitat designation of 1,841 mi\2\ (4,768 km\2\). The proposed revised critical habitat is located in Boundary County, Idaho; Aroostook, Franklin, Penobscot, Piscataquis, and Somerset Counties in Maine; Cook, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis Counties in Minnesota; Flathead, Glacier, Granite, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Missoula, Pondera, Powell, Teton, Gallatin, Park, Sweetgrass, Stillwater, and Carbon Counties in Montana; Chelan and Okanogan Counties in Washington; and Park, Teton, Fremont, Sublette, and Lincoln Counties in Wyoming.

The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') requests public comment on its Trade Regulation Rule Relating to Power Output Claims for Amplifiers Utilized in Home Entertainment Products (``Amplifier Rule'' or ``Rule''). The Commission solicits comment as part of its systematic review of all current FTC rules and guides.

The Audio Division grants a petition for rule making filed by Hilltop Church (``Petitioner'') to substitute Channel 264A for vacant Channel 262A at Susanville, California. Petitioner proposed the foregoing channel substitution to accommodate its construction permit application to modify the allotment of Station KHGQ (FM) (``KHGQ'') from Channel 265A to its original Channel 262A allotment at Quincy, California. Channel 264A can be allotted at Susanville, in compliance with the Commission's technical engineering requirements, at coordinates of 40-24-59 North Latitude and 120-39-07 West Longitude.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has submitted Amendment 89 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) to establish Bering Sea habitat conservation measures. This amendment, if approved, would prohibit nonpelagic trawling in certain waters of the Bering Sea subarea to protect bottom habitat from the potential adverse effects of nonpelagic trawling. This amendment also would establish the Northern Bering Sea Research Area for studying the impacts of nonpelagic trawling on bottom habitat. This action is necessary to protect portions of the Bering Sea subarea bottom habitat from the potential adverse effects of nonpelagic trawling. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws. Comments from the public are welcome.

The Social Security Administration is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on January 15, 2008 (73 FR 2411). The document amends our disability administrative adjudication processes to suspend new claims to the Federal reviewing official (FedRO) level, now operating in the Boston region. Claims already transferred to the Office of the Federal Reviewing Official (OFedRO) for FedRO review will continue to be processed by the OFedRO and a related component of the disability determination process, the Medical and Vocational Expert System (MVES), commonly known as the Office of Medical and Vocational Expertise (OMVE).

Notice is hereby given that the Department of Labor will hold a hearing on the Department's proposed regulation under section 408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the related proposed class exemption.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is adopting rule amendments mandating the electronic filing of information required by Securities Act of 1933 Form D through the Internet. We also are adopting revisions to Form D and to Regulation D in connection with the electronic filing requirement. The revisions simplify and restructure Form D and update and revise its information requirements. The information required by Form D will be filed with us electronically through a new online filing system that will be accessible from any computer with Internet access. The data filed will be available on our Web site and will be interactive and searchable.

This regulation establishes exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of dibasic esters (DBE; CAS Reg. No. 95481-62- 2) when used as an inert ingredient solvent and/or anti-freeze microencapsulated at 10% weight/weight (W/W) or less in pesticide formulations with the active ingredient cyfluthrin. Whitmire Micro-Gen Research Laboratories, Inc. submitted a pesticide petition 5E4442 to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requesting exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance. EPA published in the Federal Register on August 29, 2007 (72 FR 49689) a proposed rule for this petition in order to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on data that submitted to the Agency after the publication of the petition's Notice of Filing.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of cyfluthrin in or on grass, forage, fodder and hay group 17, forage at 12 ppm; grass, forage, fodder and hay, group 17, hay at 50 ppm; beet, sugar, roots at 0.10 ppm; and beet, sugar, dried pulp at 1.0 ppm. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4), and Bayer CropScience requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, we or us), hereby establishes a distinct population segment (DPS) of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in the Northern Rocky Mountains (NRM) of the United States (U.S.) and removes this DPS from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The NRM gray wolf DPS encompasses the eastern one-third of Washington and Oregon, a small part of north-central Utah, and all of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. Based on the best scientific and commercial data available, the NRM DPS is no longer an endangered or threatened species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The NRM DPS has exceeded its biological recovery goals, and all threats in the foreseeable future have been sufficiently reduced or eliminated. The States of Idaho (2002) and Montana (2003) adopted State laws and management plans that meet the requirements of the Act and will conserve a recovered wolf population into the foreseeable future. In 2007, following a change in State law, Wyoming drafted and approved a revised wolf management plan (Wyoming 2007). We have determined that this plan meets the requirements of the Act as providing adequate regulatory protections to conserve Wyoming's portion of a recovered wolf population into the foreseeable future. Our determination is conditional upon the 2007 Wyoming wolf management law (W.S. 11-6-302 et seq. and 23-1-101, et seq. in House Bill 0213) being fully in effect and the wolf management plan being legally authorized by Wyoming statutes. If the law is not in effect (discussed in more detail below) within 20 days from the date of this publication, we will withdraw this final rule and replace it with an alternate final rule that removes the Act's protections throughout all of the DPS, except the significant portion of the gray wolf's range in northwestern Wyoming outside the National Parks.

This notice announces the availability of additional information on the electronic manifest (e-Manifest) project. Specifically, EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) has made significant progress on the e-Manifest project since the publication of the April 18, 2006 public notice, which announced and requested comment on our intention to develop a centralized web- based information technology (IT) system that would be hosted on EPA's IT architecture. However, a few issues raised by commenters in response to the April 2006 public notice require further analysis on our part, as we make decisions concerning the e-Manifest system. We received strong support in response to the April 2006 public notice to establish a national web-based system funded through user- fees. In addition, commenters generally supported our position that use of e-Manifests should be at the election of the users rather than mandatory. However, some commenters expressed concern that an optional system would create dual paper and electronic systems. Furthermore, industry and state comments in response to our position to allow confidential business information (CBI) claims for e-Manifests differed. Therefore, as explained in this notice, we are soliciting additional comment on EPA's position on these two issues. We remain committed to finalizing a federal regulation, once the necessary legislation is enacted, that will authorize the regulated community to use electronic manifests as the legal equivalent of paper manifests, and will consider the comments received on this notice, as well as other comments received from previous actions, before we make a final decision.

On December 20, 2007 (72 FR 72522), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published for public comment a proposed rule on Geologic Repository Operations Area Security and Material Control and Accounting Requirements. The public comment period for this proposed rule was to have expired on March 4, 2008. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has requested an extension to May 5, 2008. Due to the complex nature of the proposed rule, the NRC has decided to extend the comment period until May 5, 2008. In a letter dated January 22, 2008, NEI requested the additional time to fully capture the relevant industry experience with the type of post September 11, 2001 security enhancements discussed in the proposal.

We are amending brucellosis regulations by providing an exception in the definition of herd for animals held within a federally approved brucellosis research facility, in order to facilitate research on brucellosis-exposed or infected animals in those facilities. Prior to this rule, such animals constituted a herd, and the presence of brucellosis-positive herds within a State can adversely affect that State's brucellosis classification. By providing an exception for brucellosis-exposed or infected animals held within federally approved research facilities, this rule will enable initiation of necessary brucellosis research in Class Free States.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above that would supersede an existing AD. 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: