August 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of Pacific cod from catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 feet ([gteqt] 18.3 meters (m)) length overall (LOA) using hook-and-line gear to the B season allocation for vessels using jig gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the 2008 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod to be harvested.

EPA is approving a revision to the Iowa State Implementation Plan (SIP) and Operating Permits Program submitted by the state of Iowa for the purpose of modifying and clarifying requirements for certain types of grain elevators. Specifically, the new rule revises the SIP to add special requirements for grain elevators, and the associated chapters for definitions and emission standards will be revised accordingly. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is requiring that owners or operators of grain elevators apply best management practices and comply with the fugitive dust standard, as well as emission controls specified in required construction permits. These strategies will protect the ambient air and minimize the impact of emissions from each of the facilities.

The General Services Administration is amending the Federal Management Regulation (FMR) by revising the current mail management policy. This final rule incorporates changes made to the current interim rule.

This final rule requires that all lessees, operators, permittees, and right-of-way holders pay all fees for processing plans, applications, and permits electronically. This rule will aid industry in payment processing and reduce payment processing errors. This rule will improve MMS processing efficiency and facilitate the correction of industry payment errors. The MMS will not accept checks, money orders, or cashier's checks for payment of fees after the effective date of this final rule. The final rule also adjusts certain cost recovery fees for inflation.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act prescribes energy conservation standards for certain commercial and industrial equipment, and requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to administer an energy conservation program for this equipment. In this notice, DOE is proposing new energy conservation standards for commercial ice-cream freezers; self-contained commercial refrigerators, commercial freezers, and commercial refrigerator-freezers without doors; and remote condensing commercial refrigerators, commercial freezers, and commercial refrigerator-freezers. DOE is also announcing a public meeting on its proposed standards.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposes to amend the Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Plan's (BDTRP) implementing regulations by extending, for an additional three years, fishing restrictions expiring on May 26, 2009. This action will continue, without modification, current nighttime fishing restrictions of medium mesh gillnets operating in the North Carolina portion of the Winter- Mixed Management Unit during the winter. Members of the Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Team (BDTRT) recommended these regulations be extended for an additional three years to ensure continued conservation of the Western North Atlantic coastal bottlenose dolphin stock, should a directed spiny dogfish fishery reemerge in North Carolina.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the food additive regulations to provide for the safe use of ionizing radiation for control of food-borne pathogens, and extension of shelf-life, in fresh iceberg lettuce and fresh spinach (hereinafter referred to in this document as ``iceberg lettuce and spinach'') at a dose up to 4.0 kiloGray (kGy). This action is in partial response to a petition filed by The National Food Processors Association on behalf of The Food Irradiation Coalition.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, propose changes in the regulations governing control of depredating or introduced migratory birds. The purple swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) is not native to any State, and competes with native species. However, we have proposed to add it to the list of species protected under our Migratory Bird Treaty Act obligations because it does occur naturally in American Samoa. We propose to amend 50 CFR part 21 to allow removal of purple swamphens in the contiguous United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Commission requests comments on a channel substitution proposed by WMSN Licensee, LLC (``WMSN''), the licensee of WMSN-DT, DTV channel 11, Madison, Wisconsin. WMSN requests the substitution of DTV channel 49 for channel 11 at Madison.

The Coast Guard is establishing a 420-foot radius safety zone on the Chesapeake Bay in the vicinity of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Virginia Beach, VA in support of the American Music Festival Fireworks event. This action is intended to protect mariners from the hazards associated with fireworks displays by restricting vessel traffic movement in the vicinity of the event.

The Coast Guard will enforce the ``Oregon Symphony Celebration Fireworks Display safety zone on the Willamette River''; from 8:30 p.m. through 11:30 p.m. on August 28, 2008. This action is necessary to provide a safe display for the public and to keep them clear of the fall out area of the fireworks. During the enforcement period, no person or vessel may enter the safety zone without permission of the Captain of the Port Portland or his designated representative.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is issuing a correction to GSAR Amendment 2008-01; GSAR Case 2006-G505; (Change 22), which was published in the Federal Register at 73 FR 46202, August 8, 2008.

This document directs that a referendum be conducted among eligible Florida avocados growers to determine whether they favor continuance of the marketing order regulating the handling of avocados grown in South Florida.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued 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 follows:

This proposed rule would modify two of the medical data code set standards adopted in the Transactions and Code Sets final rule published in the Federal Register. It would also implement certain provisions of the Administrative Simplification subtitle of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. Specifically, the proposed rule would modify the standard code sets for coding diagnoses and inpatient hospital procedures by concurrently adopting the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) for diagnosis coding, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) for inpatient hospital procedure coding. These new codes would replace the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) Volumes 1 and 2, and the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (CM) Volume 3 for diagnosis and procedure codes, respectively.

This document contains proposed regulations implementing the provisions of the statutory exemption set forth in sections 408(b)(14) and 408(g) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, as amended (ERISA or the Act), and parallel provisions in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (Code), relating to the provision of investment advice described in the Act by a fiduciary adviser to participants and beneficiaries in participant-directed individual account plans, such as 401(k) plans, and beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts (and certain similar plans). Section 408(b)(14) provides an exemption from certain prohibited transaction provisions in ERISA with respect to the provision of investment advice, the investment transaction entered into pursuant to the advice, and the direct or indirect receipt of fees or other compensation by the fiduciary adviser or an affiliate in connection with the provision of advice or the transaction pursuant to the advice. Section 408(g) describes the conditions under which the investment advice-related transactions are exempt. Upon adoption, the regulations will affect sponsors, fiduciaries, participants and beneficiaries of participant- directed individual account plans, as well as providers of investment and investment advice-related services to such plans.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources on behalf of the State of North Carolina on April 16, 2001, April 4, 2003, and December 14, 2004. The purpose of these revisions is to require continuous emissions monitoring systems be used to determine compliance; specify a 24-hour block averaging time for sulfur dioxide emissions; make a correction to a cross-reference; provide options for supplying missing data and for determining heat input; and make several revisions to permit exemptions. This action is being taken pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act. In the Final Rules Section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's SIP revision 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 rule, 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 on this document. Any parties interested in commenting on this document should do so at this time.

EPA is issuing this proposed rule to revise the existing fees for EPA's Lead-Based Paint Activities regulations and establish fees for the Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule. As specified in section 402 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA must establish and implement a fee schedule to recover for the U.S. Treasury the Agency's costs of administering and enforcing the standards and requirements applicable to lead-based paint training programs and contractors. Specifically, this proposed rule establishes the fees that will be charged, in those States and Indian Tribes without authorized programs, for training programs seeking accreditation under 40 CFR 745.225, for firms engaged in renovations seeking certification under 40 CFR 745.89, and for individuals or firms engaged in lead-based paint activities seeking certification under 40 CFR 745.226.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 announces the deletion of the Double Eagle Refinery Co. Superfund Site (Site) located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from the National Priorities List (NPL). 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 Oklahoma, through the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other than operation, maintenance, and five-year reviews, have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.

EPA is withdrawing the July 8, 2008 (73 FR 38925), direct final rule revisions to Indiana's State Plan to control air pollutants from large Municipal Waste Combustors (MWC). The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) submitted the State Plan on August 24, 2007. In the direct final rule, EPA stated that if adverse comments were submitted by August 7, 2008, the rule would be withdrawn and not take effect. On July 29, 2008, IDEM submitted a comment to EPA. EPA believes this comment is adverse and, therefore, EPA is withdrawing the direct final rule. Specifically, IDEM commented that, in the table for particulate matter, there was a typographical error in identifying the appropriate footnotes for the emission limitations. In addition, IDEM stated that it had recently submitted an agency correction for publication in the Indiana Register to correct the footnotes for mercury and sulfur dioxide in the emission limitations table, and requested that these corrections be part of the final federal approval. EPA will address the comment in a subsequent final action based upon the proposed action also published on July 8, 2008 (73 FR 38954). EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action.

This rule amends the general regulations for federal fruit, vegetable and nut marketing agreements and marketing orders by establishing supplemental rules of practice for amendatory formal rulemaking proceedings in accordance with section 1504 of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill). The supplemental rules of practice add procedures to the rulemaking process relating to amendments to fruit, vegetable and nut marketing agreements and marketing orders; authorize the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to impose assessments on affected industries to supplement funds necessary to improve or expedite an amendatory hearing process; and authorize the use of informal rulemaking (5 U.S.C. 553) to amend such agreements and orders. Section 1504 of the 2008 Farm Bill also applies to amendments of federal milk marketing agreements and orders. The supplemental rules of practice for federal milk marketing agreements and orders are addressed in a separate rulemaking document.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Cessna Model 560 airplanes. The existing AD currently requires installing new minimum airspeed placards to notify the flightcrew of the proper airspeeds for operating in both normal and icing conditions. The existing AD also requires revising the airplane flight manual to provide limitations and procedures for operating in icing conditions, for operating with anti-ice systems selected ``on'' independent of icing conditions, and for recognizing and recovering from inadvertent stall. The existing AD also provides an optional terminating action for the placard installation. This proposed AD would require the previously optional terminating action. This proposed AD results from an evaluation of in-service airplanes following an accident. The evaluation indicated that some airplanes might have an improperly adjusted stall warning system. We are proposing this AD to prevent an inadvertent stall due to the inadequate stall warning margin provided by an improperly adjusted stall warning system, which could result in loss of controllability of the airplane.

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:

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all Honeywell FMSs served by Honeywell NZ-2000 navigation computers and IC-800 integrated avionics computers. The existing AD currently requires identifying affected computers by part number and software modification level and revising the Limitations section of applicable airplane flight manuals to provide procedures for retaining optimum position determination and intended navigation. This proposed AD would require uploading new software, which would terminate the existing requirements. This proposed AD results from reports of in-flight unannunciated shifts of computed position in airplanes with the subject FMS computers. We are proposing this AD to prevent a shift in the FMS computed position, which could result in uncommanded deviations from the intended flight path of the airplane and, if those deviations are undetected by the flight crew, compromised terrain/traffic avoidance.

On April 30, 2008, we published in the Federal Register (Volume 73, Number 84, pages 23393-23403) proposed mailing standards to require the use of Intelligent Mail[supreg] barcodes on all letters and flats mailed at automation prices as of May 2010. We described two options for using Intelligent Mail barcodes as of May 2009: The basic option and the full-service option. In this final rule, we summarize comments received in response to our proposed rule and provide our new mailing standards for the use of Intelligent Mail barcodes.