November 4, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is issuing an interim rule to abolish the Santa Clara, California, nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area and redefine Santa Clara County, CA, to the Monterey, CA, NAF wage area and Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco Counties, CA, to the Solano, CA, NAF wage area. San Mateo County, CA, will no longer be defined. These changes are necessary because the closure of the Moffett Federal Airfield Navy Exchange will leave the Santa Clara wage area without an activity having the capability to conduct a local wage survey.

EPA is taking final action to stay the effectiveness of requirements for air emission testing bodies. On January 24, 2008, final amendments to regulations on competency requirements for air emission testing bodies (AETBs) were published in the Federal Register. The AETB provision generally requires stack testers and stack testing companies to meet certain minimum competency requirements described in ASTM D 7036 by January 1, 2009. On March 25, 2008, the Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG) filed a Petition for Review primarily claiming that EPA could not by the AETB requirement hold utilities responsible for something they cannot control. While EPA is considering revisions to the requirements to address UARG's concerns, it cannot propose and complete any such revision through notice and comment rulemaking before the compliance date contained in the existing rule, thus necessitating this action. EPA needs to complete this action staying effectiveness of the AETB requirements in order to secure an extension of an Order Granting Abeyance of Further Proceedings which expires on October 29, 2008, when the Agency must file Motions to Govern Further Proceedings.

These rules amend our title II regulations to explicitly provide that we apply an underpayment due an individual to reduce an overpayment to that individual in certain cases. Our title XVI regulations already state this policy. Additionally, these rules reflect our procedures for collecting overpayments when a payment of more than the correct amount is made to a representative payee on behalf of a beneficiary after the beneficiary's death. These rules clarify that we collect overpayments in this situation from only the representative payee or his estate but not from the representative payee's spouse or from the spouse's estate.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is issuing final regulations on the Emergency Leave Transfer Program to provide alternative methods for agencies to assist their employees in the event of a pandemic health crisis or other major disaster or emergency as declared by the President. The final regulations allow donated annual leave in a voluntary leave bank administered by one agency to be transferred to an emergency leave transfer program administered by another agency, revise the rules for returning unused donated annual leave to emergency leave donors (including leave banks), and incorporate the inclusion of Judicial branch employees as eligible participants in the emergency leave transfer program. In addition, the final regulations have been reorganized and renumbered to aid in accessibility and enhance reader understanding.

The Board is revising its interim final rule amending Regulation D, Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions, to alter the formula by which earnings on excess reserves of depository institutions are calculated. The remainder of the interim final rule, including the period during which comments may be submitted, is unchanged from the interim final rule as published on October 9, 2008.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (``FinCEN'') is withdrawing the notice of proposed rulemaking, dated May 5, 2003, in which FinCEN proposed requiring commodity trading advisors to establish and implement anti-money laundering programs.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (``FinCEN'') is withdrawing the notice of proposed rulemaking, dated September 26, 2002, in which FinCEN proposed requiring unregistered investment companiessuch as hedge funds, commodity pools, and similar investment vehiclesto establish and implement anti-money laundering programs.

This notice advises the public that FMCSA is placing in the public docket an additional document concerning hours of service (HOS) for commercial motor vehicle drivers. FMCSA published an interim final rule (IFR) on this issue on December 17, 2007.

A Series I savings bond accrues interest based on both a fixed rate of return and a semiannual inflation rate. A single, annual interest rate called the composite rate reflects the combined effects of the fixed rate and the semiannual inflation rate. This amendment clarifies that the fixed rate of return and the composite rate will always be greater than or equal to 0%. This amendment is for clarification purposes only and makes no substantive change to the existing regulations.

The Agency is revising its existing regulation governing Rural Rental Housing loans and grants. This action is necessary to provide editorial corrections to 7 CFR Part 3560, subpart N, ``Housing Preservation.'' The intended effect is to ensure the Agency's field offices have correct guidance on processing prepayment requests.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Rolls-Royce plc (RR) RB211-535E4-37, RB211-535E4-B-37, and RB211-535E4-B-75 series turbofan engines. That AD currently requires initial and repetitive ultrasonic inspections of installed low pressure compressor (LPC) fan blade roots on-wing and during overhaul, and relubrication according to accumulated life cycles. Also, that AD introduces application of Metco 58 blade root coating as an optional terminating action. This AD requires the same actions but adds compliance paragraphs to relax the compliance schedule for repetitive inspections for fan blades operating within RB211-535E4 flight profiles A and B, if certain requirements are met. This AD also relaxes the initial compliance threshold by extending the cycles at which an initial inspection is required. This AD results from RR issuing Mandatory Service Bulletin (MSB) No. RB.211-72-C879, Revision 5 and Revision 6, that introduced a relaxed repetitive compliance schedule for fan blades operating within RB211-535E4 flight profiles A and B, if certain requirements are met, and introduced a relaxed initial compliance threshold. We are issuing this AD to detect cracks in LPC fan blade roots, which if not detected, could lead to uncontained multiple fan blade failure, and damage to the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Cessna Aircraft Company (Cessna) 150 series airplanes with the BRS-150 Parachute System installed via Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) SA64CH. This AD requires you to replace the pick-up collar support and nylon screws for the BRS-150 Parachute System. This AD results from notification by Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc. (BRS) that the pick-up collar assembly may prematurely move off the launch tube and adversely affect rocket trajectory during deployment. We are issuing this AD to prevent premature separation of the collar. This condition could result in the parachute failing to successfully deploy.