November 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document proposes to revise an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Bell Helicopter Textron Canada (BHTC) Model 206L, 206L-1, and 206L-3 helicopters with certain part-numbered tailbooms. That AD currently requires a visual inspection of the tailboom skin in the areas around the nutplates and in the areas of the tailboom drive shaft cover retention clips for cracks and corrosion using a 10-power or higher magnifying glass until the tailboom is replaced with an airworthy tailboom. This action would require the same actions as the existing AD but would allow a longer interval for the repetitive inspections if the tailboom is modified. Replacement with an airworthy tailboom other than a part-numbered tailboom affected by this proposal would constitute terminating action for the requirements of this AD. The existing AD was prompted by an accident and several reports of fatigue cracks in the tailboom skin in the areas around the nutplates for the tail rotor fairing and in the areas of the tail rotor drive shaft cover retention clips. These proposed actions are intended to prevent failure of the tailboom and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

The Commission is adding Express Mail & Priority Mail to the Competitive Product List. This action is consistent with changes in a recent law governing postal operations and a recent Postal Service request. Republication of the lists of market dominant and competitive products is also consistent with new requirements in the law.

Pursuant to section 215(d)(2) of the Federal Power Act (FPA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposes to approve a regional Reliability Standard, BAL-004-WECC-01 (Automatic Time Error Correction), submitted to the Commission by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). As a separate action, pursuant to section 215(d)(5) of the FPA, the Commission proposes to direct WECC to develop several modifications to the regional Reliability Standard. The proposed regional Reliability Standard would require balancing authorities within the Western Interconnection to maintain interconnection frequency within a predefined frequency profile and ensure that time error corrections are effectively conducted in a manner that does not adversely affect the reliability of the Interconnection.

This action establishes Class D airspace and Class E airspace at Grayling Army Airfield, Grayling, MI. Establishment of an air traffic control tower at Grayling Army Airfield has made this action necessary for the safety of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport. Class D airspace will revert to a Class E Surface Area during periods when the control tower is not operating. This action also corrects the required arrival extension to the Class D airspace and redesignates it as Class E4 airspace.

NCUA is submitting the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35. The information collection is published to obtain comments from the public.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace for the Corpus Christi, TX, area. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) at Mustang Beach Airport, Port Aransas, TX; and T.P. McCampbell Airport, Ingleside, TX. Also, Class E airspace around Aransas County Airport, Rockport, TX, and San Jose Island Airport, Rockport, TX, would be incorporated into the Corpus Christi, TX, area Class E airspace. The Rockport, TX, designation is being removed under a separate rulemaking. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft operations in and around the Corpus Christi, TX, airspace area.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for CFM International S.A. CFM56-2, CFM56-3, CFM56-5A, CFM56-5B, CFM56- 5C, and CFM56-7B series turbofan engines with certain part number (P/N) and serial number (SN) high-pressure compressor (HPC) 4-9 spools installed. This proposed AD would require removing certain HPC 4-9 spools listed by P/N and SN in this proposed AD. This proposed AD results from reports of certain HPC 4-9 spools that Propulsion Technology LLC (PTLLC) improperly repaired and returned to service. We are proposing this AD to prevent cracking of the HPC 4-9 spool, which could result in possible uncontained failure of the spool and damage to the airplane.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is adopting an interim final temporary rule under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (``Investment Company Act'' or ``Act'') to provide relief from certain provisions of the Act for those money market funds that have elected to participate in a temporary guaranty program (``Guaranty Program'' or ``Program'') established by the U.S. Department of Treasury (``Treasury Department''). The Guaranty Program includes a procedure for the orderly liquidation of money market fund assets in certain circumstances, and the interim final temporary rule will permit money market funds that commence liquidation under the Guaranty Program to temporarily suspend redemptions of their outstanding shares and postpone the payment of redemption proceeds.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council are issuing corrections to FAC 2005-29, FAR Case 2007-013, which was published in the Federal Register at 73 FR 67703 and 67704, November 14, 2008.

In this final rule, FRA is establishing procedures to enable railroad carriers to challenge rail routing decisions made by FRA's Associate Administrator for Safety (Associate Administrator) that carry out the requirements adopted in a separate rulemaking of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). In PHMSA's final rule published today, railroad carriers are required to take the following actions to enhance the safety and security of certain shipments of explosive, toxic by inhalation (TIH), and radioactive materials: Compile annual data on shipments of these materials; use the data to analyze safety and security risks along rail routes where those materials are transported; assess alternative routing options, including interchanging the traffic with other railroad carriers; seek information from State, local and tribal officials regarding security risks to high-consequence targets along or in proximity to the routes; consider mitigation measures to reduce safety and security risks, and select the practicable routes that pose the least overall safety and security risk. Under PHMSA's final rule, FRA's Associate Administrator may require a railroad carrier to use an alternative route to the route selected by the railroad carrier if the Associate Administrator determines that the carrier's route selection documentation and underlying analysis are deficient and fail to establish that the route chosen by the carrier poses the least overall safety and security risk based on the information available.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), issue a final rule designating critical habitat for elkhorn (Acropora palmata) and staghorn (A. cervicornis) corals, which we listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), on May 9, 2006. Four specific areas are designated: the Florida area, which comprises approximately 1,329 square miles (3,442 sq km) of marine habitat; the Puerto Rico area, which comprises approximately 1,383 square miles (3,582 sq km) of marine habitat; the St. John/St. Thomas area, which comprises approximately 121 square miles (313 sq km) of marine habitat; and the St. Croix area, which comprises approximately 126 square miles (326 sq km) of marine habitat. We are excluding one military site, comprising approximately 5.5 square miles (14.3 sq km), because of national security impacts.

At this time, the Department of Homeland Security is issuing a final rule pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 for the Department of Homeland Security General Training Records system of records.

NMFS proposes a regulatory amendment to revise the maximum retainable amounts (MRAs) of groundfish using arrowtooth flounder as a basis species in the Gulf of Alaska. This action would increase the MRAs from 0 percent to 20 percent for deep-water flatfish, rex sole, flathead sole, shallow-water flatfish, Atka mackerel, and skates; from 0 percent to 5 percent for aggregated rockfish; and from 0 percent to 1 percent for sablefish. The intended effect of this action is to reduce regulatory discards of otherwise marketable groundfish in the arrowtooth flounder fishery. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska, and other applicable law.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is extending the comment period on the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) published on October 30, 2008. TSA has received and decided to grant the request for an extension of the comment period for an additional sixty (60) days. The comment period will now end on February 27, 2009, instead of December 29, 2008.

The Commission grants a petition for rulemaking filed by Comcorp of Bryan License Corp., licensee of station KYLE-DT, to substitute DTV channel 29 for post-transition DTV channel 28 at Bryan, Texas.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Louisville and Nashville (CSX) Railroad Drawbridge, across the Cumberland River, Mile 190.4, at Nashville, Tennessee. The deviation is necessary to retrofit the bridge with an upgraded rail lift system. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in a closed-to-navigation position for 10 hours each day for a four-day period.

The Coast Guard has established a temporary safety zone extending the entire width of the Allegheny River from mile marker 36.1 to mile marker 36.5. This safety zone is established to protect the general public, marinas, and commercial vessel operators from the hazards associated with the active failure of Lock & Dam 6 (mile marker 36.3). Entry into this zone is prohibited, unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Pittsburgh or a designated representative.

EPA is withdrawing an earlier proposal to designate an ocean dredged material disposal site near the mouth of the Umpqua River, Oregon, and is proposing to designate two new ocean dredged material disposal sites located offshore of the Umpqua River, Oregon. EPA's proposed rule was published at 56 FR 49858 (October 2, 1991). Changes since that time to the single site EPA proposed, as well as changes to the ocean dumping program, including changes to the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, as amended (MPRSA), 33 U.S.C. 1401 to 1445, give rise to EPA's decision to withdraw the October 2, 1991, proposal and to propose two new sites near the mouth of the Umpqua River. The new sites are needed primarily to serve the long-term need for a location to dispose of material dredged from the Umpqua River navigation channel, and to provide a location for the disposal of dredged material for persons who have received a permit for such disposal. The newly designated sites will be subject to ongoing monitoring and management to ensure continued protection of the marine environment.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will consider the issues raised in a petition for rulemaking (PRM) submitted by Mark Edward Leyse in the NRC's rulemaking process. The petition was dated March 15, 2007, and was docketed as PRM-50-84. The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations to require that nuclear power reactors be operated in a manner to limit the thickness of crud layers and/or the thickness of oxide layers on fuel rod cladding surfaces to ensure that the facilities operate in compliance with the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) acceptance criteria. The petitioner also requests that the requirements pertaining to ECCS evaluation models be amended to explicitly require that the steady-state temperature distribution and stored energy in reactor fuel at the onset of a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) be calculated by factoring in the role that the thermal resistance of crud and/or oxide layers on fuel cladding plays in increasing the stored energy of the fuel. Lastly, the petitioner requests that the acceptance criteria for analyses of ECCS cooling performance for light-water nuclear power reactors be amended to stipulate a maximum allowable percentage of hydrogen content in the cladding of fuel rods. The NRC will consider the petitioner's first two requests in PRM-50-84 because the underlying technical considerations regarding the effects of crud and oxide growth on ECCS analyses noted by the petitioner are sufficiently related to an ongoing NRC rulemaking activity on ECCS analysis acceptance criteria. The NRC will consider the petitioner's third request because the NRC has already initiated rulemaking activities that will address the petitioner's underlying technical concerns on fuel cladding embrittlement. While the NRC will consider the issues raised in the petition in its rulemaking process, the petitioner's concerns may not be addressed exactly as the petitioner has requested. During the rulemaking process, the NRC will solicit comments from the public and will consider all comments before issuing a final rule.

NMFS announces that the State of Connecticut, the State of Rhode Island, the State of Delaware, and the State of Maryland are transferring commercial bluefish quota to the State of New York from their 2008 quota. By this action, NMFS adjusts the quotas and announces the revised commercial quota for each state involved.

This final rule implements and interprets the provisions of sections 6041, 6042, and 6043 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), and section 405(a)(1) of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA). The DRA was amended by the TRHCA which revised sections 6041, 6042, and 6043 of the DRA including limitations on cost sharing for individuals with family incomes at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty line. These sections amended the Social Security Act (the Act) by adding a new section 1916A to provide State Medicaid agencies with increased flexibility to impose premium and cost sharing requirements on certain Medicaid recipients. This flexibility supplements the existing authority States have to impose premiums and cost sharing under section 1916 of the Act. The DRA provisions also specifically address cost sharing for non-preferred drugs and non- emergency care furnished in a hospital emergency department.

This amendment supersedes an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for the specified Agusta S.p.A. (Agusta) model helicopters. This AD results from a revised mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by an aviation authority to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The aviation authority of Italy, with which we have a bilateral agreement, reports that the previous MCAI should not apply to newly redesigned and improved tail rotor blades. This AD requires the same inspections as the current AD but limits the applicability to only three part-numbered tail rotor blades. This AD requires actions that are intended to prevent fatigue failure of a tail rotor blade (blade), loss of a tail rotor, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 737-400, -500, -600, -700, -700C, -800, and -900 series airplanes. This AD requires an inspection to determine the part and serial numbers of the windshield wiper motors for the pilot's and first officer's windshields, and doing applicable corrective actions. This AD results from two reports that the left and right windshield wipers stopped working in flight. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the windshield wipers in wet weather, which could result in decreased visibility for the flightcrew.