December 22, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is finalizing the update of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Air Regulations proposed in the Federal Register on September 4, 2008. Requirements applying to OCS sources located within 25 miles of states' seaward boundaries must be updated periodically to remain consistent with the requirements of the corresponding onshore area (COA), as mandated by section 328(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act (``CAA'' or ``the Act''). The portion of the OCS air regulations that is being updated pertains to the requirements for OCS sources for which the State of Florida has been designated COA. The effect of approving the OCS requirements for the State of Florida is to regulate emissions from OCS sources in accordance with the requirements onshore. The change to the existing requirements discussed below will be incorporated by reference into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and is listed in the appendix to the OCS air regulations. This action is an annual update of the Florida's OCS Air Regulations. These rules include revisions to existing rules that already apply to OCS sources. No comments were received on the September 4, 2008, proposal.

The proposed rule modifies various Commission regulations to reduce reporting burdens on tribes, update costs for background investigations, clarify definitions and regulatory intent, and update audit requirements to consolidate and reflect industry standards.

EPA is taking direct final action on the new standards of performance for petroleum refineries. On June 24, 2008, EPA promulgated new standards for petroleum refineries. Following that action, the Administrator received three petitions for reconsideration. In response to the petitions, EPA granted a stay of certain provisions in the new standards. In this action, EPA is extending the stay of the requirements under reconsideration until a final decision is reached on these issues.

EPA is proposing to extend the stay of certain provisions of the new standards of performance for petroleum refineries. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, we are extending the stay as a direct final rule without a prior proposed rule. If we receive no adverse comment, we will not take further action on this proposed rule.

The Department of State submits the following comprehensive listing of the statements which, as required by law, Federal employees filed with their employing agencies during calendar year 2007 concerning gifts received from foreign government sources. The compilation includes reports of both tangible gifts and gifts of travel or travel expenses of more than minimal value, as defined by statute. Also included are gifts received in previous years including 2 gifts in 2002, 5 gifts in 2005 and 17 gifts in 2006. These latter gifts and expenses are being reported in 2007 as the Office of the Chief of Protocol, Department of State, did not receive the relevant information to include them in earlier reports. Publication of this listing in the Federal Register is required by Section 7342(f) of Title 5, United States Code, as added by Section 515(a)(1) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1978 (Pub. L. 95-105, August 17, 1977, 91 Stat. 865).

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for certain GE CT7-8A turboshaft engines. That AD currently requires initial and repetitive inspections of the electrical chip detectors for the No. 3 bearing. This AD requires removing from service certain GE CT7-8A turboshaft engines within 6,200 cycles-since-new. This AD results from investigation for the root causes of two failures of the No. 3 bearing. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the No. 3 bearing due to contamination by aluminum oxide, which could result in a possible in-flight shutdown of the engines and loss of control or forced landing of the aircraft.