2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action confirms the effective date of a direct final rule published in the Federal Register (73 FR 56470) that amends Class E Airspace at Butler, PA to merge the existing Class E Airspace listed under East Butler, PA, and corrects a technical error to the airport name by correctly listing the Butler County Airport as Butler Co./K W Scholter Field Airport.

On December 10, 2008, the State Department published in the Federal Register a proposed rule titled Exchange Visitor Program. The Department amended the General Provisions of the existing Exchange Visitor Program regulations set forth at 22 CFR Part 62. This proposed rule is being withdrawn because it was submitted prior to a formal significance designation being made by OMB. The proposed rule is withdrawn in its entirety.

This final rule amends the hearing procedures before hearing officers who have the responsibility for adjudicating those matters that do not raise issues under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). This final rule also amends the hearing procedures before Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) who have the responsibility for adjudicating those matters that are subject to the requirements of the APA. Specifically, the final rule modifies pleading and motion requirements of the hearing procedures, and the procedures for the review of hearing officers' determinations. It also amends the discovery and deposition requirements to clarify the hearing officers' discovery procedures and to specifically allow for written interrogatories, in addition to depositions, requests for production of documents, and requests for admissions. Additionally, the final rule amends the discovery, appeal, and judicial review procedures related to hearings that are conducted pursuant to the APA. This final rule follows a September 8, 2008, published rule, and no comments were received in response to that rule. This final rule adopts the proposed rule without change. The changes made by this final rule better reflect current practice and conform the regulations more closely to statutory requirements.

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Navy (Navy) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to training activities conducted within the Jacksonville (JAX) Range Complex for the period of April 2009 through April 2014. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is proposing regulations to govern that take and requesting information, suggestions, and comments on these proposed regulations.

This action modifies the Class E Airspace at Franklin, NC to include the controlled airspace that is needed to support new Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) that has been developed for Macon County Airport. As a result, controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) is needed to contain the SIAP and for Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at Macon County Airport. The operating status of the airport will change from Visual Flight Rules (VFR) to include IFR operations concurrent with the publication of the SIAP. This action enhances the safety and management of IFR operations in the area by providing the required controlled airspace to support the SIAPs at Franklin, NC.

This action finalizes changes to EPA's emission inventory reporting requirements. This action consolidates, reduces, and simplifies the current requirements; adds limited new requirements; provides additional flexibility to states in the ways they collect and report emissions data; and accelerates the reporting of emissions data to EPA by state and local agencies.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) have completed Comprehensive Conservation Plans (CCPs) and Findings of No Significant Impact (FONSIs) for the Baker Island, Howland Island, and Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuges (Refuges). The CCPs were developed to provide a foundation for the management and use of these Refuges. We are furnishing this notice to advise other agencies and the public of the availability of the CCPs and FONSIs, and the decision to implement Alternative B as described in each CCP. The Service's Regional Director for the Pacific Region selected Alternative B for managing these Refuges for the next 15 years. The Refuges are U.S. Territories in the central Pacific Ocean, located between 1,300 and 1,600 miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawai'i.

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) of the U.S. Department of Justice published the proposed rule for the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) Program on July 10, 2008, 73 FR 39632. During the comment period, OJP received comments on its proposed rule from numerous parties. After further review of the proposed rule and careful consideration and analysis of all comments, OJP has made amendments that are incorporated into this final rule, which is intended (insofar as consistent with law) to be effective and applicable to all claims from and after the effective date hereof, whether pending (in any stage) as of that date or subsequently filed.

This notice announces that pesticide related information submitted to EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), including information that may have been claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI) by the submitter, will be transferred to Ace Info Solutions, Inc., in accordance with 40 CFR 2.307(h)(3) and 2.308(i)(2). Ace Info Solutions, Inc., has been awarded multiple contracts to perform work for OPP, and access to this information will enable Ace Info Solutions, Inc., to fulfill the obligations of these contracts.

FMCSA adopts regulations to implement section 4118 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The regulations require intermodal equipment providers (IEPs) to: register and file with FMCSA an Intermodal Equipment Provider Identification Report (Form MCS-150C); establish a systematic inspection, repair, and maintenance program to assure the safe operating condition of each intermodal chassis; maintain documentation of their maintenance program; and provide a means to effectively respond to driver and motor carrier reports about intermodal chassis mechanical defects and deficiencies. The regulations also require IEPs to mark each intermodal chassis offered for transportation in interstate commerce with a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) identification number. These new regulations, for the first time, make IEPs subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), and call for shared safety responsibility among IEPs, motor carriers, and drivers. Additionally, FMCSA adopts inspection requirements for motor carriers and drivers operating intermodal equipment. Improved maintenance is expected to result in fewer chassis being placed out-of-service (OOS) and fewer breakdowns involving intermodal chassis, thus improving the Nation's intermodal transportation system. Because inadequately maintained intermodal chassis create risks for crashes, this final rule will also help ensure that commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operations are safer.

This action invites public comment on a proposal to amend the regulations that govern the duty-free entry of scientific instruments and apparatus into the United States by educational and nonprofit institutions. The amendments are being proposed for the purpose of making technical changes required by the passage of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004, updating the regulations to comport with current Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') practices and changes made in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS'') and adding a Web site address for Statutory Import Programs Staff (``SIPS''). We also propose amending the regulations to reflect the new nomenclature changes made necessary by the transfer of the legacy Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Homeland Security (``DHS'').

NOAA B-WET is an environmental education program that promotes locally relevant, experiential learning in the K-12 environment. Funded projects provide meaningful watershed educational experiences for students, related professional development for teachers, and helps to support regional education and environmental priorities in the Pacific Northwest, the northern Gulf of Mexico and New England.

This final rule responds to public comments received on the proposed rule and announces our decision not to revise four national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants that regulate eight industrial source categories evaluated in our risk and technology review. The four national emission standards and eight industrial source categories are: National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions: Group I Polymers and Resins (Polysulfide Rubber Production, Ethylene Propylene Rubber Production, Butyl Rubber Production, and Neoprene Rubber Production); National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Epoxy Resins Production and Non-nylon Polyamides Production; National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Acetal Resins Production and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Hydrogen Fluoride Production. The underlying national emission standards that were reviewed in this action limit and control hazardous air pollutants. On December 12, 2007, we proposed not to revise the national emission standards based on our residual risk assessment and technology review. After conducting risk and technology reviews, and after considering public comments on the proposed rule, we conclude no additional control requirements are warranted under section 112(f)(2) or 112(d)(6) of the Clean Air Act at this time.

Base (1% annual chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and modified BFEs are made final for the communities listed below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that each community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Modified Base (1% annual-chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) are finalized for the communities listed below. These modified BFEs will be used to calculate flood insurance premium rates for new buildings and their contents.

On June 9, 2008, the Department published its preliminary results in the antidumping duty administrative review of pure magnesium from the PRC.\1\ The period of review (``POR'') for the administrative review is May 1, 2006, through April 30, 2007. We have determined that both mandatory respondents, Shanxi Datuhe Coke & Chemicals, Co., Ltd. (``Datuhe'') and Tianjin Magnesium International Co., Ltd.(``TMI''), made sales in the United States at prices below normal value (``NV''). There are no other respondents covered by this review. We invited interested parties to comment on our preliminary results in this review. Based on our analysis of the comments we received in the administrative review, we made certain changes to our calculations for both mandatory respondents. The final dumping margins for this review are listed in the ``Final Results Margins'' section below.

This document contains final regulations that provide rules relating to the disclosure and use of tax return information by tax return preparers. These regulations affect tax return preparers and provide updated guidance regarding the disclosure of a taxpayer's social security number to a tax return preparer located outside of the United States.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has submitted the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The submission describes the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e., the time, effort and resources used by respondents to respond) and cost, and includes the actual data collection instruments FEMA will use.

Comments are requested on the proposed Base (1 percent annual- chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and proposed BFE modifications for the communities listed in the table below. The purpose of this notice is to seek general information and comment regarding the proposed regulatory flood elevations for the reach described by the downstream and upstream locations in the table below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are a part of the floodplain management measures that the community is required either to adopt or show evidence of having in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In addition, these elevations, once finalized, will be used by insurance agents, and others to calculate appropriate flood insurance premium rates for new buildings and the contents in those buildings.

This notice amends the notice of a major disaster declaration for the State of Louisiana (FEMA-1792-DR), dated September 13, 2008, and related determinations.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the Earth Science Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). This Subcommittee reports to the Science Committee of the NAC. The Meeting will be held for the purpose of soliciting from the scientific community and other persons scientific and technical information relevant to program planning.

This action changes the using agency of Restricted Area 4806W (R-4806W), Las Vegas; 4807 (R-4807 A & B), Tonopah; and 4809 (R-4809) Tonopah, NV, from ``U.S. Air Force, Commander, Tactical Fighter Weapons Center, Nellis AFB, NV'' to ``USAF Warfare Center, Nellis AFB, NV''. The FAA is taking this action in response to a request from the United States Air Force to reflect an administrative change of responsibility for the restricted area. This action does not change any boundaries, times of designation, or activities conducted in the restricted airspace area.