2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is issuing this notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for a proposed highway project in Sullivan County, Tennessee.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is issuing this revised notice to advise the public that FHWA will not be preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed relocation of railroad lines in Knox County, Indiana and Lawrence County, Illinois. A ``Notice of Intent'' to prepare an EIS was published in the Federal Register on March 16, 2007.

This is a notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the State of Missouri (FEMA-1809-DR), dated November 13, 2008, and related determinations.

The Commission is adding Priority Mail Contract 4 to the Competitive Product List. This action is consistent with changes in a recent law governing postal operations and a related Postal Service request. Republication of the lists of market dominant and competitive products is also consistent with new requirements in the law.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) hereby announces that it is seeking an extension of the following currently approved information collection activities. These information collection activities received a six-month emergency approval from OMB. FRA seeks this extension while it works on developing a proposed rule related to the same topic of inappropriate cell phone use and other electronic/electrical devices by railroad employees while on-duty. Before submitting these information collection requirements for clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (hereinafter the ``Corporation''), has submitted a public information collection request (ICR) entitled the Disaster Response Cooperative Agreement Application Package to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). Copies of this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by calling the Corporation for National and Community Service, Phil Shaw, Office of Emergency Management at 202-606-6697. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TTY-TDD) may call (202) 565-2799 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday.

Under the provisions of 30 U.S.C. 188(d) and (e), and 43 CFR 3108.2-3(a) and (b)(1), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas lease COC68148 from the following companies: (1) Delta Petroleum Corp., (2) Gasconade Oil Co., (3) Helm Energy, LLC, and (4) Riggs Oil and Gas Corp., for lands in San Miguel County, Colorado. The petition was filed on time and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the date the lease terminated under the law.

Under the provisions of 30 U.S.C. 188(d) and (e), and 43 CFR 3108.2-3(a) and (b)(1), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas lease COC68149 from the following companies: (1) Delta Petroleum Corp., (2) Gasconade Oil Co., (3) Helm Energy, LLC, and (4) Riggs Oil and Gas Corp., for lands in San Miguel County, Colorado. The petition was filed on time and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the date the lease terminated under the law.

Under the provisions of 30 U.S.C. 188(d) and (e), and 43 CFR 3108.2-3(a) and (b)(1), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas lease COC68089 from the following companies: (1) Delta Petroleum Corp., (2) Gasconade Oil Co., (3) Helm Energy LLC, and (4) Riggs Oil and Gas Corp., for lands in San Miguel County, Colorado. The petition was filed on time and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the date the lease terminated under the law.

NMFS has received an application from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (L-DEO) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting a seismic survey in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS requests comments on its proposal to authorize L-DEO to take, by Level B harassment only, small numbers of marine mammals incidental to conducting a marine seismic survey during January through February, 2009.

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 notice of intent revises the previously published notice of intent for the Rattlesnake Project (73 FR 65284, Nov. 3, 2008). Due to a printing error, the previously published notice contained an incorrect electronic mail address. This notice corrects the address and extends the comment due date. The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on a proposal to implement multiple resource management actions in the Rattlesnake Project Area to implement the amended Black Hills National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. The proposed action includes approximately 11,000 acres of commercial timber harvest, 5,000 acres of non-commercial vegetation management, 6,000 acres of prescribed burning, three miles of road construction, road improvements, and watershed improvements. Prescribed burning is proposed in a roadless area.

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.