January 13, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA previously announced its decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 14 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from the vision requirement if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The Agency has reviewed the comments submitted in response to the previous announcement and concluded that granting these exemptions will provide a level of safety that will be equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a one day meeting of its Pelagics Plan Team (PPT), in Honolulu, HI, to discuss fishery issues and develop recommendations for future management.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of Homeland Security is giving notice that it proposes to consolidate the following Privacy Act system of records notice, FEMA/CGC-1, August 28, 2000, into an existing Department of Homeland Security system of records notice, DHS/ALL-013 Department of Homeland Security Claims Records, October 28, 2008.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of Homeland Security is giving notice that it proposes to consolidate the following Privacy Act system of records notice, Justice/INS-025 Worksite Enforcement Activity Record and Index, October 17, 2002, into an existing Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement system of records notice, External Investigations Records, December 11, 2008.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publishes this notice to announce a 45-day public comment period for the second draft of the report titled, U.S. Climate Change Science Program Unified Synthesis Product (USP). This draft report is being released solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination review under applicable information quality guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by NOAA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination. After consideration of comments received on the draft report, a revised version along with the comments received will be published on the CCSP web site.

NMFS is providing this notice in order to allow other agencies and the public an opportunity to review and provide comments on a draft guideline document regarding the use of pesticide-treated wood products in aquatic environments. The intent of the guidelines is to aid NMFS personnel conducting Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultations in making consistent determinations regarding projects proposing to use pesticide-treated wood products in habitats utilized by NOAA trust resources. The guidelines attempt to convey a summary of information that should be considered when examining the effects determinations made by the action agency, and to direct personnel to documents containing more detailed information when needed. NMFS is requesting comment on the draft guideline document before it is finalized. All comments received before the due date will be considered before finalizing the guideline document. All comments received will become part of the public record and will be available for review upon request.

EPA is approving the action of the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) to address the provisions of Clean Air Act (CAA) section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) for the 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) requires each state to submit a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision that prohibits emissions that adversely affect another state's air quality through interstate transport. EPA received no comments on its proposal to approve Ecology's SIP revision addressing these provisions. Therefore, EPA is finalizing its proposed approval of this revision for the State of Washington. Because EPA received adverse comments on its proposal to approve the SIP revision from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ), EPA is not taking final action on the proposed approval for the State of Idaho at this time and will address those comments and take final action on IDEQ's submittal at a later date.

The FTC is amending Parts 3 and 4 of its Rules of Practice, 16 CFR Parts 3 and 4, in order to further expedite its adjudicative proceedings, improve the quality of adjudicative decision making, and clarify the respective roles of the Administrative Law Judge (``ALJ'') and the Commission in Part 3 proceedings.

In this document, the Commission seeks comment on the application of the closed captioning rules to digital broadcasting, specifically to broadcasters that choose to use their digital allotment to multicast several streams of programming. The Commission's rules exempt video programming channels that produced annual gross revenues of less than $3 million during the previous calendar year from the Commission's closed captioning obligations. The Commission did not determine what constitutes a ``channel'' for purposes of satisfying this self-implementing exemption. The Commission therefore seeks comment on issues related to, for purposes of this exemption, whether each programming stream on a multicast signal constitutes a separate channel, or whether the broadcaster's entire operations attributable to its digital allotment should be considered one channel.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), is amending the Hazardous Materials Regulations to prescribe enhanced safety measures for rail transportation of poison inhalation hazard (PIH) materials, including interim design standards for railroad tank cars. Pending validation and implementation of the crashworthiness performance standard proposed in the NPRM issued under this docket on April 1, 2008, the rule mandates commodity-specific improvements in safety features and design standards for newly manufactured DOT specification tank cars. The rule also adopts a 50 mph speed restriction for loaded rail tank cars transporting PIH materials; an improved top fittings performance standard; an allowance to increase the gross weight of tank cars that meet the enhanced standards; and adoption of the industry standard for normalized steel in certain tank cars. The interim standards established in this rule will enhance the accident survivability of PIH tank cars when compared to existing regulations while providing tank car owners continued flexibility in car selection. Adoption of this interim standard will ensure the ongoing availability of tank cars while PHMSA and FRA complete research and testing on advanced tank car design to validate and implement a more stringent performance standard.