March 3, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FDIC is adopting an interim rule to impose a 20 basis point emergency special assessment under 12 U.S.C. 1817(b)(5) on June 30, 2009. The assessment will be collected on September 30, 2009. The interim rule also provides that, after June 30, 2009, if the reserve ratio of the Deposit Insurance Fund is estimated to fall to a level that the Board believes would adversely affect public confidence or to a level which shall be close to zero or negative at the end of a calendar quarter, an emergency special assessment of up to 10 basis points may be imposed by a vote of the Board on all insured depository institutions based on each institution's assessment base calculated pursuant to 12 CFR 327.5 for the corresponding assessment period. The FDIC seeks comment on the interim rule.

This document extends for six months a requirement that trailers with antilock brake systems be equipped with an external antilock malfunction indicator lamp. This requirement, which is included in the Federal motor vehicle safety standard that governs vehicles equipped with air brakes, is currently scheduled to sunset on March 1, 2009. As a result of this interim final rule, the sunset date is September 1, 2009. We are taking this action in connection with our consideration of a petition for rulemaking from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) requesting that the requirement be made permanent. In a separate document, we are proposing a further extension of the requirement, to March 1, 2011. This interim final rule prevents the occurrence of a potential time gap for the vehicles that are subject to the requirement, should the agency ultimately decide to further extend the time period.

The Commission grants a petition for rulemaking filed by LeSEA Broadcasting of Indianapolis, Inc., the licensee of station WHMB-DT, to substitute DTV channel 20 for its assigned post-transition DTV channel 16 at Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Commission, at the request of petitioner Comcorp of Texas License Corp. (``Comcorp''), the permittee of post-transition DTV channel 44, Waco, Texas, dismisses Comcorp's pending petition for rulemaking to substitute DTV channel 25 for post-transition DTV channel 44 at Waco.

NMFS published a proposed rule for developing identification and certification procedures to address illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing activities and bycatch of protected living marine resources (PLMRs) pursuant to the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (Moratorium Protection Act). This notice is to announce five public hearings and to discuss and collect comments on the issues described in the proposed rule.

EPA is proposing to update a portion of the Outer Continental Shelf (``OCS'') Air Regulations. 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 the Clean Air Act (``the Act''). The portion of the OCS air regulations that is being updated pertains to the requirements for OCS sources in the State of Alaska. The intended effect of approving the OCS requirements for the State of Alaska is to regulate emissions from OCS sources in accordance with the requirements onshore. The change to the existing requirements discussed below is proposed to be incorporated by reference into the Code of Federal Regulations and is listed in the appendix to the OCS air regulations.

In accordance with the memorandum of January 20, 2009, from the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled ``Regulatory Review,'' published in the Federal Register on January 26, 2009, FMCSA is seeking public comment on a contemplated delay of 90 days in the effective date of its January 16, 2009, final rule entitled ``Elimination of Route Designation Requirement for Motor Carriers Transporting Passengers over Regular Routes.'' The final rule announced the discontinuation of the administrative requirement that applicants seeking for-hire authority to transport passengers over regular routes submit a detailed description and a map of the route(s) over which they propose to operate. The effective date of the rule is March 17, 2009, with a compliance date of July 15, 2009. The FMCSA is considering a temporary 90-day extension in the effective date to June 15, 2009, to allow the Agency the opportunity for further review and consideration of the final rule. FMCSA acknowledges that the January 20, 2009, memorandum only recommends 60 days, but is allowing for 90 days to give us enough time to consider and respond to comments.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received and requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking dated November 24, 2008, filed by the C-10 Research and Education Foundation, Inc. (petitioner). The petition was docketed by the NRC and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-72-6. The petitioner is requesting that the NRC amend the regulations that govern licensing requirements for the independent storage of spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste, and reactor-related greater than class C waste. The petitioner believes that the current regulations do not provide sufficient requirements for safe storage of spent nuclear fuel in dry cask storage or in independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs). The petitioner states that the NRC does not adequately enforce the current regulations that govern dry cask storage by allowing manufacturers, vendors, and licensees to use alternatives to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code. The petitioner also states that the NRC has not specified license requirements for multiple cask designs under different expiration dates at the same ISFSI, has not adequately considered age-related degradation of dry cask systems, and has no requirements in place to address sabotage and adverse environmental effects on ISFSIs and current and future dry cask storage systems.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is amending its regulations that establish standards for interstate natural gas pipeline business practices and electronic communications to incorporate by reference into its regulations the most recent version of the standards, Version 1.8, adopted by the Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ) of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) and to make other minor corrections. This rule upgrades the Commission's current business practice and communication standards to reflect the latest version approved by the NAESB WGQ (i.e., the Version 1.8 Standards), and is necessary to increase the efficiency of the pipeline grid, make pipelines' electronic communications more secure, and is consistent with the mandate that agencies provide for electronic disclosure of information.

EPA is finalizing the update of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Air Regulations proposed in the Federal Register on November 5, 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 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 North Carolina has been designated COA. The effect of approving the OCS requirements for the State of North Carolina 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 North Carolina's OCS Air Regulations. These rules include revisions to existing rules that already apply to OCS sources. No comments were received on the November 5, 2008, proposal.