March 10, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule delays the effective date of the definition of ``required use'' as revised by HUD's November 17, 2008, final rule amending its RESPA regulations, until July 16, 2009. The November 17, 2008, final rule revised HUD's RESPA regulations to further the purposes of RESPA by requiring more timely and effective disclosures related to mortgage settlement costs for federally related mortgage loans to consumers. The final rule revised the existing definition of ``required use,'' which revision was directed to enhancing protections for consumers from certain practices conducted by affiliated business arrangements. The revised definition of ``required use'' would have become effective on January 16, 2009. However, on January 15, 2009, HUD published a final rule that delayed the effective date of the definition of ``required use'' from January 16, 2009, to April 16, 2009, due to litigation by the National Association of Home Builders, et al., around the time of issuance of the final rule. For this same reason, HUD is further delaying the effective date of required use until July 16, 2009. In this rule, HUD also solicits comment on withdrawing the revised definition of ``required use'' from the November 17, 2008, final rule. HUD will consider these comments before pursuing new rulemaking process on this definition. Since promulgating the rule on November 17, 2008, HUD has determined to reevaluate the scope and operation of the required use provision. New rulemaking would give HUD the opportunity to present for public consideration a new proposal based upon HUD's reevaluation of the required use provision to help ensure better consumer protections.

On December 3, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (``CAFC'') affirmed the Department of Commerce's (``Department'') final results of redetermination pursuant to the Department's voluntary remand, wherein the Department calculated credit expenses from the date of invoice, rather than the date of shipment for Mittal Steel Point Lisas Ltd. (``Mittal'').\1\ The Court also affirmed the Department's classification of Mittal's composite wire rod as non- prime merchandise. The period of review (``POR'') is October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004. The Department is amending the final results of the second administrative review of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod (``wire rod'') from Trinidad and Tobago to reflect the U.S. Court of International Trade's (``CIT'') decision.

Section 2707 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Act) establishes the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) by amending Section 1243 of the Food Security Act of 1985 [16 U.S.C. 3843]. The Secretary of Agriculture has delegated the authority for CCPI to the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), who is a Vice President of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). NRCS is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Congress established CCPI to assist potential partners with focusing conservation assistance in defined project areas to achieve high-priority natural resource objectives. In fiscal year (FY) 2009, NRCS will make Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) funds available to owners and operators of agricultural and nonindustrial private forest lands who will participate in CCPI projects. The purpose of this notice is to inform potential partners and producers that include nonindustrial private forest landowners of the availability of CCPI funds and other assistance and to solicit proposals from potential partners who seek to enter into partnership agreements with NRCS to enhance conservation outcomes on agricultural and nonindustrial private forest land. Additionally, NRCS requests public comment on how CCPI can contribute to the Nation's efforts on energy, climate change, and carbon sequestration within the framework of the Initiative.

On November 3, 2008, the Department of Commerce (``Department'') initiated a sunset review of the antidumping duty order on malleable cast iron pipe fittings from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). On the basis of a notice of intent to participate, and an adequate substantive response from domestic interested parties, as well as a lack of response from respondent interested parties, the Department conducted an expedited (120-day) sunset review. As a result of the sunset review, the Department finds that revocation of the antidumping duty order would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping. The dumping margins are identified in the Final Results of Review section of this notice.

The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Acquisition and Property Management announces that it has submitted a request for renewal of approval of this information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and requests public comments on this submission.

In accordance with Title IV of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act (Pub. L. 97-451), Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation timely filed a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas leases UTU76054 for lands in San Juan County, Utah, and it was accompanied by all required rentals and royalties accruing from September 1, 2008, the date of termination.

The Department of Health and Human Services proposes to rescind the December 19, 2008 final rule entitled ``Ensuring That Department of Health and Human Services Funds Do Not Support Coercive or Discriminatory Policies or Practices in Violation of Federal Law.'' The Department believes it is important to have an opportunity to review this regulation to ensure its consistency with current Administration policy and to reevaluate the necessity for regulations implementing the Church Amendments, Section 245 of the Public Health Service Act, and the Weldon Amendment.

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the Council on Environmental Quality Final Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500 through 1508), and the United States Section, International Boundary and Water Commission's (USIBWC) Operational Procedures for Implementing Section 102 of NEPA, published in the Federal Register September 2, 1981, (46 FR 44083); the USIBWC hereby gives notice of availability of the Final Environmental Assessment and FONSI for Improvements to the Rio Grande Rectification Project (RGRP) located in El Paso and Hudspeth Counties, Texas are available.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as: * * * * * [B]ogie beam internal paint has been degraded, leading to a loss of cadmium plating and thus allowing development of corrosion pitting. If not corrected, this situation under higher speed could result in the aircraft departing the runway or in the bogie [beam] detaching from the aircraft or [main landing] gear collapses, which would constitute an unsafe condition. * * * * * The proposed AD would require actions that are intended to address the unsafe condition described in the MCAI.

The Commission grants a petition for rulemaking filed by Local TV Pennsylvania License, LLC, the licensee of station WNEP-DT, to substitute DTV channel 50 for post-transition DTV channel 49 at Scranton, Pennsylvania.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an appealable decision approving the surface and subsurface estates in certain lands for conveyance pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act will be issued to Doyon, Limited. The lands are in the vicinity of Chicken, Alaska, and are located in:

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to the control of Russian thistle, Salsola tragus. The environmental assessment considers the effects of, and alternatives to, the release of a nonindigenous blister mite, Aceria salsolae, for the biological control of Russian thistle in the continental United States. We are making the environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment.