March 11, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The PNCIAC will meet in Seattle, WA. The meeting is open to the public.

Patent applications on the inventions listed below assigned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, have been filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and are available for licensing.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the SR 56 Swing Bridge across Boudreaux Canal, mile 0.1, near Chauvin, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. The deviation is necessary to replace all the mechanical machinery used to operate the movable span of the bridge. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to- navigation position except for the previously approved scheduled opening times to allow for the passage of vessels.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Monkfish Oversight Committee, on March 31, 2009, to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or CPSC) is issuing a final rule on procedures and requirements on requests for: a Commission determination that a commodity or class of materials or a specific material or product does not exceed the lead content limits specified under section 101(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), Public Law 110-314; or an exclusion of a commodity or class of materials or a specific material or product under section 101(b)(1) of the CPSIA, that exceeds the lead content limits under section 101(a) of the CPSIA, but which will not result in the absorption of any lead into the human body nor have any other adverse impact on public health or safety.

The USDA, Forest Service, Eldorado National Forest will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposal to treat approximately 6,200 acres of National Forest System land for fuels reduction and forest health objectives. The project area is situated on the Georgetown Ranger District approximately 15 air-miles northeast of Georgetown, CA in the vicinity of Nevada Point Ridge, Devils Peak and Bear Springs. The intent of this project is to reduce potential fire hazard within the project area, to provide for increased resilience when a wildfire occurs within the project area, to provide for improved forest health, and to increase the rate of development of old forest characteristics. The Proposed Action consists of commercial and precommercial tree thinning with follow-up tractor piling or mastication; mastication of select, existing plantations with a follow- up treatment of herbicides to reduce brush competition and fuel buildup; the planting of conifers in expanded canopy gaps with a follow-up treatment of herbicide; and prescribed burning. Silvicultural treatments for each stand were chosen for their ability to meet the stated purpose and need. The focus of each treatment is based on the desired quality of each treatment area after management rather than the quantity or quality of the products removed from each area. In fact, some treatments would not remove forest products. Approximately 15 miles of native surface road reconstruction and 1 mile of new road construction are proposed in order to facilitate the treatment activities. The land allocations within the treatment areas, as identified in the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment Final Supplemental EIS (SNFPA FSEIS), are general forest, spotted owl home range core areas, old-forest, and riparian conservation areas adjacent to perennial, seasonal, and ephemeral streams. The purpose of the project is: (1) To change existing forest surface, ladder and crown fuel profiles in order to reduce potential wildfire intensity and behavior to mitigate the consequences of large, potentially damaging wildfires on selected forested areas; (2) to improve stand vigor and resistance to disease and insect mortality; (3) maintain and/or establish a composition of tree species and size classes that are closer to the historic levels for the area, and correspondingly sustainable into the future; and (4) to treat hazard fuels in a cost-effective manner to maximize program effectiveness.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect approval of a supplemental new animal drug application (NADA) filed by Abbott Laboratories, Inc. The supplemental NADA provides for a revised induction dose of sevoflurane inhalant anesthetic in dogs.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 737-300, -400, and -500 series airplanes. This AD requires repetitive high frequency eddy current inspections for cracking of the 1.04-inch nominal diameter wire penetration hole in the frame and frame reinforcement, between stringers S-20 and S-21, on both the left and right sides of the airplane, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This AD results from reports of cracking in the frame, or in the frame and frame reinforcement, common to the 1.04-inch nominal diameter wire penetration hole intended for wire routing. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking in the fuselage frames and frame reinforcements, which could reduce the structural capability of the frames to sustain limit loads, and result in cracking in the fuselage skin and subsequent rapid depressurization of the airplane.

This establishes, amends, suspends, or revokes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.