March 13, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 610 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2009 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 610 in the GOA.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 620 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2009 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 620 in the GOA.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for species that comprise the shallow-water species fishery by Amendment 80 vessels subject to sideboard limits in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary because the first seasonal apportionment of the 2009 Pacific halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) limit specified for the shallow-water species fishery by Amendment 80 vessels subject to sideboard limits in the GOA has been reached.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations governing the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The final rule implements the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) revised standards for doses that could occur after 10,000 years, but within the period of geologic stability. The final rule also specifies a range of values for the deep percolation rate to be used to represent climate change after 10,000 years, as called for by EPA, and specifies that calculations of radiation doses for workers use the same weighting factors that EPA is using for calculating individual doses to members of the public.

This action terminates a rulemaking proceeding on two proposed amendments that sought to amend the producer-handler provisions of the Appalachian and Southeast milk marketing orders. Other proposed amendments considered as part of the rulemaking proceeding were addressed in previously issued decisions.

We, the NMFS, have completed a review of the status of the Pacific eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus; hereafter ``eulachon'') under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in response to a petition submitted by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to list eulachon as a threatened or endangered species. After reviewing the best scientific and commercial information available, we have determined that the species is comprised of two or more distinct population segments (DPSs) that qualify as species under the ESA. Moreover, after evaluating threats facing the species, and considering efforts being made to protect eulachon, we have determined that the southern DPS is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all of its range. We propose to list it as threatened under the ESA. The southern DPS of eulachon consists of populations spawning in rivers south of the Nass River in British Columbia, Canada, to, and including, the Mad River in California. Within the range of the southern DPS, major production areas or ``core populations'' for this species include the Columbia and Fraser rivers and may have historically included the Klamath River. We solicit information to inform the development of the final listing rule. Any protective regulations determined to be necessary and advisable for the conservation of the southern DPS of eulachon under ESA section 4(d) will be proposed in a subsequent Federal Register notice. We solicit information to inform the development of proposed protective regulations and designation of critical habitat in the event the DPS is listed. If the proposed listing is finalized, a recovery plan will also be prepared and implemented for the southern DPS.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA) directs the Commission to prescribe the manner and content of certain mandatory disclosures for depository institutions that lack federal deposit insurance. On March 16, 2005, the Commission published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on disclosure rules for such institutions. Subsequently, Congress passed the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006 (FSRRA), which amended FDICIA's requirements. To ensure that the FTC's requirements are consistent with the FSRRA amendments, the Commission is seeking comment on conforming changes to the proposed Rule.