March 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document affirms an amendment to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adjudication regulations regarding service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that eliminated the requirement of evidence corroborating occurrence of the claimed in- service stressor in claims in which PTSD is diagnosed in service. This amendment is necessary to facilitate proof of service connection in such claims. By this amendment, we intend to more quickly adjudicate claims for service connection for PTSD for these veterans.

NMFS is announcing the opening and closing dates of the Amendment 80 cooperative's Atka mackerel directed fishery within the harvest limit area (HLA) in Statistical Areas 542 and 543 (Area 542 and Area 543), and the opening and closing dates of the BSAI Trawl Limited Access Atka mackerel directed fishery within the harvest limit area (HLA) in Statistical Area 542 . This action is necessary to fully use the 2009 A season HLA limits of Atka mackerel in Areas 542 and 543 of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI).

The Coast Guard proposes a temporary 100-foot (30.5 meter) radius safety zone around the 142 foot Barge BDL235 while it is performing operations in and around the CHEHALIS wreck. The wreck's approximate position is 14[deg]16.52[min] S, 170[deg]40.56[min] W and centered about 350 feet north of the fuel dock in Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa. The safety zone is necessary to protect other vessels and the general public from hazards associated with dive operations.

Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is issuing a temporary rule implementing certain provisions of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA). The text of the regulations in the temporary rule published in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register serves as the text of the proposed regulations.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) to revise AD 2006-08-08, which applies to certain Air Tractor, Inc. (Air Tractor) Models AT-400, AT-401, AT-401B, AT-402, AT-402A, and AT-402B airplanes. AD 2006-08-08 currently requires you to repetitively eddy current inspect the wing lower spar cap in order to reach the safe life and, for certain Models AT-402A and AT-402B airplanes and those that incorporate or have incorporated Marburger Enterprises, Inc. (Marburger) winglets, lowers the safe life for the wing lower spar cap. Since we issued AD 2006-08-08, we have received information to update inspection intervals for the Models AT-401B, AT-402A, and AT-402B airplanes based on a revised damage tolerance analysis. Consequently, this AD would not only retain the actions of AD 2006-08-08, but would reduce the number of repetitive inspections for all affected Model AT- 401B airplanes and certain Models AT-402A and AT-402B airplanes. We are issuing this AD to prevent fatigue cracks from occurring in the wing lower spar cap before the originally established safe life is reached. Fatigue cracks in the wing lower spar cap, if not detected and corrected, could result in wing separation and loss of control of the airplane.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is issuing this final rule to establish regulations regarding a new educational assistance program for individuals who serve on active duty after September 10, 2001. The new program, known as the Post-9/11 GI Bill, was authorized by title V of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008). This final regulation includes the rules necessary to implement the provisions of the Post-9/ 11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 that govern the Post-9/ 11 GI Bill.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-5) (Recovery Act) with respect to the Buy American provision, section 1605 in Division A. This rule does not cover procurements funded with Federal financial assistance such as Federal grants. Additional guidance will be provided by the Office of Management and Budget with respect to the application of section 1605 to procurements funded with Federal financial assistance.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) with respect to Sections 902, 1514, and 1515 of Division A.

We are proposing further amendments that would establish a herd certification program to eliminate chronic wasting disease from farmed or captive cervids in the United States. Under the 2006 Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) rule, participating deer, elk, and moose herds would have to follow CWD Herd Certification Program requirements for animal identification, testing, herd management, and movement of animals into and from herds. This document proposes additional changes to the program regarding recognition of State bans on the entry of farmed or captive cervids for reasons unrelated to CWD, the number of years an animal must be monitored for CWD before it may move interstate, interstate movement of cervids that originated from herds in proximity to a CWD outbreak, herd inventory procedures, and several other matters. These actions are intended to help eliminate CWD from the farmed or captive cervid herds in the United States.

This document is issued under the joint authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a summary of rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-32 which amend the FAR. An asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding these rules by referring to FAC 2005-32 which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at http:/ /www.regulations.gov.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidance M-09-10, dated February 18, 2009, entitled, ``Initial Implementing Guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009'' (the Recovery Act), with respect to publicizing contract actions.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Piper Aircraft, Inc. Models PA-46-350P and PA-46R-350T airplanes. This AD requires you to inspect the 35-amp and 250-amp current limiters to verify they are installed in the proper locations and correct the installation if the current limiters are not installed in the proper locations. This AD also limits operation to ``only under day visual flight rules (VFR)'' until the current limiter installation is inspected and corrected. This AD results from three reports of incorrectly installed current limiters. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct incorrect installation of 35-amp and 250-amp current limiters, which could result in failure of the 35-amp current limiter if installed in the 250-amp location. This failure could lead to a total loss of electrical power.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain McDonnell Douglas Model MD-90-30 airplanes. This AD requires modifying the auxiliary hydraulic power system (including doing all applicable related investigative and corrective actions). This AD results from fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer, as well as reports of shorted wires in the right wheel well and evidence of arcing on the power cables of the auxiliary hydraulic pump. We are issuing this AD to prevent shorted wires or electrical arcing at the auxiliary hydraulic pump, which could result in a fire in the wheel well; and to reduce the potential of an ignition source adjacent to the fuel tanks, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in a fuel tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane.

This document withdraws a notice of proposed rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on March 13, 2009 (74 FR 10849), that proposed to amend the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Regulations to exclude from the dutiable value of repairs, alterations, or processing performed abroad on articles exported from the United States and returned under subheading 9802.00.40, 9802.00.50, or 9802.00.60, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the value of U.S.-origin parts used in the foreign repairs, alterations, or processing. The notice is being withdrawn to permit further consideration of the relevant issues involved in the proposed rulemaking.

The Commission requests comments on a channel substitution proposed by Entravision Holdings, LLC (``Entravision''), the permittee of KDCU-DT, DTV channel 46, Derby, Kansas. Entravision requests the substitution of DTV channel 31 for post-transition DTV channel 46 at Derby.

The Commission amends its rules implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to reflect changes in that law made by the OPEN Government Act of 2007. In addition, the rules are updated to reflect the current structure of the agency; to reflect the increased availability of records on the agency's Web site and the Commission's decisions over the years with respect to whether certain records are routinely available for public inspection; to ensure that the rules reflect the agency's experience with processing FOIA requests; and to clarify the fees applicable to FOIA requests.

We are amending the regulations concerning user fees for import- and export-related services that we provide for animals, animal products, birds, germ plasm, organisms, and vectors. We are increasing those fees for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 in order to ensure that the fees accurately reflect the anticipated costs of providing these services each year. By publishing the annual user fee changes in advance, users can incorporate the fees into their budget planning.

This action will establish Class E airspace at Death Valley, CA. Controlled airspace is necessary to facilitate vectoring of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) traffic from en route airspace to Las Vegas, NV. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of IFR aircraft operations near Las Vegas, NV. This action also makes a minor change to the geographic coordinates of the airspace.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above that would supersede an existing AD. 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:

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is proposing to amend its regulations implementing the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, to exempt certain records that will be maintained in a system of records entitled ``PBGC-17, Office of Inspector General Investigative File System)PBGC'' from the access, contest, and certain other provisions of the Privacy Act. The amendment would protect the information gathered to carry out the Office of Inspector General's law enforcement mission to investigate criminal, civil, and administrative matters.

On June 9, 2008, FRA published an NPRM in the Federal Register proposing to amend the eligibility and application form and content criteria of the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Finance (RRIF) Program. For the reasons stated below, FRA has decided to withdraw the NPRM.

This final rule rescinds the regulations found at 29 CFR part 470, which implemented Executive Order 13201. Executive Order 13496, signed by President Obama on January 30, 2009 and published in the Federal Register on February 4, 2009, revoked Executive Order 13201, thus removing the authority under which such regulations were promulgated. Accordingly, the Secretary of Labor (the ``Secretary'') is issuing this final rule to rescind the regulations that implement and enforce the now-revoked Executive Order 13201.

Pursuant to section 215 of the Federal Power Act, the Commission approves three revised Reliability Standards developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which the Commission has certified as the Electric Reliability Organization responsible for developing and enforcing mandatory Reliability Standards. The three revised Reliability Standards, designated by NERC as FAC-010-2, FAC-011-2 and FAC-014-2, set requirements for the development and communication of system operating limits of the Bulk- Power System for use in the planning and operation horizons. In addition, the Commission approves, with modifications, the violation severity levels for the three Reliability Standards.