April 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is proposing to amend its regulations governing the disclosure of information pursuant to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to reflect recent changes to the FOIA made by the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in Our National Government Act of 2007 (OPEN Government Act) and to make other changes that update the OCC's FOIA regulations.

EPA is proposing to approve a site specific revision to the Minnesota sulfur dioxide (SO 2) State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Rochester Public Utility's Cascade Creek Generating Facility (Cascade Creek), located in the city of Rochester, Olmsted County, Minnesota. On March 5, 2008, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) requested that EPA approve certain portions of a joint Title I/Title V document into the Minnesota SO 2 SIP for the Cascade Creek facility. This SIP revision includes the addition of two new oil and gas fired turbines and modification of the starter engine on the No. 1 turbine. This SIP revision will show reduced emissions of SO 2 from this facility and the SO 2 National Ambient Air Quality Standards will be maintained in the area. Because the SO 2 emission limits are being reduced, the air quality of Olmsted County will be protected.

EPA is proposing to approve a July 28, 2008, request from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) that EPA find that the Milwaukee-Racine, Wisconsin (WI) nonattainment area has attained the revoked 1-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).

EPA is proposing to approve site-specific revisions to the Minnesota sulfur dioxide (SO2) State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Federal Cartridge Company and Hoffman Enclosures, located in the city of Anoka, Anoka County, Minnesota. On March 3, 2008, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) requested that EPA approve certain portions of joint Title I/Title V documents into the Minnesota SO2 SIP for Federal Cartridge Company and Hoffman Enclosures. The State is also requesting in this submittal that EPA rescind the Administrative Order issued to Federal Hoffman, Inc. which is currently included in Minnesota's SIP for SO2. The emissions units previously owned by Federal Hoffman, Inc., are now owned by Federal Cartridge Company and Hoffman Enclosures. Because the sulfur dioxide emission limits are being reduced, the air quality of Anoka County will be protected.

The Department of State published a final rule in the Federal Register on May 21, 2004 (69 FR 29222), revising Category XII(c) of the United States Munitions List. A technical error in that rule resulted in the unintended removal of language in a note after Category XII paragraph (c). This document corrects the final regulations by restoring the language in the note.

This correcting amendment corrects a technical error in the regulations text in the final rule published in the Federal Register on December 19, 2008 (73 FR 77904) entitled, ``Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments.'' In that final rule, we set forth data elements necessary to comply with the requirements of section 1923(j) of the Social Security Act (the Act) related to auditing and reporting of disproportionate share hospital payments under State Medicaid programs. The effective date was January 19, 2009.

NMFS has received an application from the Port of Anchorage (herein after ``POA'') and the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (herein after ``MARAD'') for issuance of regulations governing the take of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to the Port's Marine Terminal Redevelopment Project (herein after ``MTRP''), Anchorage, Alaska. The MTRP includes expanding the current POA by 135 acres and replacing and expanding the current dock to accommodate additional berths. Construction activities which have the potential to harass marine mammals include in-water pile driving and demolition of the existing dock. Species which could potentially be taken from the MTRP include the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), and killer whale (Orcinus orca).

We, the NMFS, have completed Endangered Species Act (ESA) status reviews for five species of rockfish (Sebastes spp.) occurring in Puget Sound, Washington, in response to a petition submitted by Mr. Sam Wright of Olympia, Washington, to list these species in Puget Sound as threatened or endangered species. We reviewed best available scientific and commercial information on the status of these five stocks and considered whether they are in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their ranges, or are likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of their ranges. For bocaccio (S. paucispinis), we have determined that the members of this species in the Georgia Basin are a distinct population segment (DPS) and are endangered throughout all of their range. We propose to list this bocaccio DPS as endangered. We have determined that yelloweye rockfish (S. ruberrimus) and canary rockfish (S. pinniger) in the Georgia Basin are DPSs and are likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all of their range. We propose to list the Georgia Basin DPSs of yelloweye and canary rockfish as threatened. We determined that populations of greenstriped rockfish (S. elongatus) and redstripe rockfish (S. proriger) occurring in Puget Sound Proper are DPSs but are not in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their ranges or likely to become so in the foreseeable future. We find that listing the greenstriped rockfish Puget Sound Proper DPS and the redstripe rockfish Puget Sound Proper DPS is not warranted at this time.

We are revising an earlier NPRM 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:

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published a final rule in the Federal Register on July 20, 1992, on the Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order (Order) referendum procedures. This rule established procedures for the conduct of a referendum to determine if producers and importers favored implementation of the Order. The procedures also apply to any subsequent referenda to amend, continue, or terminate the Order. As written, language to amend, suspend, or terminate the program was inadvertently omitted from the procedures. This document corrects that omission.

EPA is proposing to approve a source-specific State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control on April 14, 2005. This revision responds to EPA's regulation entitled, ``Interstate Ozone Transport: Response to Court Decisions on the Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) SIP Call, NOX SIP Call Technical Amendments, and Section 126 Rules,'' otherwise known as the ``NOX SIP Call Phase II.'' This revision meets the requirements of the NOX SIP Call Phase II, which requires South Carolina to submit NOX SIP Call Phase II revisions necessary to achieve applicable, incremental reductions of NOX, including emission reductions from large internal combustion engines. Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Corporation Station 140 (Transco) is the only facility in South Carolina affected by the NOX SIP Call Phase II. The intended effect of this SIP revision is to reduce emissions of NOX originating in the State of South Carolina to help attain and maintain the national ambient air quality standard for ozone. This action is being taken pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act.

EPA is proposing to make a determination under the Clean Air Act (CAA) that the Detroit-Ann Arbor nonattainment area has attained the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The Detroit-Ann Arbor area includes Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties. This determination is based on quality-assured ambient air quality monitoring data for the 2006-2008 ozone seasons that demonstrate that the 8-hour ozone NAAQS has been attained in the area.

The Office of Federal Financial Management (OFFM) is establishing Governmentwide guidance and standard award terms for agencies to include in financial assistance awards (namely, grants, cooperative agreements, and loans) as part of their implementation of sections 1512, and 1605, and 1606 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-5). This guidance does not cover all award terms that may be needed on financial assistance awards funded directly or assisted by the Federal Government under the Recovery Act. The focus of this guidance is on implementing Recovery Act provisions that may require greater clarification in order to foster consistent application across the Federal Government. Under the interim final guidance, agencies would use the standard award terms in their financial assistance awards to require recipients and subrecipients (first-tier that are not individuals) to maintain current registrations in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database; to require recipients to report quarterly on project or activity status, subgrant and subcontract information; to notify recipients of the domestic sourcing (``Buy American'') requirements that apply to certain iron, steel and manufactured goods; to notify recipients of the wage rate requirements that apply to certain projects; and to ensure proper accounting and reporting of Recovery Act expenditures in single audits.

The Postal Service published in the Federal Register of February 25, 2009, a document concerning international product and price changes for implementation in May 2009. Inadvertently, Exhibit 292.452 included in that document, did not include all destination countries and price groups. This document corrects the table.

EPA is proposing two minor revisions to the final Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program (RRP) rule that published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2008. First, EPA is proposing to require accredited providers of renovator or dust sampling technician training to submit post-course notifications, including digital photographs of each successful trainee, to EPA. The 2008 rule establishes accreditation, training, certification, and recordkeeping requirements as well as work practice standards on persons performing renovations for compensation in most pre-1978 housing and child- occupied facilities. The post-course notification requirement, designed to supply important information for EPA's compliance monitoring efforts, was inadvertently omitted from the final RRP rule's regulatory text, although it was discussed in the preamble of the final rule. In addition, EPA is proposing to remove the requirement for accredited lead-based paint activities training providersthose who provide inspector, risk assessor, project designer, and abatement supervisor and worker trainingto submit to EPA a digital photograph of each successful trainee along with their post-course notifications. That requirement, inadvertently imposed as part of the final RRP rule, is unnecessary because EPA already receives photographs of these individuals through other means.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the Tehachapi slender salamander (Batrachoseps stebbinsi) as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing the Tehachapi slender salamander may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a status review to determine if listing this species is warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are soliciting information and data regarding this species. We will initiate a determination on critical habitat for this species, if and when we initiate a listing action.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) to meet the Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) moderate 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area. EPA is also proposing to approve the RFP motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) and the 2002 Base Year Emission Inventory associated with the revision. EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision because it satisfies the RFP and Emissions Inventory requirements for 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas classified as moderate, and demonstrates further progress in reducing ozone precursors. EPA is proposing to approve the revision pursuant to section 110 and part D of the CAA and EPA's regulations.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a petition for rulemaking dated December 14, 2007, and revised on December 19, 2007, filed by Raymond A. West (petitioner). The petition was docketed by the NRC and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-50-89. The petitioner is requesting that the NRC amend the regulations that govern domestic licensing of production and utilization facilities at nuclear power plants. Specifically, the petitioner is requesting that the regulations that govern codes and standards at nuclear power plants be amended to provide applicants and licensees a process for requesting NRC approval of changes or modifications to American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (ASME Code) cases that are listed in the relevant NRC-approved regulatory guides cited in the current regulations. The petitioner believes that the current requirements do not allow changes or modifications to be proposed as alternatives to NRC-approved ASME Code cases. This action provides notice that the NRC will consider the petitioner's request in the NRC's rulemaking process.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone in the navigable waters of the San Francisco Bay, CA at Berth 7 at the Port of Oakland during the offloading of the ZHEN HUA 18. Unauthorized persons or vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or remaining in the safety zone without the permission of the Captain of the Port or his designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a special local regulation during the Volvo Ocean Race 2009 In-Port Race to be held on Broad Sound, off Nahant, Massachusetts, on May 9, 2009. This special local regulation is necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during the event. This proposed action is intended to restrict vessel traffic before, during and after the race.

The U.S. Postal Service is amending the Code of Federal Regulations to revise the definitions of sealed mail and unsealed mail to reflect current classifications.

We are amending the regulations to modify the requirements concerning the importation of eggs (other than hatching eggs) from regions where exotic Newcastle disease (END) exists. This action is necessary to provide a more efficient and equally effective testing option for determining the END status of flocks producing eggs (other than hatching eggs) for export to the United States.

This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes to withdraw a rule published in the Federal Register on January 21, 2009, pertaining to the filing by labor organizations of the Form LM-2, an annual financial report required by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended (LMRDA). On February 3, 2009, the Department's Employment Standards Administration (ESA) Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) published a request for comments about issues of law and policy raised by this rule (74 FR 5899), consistent with directions from the new Administration to review all regulations that had not yet become effective. On February 20, 2009, the Department of Labor postponed the effective date of this rule until April 21, 2009, to allow additional time for the Department to review comments received pursuant to the earlier notice, which were due by March 5, 2009, and to permit labor unions to delay development and implementation of costly changes to their accounting and recordkeeping systems and procedures pending this review. A further extension of the rule's effective date and an extension of the rule's applicability date were proposed on March 19, 2009, and the effective date is delayed until October 19, 2009 in a document published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. Upon consideration of the comments received on questions of law and policy raised by the January 21 rule, the Department proposes its withdrawal, because the rule was issued without an adequate review of the Department's experience under the relatively recent revisions to Form LM-2 in 2003 and because the comments indicate that the Department may have underestimated the increased burden that would be placed on reporting labor organizations by the January 21 rule. Finally, the Department has concluded, based on the comments received, that the provisions related to the revocation of a small union's authorization to file a simpler form because it has been delinquent or deficient in filing that form are not based upon realistic assessments of such a union's ability to file the more complex form and are unlikely to achieve the intended goals of greater transparency and disclosure.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is

NMFS issues a final rule to prohibit a catcher vessel from landing more than 300,000 lb (136 mt) of unprocessed pollock during a calendar day, and from landing a cumulative amount of unprocessed pollock from any Gulf of Alaska reporting area that exceeds 300,000 lb multiplied by the number of calendar days the pollock fishery is open to directed fishing in a season. This rule will prevent catcher vessels from circumventing the intent of current trip limit regulations when making deliveries of pollock. Amending the current trip limit regulation to limit a vessel to 300,000 lb of pollock caught in a day will continue to disperse catches of pollock in a manner that is consistent with the intent of Steller sea lion protection measures in the Gulf of Alaska. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other applicable laws.