April 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS reduces the commercial trip limit for golden tilefish in the South Atlantic to 300 lb (136 kg) per trip in or from the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This trip limit reduction is necessary to protect the South Atlantic golden tilefish resource.

NMFS proposes regulations to allow an exemption from the minimum twine-top mesh size for vessels issued Federal scallop permits and fishing exclusively in State of Maine (ME) waters. In addition, the state waters exemption would provide an exemption from scallop days-at- sea (DAS) for limited access DAS scallop vessels, provided the vessel owner declares that the vessel will fish exclusively in ME state waters. The scallop fishery regulations specify that a state may be eligible for a state waters exemption if it has a scallop fishery and a scallop conservation program that does not jeopardize the biomass and fishing mortality/effort limit objectives of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The regulations further state that the Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (RA), shall determine which states meet those criteria and shall authorize the exemption for such states by publishing a rule in the Federal Register.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), will be designating critical habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The designation will involve areas within Cook Inlet, Alaska. This advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) identifies issues for consideration and evaluation and solicits comments regarding these issues.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2009 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock in the West Yakutat District of the GOA.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing with trawl gear, other than pelagic trawl gear for walleye pollock, by American Fisheries Act (AFA) trawl catcher processors in Bycatch Limitation Zone 1 of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the sideboard limit of the 2009 bycatch allowance of red king crab in Zone 1 specified for AFA trawl catcher processors in the BSAI.

NMFS announces that, effective 0001 hours, April 15, 2009, federally permitted vessels may not fish for, catch, possess, transfer, or land more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of Atlantic herring in or from Management Area 2 (Area 2) per trip or calendar day until January 1, 2010, when the 2010 total allowable catch (TAC) becomes available, except for transiting purposes as described in this notice. This action is based on the determination that 95 percent of the Atlantic herring TAC allocated to Area 2 for 2009 is projected to be harvested by April 14, 2009. Regulations governing the Atlantic herring fishery require publication of this notification to advise vessel and dealer permit holders that no TAC is available for the directed fishery for Atlantic herring harvested from Area 2.

The Coast Guard is changing the drawbridge operation regulations of the Route 30 Bridge, at ICW mile 67.2, across Beach Thorofare at Atlantic City, NJ. This will allow the drawbridge to open on signal every hour during high transit periods during summer months and operate on an advance notice basis at all other times. The change will result in more efficient use of the bridge.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) and Operating Permits Program to amend the definitions provisions of the rules by adding definitions for stage I/II vapor recovery systems and outstate area, updating the lists of volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants for consistency with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists, removing unnecessary definitions, and making typographical corrections and clarifications. Approval of this revision will ensure consistency between the state and the Federally-approved rules.

On March 5, 2009, EPA proposed national emission standards for existing stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines that either: are located at area sources of hazardous air pollutant emissions; or are located at major sources of hazardous air pollutants and are either non-emergency compression-ignition engines, or are other engines that have a site rating of less than or equal to 500 brake horsepower. In this notice, we are announcing a 30-day extension of the public comment period for the proposal.

This document contains proposed regulations regarding the determination of partners' distributive shares of partnership items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit when a partner's interests varies during a partnership taxable year. Also, the proposed regulations modify the existing regulations regarding the required taxable year of a partnership. These proposed regulations affect partnerships and their partners.

This rule identifies communities, where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), that are scheduled for suspension on the effective dates listed within this rule because of noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. If the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) receives documentation that the community has adopted the required floodplain management measures prior to the effective suspension date given in this rule, the suspension will not occur and a notice of this will be provided by publication in the Federal Register on a subsequent date.

This rule 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.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued 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:

This document amends the Department of the Interior's (DOI) regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552. In particular, it: clarifies the time limit that requesters have for filing FOIA appeals; clarifies that requesters must include the required documentation with their appeals or their appeals may be rejected by the FOIA Appeals Officer; clarifies that requesters must file a FOIA request with each separate bureau/office from which they are seeking records; changes the language regarding requests for expedited processing to be consistent with the language used in the FOIA including removing a paragraph in that section pertaining to ``due process rights;'' makes the use of multitrack processing mandatory for all bureaus and offices; advises requesters that they may contact the bureau/office's FOIA Requester Service Center and the FOIA Public Liaison concerning the status of their requests; and includes current contact information for DOI's FOIA and Public Affairs/Office of Communications Contacts and its reading rooms (Headquarters). Additionally, the final rule revises the definitions of the terms: ``representative of the news media'' and ``freelance journalist'' in accordance with the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in Our National (OPEN) Government Act of 2007 (December 31, 2007). The term ``news'' is defined within the term ``representative of the news media.''

In a final rule published in the Federal Register on October 16, 2008 (73 FR 61325-61332, Docket No. APHIS-2007-0033), and effective November 17, 2008, we amended and republished the list of select agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to animal or plant health, or to animal or plant products, thus implementing the findings of the second biennial review of that list. Among other changes, we changed the entry for ``Newcastle disease virus (velogenic)'' to read ``virulent Newcastle disease virus,'' thus including some non-velogenic strains of Newcastle disease virus as select agents. The final rule set the compliance date for entities that were newly required to register as entities possessing select agents or toxins as April 14, 2009. Since the publication of the final rule, we have been notified of entities that use virulent Newcastle disease virus and that have not previously been registered. This notice informs the public that we are extending the compliance date for new registrants to July 13, 2009, to give us additional time to determine how best to regulate those entities.

This interim rule lists communities where modification of the Base (1% annual-chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) is appropriate because of new scientific or technical data. New flood insurance premium rates will be calculated from the modified BFEs for new buildings and their contents.

This amendment adopts miscellaneous amendments to the required IFR (instrument flight rules) altitudes and changeover points for certain Federal airways, jet routes, or direct routes for which a minimum or maximum en route authorized IFR altitude is prescribed. This regulatory action is needed because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System. These changes are designed to provide for the safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace under instrument conditions in the affected areas.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is holding an issue-focused public meeting on April 29 and 30, 2009, on its proposed rule, ``Importation, Interstate Movement, and Release Into the Environment of Certain Genetically Engineered Organisms.'' The April 2009 issue meeting will provide an opportunity for interested persons to discuss in a collaborative forum the key concerns that were raised during the comment period on the proposed rule with U.S. Department of Agriculture officials and with one another.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is adding a new part to the Code of Federal Regulations to carry out the purposes of Executive Order 13382 of June 28, 2005, ``Blocking Property of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators and Their Supporters.''

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement revisions to the Small Business Administration's HUBZone Program as a result of revisions to the Small Business Administration's regulations.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued 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: Rubs between the pipe and the bulkhead may lead to premature wearing and finally rupture of the P3 air pipe. The loss of P3 air pressure would then force the fuel control system to idle which could have a detrimental effect in critical phases of flight. We are proposing this AD to prevent an uncommanded power loss, which could result in an emergency autorotation landing or accident.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Honeywell International Inc. ALF502 series and LF507 series turbofan engines with certain fuel manifold assemblies installed. That AD currently requires initial and repetitive on-wing eddy current or in-shop fluorescent penetrant inspections of certain part number (P/N) fuel manifold assemblies for cracks, and replacement of cracked fuel manifolds with serviceable manifolds. This proposed AD would continue to require inspecting those fuel manifolds for cracks, would also add leak checks of certain additional P/N fuel manifolds, and would specify replacement of the affected manifolds as an optional terminating action in lieu of the repetitive inspections. This proposed AD results from reports of fire in the engine nacelle. We are proposing this AD to detect cracks in certain fuel manifolds and fuel leaks from other fuel manifolds, which could result in a fire in the engine nacelle and a hazard to the aircraft.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Louisiana State Route 23 (LA 23) vertical lift span bridge, also known as the Judge Perez Bridge, across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (Algiers Alternate Route), mile 3.8, at Belle Chasse, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. This deviation provides for the bridge to remain closed to navigation for six hours a day for 21 consecutive days in order to perform scheduled maintenance.

The Coast Guard is withdrawing its notice of proposed rulemaking concerning the operation of the State Route 46 (LA 46) Bridge across LaLoutre Bayou, mile 22.9, at Yscloskey, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the I-110 bascule span bridge across the Back Bay of Biloxi, mile 3.0, in Biloxi, Harrison County, Mississippi. This deviation provides for the bridge to remain closed to navigation for two (2) two-hour periods daily to facilitate the movement of vehicular traffic.