August 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190 as amended), the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, will prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for a Comprehensive Management Plan which will guide future management of the Merced River corridor in Yosemite National Park during the next 10-15 years. The Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS was published in the Federal Register on June 30, 2009 (with a 60-day public scoping period originally set to conclude on August 29, 2009). In deference to general public interest expressed to date by interested individuals, local entities, and concerned organizations, the scoping period has been extended.

The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing to adopt a Director's Order setting forth the policies and procedures under which NPS facilities will develop and implement Public Risk Management Program. The Director's Order will help park staff do what is possible consistent with the NPS Organic Act and other applicable laws to prevent visitor injuries. It is also important that staff understand and communicate, when possible, that visitors are responsible for their own safety when they come to enjoy parks.

Notice is hereby given of the order of succession in the absence of the Chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announces the postponement of the commencement date of the H-2A and H-2B Temporary Worker Visa Exit Program Pilot, originally set for August 1, 2009. The pilot program will require temporary workers within H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant classifications that enter the United States at either the port of San Luis, Arizona or the port of Douglas, Arizona, to depart from one of those ports and to submit certain biographical and biometric information at one of the kiosks established for this purpose. A delay of the commencement date is necessary to ensure that the kiosks are fully operational.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by non- American Fisheries Act (AFA) crab vessels that are subject to sideboard limits catching Pacific cod for processing by the inshore component in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2009 Pacific cod sideboard limit established for non-AFA crab vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the inshore component in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.

The Department of Health and Human Services amends the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Rule by adjusting for inflation the maximum civil money penalty amount for violations of the confidentiality provisions of the Rule. We are amending the penalty amount to comply with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. We are using direct final rulemaking for this action because we expect that there will be no significant adverse comment on the rule.

This is a notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the Commonwealth of Kentucky (FEMA-1855-DR), dated August 14, 2009, and related determinations.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to amend its device classification regulations by correcting the regulation classifying herpes simplex virus (HSV) serological assays by removing the reference to HSV serological assays other than type 1 and type 2. When reclassifying this device, FDA mistakenly distinguished between HSV serological assays type 1 and type 2 and all other HSV serological assays. At that time, and today, the only preamendments HSV serological assays FDA was aware of were type 1 and type 2, and therefore, the classification of HSV assays other than type 1 and type 2 was incorrect. FDA is correcting the classification of this device to eliminate possible confusion resulting from this error. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, we are publishing a companion direct final rule. This proposed rule will provide a procedural framework to finalize the rule in the event we receive significant adverse comment and withdraw the direct final rule.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on the procedure by which an applicant may obtain an assignment or designation determination for combination products.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on the information collection provisions of the Mental Models Study of Recruitment and Retention of Pregnant Women into an Asthma Pregnancy Registry. Pregnancy registries are a common source of safety information about medications used during pregnancy. Together with other information being collected, FDA will use the results from this study to better understand how pregnant women and their health care providers make decisions about participation in pregnancy exposure registries. FDA will use this new knowledge to develop and recommend effective ways to support the involvement of health care providers and pregnant women in pregnancy registries. Ultimately, greater involvement of health care providers and pregnant women in pregnancy registries will improve the quality of safety information gathered through the registries. Better safety information will support informed treatment decisions by health care providers and women who need prescription medications while pregnant.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD proposes to amend one of its system of records subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. The proposed new system of record is the IMF/F51. The IMF System maintains a file of institutions (Title I lenders and Title II mortgagees) which have been approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to participate in the Departments Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Mortgage Insurance Programs. The principal objective of the IMF is to consolidate information on the approval status of mortgagees and lenders participating in FHA's insurance programs.

This rule prescribes final early-season frameworks from which the States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands may select season dates, limits, and other options for the 2009-10 migratory bird hunting seasons. Early seasons are those that generally open prior to October 1, and include seasons in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The effect of this final rule is to facilitate the selection of hunting seasons by the States and Territories to further the annual establishment of the early-season migratory bird hunting regulations.

This notice announces an upcoming change in location and contractor designated to manage the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data processing for all TRI submissions including TRI Trade Secret and confidential information submitted. Under Section 322 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to- Know Act, facilities submitting TRI reports may be eligible to claim Trade Secret for the specific chemical identity of a toxic chemical being reported. Information entitled to trade secret or confidential treatment may not be disclosed by the Agency to the Agency's authorized representative until each affected submitter has been furnished notice of the contemplated disclosure by the EPA program office and has been afforded opportunity to submit its comments. This Federal Register provides notice that EPA's authorized representative is changing and provides the public an opportunity to comment on this action. Limit your comments to the change of contractor handling trade secret and confidential information submitted to TRI under Emergency Planning and Community Right-to- Know reporting requirements.

EPA is proposing to revise the voluntary test method for determining stack gas velocity taking into account the velocity decay near the stack or duct walls. When the method was originally developed,

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requests comment on the methods the Agency should consider implementing to provide further assurance that a new applicant carrier is knowledgeable about the applicable safety requirements before being granted New Entrant authority. We are considering whether to implement a proficiency examination as part of our revised New Entrant Safety Assurance Process and seek information concerning issues that should be considered in the development and use of such an examination. In addition, the Agency requests comments on other alternatives to a proficiency examination to complement the assurances already in place that new entrant carriers are knowledgeable about applicable safety requirements. This notice responds to issues raised by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) regarding new entrant applicant knowledgeability.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, North Slope Science Initiative (NSSI) Science Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) will meet as indicated below:

NHTSA is proposing to place a requirement in the Federal motor vehicle safety standards that certain motor vehicles with an automatic transmission that includes a ``park'' position manufactured for sale after September 1, 2010 be equipped with a brake transmission shift interlock. This interlock will require that the service brake pedal be depressed before the transmission can be shifted out of ``park,'' and will function in any starting system key position.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Boeing Model 747 airplanes. This proposed AD would require one-time detailed and high frequency eddy current inspections for cracks in the wing and horizontal stabilizer side-of-body joints and the fuselage skin circumferential splices, and repair if necessary. This proposed AD would also require, for certain airplanes, repetitive detailed inspections for cracks of the fuselage skin circumferential splices, and repair if necessary. This proposed AD results from Boeing analysis indicating that the wing and horizontal stabilizer side-of-body joints, and the fuselage skin circumferential splices are susceptible to fatigue cracking due to high cyclic loads on the airplane. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking at multiple adjacent locations in the subject areas, which could connect to form large cracks and result in reduced structural integrity leading to rapid decompression and consequent loss of control of the airplane.