August 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) proposes to add new procedures by which members of the public could report to TSA a problem, deficiency, or vulnerability regarding transportation security, including the security of aviation, maritime, railroad, motor carrier vehicle, or pipeline transportation, or any mode of public transportation, such as mass transit, in accordance with the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (9/11 Act).

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the LA 15 Highway Drawbridge across the Red River Waterway, mile 1.0, near Torras, Louisiana. The deviation is necessary to allow time for conducting needed maintenance to the bridge. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position for a two week period.

This document provides required notice of substantive rules issued by the Coast Guard and temporarily effective between January 2007 and January 2008, that expired before they could be published in the Federal Register. This document lists temporary safety zones, security zones, and local regulations, all of limited duration and for which timely publication in the Federal Register was not possible.

This action will establish Class D airspace and amend Class E airspace at Southwest Oregon Regional Airport, North Bend, OR. The establishment of an air traffic control tower has made this action necessary for the safety and management of aircraft within this airspace. This action will also update the name of the airport from North Bend Municipal Airport, North Bend, OR. This action will also make a minor correction to the geographic coordinates of the North Bend VORTAC and the Emire LOM/NDB.

The Board proposes to amend Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), and the Official Staff Commentary to the regulation, following a comprehensive review of TILA's rules for open- end home-secured credit, or home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs).

NOAA Fisheries announces three inseason actions in the ocean salmon fisheries. Inseason action 1 modified the commercial fishery in the area from Cape Falcon, Oregon to Humbug Mountain, Oregon, and from Humbug Mountain, Oregon to the Oregon/California Border. Inseason action 2 modified the recreational fishery in the area from Cape Falcon, Oregon to Humbug Mountain, Oregon. Inseason action 3 modified the commercial fishery in the area from U.S./Canada Border to Cape Falcon, Oregon.

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 is publishing this companion proposed rule to the direct final rule, published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, which 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 proposing to amend the penalty amount to comply with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990.

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.

In response to a request filed on behalf of several industry members, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is reopening the comment period for Notice No. 95, a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on June 22, 2009. The proposed rule seeks comments on a concurrently published temporary rule implementing permit requirements for manufacturers and importers of processed tobacco and an expansion of the definition of roll-your-own tobacco adopted in the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. The text of the regulations contained in the temporary rule serves as the text of the proposed regulations.

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.

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.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the ``Commission'') is publishing interpretive guidance regarding the release by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (``FASB'') of its FASB Accounting Standards Codification\TM\ (``FASB Codification'').

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) 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:

FRA is amending the Federal Track Safety Standards to promote the safety of railroad operations over continuous welded rail (CWR). In particular, FRA is promulgating specific requirements for the qualification of persons designated to inspect CWR track, or supervise the installation, adjustment, or maintenance of CWR track. FRA is also clarifying the procedures associated with the submission of CWR plans to FRA by track owners. The final rule specifies that these plans should add focus on inspecting CWR for pull-apart prone conditions, and on CWR joint installation and maintenance procedures. This final rule will also make other changes to the requirements governing CWR.

The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is issuing this final rule, as required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the ``Recovery Act'' or ``the Act''). The rule requires vendors of personal health records and related entities to notify consumers when the security of their individually identifiable health information has been breached.

The Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is proposing to amend one section of the regulations under the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921, as amended (P&S Act), regarding the requirement that stockyard owners, market agencies, dealers, packers, or live poultry dealers that weigh livestock, live poultry, or feed, have their scales tested at least twice each calendar year at intervals of approximately 6 months. This proposal would amend the current regulations to state that the 6- month interval in which scale owners must have their scales tested each calendar year is no longer approximate. Specifically, the proposal would require that scale owners complete the first of the two scale tests between January 1 and June 30 of the calendar year. The remaining scale test would be required to be completed between July 1 and December 31 of the calendar year. In addition, a minimum period of 120 days would be required between these two tests. More frequent testing would still be required in cases where a scale does not maintain accuracy between tests. Finally, we are proposing to amend that section of the regulations to add ``swine contractors'' to the list of regulated entities to which the section applies. GIPSA believes that this proposed action would facilitate GIPSA's ability to regulate the business operations of stockyard owners, swine contractors, market agencies, dealers, packers, or live poultry dealers through the effective enforcement of the P&S Act.

NMFS proposes to specify establish a total allowable catch (TAC) for the 2009-10 fishing year of 254,050 lb (115,235 kg) of Deep 7 bottomfish in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). The TAC would be set in accordance with regulations established to support long-term sustainability of Hawaii bottomfish in the Hawaiian Archipelago.

NMFS is continuing emergency measures to reduce the target total allowable catch (TAC) and associated days-at-sea (DAS) allocations in the Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery, based on recent scientific information. The red crab stock was assessed by the Data Poor Stocks Working Group in the fall of 2008, and a final report published in January 2009 indicates that the current estimate of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for red crab is no longer reliable. This action is necessary to comply with the objectives of the Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP), as well as to ensure compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). This action is intended to prevent unsustainable fishing of the red crab resource while the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) develops specifications and

EPA proposes to take two actions relating to the articles exemption under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program. First, EPA proposes to formally remove a paragraph of guidance dealing with releases due to natural weathering of products that appeared in the Reporting Forms and Instructions (RF&I) from 1988 to 2001. This guidance was absent from the Reporting Forms and Instructions after 2001, but formal notice of its removal was never issued. EPA here provides notice that this language has been removed and may not be relied on by reporting facilities. Second, EPA is proposing an interpretation of how the articles exemption applies to the Wood Treating Industry, specifically to treated wood that has completed the treatment process. We are requesting comment on both of these actions.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for GE CF34-8E series turbofan engines with certain part number (P/N) full authority digital electronic controls (FADECs) installed. That AD currently requires removing certain P/N FADECs. This proposed superseding AD would require removal of 12 more P/Ns of FADECs. This proposed AD results from 20 additional reports received of loss of thrust control events since AD 2008-16-01 was issued. We are proposing this AD to prevent loss of thrust control of the airplane.

The Department of Homeland Security is issuing a final rule to amend its regulations to exempt portions of a Department-wide system of records entitled the ``Department of Homeland Security/ALL018 Grievances, Appeals and Disciplinary Action Records System of Records'' from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. Specifically, the Department exempts portions of the Department of Homeland Security/ ALL018 Grievances, Appeals and Disciplinary Action Records system from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act because of criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement requirements.

The Coast Guard proposes a safety zone around the BW PIONEER, a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) system, at Walker Ridge 249 on the Outer Continental Shelf. The purpose of the safety zone is to protect the FPSO from vessels operating outside the normal shipping channels and fairways. Placing a safety zone around the FPSO will significantly reduce the threat of allisions, oil spills, and releases of natural gas, and thereby protect the safety of life, property, and the environment.