August 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On July 20, 2009, the FDIC published in the Federal Register a final rule amending part 363 of its regulations concerning annual independent audits and reporting requirements for certain insured depository institutions, which implements section 36 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act), largely as proposed, but with certain modifications made in response to the comments received and making a technical amendment to its rules and procedures (part 308, subpart U) for the removal, suspension, or debarment of accountants and accounting firms. The publication of the final rule corrected certain errors in the original publication of the final rule, which had been published in the Federal Register on July 7, 2009. It has come to the attention of the FDIC that the July 20 re-publication included one additional error. This correction will rectify that oversight.

The Commission is adding Express Mail & Priority Mail Contract 8 to the Competitive Product List. This action is consistent with changes in a recent law governing postal operations. Republication of the lists of market dominant and competitive products is also consistent with new requirements under the law.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Midlothian- Waxahachie, TX. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) at Mid- Way Regional Airport, Midlothian-Waxahachie, TX. This action would also reflect the name change to Mid-Way Regional Airport and update the geographic coordinates. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations for SIAPs at Mid-Way Regional Airport.

These special conditions are issued for Boeing Model 747-8/-8F airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with an increased engine size when compared to previous model airplanes. These larger engines with larger bypass fans are capable of producing higher and more complex dynamic loads than previously experienced in older designs. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

This regulation establishes a time-limited tolerance for residues of 1-naphthaleneacetic acid ethyl ester in or on avocados. This action is in response to EPA's granting of an emergency exemption under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) authorizing use of the pesticide on avocado trees. This regulation establishes a maximum permissible level for residues of 1- naphthaleneacetic acid ethyl ester in this food commodity. The time- limited tolerance expires and is revoked on December 31, 2012.

We are revising an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This 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:

In this notice of review, we announce our annual petition findings for foreign species, as required under section 4(b)(3)(C)(i) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. When, in response to a petition, we find that listing a species is warranted but precluded by higher priority listing actions, we must complete a new status review each year until we publish a proposed rule or make a determination that listing is not warranted. These subsequent status reviews and the accompanying 12-month findings are referred to as ``resubmitted'' petition findings.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of August 17, 2009, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on June 2, 2009 (74 FR 26285). This direct final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations in 10 CFR 72.214 to revise the HI-STORM 100 dry cask storage system listing to include Amendment No. 6 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) Number 1014.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (hereinafter, Service or we) proposes special migratory bird hunting regulations for certain Tribes on Federal Indian reservations, off-reservation trust lands, and ceded lands for the 2009-10 migratory bird hunting season.

The EPA is announcing extensions of the comment periods until August 31, 2009 for three actions proposed on July 10 and July 14, 2009. These proposed actions concern approval of California's Reformulated Gasoline and Diesel Fuels programs (74 FR 33196 (July 10, 2009), correction 74 FR 35838 (July 21, 2009)); limited approval and limited disapproval of San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District's (SJVAPCD) Rule 4570 ``Confined Animal Facilities'' (74 FR 33948 (July 14, 2009); and partial approval and partial disapproval of the 1-Hour Ozone Extreme Area Plan for the San Joaquin Valley (74 FR 33933 (July 14, 2009).

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (the Councils) are hosting a public meeting to continue a dialogue with industry and Government agencies about ways to develop greater assurance around information technology (IT) products acquired by the Government. The public meeting will include dialogues on the impact of counterfeit IT products on matters of performance and security; contractor liability and consequential damages; the competition aspects of procuring IT products from the original manufacturer or authorized distributors; viable means of representing authenticity of IT products; and contractor supply chain risk management requirements as an evaluation factor in the procurement of IT products.

This document makes amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation in order to make editorial changes.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to update the procedures for the acceptance of a bond with a security interest in real property.

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 add Taiwan (known in the World Trade Organization as ``the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei))'' as a designated country, due to the accession of Taiwan to membership in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are issuing a final rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to reflect that FedTeDS capabilities have been incorporated into the Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE). References to FedTeDS are amended to reflect the GPE i.e., FedBizOpps system.

This proposed rule implements aspects of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 by reducing the Federal cost share of FEMA Public Assistance to public and certain private nonprofit facilities repetitively damaged in the preceding 10 years by the same type of event and for which required hazard mitigation has not been implemented. The Federal government should not repetitively reimburse eligible applicants for damage that could be prevented through mitigation efforts. The reduced Federal cost share of the proposed rule is intended to provide an incentive to mitigate repetitive damage, promote measures that reduce future loss to life and property, protect Federal investment in public infrastructure, and help build disaster- resistant communities.

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA or Agency), through the FCA Board (Board), issued a final rule under parts 619, 620, and 621 on June 17, 2009, amending FCA's regulations related to disclosure and reporting practices of Farm Credit System institutions. In accordance with 12 U.S.C. 2252, the effective date of the final rule is 30 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register during which either or both Houses of Congress are in session. Based on the records of the sessions of Congress, the effective date of the regulations is August 5, 2009.

In this document, we amend our Schedule of Regulatory Fees to collect $341,875,000 in regulatory fees for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, pursuant to section 9 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act). These fees are mandated by Congress and are collected to recover the regulatory costs associated with the Commission's enforcement, policy and rulemaking, user information, and international activities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 is publishing a direct final Notice of Deletion of the Delilah Road Landfill, Superfund Site (Site), located in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, from the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) 40 CFR part 300. This direct final deletion is being published by EPA with the concurrence of the State of New Jersey, through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, because EPA has determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Gulfstream Model G-IV, GIV-X, GV-SP series airplanes and Model GV airplanes. This AD requires, for certain airplanes, a one-time inspection for sealant applied to the exterior of the auxiliary power unit (APU) enclosure (firewall), and, for airplanes with the subject sealant and certain other airplanes, a revision of the airplane flight manual to prohibit operation of the APU during certain ground and flight operations. This AD results from notification from the airplane manufacturer that an improper, flammable sealant was used on the interior and exterior of the APU enclosure (firewall). We are issuing this AD to prevent this flammable sealant from igniting the exterior surfaces of the APU enclosure (firewall) under certain anomalous conditions such as an APU failure/APU compartment fire, which could result in propagation of an uncontained fire to other critical areas of the airplane.

This action removes very high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR) Federal airway V-329, which extends between Montgomery, AL and the vicinity of Crestview, FL. The route is being removed at the request of the U.S. Army because the Andalusia, AL, VOR, which forms a segment of the airway, is being decommissioned due to unreliability and coverage limitations. This action will not adversely impact National Airspace System (NAS) Operations.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the Jemez Mountains salamander (Plethodon neomexicanus) (salamander) as threatened or endangered and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Following a review of the petition, we find that the petition provides substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing the Jemez Mountains salamander may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a status review of the species to determine if the petitioned action is warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial data and other information regarding this species. At the conclusion of this review, we will issue a 12-month finding to determine if the petitioned action is warranted. We will make a determination on critical habitat for this species if we initiate a listing action.

EPA is proposing to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the purpose of amending the 8-hour ozone maintenance plan for the Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Area. This revision amends the maintenance plan's 2009 and 2018 motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) by unequally dividing the overall MVEBs into three sub-regional MVEBs for each county comprising the area. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the Commonwealth's SIP submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all

This final rule updates the payment rates used under the prospective payment system (PPS) for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), for fiscal year (FY) 2010. In addition, it recalibrates the case-mix indexes so that they more accurately reflect parity in expenditures related to the implementation of case-mix refinements in January 2006. It also discusses the results of our ongoing analysis of nursing home staff time measurement data collected in the Staff Time and Resource Intensity Verification project, as well as a new Resource Utilization Groups, version 4 case-mix classification model for FY 2011 that will use the updated Minimum Data Set 3.0 resident assessment for case-mix classification. In addition, this final rule discusses the public comments that we have received on these and other issues, including a possible requirement for the quarterly reporting of nursing home staffing data, as well as on applying the quality monitoring mechanism in place for all other SNF PPS facilities to rural swing-bed hospitals. Finally, this final rule revises the regulations to incorporate certain technical corrections.