September 4, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Aviation Administration proposes to amend the airworthiness standards applicable to transport category airplanes to clarify that flying at or below the design maneuvering speed does not allow a pilot to make multiple large control inputs in one airplane axis or single full control inputs in more than one airplane axis at a time without endangering the airplane's structure. This proposed regulation is the result of an accident investigation and responds to a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation. The results of the accident investigation indicate that many pilots might have a general misunderstanding of what the design maneuvering speed (VA) is and the extent of structural protection that exists when an airplane is operated at speeds below its VA. This action is being taken to prevent this misunderstanding from causing or contributing to a future accident.

NMFS proposes modifications to the requirements for midwater trawl vessels issued All Areas and/or Areas 2 and 3 Atlantic herring limited access permits fishing in Closed Area I (CA I). In order to fish in CA I, midwater trawl vessels with these permits would be required to carry a NMFS-approved observer and to bring the entire catch aboard the vessel, unless specific conditions are met, so that it is available to the observer for sampling. These proposed changes to the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank (GOM/GB) Herring Midwater Trawl Gear Letter of Authorization (LOA) would be effective indefinitely, until changed by a subsequent action.

The EPA proposes to approve Kansas' Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) permit program and updates to the approved Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Permit (MSWLP) program. On March 22, 2004, the EPA issued final regulations allowing RD&D permits to be issued to certain municipal solid waste landfills by approved states. On December 11, 2008, Kansas submitted an application to the EPA seeking Federal approval of its RD&D requirements and to update Federal approval of its MSWLP program.

EPA proposes to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of adding 9 VAC 5 Chapter 220, ``Variance for Rocket Motor Test Operations at Atlantic Research Corporation Orange County Facility'' which includes an opacity variance for the rocket motor test operations at Aerojet Corporation's Orange County Facility, in lieu of opacity limits established in the Virginia SIP. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State'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 more detailed description of the Commonwealth's submittal and EPA's evaluation are included in a Technical Support Document (TSD) prepared in support of this rulemaking action. A copy of the TSD is available,

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by Barrington Traverse City License, LLC (``Barrington''), the licensee of station WPBN-TV, channel 7, Traverse City, Michigan. Barrington requests the substitution of digital channel 47 for digital channel 7 at Traverse City.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is amending its regulations to correct omissions and errors in its final rule titled Agency Titling Procedure Revision; Nomenclature Changes which appeared in the Federal Register on August 30, 2007. In the Agency Titling Procedure Revision rule SBA amended its regulations to change the titles of certain SBA officials to conform to titles that are commonly used across the Federal Government. However, several references to SBA titles were inadvertently excluded in the original rule and there were some name changes that were not properly made. This notice will correct the improperly made changes and include the omitted title changes.

This rule provides a partial exemption to the minimum grade requirements under the tomato import regulation. The Florida Tomato Committee (Committee), which locally administers the marketing order for tomatoes grown in Florida (order), recommended the change for Florida tomatoes. The order's administrative rules and regulations were recently revised to exempt Vintage RipesTM tomatoes (Vintage RipesTM) from the shape requirements associated with the U.S. No. 2 grade. A corresponding change to the import regulation is required under section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937. This rule provides the same partial exemption for Vintage RipesTM under the import regulation so it conforms to the regulations under the order.

This document contains a proposed regulation that, upon adoption, would establish procedures relating to the assessment of civil penalties by the Department of Labor under section 502(c)(8) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act). Under section 502(c)(8) of ERISA, which was added by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the Secretary of Labor is granted authority to assess civil penalties not to exceed $1,100 per day against any plan sponsor of a multiemployer plan for certain violations of section 305 of ERISA. The regulation would affect multiemployer plans that are in either endangered or critical status.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all McDonnell Douglas Model MD-90-30 airplanes. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections for cracking of the overwing frames at stations 883, 902, 924, 943, and 962, left and right sides, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD results from reports of cracked overwing frames. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct such cracking, which could sever the frame, increase the loading of adjacent frames, and result in damage to adjacent structure and loss of overall structural integrity of the airplane.

This document contains temporary regulations under section 1502 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). The change to the consolidated return regulations is necessary in light of the regulations under section 368 that were issued in October 2007

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by commonly-owned WLBT License Subsidiary, LLC and WDAM License Subsidiary, LLC (``Petitioners''), the licensees of stations WLBT(TV), Jackson, Mississippi, channel 7, and WDAM-TV, Laurel, Mississippi, channel 28. Petitioners request the substitution of channel 30 for WLBT(TV)'s assigned channel 7 at Jackson and the substitution of channel 7 for WDAM-TV's assigned channel 28 at Laurel.

New Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) issued by the U.S. Census Bureau require Postal Service revisions to its mailing standards and customs label requirements for customers mailing items internationally.

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) is publishing as a final rule one set of administrative requirements that contain elements common to all of the competitive and noncompetitive non-formula Federal assistance programs the Agency administers. In a relatively short period of time, this allows CSREES to apply basic rules to Federal assistance programs that had been operating without them, including new non-formula Federal assistance programs created by the enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) and to efficiently implement changes to programs with existing regulations as required by FCEA. The provisions in subparts A through E serve as a single Agency resource codifying current practices simply and coherently for almost all CSREES competitive and noncompetitive non-formula Federal assistance programs except the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP). As specific rules are developed for each CSREES Federal assistance program, CSREES will propose adding a subpart for that Federal assistance program to this regulation. This final rule is published with a first set of program- specific Federal assistance regulations as subpart F for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, authorized under section 412 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, as added by section 7311 of FCEA.

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) is publishing a set of specific administrative requirements for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) to supplement the Competitive and Noncompetitive Non-Formula Federal Assistance ProgramsGeneral Award Administrative Provisions for this program. The BFRDP is authorized undersection 7405 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, as amended by section 7410 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.

The Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) is proposing to amend its regulations governing the certification of temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal agricultural employment and the enforcement of the contractual obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM or Proposed Rule) reexamines the process by which employers obtain a temporary labor certification from the Department for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2A status. The Department also proposes to amend the regulations at 29 CFR part 501 to provide for sufficient enforcement under the H-2A program so that workers are appropriately protected when employers fail to meet the requirements of the H-2A program.