October 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice provides the names of individuals who have been appointed to serve as members of the Department of the Interior Performance Review Board.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone around the Perdido Regional Host (PRH), a high-production, manned oil and natural gas platform. The platform needs to be protected from vessels operating outside the normal shipping channels and fairways. Placing a safety zone around the platform 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.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the distinct population segment (DPS) of American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus unicolor) in the Black Hills of South Dakota as threatened or endangered and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). For the purposes of this finding, we evaluated whether the petition presents substantial information to indicate whether the petitioned entity (the American dipper in the Black Hills of South Dakota) is a listable entity. Based on our review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we conclude that the American dipper in the Black Hills of South Dakota is not a listable entity under the Act. Because the petition did not present substantial information that the American dipper in the Black Hills of South Dakota is a DPS, we did not evaluate whether the information contained in the petition regarding threats was substantial. Therefore, we will not initiate a status review to determine if listing this subspecies is warranted in response to this petition. However, the public may submit to us new information concerning the subspecies, its status, or threats to it at any time.

The Postal Service is revising the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM[reg]) to require that mailpieces prepared as a commercial bulk mailing must bear

The Secretary amends its regulations governing institutional eligibility and the Secretary's recognition of accrediting agencies. The Secretary is amending these regulations to implement changes to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), resulting from enactment of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA), and the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), and to clarify, improve, and update the current regulations.

We are adopting a new 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:

EPA is proposing to tailor the major source applicability thresholds for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and title V programs of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and to set a PSD significance level for GHG emissions. This proposal is necessary because EPA expects soon to promulgate regulations under the CAA to control GHG emissions and, as a result, trigger PSD and title V applicability requirements for GHG emissions. If PSD and title V requirements apply at the applicability levels provided under the CAA, State permitting authorities would be paralyzed by permit applications in numbers that are orders of magnitude greater than their current administrative resources could accommodate. On the basis of the legal doctrines of ``absurd results'' and ``administrative necessity,'' this proposed rule would phase in the applicability thresholds for both the PSD and title V programs for sources of GHG emissions. The first phase, which would last 6 years, would establish a temporary level for the PSD and title V applicability thresholds at 25,000 tons per year (tpy), on a ``carbon dioxide equivalent'' (CO2e) basis, and a temporary PSD significance level for GHG emissions of between 10,000 and 25,000 tpy CO2e. EPA would also take other streamlining actions during this time. Within 5 years of the final version of this rule, EPA would conduct a study to assess the administrability issues. Then, EPA would conduct another rulemaking, to be completed by the end of the sixth year, that would promulgate, as the second phase, revised applicability and significance level thresholds and other streamlining techniques, as appropriate.

NMFS is proposing a regulatory amendment to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to allow projects funded through the Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program to carryover unused monkfish RSA days-at-sea (DAS) into the following fishing year. Given the most recent information on the status of monkfish stocks, the regulation that prohibits monkfish RSA DAS to be carried over to the next fishing year is no longer necessary. In addition, this action would provide researchers with flexibility to complete research funded through the Monkfish RSA Program.

The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') has received requests to conduct administrative reviews of various antidumping and countervailing duty orders and findings with September anniversary dates. In accordance with the Department's regulations, we are initiating those administrative reviews. The Department also received a request to revoke one countervailing duty order in part.

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference of the SAB Drinking Water Committee (DWC) to finalize its draft advisory report on EPA's Microbial Risk Assessment Protocol to Support Human Health Protection for Water-Based Media.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2010. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.

5 U.S.C. 5702 authorizes the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish per diem allowances within the continental United States (CONUS) for the reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses of official travel. After a recent comprehensive meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) study, GSA is amending the Federal Travel Regulation in regards to the allocated meal costs. The new costs are broken out in the table Sec. 301-11.18 by continental breakfast/breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the use of travelers who have had a meal(s) furnished by the Government or included in the registration fee, and who then must deduct the meal(s) before submitting the voucher for reimbursement. GSA is also updating the incidental expense rate.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost.

In conformance with the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. 4314(c)(4), the United States Patent and Trademark Office announces the appointment of persons to serve as members of its Performance Review Board.

Notice is hereby given that a meeting of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Advisory Commission will be held at 10 a.m., on Friday, November 13, 2009, at the Hancock Town Council Chambers at 126 West High Street, Hancock, Maryland 21750.

This proposed regulatory amendment would authorize the NMFS Northeast Regional Administrator (RA), or the RA's designee, to issue a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to eligible researchers on board federally permitted fishing vessels that plan to temporarily possess fish in a manner not compliant with applicable fishing regulations, for the purpose of collecting scientific data on catch. Currently, federally permitted fishing vessels that carry research personnel during commercial fishing trips for the purpose of collecting catch data before discarding fish that otherwise could not be retained are required to obtain an exempted fishing permit (EFP) in order to conduct their sampling work, which is administratively burdensome and has resulted in the delay and lost opportunity to conduct important fishery research.

In 2005, the governments of the United States and India established the U.S.-India CEO Forum. The two sides are reconstituting the Forum. On September 10, 2009, we published in the Federal Register a ``Request for Applicants for the Appointment to the United States- India CEO Forum'' (74 FR 46571), announcing membership opportunities for appointment as representatives to the U.S. Section of the Forum. The application period closed on October 1, 2009. We are now reopening the application period to solicit additional applications. This notice supplements the notice of September 10, 2009. Interested parties who have already applied in response to that Federal Register notice do not need to re-apply.