October 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Atka mackerel by vessels participating in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery in the Western Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2009 Atka mackerel allocation total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to vessels participating in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery in the Western Aleutian District of the BSAI.

The FAA is revising an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to all Airbus Model A300 airplanes. That AD currently requires revising the Airworthiness Limitations Section of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness to incorporate new limitations for fuel tank systems. This AD clarifies the intended effect of the AD on spare and on-airplane fuel tank system components. This AD results from fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. We are issuing this AD to prevent the potential of ignition sources inside fuel tanks, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors caused by latent failures, alterations, repairs, or maintenance actions, could result in fuel tank explosions and consequent loss of the airplane.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is amending the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) by implementing recommendations contained in the September 2007, Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, ``Premium Class Travel: Internal Control Weaknesses Governmentwide Led to Improper and Abusive Use of Premium Class Travel'' (GAO-07-1268). This final rule strengthens the management and accountability measures related to the use of premium class transportation accommodations by Federal employees while on official business travel.

This document contains corrections to final regulations (TD 9460) that were published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (74 FR 46347) regarding petitions filed with the United States Tax Court for declaratory judgments with respect to the valuation of gifts.

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.

The Coast Guard is issuing a correction to an earlier notice that published in the Federal Register on Thursday, October 22, 2009, in order to correct the location of the Oakland, CA, public meeting listed in that earlier notice. The public meetings will be held by the Coast Guard (USCG) regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled ``Standards for Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters'' that published in the Federal Register on Friday, August 28, 2009. For the Oakland, CA meeting, our earlier notice incorrectly listed the Marriott Oakland City Center, 1001 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94607. The correct location for the Oakland public meeting is the Hilton Oakland Airport, One Hegenberger Road, Oakland, CA 94621.

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 this document, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (Bureau) extends for an additional year waivers of certain Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) mandatory minimum standards for Video Relay Service (VRS) and Internet Protocol Relay (IP Relay). The waived TRS mandatory minimum standards are: One-line voice carry over (VCO); VCO-to-teletypewriter (TTY); VCO-to-VCO; one-line hearing carry over (HCO); HCO-to-TTY; HCO-to-HCO; call release; pay-per-call (900) calls; types of calls; equal access to interexchange carriers; and speech-to-speech (STS). Also, in this document, the Bureau grants a limited extension of the waiver of the speed dialing requirement for IP Relay. The Bureau extends the waivers for one year (four months in the case of speed dialing for IP Relay) because the record demonstrates that it is technologically infeasible for VRS and IP Relay providers to offer these services at this time.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Rolls-Royce plc (RR) RB211 Trent 700 series turbofan engines. That AD currently requires initial and repetitive borescope inspections of the high pressure-and-intermediate pressure (HP-IP) turbine internal and external oil vent tubes for coking and carbon buildup, and cleaning or replacing the vent tubes if necessary. This proposed AD would require the same actions, but would add additional inspections of the vent flow restrictor. This proposed AD results from further analysis that the cleaning of the vent tubes required by AD 2007-02-05 could lead to loosened carbon fragments, causing a blockage downstream in the vent flow restrictor. We are proposing this AD to prevent internal oil fires due to coking and carbon buildup that could cause uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) proposes changes in annual standard, appeal, overtime, and holiday hourly fee rates for fiscal years 2010-2012 for Science and Technology (S&T) Laboratory Services in order to recover anticipated laboratory program costs. The Agency is proposing to raise these rates to reflect, among other factors, national and locality pay increases for Federal employees and inflation, operating costs, instrumentation and training, equipment maintenance costs, and program and agency administrative overhead costs. This action also proposes miscellaneous changes for clarity.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to update Part 532, Contract Financing, of the regulation. This project is part of the GSAM rewrite Project, in which all parts of the regulation are being reviewed and updated to include new statutes, legislation, and policies.

This action establishes Class E airspace at Noorvik, AK to provide adequate controlled airspace to contain aircraft executing Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs). Two SIAPs are being developed for the Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport at Noorvik, AK. Additionally, one textual Obstacle Departure Procedure (ODP) is being developed. This action establishes Class E airspace upward from 700 feet (ft.) above the surface at Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport, Noorvik, AK.

This action amends the legal descriptions of two Federal airways that have ``Lampasas, TX, very high frequency omnidirectional range/tactical air navigation (VORTAC)'' included as part of their route structure. Currently, the Lampasas VORTAC and the Lampasas Airport share the same location name and identifier (LZZ). To eliminate confusion and potential flight safety issues, the ``Lampasas VORTAC'' (LZZ) will be renamed the ``Gooch Springs VORTAC'' (AGJ). All airways with Lampasas [VORTAC] included in their legal descriptions will be amended, concurrent with the effective date of this final rule, to reflect the name change.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operations of the Clinton Railroad Drawbridge across the Upper Mississippi River, Mile 518.0, Clinton, Iowa. The deviation is necessary to allow time for performing needed maintenance and repairs to the bridge. This deviation allows the bridge to open on signal if at least 24 hours' advance notice is given from 12:01 a.m., December 15, 2009 until 9 a.m., March 15, 2010.

This proposed rule would revise the reporting requirements for the Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) program. First, the rule would provide for submission of a single annual report on the hiring of minority business enterprises, due to HUD each October. Currently, ICDBG grantees are required to report on these activities on a semi-annual basis, with reports being due to HUD on April 10 and October 10 of each year. Second, the proposed rule would require ICDBG grantees to use the Logic Model form developed as part of HUD's Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) process. Requiring use of the Logic Model would conform ICDBG reporting requirements to those of other HUD competitive funding programs and would help ensure uniformity in the information provided by ICDBG grantees on performance goals, thereby facilitating the evaluation of grantee performance.

NMFS announces that the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amdnement 16 to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and its associated draft Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Secretarial review and is requesting comments from the public. Amendment 16 was developed by the Council as part of the biennial adjustment process in the FMP to update status determination criteria for all regulated NE multispecies or ocean pout stocks; to adopt rebuilding programs for NE multispecies stocks newly classified as being overfished and subject to overfishing; and to revise management measures, including significant revisions to the Sector management and allocation measures, necessary to end overfishing, rebuild overfished regulated NE multispecies or ocean pout stocks, and mitigate the adverse economic impacts of increased effort controls. Amendment 16 would also implement new requirements for establishing allowable biological catch (ABC), annual catch limits (ACLs), and accountability measures (AMs) for each stock managed by the FMP, pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). Finally, this action would add Atlantic wolffish to the list of species managed by the FMP. This

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to amend the regulations regarding new animal drug applications (NADAs). Specifically, this proposed rule is being issued to provide that NADAs shall be submitted in the form and containing the information described, as appropriate for the particular submission. Currently, the regulation requires that all NADAs contain the same informational sections and does not explicitly provide the appropriate flexibility

The Commission proposes to amend Rule 312 of Regulation S-T which provides a temporary filing accommodation for filings with respect to asset-backed securities that allows static pool information required to be disclosed in a prospectus to be provided on an Internet Web site under certain conditions. Under Rule 312, such information is deemed to be included in the prospectus included in the registration statement for the asset-backed securities. Rule 312 currently applies to filings with respect to asset-backed securities filed on or before December 31, 2009. We propose to amend Rule 312 to extend its application for one year. Under the proposed extension, the rule would apply to filings with respect to asset-backed securities filed on or before December 31, 2010.