November 13, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an application from The Commons Group, LLC (Applicant) for an extension of incidental take permit (ITP) TE126179-0 for 10 years under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We request public comment on the permit application and plan, as well as on our preliminary determination that the plan qualifies as low-effect under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To make this determination we used our environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, which are also available for review.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the revision of a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC, Commission, we) is announcing a two-day workshop to discuss issues relating to the testing, certification, and labeling of certain consumer products pursuant to section 14 of the Consumer Product Safety Act. We invite interested parties to participate in or attend the meeting and to submit comments. The workshop will be held in Bethesda, Maryland on December 10 through 11, 2009.

In accordance with section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Nevada Ely District has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed expansion of the existing plans of operation for Barrick Gold U.S. Inc.'s Bald Mountain Mine and Mooney Basin Mine. The two existing mines would be combined into one new expanded operation which would be called the North Operations Area. The Final EIS analyzes the environmental effects of the Proposed Action, two action alternatives, and the No Action Alternative.

The Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG) will meet in open session from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Friday, December 4, 2009, at 1777 F Street, NW., Washington, DC. The membership of this advisory committee consists of private sector defense trade representatives, appointed by the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, who advise the Department on policies, regulations, and technical issues affecting defense trade. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss current defense trade issues and topics for further study.

This temporary rule extends a closure of Federal waters. The FDA has determined that oceanographic conditions and alga sampling data suggest that the northern section of the Temporary Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) Closure Area remain closed to the harvest of bivalve molluscan shellfish, with the exception of sea scallop adductor muscles harvested and shucked at sea, and that the southern area remain closed to the harvest of whole or roe-on scallops. The regulations contained in the temporary rule, emergency action, first published in 2005, and have been subsequently extended several times at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). NMFS is publishing the regulatory text associated with this closure in this temporary emergency rule in order to ensure that current regulations accurately reflect the codified text that has been modified and extended numerous times, so that the public is aware of the regulations being extended.

This notice announces the availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), proposed Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), and associated Implementation Agreement (IA), for public review and comment. Fruit Growers Supply Company has submitted separate applications to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for 50- year incidental take permits under section 10 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued a one-year Letters of Authorization (LOA) to take marine mammals incidental to the explosive removal of offshore oil and gas structures (EROS) in the Gulf of Mexico.

This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania dated 11/05/2009.

The Department of State has submitted the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Parole Commission is establishing an administrative remedy that responds to a Federal district court decision which finds that, for some District of Columbia prisoners, the Commission's use of parole guidelines it promulgated in 2000 may significantly risk an increase of their punishment in violation of the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution. Under the remedial plan, the Commission will schedule new parole hearings for those prisoners who meet the plan's eligibility criteria, unless the Commission grants the prisoner a parole effective date on the record. In conducting the new consideration, the Commission will apply the parole guidelines of the former District of Columbia Board of Parole that were promulgated in March 1985.

On October 14, 2009, EPA published an Emissions Factors Program Improvements ANPRM to convey issues raised by stakeholders

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) is requesting comment on whether to exempt certain over-the-counter (OTC) swaps from certain of the requirements otherwise imposed by Commission Regulation 35.2. Specifically, the Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT), a designated contract market, and the Kansas City Board of Trade Clearing Corporation (KCBTCC), a registered derivatives clearing organization (DCO), have petitioned for an exemption permitting them to list for clearing and to clear, respectively, wheat calendar swaps. Authority for granting such an exemption is found in Section 4(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).

The Bureau of Reclamation is reopening the comment period for the Draft EIS/EIR to December 31, 2009. The notice of availability of the Draft EIS/EIR was published in the Federal Register on August 17, 2009 (74 FR 41453). The public review period ended on Friday October 16, 2009.