November 16, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published a document in the Federal Register on July 23, 2009 (74 FR 36400), revising the restricted areas at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Patrick Air Force Base (AFB), Florida. The revision included the establishment of a restricted area within the waters of the Atlantic Ocean offshore of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The regulation included information regarding the boundaries of the new restricted area, including a reference to the offshore (eastern) boundary as being 1.5 miles offshore of the mean high water line. The final rule did not reference the type of mile unit to be used for the boundary line of the restricted area. The intent was to use nautical miles as the unit type. Since the use of nautical miles changes the coordinates for the northeast and southeast corner points of the restricted area, we are also correcting those coordinates. This document corrects the final regulation by revising this section.

NOAA proposes to amend the regulations implementing the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS or sanctuary) to eliminate the exemption that allows discharges of biodegradable effluent incidental to vessel use and generated by marine sanitation devices, and to require marine sanitation devices be locked to prevent discharges. This action builds upon the Environmental Protection Agency's creation of a no discharge zone for the state waters of the FKNMS. This action will help protect the Florida Keys ecosystem from potentially harmful vessel sewage discharges and will eliminate at least one contributing factor to declining water quality within the FKNMS. Improved water quality is necessary for the maintenance and enhancement of the sanctuary's biological resources, as well as of the recreational opportunities they provide. A draft environmental assessment has been prepared for this proposed action pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.

NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 15B to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule, for South Atlantic snapper-grouper, requires a private recreational vessel that fishes in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), if selected by NMFS, to maintain and submit fishing records; requires a vessel that fishes in the EEZ, if selected by NMFS, to carry an observer and install an electronic logbook (ELB) and/or video monitoring equipment provided by NMFS; prohibits the sale of snapper-grouper harvested or possessed in the EEZ under the bag limits and prohibits the sale of snapper-grouper harvested or possessed under the bag limits by vessels with a Federal charter vessel/headboat permit for South Atlantic snapper-grouper regardless of where the snapper-grouper were harvested; requires an owner and operator of a vessel for which a commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit has been issued and that has on board any hook- and-line gear to comply with sea turtle and smalltooth sawfish release protocols, possess on board specific gear to ensure proper release of such species, and comply with guidelines for proper care and release of such species that are incidentally caught; and expands the allowable transfer of a commercial vessel permit under the limited access program and extends the allowable period for renewal of such a permit. Amendment 15B also revises the stock status determination criteria for golden tilefish and specifies commercial/recreational allocations for snowy grouper and red porgy. In addition, NMFS removes language specifying commercial quotas for snowy grouper and red porgy that are no longer in effect and revises sea turtle bycatch mitigation requirements applicable to the Gulf reef fish fishery to add two devices that were inadvertently omitted from a prior rule. The intended effects of this final rule are to provide additional information for, and otherwise improve the effective management of, the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery; minimize the impacts on incidentally caught threatened and endangered sea turtles and smalltooth sawfish; and remove outdated language.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will hold an informal public meeting to discuss and receive comments on the product classes that DOE plans to analyze for purposes of amending energy conservation standards for residential refrigeration products; the analytical framework, models, and tools that DOE is using to evaluate standards for these products; the results of preliminary analyses performed by DOE for these products; and potential energy conservation standard levels derived from these analyses that DOE could consider for these products. DOE also encourages written comments on these subjects. To inform stakeholders and facilitate this process, DOE has prepared an agenda, a preliminary Technical Support Document (TSD), and briefing materials, which are available at: https://www1.eere.energy.gov/ buildings/appliancestandards/residential/refrigerators freezers.html.

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2006-17- 01, AD 2006-15-07, AD 2000-02-25, and AD 97-25-02, which apply to certain Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) various Model MU-2B airplanes. An FAA-led MU-2B safety evaluation resulted in the standardization of the MU-2B specific training and the FAA-accepted pilot operating checklists through a special federal aviation regulation (SFAR). MHI revised the airplane flight manuals (AFMs) to align them with the information in that training and the checklists. In addition, incorporating all AFM revisions up to and including this latest AFM revision will incorporate all AFM compliance actions required by the four above-mentioned ADs. This proposed AD would retain from AD 2006-17-01 the inspection of the engine torque indication system and possible recalibration of the torque pressure transducers and would require incorporating all revisions up to and including the latest revisions of the AFM. We are proposing this AD to correct inconsistencies in critical operating procedures between the MU-2B specific training, the FAA-accepted pilot operating checklists, and the AFMs. This condition, if not corrected, could result in operators using FAA-accepted pilot operating checklists that differ from the AFM in certain critical operating procedures, which could result in failure to properly operate the airplane. This failure could lead to loss of control.

The Audio Division seeks comments on a petition filed by Kona Coast Radio, LLC, proposing the allotment of FM Channel 296C3 at Kahuku, Hawaii. The reference coordinates for Channel 296C3 at Kahuku are 21-40-48 NL and 157-57-03 WL.

This action extends the comment period for an NPRM that was published on August 17, 2009. In that document, the FAA proposed to amend applicable standards for part 23 turbojet-powered airplanes which are commonly referred to as ``turbojets''to reflect the current

The Coast Guard proposes to modify the drawbridge operation regulation for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad drawbridge across Ebey Slough, mile 1.5, in Marysville, Washington so that two- hour notice would be required to open the bridge from 3:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day. The bridge will be opened on signal at all other times. The modification is necessary to allow Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad to reduce staffing of the bridge during periods requiring infrequent openings. The Coast Guard is also proposing additional minor changes to the drawbridge operation regulations covering the Snohomish River system to delete obsolete requirements.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is issuing a final rule to amend the Homeland Security Acquisition Regulation (HSAR) to establish guidelines under which DHS will prohibit awards of Federal Protective Service (FPS) contract for guard services to a business concern that is owned, controlled, or operated by an individual who has been convicted of a serious felony. The rule implements the provisions of the Federal Protective Service Guard Contracting Reform Act of 2008.