November 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement on a proposal to implement multiple resource management actions within the Nautilus Project area to implement the amended Black Hills National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. The Nautilus Project area covers approximately 41,302 acres of National Forest System land and approximately 5,699 acres of interspersed private land northwest of Rapid City, South Dakota. Mountain pine beetle infestations are present within and adjacent to the project area. Therefore, the Nautilus environmental impact statement will be analyzed under the provisions of Title IV of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. Proposed actions include a combination of vegetation and fuels treatments to reduce mountain pine beetle susceptibility, reduce fire hazard, improve watershed conditions, provide for a diversity of wildlife habitat, and provide for research forestry opportunities. The proposed action includes approximately 7,157 acres of commercial thinning, 7,311 acres of overstory removal, 10,954 acres of precommercial thinning, 2,134 acres of commercial seed cuts, 191 acres of group selection, 466 acres of individual tree selection, 764 acres of hardwood enhancement, 206 acres of meadow enhancement, 836 acres of old growth management, 354 acres of product-other-than-log thinning, and 411 acres of stand-alone prescribed burning, in addition, approximately 30,629 acres will be analyzed for prescribed burning following timber harvest although it is expected that approximately 10,000 acres of that total will actually be burned over a 10-15 year period. Approximately 15 miles of new road construction would be necessary to carry out the proposed vegetation management actions.

The Bighorn National Forest, Powder River Ranger District, has cancelled notification of fee charge proposal for the West Tensleep Trailhead. This corrects FR Doc. E9-26300.

This document contains final regulations providing guidance relating to the application of the section 204(h) notice requirements to a pension plan amendment that is permitted to reduce benefits accrued before the plan amendment's applicable amendment date. These regulations also reflect certain amendments made to the section 204(h) notice requirements by the Pension Protection Act of 2006. These final regulations generally affect sponsors, administrators, participants, and beneficiaries of pension plans.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. The purpose of this Notice is to solicit comments concerning the proposed IMLS study of the impacts of the IMLS Museums for America Grant Program.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act authorizes the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish energy conservation standards for various consumer products and commercial and industrial equipment. Such equipment includes those small electric motors for which DOE determines that energy conservation standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified, and would result in significant energy savings. In this notice, DOE proposes energy conservation standards for certain small electric motors and is announcing a public meeting.

This proposed rule invites comments on a modification of the minimum size requirement under the Colorado potato marketing order, Area No. 2. The marketing order regulates the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Colorado, and is administered locally by the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee for Area No. 2 (Committee). This proposed rule would change the minimum size requirement from 1\7/8\ inches in diameter to 2 inches in diameter or 4 ounces minimum weight for all long varieties of potatoes. This change would return the minimum size requirement to the standard that had been in place prior to the 2008-2009 season, when adverse weather conditions damaged the crop and resulted in the Committee recommending a temporary relaxation in the minimum size requirement.

Practitioners and employers have requested guidance from PBGC on the extent to which plan administrators may purchase irrevocable commitments to provide plan benefits before initiating a standard termination under section 4041(b) of ERISA. PBGC is soliciting public comments to help develop this guidance. The issues on which PBGC seeks comments include the extent to which such purchases of irrevocable commitments violate statutory and regulatory termination requirements, safeguards for participants and beneficiaries, and sanctions for violations.

Section 103 (d) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Public Law 101-336, requires the Secretary to publish a list of infectious and communicable diseases that are transmitted through handling the food supply and to review and update the list annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a final list on August 16, 1991 (56 FR 40897) and updates on September 8, 1992 (57 FR 40917); January 13, 1994 (59 FR 1949); August 15, 1996 (61 FR 42426); September 22, 1997 (62 FR 49518-9); September 15, 1998 (63 FR 49359), September 21, 1999 (64 FR 51127); September 27, 2000 (65 FR 58088), September 10, 2001 (66 FR 47030), and September 27, 2002 (67 FR 61109), September 26, 2006 (71 FR 56152), and November 17, 2008 (73 FR 67871). The final list has been reviewed in light of new information and has been revised as set forth below.

The National Advisory Council (NAC) will be holding a teleconference meeting for the purpose of discussing operational guidance for recovery organizations. The teleconference meeting will be open to the public.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (the agency) is issuing an order under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) permanently debarring Niaja Kane from providing services in any capacity to a person that has an approved or pending drug product application. We base this order on a finding that Ms. Kane was convicted of felonies under Federal law for conduct relating to the regulation of a drug product under the act. Ms. Kane was given notice of the proposed permanent debarment and an opportunity to request a hearing within the timeframe prescribed by regulation. As of September 20, 2009, Ms. Kane failed to respond. Ms. Kane's failure to respond constitutes a waiver of her right to a hearing concerning this action.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security has submitted the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act: Application for Foreign Trade Zone Admission and/or Status Designation (Form 214), and Application for Foreign Trade Zone Activity Permit (Form 216). This is a proposed extension and revision of an information collection that was previously approved. CBP is proposing that this information collection be extended with a change to the burden hours. This document is published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register (74 FR 47014) on September 14, 2009, allowing for a 60-day comment period. One comment was received. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10.

The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) affords stakeholders the opportunity to give policy, management, and technical input concerning Trinity River (California) restoration efforts to the Trinity Management Council (TMC). The TMC interprets and recommends policy, coordinates and reviews management actions, and provides organizational budget oversight. This notice announces a TAMWG meeting, which is open to the public.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, regulations, NMFS has received an application from PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by incidental harassment, while conducting proposed seabird and pinniped research activities on Southeast Farallon Island, A[ntilde]o Nuevo Island, and Point Reyes National Seashore in central California. Pursuant to the MMPA, NMFS requests comments on its proposal to authorize PRBO to incidentally take, by Level B harassment only, small numbers of marine mammals, at Southeast Farallon Island, A[ntilde]o Nuevo Island, and Point Reyes National Seashore for one year. Since the proposed activities would occur in the vicinity of pinniped haul out sites, marine mammals could be disturbed as a result of seabird research and human presence; therefore, PRBO has requested an IHA.

NMFS announces its intent to issue Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs), Scientific Research Permits (SRPs), Display Permits, Letters of Acknowledgment (LOAs), and Chartering Permits for the collection of Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) in 2010. In general, EFPs and related permits would authorize collection of a limited number of tunas, swordfish, billfishes, and sharks from Federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico for the purposes of scientific data collection and public display. Chartering permits allow the collection of HMS on the high seas or in the Exclusive Economic Zone of other nations. Generally, these permits will be valid from the date of issuance through December 31, 2010, unless otherwise specified, subject to the terms and conditions of individual permits.

This is a proposed rule to conform PBGC's reportable events regulation under section 4043 of ERISA and a number of other PBGC regulations to statutory changes made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) and to revisions of other PBGC regulations that implement the statutory changes. The rule would also eliminate most of the automatic waivers and filing extensions currently provided under the reportable events regulation and make other amendments to the regulation. For example, the rule would create two new reportable events based on provisions in PPA 2006 dealing with funding-based benefit limits and with asset transfers to retiree health benefits accounts.

The FAA is withdrawing a previously published NPRM that proposed to establish one set of duty period limitations, flight time limitations, and rest requirements for flight crewmembers engaged in air transportation. The NPRM also proposed to establish consistent and clear duty period limitations, flight time limitations, and rest requirements for domestic, flag, supplemental, commuter and on-demand operations. We are withdrawing the NPRM because it is outdated and because of the many significant issues commenters raised. The FAA