2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Forest Service will prepare a Kings River Experimental Watershed Forest Health and Research Project (KREW Project) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS will evaluate the environmental effects of the KREW Project which is designed to treat portions of the Kings River watershed to improve forest health and to examine the short- and long-term effects of these treatments. The research will lead to information that will be instrumental in future land management planning for the Sierra National Forest (SNF) and other Sierra Nevada forests.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this document announces that GSA is planning to submit a request to replace an emergency Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Before submitting this ICR to OMB for review and approval, GSA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act provides for a three-person National Indian Gaming Commission. One member, the chairman, is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Two associate members are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. Before appointing members, the Secretary is required to provide public notice of a proposed appointment and allow a comment period. Notice is hereby given of the proposed appointment of Steffani A. Cochran as an associate member of the National Indian Gaming Commission for a term of 3 years.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has granted a limited nationwide waiver of the buy American provision contained in sec. 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) Public Law 111-5, 123 Stat. 115, 303 (2009) under the authority of sec. 1605(b)(1) (public interest exception) provided that at least 95 percent of the costs of each Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Electronic Baggage Screening Program (EBSP) project will comply with sec. 1605(a).

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) publishes these Categorical Exclusions (CEs) of actions that the agency has determined do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and thus, should be categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act. These CEs are intended to cover only the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

This notice announces a meeting of the National Coal Council (NCC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of these meetings be announced in the Federal Register.

The TVA Regional Resource Stewardship Council (RRSC) will hold a meeting on Thursday, October 29, and Friday, October 30, 2009, to consider various matters.

This final rule withdraws a rule published in the Federal Register on January 21, 2009, which revised the Form LM-2, an annual financial report required by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended (LMRDA), and established standards and procedures by which the Department can revoke, when warranted, the authorization for smaller labor organizations to file the Form LM-3, a less detailed annual financial report also required pursuant to the LMRDA. Upon consideration of the comments received following an April 21, 2009 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), the Department withdraws the January 21 rule. The rule is withdrawn because the revisions it made to the Form LM-2 were issued without an adequate review of the Department's experience under the relatively recent revisions to Form LM-2 in 2003, and because the comments received indicate that the Department may have underestimated the increased burden that the rule would place on reporting labor organizations. Additionally, upon consideration of the comments received, the Department withdraws the provisions of the rule pertaining to the revocation of a small union's authorization to file a Form LM-3 report due to delinquency or deficiency in filing such report, because the revocation standards and procedures are not based upon realistic assessments of such a union's ability to file the more complex Form LM- 2 and thus are unlikely to achieve the intended goals of greater transparency and disclosure. Moreover, the revocation provisions did not adequately balance the need for transparency with the burden placed upon smaller labor organizations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International (Holtec) HI-STORM 100 dry cask storage system listing within the ``List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks'' to include Amendment No. 7 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) Number 1014. Amendment No. 7 will modify the CoC to add the HI-STORM 100U system to the HI-STORM 100 cask systems. The HI-STORM 100U system allows for the underground storage of dry spent nuclear fuel (SNF) by utilizing an underground vertical ventilated module (VVM) that can accept certain Holtec multipurpose canisters (MPCs) previously certified for storage of SNF in the aboveground HI-STORM system. The amendment also incorporates a mandatory radiation protection perimeter around the loaded VVMs. In addition, the amendment will reinstate the decay heat limits for damaged fuel and fuel debris in Appendix B, Technical Specification (TS) 2.4, for the aboveground system that had been inadvertently deleted from Amendment Nos. 5 and 6; incorporate separate TS Appendices A and B for the aboveground system (Apps. A and B) and for the HI-STORM 100U system (Apps. A-100U and B-100U); revise Appendix B, TS 3.4.5, to be consistent with the required system thermal boundary conditions, as submitted in the applicant's safety analysis report for a fire accident condition, and with Holtec's original (i.e., initial certificate application or Amendment 0) submittal and the NRC's original safety evaluation report; and revise and add certain definitions in Appendix A, TS 1.1, to include the VVM. The amendment will also incorporate minor editorial corrections in the TS for the aboveground system.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are issuing final regulations for the delivery and format of reports of use of sound recordings for the statutory licenses set forth in sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the 2009 Fall Meeting of the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC). This OTC meeting will explore options available for reducing ground-level ozone precursors in a multi-pollutant context.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on guidance on reagents for detection of specific novel influenza A viruses.

Delegations of Authority No. 175 and 245-1 delegated authority from the Secretary of State to the Deputy Secretary of State and the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources all authorities vested in the Secretary of State, to include issuing waivers pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 208 to Department of State employees. In 2003, the Deputy Secretary of State redelegated authority to the Legal Adviser to issue certain waivers under 18 U.S.C. 208(b)(1) and (3). In 2006, the Deputy Secretary of State delegated to the Legal Adviser and the Under Secretary for Management the authority to issue financial interest waiver determinations to (1) Seventh Floor principals when the waiver is applicable for a specific activity, when a principal is seeking employment by an international organization, or when the waiver does not exceed six months; and (2) other Department employees (including advisory committee members) under any circumstances. This notice informs the public of the further delegation of authority from the Deputy Secretary for Management and Resource to the Legal Adviser and the Under Secretary for Management to issue all waivers under 18 U.S.C. 208(b)(1) and (3), except for waivers to the Secretary of State.