2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are revising the regulations governing State and Federal operating permit programs required by title V of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) to promote flexible air permitting (FAP) approaches that provide greater operational flexibility and, at the same time, ensure environmental protection and compliance with applicable laws.

This rule identifies communities, where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), that are scheduled for suspension on the effective dates listed within this rule because of noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. If the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) receives documentation that the community has adopted the required floodplain management measures prior to the effective suspension date given in this rule, the suspension will not occur and a notice of this will be provided by publication in the Federal Register on a subsequent date.

NMFS is implementing, through this emergency rule, a closure of the recreational black sea bass fishery in the Federal waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from 3 to 200 nautical miles offshore, north of Cape Hatteras, NC. This action is necessary because the best available information for black sea bass recreational landings indicates that the 2009 recreational harvest limit established for the black sea bass fishery is projected to have been exceeded. NMFS is effecting this closure to mitigate the magnitude of the recreational overage because the established mortality objective for 2009 has been exceeded.

The Commission is adding Inbound Direct Entry Contracts with Foreign Postal Administrations (MC2008-6) to the Competitive Product List. This action is consistent with changes in a recent law governing postal operations. Republication of the lists of market dominant and competitive products is also consistent with new requirements in the law.

This action proposes to revise two Colored Federal Airways, Green 16 (G-16) and Blue 26 (B-26), in Alaska. The FAA is proposing this action in preparation of the eventual decommissioning of the Barter Island (BTI) Non-directional Beacon (NDB) at the Village of Kaktovik, Alaska.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) Vertical Lift Span Bridge across the Victoria Barge Canal, mile 29.4 at Bloomington, Victoria County, Texas. The deviation is necessary to allow for joint replacement on the draw span. This deviation provides for the bridge to remain closed to navigation for 8 consecutive hours on October 19 and 20, 2009, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

This final rule establishes procedures which the Department of Agriculture (USDA) will use in conducting a referendum considering amendments to the Cotton Research and Promotion Order (7 CFR part 1205) (Order) implementing section 14202 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, hereinafter the ``2008 Farm Bill.'' USDA is considering amendments to the Order in a separate action. Referenda among cotton producers and cotton importers are required by the Cotton Research and Promotion Act (Act) to implement, amend, continue, or when appropriate to suspend or terminate the Order or any of its provisions. The provisions of this rule would be used for all such referenda.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is issuing a final regulation that sets forth a one-year post-employment restriction for senior examiners of FHFA pursuant to the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, which provides that each examiner of FHFA shall be subject to the same disclosures, prohibitions, obligations, and penalties applicable to examiners employed by the Federal Reserve Banks.

On September 28, 2009, we published an interim rule in the Federal Register to adjust the fees charged for certain agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI) services that are provided in connection with certain commercial vessels, commercial trucks, commercial railroad cars, commercial aircraft, and international airline passengers arriving at ports in the customs territory of the United States. That interim rule was scheduled to become effective on October 1, 2009. We are delaying the effective date of the interim rule until November 1, 2009. This delay will provide entities affected by the changes in AQI user fees additional time to make the necessary preparations to comply with the new fees.

NMFS announces the availability for public review and comment of proposed Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs) for American Samoa, Hawaii, Mariana Archipelago, Pacific remote island areas, and western Pacific pelagic fisheries. The FEPs would incorporate and reorganize elements of five existing western Pacific fishery management plans from a species- or fishery-basis, to one that is founded on geography. The FEPs would not change current management measures. The objectives of the FEPs are to be consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) through the incorporation of ecosystem-based goals and principles in fishery management.

Pursuant to Section 7(b) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, the FDIC is proposing to amend its assessment regulations to require insured institutions to prepay, on December 30, 2009, their estimated quarterly risk-based assessments for the fourth quarter of 2009, and for all of 2010, 2011, and 2012. The FDIC would begin to offset prepaid assessments on March 30, 2010, representing payment for the fourth quarter of 2009.

On July 14, 2009, EPA proposed to disapprove the attainment contingency measures in the extreme area plan for attainment of the 1- hour ozone standard in California's San Joaquin Valley. EPA is now proposing to approve these contingency measures and to withdraw its proposed disapproval. This proposed approval is based on technical information provided to EPA by the California Air Resources Board.

This rule amends provisions of the Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order (Order) to reapportion membership of the Mushroom Council (Council) to reflect shifts in United States mushroom production as well as to add language to the powers and duties section of the Order allowing the Council the power to develop and propose good agricultural and handling practices and related activities for mushrooms. Section 10104 of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) amended sections 1925(b)(2) and (c) of the Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act of 1990 (Act). Specifically, section 10104 changed the Act's requirements for geographic regions used to appoint producer members of the Council from four to three, and adjusted the pounds required by each region for Council membership, which reallocated Council member representation in two of the three producer geographic regions (Regions 1 and 2). Section 10104 also added language to the powers and duties section of the Act that authorizes the Council to develop and propose good agricultural practices and related activities for mushrooms. A referendum was held among eligible mushroom producers and importers and they voted in favor of the amendments. Therefore, this rule amends changes to the Order based on the amendments to the Act.

This action proposes special conditions for the Boeing Model 747-8/-8F airplane. This airplane will have novel or unusual design features associated with the architecture and connectivity capabilities of the airplane's computer systems and networks, which may allow access to external computer systems and networks. Connectivity to external systems and networks may result in security vulnerabilities to the airplane's systems. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for these design features. These proposed special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Riverton Regional Airport, Riverton, WY. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate aircraft using the VHF Omni-Directional Radio Range (VOR), Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedure (SIAP) at Riverton Regional Airport, Riverton, WY. This will improve the safety of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft executing the VOR (RNAV) GPS (SIAP) at Riverton Regional Airport, Riverton, WY.

The Commission grants a petition for rulemaking filed by Louisiana Media Company, LLC, the licensee of station WVUE-DT, channel 8, New Orleans, Louisiana, requesting the substitution of its pre- transition DTV channel 29 for its post-transition DTV channel 8 at New Orleans.

NMFS is proposing to implement a regulatory amendment to modify the fishing vessel permit regulations to include specific terms and conditions for Federal fishing vessel permits obtained through the purchase of fishing vessels using Federal grant awards. The terms and conditions would authorize the NMFS Administrator, Northeast Region (Regional Administrator), to suspend, cancel, fail to renew, modify, or otherwise rescind any Federal fishing vessel permit, or the rights thereto, if the terms and conditions of any Federal grant award used to obtain said permit, or an associated memorandum of understanding, are violated by the grant recipient.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the inshore component in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2009 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod allocated to vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the inshore component of the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.

We are proposing to amend the Animal Welfare Act regulations to include more specific requirements in the regulations concerning the submission of itineraries by any person who is subject to the Animal Welfare Act regulations and who intends to exhibit any animal at any location other than the person's approved site(s). We believe APHIS' inspectors' access to animals, facilities, and records for unannounced inspections when animals are exhibited at a location other than at a regulated person's approved site(s) is necessary to improve compliance with the regulations and the Animal Welfare Act.

This document contains corrections to temporary regulations (TD 9458) that were published in the Federal Register on Friday, September 4, 2009 (74 FR 45757) modifying the election under which a consolidated group can avoid immediately taking into account an intercompany item after the liquidation of a target corporation. This modification was made necessary in light of the regulations under

The Commander, Eleventh Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Commodore Schuyler F. Heim drawbridge across Cerritos Channel, mile 4.9, at Long Beach, CA. The deviation is necessary to allow film industry use of the drawbridge. This deviation allows the bridge to remain secured at various elevations including the closed-to-navigation position during the filming operation.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is proposing to revise its regulations on the introduction of introduced species into the Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay national marine sanctuaries (GFNMS and MBNMS, respectively). This action is being taken in response to a letter received by the Governor of California on December 23, 2008. The Governor certified that the terms of designation to regulate introduced species in these sanctuaries were unacceptable in State waters of the sanctuaries. In response to the Governor's letter, NOAA is proposing to modify its regulations to except all State-permitted aquaculture activities in the two sanctuaries.

This final rule amends the Federal Labor Relations Authority's (Authority) regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act, as amended. The final rule adds provisions to the regulations for compliance with the OPEN Government Act of 2007, and the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996. The final rule amends the regulations to reflect changes required by Executive Order 12600 and Executive Order 13392. The final rules also update the regulations to reflect changes in the Authority's policies and procedures. As a result of these amendments to the regulations, the public will have a clearer understanding of the Authority's policies and procedures implementing the FOIA.

The Department of Homeland Security is issuing a final rule to amend its regulations to exempt portions of a Department of Homeland Security system of records entitled the ``Department of Homeland Security/ALL025 Law Enforcement Authority in Support of the Protection of Property Owned or Occupied by the Department of Homeland Security System of Records'' from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. Specifically, the Department exempts portions of the Department of Homeland Security/ALL025 Law Enforcement Authority in Support of the Protection of Property Owned or Occupied by the Department of Homeland Security system from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act because of criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement requirements.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposes to amend the combination product regulations to set forth postmarketing safety reporting requirements for combination products. Specifically, the rule will clarify the postmarketing safety reporting requirements that apply when regulated articles (drugs, devices, and biological products) are combined to create a combination product. The proposed rule is intended to promote and protect the public health by clarifying requirements for postmarketing safety reporting for combination products, and is part of FDA's ongoing effort to ensure the consistency and appropriateness of the regulatory requirements for combination products.