2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains proposed regulations amending the questions and answers relating to church tax inquiries and examinations. These proposed regulations replace references to positions that were abolished by the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 with references that are consistent both with the statute and the IRS's current organizational structure.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Boeing Model 747 airplanes. The existing AD currently requires repetitive inspections for cracking, and repair as necessary, of lower lobe body frames (sections 42 and 46) of the fuselage. The existing AD also provides for optional modification of the frames, which terminates the repetitive inspections. This proposed AD would require additional repetitive inspections for cracking of certain fuselage frames, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD would also revise the AD applicability. This proposed AD results from a new report of a crack found in a body frame with a tapered side guide bracket at fuselage station 1800, located on the left side between stringers 39 and 40; the frame was severed. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct the loss of structural integrity of the fuselage, which could result in rapid depressurization of the airplane.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary moving safety zone excluding all vessels within a 100 yard radius of the U.S. Coast Guard Barque EAGLE during the vessel's transit in Rockland Harbor, Penobscot Bay, Casco Bay and Portland Harbor in Maine as well as during its transit of Portsmouth Harbor, NH. This safety zone is needed to protect spectators, event safety vessels and others in the maritime community from the safety hazards created by sailing a large vessel in close proximity to smaller vessels. Entry into this safety zone is prohibited unless authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Northern New England or his designated representative.

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly called the Recovery Act, which reauthorized and significantly amended the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) program under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (Trade Act). In accordance with those amendments, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor

The NRC is proposing to amend its regulation governing vessel head inspection requirements. This amendment would revise the upper range of the percentage of axial flaws permitted in a specimen set used in the qualification of nondestructive examination systems (procedures, personnel and equipment), for the performance of inservice inspection (ISI) of pressurized water reactor (PWR) upper reactor vessel head penetrations. This amendment is being proposed as a result of the withdrawal of a stakeholder's recommendation necessitated by a typographical error in the original recommendation with respect to the maximum percentage of flaws that should be oriented axially.

EPA is proposing national emissions standards for control of hazardous air pollutants from the chemical preparations area source category. These proposed emissions standards for new and existing sources reflect EPA's proposed determination regarding the generally available control technology or management practices for the source category.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the specified Agusta S.p.A. (Agusta) Model AB139 and AW139 helicopters. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The aviation authority of Italy, with which we have a bilateral agreement, states in the MCAI that during the installation of a fire extinguisher bottle on a new helicopter, it was found that the electrical receptacle/connectors on the bottle which commands the firing of the extinguishing agent were swapped between engines No. 1 and No. 2. This condition could affect helicopters already in service and fire extinguisher bottles of the same part number in stock as spare parts. If not corrected, an improperly wired fire extinguishing bottle might cause the extinguishing agent to be discharged toward the unselected engine when the system is activated, rather than toward the engine with the fire. This AD requires determining if each engine has the proper outlet end on the electrical receptacle/connector that attaches the firing cartridge to the fire extinguisher bottle, and if not, replacing the fire extinguisher bottle. This AD is intended to prevent the fire extinguishing agent from not discharging toward the engine with the fire, which could result in loss of the helicopter due to an engine fire.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Boeing Model 737-100, -200, -200C, -300, - 400, and -500 series airplanes. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections of the intercostal webs, attachment clips, and stringer splice channels for cracks; and corrective action if necessary. This new AD reduces the repetitive inspection intervals from 25,000 flight cycles to 6,000 flight cycles, and expands the inspection area for Model 737-200C series airplanes to include the area aft of the forward entry door. This AD results from additional reports of fatigue cracks. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of the intercostals on the forward and aft sides of the forward entry door, which could result in loss of the forward entry door and rapid decompression of the airplane.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of methyl poly(oxyethylene)C8- C18 alkylammonium chlorides where the poly(oxyethylene) content is n=2-15 and where C8-C18 alkyl is linear and may be saturated or unsaturated, herein referred to in this document as methyl poly(oxyethylene)C8-C18 alkylammonium chlorides (MPOACs), when used as an inert ingredient in pesticide formulations for pre-harvest uses under 40 CFR 180.920 at a maximum of 10% by weight in herbicide formulations and 5% by weight in all other formulations. The Joint Inerts Task Force (JITF), Cluster Support Team (CST No. 7), submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of MPOACs.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

By this action the Environmental Protection Agency proposes to revise the Noise Labeling Standards for Hearing Protection Devices (HPD). These standards have not been amended since 1979 and technologies have evolved and improved in the interim. The proposed revisions provide manufacturers with newly developed testing methodologies that are the most appropriate to assess and label hearing protection devices, and to allow legitimate hearing protection products to be sold as such in U.S. markets. In particular, this action should result in the availability of a new generation of significantly improved devices that are precluded from entering the marketplace as ``hearing protectors'' by the 1979 regulation. Finally, the Agency is mindful of the relatively large percentage of small entities that comprise the HPD industry. In recognition of the evolutionary changes in marketing and selling products brought about by the internet, and in order to minimize the potential economic burden on manufacturers that sell their products ``exclusively'' over the internet, the Agency is proposing to allow ``electronic labeling'' as a means for certain manufacturers (as defined in subpart B) to comply with the labeling requirements of this proposed rule.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is making a minor technical change to a final rule published in the Federal Register on February 2, 2005. This final rule established new manual requirements for aging aircraft under 14 CFR part 135. In the final rule, the FAA inadvertently changed one of the regulatory references in Sec. 135.427(a).

NMFS issues regulations under authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFC Implementation Act) to implement certain decisions of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC). Those decisions require that the members of the WCPFC, including the United States, take certain measures with respect to their purse seine fisheries in the area of competence of the WCPFC, which includes most of the western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). The regulations include limits on the number of days that may be fished, periods during which fishing may not be done on schools in association with fish aggregating devices (FADs), areas of high seas closed to fishing, requirements to retain tuna on board up to the first point of landing or transshipment, requirements to carry observers, and requirements to handle sea turtles in a specified manner. This action is necessary for the United States to satisfy its international obligations under the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Convention), to which it is a Contracting Party.

The Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act, Division A of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), requires the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to establish criteria based on the amount and type of capital held by a Federal Home Loan Bank (Bank) for each of the following capital classifications: Adequately capitalized; Undercapitalized; Significantly undercapitalized; and Critically undercapitalized. In addition, HERA provides that the critical capital level for each Bank shall be the amount of capital that the Director by regulation shall require. HERA also sets forth prompt corrective action (PCA) authority that the Director has for the Banks. To implement these new provisions, FHFA published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2009 an interim final rule to define critical capital for the Banks, establish the criteria for each of the capital classifications identified in HERA and delineate its PCA authority over the Banks. FHFA requested comments on all aspects of the regulation. It also sought comment on whether it should establish a ``well-capitalized'' classification and on what criteria may be appropriate to define such a new category. After considering the comments received on the interim final rule, FHFA is adopting the interim final rule as a final regulation, subject to amendments meant to clarify certain provisions.

This rule decreases the assessment rate established for the South Texas Onion Committee (Committee) for the 2009-10 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.03 to $0.025 per 50-pound equivalent of onions handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of onions grown in South Texas. Assessments upon onion handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal period begins August 1 and ends July 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of West Virginia. This revision establishes budget trading programs for nitrogen oxides (NOX) annual, NOx ozone season, and sulfur dioxides (SO2) annual emissions to

This document provides required notice of substantive rules issued by the Coast Guard and temporarily effective between May 2006 and January 2009, that expired before they could be published in the Federal Register. This notice lists safety zones and special local regulations issued in the Eighth Coast Guard District, all of very limited duration and for which timely publication in the Federal Register was not possible.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on the navigable waters of San Francisco Bay near San Francisco, CA in support of a Fleet Week fireworks display. This safety zone is necessary to ensure the safety of participants and spectators from the dangers associated with the pyrotechnics. Unauthorized persons or vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or remaining in the safety zones without permission of the Captain of the Port or his designated representative.

Section 1218 of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) requires the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to permit the Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks) until July 30, 2010, to use Affordable Housing Program (AHP) homeownership set-aside funds to refinance low- or moderate-income households' mortgage loans. On October 17, 2008, FHFA amended its AHP regulation to authorize the Banks to provide AHP direct subsidies under their homeownership set-aside programs to low- or moderate-income households who qualify for refinancing assistance under the Hope for Homeowners Program established by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) under Title IV of HERA. Based on the comments received on the amendments and continuing adverse conditions of the mortgage market, FHFA has determined that in order for the AHP set-aside refinancing program to be implemented successfully for the benefit of the intended households, the scope of the program authority should be broadened and the Banks should have greater flexibility in implementing the program. Accordingly, FHFA is issuing and seeking comment on an interim final rule that authorizes the Banks to provide AHP subsidy through their members to assist in the refinancing of eligible households' mortgages under eligible Federal, State and local programs for targeted refinancing in addition to the Hope for Homeowners Program. These programs would include the Administration's Making Home Affordable Refinancing program. The interim final rule permits the Banks to provide AHP direct subsidy to members and to use the subsidy for principal reduction and for loan closing costs, and requires that households obtain counseling for qualification for refinancing and foreclosure mitigation.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a final rule classifying dental amalgam into class II, reclassifying dental mercury from class I to class II, and designating a special control to support the class II classifications of these two devices, as well as the current class II classification of amalgam alloy. The three devices are now classified in a single regulation. The special control for the devices is a guidance document entitled, ``Class II Special Controls Guidance Document: Dental Amalgam, Mercury, and Amalgam Alloy.'' This action is being taken to establish sufficient regulatory controls to provide reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness of these devices. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, FDA is announcing the availability of the guidance document that will serve as the special control for the devices.

This document contains final regulations that provide guidance regarding the treatment of controlled services transactions under section 482 and the allocation of income from intangible property, in particular with respect to contributions by a controlled party to the value of intangible property owned by another controlled party. This document also contains final regulations that modify the regulations under section 861 concerning stewardship expenses to be consistent with the changes made to the regulations under section 482. These final regulations potentially affect controlled taxpayers within the meaning of section 482. They provide updated guidance necessary to reflect economic and legal developments since the issuance of the current guidance.

The Federal Aviation Administration amends the airworthiness standards applicable to transport category airplanes certificated for flight in icing conditions. The rule requires a means to ensure timely activation of the airframe ice protection system. This rule is the result of information gathered from a review of icing accidents and incidents, and will improve the level of safety for new airplane designs for operations in icing conditions.

EPA proposes to approve a revision to the West Virginia (WV) hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerator (HMIWI) 111(d)/129 plan (the ``plan''). The revision contains a modified WV Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality (DAQ) rule, WV45CSR18, that streamlines and consolidates the state's regulatory structure for incinerator units into one rule which incorporates Clean Air Act (CAA), section 129, requirements. This approval action relates only to HMIWI units. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State of West Virginia's HMIWI plan revision submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial action and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule

EPA proposes to approve a revision to the West Virginia (WV) commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator (CISWI) 111(d)/129 plan (the ``plan''). The revision contains a modified WV Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality (DAQ) rule, WV45CSR18, that streamlines the state's regulatory structure for incinerator units into one rule which incorporates Clean Air Act (CAA), section 129 requirements. This approval action relates only to CISWI units. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State of West Virginia's CISWI plan revision submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial action and anticipate no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by CBS Stations Group of Texas, L.P. (``CBS Stations Group'') and Television Station KTXA, L.P. (``KTXA L.P.'') (collectively, ``Joint Petitioners''), the respective licensees of Fort Worth, Texas stations KTVT(TV), channel 11, and KTXA(TV), channel 19. The Joint Petitioners request the substitution of DTV channel 19 for KTVT(TV)'s assigned DTV channel 11 at Fort Worth and the substitution of DTV channel 29 for KTXA(TV)'s assigned DTV channel 19 at Fort Worth.