February 26, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is announcing that it is considering whether to lift the Administrative Stay of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to- Know Act (EPCRA) section 313 toxic chemical release reporting requirements for hydrogen sulfide (Chemical Abstracts Service Number (CAS No.) 7783-06-4). Hydrogen sulfide was added to the EPCRA section 313 list of toxic chemicals in a final rule published in the Federal Register on December 1, 1993. However, on August 22, 1994, EPA issued an Administrative Stay of the reporting requirements for hydrogen sulfide in order to evaluate issues brought to the Agency's attention after promulgation of the final rule concerning the human health effect basis for the listing and the Agency's use of exposure analysis in EPCRA section 313 listing decisions. Although the final rule listing hydrogen sulfide under section 313 of EPCRA remained in force, the stay deferred the reporting requirements for hydrogen sulfide while EPA completed this further evaluation. EPA has now completed its further evaluation, including a consideration of additional information that has become available since the stay was put in place regarding the human health and environmental effects of hydrogen sulfide. Based on this further evaluation, EPA believes that the Administrative Stay should be lifted. By this current action, EPA is not revisiting the original listing decision, which was accomplished by final rule on December 1, 1993. Rather, EPA is merely presenting its rationale for why the Administrative Stay of the reporting requirements for hydrogen sulfide should be lifted. After consideration of comments received, the Agency will issue another Federal Register document responding to comments and taking appropriate action.

Pursuant to section 112(l) of the 1990 Clean Air Act, EPA granted delegation of specific national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) to the Maricopa County Air Quality Department on April 28, 2009, to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection on December 1, 2008, and to the Washoe County District Health Department, Air Quality Management Division on February 26, 2009. EPA is proposing to revise the Code of Federal Regulations to reflect the current delegation status of NESHAP in Arizona and Nevada.

FinCEN, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), is proposing to revise the regulations implementing the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regarding reports of foreign financial accounts. The proposed rule would clarify which persons will be required to file reports of foreign financial accounts and which accounts will be reportable. In addition, the proposed rule would exempt certain persons with signature or other authority over foreign financial accounts from filing reports and would include provisions intended to prevent United States persons from avoiding this reporting requirement.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by non- American Fisheries Act (AFA) crab vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the offshore component in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2010 Pacific cod sideboard limits apportioned to non-AFA crab vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the offshore component in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the offshore component in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allocation of the 2010 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod apportioned to vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the offshore component of the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.

This document contains a final regulation that establishes procedures relating to the assessment of civil penalties by the Department of Labor under section 502(c)(8) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act). Under the provision, which was added by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the Secretary of Labor is granted authority to assess civil penalties not to exceed $1,100 per day against any plan sponsor of a multiemployer plan for certain violations of section 305 of ERISA. The regulation will affect multiemployer plans that are in either endangered or critical status.

The Surface Transportation Board (Board) is amending 49 CFR part 1135 to add a rule that requires the Association of American Railroads (AAR) to annually update each Class I railroad's weighted average State tax rate for use in the Revenue Shortfall Allocation Method (RSAM). RSAM is one of three benchmarks that together are used to determine the reasonableness of a challenged rate under the Board's Simplified Standards for Rail Rate Cases, STB Docket No. 646 (Sub-No. 1) (STB served Sept. 5, 2007) (Simplified Standards).\1\ The new rule requires that the AAR submit this information by May 30 of each year.

The Secretary of Education (Secretary) proposes priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria under the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) program. These proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria are designed to be used in two separate and distinct TIF grant competitions: The Main TIF competition, which will provide TIF funding to eligible entities to support their implementation of performance-based compensation systems (PBCSs) in accordance with the priorities, the Main TIF requirements, the definitions, and the selection criteria proposed in this document, and the TIF Evaluation competition, which will provide, in accordance with the priorities, the Main TIF requirements, the definitions, and the selection criteria as well as the Evaluation requirements proposed in this document, TIF funding to help pay for the costs of implementing these eligible entities' PBCS in exchange for an agreement to participate in the national evaluation. The Secretary may use these proposed TIF priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria in fiscal year (FY) 2010 and subsequent years. We intend the proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria to improve student achievement in high-need schools by creating incentives for effective teachers and principals in these schools.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (Agency) is amending its regulations on availability of records to establish the manner of service for administrative subpoenas issued by the Agency and to delegate authority to the Agency's General Counsel to issue administrative subpoenas. These changes implement section 107 of the Thrift Savings Plan Enhancement Act of 2009, which gave the Agency authority to issue subpoenas duces tecum in order to carry out the Agency's functions.

We are amending rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933 to clarify and provide additional flexibility regarding the format of the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that is sent to shareholders and to permit issuers and other soliciting persons to better communicate with shareholders by including explanatory materials regarding the reasons for the use of the notice and access proxy rules and the process of receiving and reviewing proxy materials and voting pursuant to the notice and access proxy rules. The amendments also revise the timeframe for delivering a Notice to shareholders when a soliciting person other than the issuer relies on the notice and access proxy rules and permit mutual funds to accompany the Notice with a summary prospectus.

The National Park Service (NPS) published the final rule governing viewing of the Inaugural Parade by the Presidential Inaugural Committee in the Federal Register on November 17, 2008. That document inadvertently left out text that was intended to be retained from the previous regulation. That document also retained a paragraph that should have been removed. This document makes correcting amendments restoring the missing text to the appropriate paragraph, and removing the unnecessary paragraph.