March 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (``CERCLA'' or ``the Act''), as amended, requires that the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States. The National Priorities List (``NPL'') constitutes this list. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'' or ``the Agency'') in determining which sites warrant further investigation. These further investigations will allow EPA to assess the nature and extent of public health and environmental risks associated with the site and to determine what CERCLA-financed remedial action(s), if any, may be appropriate. This rule adds nine sites to the NPL, all to the General Superfund Section.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'' or ``SEC'') is adopting amendments to certain rules that govern money market funds under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The amendments will tighten the risk-limiting conditions of rule 2a-7 by, among other things, requiring funds to maintain a portion of their portfolios in instruments that can be readily converted to cash, reducing the maximum weighted average maturity of portfolio holdings, and improving the quality of portfolio securities; require money market funds to report their portfolio holdings monthly to the Commission; and permit a money market fund that has ``broken the buck'' (i.e., re-priced its securities below $1.00 per share), or is at imminent risk of breaking the buck, to suspend redemptions to allow for the orderly liquidation of fund assets. The amendments are designed to make money market funds more resilient to certain short-term market risks, and to provide greater protections for investors in a money market fund that is unable to maintain a stable net asset value per share.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) proposes to amend its regulations governing small business contracting procedures. This Proposed Rule would amend part 127, that was promulgated in a Final Rule on October 1, 2008, and entitled ``The Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Assistance Procedures,'' RIN 3245-AF40. This Proposed Rule would implement procedures authorized by the Small Business Act (Act) (Pub. L. 85-536, as amended) to help ensure a level playing field on which Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) can compete for Federal contracting opportunities. SBA proposes changes to part 127 that include eliminating the requirement for an agency-by-agency determination of discrimination, adopting both ``numbers'' and ``dollars'' measures of underrepresentation, and using the Fiscal Year 2006 Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database as the data source for determining eligible industries under the WOSB Program. This Proposed Rule thus identifies the eligible industries under the Program as those industries in which WOSBs are underrepresented or substantially underrepresented using either the numbers or the dollars approach. This Proposed Rule seeks to retain, for the most part, parts 121 and 134 of the Final Rule published on October 1, 2008, titled ``The Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Assistance Procedures,'' RIN 3245-AF40; these portions of the rule govern various implementation procedures of the Program, as more fully discussed below.

In this document, the Commission adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM), in which it announced that it was considering, without proposing specific rules, two issues urged by commenters in this proceeding. First, the Commission is considering whether, how, and under what circumstances federally-recognized Native American Tribes and Alaska Native Villages (Tribes) should receive a bidding credit in auctions for new radio stations. Second, the Commission is considering whether and how the Tribal Priority adopted in the First Report and Order (First R&O) in this proceeding might be claimed by Tribes that do not possess defined tribal lands.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model DHC-8-100 and DHC-8-200 series airplanes, and DHC-8-301, -311, and -315 airplanes. This AD requires implementing a corrosion prevention and control program (CPCP) either by accomplishing specific tasks or by revising the maintenance inspection program to include a CPCP. This AD results from the determination that, as airplanes age, they are more likely to exhibit indications of corrosion. We are issuing this AD to prevent structural failure of the airplane due to corrosion.

The Commission is adding Global Direct Contracts 1 to the Competitive Product List. This action is consistent with a postal reform law. Republication of the lists of market dominant and competitive products is also consistent with a statutory requirement.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 610 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2010 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 610 in the GOA.

This action proposes to modify the Charlotte, NC, Class B airspace area to ensure the containment of aircraft, accommodate the implementation of area navigation (RNAV) departure procedures, and to support operations of the third parallel runway planned for commissioning in early 2010. The FAA is proposing this action to improve the flow of air traffic, enhance safety, and reduce the potential for midair collision in the Charlotte terminal area.

The Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Berkley Bridge across the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River, mile 0.4, at Norfolk, Virginia. This deviation is necessary to test another change in the drawbridge operation schedule based on comments received from the first test deviation published on October 9, 2009.

The Coast Guard proposes a supplemental change to the regulations that govern the operation of the of the Berkley (I-264) Bridge, at mile 0.4, across the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River, Norfolk, VA. The new proposal would continue to provide set openings periods for the bridge during the day, relieving vehicular traffic congestion during the weekday daytime hours, while still providing for the reasonable needs of navigation to include new operating procedures for transiting vessels.

This rule would increase the assessment rate established for the California Olive Committee (Committee) for the 2010 and subsequent fiscal years from $28.63 to $44.72 per assessable ton of olives handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of olives grown in California. Assessments upon olive handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal year began January 1 and ends December 31. The assessment rate would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

Section 205 of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 requires the Federal Trade Commission to issue a rule to prevent deceptive marketing of free credit reports. To that end, the Commission amends the Free Annual File Disclosures Rule to require certain advertisements for ``free credit reports'' to include prominent disclosures designed to prevent consumers from confusing these ``free'' offers with the federally mandated free annual file disclosures available through the single centralized source. In addition, the final amended Rule requires nationwide consumer reporting agencies to delay advertisements for products and services through the centralized source until after consumers receive their free annual file disclosures, and prohibits other practices that may interfere with the free annual file disclosure process. The final amended Rule also implements certain technical changes to the original Rule.

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:

The FCC establishes rules, policies, and procedures for the consideration of complaints alleging unfair acts involving terrestrially delivered, cable-affiliated programming in violation of Section 628(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. This action will provide competitors to incumbent cable operators with an opportunity to obtain access to certain cable-affiliated programming that they are currently unable to offer their subscribers, thereby promoting competition in the delivery of video to consumers.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the Trichoderma asperellum strain ICC 012 on all food/feed commodities when applied pre-harvest in accordance with good agricultural practices. Isagro, S.p.A. 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 Trichoderma asperellum strain ICC 012.

This document withdraws a notice of proposed rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on October 15, 2009, that proposed amendments to title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations to: preclude the filing of a substitution drawback claim for internal revenue excise tax paid on imported merchandise in situations where no excise tax was paid upon the substituted merchandise or where the substituted merchandise is the subject of a different claim for refund or drawback of tax under any provision of the Internal Revenue Code; and add a basic importation and entry bond condition to foster compliance with the amended drawback provision. The notice is being withdrawn to permit further consideration of the relevant issues involved in the proposed rulemaking.

This action amends the operating rules to require U.S. operators flying outside the United States to carry aircraft noise certification information on board the aircraft. This rule is intended to ensure that affected U.S. operators have the appropriate noise certification information on board when they fly outside the United States as required by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and to ensure compliance between domestic U.S. regulations and ICAO Annex 16, Amendment 8.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a proposed revision to the New York State Implementation Plan (SIP) for ozone concerning the control of volatile organic compounds. The proposed SIP revision consists of amendments to Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations Part 235, ``Consumer Products'' and Part 239, ``Portable Fuel Container Spillage Control.'' The intended effect of this action is to approve control strategies, required by the Clean Air Act, which will result in emission reductions that will help achieve attainment of the national ambient air quality standards for ozone.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 620 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2010 total allowable catch of pollock for Statistical Area 620 in the GOA.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect approval of a supplemental new animal drug application (NADA) filed by ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. The supplemental NADA provides for use of a higher concentration chlortetracycline Type A medicated article for the manufacture of medicated feeds for livestock and poultry.

This document contains a proposed rule under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and parallel provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, relating to the provision of investment advice to participants and beneficiaries in individual account plans, such as 401(k) plans, and beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts (and certain similar plans). Upon adoption, the proposed rule would implement provisions of a statutory prohibited transaction exemption, and would replace guidance contained in a final rule, published in the Federal Register on January 21, 2009, that was withdrawn by the Department pursuant to a Notice published in the Federal Register on November 20, 2009. Upon adoption, the proposed rule affects sponsors, fiduciaries, participants and beneficiaries of participant-directed individual account plans, as well as providers of investment and investment advice related services to such plans.

This document contains a final rule implementing section 101(k) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended by the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Section 101(k) requires the administrator of a multiemployer plan to provide copies of certain actuarial and financial documents about the plan to participants, beneficiaries, employee representatives and contributing employers upon request. The final rule affects plan administrators, participants and beneficiaries and contributing employers of multiemployer plans.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for public information collection 3060-1135 pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. An agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. This document announces the effective dates, of the rules previously published in the Federal Register, affected by this public information collection.

NMFS issues this final rule to supplement the regulations implementing Amendment 29 to the Fishery Management Plan for Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP), as prepared and submitted by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). Amendment 29 established a multi-species individual fishing quota (IFQ) program for the grouper and tilefish component of the commercial sector of the reef fish fishery in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) exclusive economic zone. This final rule removes several measures constraining harvest of shallow- water grouper species that were inadvertently not removed in the final rule for Amendment 29, further clarifies existing criteria for approval of new landing locations for both the red snapper IFQ program and grouper and tilefish IFQ program, and provides a definition of ``offloading'' in the codified text for IFQ participants. The intent of this final rule is to enhance IFQ program enforcement capabilities, reduce confusion for IFQ participants offloading their fish, and allow for more efficient functioning of the IFQ programs for red snapper and groupers and tilefishes.

The FAA is making certain corrections to the Certification Procedures and Identification Requirements for Aeronautical Products and Articles final rule published on October 16, 2009 (74 FR 53368). The purpose of that final rule was to update and standardize those requirements for production approval holders (PAHs), revise export airworthiness approval requirements to facilitate global manufacturing, move all part marking requirements from part 21 to part 45, and amend the identification requirements for products and articles. In the amendatory language and the preamble, we inadvertently referred to incorrect paragraphs and text. This document corrects those errors.