March 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document announces receipt by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a petition for a decision that 1991 Porsche 911 series passenger cars that were not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) are eligible for importation into the United States because they are substantially similar to vehicles that were originally manufactured for importation into and sale in the United States and that were certified by their manufacturer as complying with the safety standards (the U.S.-certified version of the 1991 Porsche 911 series passenger cars), and they are capable of being readily altered to conform to the standards.

Requirement R1.3.10 of the Commission-approved transmission planning Reliability Standard TPL-002-0 provides that planning authorities and transmission planners must consider in their planning studies the effects of the operation of their protection systems, including backup and redundant protection systems. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the Commission-certified electric reliability organization, requests approval of an interpretation of Reliability Standard TPL-002-0. In this order, the Commission proposes to reject NERC's proposed interpretation of Requirement R1.3.10 of Reliability Standard TPL-002-0 and, instead, proposes an alternative interpretation of the provision.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is considering a proposal to change a portion of the airport from aeronautical use to non-aeronautical use and to authorize the release of 9.167 acres of airport property for future non-aeronautical use. The land consists of portions of 2 original airport acquired parcels. These parcels were acquired by the City of Dayton from the U.S. Government, Department of Housing and Urban Development without federal participation. There are no requirements to retain the land for airport use. There are no impacts to the airport by allowing the City of Dayton to lease the property. The land is not needed for aeronautical use. Approval does not constitute a commitment by the FAA to financially assist in the lease of the subject airport property nor a determination of eligibility for grant-in-aid funding from the FAA. The disposition of proceeds from the lease of the airport property will be in accordance with FAA's Policy and Procedures Concerning the Use of Airport Revenue, published in the Federal Register on February 16, 1999. In accordance with section 47107(h) of title 49, United States Code, this notice is required to be published in the Federal Register 30 days before modifying the land-use assurance that requires the property to be used for an aeronautical purpose.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing that a proposed new collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Office of Federal Financial Management (OFFM) is amending certain sections of the interim final guidance at 2 CFR part 176 that pertain to international agreements. These amendments reflect changes with respect to U.S. international obligations since the publication of the interim final guidance. Public comments received in response to the

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. 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 MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

In this document, we begin a new proceeding to improve the transparency and effectiveness of the Commission's decisionmaking by reforming our ex parte rules. The ex parte process allows parties in most Commission proceedings to speak directly (or have written communications) with Commission staff and decisionmakers, providing a way to have an interactive dialogue that can root out areas of concern,

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is granting in part and denying in part the requests for rehearing and clarification of its determinations in Order No. 697-C, which granted rehearing and clarification of certain revisions to Commission regulations and to the standards for obtaining and retaining market-based rate authority for sales of energy, capacity and ancillary services to ensure that such sales are just and reasonable.

SBA is amending its disaster assistance regulations to reflect statutory changes to the disaster assistance program contained in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the Farm Act). Except for several grammatical corrections, this direct final rule conforms the regulations to the Farm Act by adopting the new statutory requirements without change.

In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Secretary, Department of the Interior (DOI), announces that it has submitted a request for proposed extension of an information collection to the Office of Management and Budget and requests public comments on this submission.

NTIA announces that the new application closing deadline for the electronic submission of CCI projects under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) is extended until 10 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on March 26, 2010.

NOAA announces the availability of Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Funding (PCSRF), as authorized in the Northern Boundary and Transboundary Rivers Restoration and Enhancement Fund and Southern Boundary Restoration and Enhancement Fund, to support the restoration and conservation of Pacific salmon and steelhead populations and their habitat. The program makes funding available to the States of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Nevada and Federally- recognized tribes of the Columbia River and Pacific Coast for projects necessary for conservation of salmon and steelhead populations that are listed as threatened or endangered, or identified by a State as at-risk or to be so-listed; for maintaining populations necessary for exercise of tribal treaty fishing rights or native subsistence fishing; or for conservation of Pacific coastal salmon and steelhead habitat. This announcement outlines the guidelines that will be used to distribute funding to eligible entities.

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) announces the extension of the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA) until October 1, 2011, pursuant to the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended. The purpose of the VISA is to make intermodal shipping services/systems, including ships, ships' space, intermodal equipment and related management services, available to the Department of Defense as required to support the emergency deployment and sustainment of U.S. military forces. This is to be accomplished through cooperation among the maritime industry, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) is establishing a financial assistance program for awardees to develop and implement with the CNST a Postdoctoral Researcher and Visiting Fellow Measurement Science and Engineering Program. This program is intended to promote research, training, and practical experience in nanoscale science and technology on-site at the CNST, and to advance the CNST's mission to support the development of nanotechnology through research on measurement and fabrication methods, standards and technology, and by operating a state-of-the-art nanofabrication facility, the NanoFab.

Notice is given under 5 U.S.C. 4314(c)(4) of the appointment of members to the Performance Review Board (PRB) of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.