March 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On February 12, 2010, the Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) amended the H-2A regulations at 20 CFR part 655 governing the certification of temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal agricultural employment. See Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States, Final Rule, 75 FR 6884, Feb. 12, 2010 (the Final Rule). The Department's Final Rule also amended the regulations at 29 CFR part 501 to provide for enhanced enforcement when employers fail to meet their obligations under the H-2A program. The Final Rule also made changes to the Application for Temporary Employment Certification, ETA Form 9142. All H-2A applications filed as of March 15, 2010, the effective date of the Final Rule, will be required to comply with the requirements set forth in the Final Rule.

On January 27, 2010, we published a notice in the Federal Register (75 FR 4356) inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2010 for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)Special Focus Competition: Program for North American Mobility in Higher Education (Application Notice). Through this notice, we extend the Deadline for Transmittal of Applications and the Deadline for Intergovernmental Review dates announced in the Application Notice.

This document proposes amendments to title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations regarding customs broker recordkeeping requirements as they pertain to the location and method of record retention. Specifically, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) proposes to amend the CBP regulations to permit a licensed customs broker to store records relating to his customs transactions at any location within the customs territory of the United States, so long as the broker's designated recordkeeping contact, identified in the broker's permit application, makes all records available to CBP within a reasonable period of time from request at the broker district that covers the CBP port to which the records relate. This document also proposes to remove the requirement, as it currently applies to brokers who maintain separate electronic records, that certain entry records must be retained in their original format for the 120-day period after the release or conditional release of imported merchandise. The changes proposed in this document are intended to conform CBP's recordkeeping requirements to reflect modern business practices whereby documents are often generated, stored and transmitted in an electronic format. The proposed changes serve to remove duplicative recordkeeping requirements and streamline recordkeeping procedures for brokers who maintain electronic recordkeeping systems without compromising the agency's ability to monitor and enforce recordkeeping compliance.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA invites comments on an information collection under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control No. 2137-0614, titled: Pipeline Safety: New Reporting Requirements for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Operators: Hazardous Liquid Annual Report. PHMSA will request approval from OMB for a renewal of the current information collection with no revisions.

The Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a proposed new information collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this Notice seeks comments concerning the information collection activities required to administer the Environmental and Historic Preservation Environmental Screening Form.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has submitted the information collection abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The submission describes the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e., the time, effort and resources used by respondents to respond) and cost, and the actual data collection instruments FEMA will use.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a proposed new information collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this Notice seeks comments concerning the data collection activity required to prepare the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) After Action Report (AAR) Improvement Plan (IP).

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Act of October 19, 1965 (79 Stat. 985; 22 U.S.C. 2459), Executive Order 12047 of March 27, 1978, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 6501 note, et seq.), Delegation of Authority No. 234 of October 1, 1999, Delegation of Authority No. 236 of October 19, 1999, as amended, and Delegation of Authority No. 257 of April 15, 2003 [68 FR 19875], I hereby determine that the object to be included in the exhibition ``Loan from the Aura Collection of a Winged Figure Pendant,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, is of cultural significance. The object is imported pursuant to a loan agreement with the foreign owner or custodian. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit object at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, from on or about May 15, 2010, until on or about May 15, 2013, and at possible additional exhibitions or venues yet to be determined, is in the national interest. I have ordered that Public Notice of these Determinations be published in the Federal Register.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request to the Office of Management and Budget with no changes to the Information Collection Request burden estimates. This Information Collection Request is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2010. Before submitting the Information Collection Request to Office of Management and Budget for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.

EPA is proposing to determine that the Coso Junction nonattainment area (CJNA) in California has attained the 24-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10 micrometers (PM-10). This proposed determination is based upon monitored air quality data for the PM-10 NAAQS during the years 2006- 2008. In addition, data for 2009 contained in EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) shows the CJNA continued to attain the PM-10 NAAQS through 2009, and preliminary data for 2010 available to date show no exceedances of the 24-hour NAAQS have been recorded at the CJNA monitoring site. EPA is also proposing to determine that, because the CJNA has attained the PM-10 NAAQS, the obligation to make submissions to meet certain Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) requirements is not applicable for as long as the CJNA continues to attain the PM-10 NAAQS.

This document is issued under the joint authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of the summary of the rule appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-40 which amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Interested parties may obtain further information regarding this rule by referring to FAC 2005-40 which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at http:/ /www.regulations.gov.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), as required by section 872 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. FAPIIS is designed to improve the Government's ability to evaluate the business ethics and expected performance quality of prospective contractors and protect the Government from awarding contracts to contractors that are not responsible sources.

The Pacific Council and its advisory entities will hold public meetings.

The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of receipt of an application filed on March 4, 2010, by Freeport LNG Development, L.P. (Freeport LNG), requesting an amendment to its blanket authorization to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) granted by DOE/FE on May 28, 2009, in DOE/FE Order No. 2644, and amended on September 22, 2009, in DOE/FE Order No. 2644-A. Freeport LNG seeks authorization to export foreign-sourced LNG from its Quintana Island, Texas facilities to any other country (in addition to those already specifically listed in DOE/FE Order No. 2644, as amended) with capacity to import LNG via ocean-going carrier and with which trade is not prohibited by U.S. law or policy.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) and Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel (CPSAS) will hold a joint work session by telephone conference that is open to the public.