August 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NCUA proposes to adopt a rule to prohibit, with some exceptions, a federally insured credit union (FICU) from making golden parachute and indemnification payments to an institution-affiliated party (IAP). The proposed rule is intended to help safeguard the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) by preventing the wrongful or improper disposition of FICU assets and to inhibit unwarranted rewards to IAPs who may have contributed to an FICU's troubled condition. The proposed rule would also provide FICUs with greater clarity on the distinction between legitimate employee severance payments and improper golden parachute payments.

These special conditions are issued for certain Dassault Aviation Model Falcon 7X airplanes. This airplane will have an advanced, enhanced flight-visibility system (EFVS), which is a novel or unusual design feature consisting of a head-up display (HUD) system modified to display forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imagery. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

During a review of Louisiana's regulations, the EPA identified a variety of State-initiated changes to its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). We have determined that these changes are minor and satisfy all requirements needed to qualify for Final authorization and are authorizing the State-initiated changes through this direct Final action. In addition, this document corrects technical errors made in various Federal Register authorization documents for Louisiana.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model 767-200, -300, and -300F series airplanes. This AD requires inspecting to verify the part number of the low-pressure flex-hoses of the flightcrew and supernumerary oxygen system installed under the oxygen mask stowage box at flightcrew and supernumerary oxygen mask locations, and replacing the flex-hose with a new non-conductive low- pressure flex-hose if necessary. This AD results from reports of low- pressure flex-hoses of the flightcrew oxygen system that burned through due to inadvertent electrical current from a short circuit in an adjacent audio select panel. We are issuing this AD to prevent inadvertent electrical current, which can cause the low-pressure flex- hoses used in the flightcrew and supernumerary oxygen systems to melt or burn, resulting in oxygen system leakage and smoke or fire.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model 747 airplanes. This AD requires inspecting to verify the part number of the low-pressure flex-hoses of the crew oxygen system installed under the oxygen mask stowage boxes in the flight deck, and replacing the flex-hose with a new non-conductive low-pressure flex- hose if necessary. This AD results from reports of low-pressure flex- hoses of the crew oxygen system that burned through due to inadvertent electrical current from a short circuit in the audio select panel. We are issuing this AD to prevent inadvertent electrical current, which can cause the low-pressure flex-hoses of the crew oxygen system to melt or burn, causing oxygen system leakage and smoke or fire.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by an airworthiness authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The earlier MCAI, Brazilian Airworthiness Directive 2007-08-02, effective September 27, 2007, describes the unsafe condition as:

This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the specified Eurocopter France helicopters. This action requires inspecting certain electrical harnesses for damage and if damage is found, repairing the electrical harness; protecting the electrical harness from damage; installing harness clamp blocks; and inspecting each fairing attachment screw to determine the length and replacing attachment screws, if they exceed a certain length. This amendment is prompted by a report of an in-flight incident that led to the inflation of the emergency floatation gear (emergency floats) and the activation of various warnings. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent interference between an electrical harness and the lower structure fairing attachment screws. Damage to an electrical harness by a lower structure fairing attachment screw could lead to short- circuiting of various warnings, inflation of the emergency floats during flight, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on two petitions to list the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) (Mexican wolf) as an endangered subspecies and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Although not listed as a subspecies, the Mexican wolf is currently listed as endangered within the broader listing of gray wolves. Based on our review, we find that the petitions present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the Mexican wolf subspecies may warrant listing such that reclassifying the Mexican wolf as a separate subspecies may be warranted. One of the petitions also requested listing of the Mexican wolf as an endangered

We are revising an earlier NPRM for the products listed above. This action revises the earlier NPRM by expanding the scope. This proposed 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:

We are revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model 747 airplanes and Model 767 airplanes. The original NPRM would have required revising the airplane flight manual (AFM) to advise the flightcrew to use certain procedures during descent in certain icing conditions. The original NPRM resulted from reports of several in-flight engine flameouts, including multiple dual engine flameout events and one total power loss event, in ice-crystal icing conditions. This action revises the original NPRM by revising the text of the proposed AFM revision. We are proposing this supplemental NPRM to ensure that the flightcrew has the proper procedures to follow in certain icing conditions. These certain icing conditions could cause a multiple engine flameout during flight with the potential inability to restart the engines, and consequent forced landing of the airplane.

The State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR), and the State of South Carolina, through the South Carolina Department of Environmental Control (SC DHEC), submitted letters with a request for EPA to grant a one-year extension of the attainment date for the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, North Carolina-South Carolina Area (hereafter referred to as the ``bi-state Charlotte Area''), on April 28, 2010, and May 6, 2010, respectively. The bi-state Charlotte Area consists of Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Union and a portion of Iredell County (Davidson and Coddle Creek Townships), North Carolina; and a portion of York County, South Carolina. In today's action, EPA is proposing to determine that the states of North Carolina and South Carolina have met the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) requirements to obtain a one-year extension to their attainment date for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the bi-state Charlotte Area. As a result, EPA is proposing to approve a one-year extension of the 1997 8- hour ozone moderate attainment date for the bi-state Charlotte Area. Specifically, EPA is proposing to extend the bi-state Charlotte Area's attainment date from June 15, 2010, to June 15, 2011.

The Board is publishing a final rule amending the staff commentary that interprets the requirements of Regulation Z (Truth in Lending). The Board is required to adjust annually the dollar amount that triggers requirements for certain home mortgage loans bearing fees above a certain amount. The Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA) sets forth rules for home-secured loans in which the total points and fees payable by the consumer at or before loan consummation exceed the greater of $400 or 8 percent of the total loan amount. In keeping with the statute, the Board has annually adjusted the $400 amount based on the annual percentage change reflected in the Consumer Price Index as reported on June 1. The adjusted dollar amount for 2011 is $592.

This document contains correcting amendments to IRS regulations providing guidance under 4965 of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to entity-level and manager-level excise taxes with respect to prohibited tax shelter transactions to which tax-exempt entities are parties; sections 6033(a)(2) and 6011(g), relating to certain disclosure obligations with respect to such transactions; and sections 6011 and 6071, relating to the requirement of a return and time for filing with respect to section 4965 taxes. These errors were made when the agency published final regulations (TD 9492) in the Federal Register on Tuesday, July 6, 2010 (75 FR 38700).

These special conditions are issued for the Embraer ERJ 190- 100 series airplane. This airplane will have novel or unusual design features that include non-traditional, large, non-metallic panels that would affect survivability during a post-crash fire event. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from natural gas-fired, fan-type central furnaces and other miscellaneous NOx sources. We are proposing to approve the local rules to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

We are announcing receipt of an amendment to the Pennsylvania program (the ``Pennsylvania program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act) (Administrative Record

In this document, the Commission proposes to update, reorganize, simplify and streamline its Personal Radio Services rules to reflect technological advances and other changes in the way the American public uses the Personal Radio Services. In addition to improving the clarity of the rules, this document includes proposals intended to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens on users, improve spectrum use, provide for enhanced equipment operating features, and promote the safety and consumer interests of operators. The document also proposes to reclassify one of the existing Personal Radio Services, specifically the 218-219 MHz service, as a Miscellaneous Wireless Communications Service, and accordingly move its rules from one part to another.

This action is a supplemental notice of data availability and a request for comment related to EPA's January 26, 2010, notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), proposing numeric nutrient water quality criteria to protect aquatic life in lakes and flowing waters within the State of Florida. In the January 2010 NPRM, EPA proposed to classify Florida's streams into four regions (referred to in the proposed rule as ``Nutrient Watershed Regions'') for application of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) criteria. Streams within each of these regions (Panhandle, Bone Valley, Peninsula and North Central) reflect similar geographical characteristics including phosphorus-rich soils, nutrient concentrations and nutrient ratios. In this notice, EPA is requesting comment on revised stream region boundaries based on additional information about watershed delineations and phosphorus-rich geological formations in Florida. Based on comments and additional information, this revised regionalization approach would result in five Nutrient Watershed Regions for Florida's streams and a clarification of certain watershed boundaries for the Bone Valley and Peninsula regions. EPA is also requesting comment on basing the TN and TP criteria for the nutrient watershed regions on a combination of the 75th and 90th percentile values (depending on regions) of the benchmark sites outlined in the alternate approach at proposal. EPA is continuing to consider the primary approach proposed in January 2010 to use the 75th percentile of sites with healthy biological condition as measured by the Stream Condition Index (SCI). The January 2010 proposal also proposed application of the Vollenweider equation to ensure that nutrient criteria in streams are protective of downstream lakes and requested comment on alternative approaches such as the BATHTUB model and whether there should be an allowance for use of other models that are demonstrated to be protective and scientifically defensible. Today's notice also requests comment on using the BATHTUB model in place of the Vollenweider equation for deriving both TP and TN criteria to protect downstream lakes, allowing the use of alternative models under certain circumstances, and providing for an alternative approach to protect downstream lakes when limited data are available that would use the lake criteria themselves as criteria for upstream waters flowing into the lake. EPA is seeking comment on alternative stream regionalization approaches, use of the benchmark dataset to derive criteria, and derivation of lake downstream protection values discussed in more detail below, and will consider the comments received before finalizing the proposed rule, ``Water Quality Standards for the State of Florida's Lakes and Flowing Waters.'' This supplemental notice focuses solely on the delineation of stream nutrient regions, resulting criteria associated with two approaches (EPA's SCI-based approach and the alternative benchmark distribution approach), and protection of downstream lakes in Florida. EPA is not soliciting comment on any other provisions of the January 2010 proposal.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is proposing to amend the date by which certain facilities must prepare or amend their Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans, and implement those Plans. This action would allow additional time for those affected in the regulated community to understand the revisions to the SPCC rule finalized in December 2008 and November 2009. In light of the recent uncertainty surrounding EPA's review of the final amendments to the December 2008 rule and the delay of that rule's effective date, the Agency is proposing to provide an additional year for certain facilities, with a new compliance date of November 10, 2011. Additionally, the Agency is proposing to further delay the compliance date for facilities with milk containers, associated piping and appurtenances that are constructed according to the current applicable 3-A Sanitary Standards, and subject to the current applicable Grade ``A'' Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) or a State dairy regulatory requirement equivalent to the current applicable PMO. The delay would allow the Agency to take final action on a January 15, 2009 action that proposed to exempt these containers from the SPCC requirements. The compliance date would be delayed one year from the

EPA proposes to determine that the Las Vegas Valley nonattainment area in Nevada attained the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to a nominal ten micrometers (PM10) by the applicable attainment date (December 31, 2006), and that the Las Vegas Valley nonattainment area is currently attaining the standard.

On February 19, 2010, the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), submitted a request to EPA to make a determination that the Knoxville, Tennessee nonattainment area has attained the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) based on quality assured, quality controlled monitoring data from 2007-2009. The Knoxville, Tennessee 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as the ``Knoxville Area'') is comprised of Anderson, Blount, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon and Sevier Counties in their entireties and a portion of Cocke County (Great Smoky Mountain National Park) in Tennessee. In this action, EPA is proposing to determine that the Knoxville Area has attained the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This proposed determination is based upon complete, quality assured, quality controlled, and certified ambient air monitoring data for the years 2007-2009 showing that the Knoxville Area has monitored attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Preliminary air quality monitoring data available for 2010 are consistent with continued attainment. If this proposed determination is made final, the requirement for the State of Tennessee to submit an attainment demonstration and associated reasonably available control measures (RACM), a reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, contingency measures, and other planning State Implementation Plans (SIPs) related to attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Knoxville, Tennessee 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, shall be suspended for as long as the Knoxville Area continues to meet the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed 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 Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the LA 24 vertical lift span bridge across Company Canal, mile 8.1, at Bourg, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. The deviation is necessary to perform electrical rehabilitation work on the bridge. This deviation allows the bridge to remain closed to navigation for twelve consecutive days.

The Department of the Treasury (``Treasury'') is issuing this proposed rule as part of its implementation of Title I of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (``TRIA'' or ``the Act''), as amended by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005 (``Extension Act'') and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (``Reauthorization Act''). The Act established a temporary Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (``TRIP'' or ``Program'') under which the Federal Government would share the risk of insured losses from certified acts of terrorism with commercial property and casualty insurers. The Reauthorization Act has now extended the Program until December 31, 2014. This proposed rule is the latest in a series of regulations Treasury has issued to implement the Act. The proposed rule incorporates and implements statutory requirements of the Act for the final netting of payments under the Program. In particular, the proposed rule would establish procedures by which, after the Secretary has determined that claims for the Federal share of insured losses arising from a particular Program Year shall be considered final, a final netting of payments to or from insurers will be accomplished. The rule generally builds upon previous rules issued by Treasury.

The Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended, commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to authorize States to operate their hazardous waste management programs in lieu of the Federal program. EPA uses the regulations entitled ``Approved State Hazardous Waste Management Programs'' to provide notice of the authorization status of State programs and to incorporate by reference those provisions of the State regulations that will be subject to EPA's inspection and enforcement. This rule does not incorporate by reference the New York hazardous waste statutes. The rule codifies in the regulations the prior approval of New York's hazardous waste management program and incorporates by reference authorized provisions of the State's regulations.