September 16, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone from Mile Marker 90.2 to Mile Marker 90.5 on the Ohio River extending the full width of the river. The safety zone is needed to protect spectators and marine traffic during the Wheeling Heritage Port Sternwheel Foundation fireworks display. Entry into the safety zone is prohibited, unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Pittsburgh or a designated representative.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amounts of the 2010 crab and halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) allowances assigned to the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands trawl limited access sector to the Amendment 80 cooperative in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the Amendment 80 cooperative to fully harvest their 2010 groundfish allocations.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) undertakes important steps for fiscally responsible universal service fund reform. The Commission seeks comment on permanently amending our rules to facilitate efficient use of reclaimed excess high-cost support. In addition, the Commission seeks comment on a proposal to modify our rules to reclaim legacy support surrendered by a competitive ETC when it relinquishes ETC status in a particular state.

In the final rulemaking for new exhaust and evaporative emissions standards for nonroad spark-ignition engines, vessels, and equipment (73 FR 59034, October 8, 2008), EPA established first-ever evaporative emissions standards for marine vessels. These requirements included portable marine fuel tanks commonly used in recreational boating. During their efforts to certify portable fuel tanks to these new requirements, manufacturers working together on systems integration identified several technical issues with the performance of the tanks/ fuel systems in use that were not fully apparent to them before these standards were developed. Systems integration work conducted by the fuel tank, boat and engine manufacturers highlighted that under some circumstances there was the potential for fuel spillage to occur. Work conducted by these parties indicated that this issue applies to existing systems and tanks as well as those built to comply with EPA's evaporative emission design standard. We have engaged the industry to identify a simple, safe, and emissions neutral solution to this concern. This proposed action represents the results of that work and is emissions neutral with respect to the diurnal emissions standard; however, to the extent that it helps reduce fuel spillage, incorporating safe recommended practices will result in a net benefit to the environment and lead to fuel savings. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, we are making these technical amendments as a direct final rule without a prior proposed rule. If we receive no adverse comment, we will not take further action on this proposed rule.

This document proposes adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Erickson Air-Crane Incorporated (Erickson Air-Crane) Model S- 64F helicopters. The AD would require, at specified intervals, certain inspections of the rotating swashplate assembly (swashplate) for a crack. If a crack is found, this AD would also require, before further flight, replacing the swashplate with an airworthy swashplate. This proposal is prompted by a report from the manufacturer of a swashplate cracking during fatigue testing. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent loss of a swashplate due to a fatigue crack, loss of control of the main rotor system, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

The Department of Justice (Department) intends to amend the regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to replace the regulations' reference to an outdated guidance document. Based upon a petition ATF received, the Department wishes to gather information and comments from the public and industry about possible replacements for this guidance document.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the ``Department'') is proposing to revise and expand its existing certification, compliance, and enforcement regulations for certain consumer products and commercial and industrial equipment covered under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as amended (EPCA or the ``Act''). These regulations provide for sampling plans used in determining compliance with existing standards, manufacturer submission of compliance statements and certification reports to DOE, maintenance of compliance records by manufacturers, and the availability of enforcement actions for improper certification or noncompliance with an applicable standard. Ultimately, these proposals will allow DOE to systematically enforce applicable energy and water conservation standards for covered products and covered equipment and provide for more accurate, comprehensive information about the energy and water use characteristics of products sold in the United States. Additionally, today's notice announces a public meeting on the proposed amendments.