September 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The NRC is conducting a series of public meetings, in the format of facilitated roundtable workshops, to solicit early public input on major issues associated with potential updates to NRC's radiation protection regulations and guidance in light of recommendations presented in the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 103 (2007). To aid in that process, the NRC is requesting comments on the issues discussed in this notice. The NRC has not initiated rulemaking on this subject, and is seeking early input and views on the benefits and impacts of options to be considered before making any decision on whether to proceed with a rulemaking. Each meeting will include a panel of participants, selected in a convening process to represent the diversity of stakeholders for these issues, including the various uses of radioactive materials licensed by the NRC. In addition to the panel, the NRC is encouraging observation and participation by all interested individuals. The meeting agenda will specifically include opportunities for viewpoints to be expressed from individuals in attendance who are not members of the panel. The NRC plans to transcribe the meetings.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received and requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking dated August 18, 2010, submitted by Raymond Shadis and Mary Lampert on Behalf of Earth Day Commitment/Friends of the Coast, Beyond Nuclear, Seacoast Anti- Pollution League, C-10 Research and Education Foundation, Pilgrim Watch, and New England Coalition, for docketing as a petition for rulemaking under 10 CFR 2.802. In another letter dated August 18, 2010, Robin Read, State Representative for New Hampshire, requested to be included as a petitioner for this petition for rulemaking. The petition was docketed by the NRC and has been assigned PRM-54-6. The petitioners request that the NRC amend its regulations to permit a license renewal application no sooner than 10 years before the expiration of the current license and to apply the rule to all license renewal applications that have not yet been issued an NRC staff Final Safety Evaluation Report (FSER). The petitioners also requested a freeze on all new relicensing activity until the rulemaking is decided.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (the Councils) are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement recommendations of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report 09-579 dated June 2009 to Congressional Committees on ``Minimal Compliance with New Safeguards for Time-and-Materials Contracts for Commercial Services and Safeguards Have Not Been Applied to GSA Schedules Program.''

This part implements policy established in DoD Instruction 5200.01. It assigns responsibilities and provides procedures for members of the public to request a declassification review of information classified under the provisions of Executive Order 13526, or predecessor orders.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issues this final rule to remove its regulations to implement and administer the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Program (Coupon Program). The regulations implemented provisions of section 3005 of the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, as subsequently amended. The final coupons were issued on August 12, 2009, and expired on November 9, 2009. NTIA is removing its regulations because the Coupon Program is closed and the regulations are now obsolete.

EPA proposes to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maryland. This SIP revision includes amendments to Maryland's regulation for Volatile Organic Compounds from Specific Processes, and meets the requirement to adopt Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for sources covered by EPA's Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) for flexible packaging printing. These amendments will reduce emissions of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from flexible packaging printing. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's SIP submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Michigan State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions serve to meet specific requirements of the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) construction permit program under the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA). This program affects major stationary sources in Michigan that are subject to or potentially subject to the PSD construction permit program. On July 16, 2010, Michigan submitted revisions pertaining to the ``net emission increase'' definition and the ``reasonable possibility'' recordkeeping and reporting requirements, and EPA has found the revisions acceptable.

EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maryland. This SIP revision includes amendments to Maryland's regulation for Volatile Organic Compounds from Specific Processes. Specifically, Maryland is amending its regulations by adopting the requirements of EPA's Control Technique Guidelines (CTG) for paper, film, and foil coatings. These amendments will reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from this source category. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's SIP submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A more detailed description of the state submittal and EPA's evaluation are included in a Technical Support Document (TSD) prepared in support of this rulemaking action. A copy of the TSD is available, upon request, from the EPA Regional Office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA or Agency), through the FCA Board (Board), issued a direct final rule with opportunity for comment on June 24, 2010, amending our regulations to eliminate unnecessary, redundant or outdated regulations, to correct cross- reference errors, and to clarify the intent of a regulatory provision. The opportunity for comment expired on July 26, 2010. The FCA received no comments and therefore, the direct final rule becomes effective without change. In accordance with 12 U.S.C. 2252, the effective date of the direct final rule is 30 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register during which either or both Houses of Congress are in session. Based on the records of the sessions of Congress, the effective date of the regulations is September 20, 2010.

This document contains a correction to the final regulation which was published July 29, 2010 (75 FR 44709-44718). The regulation, as here pertinent, related to the insurance of stonefruit.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is publishing a set of specific administrative requirements for the New Era Rural Technology Competitive Grants Program (RTP) to supplement the Competitive and Noncompetitive Non-formula Federal Assistance ProgramsGeneral Award Administrative Provisions for this program.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) prohibits texting by commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers while operating in interstate commerce and imposes sanctions, including civil penalties and disqualification from operating CMVs in interstate commerce, for drivers who fail to comply with this rule. Additionally, motor carriers are prohibited from requiring or allowing their drivers to engage in texting while driving. FMCSA amends its commercial driver's license (CDL) regulations to add to the list of disqualifying offenses a conviction under State or local traffic laws or ordinances that prohibit texting by CDL drivers while operating a CMV, including school bus drivers. Recent research commissioned by FMCSA shows that the odds of being involved in a safety-critical event (e.g., crash, near-crash, unintentional lane deviation) is 23.2 times greater for CMV drivers who engage in texting while driving than for those who do not. This rulemaking increases safety on the Nation's highways by reducing the prevalence of or preventing certain truck- and bus-related crashes, fatalities, and injuries associated with distracted driving.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to all Model 750 airplanes. That AD currently requires inspecting the inboard-hinge brackets of the left and right elevators for cracking and doing related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. For certain airplanes, this new AD requires inspecting for cracks of the bracket of the inboard horizontal stabilizer and measuring the lug thickness of the horizontal stabilizer hinges; doing corrective actions if necessary; and modifying the left and right elevators and left and right horizontal stabilizer. For all airplanes, this new AD requires replacing the existing elevator assemblies with new elevator assemblies, which terminates the requirements of the existing AD. This new AD also revises the applicability to remove certain airplanes. This AD results from a report of cracking found on the elevator inboard-hinge brackets and the horizontal stabilizer hinges. We are issuing this AD to prevent such cracking of the elevator inboard-hinge brackets and the horizontal stabilizer hinges, which could result in structural failure of the elevators and consequent loss of control of the airplane.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all International Aero Engines AG (IAE) V2500-A1, V2525-D5 and V2528-D5 turbofan engines and certain serial numbers (S/Ns) of IAE V2522-A5, V2524-A5, V2527-A5, V2527E-A5, V2527M-A5, V2530-A5, and V2533-A5 turbofan engines. For certain S/Ns of V2500-A1, V2522-A5, V2524-A5, V2527-A5, V2527E-A5, V2527M-A5, V2530-A5, and V2533-A5 series turbofan engines, this AD requires initial and repetitive on-wing ultrasonic inspections of the high-pressure compressor (HPC) stage 3 to 8 drum for cracks. As mandatory terminating action to the repetitive inspections, this AD requires removal from service of the fully silver plated nuts attaching the HPC stage 3 to 8 drum to the HPC stage 9 to 12 drum, removal of silver residue from the HPC stage 3 to 8 drum, and fluorescent penetrant inspection (FPI) of the stage 3 to 8 drum within a specified time. For all other engines, this AD requires removal from service of the fully silver plated nuts attaching the HPC stage 3 to 8 drum to the HPC stage 9 to 12 drum, removal of silver residue from the HPC stage 3 to 8 drum, and FPI of the HPC stage 3 to 8 drum at the next drum piece-part exposure. This AD results from reports of 39 HPC stage 3 to 8 drums found cracked since March 2009. We are issuing this AD to prevent uncontained failure of the HPC stage 3 to 8 drum, which could result in damage to the airplane.

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:

DoD is issuing this technical amendment to direct contracting officers to the location of procedures relating to obtaining an account in the Electronic Document Access system. Further, current business systems across DoD have each developed methods of indexing contracts independently leading to data integrity problems between data sources. This technical amendment also provides the location of guidance on a uniform contract indexing methodology across DoD.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to require contractors to apply Government-assigned serial numbers in human-readable format on major end items when required by law, regulation, or military operational necessity.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Turbom[eacute]ca S.A. ARRIEL 2B turboshaft engines. That AD currently requires initial and repetitive inspections, cleaning, lubrication, and checks for proper operation of the hydro-mechanical unit (HMU) acceleration controller axle except on engines that incorporate modification TU 132. That AD also provides an optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections. This AD requires the same actions, but expands the applicability to include all engines that do not incorporate modification TU 149. This AD results from reports of engines with modification TU 132 incorporated experiencing stuck controller axles in the metering valve body. We are issuing this AD to prevent loss of control of engine fuel flow in manual control mode or mixed control mode, which can lead to engine overspeed, and in-flight engine shutdown resulting in a forced autorotation landing or accident.

The Coast Guard published in the Federal Register of August 5, 2010, a document concerning non-substantive changes to Title 33 Parts 3 and 165 of the Code of Federal Regulations. That publication contained an error in amendatory instruction 2 and its regulatory text for part 3. This document corrects this error.

NMFS re-opens the recreational red snapper component of the reef fish fishery in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf). NMFS previously determined the recreational red snapper quota would be reached by 12:01 a.m., local time, July 24, 2010. However, due to the Deepwater Horizon MC252 oil spill and the associated large-area fishery closure (fishery closed area) in the north-central Gulf where a substantial portion of the recreational red snapper fishing efforts occurs, the latest landings estimates indicate the quota was not reached by that date. Therefore, NMFS will re-open the recreational red snapper season, for eight consecutive weekends (Friday through Sunday), beginning October 1, 2010. The intent of this action is to provide fishermen the opportunity to harvest the recreational red snapper quota, and the opportunity to achieve the optimum yield for the fishery, thus enhancing social and economic benefits to the fishery.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issues this final rule regarding TSA's investigative and enforcement procedures. TSA makes several minor changes to the final rule TSA issued on July 21, 2009. TSA extends the time for parties to reply to a petition for reconsideration or modification of a final decision and order of the TSA decision maker on appeal from 10 days after service to 30 days after service. Similarly, TSA extends the time for parties to reply to a motion from 10 to 30 days after service. Finally, TSA corrects an incorrect section reference.

The FAA is correcting the notification of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of information collection requirements contained in the ``Re-Registration and Renewal of Aircraft Registration'' final rule. The final rule was published on July 20, 2010. The notification of OMB approval of information collection was published on August 30, 2010. This document corrects the OMB approval expiration date referenced in the August 30, 2010, notification.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is issuing a proposed rule that would redefine the geographic boundaries of the Shreveport, LA; Texarkana, TX; Milwaukee, WI; and Southwestern Wisconsin appropriated fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. The proposed rule would redefine Upshur County, TX, from the Texarkana wage area to the Shreveport wage area and Oconto County, WI, from the Southwestern Wisconsin wage area to the Milwaukee wage area. These changes are based on recent consensus recommendations of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee to best match the counties proposed for redefinition to a nearby FWS survey area. No other changes are proposed for the Shreveport, Texarkana, Milwaukee, and Southwestern Wisconsin FWS wage areas.

The Coast Guard will enforce the Navy Pier Southeast Safety Zone in Chicago Harbor from September 18, 2010 through October 30, 2010. This action is necessary and intended to ensure safety of life on the navigable waters immediately prior to, during, and immediately after fireworks events. This rule will establish restrictions upon, and control movement of, vessels in a specified area immediately prior to, during, and immediately after fireworks events. During the enforcement period, no person or vessel may enter the safety zones without permission of the Captain of the Port, Sector Lake Michigan.