September 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the take of small numbers of marine mammals, by Level B harassment, incidental to conducting a marine seismic survey in the Arctic Ocean during August to September, 2010.

The Southern Arizona Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Tucson, Arizona. The purpose of the meeting is for the committee members to discuss committee protocols, operating guidelines, and project proposal requirements.

EPA has established registration review dockets for the pesticides listed in the table in Unit III.A. With this document, EPA is opening the public comment period for these registration reviews. Registration review is EPA's periodic review of pesticide registrations to ensure that each pesticide continues to satisfy the statutory standard for registration, that is, the pesticide can perform its intended function without unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment. Registration review dockets contain information that will assist the public in understanding the types of information and issues that the Agency may consider during the course of registration reviews. Through this program, EPA is ensuring that each pesticide's registration is based on current scientific and other knowledge, including its effects on human health and the environment.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (``CERCLA'' or ``the Act''), as amended, requires that the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States. The National Priorities List (``NPL'') constitutes this list. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'' or ``the Agency'') in determining which sites warrant further investigation. These further investigations will allow EPA to assess the nature and extent of public health and environmental risks associated with the site and to determine what CERCLA-financed remedial action(s), if any, may be appropriate. This rule adds the Newtown Creek site, located in Brooklyn/Queens, New York, to the General Superfund section of the NPL.

EPA announces the withdrawal of the pesticide science policy document ``Use of the Pesticide Data Program (PDP) in Acute Risk Assessment.'' In estimating dietary exposure to pesticides, the Agency uses a variety of data and different models. This science policy document was developed to explain a particular statistical methodology, known as decomposition, for using information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Pesticide Data Program (PDP) in risk assessments of acute exposure to pesticide residues in food. EPA is withdrawing this policy because EPA has been using a less resource- intensive and generally comparable method of analyzing data on pesticide residues. This action is in response to the recommendations made by EPA's Office of Inspector General during its review of EPA's implementation of the Food Quality and Protection Act (FQPA). In its report ``Opportunities to Improve Data Quality and Children's Health through the FQPA'' issued January 10, 2006, the Office of Inspector General recommended that EPA should update the status of its Science Policy issue papers. This Federal Register notice updates the public on the status of one of those papers. EPA is withdrawing this policy because EPA has been using a less resource-intensive and generally comparable method of analyzing data on pesticide residues.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry and investigators entitled ``Safety Reporting Requirements for INDs and BA/BE Studies.'' This draft guidance is intended to help sponsors and investigators comply with the new requirements in the final rule entitled ``Investigational New Drug Safety Reporting Requirements for Human Drug and Biological Products and Safety Reporting Requirements for Bioavailability and Bioequivalence Studies in Humans,'' published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

This Guideline sets forth the administrative, programmatic, and financial requirements attendant to Fiscal Year 2011 State Justice Institute grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. 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: * * * * * * * * [T]here is a possible path for fluid ingress, resulting in connector internal arcing and hydraulic system malfunction. In addition, as the connectors are located in areas adjacent to fuel tanks, such arcing associated with the presence of a fuel leakage could lead to an uncontrolled fire. * * * * * The proposed AD would require actions that are intended to address the unsafe condition described in the MCAI.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-46. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG, is available via the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov.

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 a summary of rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-46 which amend the FAR. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding these rules by referring to FAC 2005-46, which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at https://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 revise FAR subpart 19.8, Contracting with the Small Business Administration (The 8(a) Program), to conform to the Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations. The FAR Council did not publish this rule for comment because this change will not have a significant effect beyond the internal operating procedures of the Government and will not have a significant effect on contractors or offerors. Furthermore, this requirement has existed in the Small Business Administration Regulations since January 1, 2009, and the FAR is being updated to conform to these regulations. This revision changes the location for submitting offering letters to SBA for a construction requirement for which a specific offeror is nominated and impacts internal procedures that the contracting officer is now required to follow.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (the Councils) are issuing an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Executive Order 13513, issued on October 1, 2009, entitled ``Federal Leadership on Reducing Text Messaging while Driving.'' This Executive Order was issued to demonstrate Federal leadership in improving safety on the nation's roads and highways, and to enhance the efficiency of Federal contracting. The purpose of this policy is to prevent the unsafe practice of text messaging by Federal contractors while driving in connection with Government business. This policy further promotes economy and efficiency in Federal procurement, and seeks to prohibit the disruption of Government business and Federal procurement, as a result of unsafe text messaging practices.

This action amends Class E airspace at Johnston County Airport, Smithfield, NC, by correcting an omission of the geographic coordinates of the Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Special Standard Instrument Approach Procedure (SIAP) serving the Johnston Memorial Hospital to aid in the navigation of our National Airspace System.

EPA and NHTSA are announcing the location addresses for the public hearings to be held for ``Revisions and Additions to Motor Vehicle Fuel Economy Label,'' published in the Federal Register on September 23, 2010. The goal of a revised label will be to provide consumers with simple, straightforward comparisons across all vehicles types, including electric vehicles (EV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles. NHTSA and EPA are proposing these changes in compliance with the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, which imposes several new labeling requirements. Also, the agencies believe that the current labels can be improved to help consumers make more informed vehicle purchase decisions and to address the entrance of advanced technology vehicles into the U.S. market. The new labels are proposed to be displayed on new vehicles beginning with the 2012 model year.

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.

Housing Urban Development (HUD) proposes to establish a new Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), SORN. The proposed new system of record is the Rapid Re-Housing for Homeless Families Data (RRHFD) Files. The records system will be used by HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) to evaluate the effectiveness of the RRHFD Program, which is a demonstration program that was authorized by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (Pub. L. 110- 161). Refer to the ``Objective'' caption to obtain detailed information about the purpose of this study. Comments Due Date: October 28, 2010.

Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce has approved the revised management plans of the Arraigns Bay, RI National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Tijuana River, CA National Estuarine Research Reserve. The Arraigns Bay, RI Reserve plan calls for an expansion to their boundary and the Tijuana River, CA Reserve plan calls for a reduction to their boundary. The revised management plan for the Arraigns Bay, RI National Estuarine Research Reserve outlines the administrative structure; the education, training, stewardship, and research goals of the reserve; and the plans for future land acquisition and facility development to support reserve operations. The objectives described in this plan are designed to address the most critical coastal issues in Arraigns Bay such as wastewater and storm water management, coastal and watershed development, and invasive species management. Since the last approved management plan in 1998, the reserve has become fully staffed; added a coastal training program that delivers science-based information to key decision makers; and added significant monitoring of invasive species, water quality, fish and bird populations. In addition to programmatic and staffing advances, the reserve upgraded visiting research facilities, space available for education and storage, and has increased the availability of dock space for research and educational programming. This management plan calls for a boundary expansion of 156 acres. The lands consist of one 128 acre parcel on the northern end of Prudence Island that is adjacent to current reserve property and the addition of the 28 acre Dyer Island. Dyer Island habitats include coastal brush, salt marsh, cobble beaches, and both hard and soft substrate submerged lands. The island is considered a critical bird rookery and hosts an unusual amount of macro algal diversity and rare examples of un ditched salt marsh habitat. The 128 acre Ballard Property on Prudence Island consists of forested land with early succession al shrub land and grassland communities as well as an important freshwater creek and the associated wetlands. The Dyer Island property will provide opportunities for research and passive recreation while the easily accessed Prudence Island parcel will be appropriate for education, recreation, and upland research purposes. This plan can be accessed at https://www.nbnerr.org or nerrs.noaa.gov. The revised management plan for the Tijuana River, CA National Estuarine Research Reserve outlines a framework of overarching goals and program specific objectives that will guide the education, training, stewardship, and research programs of the reserve; updates the reserve boundary; proposes criteria for boundary expansion activities through acquisition and/or mitigation; as well as outlines plans for facility use and development to support reserve operations. The goals described in this plan are designed to provide a framework that supports program integration for collaborative management in a highly urbanized bi-national watershed. Since the last approved management plan in 2000, the reserve has become fully staffed; added a coastal training program that delivers science-based information to key decision makers; developed a robust volunteer program that provides broad support to Reserve programs; added a bi-nationally focused Watershed Program; completed habitat restoration projects to improve estuary function; improved management of sediment delivery to the estuary; and constructed facilities to support essential functions of the reserve including interpretive structures, staff offices, and an on-site laboratory. This management plan amends the boundary of the reserve to be 2,293 acres, 238 acres less, in part as a result of excluding the Border Infrastructure System completed since the last approved management plan. This plan can be accessed at trnerr.org/visitorscenter.html or nerrs.noaa.gov.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, determine endangered status for the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. This final rule implements the Federal protections provided by the Act for this species.

We (NMFS) announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list warsaw grouper (Epinephelus nigritus) as threatened or endangered under the ESA. We find that the petition does not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted.