October 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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:

Comments are requested on the proposed Base (1% annual-chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and proposed BFE modifications for the communities listed in the table below. The purpose of this notice is to seek general information and comment regarding the proposed regulatory flood elevations for the reach described by the downstream and upstream locations in the table below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are a part of the floodplain management measures that the community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of having in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In addition, these elevations, once finalized, will be used by insurance agents and others to calculate appropriate flood insurance premium rates for new buildings and the contents in those buildings.

Base (1% annual-chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and modified BFEs are made final for the communities listed below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that each community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or the Board) is amending its practices and procedures regulations to make clear that the Board may, in its discretion, include discussion of issues raised in an appeal in a nonprecedential Final Order.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to incorporate by reference the latest revisions of two previously incorporated regulatory guides (RGs) approving new and revised Code Cases published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The RGs which are incorporated by reference are RG 1.84, ``Design, Fabrication, and Materials Code Case Acceptability, ASME Section III,'' Revision 35, and RG 1.147, ``Inservice Inspection Code Case Acceptability, ASME Section XI, Division 1,'' Revision 16. This action allows nuclear power plant licensees, and applicants for standard design certifications, standard design approvals, and manufacturing licenses under the regulations that govern license certifications, and approves the nuclear power plants to use the Code Cases listed in these RGs as alternatives to requirements in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel (BPV) Code regarding the construction and inservice inspection (ISI) of nuclear power plant components. Concurrent with this action, the NRC is publishing a notice of the issuance and availability of the RGs in the Federal Register. As a result of these related actions, the Code Cases listed in these RGs are incorporated by reference into the NRC's regulations and are deemed to be legally-binding NRC requirements.

This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Agusta Model A109E helicopters. This AD results from a mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) AD issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Community. The MCAI AD states that after a report of an electrical failure, an investigation revealed inadequate functioning of the 35 amperes (Amps) battery bus (BATT BUS) circuit breaker that was not within design requirements. The actions specified in this AD are intended to replace the 35 Amps circuit breaker with a 50 Amps circuit breaker and replace the wires with oversized ones to prevent an electrical failure, loss of electrical power, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

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:

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model DC-10-30, DC-10-30F, DC-10-30F (KC-10A and KDC-10), DC-10-40, DC- 10-40F, and MD-10-30F airplanes. This AD requires doing a one-time inspection of the wire bundles to determine if wires touch the upper surface of the center upper auxiliary fuel tank, and marking the location if necessary; a one-time inspection for splices and damage of all wire bundles routed above the center upper auxiliary fuel tank; a one-time inspection for damage to the fuel vapor barrier seal and upper surface of the center upper auxiliary fuel tank; and corrective actions, if necessary. This AD also requires installing non-metallic barrier/shield sleeving to the wire harnesses, new clamps, new attaching hardware, and new extruded channels. This AD was prompted by fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. We are issuing this AD to reduce the potential of ignition sources inside fuel tanks, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in fuel tank explosions and consequent loss of the airplane.

This final rule makes inseason adjustments to commercial fishery management measures for several groundfish species taken in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. These actions, which are authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), are intended to allow fisheries to access more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and depleted stocks and to prevent exceeding 2010 optimum yields.

The Office seeks comment on whether a cable operator may receive refunds in situations where it has failed to pay for the carriage of distant signals on a system-wide basis under the Copyright Act, before it was amended to allow a cable system to calculate its royalty fees on a community-by-community basis.

The Coast Guard is establishing a Regulated Navigation Area (RNA) in Boston Harbor, Reserved Channel, the Boston Marine Industrial Park and a portion of the Boston Inner Harbor shipping channel, Boston, Massachusetts, for the offload of six cranes from the barge CHICAGO BRIDGE to Conley Terminal in South Boston. This rule is intended to control entry to the Reserved Channel, establish operating conditions for those vessels allowed entry into the Reserved Channel and control the speed of all vessels transiting within the RNA. The RNA is necessary to protect participants and vessels from the hazards associated with the offload of these cranes.

The OCC, Board, FDIC, and OTS (collectively, ``the Agencies'') are issuing this joint final rule, which revises our rules implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The rule implements the statutory requirement that the Agencies consider low-cost education loans provided by the financial institution to low-income borrowers as a factor when assessing an institution's record of meeting community credit needs. The final rule also incorporates the statutory provision that allows the Agencies to consider capital investment, loan participation, and other ventures undertaken by nonminority-owned and nonwomen-owned financial institutions in cooperation with minority- and women-owned financial institutions and low-income credit unions as a factor when assessing an institution's CRA record.

The Coast Guard is revising the operating schedule for the U.S. Highway 21, Sea Island Parkway Bridge at mile marker 536 over the Beaufort River (Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway). This bridge is also known as the Lady's Island Bridge. Due to ongoing construction on the McTeer Bridge, which is across the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway at mile 539.0 in Port Royal, South Carolina, vehicle traffic is currently being rerouted from the McTeer Bridge to the Lady's Island Bridge. This rerouting has resulted in increased vehicle traffic congestion on the Lady's Island Bridge. As a result of the increased vehicle traffic congestion, Beaufort County has requested a revision to the federal regulation setting forth the Lady's Island Bridge operating schedule. Such a revision will alleviate excessive vehicle congestion on the Lady's Island Bridge while permitting sufficient access for maritime passage underneath the bridge.

In this document, the Commission, via the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (Bureau), waives in part the requirement that video programming distributors (VPDs) place contact information for the pursuit of immediate closed captioning concerns and the filing of closed captioning complaints in telephone directories. Some VPDs do not use telephone directories to communicate with the public, and therefore the Bureau waives the rule in such situations, so long as the VPD makes the contact information available on its Web site or on billing statements. The waiver thus balances the goal of ensuring that consumers are readily able to locate VPD contact information, with preventing unduly burdensome compliance with the telephone directories provisions for VPDs that do not use telephone directories to communicate with the public.

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:

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model 400A, and 400T airplanes. This proposed AD would require a detailed inspection for proper sealant of the left and right pylon firewall structures, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD results from reports of missing sealant on the left and right pylon firewall structures. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct missing sealant on the left and right pylon firewall structures, which, in the event of an engine fire, could result in flames penetrating the seams in the firewall between the engine and the aft fuselage, and a subsequent uncontrolled fire in the aft fuselage.

This document corrects technical and typographical errors in the final rules and interim final rule with comment period entitled ``Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System Changes and FY 2011 Rates; Provider Agreements and Supplier Approvals; and Hospital Conditions of Participation for Rehabilitation and Respiratory Care Services; Medicaid Program: Accreditation for Providers of Inpatient Psychiatric Services'' that appeared in the August 16, 2010 Federal Register.

NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendments 16-5 and 23 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Secretarial review. Amendment 16-5 would modify the FMP to implement an overfished species rebuilding plan for petrale sole and revise existing overfished species rebuilding plans. In addition, Amendment 16-5 would modify the default proxy values for FMSY and BMSY as they apply to the flatfish species, including petrale sole; and the harvest control rule policies. Amendment 23 introduces a new framework for fishery specifications and other measures for establishing Annual Catch Limits (ACLs) as required by the recent amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

The U.S. Department of State (Department) is proposing to revise its Fees and Charges assessed for providing Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) services to recoup the Department's costs associated with operating all aspects of the Exchange Visitor Program.

Pursuant to section 107(d)(3) of the Clean Air Act, EPA is proposing to redesignate from ``unclassifiable'' to ``nonattainment'' an area generally covering the western half of Pinal County, Arizona, for the 1987 national ambient air quality standard for particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10 micrometers (PM10), and therefore also proposing to revise the boundaries of the existing ``rest of state'' unclassifiable area. EPA's proposal to establish this new PM10 nonattainment area, referred to as ``West Pinal,'' is based on numerous recorded violations of the PM10 standard at various monitoring sites within the county. EPA's proposed boundaries would encompass all land geographically located within Pinal County west of the north-south line defined by the boundary between Townships 10E and 11E, but excluding the main reservation of the Tohono O'odham Nation (TON) and excluding the Apache Junction portion of the existing Phoenix PM10 nonattainment area. San Carlos Apache lands, which are located in the eastern quarter of the county, would be excluded from the proposed nonattainment area along with the rest of the eastern half of the county. If finalized as proposed, the new ``West Pinal'' PM10 nonattainment area would be classified as ``moderate'' by operation of law. The effect of this action would be to establish and delineate a new PM10 nonattainment area within Pinal County and thereby to impose certain planning requirements on the State of Arizona to reduce PM10 concentrations within this area, including, but not limited to, the requirement to submit, within 18 months of redesignation, a revision to the Arizona state implementation plan that provides for attainment of the PM10 standard as expeditiously as practicable but no later than the end of the sixth calendar year after redesignation. Lastly, EPA is deferring action on the status of certain tribal lands located within this area, including the tribal lands of the Ak-Chin Indian Community and the Gila River Indian Community, as well as TON's Florence Village and San Lucy Farm, pending further consultation with the affected tribes.

The NCUA Board is proposing to adopt an Interpretive Ruling and Policy Statement (IRPS) setting forth the requirements and process for chartering corporate federal credit unions.

This document contains final rules that amend the project review regulations of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (Commission) to include subsidiary allocations for public water supply systems under the scope of withdrawals requiring review and approval; improve notice procedures for all project applications; clarify requirements for grandfathered projects increasing their withdrawals from an existing source or initiating a new withdrawal; refine the provisions governing transfer and re-issuance of approvals; clarify the Executive Director's authority to grant, deny, suspend, rescind, modify, or condition an Approval by Rule; include decisional criteria for diversions into the basin; amend administrative appeal procedures to broaden available remedies and streamline the appeal process; and make other minor regulatory clarifications to the text of the regulations.

EPA is proposing to grant a petition submitted by ExxonMobil Refining and Supply CompanyBeaumont Refinery (Beaumont Refinery) to exclude (or delist) a certain solid waste generated by its Beaumont, Texas, facility from the lists of hazardous wastes. EPA used the Delisting Risk Assessment Software (DRAS) Version 3.0 in the evaluation of the impact of the petitioned waste on human health and the environment.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposes to amend its regulations, to reflect changes in the retirement benefits available to customs and border protection officers under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). These proposed rules incorporate amendments to CSRS and FERS retirement law pursuant to section 535 of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008. The Act provides early retirement and enhanced annuity benefits for customs and border protection officers employed by the United States Department of Homeland Security under CSRS and FERS; requires an increase in the percentage rate of withholdings from the basic pay of customs and border protection officers; and establishes mandatory retirement of customs and border protection officers at age 57.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This 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: