October 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are amending the regulations for the importation of Hass avocados originating in Michoac[aacute]n, Mexico, into the United States by adding the option to ship avocados to the United States in bulk shipping bins when safeguarding is maintained from the packinghouse to the port of first arrival in the United States and by making it clear that the avocados may be shipped by land, sea, or air. We are also amending the regulations to allow avocados from multiple packinghouses that participate in the avocado export program to be combined into one consignment. We are taking these actions in response to requests from the Government of Mexico and inquiries from a U.S. maritime port. These actions will allow additional options for shipping Hass avocados from Mexico to the United States and allow Mexican exporters to ship full container or truck loads from multiple packinghouses while continuing to provide an appropriate level of protection against the introduction of plant pests.

On October 18, 2010, we published in the Federal Register (75 FR 63763) a notice announcing public meeting sessions to receive oral presentations and to interact with commenters regarding comments that were submitted to the Department of Education in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Program Integrity: Gainful Employment, published in the Federal Register on July 26, 2010 (75 FR 43616). This document corrects the ending date for members of the public to register to attendonlythe public meeting sessions that is listed in the October 18, 2010 notice.

The Secretary amends the regulations for Institutional Eligibility Under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), to establish a process under which an institution applies for approval to offer an educational program that leads to gainful employment in a recognized occupation.

In this final rule, we respond to petitions for reconsideration of a final rule published on October 21, 2008, which upgraded NHTSA's school bus passenger crash protection requirements. This document denies most of the requests in the petitions for reconsideration. To the extent we grant petitions, we make slight changes to the regulatory text of the October 2008 final rule to clarify the rule. We make clearer the procedure specifying how we will measure the height of school bus passenger torso belts, and we are clarifying that a requirement that seat belts be integral to the passenger seat (a requirement adopted to reduce the likelihood of passengers getting injured by or tangled in loose belts) also applies to seats that have wheelchair positions or side emergency doors behind them, even if the seats are in the last row of vehicles. We are also slightly revising the procedure for testing the self- latching requirement for school bus seat cushions, to specify the weight that is placed on the seat cushion in Newtons, to specify that the downward force is applied in a one to five second timeframe, and to specify that activation of the self-latching mechanism is assessed using the seat cushion retention test. Those provisions make the language more consistent with that of a pre-existing seat cushion retention test in the standard.

DoD is issuing an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement section 807 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010. Section 807 requires that facilities, infrastructure, and equipment that are intended for use by military or civilian personnel of the Department of Defense (DoD), in current or future military operations, should be inspected for safety and habitability prior to use, and that such facilities should be brought into compliance with generally accepted standards for the safety and health of personnel to the maximum extent practicable consistent with the requirements of military operations and the best interests of DoD to minimize the safety and health risk posed to such personnel.

DoD is adopting as final, without change, the interim rule that amended the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to incorporate increased thresholds for application of the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and the Free Trade Agreements, as determined by the United States Trade Representative.

This document contains a correction to the proposed rule titled ``Farm Loan Programs Loan Making Activities'' that was published September 23, 2010. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is correcting the Paperwork Reduction Act information since the information collection statement for special direct loan servicing was inadvertently omitted from the proposed rule.

The Board is amending Regulation E, which implements the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and the official staff commentary to the regulation, in order to implement legislation that modifies the effective date of certain disclosure requirements in the gift card provisions of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009.

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:

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. That AD currently requires a detailed inspection for certain defects of the upper fasteners of the aft mount support fittings of the left and right engines, and corrective actions if necessary. This new AD requires repetitive replacement of the upper row of fasteners of the support fittings of the engine aft mount with new fasteners; and repetitive general visual inspections for defects of the lower row fasteners (Row B) of the support fittings of the left and right engine aft mounts, and replacement of all clearance fit fasteners in the lower row if necessary. This AD was prompted by reports of loose, cracked, or missing fasteners in the aft mount support fitting of the left and right engines. We are issuing this AD to prevent loose, cracked, or missing fasteners in the engine aft mount support fittings, which could lead to separation of the support fittings from the pylon, and could result in separation of the engine from the airplane.

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:

This document proposes to amend our rules concerning commercial radio operator licenses for maritime and aviation radio stations who perform certain functions performed within the commercial radio operators service, to determine which rules can be clarified, streamlined, or eliminated.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect a change of sponsor from Farmland Industries, Inc., to Land O' Lakes Purina Feed LLC for a free-choice supplement block containing monensin for pasture cattle.

This action amends Class E airspace for the Kaiser/Lake Ozark, MO, area to accommodate Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP) at Camdenton Memorial Airport, Camdenton, MO. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action amends Class E airspace for the Corpus Christi, TX, area. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP) at Corpus Christi International Airport, Corpus Christi, TX. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action amends Class E airspace for Searcy, AR. Decommissioning of the Searcy non-directional beacon (NDB) at Searcy Municipal Airport, Searcy, AR, has made this action necessary to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport. The geographic coordinates of the airport also will be adjusted.

The Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulations governing the operation of the Route 88/Veterans Memorial Bridge across Point Pleasant Canal, at NJICW mile 3.0, in Point Pleasant, NJ. This closure is necessary to facilitate extensive mechanical rehabilitation and to maintain the bridge's operational integrity.

The Coast Guard is establishing a Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) on the Lower Mississippi River and is transferring certain vessel traffic management (VTM) provisions of the Mississippi River, LouisianaRegulated Navigation Area to the VTS. This final rule establishes a mandatory participation VTS by implementing current voluntary practices and operating procedures. This rule facilitates vessel transits, enhances good order, promotes safe navigation, and improves existing waterway operating measures. The rule also proposes minor conforming revisions to the existing VTM provisions and related regulations.

NCUA is issuing this Interim Final Rule to amend the definition of ``low-risk assets'' for regulatory capital purposes. Assets in this category receive a risk-weighting of zero, reflecting the absence of credit risk. The amendment will expand the definition of ``low-risk assets'' to include debt instruments on which the payment of principal and interest is unconditionally guaranteed by NCUA as an agency of the Executive Branch of the United States.

The Advance Planning Document (APD) process governs the procedure by which States obtain approval for Federal financial participation in the cost of acquiring automated data processing equipment and services. This final rule reduces the submission requirements for lower-risk information technology (IT) projects and procurements and increases oversight over higher-risk IT projects and procurements by making technical changes, conforming changes and substantive revisions in the documentation required to be submitted by States, counties, and territories for approval of their Information Technology plans and acquisition documents.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing rule and form amendments under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 that, if adopted, would require an institutional investment manager that is subject to Section 13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act to report annually how it voted proxies relating to executive compensation matters as required by Section 14A of the Securities Exchange Act, which was added by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

EPA is amending specific provisions in the 2009 Final Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting rule to correct certain technical and editorial errors that have been identified since promulgation and to clarify and update certain provisions that have been the subject of questions from reporting entities. These final changes include additional information to better or more fully understand compliance obligations, corrections to data reporting elements so they more closely conform to the information used to perform emission calculations, and other corrections and amendments.

The Department of the Navy (DoN) is amending its certifications and exemptions under the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (72 COLREGS), to reflect that the Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General (DAJAG) (Admiralty and Maritime Law) has determined that USS WILLIAM P. LAWRENCE (DDG 110) is a vessel of the Navy which, due to its special construction and purpose, cannot fully comply with certain provisions of the 72 COLREGS without interfering with its special function as a naval ship. The intended effect of this rule is to warn mariners in waters where 72 COLREGS apply.

We are revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. That NPRM proposed to retain the inspection requirements of AD 2009-09-09 and add a terminating action for the repetitive inspection requirements. That NPRM resulted from the manufacturer developing a modification that, when incorporated, would terminate the repetitive inspections required by AD 2009-09-09. Since we issued the earlier NPRM, the manufacturer revised the service information to include additional airplane serial numbers into the Effectivity section and revised the modification kit instructions. This action revises that NPRM by adding airplanes to the Applicability section and incorporating new service information. We are proposing this supplemental NPRM to retain the inspection requirements of AD 2009-09-09 and add a terminating action for the repetitive inspection requirements using the revised service information. Since these actions impose an additional burden over that proposed in the NPRM, we are reopening the comment period to allow the public the chance to comment on these proposed changes.