November 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect approval of a supplementary new animal drug application (NADA) filed by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. The supplement provides for minor revisions to labeling.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the S433 bridge over Bayou Liberty, mile 2.0, St. Tammany Parish, Slidell, LA. This deviation will test a change to the drawbridge operation schedule to determine whether a permanent change to the schedule is needed. It will allow the bridge to remain unmanned during most of the day by requiring a two-hour notice for an opening of the draw. This deviation will be in conjunction with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to make this deviation permanent.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (Council or FFIEC), on behalf of its members, is amending its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations. Among other things, this final rule revises the procedures to be used by members of the public in requesting records maintained by the Council, the time limits in which the Council must make a determination on disclosure in response to a request for records, and the time period in which a requester has the right to administratively appeal any adverse determination made on a request for records, and provides procedures to be used to request expedited processing of FOIA requests.

EPA is partially approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Colorado on June 18, 2009. Specifically, EPA is approving the portions of the ``State of Colorado Implementation Plan to Meet the Requirements of Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)Interstate Transport Regarding the 1997 8- Hour Ozone Standard'' addressing the ``interference with maintenance'' requirement of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) for the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by any other state. The ``interference with maintenance'' requirement of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) prohibits a state's emissions from interfering with maintenance of the NAAQS by any other state. This action is being taken under section 110 of the CAA.

EPA is proposing to approve in part and disapprove in part State implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of California to provide for attainment of the 1997 annual and 24-hour PM2.5 national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) in the Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin area (South Coast nonattainment area). The submitted SIP revisions are contained in the South Coast 2007 Air Quality Management Plan (South Coast 2007 AQMP) and portions of the 2007 State Strategy as revised in 2009. Specifically, EPA is proposing to approve the emissions inventories as meeting the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's fine particulate implementing regulations. EPA is also proposing to approve commitments to propose specific measures and meet specific aggregate emissions reductions by the South Coast Air Quality Management (District) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) because the commitments strengthen the SIP. Finally, EPA is proposing to approve the air quality modeling demonstration as meeting the requirements of the CAA and EPA guidance. EPA is proposing to disapprove the attainment demonstration because it does not provide sufficient emissions reductions from adopted and EPA approved measures to provide for attainment of the NAAQS. As a result, EPA is also proposing to disapprove the reasonably available control measures/reasonably available control technology (RACM/RACT) and reasonable further progress (RFP) demonstrations and proposing not to grant California's request to extend to April 5, 2015 the deadline for the South Coast nonattainment area to attain the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS because these requirements are linked to approving the attainment demonstration under the 1997 PM2.5 implementation rule. We are also proposing to disapprove the assignment of 10 tpd of NOX to the federal government. Finally, EPA is proposing to disapprove PM2.5 contingency measures and the motor vehicle emissions budgets (budgets) for the area's RFP years and attainment year. To the extent that the State can remedy the shortfall in emissions reductions for the attainment demonstration, which is the basis for the proposed disapproval of the attainment demonstration, EPA believes that many of the noted deficiencies could be addressed.

This document corrects a technical error that appeared in the proposed rule entitled ``Medicare Program; Proposed Changes to the Medicare Advantage and the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Programs for Contract Year 2012 and Other Proposed Changes'' which was filed for public inspection on November 10, 2010.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is issuing proposed regulations to implement an amendment to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that creates an additional qualifying reason for leave. Under this amendment, eligible Federal employees may take up to 12 administrative workweeks of FMLA leave without pay due to a qualifying exigency. Qualifying exigencies arise out of the fact that a covered family member is on covered active duty in the Armed Forces or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty status. These regulations would help employees manage family affairs when a family member is on covered active duty.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is amending regulations as required by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) to remove a provision concerning CCC fees for administrative costs to collect commodity assessments. The 2008 Farm Bill prohibits CCC from collecting these fees. As a result of this amendment, CCC, rather than States or commodity associations, will absorb the administrative costs of implementing and modifying commodity assessment collections.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections for damage of the electrical terminal at the left and right flightdeck window 1, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD would also allow for replacing the flightdeck window 1 with a new improved flightdeck window equipped with different electrical connections, which would terminate the repetitive inspections for that flightdeck window 1. This proposed AD was prompted by several reports of electrical arcs at the terminal blocks of the electrically heated flightdeck window 1. We are proposing this AD to prevent smoke and fire in the cockpit, which could lead to loss of visibility, and injuries to or incapacitation of the flightcrew.

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:

This amendment supersedes an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Sikorsky Model S-92A helicopters that currently requires cleaning and inspecting each main gearbox (MGB) assembly mounting foot pad and rib for a crack and corrosion. If you do not find a crack, the AD requires applying a corrosion preventive compound. If you find a crack, the AD requires replacing the MGB before further flight. If you find corrosion, bubbled paint, or paint discoloration, the AD requires you to repair the MGB before further flight. This amendment retains the current requirements and expands the applicability to include another part-numbered MGB assembly and MGB housing. This amendment is prompted by the need to expand the applicability to include another MGB assembly and MGB housing that is prone to the same cracks and corrosion as the MGB listed in the current AD. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent the loss of the MGB and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

The FAA proposes to amend various airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. This action would harmonize the requirements for takeoff speeds, static lateral-directional stability, speed increase and recovery characteristics, and the stall warning margin for the landing configuration in icing conditions with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification standards. When airplanes are type certificated to both sets of standards, differences between the standards can result in additional costs to manufacturers and operators. Adopting this proposal would harmonize regulatory differences for the items noted above between United States (U.S.) and EASA airworthiness standards.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Illinois Central Railroad Drawbridge across the Upper Mississippi River, mile 579.9, at Dubuque, Iowa. The deviation is necessary to allow the bridge owner time to perform preventive maintenance that is essential to the continued safe operation of the drawbridge. Maintenance is scheduled in the winter and when there is less impact on navigation; instead of scheduling work in the summer, when river traffic increases. This deviation allows the bridge to open on signal if at least 24 hours advance notice is given.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is proposing rules to implement new statutory provisions enacted by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. These proposed rules establish a registration requirement that applies to foreign boards of trade (FBOT) that wish to provide their identified members or other participants located in the United States with direct access to their electronic trading and order matching systems.

Treasury is enhancing TreasuryDirect to permit automatic purchases of savings bonds through a payroll savings plan.

EPA is withdrawing a significant new use rule (SNUR) promulgated under section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the chemical substance identified as cobalt lithium manganese nickel oxide (CAS No. 182442-95-1), which was the subject of premanufacture notice (PMN) P-04-269. EPA published the SNUR using direct final rulemaking procedures. EPA received a notice of intent to submit adverse comments on the rule. Therefore, the Agency is withdrawing the SNUR, as required under the expedited SNUR rulemaking process. Elsewhere in today's Federal Register, EPA is publishing (under separate notice and comment rulemaking procedures), a proposed SNUR for this substance.

On September 23, 2010, EPA proposed changes to analysis and sampling test procedures in wastewater regulations. These changes will help provide additional flexibility to the regulated community and laboratories in their selection of analytical methods (test procedures) for use in Clean Water Act programs. EPA requested that public comments on the proposal be submitted on or before November 22, 2010 (a 60-day comment period). Since publication, the Agency has received several requests for additional time to submit comments. EPA is extending the period of time in which the Agency will accept public comments on the proposal for an additional 30 days.

This publication makes a technical correction to the preamble of the final rule on Capital Fund Financing, published on October 21, 2010. That preamble erroneously included a paragraph in the ``Findings and Certifications'' section'' headed ``Congressional Review of Final Rules.'' That paragraph is only relevant where a rule is deemed economically significant, which this rule is not. Therefore, this paragraph should not have been included in the ``Findings and Certifications'' section of the preamble. Removing this paragraph makes no substantive change to the rule.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above that would supersede an existing AD. 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:

This rule increases the assessment rate established for the California Date Administrative Committee (Committee) for the 2010-11 and subsequent crop years from $0.75 to $1.00 per hundredweight of dates handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order that regulates the handling of dates grown or packed in Riverside County, California. Assessments upon date handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The crop year begins October 1 and ends September 30. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), formerly the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), is publishing a set of specific administrative requirements as subpart O to 7 CFR part 3430 for the Sun Grant Program to supplement the Competitive and Noncompetitive Non-formula Federal Assistance ProgramsGeneral Award Administrative Provisions for this program. The Sun Grant Program is authorized under section 7526 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA).

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or the Board) is proposing to amend its open meeting regulations at 5 CFR 1206.7 to ensure consistency with the Government in Sunshine Act.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) amends its rules to require wireless licensees subject to standards for wireless Enhanced 911 (E911) Phase II location accuracy and reliability to satisfy these standards at either a county-based or Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)-based geographic level. The Commission takes this step in order to ensure an appropriate and consistent compliance methodology with respect to location accuracy standards.

This document contains a proposed regulation that, on adoption, would implement the annual funding notice requirement in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) and the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA). As amended, section 101(f) of ERISA generally requires the administrators of all defined benefit plans, not just multiemployer defined benefit plans, to furnish an annual funding notice to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), participants, beneficiaries, and certain other persons. A funding notice must include, among other information, the plan's funding target attainment percentage or funded percentage, as applicable, over a period of time, as well as other information relevant to the plan's funded status. This document also contains proposed conforming amendments to other regulations under ERISA, such as the summary annual report regulation, which became necessary when the PPA amended section 101(f) of ERISA. The proposed regulation would affect plan administrators and participants and beneficiaries of defined benefit pension plans, as well as labor organizations representing participants and beneficiaries and contributing employers of multiemployer plans.