2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) was established by the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-320) (Act) to receive reports and advise Federal agencies on implementing the Act. In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Bureau of Reclamation announces that the Council will meet as detailed below. The meeting of the Council is open to the public.

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.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Horseshoe Bay, TX. Decommissioning of the Horseshoe Bay Resort non-directional beacon (NDB) at Horseshoe Bay Resort Airport, Horseshoe Bay, TX, has made this action necessary for the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (Act) prohibits activities with endangered and threatened species unless a Federal permit allows such activity. The Act also requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

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.

The National Park Service is seeking public comments and suggestions on the planning of the 2010 National Christmas Tree Lighting and the subsequent 23 day event.

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 35013520. Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and (e) ways to further reduce the information collection burdens on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a valid OMB control number.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 USC U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), and as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, the National Science Foundation invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this information collection. Comments: Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. This ICR is scheduled to expire on November 30, 2010. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. However, under OMB regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is pending at OMB.

The Department is revising existing Secondary School Student regulations regarding the screening, selection, school enrollment, orientation, and quality assurance monitoring of exchange students as well as the screening, selection, orientation, and quality assurance monitoring of host families and field staff. Further, the Department is adopting a new requirement regarding training for all organizational representatives who place and/or monitor students with host families. The proposed requirement to conduct FBI fingerprint-based criminal background checks will not be implemented at this time. Rather, it will continue to be examined and a subsequent Final Rule regarding this provision will be forthcoming. These regulations, as revised, govern the Department designated exchange visitor programs under which foreign secondary school students (ages 15-18\1/2\) are afforded the opportunity to study in the United States at accredited public or private secondary schools for an academic semester or year while living with American host families or residing at accredited U.S. boarding schools.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that suspended the reporting and assessment requirements prescribed under the Washington-Oregon fresh prune marketing order. The marketing order regulates the handling of fresh prunes grown in designated counties in Washington and in Umatilla County, Oregon, and is administered locally by the Washington-Oregon Fresh Prune Marketing Committee (Committee). On June 1, 2010, the Committee unanimously voted to terminate Marketing Order No. 924. Since the only regulatory actions then in effect were the reporting and assessment requirements, the Committee included a recommendation to immediately suspend those activities while USDA processes the termination request. The reporting and assessment requirements will remain suspended until reinstated or permanently terminated.

The Division of Epidemiology, Statistics and Prevention Research (hereafter, Division) of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) maintains an extensive repository of datasets from completed studies, biospecimens, and ancillary data. The Division intends to make datasets and biospecimens more widely available to the research community for use by qualified researchers and to establish procedures for access consistent with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Data Sharing Policy. The Division has established an internal committee, the Biospecimen Repository Access and Data Sharing Committee (BRADSC), to oversee the repository access and data sharing program. The purpose of this notice is to request comments on this program and present the initial proposed cost schedule. After full consideration of comments submitted in response to this notice, the BRADSC will finalize proposal guidelines and procedures, publish the cost schedule to the Division Web site, and begin to accept proposals for use of the stored biologic samples and for access to ancillary data that may not be available electronically. The first specimens and ancillary data that will be made available under this program are those from the national Collaborative Perinatal Project (CPP). The CPP is a large, prospective cohort study, conducted by the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which recruited and enrolled 48,197 women who contributed 54,390 pregnancies that were prospectively followed from 1959-1966 at twelve academic medical centers across the United States. Custody for disposition of the CPP serum specimens was transferred to the Division from the NINDS in 1993 and for the microfiche archives in 1999. However, under the Federal Privacy Act of 1974 the samples and archive still belong to NINDS. Since 1992, the specimens have had limited public availability through Division investigators. Going forward, the Biospecimen Repository Access and Data Sharing Committee (BRADSC) will oversee the repository access and data sharing program. Access to other Division resources will be announced on the Division Web site. The BRADSC reserves the right to amend the procedures and costs schedules as necessary to maintain the integrity of the program and to suit the conditions under which other specimens were collected. Announcements and current proposal guidelines will be available under the Research link at https:// despr.nichd.nih.gov, and interested researchers should consult the Division Web site for resources available, the most recent guidelines for proposal submission and evaluation, and cost schedules. Procedures may vary depending on the age and nature of the samples and original institutional review board (IRB) approval, although the general outline of the procedures should remain the same. Cost schedules may vary depending on the nature and complexity of the request. No funding is provided as part of this notice nor will any be available as part of the program either to support laboratory analyses or data management. Samples will only be provided to approved projects upon receipt of evidence of necessary IRB approval(s), funding and payment of repository costs and shipping. Approved projects that do not obtain funding will be canceled within one year of their approval date. A more complete description of this program follows. Comments or requests for clarification on all aspects of the program are welcome.

The inventions listed below are owned by an agency of the U.S. Government and are available for licensing in the U.S. in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of Federally-funded research and development. Foreign patent applications are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage for companies and may also be available for licensing.