2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

BOEMRE is revising regulations that pertain to noncompetitive acquisition of an Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) renewable energy lease. We are taking this action because the current regulations covering noncompetitive leasing of an OCS renewable energy lease and an unsolicited request for an OCS renewable energy lease are inconsistent. This rulemaking will make the two processes consistent with each other by eliminating an extra step in the noncompetitive leasing process.

The Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations governing notices of termination of certain grants of transfers and licenses of copyright under section 203 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The amendments are intended to clarify the recordation practices of the Copyright Office regarding the content of section 203 notices of termination and the timeliness of their service and recordation, including a clarification that the Office will accept for recordation under section 203 a notice of termination of a grant agreed to before January 1, 1978 as long as the work that is the subject of the grant was not created before 1978. Whether such notices of termination fall within the scope of section 203 will ultimately be a matter to be resolved by the courts.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to issue a regulatory issue summary (RIS) to clarify for licensees and external stakeholders the information that they should use and present to the NRC in the Decommissioning Funding Status (DFS) reports to ensure that the NRC staff, licensees, and stakeholders are using the same, correct figures and to prevent potential issues resulting from shortfalls in the licensee's decommissioning fund.

We are extending the expiration dates in our temporary rules that provide exemptions under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 for certain credit default swaps in order to continue facilitating the operation of one or more central counterparties for those credit default swaps until the implementation of the clearing provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Under the amendments, the expiration dates of the temporary rules are extended to July 16, 2011.

This notice announces a public meeting of the Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee (THLPSSC). The committee will meet to consider and vote on a rulemaking to apply the Federal pipeline safety regulations to the remaining unregulated rural onshore hazardous liquid low-stress pipelines in accordance with current law.

BOEMRE proposes to incorporate by reference 15 new production measurement industry standards into the regulations governing oil, gas, and sulphur operations in the Outer Continental Shelf. Incorporation of the production measurement standards provides industry with up-to-date guidance for measuring oil and gas production volumes. This will result in more efficient measurement of oil and gas production.

EPA is adding 16 chemicals to the list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986 and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (PPA). These 16 chemicals have been classified by the National Toxicology Program in their Report on Carcinogens as ``reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.'' EPA has determined that these 16 chemicals meet the EPCRA section 313(d)(2)(B) criteria because they can reasonably be anticipated to cause cancer in humans.

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:

NOAA is amending the regulations for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS or sanctuary) by eliminating the exemption that allows discharges from within the boundary of the sanctuary of biodegradable effluent incidental to vessel use and generated by marine sanitation devices (MSDs) approved under the Clean Water Act (CWA), and by requiring that MSDs be secured to prevent discharges of treated and untreated sewage. This action builds upon the Environmental Protection Agency's creation of a No Discharge Zone (NDZ) for the state waters of the FKNMS, and will help protect the Florida Keys ecosystem from potentially harmful vessel sewage discharges. An environmental assessment has been prepared for this action pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. The environmental assessment includes a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) regarding the impacts of this rulemaking.

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of New Mexico for the purpose of addressing the ``good neighbor'' provisions of the Clean Air Act (Act or CAA) section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) for the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standards) and the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. This SIP revision addresses the requirement that New Mexico's SIP has adequate provisions to prohibit air emissions from adversely affecting another state's air quality through interstate transport. In this action, EPA is approving the New Mexico Interstate Transport SIP provisions that address the requirement of CAA section 110 (a)(2)(D)(i)(I) that emissions from New Mexico sources do not interfere with maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS and the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS in any other state. In addition, EPA is approving the provisions of this SIP submission that address the requirement of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) that emissions from the State's sources do not interfere with measures required in the SIP of any other state under part C of the CAA to prevent ``significant deterioration of air quality.'' For purposes of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, EPA is also approving a SIP revision that modifies New Mexico's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) SIP for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS to include nitrogen oxides (NOX) as an ozone precursor. This action is being taken under section 110 and part C of the Act.

This final rule revises the Pipeline Safety Regulations to improve the reliability and utility of data collections from operators of natural gas pipelines, hazardous liquid pipelines, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities. These revisions will enhance PHMSA's ability to understand, measure, and assess the performance of individual operators and industry as a whole; integrate pipeline safety data to allow a more thorough, rigorous, and comprehensive understanding and assessment of risk; and expand and simplify existing electronic reporting by operators. These revisions will improve both the data and the analyses PHMSA and others rely on to make critical, safety-related decisions, and will facilitate both PHMSA's and states' allocation of pipeline safety program inspection and other resources based on a more accurate accounting of risk.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway extending from Mile Marker 49.0 to Mile Marker 50.0, bank to bank, West of Harvey Locks, Lafourche Parish, LA. This Safety Zone is needed to protect the general public, vessels, and tows from destruction, loss, or injury due to repairs of the Bayou Blue Pontoon Bridge and associated hazards.

NMFS reopens the 2010-2011 commercial sector for South Atlantic black sea bass in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). NMFS previously determined the quota for the commercial sector would be reached by October 7, 2010, and closed the commercial sector for black sea bass in the South Atlantic. The latest estimates for landings indicate the quota was not reached by that date. Consequently, NMFS will reopen the commercial sector for 14 days. The purpose of this action is to allow the commercial sector to maximize harvest benefits and at the same time protect the black sea bass resource.

Section 110(h) of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (the ``Act''), requires EPA by November 15, 1995, and every three years thereafter, to assemble the requirements of the Federally-enforceable State Implementation Plans (SIPs) in each State and to publish notice in the Federal Register of the availability of such documents. This notice of availability fulfills the three-year requirement of making these SIP compilations for each State available to the public.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of polyoxyalkylated glycerol fatty acid esters; the mono-, di-, or triglyceride mixtures of C8 through C22, primarily C8 through C18 saturated and unsaturated, fatty acids containing up to 15% water by weight reacted with a minimum of three moles of either ethylene oxide or propylene oxide, also known as polyoxyalkylated glycerol fatty acid esters, when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation under 40 CFR 180.960. Croda Inc., 315 Cherry Lane, Wilmington, DE submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of polyoxyalkylated glycerol fatty acid esters; the mono-, di-, or triglyceride mixtures of C8 through C22, primarily C8 through C18 saturated and unsaturated, fatty acids containing up to 15% water by weight reacted with a minimum of three moles of either ethylene oxide or propylene oxide, also known as polyoxyalkylated glycerol fatty acid esters, when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation on food or feed commodities.

We are reopening for a limited purpose the comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that we published in the Federal Register on August 19, 2010 (75 FR 51336). We are reopening the comment period for 15 days to clarify and to seek additional public comment about an aspect of the proposed definitions of the terms ``marked'' and ``extreme'' in sections 12.00 and 112.00 of our Listing of Impairments (listings). We are reopening the comment period to accept comments about that issue only. We will not consider comments on any other aspects of the proposed listings for mental disorders that we receive during this reopened comment period.

Under section 215 of the Federal Power Act (FPA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to approve Reliability Standards EOP-001-1 (Emergency Operations Planning), EOP- 005-2 (System Restoration from Blackstart Resources), and EOP-006-2 (System Restoration Coordination) submitted to the Commission by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) certified by the Commission. In addition, the Commission seeks comment from the ERO and other interested parties regarding specific concerns. The Commission may determine that, after considering such comments, it is appropriate to direct the ERO, under section 215(d)(5) of the FPA, to develop additional modifications to proposed EOP-005-2 and EOP-006-2. The proposed Reliability Standards require that plans, facilities and personnel are prepared to enable system restoration using designated blackstart resources.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing its intent to establish a Wholesale Pork Reporting Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (Committee). The Committee will attempt to reach consensus on proposed language that AMS will publish as a proposed rule in the Federal Register. The Committee will include representatives of parties who would be affected by a final rule. AMS solicits comments on this initiative and requests interested parties to nominate representatives for membership on the Committee.

This document proposes to amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, Child Restraint Systems, regarding a Hybrid III 10-year-old child test dummy that the agency seeks to use in the compliance test procedures of the standard. This document supplements a 2005 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and a 2008 SNPRM previously published in this rulemaking (RIN 2127-AJ44) regarding this test dummy. In the 2005 NPRM, in response to Anton's Law, NHTSA proposed to adopt the 10-year-old child test dummy into FMVSS No. 213 to test child restraints for older children. Subsequently, to address variation that was found in dummy readings due to chin-to-chest contact, NHTSA published the 2008 SNPRM to propose a NHTSA-developed procedure for positioning the test dummy in belt-positioning seats. Comments on the SNPRM objected to the positioning procedure, and some suggested an alternative procedure developed by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). Today's SNPRM proposes to use the UMTRI procedure to position the test dummy rather than the NHTSA-developed procedure. We note that the 10-year-old child dummy may sometimes experience stiff contact between its chin and upper sternal bib region which may result in an unrealistically high value of the head injury criterion (HIC) \1\ referenced in the standard. Accordingly, NHTSA proposes that the dummy's HIC measurement will not be used to assess the compliance of the tested child restraint. This SNPRM also proposes other amendments to FMVSS No. 213, including a proposal to permit NHTSA to use, at the manufacturer's option, the Hybrid II or Hybrid III versions of the 6-year-old test dummy, and a proposal to use the UMTRI procedure to position the Hybrid III 6-year- old and 10-year-old dummies when testing belt-positioning seats.

DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to strongly encourage discussions prior to award for source selections of procurements estimated at $100 million or more. The proposed change was recommended by the DoD Source Selection Joint Analysis Team.

DoD is adopting as final, with a minor change, an interim rule amending the DFARS to implement section 819 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. Section 819 places limitations on certain types of line items and contract options that may be included in contracts initially awarded pursuant to competitive solicitations.

DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to conform it to changes in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) relating to annual representations and certifications.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is changing its regulations that provide NARA facilities' hours of operation. NARA facilities' hours of operation will no longer be listed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Further, NARA offices must follow specific procedures when changing facilities' hours of operation. These procedures provide the public with advance notice of any proposed changes in hours and will include justification for the change in writing. Note that there are no proposed changes to hours of operation at any NARA facility at this time.

The Coast Guard proposes to amend its regulation establishing a permanent safety zone extending 100 yards from Pier 66, Elliot Bay, WA to ensure adequate safety during the parade of ships and aerial demonstration for Fleet Week. This supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking introduces revisions to enforcement dates, times and location of this safety zone. This safety zone is necessary in order to restrict vessel movement for participant and spectator safety in the proximity of Pier 66, Elliot Bay, WA to provide unencumbered access for response craft in the event of an emergency during the annual parade of ships and aerial demonstration.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes amendments to its test procedure for commercial refrigeration equipment (CRE). The amendments would update the referenced industry test procedures to the most current version, incorporate methods to evaluate the energy impacts resulting from the use of night curtains and lighting occupancy sensors, and allow testing of certain commercial refrigerators at their lowest application product temperature. These test procedures will apply to commercial refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator-freezers, as defined in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended. Use of any amended test procedures will be required on the compliance date of any standards developed in the associated energy conservation standard rulemaking. DOE will hold a public meeting to receive and discuss comments on the proposal.