2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The purpose of this document is to seek comment on improving the Commission's existing Enhanced 911 (E911) rules to further improve the location capability of 911 and E911 services for existing and new voice communications technologies, including new broadband technologies associated with deployment of Next Generation 911 (NG911) networks.

This document concludes the Commission's longstanding efforts to relocate the Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) from the 1990-2110 MHz band to the 2025-2110 MHz band, freeing up 35 megahertz of spectrum in order to foster the development of new and innovative services. This decision addresses the outstanding matter of Sprint Nextel Corporation's (Sprint Nextel) inability to agree with Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) operators in the band on the sharing of the costs to relocate the BAS incumbents. To resolve this controversy, the Commission applies its time-honored relocation principles for emerging technologies previously adopted for the BAS band to the instant relocation process, where delays and unanticipated developments have left ambiguities and misconceptions among the relocating parties. In the process, the Commission balances the responsibilities for and benefits of relocating incumbent BAS operations among all the new entrants in the different services that will operate in the band.

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), notice is hereby given of the following meeting of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Designation of Medically Underserved Populations and Health Professional Shortage Areas.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'' or ``CFTC'') is proposing reporting regulations that are reasonably necessary for implementing and enforcing aggregate position limits for certain physical commodity derivatives. As a result of recent legislative reforms, the Commission may adopt regulations establishing aggregate position limits for designated contract market (``DCM'') physical commodity futures contracts and swaps that are economically equivalent to such contracts. The Commission currently receives, and uses for market surveillance purposes, including position limit enforcement, data on large positions in all physical commodity futures and option contracts traded on DCMs. However, there is no analogous reporting structure in place for economically equivalent swaps, which until recently were largely unregulated financial contracts. The Commission's proposal would require position reports on economically equivalent swaps from clearing organizations, their members and swap dealers. Notably, the proposed regulations also include a sunset provision. The sunset provision would render the regulations ineffective upon the Commission's issuance of an order finding that operating swap data repositories (``SDRs'') are capable of processing positional data in a manner that would enable the Commission to set and enforce aggregate position limits.

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 apply to the review of swaps by the Commission to determine whether the swaps are required to be cleared.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), list the Georgia pigtoe mussel (Pleurobema hanleyianum), interrupted rocksnail (Leptoxis foremani), and rough hornsnail (Pleurocera foremani) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We also designate approximately 258 kilometers (km) (160 miles (mi)) of stream and river channels as critical habitat for the three species, in Cherokee, Clay, Coosa, Elmore, and Shelby Counties, Alabama; Gordon, Floyd, Murray, and Whitfield Counties, Georgia; and Bradley and Polk Counties, Tennessee.

On February 22, 2010 and June 29, 2010, the Board published in the Federal Register final rules amending Regulation Z's provisions that apply to open-end (not home-secured) credit plans, in each case in order to implement provisions of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. The Board believes that clarification is needed regarding compliance with certain aspects of the final rules. Accordingly, to facilitate compliance, the Board proposes to amend specific portions of the regulations and official staff commentary.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect the original approval of a new animal drug application (NADA) filed by Dechra, Ltd. The NADA provides for the veterinary prescription use of domperidone oral gel for prevention of fescue toxicosis in periparturient mares.

EPA and NHTSA are announcing public hearings to be held for the joint proposed rules ``Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles,'' which will be published in the near future in the Federal Register. The agencies will also accept comment on NHTSA's Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Two hearings will be held, on November 15 and 18, 2010.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (``CPSC,'' ``Commission,'' or ``we'') is proposing to amend its bicycle regulations. The proposed amendments would make minor changes to certain requirements to reflect the development of new technologies, designs, and features in bicycles and clarify that certain provisions or testing requirements do not apply to specific bicycles or bicycle parts. The proposal also would delete an outdated reference and correct typographical errors in the bicycle reflector performance test.

The Coast Guard published a final rule in the Federal Register on August 31, 2010 which created a security zone around the U.S. Coast Guard Base Support Unit Seattle, Pier 36, on Elliot Bay in Seattle, WA. This correction document provides more precise coordinates to match the geographic description of the zone provided in the final rule to better depict the boundaries of the security zone for charting purposes. This document makes that change to the subject final rule security zone which, as described in the preamble of the final rule, extends from the north western tip of Pier 36 across the inlet to the south western tip of Pier 36, effectively closing off the access point such that unauthorized vessels are prohibited from entering the pier.

In this document, the Federal Communication Commission proposes the creation of a new Mobility Fund to make available one-time support to significantly improve coverage of current-generation or better mobile voice and Internet service for consumers in areas where such coverage is currently missing. The Commission seeks comment on creating the Mobility Fund using reserves accumulated in the Universal Service Fund and on the use of a reverse auction to make one-time support available to service providers to cost-effectively extend mobile coverage in specified unserved areas.

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.