2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains a final regulation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) that requires the disclosure of certain plan and investment-related information, including fee and expense information, to participants and beneficiaries in participant-directed individual account plans (e.g., 401(k) plans). This regulation is intended to ensure that all participants and beneficiaries in participant-directed individual account plans have the information they need to make informed decisions about the management of their individual accounts and the investment of their retirement savings. This document also contains conforming changes to another regulation relating to plans that allow participants to direct the investments of their individual accounts. These regulations will affect plan sponsors, fiduciaries, participants and beneficiaries of participant-directed individual account plans, as well as providers of services to such plans.

The EPA is amending the requirements for particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program by adding maximum allowable increases in ambient pollutant concentrations (``increments'') and two screening tools, known as the Significant Impact Levels (SILs) and a Significant Monitoring Concentration (SMC) for PM2.5. The SILs for PM2.5 are also being added to two other New Source Review (NSR) rules that regulate the construction and modification of any major stationary source locating in an attainment or unclassifiable area, where the source's emissions may cause or contribute to a violation of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS).

The National Park Service (NPS) is issuing this interim general rule governing demonstrations and the sale and distribution of printed matter for most of the National Park System as well as request for comments. This rule revises the definition of what constitutes a demonstration and exempts individuals and small groups from the requirement to obtain a permit for demonstrations and the sale or distribution of printed matter, consistent with the decisions in the Boardley v. Department of the Interior litigation. This rule also refines how applications are processed and prohibits the harassment of visitors and obstruction of public passageways.

Base (1% annual-chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and modified BFEs are made final for the communities listed below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that each community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

NMFS is opening directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 610 of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) for 72 hours. This action is necessary to fully use the 2010 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock specified for Statistical Area 610 of the GOA.

The EPA is proposing to partially approve and partially disapprove revisions of the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ, or Commission) on January 3, 2000, and July 31, 2002, as supplemented on August 5, 2009. These revisions are to regulations of the TCEQ which relate to application and permitting procedures for grandfathered electric generating facilities (EGFs). The revisions address a mandate by the Texas Legislature under Senate Bill 7 to achieve nitrogen oxide (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM) emission reductions from grandfathered EGFs. These emissions reductions will contribute to achieving attainment and help ensure attainment and continued maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter in the State of Texas. As a result of these mandated emissions reductions, in accordance with section 110(l) of the Federal Clean Air Act, as amended (the Act, or CAA), partial approval of these revisions will not interfere with attainment of the NAAQS, reasonable further progress, or any other applicable requirement of the Act. EPA is proposing that the revisions, but for a severable provision, meet section 110, part C, and part D of the Federal Clean Air Act (the Act or CAA) and EPA's regulations. Therefore, EPA is proposing to approve the revisions but for a severable portion that allows collateral emissions increases of carbon monoxide (CO) created by the imposition of technology controls to be permitted under the State's Standard Permit (SP) for Pollution Control Projects (PCP). EPA is proposing to disapprove this severable portion concerning the issuance of a PCP SP for the CO collateral emissions increases. EPA is taking comments on this proposal and plans to follow with a final action.

EPA proposed to determine that the Eagle River nonattainment area in Alaska attained the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to a nominal ten micrometers (PM10) as of December 31, 1994.

This document announces an extension of the time period for submitting written comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking, regarding the Energy Conservation Program: Certification, Compliance, and Enforcement for Consumer Products and Commercial and Industrial Equipment. The comment period is extended to October 29, 2010.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is adopting technical amendments to Forms N-CSR and N-SAR under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 in connection with amendments to Section 13(c) of the Investment Company Act that were included in the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010.

This document constitutes OSHA's official interpretation of the term feasible administrative or engineering controls as used in the applicable sections of OSHA's General Industry and Construction Occupational Noise Exposure standards. Under the standard, employers must use administrative or engineering controls rather than personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce noise exposures that are above acceptable levels when such controls are feasible. OSHA proposes to clarify that feasible as used in the standard has its ordinary meaning of capable of being done. The Agency intends to revise its current enforcement policy to reflect this interpretation. The Agency solicits comments from interested parties on this interpretation.

This document contains proposed regulations providing guidance relating to certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) that apply to hybrid defined benefit pension plans. These regulations would provide guidance on changes made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, as amended by the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008. These regulations would affect sponsors, administrators, participants, and beneficiaries of hybrid defined benefit pension plans. This document also provides a notice of a public hearing on these proposed regulations.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD requires inspecting the wings for internal and external damage, repairing any damage found, installing an operational limitation placard in the cockpit, adding limitations to the flight manual supplement, and reporting the results of the inspection to the FAA if damage is found. This AD was prompted by a wing overload failure and by reports of cracks in the upper wing skins on certain Cessna airplanes that are or have ever been modified by Aviation Enterprises Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) SA02055AT, SA02056AT, SA02307AT, or SA02308AT. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct damage in the wings and to prevent overload failure of the wing due to the installation of the STCs. Damage in the wing or overload failure of the wing could result in structural failure of the wing, which could result in loss of control.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) proposes to lower miners' exposure to respirable coal mine dust by revising the Agency's existing standards on miners' occupational exposure to respirable coal mine dust. The major provisions of the proposal would lower the existing exposure limit; provide for full-shift sampling; redefine the term ``normal production shift; '' and add reexamination and decertification requirements for persons certified to sample, and maintain and calibrate sampling devices. In addition, the proposed rule would provide for single shift compliance sampling under the mine operator and MSHA's inspector sampling programs, and would establish sampling requirements for use of the Continuous Personal Dust Monitor (CPDM) and expanded requirements for medical surveillance. The proposed rule would significantly improve health protections for this Nation's coal miners by reducing their occupational exposure to respirable coal mine dust and lowering the risk that they will suffer material impairment of health or functional capacity over their working lives.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the ``Commission'') hereby proposes rules to implement new statutory provisions enacted by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the ``Dodd-Frank Act''). Specifically, the proposed rules contained herein impose new requirements on derivatives clearing organizations (``DCOs''), designated contract markets (``DCMs''), and swap execution facilities (``SEFs'') with respect to mitigation of conflicts of interest.

NMFS issues this proposed rule that would implement actions identified in a regulatory amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This proposed rule would reduce the commercial quota for red grouper and, thus, the combined commercial quota for shallow water grouper (SWG) species, and require vessels with valid commercial Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef fish permits to mark their buoy gear with the official vessel number. This rule also proposes minor revisions to codified text, including a revised definition of buoy gear, re-codification of the commercial and recreational quotas for greater amberjack, revision of the recreational accountability measure for greater amberjack, and removal of outdated language for the red snapper individual fishing quota (IFQ) program. The intended effect of this proposed rule is to help prevent overfishing of red grouper while achieving optimum yield (OY) by reducing red grouper harvest consistent with the findings of the recent stock assessment for this species, and to implement technical corrections to the regulations.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement measures in Amendment 4 to the Atlantic Herring (Herring) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Amendment 4 was developed by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) to bring the FMP into compliance with new Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requirements by: Revising definitions and the specifications-setting process, consistent with annual catch limit (ACL) requirements; and establishing fishery closure thresholds, a haddock incidental catch cap, and overage paybacks as accountability measures (AMs). In addition, the amendment designates herring as a ``stock in the fishery''; establishes an interim acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule; and makes adjustments to the specification process by eliminating consideration of total foreign processing (JVPt), including joint venture processing (JVP) and internal waters processing (IWP), and reserve from the specification process, and eliminates the Council's consideration of total allowable level of foreign fishing (TALFF).

In this document, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau requests that the comments in the pending Hearing Aid Compatibility proceeding address the effects of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, if any, on the proposed rules.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will consider five of the issues raised in a petition submitted by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), and is denying the remaining four issues of the petition. The petition requests the NRC amend its regulations to clarify existing event reporting requirements based on experience gained since the requirements were revised.

This action revises an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to certain RR RB211-524 series turbofan engines. That proposal would have required initial and repetitive borescope inspections of the head section and meterpanel assembly of the combustion liner, and replacement if necessary with serviceable parts. That proposal was prompted by an inquiry submitted by an operator, which resulted in RR performing a complete review of the affected front combustion liner part numbers (P/Ns). This action revises the proposed rule by clarifying the applicability paragraph (c) of the proposed AD. We are proposing this AD to prevent deterioration of the engine combustion liner, which can result in combustion liner breakup, case burn-through, engine fire, and damage to the airplane.

The Coast Guard is establishing temporary fixed and moving security zones around passenger vessels in the Sector Southeastern New England Captain of the Port Zone. A fixed security zone will be in effect within a maximum 100-yard radius of any passenger vessel anchored, moored, or in the process of mooring and a moving security zone up to 200 yards for any passenger vessel underway being escorted by Coast Guard or forces under Coast Guard control (such as assisting law enforcement agencies). These zones are needed to protect passengers, vessels and the public from destruction, loss, or injury from sabotage, subversive acts, or other malicious acts of a similar nature. This temporary final rule is an interim measure while a permanent rulemaking process is pursued separately under docket USCG- 2010-0803.

This supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking would expand controlled Class E airspace to include a portion extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface at Panguitch Municipal Airport, Panguitch, UT. In an NPRM published in the Federal Register June 28, 2010, the FAA proposed to establish controlled airspace from 700 feet above the surface. The FAA has reassessed the proposal to include Class E airspace 700 feet and 1,200 feet above the surface to further the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action removes the Columbus, GA, Class C airspace area; establishes Class D airspace to replace the Class C airspace; and amends the existing Class E surface area and 700 foot Class E airspace at Columbus, GA. The FAA is taking this action because Columbus Metropolitan Airport no longer meets the criteria required to qualify for a Class C airspace designation. Reconfiguring the airspace facilitates more efficient use of airspace in the Columbus, GA area. A minor correction to the geographic coordinates for Lawson Army Airfield (AAF) also will be made.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the ``Commission'') is proposing a rule to define ``family offices'' that would be excluded from the definition of an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (``Advisers Act'') and thus would not be subject to regulation under the Advisers Act.

PHMSA is considering whether changes are needed to the regulations covering hazardous liquid onshore pipelines. In particular, PHMSA is seeking comment on whether it should extend regulation to certain pipelines currently exempt from regulation; whether other areas along a pipeline should either be identified for extra protection or be included as additional high consequence areas (HCAs) for Integrity management (IM) protection; whether to establish and/or adopt standards and procedures for minimum leak detection requirements for all pipelines; whether to require the installation of emergency flow restricting devices (EFRDs) in certain areas; whether revised valve spacing requirements are needed on new construction or existing pipelines; whether repair timeframes should be specified for pipeline segments in areas outside the HCAs that are assessed as part of the IM; and whether to establish and/or adopt standards and procedures for improving the methods of preventing, detecting, assessing and remediating stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in hazardous liquid pipeline systems. Comments should address the public safety and environmental aspects of new requirements, as well as the cost implications and regulatory burden.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or revokes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.