February 15, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of Homeland Security proposes to establish a new Department of Homeland Security system of records titled, ``Department of Homeland Security/ ALL032 Official Passport Application and Maintenance Records System of Records.'' This system of records will allow the Department of Homeland Security to collect and maintain a copy of an official passport application or maintenance record on Department of Homeland Security employees and former employees, including political appointees, civilian, and military personnel (and dependents and family members that accompany military members assigned outside the continental United States) assigned or detailed to the Department, individuals who are formally or informally associated with the Department, including advisory committee members, employees of other agencies and departments in the federal government, and other individuals in the private and public sector who are on official business with the Department, who in their official capacity, are applying for an official passport or updating their official passport records where a copy is maintained by the Department. Passport applications and updated passport records are transmitted to the Department of State for passport issuance. Official passport application and maintenance records maintained by the Department of State are covered by Department of State26 Passport Records, January 9, 2008, found at https://www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c25533.htm. This newly established system will be included in the Department of Homeland Security's inventory of record systems.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of Homeland Security proposes to amend a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement system of records titled DHS/ICE-004 Bond Management Information System (Dec. 21, 2009) to expand the categories of records and system purpose, and to modify an existing routine use. An existing category of records has been expanded to include records collected, created, or maintained for income tax purposes. The purpose has been updated to include the withholding of income taxes from payments made to bond obligors. A routine use has been modified to clarify the scope of disclosures made from the system to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

This final rule amends Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in March 2011. Interest assumptions are also published on PBGC's Web site (https://www.pbgc.gov).

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received a scientific research permit application request relating to salmonids listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposed research is intended to increase knowledge of the species and to help guide management and conservation efforts.

In a decision served on February 10, 2011, the Board granted a petition by the Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) to institute a rulemaking proceeding to explore whether the Board should require Class I railroads to report separately how much each railroad is spending on the development, installation, and maintenance of Positive Train Control, a federally mandated safety system that will automatically stop or slow a train before an accident can occur. Several parties filed comments in reply to UP's petition. The Board will address the arguments and issues raised in those filings in a subsequent decision. The Board's decision makes no determination on the merits of UP's specific proposal.

These guidelines should be used to ensure and maximize the quality of disseminated information. The Department's guidelines are based on the guidelines of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), ``Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of the Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies'' 67 FR 8452 (Feb. 22, 2002). The guidelines are not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legally binding regulations or mandates. These guidelines are intended only to improve the internal management of DHS and, therefore, are not legally enforceable and do not create any legal rights or impose any legally binding requirements or obligations on the agency or the public. Nothing in these guidelines affects any available judicial review of agency action. These guidelines will serve as the minimum standards for quality within the Department. DHS Components may expand upon these guidelines as necessary, and should use these guidelines to develop or improve their processes for ensuring information disseminated by the Components meet the quality standards. DHS Components should implement processes and mechanisms for receiving, reviewing, and responding to information request that are consistent with these guidelines. DHS Components with existing directives, instructions, and correction processes for information quality may continue to use them, provided they are consistent with the standards and processes established in these guidelines. The guidelines apply to information disseminated to the public in any medium including textual, graphic, narrative, numerical, or audiovisual forms, including information posted on the Internet. The guidelines also apply to DHS Component-sponsored distribution of informationwhere the DHS Component directs a third party to distribute information or DHS has the authority to review and approve the information before release. If the Department is to rely on information submitted by a third party that information would need to meet appropriate standards of objectivity and utility.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will hold a meeting, via conference call, of its Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) and Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory subpanel (CPSAS). The meeting is open to the public.

The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13).

EPA is notifying the public that EPA has withdrawn its previous adequacy finding on the 2012 motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for Connecticut's two 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas. EPA has withdrawn the adequacy finding because Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEP) withdrew its 2012 motor vehicle emission budgets from its eight-hour ozone attainment demonstration SIP for both ozone nonattainment areas. As a result of our finding, Connecticut can not use these 2012 motor vehicle emission budgets for future conformity determinations.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a public meeting to discuss and solicit input on environmental justice considerations related to several upcoming regulatory efforts. These regulatory efforts include the long-term revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) and the third Regulatory Determinations from the drinking water Contaminant Candidate List 3. EPA recently announced its intentions to develop drinking water regulatory actions for perchlorate and carcinogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). While the Agency is in the very preliminary stages of developing the regulatory efforts for perchlorate and carcinogenic VOCs, EPA plans to discuss these actions at this meeting. Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies. EPA is holding this meeting to provide information to communities and an opportunity for communities to provide input on the LCR, Regulatory Determinations 3, perchlorate, and carcinogenic VOCs rulemaking efforts. Date and Location: The public meeting will be held in Washington, DC on Thursday, March 3, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Participants will be notified of the specific meeting room upon confirmation of registration. Teleconferencing will be available for individuals unable to attend the meeting in person.

The Director of the Office of Ecosystem Protection, Environmental Protection Agency-Region 1 (EPA), issued a Notice of Availability of Draft NPDES general permits for discharges from small MS4s to certain waters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on November 4, 2010. A subsequent notice of a public hearing was published on November 29, 2011. Due to inclement weather, the public meeting and hearing for the Draft Massachusetts Interstate, Merrimack and South Coastal Small MS4 General Permit in Leominster, MA on January 12, 2011 were cancelled. EPA has rescheduled the hearing and extended the comment permit of the draft permits. Information on the draft permits, appendices and fact sheet is available at: https://www.epa.gov/ne/npdes/stormwater/mimsc_sms4.html.

The Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR or Committee), will meet Thursday, March 10, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday, March 11, 2011, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The primary purpose of this meeting is to gather information for the Committee's 2011 Annual Report of the Effectiveness of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). The agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. The final agenda will be posted on the NEHRP Web site at https://nehrp.gov/.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the regulations governing the importation of nursery stock to prohibit the importation of propagative seed of several Rutaceae (citrus family) genera from certain countries where citrus greening or citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) is present. The interim rule also required propagative seed of these genera from all other countries to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration that neither citrus greening nor CVC are known to occur in the country where the seed was produced. We took that action because scientific evidence indicated that seed of certain genera of the family Rutaceae may be a pathway for the introduction of those diseases. The interim rule was necessary in order to prevent the introduction or dissemination of citrus greening or CVC within the United States.

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), on behalf of the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the Committee on Technology, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), will hold a workshop on March 10-11, 2011, to provide an open forum and engage in an active scientific discussion about environmental health and safety questions for nanomaterials and nanotechnology-enabled products, to encourage joint US-EU programs of work that would leverage resources, and to establish communities of research practice, including identification of key points of contact/ interest groups/themes between key US and EU researchers for near-term and future collaborations. This request will be active from February 10, 2011, to March 10, 2011.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements specified by the Construction Standards on Posting Emergency Telephone Numbers and Floor Load Limits (paragraph (f) of Sec. 1926.50 and paragraph (a)(2) of Sec. 1926.250, respectively).

The Western Area Power Administration (Western) is proposing to update its formula rates for the WALC Balancing Authority Ancillary Services as well as the formula rates for NITS on the P-DP and Intertie projects. Current formula rates, under Rate Schedules DSW-SD2, DSW-RS2, DSW-FR2, DSW-SPR2, DSW-SUR2, DSW-EI2 and PD-NTS2, and INT-NTS2 are set to expire June 30, 2011. Western is also proposing to add a new rate schedule, Rate Schedule DSW-GI1, for Generator Imbalance (GI) Service. Western is proposing these rates to meet evolving and expanding transmission system and ancillary services requirements. Western has prepared a brochure that provides detailed information on the proposed rates to all interested parties. The proposed rates, under Rate Schedules-DSW-SD3, DSW-RS3, DSW-FR3, DSW-SPR3, DSW-SUR3, DSW-EI3, DSW- GI1, PD-NTS3, and INT-NTS3 would go into effect on October 1, 2011, and would remain in effect through September 30, 2016, or until superseded.\1\ The new rate schedule for GI Service, under Rate Schedule DSW-GI1, would go into effect and coincide with the other ancillary service rates in this rate order. Publication of this Federal Register notice begins the formal process for the proposed formula rates.