February 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This is a notice of the Presidential declaration of an emergency for the State of Oklahoma (FEMA-3316-EM), dated February 2, 2011, and related determinations.

This is a notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the State of New Jersey (FEMA-1954-DR), dated February 4, 2011, and related determinations.

NOAA is seeking public comment on a draft national aquaculture policy that supports sustainable marine aquaculture in the United States. The intent of the policy is to guide NOAA's actions and decisions on aquaculture and to provide a national approach for supporting sustainable aquaculture. The NOAA Aquaculture Program will host national call-in briefings on the policy for the public.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is requesting public comments on the Emergency Responder Field Operations Guide (ER FOG). The ER FOG was drafted to assist emergency response personnel in the use of the National Incident Management System Incident Command System during incident operations.

This action proposes to modify Class E airspace at Poplar Municipal Airport, Poplar, MT. The airport was moved 1.5 nautical miles (NM) to the northeast. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate aircraft using new Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) standard instrument approach procedures at Poplar Municipal Airport, Poplar, MT. The FAA is proposing this action to enhance the safety and management of aircraft operations at Poplar Municipal Airport, Poplar, MT. This will also correct the airport name from Poplar Airport.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of polymerized fatty acid esters with aminoalcohol alkoxylates (PFAEAA) with a minimum number average molecular weight (in amu) 1,200, limited to the chemicals listed in Unit 11 of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, when used as an inert ingredient (surfactant) under 40 CFR 180.910 (growing crops and raw agricultural commodities after harvest) and 40 CFR 180.930 (animal application). Croda Inc. submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting establishment of an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of PFAEAA.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is soliciting comments for the reissuance of the existing nationwide permits (NWPs), general conditions, and definitions, with some modifications. The Corps is also proposing to issue two new NWPs and two new general conditions. The Corps is requesting comment on all aspects of these proposed nationwide permits. More specifically, the Corps is requesting comments on options for NWP 21, which authorizes discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States associated with surface coal mining activities, such as reissuing NWP 21 with modifications or not reissuing NWP 21. The Corps is also seeking comments on whether to reissue NWP 48 with modifications to authorize new commercial shellfish aquaculture activities or to issue a separate NWP to authorize only new commercial shellfish aquaculture activities. The reissuance process starts with today's publication of the proposed NWPs in the Federal Register for a 60-day comment period. The purpose of this Federal Register notice is to solicit comments on the proposed new and modified NWPs, as well as the NWP general conditions and definitions. Shortly after the publication of this Federal Register notice, each Corps district will publish a public notice to solicit comments on their proposed regional conditions for the new and modified NWPs. The comment period for these district public notices will be 45 days.

This document advises the public that FMCSA has placed in the public docket three additional documents concerning hours of service (HOS) for commercial motor vehicle drivers. This notice also makes clerical corrections to both the preamble and the regulatory text of FMCSA's notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on HOS requirements, which was published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2010. Finally, the notice extends the public comment period for the NPRM from February 28, 2011 to March 4, 2011.

In this document, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau adopts as a final rule, with some changes, a proposed revision of its distilled spirits plant regulations. The revision modernizes the requirements for operating distilled spirits plants and includes a number of organizational changes to improve the layout of the regulatory texts. These changes make the regulations easier to apply, thereby facilitating compliance by distilled spirits plant proprietors and allowing those proprietors to operate in a more efficient manner. The revision also incorporates plain language principles in order to improve the clarity and readability of the regulatory texts.

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.