March 9, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are announcing receipt of a request to remove a required amendment to the Pennsylvania regulatory program (the ``Pennsylvania program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). In response to a required program amendment codified in the Federal regulations, Pennsylvania has submitted rationale that it believes supports its position that current program provisions are sufficient to render its program no less effective than the Federal requirements and, therefore, no amendment is necessary. The required amendment pertains to regulatory exemptions for coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals. This document gives the times and locations that the Pennsylvania program and this submittal are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

On December 30, 2010, the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the Board) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register and invited comment. The Board's proposed rule would amend the substantive and procedural rules for the authorization of Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZs or zones) and the regulation of zone activity. Specifically, the proposed rule contains changes related to manufacturing and value-added activity in zones, as well as new rules designed to address compliance with the Act's requirement that a grantee provide uniform treatment for all users of a zone. The current comment period is open through April 8, 2011. The Board hereby extends the comment period to May 26, 2011. Additionally, the Board will accept reply comments that are filed by June 27, 2011.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are approving an amendment to the Louisiana regulatory program and abandoned mine land reclamation plan under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Louisiana proposed revisions to its regulations regarding: Definitions; lands eligible for remining; general provisions for review of permit application information and entry of information into Applicant Violator System (AVS); review of applicant, operator, and ownership and control information; review of permit history; review of compliance history; permit eligibility determination; unanticipated events or conditions at remining sites; eligibility for provisionally issued permits; written findings for permit application approval; initial review and finding requirements for improvidently issued permits; suspension or rescission requirements for improvidently issued permits; who may challenge ownership or control listings and findings; how to challenge an ownership or control listing or finding; burden of proof for ownership or control challenges; written agency decision on challenges to ownership or control listings or findings; post-permit issuance requirements for regulatory authorities and other actions based on ownership, control, and violation information; post-permit issuance information requirements for permittees; transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights; certifying and updating existing permit application information; providing applicant and operator information; providing permit history information; providing violation information; backfilling and grading: previously mined areas; cessation orders; and contractor eligibility. Louisiana revised its regulatory program to be no less effective than the corresponding Federal regulations, and its abandoned mine land reclamation plan to be consistent with the Federal regulations.

NMFS closes the commercial sector for vermilion snapper in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. This closure is necessary to protect the vermilion snapper resource.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2011 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock in the West Yakutat District of the GOA.

The EPA proposes interim approval of the Title V Operating Permits Program submitted by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe (Tribe). The Tribe's Title V Operating Permit Program (Title V Program) was submitted for the purpose of administering a tribal program for issuing operating permits to all major stationary sources, and certain other sources on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation (Reservation).

This document announces the second meeting of the Wholesale Pork Reporting Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (Committee). The primary purpose of the Committee is to develop proposed language to amend the Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) regulations to implement mandatory pork price reporting, as directed by the Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-239).

EPA is taking direct final action to promulgate amendments to a final rule that provided national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for existing stationary spark ignition reciprocating internal combustion engines. The final rule was published on August 20, 2010. This direct final action amends certain regulatory text to clarify compliance requirements related to continuous parameter monitoring systems. EPA is also correcting minor typographical errors in the regulatory text to the August 20, 2010, action.

This is one of several releases that the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') will be considering relating to the use of credit ratings in our rules and forms. In this release, we are proposing a new rule as well as rule and form amendments under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 to implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank Act''). The Commission is proposing amendments to two rules and four forms under the Investment Company Act and the Securities Act that contain references to credit ratings. The proposed amendments would give effect to provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that call for the amendment of Commission regulations that contain credit rating references. In addition, the Commission is proposing a new rule under the Investment Company Act to establish a standard of credit-worthiness in place of a statutory reference to credit ratings in that Act that the Dodd-Frank Act removes.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a proposed rule to reclassify benzocaine from its previously proposed monograph status (category I) for over-the-counter (OTC) weight control use to nonmonograph status. Although, in the Federal Register of February 26, 1982, an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) included the recommendation of an Advisory Panel, consisting of health care providers from outside FDA, recommended that benzocaine should be generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE) for weight control, this document includes our first evaluation of benzocaine for this use. Based on our evaluation of the available data and information, we have tentatively concluded that the data are not sufficient to support the safety and effectiveness of benzocaine for this use. This proposed rule, if finalized, would require an approved new drug application (NDA) or abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for the marketing of OTC weight control products containing benzocaine.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of fomesafen in or on pepper (bell and non-bell), potato, and tomato. Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is amending its test procedures for microwave ovens under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to provide for the measurement of standby mode and off mode power use by microwave ovens. These amendments incorporate into the DOE test procedure provisions from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard 62301, ``Household electrical appliances Measurement of standby power,'' First Edition 2005-06 (IEC Standard 62301 (First Edition)). In addition, these amendments adopt in the DOE test procedure definitions of modes based on the relevant provisions from the IEC Standard 62301 Second Edition, Final Draft International Standard (IEC Standard 62301 (FDIS)), as well as language to clarify application of these provisions for measuring standby mode and off mode power consumption in microwave ovens.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) hereby proposes regulations to further implement new statutory provisions enacted by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) regarding registration of intermediaries. Specifically, the Commission proposes certain conforming amendments to the Commission's regulations regarding the registration of intermediaries, consistent with other Commission rulemakings issued pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act; and other modernizing and technical amendments to the regulations.