March 31, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On December 21, 2010, the Coast Guard published a direct final rule that notified the public of the Coast Guard's intent to amend its ``Coast Guard Whistleblower Protection'' regulations to conform to statutory protections for all members of the Armed Forces. We have not received an adverse comment, or notice of intent to submit an adverse comment, on this rule. Therefore, the rule will go into effect as scheduled.

Through this action, NMFS proposes to prohibit purse seine fishing in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and to prohibit pelagic longline fishing within 30 nautical miles (nm) of the CNMI. The purse seine prohibition is intended to reduce the potential for localized fish depletion by purse seine fishing, limit catch competition and gear conflicts between the purse seine fishery and the Guam and CNMI pelagic longline and trolling fleets, and reduce the potential impacts of purse seine fishing on the recruitment of juvenile bigeye tuna. By establishing a longline fishing prohibited area around the CNMI, NMFS intends to reduce the potential for localized fish depletion by longline fishing, and to limit catch competition and gear conflicts between the developing CNMI longline fishery and the CNMI pelagic trolling fleet. This rule also would make several administrative clarifications to the pelagic fishing regulations.

NMFS issues final specifications for the 2011 Atlantic bluefish fishery, including total allowable landings (TAL), a commercial quota and recreational harvest limit (RHL), and a recreational possession limit. The intent of this action is to establish the allowable 2011 harvest levels and other management measures to achieve the target fishing mortality rate (F), consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The final rule also amends the bluefish regulations that specify the process for setting the annual TAL and target F to more clearly reflect the intent of the FMP.

NMFS announces that the spiny dogfish commercial quota available to the coastal states from Maine through Florida for the 2010 fishing year (FY), May 1, 2010-April 30, 2011, has been harvested. Therefore, effective 0001 hours, April 1, 2011, federally permitted spiny dogfish vessels may not fish for, possess, transfer, or land spiny dogfish until May 1, 2011, when the quota for FY 2011 becomes available. Regulations governing the spiny dogfish fishery require publication of this notification to advise the coastal states from Maine through Florida that the quota has been harvested and to advise vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no Federal commercial quota is available for landing spiny dogfish in these states. This action is necessary to prevent the fishery from exceeding its annual quota and to allow for effective management of this stock.

This document announces receipt by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) of 29 petitions from 27 manufacturers seeking a 180-day extension of the compliance date related to recent amendments to the DOE test procedure for residential furnaces and boilers to address the standby mode and off mode energy consumption of those products. The petitioners demonstrated that meeting the specified compliance date would impose an undue hardship. Accordingly, today's Decision and Order grants these petitions to extend the compliance date by the requested 180 days.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations by removing those portions that reflect approval of 13 new animal drug applications (NADAs). In a notice published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, FDA is withdrawing approval of these NADAs.

This rulemaking finalizes a February 24, 2010, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which DEA proposed to control the chemical precursor ergocristine as a List I chemical under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Clandestine laboratories are using this chemical as a substitute for the List I chemicals ergotamine and ergonovine to illicitly manufacture the schedule I controlled substance lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). This rule is being finalized as proposed. Therefore, handlers of ergocristine shall be subject to the chemical regulatory provisions of the CSA and its implementing regulations. This rulemaking does not establish a threshold for domestic and international transactions of ergocristine. As such, all transactions involving ergocristine, regardless of size, shall be regulated. This rulemaking also specifies that chemical mixtures containing ergocristine will not be exempt from regulatory requirements at any concentration. Therefore, all transactions of chemical mixtures containing any quantity of ergocristine shall be regulated and subject to control under the CSA.

This document announces the availability of the Final NHTSA Vehicle Safety and Fuel Economy Rulemaking and Research Priority Plan 2011-2013 (Priority Plan) in Docket No. NHTSA-2009-0108. This Priority Plan is an update to the Final Vehicle Safety Rulemaking and Research Priority Plan 2009-2011 (October 2009 Plan) that was announced in the November 9, 2009, edition of the Federal Register.

The Postal Service will revise the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[supreg]) 709.1, to establish a new Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) Market Dominant product for First-Class Mail[supreg] and Standard Mail[supreg] combined letter revenues.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued 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: