March 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated 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:

This document amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect an extension of import restrictions on certain archaeological and ethnological materials from Colombia. The restrictions, which were originally imposed by CBP Decision (CBP Dec.) 06-09, are due to expire on March 15, 2011. The Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State, has determined that factors continue to warrant the imposition of import restrictions. Accordingly, these import restrictions will remain in effect for an additional 5 years, and the CBP regulations are being amended to reflect this extension through March 15, 2016. These restrictions are being extended pursuant to determinations of the United States Department of State made under the terms of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act that implemented the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. CBP Dec. 06-09 contains the Designated List of archaeological and ethnological materials of Colombia to which the restrictions apply.

The Department of State is amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to update policies regarding replacement parts/components and incorporated articles.

Section 701 of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) requires a creditor to notify a credit applicant when it has taken adverse action against the applicant. The ECOA adverse action requirements are implemented in the Board's Regulation B. Section 615(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) also requires a person to provide a notice when the person takes an adverse action against a consumer based in whole or in part on information in a consumer report. Certain model notices in Regulation B include the content required by both the ECOA and the FCRA adverse action provisions, so that creditors can use the model notices to comply with the adverse action requirements of both statutes. The Board proposes to amend these model notices in Regulation B to include the disclosure of credit scores and information relating to credit scores if a credit score is used in taking adverse action. These proposed amendments reflect the new content requirements in section 615(a) of the FCRA that were added by section 1100F of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine that the listing of the flat-tailed horned lizard (Phrynosoma mcallii) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), is not warranted, and we therefore withdraw our November 29, 1993, proposed rule to list it under the Act. We made this determination in this withdrawal because threats to the species as identified in the 1993 proposed rule are not as significant as earlier believed, and available data do not indicate that the threats to the species and its habitat, as analyzed under the five listing factors described in section 4(a)(1) of the Act, are likely to endanger the species in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

This interim final rule with comment period implements section 203 of the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010 relating to the treatment of teaching hospitals that are members of the same Medicare graduate medical education affiliated groups for the purpose of determining possible full-time equivalent resident cap reductions.

NMFS proposes to modify Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) base quotas for all domestic fishing categories; establish BFT quota specifications for the 2011 fishing year; reinstate pelagic longline target catch requirements for retaining BFT in the Northeast Distant Gear Restricted Area (NED); amend the Atlantic tunas possession at sea and landing regulations to allow removal of Atlantic tunas tail lobes; and clarify the transfer at sea regulations for Atlantic tunas. This action is necessary to implement recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), as required by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), and to achieve domestic management objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). NMFS solicits written comments and will hold public hearings to receive oral comments on these proposed actions.

As part of its implementation of Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' the Small Business Administration (SBA) is seeking comments and information from interested parties to assist the agency in reviewing its existing regulations to determine whether they should be streamlined, expanded, or withdrawn. The primary objectives of this review are to make SBA's regulatory program more cost effective and less burdensome on participants in the Agency's programs while continuing to promote economic growth, innovation, and job creation. SBA seeks public input on the design of a plan to use for periodic retrospective review of its regulations and an initial list of the rules to be reviewed under the plan.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is proposing to amend its bus testing regulation to more accurately reflect average passenger weights and actual transit vehicle loads. Specifically, FTA is proposing to change the average passenger weight from 150 lbs to 175 lbs. In addition, FTA is proposing to change the floor space occupied per standing passenger from 1.5 to 1.75 square feet, and updating the Structural Strength and Distortion test procedures.

On December 7, 2010, FEMA published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that contained an erroneous table. This notice provides corrections to that table, to be used in lieu of the information published at 75 FR 75945. The table provided here represents the flooding sources, location of referenced elevations, effective and modified elevations, and communities affected for Skagit County, Washington and Incorporated Areas. Specifically, it addresses the following flooding sources: Left Bank Overflow Main Stem Skagit River, Left Bank Overflow Main Stem Skagit River/South Fork Skagit River, Left Bank Overflow North Fork Skagit River, Main Stem Skagit River, North Fork Skagit River, Overflow from the Main Stem Skagit River between the North Fork Skagit River and the South Fork Skagit River, Padilla Bay, Right Bank Overflow Main Stem Skagit River, Right Bank Overflow Main Stem Skagit River/North Fork Skagit River, Right Bank Overflow North Fork Skagit River, Right Bank Overflow South Fork Skagit River, Samish Bay, Samish Bay/Padilla Bay, Simlik Bay, Skagit Bay, Skagit Bay/ Swinomish Channel, Skagit River, Skagit River Delta Overbank Flowpath 1, Skagit River Delta Overbank Flowpath 2, Skagit River Delta Overbank Flowpath 3, South Fork Skagit River, and Swinomish Channel.

On November 9, 2010, FEMA published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that included erroneous Base Flood Elevation (BFE) location descriptions for the Cartecay River in Gilmer County, Georgia. The location description for the proposed BFE of 1,290 feet, referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988, should have located the proposed BFE as being approximately 1.12 miles upstream of Holt Bridge Road; and the location description for the proposed BFE of 1,519 feet, referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988, should have located the proposed BFE as being approximately 0.24 mile upstream of the Owltown Creek confluence.

This document requests comments on a petition for rulemaking filed by Charles Crawford, proposing the substitution of Channel 282A for vacant Channel 232A at Hebbronville, Texas. The proposed substitution of Channel 282A at Hebbronville accommodates the hybrid application, which requests the substitution of Channel 232A for Channel 282A at Benavides, Texas. See File No. BNPH-20070502ADP. A staff engineering analysis indicates that Channel 282A can be allotted to Hebbronville consistent with the minimum distance separation requirements of the Rules with a site restriction 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) northwest of the community. The reference coordinates are 27-23- 18 NL and 98-44-26 WL. The proposed Channel 282A at Hebbronville is located 320 kilometers from the Mexican Border. Therefore, Mexican concurrence has been requested.

EPA is issuing this final rule to stay the requirement for certain affected sources to comply with the title V permit program during the pendency of the reconsideration process. On June 15, 2010, EPA notified Petitioners that the Agency intended to initiate the reconsideration process in response to their request for reconsideration of certain provisions in the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Chemical Manufacturing Area Sources. Among the provisions EPA is reconsidering is a requirement that certain affected sources obtain a permit. On December 14, 2010, EPA issued a 90-day stay of the requirement for certain affected sources to comply with the title V permit program. Because we believed that the reconsideration process would not be completed within 90 days, we concurrently proposed to stay the provision requiring certain sources to obtain a permit until the final reconsideration rule is published in the Federal Register. After considering the comments received, EPA is promulgating the stay of compliance through this final rule.

We are clarifying our regulatory procedures to ensure the safety of the public and our employees in our hearing process. Due to increasing reports of threats to our hearing office employees, we are taking steps to explicitly increase the level of protection we provide to our staff and to the public during the hearing process. We expect these changes to result in a safer work environment for our employees, while at the same time ensuring that our claimants continue to receive a full and fair hearing on their claims for benefits.

This rule makes nonsubstantive, technical changes to Title 33 of the CFR to reflect the realignment of boundaries shared among Sector Lake Michigan, Sector Detroit, and Sector Sault Ste. Marie. This action is taken to rebalance workload and span of control among Ninth District sector commands. These changes affect internal Coast Guard organization and functioning only and will have no substantive effect on mariners or other members of the public.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD would require a detailed inspection to detect distress and existing repairs to the leading edge structure of the vertical stabilizer at the splice at Station Zfs = 52.267; repetitive inspections for cracking in the front spar cap forward flanges of the vertical stabilizer, and either the aft flanges or side skins; repetitive inspections for loose and missing fasteners; and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of cracked vertical stabilizer skin, a severed front spar cap, elongated fastener holes at the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer, and a cracked front spar web and front spar cap bolt holes in the vertical stabilizer. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct such cracking damage, which could result in the structure being unable to support limit load, and could lead to the loss of the vertical stabilizer.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated 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:

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Model 767-200, -300, -300F, and -400ER series airplanes. The existing AD currently requires an inspection to determine if certain motor operated valve actuators for the fuel tanks are installed, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD would add airplanes and, for certain airplanes, require additional inspections to determine if certain motor operated valve actuators for the fuel tanks are installed, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD results from fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. We are proposing this AD to prevent an ignition source inside the fuel tanks, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in a fuel tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting as final, without change, an interim rule published in the Federal Register on August 24, 2010 (75 FR 51919). The interim rule amended the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List) based upon a recommendation submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) on April 29, 2010. Consistent with the recommendation from the NOSB, the interim rule revised the annotation of one substance on the National List, methionine, to extend its use in organic poultry production until October 1, 2012, at the following maximum levels of synthetic methionine per ton of feed: laying chickens4 pounds; broiler chickens5 pounds; turkeys and all other poultry6 pounds.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is preparing a preliminary plan to review its existing significant regulations in response to the President's Executive Order 13563 on Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review. The purpose of NOAA's review is to make the agency's regulatory program more effective and less burdensome in achieving its regulatory objectives by identifying those regulations that should be modified, streamlined, expanded or repealed. NOAA is asking for ideas and information from the public in preparing its preliminary plan explaining how it will conduct such a review.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Virginia State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions recodify the open burning regulations which are currently in the Virginia SIP. There are no substantive changes to the rule. EPA is approving these revisions to Virginia's open burning regulations in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Rural Utilities Service, an agency delivering the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Rural Development Utilities Programs, hereinafter referred to as the Agency, is amending its regulation for the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program (Broadband Loan Program). Since the Broadband Loan Program's inception in 2002, the Agency has faced and continues to face significant challenges in delivering the program due to the following factors: The competitive nature of the broadband market in certain geographic areas; the significant number of companies proposing to offer broadband service that are start-up organizations with limited resources; continually evolving technology; and economic factors such as the higher cost of serving rural communities. In addition, the Office of Inspector General, in a 2005 report, made recommendations to improve program efficiency. For these reasons and in an effort to improve program operation, the Agency published proposed changes to the program's regulation in the Federal Register on May 11, 2007. While the Agency was reviewing public comments and revising the rule, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) was enacted and changed the statute under which the program operates. In accordance with the statute and taking into account the public comments received regarding the proposed rule to the extent possible, this interim rule presents the regulations that will govern the program until a final rule is published. The Agency is seeking comments regarding this interim rule to guide its efforts in drafting the final rule for the Broadband Loan Program.

This action proposes amendments to the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for mercury emissions from mercury cell chlor-alkali plants (Mercury Cell NESHAP). On June 11, 2008, EPA proposed amendments to this NESHAP in response to a petition for reconsideration filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). This action is a supplement to the June 11, 2008, proposal. Specifically, this action proposes two options for amending the NESHAP for mercury emissions from mercury cell chlor-alkali plants. The first option would require the elimination of mercury emissions and thus encourage the conversion to non-mercury technology. The second option would require the measures proposed in 2008. These measures, which included significant improvements in the work practices to reduce fugitive emissions from the cell room, would result in near-zero levels of mercury emissions while still allowing the mercury cell facilities to continue to operate. We are specifically requesting comment on which of these options is more appropriate, and may finalize either option or a combination of elements from them. In addition, this action proposes several amendments that would apply regardless of which option we select. These proposed amendments are provisions of the existing NESHAP that would apply to periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM), and corrections to compliance errors in the currently effective rule.

The Postal Service is proposing to revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[reg]) to change the preparation requirements for mail entered at origin, either as an entire mailing or as the residual volume for plant verified drop shipment (PVDS) mailings.

This is a proposed rule to amend PBGC's regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans. That regulation sets forth rules on PBGC's guarantee of pension plan benefits, including rules on the phase-in of the guarantee. The amendments implement section 403 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which provides that the phase-in period for the guarantee of benefits that are contingent upon the occurrence of an ``unpredictable contingent event,'' such as a plant shutdown, starts no earlier than the date of the shutdown or other unpredictable contingent event.