May 19, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is proposing a limited approval and limited disapproval of permitting rules submitted for the Placer County Air Pollution Control District (PCAPCD) and Feather River Air Quality Management District (FRAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). The districts are required under Part D of title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to adopt and implement a SIP-approved New Source Review (NSR) permit program. These rules update and revise the District's NSR permitting program for new and modified sources of air pollution. If EPA finalizes the limited approval and limited disapproval action, as proposed, then a sanctions clock would be triggered. We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

This action proposes to modify Class E airspace at Alturas Municipal Airport, Alturas, CA. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate aircraft using Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) standard instrument approach procedures at Alturas Municipal Airport. The FAA is proposing this action to enhance the safety and management of aircraft operations at Alturas Municipal Airport, Alturas, CA.

This final rule establishes the 2011 fishery harvest specifications for Pacific whiting in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and state waters off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, as authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). These specifications include the overfishing level (OFL), catch limits, and allocations for the non-tribal commercial sectors. This final rule also announces the tribal allocation of Pacific whiting for 2011.

We are amending the brucellosis regulations concerning the interstate movement of swine by adding Texas to the list of validated brucellosis-free States. We have determined that Texas meets the criteria for classification as a validated brucellosis-free State. This action relieves certain restrictions on the interstate movement of breeding swine from Texas.

We are proposing to amend the regulations governing the importation of animals and animal products to add Liechtenstein and Switzerland to the region of Europe that we recognize as low risk for classical swine fever (CSF). We are also proposing to add Liechtenstein to the list of regions we consider free from swine vesicular disease (SVD) and to the list of regions considered free from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and rinderpest. These proposed actions would relieve some restrictions on the importation into the United States of certain animals and animal products from those regions, while continuing to protect against the introduction of CSF, SVD, FMD, and rinderpest into the United States.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD was prompted by events of excessive rudder pedal inputs and consequent high loads on the vertical stabilizer on several airplanes. High loads on the vertical stabilizer that exceed ultimate design loads could cause failure of the vertical stabilizer and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane. The proposed AD would require actions that are intended to address this unsafe condition.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is proposing to amend its regulations governing Federal grants for the establishment, expansion, and improvement of veterans cemeteries. We propose to implement through regulation new statutory authority to provide grants for the establishment, expansion, and improvement of Tribal Organization veterans cemeteries, as authorized by Section 403 of the ``Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006'' (the Act). The Act requires VA to administer grants to Tribal Organizations in the same manner and under the same conditions as grants to States. The proposed rule would make non-substantive changes to the part heading of part 39 and the name of the State Cemetery Grants Service to more accurately reflect that VA awards veteran cemetery grants to States and Tribal Organizations. The proposed rule would establish criteria to guide VA's decisions on granting Tribal Organization requests to obtain grants for establishing, expanding, and improving veterans cemeteries that are or will be owned and operated by a Tribal Organization. The proposed rule would also expand VA's preapplication requirement to all veterans cemetery grants as a means to promote consistency and communication in the grant application process. Further, the proposed rule would revise VA regulations to address structural differences between Tribal Organizations and States.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is amending its procedures for holding funds in any filing fee account in which there has not been a deposit, withdrawal or other adjustment. The amendment extends the holding period from 180 days to three years, after which the Commission will initiate the return of funds to the account holder without any action by the account holder. As always, account holders may request a refund of such fees at any time.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by NPG of Texas, LP (``NPG''), licensee of station KVIA-TV, El Paso, Texas, requesting the substitution of channel 17 for channel 7 at El Paso. NPG states that the proposed channel substitution will serve the public interest by significantly improving the public's digital signal reception from KVIA-TV.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is establishing the regulation for the Agriculture Priorities and Allocations System (APAS). Food is a critical commodity essential to the national defense (including civil emergency preparedness and response). To avoid civilian hardship during national defense emergencies it may be necessary to regulate the production, processing, storage, and wholesale distribution of food. Through the APAS rule, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will respond to requests to place priority ratings on contracts, or orders of agriculture commodities up through the wholesale levels for agriculture production and equipment, allocate resources, and handle food claims as specified in the Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950, as amended, if the necessity arises. FSA needs to implement this rule to direct the agriculture commodities and resources to areas of hardship or potential hardship due to national emergencies. For example, APAS is designed to use the DPA authority to help ensure that food is available when and where it is needed most, such as after a hurricane or earthquake. In most cases, there is likely to be no economic impact in filling priority orders because it would generally just be changing the timing in which orders are completed.

This action removes Class E airspace at Ozark, MO. Abandonment of the former Air Park South Airport and cancellation of all Standard Instrument Approach Procedures has eliminated the need for controlled airspace in the Ozark, MO area. The FAA is taking this action to ensure the efficient use of airspace within the National Airspace System.