July 19, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is approving submittals from the state of Louisiana pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) that address the infrastructure elements specified in the CAA section 110(a)(2), necessary to implement, maintain, and enforce the 1997 8-hour ozone and 1997 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or standards). We are determining that the current Louisiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) meets the following infrastructure elements which were subject to EPA's completeness findings pursuant to CAA section 110(k)(1) for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS dated March 27, 2008, and the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS dated October 22, 2008: 110(a)(2)(A), (B), (C), (D)(ii), (E), (F), (G), (H), (J), (K), (L), and (M). EPA is also approving SIP revisions that modify Louisiana's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) SIP for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS to include nitrogen oxides (NOX) as an ozone precursor. This action is being taken under section 110 and part C of the Act.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the extension, with revision, of a currently approved information collection, Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) Inventory.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. Recipients of Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) funds provide plans for low-income housing programs in their communities and submit quarterly reports on funds drawn. Recipients may submit information to correct and/or challenge data used in annual housing assistance formula allocations. Additional requirements have been added: Recipients may purchase insurance from a nonprofit insurance entity approved by HUD. These entities must submit annual audit and actuarial reviews to HUD annually.

The Coast Guard will enforce the Special Local Regulation for the Columbia Unlimited Hydroplane Races. This regulation which restricts navigation and anchorage on the Columbia River for six days at the end of July. This action is necessary to ensure the safety of the vessels involved in the Annual Kennewick, Washington, Columbia Unlimited Hydroplane Races (Water Follies). During the enforcement period, no person or vessel may operate their vessels in this area without permission from the on scene Patrol Commander.

The Coast Guard is establishing Special Local Regulations for ``The Crystal Coast Grand Prix'' powerboat race, to be held on the waters of Bogue Sound, adjacent to Morehead City, North Carolina. This Special Local Regulation is necessary to protect spectators and vessels from hazards associated with powerboat races. This regulation will close a portion of the waters of Bogue Sound to vessel traffic during the boat race.

This document delays specified applicability and effective dates of the Employee Benefits Security Administration's (EBSA) interim final rule concerning fiduciary-level fee disclosure and final rule concerning participant-level fee disclosure. These final rules were published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2010 and October 20, 2010, respectively. This document delays and more closely aligns the initial compliance dates of the two rules in order to provide regulated parties with more time to comply with the new disclosure requirements. This document adopts final amendments to the initial compliance dates for both rules.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), will be considering a proposal to authorize a nonessential experimental population of Upper Columbia (UC) spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Okanogan River and its tributaries in Okanogan County, Washington under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. The geographic boundaries of the experimental population area would likely include the entire Okanogan River subbasin and a portion of the mainstem Columbia River from the confluence of the Columbia and Okanogan Rivers upstream to the base of Chief Joseph Dam. We will consider the best available information to determine if reintroduction of Chinook salmon is biologically feasible and will promote the conservation of the UC spring-run Chinook salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU). This advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) identifies policy and technical issues for consideration and evaluation, and solicits comments regarding them.

This action makes corrections, clarifications, and modifications to existing regulations to ensure consistency with measures adopted by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) to regulate the Northeast (NE) multispecies fishery and to provide additional flexibility for some of the administrative regulatory requirements. The current regulations governing the NE multispecies fishery contain a number of inadvertent errors, omissions, and potential inconsistencies with measures adopted by the Council and approved by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) in recent actions regarding the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This interim final rule is being taken by NMFS under the authority of section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act); NMFS is implementing changes made to the dockside monitoring program (DSM), not included in the proposed rule, as an interim rule in order to seek public comments on the changes.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service is proposing to amend its regulations for the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program to ensure the Agency has sufficient right(s) for reimbursement when an Agency guaranteed portion of a loan is sold to a holder. This action is necessary because the rule is not sufficiently clear that the use of loan funds for purposes not approved by the Agency is a reason to find the guarantee unenforceable regardless of whether the guaranteed portion of the loan has been sold to a holder. This action ensures the Agency has sufficient rights for reimbursement when an Agency guaranteed portion of the loan is sold to a holder.

This action corrects the effective date of a final rule correction, that was published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2011. The effective date in that Final Rule; Correction. inadvertently listed the wrong effective date in the Correction to Final Rule section.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (``CPSIA''), authorizes the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (``Commission,'' ``CPSC,'' or ``we'') to specify, by rule, for any consumer product or class of consumer products, characteristics whose existence or absence shall be deemed a substantial product hazard under certain circumstances. We are issuing a final rule to determine that children's upper outerwear garments in sizes 2T to 12 or the equivalent, which have neck or hood drawstrings, and in sizes 2T to 16 or the equivalent, which have waist or bottom drawstrings that do not meet specified criteria, present substantial product hazards.

This document requests input to help us improve services and reduce duplication of effort, including collecting information from the public. Specifically, the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS) agencies including the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Risk Management Agency (RMA) have been working on a joint, coordinated initiative to have a common U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) framework for producer's to report information to participate in certain USDA programs. FSA and RMA have been working in coordination with the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) on the common reporting process. The USDA retrospective review request for information (RFI) published in the Federal Register on April 20, 2011, included the initiative to simplify and reduce the reporting burden on the public for submitting participation information for USDA programs, while simultaneously reducing our administrative and operating costs by sharing similar data across participating agencies. We believe the public, especially farmers, producers, ranchers, and the crop insurance industry who submit and use the information may have suggestions that may effectively reduce the burden of providing the information that USDA agencies require. Any resulting improvements to the processes will be within existing legislative authorities.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement measures in Framework Adjustment (FW) 46 to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). FW 46 was developed and submitted to NMFS for approval by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) to address haddock catch in the Atlantic herring fishery. The proposed rule would increase the haddock incidental catch cap allocated to the Atlantic midwater trawl herring fishery to 1 percent of the Georges Bank (GB) haddock Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) and to 1 percent of the Gulf of Maine (GOM) haddock ABC. In addition, this action would modify the cap accountability measures (AMs) such that, upon attainment of the cap, the midwater trawl herring fleet could not catch or land herring in excess of the incidental catch limit (2,000 lb (907.2 kg)) in or from the appropriate haddock stock area. This action is intended to allow the herring fishery to fully utilize available herring quota, while providing incentives for the midwater trawl fishery to minimize haddock catch.

EPA is proposing to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Vermont (VT) on November 22, 2006, and November 14, 2008. These SIP revisions consist of a demonstration that VT meets the requirements of reasonably available control technology (RACT) for oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) set forth by the Clean Air Act (CAA) with respect to the 1997 8-hour ozone standard; minor revisions to Vermont's bulk gasoline plants regulation; and new requirements for wood furniture manufacturing operations. Additionally, EPA is proposing to approve VT's negative declarations for several categories of VOC sources. EPA is proposing full approval all of the submitted items, with two exceptions. EPA is proposing a conditional approval of the RACT determinations for two major VOC sources (Churchill Coatings Corporation and H.B.H Prestain). This action is being taken in accordance with the CAA.

EPA is approving the Delaware Regional Haze Plan, a revision to the Delaware State Implementation Plan (SIP) addressing Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements and EPA's rules for states to prevent and remedy future and existing anthropogenic impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I areas through a regional haze program. EPA is also approving this revision since it meets the requirements of 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) and 110(a)(2)(J), relating to visibility protection for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and the 1997 and 2006 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) NAAQS.

The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'' or ``FTC'') is amending the Hart-Scott-Rodino (``HSR'') Premerger Notification Rules (the ``Rules''), the Premerger Notification and Report Form (the ``Form'') and associated Instructions in order to streamline the Form and capture new information that will help the FTC and the Antitrust Division, Department of Justice (together the ``Agencies'') conduct their initial review of a proposed transaction's competitive impact. The FTC is making substantive and ministerial revisions, deletions and additions to streamline the Form and make it easier to prepare while focusing the Form on those categories of information the Agencies consider necessary for their initial review. The FTC is also amending certain Rules and parts of the Form and Instructions, as well as adding Items 4(d), 6(c)(ii) and 7(d), in order to capture additional information that would significantly assist the Agencies in their initial review. Finally, minor changes are being made to address minor omissions from the FTC's 2005 rulemaking involving unincorporated entities and to remove the reference to the 2001 transition period.

This document denies the Application for Review filed by Rawhide Radio, LLC, Capstar TX Limited Partnership, Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc., and CCB Texas Licenses, L.P. (``Joint Petitioners'') of the dismissal of a second alternative proposal to their Counterproposal in this proceeding because it was technically defective.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is adopting new rules and rule amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. These rules and rule amendments are designed to give effect to provisions of Title IV of the Dodd-Frank Act that, among other things, increase the statutory threshold for registration by investment advisers with the Commission, require advisers to hedge funds and other private funds to register with the Commission, and require reporting by certain investment advisers that are exempt from registration. In addition, we are adopting rule amendments, including amendments to the Commission's pay to play rule, that address a number of other changes made by the Dodd-Frank Act.