August 18, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II is issuing a Notice of Intent to Delete the Barceloneta Landfill Superfund Site (Site) located in Florida Afuera, Puerto Rico from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comments on this proposed action. The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, through the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board, have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other than operation, maintenance, and five-year reviews, have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.

EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maryland (Maryland). This SIP revision includes amendments to the Code of Maryland (COMAR) 26.11.19.13, Volatile Organic Compounds from Specific Processes, Drum and Pail Coating. Maryland's SIP revision meets the requirement to adopt Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for sources covered by EPA's Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) for Miscellaneous Metal and Plastic Parts Coatings and will help Maryland attain and maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

In its effort to adopt several National Academy of Sciences (the Academy) recommendations, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) intends to modify the methods it uses to estimate the likely impacts of energy conservation standards for covered products on energy use and emissions and will work to expand the energy use and emissions information made available to consumers. Specifically, DOE intends to use full-fuel- cycle (FFC) measures of energy use and emissions, rather than the primary (or site) energy measures it currently uses. Additionally, DOE intends to work collaboratively with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to make readily available to consumers information on the FFC energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of specific products to enable consumers to make cross-class comparisons of product energy use and emissions.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary security zone encompassing certain waters of the Potomac River, Georgetown Channel, in Washington, DC, in order to safeguard high-ranking public officials from terrorist acts and incidents. This action is necessary to ensure the safety of persons and property, and prevent terrorist acts or incidents. This rule prohibits vessels and people from entering the security zone and requires vessels and persons in the security zone to depart the security zone, unless specifically exempt under the provisions in this rule or granted specific permission from the Coast Guard Captain of the Port Baltimore.

As part of the Commission's systematic review of all current FTC rules and guides, the Commission requests public comment on the overall costs, benefits, necessity, and regulatory and economic impact of the FTC's rule for ``Retail Food Store Advertising and Marketing Practices'' (``Unavailability Rule'' or ``Rule'').

In the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register, the IRS is issuing temporary regulations relating to the branded prescription drug fee imposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The regulations affect persons engaged in the business of manufacturing or importing certain branded prescription drugs. The text of the temporary regulations also serves as the text of the proposed regulations.

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA, Agency, us, our, or we) proposes to amend our regulations governing investments held by institutions of the Farm Credit System (FCS or System). We propose to strengthen our regulations governing investment management, interest rate risk management, and association investments; revise the list of eligible investments to ensure it is limited only to high-quality, liquid investments; reduce regulatory burden for investments that fail to meet eligibility criteria after purchase or are unsuitable; and make other changes that will enhance the safety and soundness of System institutions. In this proposal, we also seek comments on compliance with section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act or DFA), which requires us to remove all references to and requirements relating to credit ratings and to substitute other appropriate standards of creditworthiness. We also seek comment on other issues.

This rule amends two provisions of the Air Cargo Screening Interim Final Rule (IFR) issued on September 16, 2009, and responds to public comments on the IFR. The IFR codified a statutory requirement of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) establish a system to screen 100 percent of cargo transported on passenger aircraft not later than August 3, 2010. It established the Certified Cargo Screening Program, in which TSA certifies shippers, indirect air carriers, and other entities as Certified Cargo Screening Facilities (CCSFs) to screen cargo prior to transport on passenger aircraft. Under the IFR, each CCSF applicant had to successfully undergo an assessment of their facility by a TSA-approved validation firm or by TSA. In response to public comment, this Final Rule removes all validation firm and validator provisions, so that TSA will continue to conduct assessments of the applicant's facility to determine if certification is appropriate. The IFR also required that if an aircraft operator or foreign air carrier screens cargo off an airport, it must do so as a CCSF. The Final Rule deletes this requirement, as aircraft operators are already screening cargo on airport under a TSA-approved security program, and do not need a separate certification to screen cargo off airport. This rule also proposes a fee range for the processing of Security Threat Assessments, and seeks comment on the proposed fee range and the methodology used to develop the fee. TSA will announce the final fee in a future Federal Register notice.

This rule proposes to amend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAPformerly the Food Stamp Program) regulations to implement the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, (``FCEA''). Section 4133, The ``Major System Failures'' section of the FCEA, amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (``the Act'') to require the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to determine when a systemic State error is resulting in the overissuance of benefits to a substantial number of SNAP households and the actions the Department may take if such a determination were made. This rule proposes criteria for determining if a State experienced a systemic error that resulted in the overissuance of benefits to a substantial number of households and specifies the steps that the Department may take to collect data, instruct the State to terminate claims collection from the affected households, and issue a bill to the State for the value of the over- issuances. It also identifies the review and appeal process for any such billing.