September 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that the Commission is cancelling the public hearing on the above proposed modifications of its recordkeeping and reporting provisions under title VII, the ADA, and GINA. (76 FR 31892, June 2, 2011). No requests to present oral testimony at a hearing concerning the proposed rule were received from the public. Further, the Commission received only one public comment in response to the June 2 notice, and the commenter expressed support for the proposed changes. Therefore, it will not be necessary to hold the hearing.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is amending the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) regulation to provide specifically for prioritizing limited program funds in favor of the ``project area'' portion of BCAP. CCC is also correcting errors in the regulation.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) hereby makes certain changes to its regulations, which relate to the public availability of the Manual of Regulations and Procedures for Federal Radio Frequency Management (NTIA Manual). Specifically, NTIA updates the version of the Manual of Regulations and Procedures for Federal Radio Frequency Management with which federal agencies must comply when requesting use of the radio frequency spectrum.

This action modifies Class E airspace at Grand Junction, CO. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to facilitate vectoring of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) traffic from Grand Junction Regional Airport to en route and enhances the safety and management of aircraft operations at the airport. This action also amends Class D and Class E airspace to update the airport name from Grand Junction, Walker Field.

EPA proposes to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of West Virginia for the purpose of amending the 8-hour ozone maintenance plan for the Charleston, Huntington, Parkersburg, Weirton, and Wheeling 8-hour ozone maintenance areas. This revision amends the maintenance plans' 2009 and 2018 motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) by reallocating a portion of the plans' safety margins which results in an increase in the MVEBs. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's SIP submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or revokes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

This document announces a limited reopening of the comment period for interested parties seeking to submit comments on the December 16, 2011 interim final rule to amend the test procedures for residential refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers that will apply to products that are manufactured starting in 2014. The comment period is extended until October 17, 2011.

EPA and NHTSA, on behalf of the Department of Transportation, are each finalizing rules to establish a comprehensive Heavy-Duty National Program that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption for on-road heavy-duty vehicles, responding to the President's directive on May 21, 2010, to take coordinated steps to produce a new generation of clean vehicles. NHTSA's final fuel consumption standards and EPA's final carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standards are tailored to each of three regulatory categories of heavy-duty vehicles: Combination Tractors; Heavy-duty Pickup Trucks and Vans; and Vocational Vehicles. The rules include separate standards for the engines that power combination tractors and vocational vehicles. Certain rules are exclusive to the EPA program. These include EPA's final hydrofluorocarbon standards to control leakage from air conditioning systems in combination tractors, and pickup trucks and vans. These also include EPA's final nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions standards that apply to all heavy- duty engines, pickup trucks and vans. EPA's final greenhouse gas emission standards under the Clean Air Act will begin with model year 2014. NHTSA's final fuel consumption standards under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will be voluntary in model years 2014 and 2015, becoming mandatory with model year 2016 for most regulatory categories. Commercial trailers are not regulated in this phase of the Heavy-Duty National Program. The agencies estimate that the combined standards will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 270 million metric tons and save 530 million barrels of oil over the life of vehicles sold during the 2014 through 2018 model years, providing over $7 billion in net societal benefits, and $49 billion in net societal benefits when private fuel savings are considered. EPA is also finalizing provisions allowing light-duty vehicle manufacturers to use CO2 credits to meet the light-duty vehicle N2O and CH4 standards, technical amendments to the fuel economy provisions for light-duty vehicles, and a technical amendment to the criteria pollutant emissions requirements for certain switch locomotives.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from confined animal facilities (CAFs) and biosolids, animal manure, and poultry litter operations. We are approving local rules that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

This rulemaking proposes to amend BOEMRE regulations to require operators to develop and implement additional provisions in their Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) programs for oil, gas, and sulphur operations in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). These revisions pertain to developing and implementing stop work authority and ultimate work authority, requiring employee participation in the development and implementation of SEMS programs, and establishing requirements for reporting unsafe working conditions. In addition, this proposed rule requires independent third parties to conduct audits of operators' SEMS programs and establishes further requirements relating to conducting job safety analysis (JSA) for activities identified in an operator's SEMS program. We believe that these new requirements will further reduce the likelihood of accidents, injuries, and spills in connection with OCS activities that are regulated under BOEMRE jurisdiction, by requiring OCS operators to specifically address issues associated with human behavior as it applies to their SEMS program.

This proposed rule would amend the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) regulations to specify that, upon a patient's request, the laboratory may provide access to completed test reports that, using the laboratory's authentication process, can be identified as belonging to that patient. Subject to conforming amendments, the proposed rule would retain the existing provisions that provide for release of test reports to authorized persons and, if applicable, the individuals (or their personal representative) responsible for using the test reports and, in the case of reference laboratories, the laboratory that initially requested the test. In addition, this proposed rule would also amend the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to provide individuals the right to receive their test reports directly from laboratories by removing the exceptions for CLIA-certified laboratories and CLIA-exempt laboratories from the provision that provides individuals with the right of access to their protected health information.

NMFS closes the western zone of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) to commercial king mackerel fishing in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.

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 Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland, OH. This safety zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of the Cuyahoga River during the Head of the Cuyahoga. This temporary safety zone is necessary to protect spectators and vessels from the hazards associated with a rowing regatta.

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements contained in the regulations for issues relating to the unlicensed use of the TV bands (TV White Space). The information collection requirements were approved on September 7, 2011 by OMB.

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements contained in the regulations for issues relating to the video description rules. The final information collection requirements were approved on September 8, 2011 by OMB. The Commission received OMB preapproval for the proposed requirements on April 22, 2011. The information collection requirements were adopted as proposed.

This regulation establishes a time-limited tolerance for residues of sulfur dioxide in or on fig. This action is associated with the utilization of a crisis exemption under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) authorizing use of the pesticide on figs. This regulation establishes a maximum permissible level for residues of sulfur dioxide, including its metabolites and degradates (determined by measuring only sulfur dioxide (SO2)), in or on fig at 10 parts per million (ppm). This time-limited tolerance expires on December 31, 2014.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) is initiating the rulemaking and data collection process to consider establishing amended energy conservation standards for certain general service fluorescent lamps (GSFLs) and incandescent reflector lamps (IRLs). Accordingly, DOE will hold a public meeting to discuss and receive comments on its planned analytical approach and the issues it will address in this rulemaking proceeding. DOE welcomes written comments from the public on this rulemaking. To inform stakeholders and to facilitate this process, DOE has prepared a framework document which details the analytical approach and identifies several issues on which DOE is particularly interested in receiving comment. The framework document is posted at: https://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_ standards/residential/incandescent_lamps.html.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain model IO-720-A1B Lycoming Engines reciprocating engines. This AD requires a crankshaft inspection for certain parts that may be installed. This AD was prompted by the failure of a crankshaft due to incorrect parts installed. We are issuing this AD to prevent engine crankshaft failure and damage to the airplane.

On July 15, 2011, EPA published a Notice of Intent to Delete and a direct final Notice of Deletion for the Hipps Road Landfill from the National Priorities List. The EPA is withdrawing the Final Notice of Deletion due to an administrative error in processing the direct- final rule. The online Federal Document Management System (FDMS) did not include required documents including the State of Florida's concurrence letter and the Final Closeout Report as required. The FDMS will be updated to include these documents and the direct final rule will be reissued in the Federal Register.

NMFS issues a final rule under authority of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to implement Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP). NMFS approved Amendment 2 on June 12, 2011. The final rule implements regulatory components specified under Amendment 2 by changing the suite of management unit species and modifying the process for revising numerical estimates of maximum sustainable yield and optimal yield, and specify status determination criteria so that overfishing and overfished determinations can be made for all management unit species. The final rule is necessary to ensure that the HMS FMP is consistent with the objectives of National Standard 1 in the MSA. National Standard 1 mandates that ``Conservation and management measures shall prevent overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery for the U.S. fishing industry.''

This proposal would transform the current FTA rule for project management oversight into a discrete set of managerial principles for sponsors of major capital projects; enable FTA to more clearly identify the necessary management capacity and capability of a sponsor of a major capital project; spell out the many facets of project management that must be addressed by a sponsor of a major capital project in a project management plan; change the scope and applicability of the rule; tailor the level of FTA oversight to the costs, complexities, and risks of a major capital project; set forth the means and objectives of FTA risk assessments; and articulate the roles and responsibilities of FTA's project management oversight contractors.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) amends the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to eliminate the requirement for operational brakes on the last saddle-mounted truck or tractor in a triple saddle-mount combination, except when a full mount is present. This is in response to a petition for rulemaking from the Automobile Carriers Conference (ACC) of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), which stated that this requirement degrades the braking performance of these combinations because the lightly loaded axle of the last vehicle tends to lock up under heavy braking.

This action proposes to modify Class E airspace at Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport, Driggs, ID. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate aircraft using Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) standard instrument approach procedures at Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport, Driggs, ID. This action also would note the airport name change and adjust the geographic coordinates of the airport. The FAA is proposing this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport, Driggs, ID.

In an earlier final rule, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) prescribed amendments to its test procedures for residential furnaces and boilers to include provisions for measuring the standby mode and off mode energy consumption of those products, as required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. These test procedure amendments are primarily based on provisions incorporated by reference from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard 62301 (First Edition), ``Household electrical appliancesMeasurement of standby power.'' This document proposes to further update the DOE test procedure through incorporation by reference of the latest edition of the industry standard, specifically IEC Standard 62301 (Second Edition). The new version of this IEC standard includes a number of methodological changes designed to increase accuracy while reducing testing burden. DOE's review suggests that this document represents an improvement over the prior version, so DOE has decided to exercise its discretion to consider the revised IEC standard. DOE is also announcing a public meeting to discuss and receive comments on the issues presented in this rulemaking.