November 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The EPA is proposing to determine that the Greater Connecticut serious one-hour ozone nonattainment area did not meet the applicable deadline of November 15, 2007, for attaining the one-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. This proposed determination is based upon complete, quality-assured, certified ambient air monitoring data that show the area had an expected ozone exceedance rate above the level of the now revoked one-hour ozone NAAQS for the 2005-2007 monitoring period. Separate from and independent of this proposed determination, EPA is also proposing to determine that the Greater Connecticut serious one-hour ozone nonattainment area currently attains the now revoked one-hour NAAQS for ozone, based upon complete, quality-assured, certified ambient air monitoring data for 2008-2010. The area first attained the one-hour NAAQS during the 2006- 2008 monitoring period, and continued in attainment during the 2007- 2009, and 2008-2010 monitoring periods. Preliminary data available for 2011 also show the area continues to meet the one-hour NAAQS for ozone. EPA is proposing these determinations under the Clean Air Act.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A319, A320, and A321 airplanes that would supersede an existing AD. 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: Several cases of corrosion of the Main Landing Gear (MLG) support Rib 5 fitting lug bores have been reported on A320 family aeroplanes. * * * If not detected, the cracking may lead to the complete failure of the fitting and thus could affect the structural integrity of the MLG installation. EASA AD 2007-0213 was issued to address this condition * * *. After that AD was issued, a case of Rib 5, ruptured at the 4 o'clock position, was discovered on an aeroplane on which the terminating action of EASA AD 2007-0213 had already been embodied * * *. Investigation of that case revealed that corrosion damage and cracking that should have been removed by repair machining was below the level of detectability of the Non Destructive Test (NDT) technique that cleared the surfaces prior to bush installation. * * * * * The proposed AD would require actions that are intended to address the unsafe condition described in the MCAI.

The Coast Guard is removing the existing drawbridge operation regulation for the U.S. 17 bridge across Neuse River, mile 33.7 at New Bern, NC. The drawbridge was replaced with a fixed bridge in 1999. Therefore, the operating regulation pertaining to the U.S. 17 drawbridge is no longer applicable or necessary.

This document contains corrections to a notice of proposed regulations that were published in the Federal Register on Thursday, November 3, 2011. These regulations provide guidance relating to the taxation of the income of foreign governments from investments in the United States. The regulations affect foreign governments that derive income from sources within the United States.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is granting a petition submitted by Eastman Chemical CorporationTexas Operations (Eastman Chemical) to exclude from hazardous waste control (or delist) a certain solid waste. This final rule responds to the petition submitted by Eastman Chemical to delist three waste streams generated from its rotary kiln incinerator (RKI). These waste streams are the rotary kiln incinerator (RKI) bottom ash, RKI fly ash, and RKI scrubber water blowdown. The RKI bottom ash and the RKI fly ash are derived from the management of several F-, K-, and U-waste codes. These waste codes are F001, F002, F003, F005, F039, K009, K010, U001, U002, U031, U069, U107, U112, U117, U140, U147, U161, U213, and U359. The Scrubber water blowdown produced by the RKI's air pollution control equipment is also derived from the management of several F-, K-, and U-waste codes as well as certain characteristic hazardous wastes. These waste codes are D001, D002, D003, D007, D008, D018, D022, F001, F002, F003, F005, F039, K009, K010, U001, U002, U031, U069, U107, U112, U117, U140, U147, U161, U213, and U359. The RKI is authorized to manage a list of additional F- , K-, U-, and P- codes to cover off-site sources not attributed to the above waste codes. If these waste codes are not specifically listed in the delisting exclusion, they are not covered by the exclusion and can not be managed as non-hazardous, unless and until, the exclusion is modified to include them. After careful analysis and evaluation of comments submitted by the public, the EPA has concluded that the petitioned wastes are not hazardous waste when disposed of in Subtitle D landfills or in the case of the scrubber water blowdown, discharged in conjunction with its TPDES discharge permit. This exclusion applies to the RKI bottom ash, RKI fly ash and RKI scrubber water blowdown generated at Eastman Chemical's Longview, Texas facility. Accordingly, this final rule excludes the petitioned waste from the requirements of hazardous waste regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) when disposed of in Subtitle D landfills or discharged in accordance with a TPDES permit but imposes testing conditions to ensure that the future-generated wastes remain qualified for delisting.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is considering several changes in practice designed to encourage a more complete record at the USPTO of patent assignments. The USPTO invites the public to provide comments on methods the USPTO can employ to collect more timely and accurate patent assignment information both during prosecution and after issuance.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4D, -7R4D1, -7R4E, -7R4E1, -7R4G2, -7R4H1, and - 7R4E4 turbofan engines. This proposed AD would establish a new lower life limit for high-pressure turbine (HPT) 1st stage air seals, part number (P/N) 735907, and would require removing them from service using a drawdown schedule. This proposed AD was prompted by the determination that a new lower life limit for the HPT 1st stage air seals, P/N 735907, is necessary. We are proposing this AD to prevent critical life-limited rotating engine part failure and damage to the airplane.

This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposes to classify the following two steroids as ``anabolic steroids'' under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA): prostanozol (17[beta]-hydroxy- 5[alpha]-androstano[3,2-c]pyrazole) and methasterone (2[alpha],17[alpha]-dimethyl-5[alpha]-androstan-17[beta]-ol-3 -one). The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) believes that this action is necessary to prevent the abuse and trafficking of these steroids. If the regulations are amended, these steroids will be listed as Schedule III controlled substances subject to the regulatory control provisions of the CSA.

The EPA is proposing amendments to the national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants for Ferroalloys Production to address the results of the residual risk and technology review that the EPA is required to conduct under the Clean Air Act. These proposed amendments include revisions to particulate matter standards for electric arc furnaces, metal oxygen refining processes, and crushing and screening operations. The amendments also add emission limits for hydrochloric acid, mercury, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and formaldehyde from electric arc furnaces. Furthermore, the amendments expand and revise the requirements to control fugitive emissions from furnace operations and casting. Other proposed requirements related to testing, monitoring, notification, recordkeeping, and reporting are included. We are also proposing to revise provisions addressing periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction to ensure that the rules are consistent with a recent court decision.

This temporary rule extends a closure of Federal waters. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that oceanographic conditions and alga sampling data suggest that the northern section of the Temporary Paralytic Shellfish Poison Closure Area remain closed to the harvest of bivalve molluscan shellfish, with the exception of sea scallop adductor muscles harvested and shucked at sea, and that the southern area remain closed to the harvest of whole or roe-on scallops. The regulations contained in the temporary rule, emergency action, first published in 2005, and have been subsequently extended several times at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. NMFS is publishing the regulatory text associated with this closure in this temporary emergency rule in order to ensure that current regulations accurately reflect the codified text that has been modified and extended numerous times, so that the public is aware of the regulations being extended.

The Federal Power Act requires hydropower licensees to recompense the United States for the use, occupancy, and enjoyment of its lands. The Commission assesses annual charges for the use of Federal lands through Part 11 of its regulations. The Commission is proposing to revise the methodology used to compute these annual charges. Under the proposed rule, the Commission would create a fee schedule based on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) methodology for calculating rental rates for linear rights of way. This methodology includes a land value per acre, an encumbrance factor, a rate of return, and an annual adjustment factor. The fee schedule would include all adjustments described in the BLM rule adopting this methodology, except the allocation of county land values into zones. In addition, the Commission proposes to eliminate its current practice of doubling the per-acre rental rate for non-transmission line lands.

This amendment adopts miscellaneous amendments to the required IFR (instrument flight rules) altitudes and changeover points for certain Federal airways, jet routes, or direct routes for which a minimum or maximum en route authorized IFR altitude is prescribed. This regulatory action is needed because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System. These changes are designed to provide for the safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace under instrument conditions in the affected areas.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued 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 Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') will hold a public hearing on December 6, 2011, as part of the congressionally mandated review of its Fur Products Name Guide. The hearing will allow interested parties to present views on whether the Commission should amend the Fur Products Name Guide.

EPA (or the Agency) is taking final action to amend the date by which farms must prepare or amend, and implement their Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plans to May 10, 2013. The date is being amended because a large segment of the continental U.S. was affected by flooding during the spring and summer of 2011, and other areas were impacted by devastating fires and drought conditions. In addition, despite the targeted farm outreach efforts by EPA over the past ten months, the sheer number of farms throughout the U.S. makes it a challenge to reach those owners and operators of farms that may be subject to the SPCC Plan regulations. As a result, the Agency believes that farms need additional time to come into compliance with the requirements to prepare or amend and implement a SPCC Plan.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is amending its regulations to make miscellaneous administrative changes, including updating the street address for its Region IV office and correcting an authority citation and typographical and spelling errors, and other edits and conforming changes. This document is necessary to inform the public of these changes to the NRC's regulations.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) amends the rules governing practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Board or BPAI) in ex parte patent appeals. The Office amends the rules to: Remove several of the briefing requirements for an appeal brief, provide for the Board to take jurisdiction over the appeal earlier in the appeal process, no longer require examiners to acknowledge receipt of reply briefs, create specified procedures under which an appellant can seek review of an undesignated new ground of rejection in either an examiner's answer or in a Board decision, provide that the Board will presume that the appeal is taken from the rejection of all claims under rejection unless cancelled by an applicant's amendment, and clarify that, for purposes of the examiner's answer, any rejection that relies upon Evidence not relied upon in the Office action from which the appeal is taken shall be designated as a new ground of rejection. The Office also withdraws a previously published final rule that never went into effect.

These special conditions are issued for the Diamond Aircraft Industries, Model DA-40NG airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with an electronic engine control (EEC) also known as a Full authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

This document affirms the Commission's rules for Access Broadband over Power Line (Access BPL) systems. The Commission also makes certain minor modifications to improve and clarify the rules. These rules provide an appropriate balance between the dual objectives of providing for Access BPL technology that has potential applications for broadband and Smart Grid while protecting incumbent radio services against harmful interference.

The Commission grants a petition for rulemaking filed by Channel 32 Montgomery, LLC (``Channel 32''), the licensee of WNCF(TV), channel 32, Montgomery, Alabama, requesting the substitution of channel 31 for channel 32 at Montgomery. Channel 32 believes that operation on channel 31 would allow fuller replication of the station's former analog service area, which will significantly increase the geographic area within the station's protected contour. Therefore, the public interest will be served by substituting channel 31 for channel 32 at Montgomery.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for ``other flatfish'' in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2011 allocation of ``other flatfish'' in the BSAI.

This rule amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding fourteen persons under twenty-one entries to the Entity List. The persons who are added to the Entity List have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. These persons will be listed on the Entity List under the following four destinations: Afghanistan, China, Hong Kong, and Pakistan. In addition, this rule amends the EAR to implement modifications to the Entity List on the basis of the annual review of the Entity List conducted by the End-User Review Committee (ERC), which the ERC conducts to determine if any entries on the Entity List should be removed or modified. This rule implements the results of the annual review for entities located in Canada. The Entity List provides notice to the public that certain exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) to entities identified on the Entity List require a license from the Bureau of Industry and Security and that availability of license exceptions in such transactions is limited.

This special condition is issued for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model GVI airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with the use of a hydrophobic windshield coating, rather than windshield wipers, as the means to maintain a clear portion of the windshield during precipitation conditions, as required by the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Placer County Air Pollution Control District (PCAPCD) and Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from coatings and strippers used on wood products, wood paneling, and miscellaneous metal parts and products. We are proposing to approve three local rules to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to clarify the applicability to commercial items of DoD policies relating to the use of materials containing hexavalent chromium.