2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Section 216(a)(1) of the Federal Power Act (FPA) requires the Department of Energy (Department or DOE) to complete a study of electric transmission congestion every three years. DOE issued its first ``National Electric Transmission Congestion Study'' (Congestion Study) in August 2006 and the second early in 2010. The Department is now initiating preparations for the 2012 Congestion Study, and seeks comments on what publicly-available data and information should be considered, and what types of analysis should be performed to identify and understand the significance and character of transmission congestion. DOE will host four regional pre-study workshops in early December 2011 to receive input and suggestions concerning the study. DOE expects to release a draft of the study in 2012 for a 60-day comment period. After reviewing and considering the comments received, DOE will publish a final version of the study. Interested persons may submit comments in response to this notice in the manner indicated in the ADDRESSES section.

The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed 3-year extension of EIA Form EIA-914 Monthly Natural Gas Production Report.

Notice is hereby given of the membership of the Environmental Protection Agency Performance Review Board for 2011.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host a meeting of the Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS) on November 14, 2011, in Washington, DC. The purpose of ISCORS is to foster early resolution and coordination of regulatory issues associated with radiation standards. Agencies represented as members of ISCORS include the following: EPA; Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Department of Energy; Department of Defense; Department of Transportation; Department of Homeland Security; Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration; and the Department of Health and Human Services. ISCORS meeting observer agencies include the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of Management and Budget, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, as well as representatives from both the States of Illinois and Pennsylvania. ISCORS maintains several objectives: Facilitate a consensus on allowable levels of radiation risk to the public and workers; promote consistent and scientifically sound risk assessment and risk management approaches in setting and implementing standards for occupational and public protection from ionizing radiation; promote completeness and coherence of Federal standards for radiation protection; and identify interagency radiation protection issues and coordinate their resolution. ISCORS meetings include presentations by the chairs of the subcommittees and discussions of current radiation protection issues. Committee meetings normally involve pre-decisional intra-governmental discussions and, as such, are normally not open for observation by members of the public or media. This is the one ISCORS meeting out of four held each year that is open to all interested members of the public. There will be time on the agenda for members of the public to provide comments. Summaries of previous ISCORS meetings are available at the ISCORS Web site, www.iscors.org. The final agenda for the November 14th meeting will be posted on the Web site shortly before the meeting.

On September 14, 2011, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published in the Federal Register the final results of administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain preserved mushrooms from the People's Republic of China (PRC). See Certain Preserved Mushrooms From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Rescission in Part, 76 FR 56732 (September 14, 2011) (Final Results). The period of review is February 1, 2009, through January 31, 2010. We are amending our final results to correct a ministerial error.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eastern Montana Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will meet as indicated below.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has notified EPA that it has adopted amendments to its regulations related to heavy-duty engine on-board diagnostic (HD OBD) in California. By letter dated September 27, 2010, CARB requested that EPA confirm that its amendments are within-the-scope of a previous waiver of preemption issued by EPA. In the alternative, CARB requested that EPA confirm that the amendments that relax and clarify the existing HD OBD regulation are within-the- scope of a previous waiver of preemption issued by EPA and that EPA grant a new waiver of preemption for the remainder of CARB's HD OBD amendments. This notice announces that EPA has tentatively scheduled a public hearing concerning California's request and that EPA is accepting written comment on the request.

The RFI is being corrected to change the response date to January 2, 2012 to reflect a 60 day response time. The RFI was published in the Federal Register, Volume 76, Number 214, on November 4, 2011, pages 68517-68518. In accordance with Section 103(b)(6) of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (ACRA; Pub. L. 111-358), this Request for Information (RFI) offers the opportunity for interested individuals and organizations to provide recommendations on approaches for ensuring long-term stewardship and encouraging broad public access to unclassified digital data that result from federally funded scientific research. The public input provided through this Notice will inform deliberations of the National Science and Technology Council's Interagency Working Group on Digital Data. Release Date: November 3, 2011. Response Date: January 2, 2012.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is announcing the Federal Home Loan Bank (Bank) members it has selected for the 2010 fourth round review cycle under the FHFA's community support requirements regulation. This notice also prescribes the deadline by which Bank members selected for review must submit Community Support Statements to FHFA.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 24 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from the vision requirement if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The Agency has concluded that granting these exemption renewals will provide a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 7 individuals for exemption from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals to qualify as drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce without meeting the Federal vision requirement.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) has received 15 petitions for rulemaking (PRMs), each dated August 10, August 11, or August 12, 2011, from the multiple petitioners listed in Section I, Procedural Processing, of this document. The petitioners request that the NRC rescind its regulations that allow generic conclusions about the environmental impacts of severe reactor and spent fuel pool accidents and its regulations that preclude considerations of those issues in individual licensing proceedings. The petitioners also request the NRC to suspend multiple ongoing licensing proceedings while the NRC considers these petitions and the environmental issues raised in the Fukushima Task Force Report. The NRC is not instituting a public comment period for these PRMs at this time.

As authorized by 46 U.S.C. 12121, the Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.-build requirement of the coastwise laws under certain circumstances. A request for such a waiver has been received by MARAD. The vessel, and a brief description of the proposed service, is listed below.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BOEM announces the availability of the OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2012- 2017 Draft PEIS prepared by BOEM to support the Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017. BOEM concurrently requests comments and announces public hearings.

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Portsmouth. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, Western Area Power Administration (Western) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Quartzsite Solar Energy Project (Project), in La Paz County, Arizona, and the proposed amendment to the Yuma Field Office (Yuma) Resource Management Plan (RMP), and by this notice are announcing the opening of the public comment period. Western is the lead Federal agency for purposes of satisfying the NEPA requirements with the BLM acting as a cooperating agency.

This document informs the public that an appeal of the closing of the New Boston, Illinois post office has been filed. It identifies preliminary steps and provides a procedural schedule. Publication of this document will allow the Postal Service, petitioners, and others to take appropriate action.