January 3, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS proposes annual catch limits for western Pacific bottomfish, crustacean, precious coral, and coral reef ecosystem fisheries, and accountability measures to correct or mitigate any overages of catch limits. The proposed catch limits and accountability measures support the long-term sustainability of fishery resources of the U.S. Pacific Islands.

The Department of the Treasury is issuing a proposed rule to implement Section 155 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Pub. L. 111-203 or ``Dodd-Frank Act''), which directs the Department to establish by regulation an assessment schedule for bank holding companies with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or greater and nonbank financial companies supervised by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (``the Board'') to collect assessments equal to the total expenses of the Office of Financial Research (``OFR'' or ``the Office''). Included in the Office's expenses are expenses of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (``FSOC'' or ``the Council''), as provided under Section 118 of the Dodd-Frank Act, and certain expenses of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (``FDIC''), as provided under Section 210 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The proposed rule outlines the key elements of Treasury's assessment program, which will collect semiannual assessment fees from these companies beginning on July 20, 2012.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to amend certain regulations relating to citizen petitions, petitions for stay of action, and the submission of documents to the Agency. In particular, the proposed rule would establish new regulations to implement certain provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), which concern certain citizen petitions and petitions for stay of action (PSAs) that involve a request for FDA to take any form of action relating to a pending abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) or 505(b)(2) application. We are making these changes to implement provisions of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA).

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), and to designate critical habitat. Based on our review, we find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing this subspecies may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a review of the status of the subspecies to determine if listing Sierra Nevada red fox is warranted. To ensure that this status review is comprehensive, we are requesting scientific and commercial data and other information regarding this subspecies. Based on the status review, we will issue a 12-month finding on the petition, which will address whether the petitioned action is warranted, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 7X airplanes equipped with certain ram air turbine (RAT) transformer rectifier units (TRUs). This AD was prompted by a report of incorrect design of the TRU part of the RAT system. This AD requires replacing any affected RAT TRU with a modified RAT TRU. We are issuing this AD to prevent loose internal wiring in the RAT generator, which could result in degraded direct current power to essential airplane systems while the RAT is deployed, which could adversely affect continued safe flight and landing of the airplane.

This action modifies Class E airspace at Kwigillingok, AK. The revision of two standard instrument approach procedures at the Kwigillingok Airport has made this action necessary to enhance safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is revising the labeling requirements for blood and blood components intended for use in transfusion or for further manufacture by combining, simplifying, and updating specific regulations applicable to labeling and circulars of information. These requirements will facilitate the use of a labeling system using machine-readable information that would be acceptable as a replacement for the ``ABC Codabar'' system for the labeling of blood and blood components. FDA is taking this action as a part of its efforts to comprehensively review and, as necessary, revise its regulations, policies, guidances, and procedures related to the regulation of blood and blood components. This final rule is intended to help ensure the continued safety of the blood supply and facilitate consistency in labeling.

This document makes amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in order to make editorial changes.

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, with changes, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010. This section requires that the information in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), excluding past performance reviews, shall be made publicly available. The interim rule notified contractors of this new statutory requirement for public access to FAPIIS.

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, with changes, the interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the Office of Management and Budget memoranda on brand-name specifications.

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, with changes, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, to prevent abuse of interagency contracts.

OSHA is announcing that OMB approved the collection of information requirements contained in the General Working Conditions Standard under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The OMB approval number is 1218-0259.

This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) is intended to further the safety of passenger train occupants through both enhancements and additions to FRA's existing requirements for emergency systems on passenger trains. In this NPRM, FRA is proposing to add requirements for interior vestibule doors and enhance emergency egress and rescue access signage requirements. FRA is also proposing to establish requirements for low-location emergency exit path markings to assist occupants in reaching and operating primary emergency exits, particularly under conditions of darkness or smoke. Further, FRA is proposing to add minimum emergency lighting standards for all existing passenger cars so that emergency lighting systems are provided in all passenger cars, and FRA is proposing to enhance requirements for the survivability of emergency lighting systems in new passenger cars. Finally, FRA is clarifying existing requirements for participation in debriefing and critique sessions following emergency situations and full-scale simulations.