January 5, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, has approved a temporary deviation from the regulations governing the operation of the S.R. 74 Bridge across the AIWW, mile 283.1, at Wrightsville Beach, NC. The deviation restricts the operation of the draw span to facilitate the structural repair of the bridge.

This clarification provides further guidance on PHMSA's policy that it will only accept fireworks approvals applications from fireworks manufacturers or their designated agents and grant approvals only to manufacturers of fireworks devices. This clarification and additional guidance follows the issuance of Docket No. PHMSA-2010-0353; Notice 10-9, published on June 29, 2011.

The Media Bureau extends the deadline for filing reply comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``NPRM'') in this proceeding which was published in the Federal Register on September 29, 2011. The extension will enable commenters to adequately review and respond to the comments filed in response to the NPRM.

The Coast Guard has temporarily changed the drawbridge operation regulations that govern the operation of the Smith Point Bridge, mile 6.1, across Narrow Bay, between Smith Point and Fire Island, New York. This temporary final rule is necessary to facilitate the completion of a major bridge rehabilitation project.

The Commander, Seventh Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Florida East Coast automated railroad bridge across the St. Johns River, mile 24.9, in Jacksonville, Florida. The regulation is set forth in 33 CFR 117.325(b). The deviation is necessary to enable the bridge owner to repair the bridge. This deviation will result in the bridge remaining closed to navigation during extensive periods of daylight hours.

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) requires that disciplinary proceedings be commenced not later than the earlier of the date that is 10 years after the date on which the misconduct forming the basis of the proceeding occurred, or one year from the date on which the misconduct forming the basis of the proceeding was made known to an officer or employee of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO), as prescribed in the regulations governing disciplinary proceedings. The Office initiates disciplinary proceedings via three types of disciplinary complaints: complaints predicated on the receipt of a probable cause determination from the Committee on Discipline; complaints seeking reciprocal discipline; and complaints seeking interim suspension based on a serious crime conviction. This notice proposes that the one-year statute of limitations commences, with respect to complaints predicated on the receipt of a probable cause determination from the Committee on Discipline, the date on which the Director, Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED Director) receives from the practitioner a complete, written response to a request for information and evidence; with respect to complaints based on reciprocal discipline, the date on which the OED Director receives a certified copy of the record or order regarding the practitioner being publicly censured, publicly reprimanded, subjected to probation, disbarred, suspended, or disciplinarily disqualified; and, with respect to complaints for interim suspension based on a serious crime conviction, the date on which the OED Director receives a certified copy of the record, docket entry, or judgment demonstrating that the practitioner has been convicted of a serious crime.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is proposing changes to the rules of patent practice to implement the preissuance submissions by third parties provision of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. This provision provides a mechanism for third parties to contribute to the quality of issued patents by submitting to the Office, for consideration and inclusion in the record of patent applications, any patents, published patent applications, or other printed publications of potential relevance to the examination of the applications. A preissuance submission may be made in any non- provisional utility, design, and plant application, as well as in any continuing or reissue application. A third-party preissuance submission must include a concise description of the asserted relevance of each document submitted and be submitted within a certain statutorily specified time period. The third party must submit a fee as prescribed by the Director and a statement that the submission complies with all of the statutory requirements. The third-party preissuance submission provision of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act is effective on September 16, 2012, and applies to any application filed before, on, or after September 16, 2012. Comment Deadline: Written comments must be received on or before March 5, 2012.

Modified Base (1% annual-chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) are finalized for the communities listed below. These modified BFEs will be used to calculate flood insurance premium rates for new buildings and their contents.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to reclassify the broad-snouted caiman in Argentina from endangered to threatened in the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA or Act). As part of this proposed rule, we would establish two distinct population segments (DPSs) of the broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris): a DPS in Argentina and a DPS that would encompass Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. This second DPS would remain listed as endangered under the Act. We are proposing this action under the Act based on the best available data indicating that the Argentine population of the broad- snouted caiman no longer meets the definition of endangered under the Act. Intense management of the species in Argentina has brought the Argentine DPS to the point where a change in status is appropriate. This also serves as our 5-year review. We also propose that the Argentine population of broad-snouted caiman be included in the special rule for trade in caiman species. Inclusion in this special rule would allow U.S. commerce in skins, other parts, and products of this species originating from Argentina, and reexport of such specimens originating in Argentina, if certain conditions are met prior to exportation to the United States. We are seeking information, data, and comments from the public on this proposed rule. This proposed rule to reclassify the broad-snouted caiman in Argentina to threatened under the Act also constitutes our warranted 12-month finding (status review) on a petition.

Title IV-E rules provide Federal Financial Participation (FFP) through a beneficial cost allocation methodology if a State or Tribe implements a comprehensive Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) to track and manage child protection, foster care and adoption assistance activities. With the continuing implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-351) we wish to analyze the impact of the State-centric SACWIS rules on Tribes and Tribal child welfare agencies, to determine if Tribes have sufficient flexibility and latitude to build information systems that will meet their business needs. The Children's Bureau's (CB) Division of State Systems (DSS) has been assigned responsibility to undertake consultation with Tribes in this area. To offer Tribes the opportunity for informed comment on the implications that the State-centric rules have on their ability to build and operate information systems that will support their title IV- E programs, we will provide an education session on the SACWIS regulations. This will be followed by a consultation to listen to the concerns and ideas from Tribal leaders and their representatives about the existing SACWIS rules and how CB can support title IV-E Tribal agencies in building information systems that will meet their business needs. We propose two such combined meetings via teleconferences to reach a broad audience of interested parties. The teleconference on February 15, 2012, is intended for consultation with Tribal leaders; the teleconference on February 16, 2012, is intended to engage in consultation with their representatives.

EPA is issuing a direct final rule identifying additional fuel pathways that EPA has determined meet the biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel or cellulosic biofuel lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements specified in Clean Air Act section 211(o), the Renewable Fuel Standard Program, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). This direct final rule describes EPA's evaluation of biofuels produced from camelina oil, energy cane, giant reed, and napiergrass; it also includes an evaluation of renewable gasoline and renewable gasoline blendstocks, as well as biodiesel from esterification, and clarifies our definition of renewable diesel. We are also finalizing two changes to regulation that were proposed on July 1, 2011(76 FR 38844). The first change adds ID letters to pathways to facilitate references to specific pathways. The second change adds ``rapeseed'' to the existing pathway for renewable fuel made from canola oil. This direct final rule adds these pathways to Table in regulation as pathways which have been determined to meet one or more of the GHG reduction thresholds specified in CAA 211(o), and assigns each pathway a corresponding D-Code. It allows producers or importers of fuel produced pursuant to these pathways to generate Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), providing that the fuel meets the other requirements specified in the RFS regulations to qualify it as renewable fuel.