January 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

The Department of Homeland Security, Office of Chief Procurement Officer, DHS will submit the following information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). DHS previously published this information collection request (ICR) in the Federal Register on August 31, 2011 at 76 FR 54242 for a 60-day public comment period. No comments were received by DHS. The purpose of this notice is to allow additional 30-days for public comments.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) adopts a rule that affects the process of tower construction by instituting a pre-application notification process so that members of the public will have a meaningful opportunity to comment on the environmental effects of proposed antenna structures that require registration with the Commission. As an interim measure pending completion of a programmatic environmental analysis and subsequent rulemaking proceeding, the Commission also requires that an EA be prepared for any proposed tower over 450 feet in height.

EPA is proposing limited approval of a revision to the Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) on December 20, 2010 that addresses regional haze for the first implementation period. This revision addresses the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's rules that require states to prevent any future, and remedy any existing, anthropogenic impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I areas caused by emissions of air pollutants from numerous sources located over a wide geographic area (also referred to as the ``regional haze program''). States are required to assure reasonable progress toward the national goal of achieving natural visibility conditions in Class I areas. EPA is proposing a limited approval of this SIP revision to implement the regional haze requirements for Pennsylvania on the basis that the revisions, as a whole, strengthen the Pennsylvania SIP. EPA is also proposing to approve this revision as meeting the infrastructure requirements relating to visibility protection for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and the 1997 and 2006 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) NAAQS. In a separate action, EPA has previously proposed a limited disapproval of the Pennsylvania regional haze SIP because of deficiencies in the Commonwealth's regional haze SIP submittal arising from the remand by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC Circuit) to EPA of the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), see 76 FR 82219, December 30, 2011. Consequently, we are not taking action in this notice to address the Commonwealth's reliance on CAIR to meet certain regional haze requirements.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is seeking scientific information submissions from medical device manufacturers of natriuretic peptide measurement assays. Scientific information is being solicited to inform our Comparative Effectiveness Review of Use of Natriuretic Peptide Measurement in the Management of Heart Failure, which is currently being conducted by the Evidence-based Practice Centers for the AHRQ Effective Health Care Program. Access to published and unpublished pertinent scientific information on this device will improve the quality of this comparative effectiveness review. AHRQ is requesting this scientific information and conducting this comparative effectiveness review pursuant to Section 1013 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, Public Law 108-173.

This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed information collection project: ``Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture Comparative Database.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on November 2nd, 2011 and allowed 60 days for public comment. No comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (``FHFA'') hereby issues this Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``ANPR'') concerning mortgage assets affected by Property Assessed Clean Energy (``PACE'') programs and Notice of Intent (``NOI'') to prepare an environmental impact statement (``EIS'') under the National Environmental Policy Act (``NEPA'') to address the potential environmental impacts of FHFA's proposed action. The United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction ordering FHFA ``to proceed with the notice and comment process'' in adopting guidance concerning mortgages that are or could be affected by PACE programs. Specifically, the California District Court ordered FHFA to ``cause to be published in the Federal Register an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking relating to the statement issued by FHFA on July 6, 2010, and the letter directive issued by FHFA on February 28, 2011, that deal with property assessed clean energy (PACE) programs.'' In response to and compliance with the California District Court's order, FHFA is seeking comment on whether the restrictions and conditions set forth in the July 6, 2010 Statement and the February 28, 2011 Directive should be maintained, changed, or eliminated, and whether other restrictions or conditions should be imposed. FHFA has appealed the California District Court's order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the ``Ninth Circuit''). Inasmuch as the California District Court's order remains in effect pending the outcome of the appeal, FHFA is proceeding with the publication of this ANPR and NOI pursuant to that order. The Ninth Circuit has stayed, pending the outcome of FHFA's appeal, the portion of the California District Court's Order requiring publication of a final rule. FHFA reserves the right to withdraw this ANPR and NOI should FHFA prevail in its appeal, and may in that situation continue to address the financial risks FHFA believes PACE programs pose to safety and soundness through means other than notice-and-comment rulemaking.

This final rule updates the meal patterns and nutrition standards for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to align them with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This rule requires most schools to increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat fluid milk in school meals; reduce the levels of sodium, saturated fat and trans fat in meals; and meet the nutrition needs of school children within their calorie requirements. These improvements to the school meal programs, largely based on recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, are expected to enhance the diet and health of school children, and help mitigate the childhood obesity trend.

This document contains corrections to final regulations (TD 9568), which were published in the Federal Register on Thursday, December 22, 2011 (76 FR 80082), Relating to section 482 and methods to determine taxable income in connection with a cost sharing arrangement.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model 767-200 and 767-300 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of water accumulation in the forward lower lobe of the forward cargo compartment. This AD requires installing cargo bulkhead supports, ceiling supports, a secondary dam support, drainage tubing, and ceiling panels to the forward lower lobe in the forward cargo compartment. We are issuing this AD to prevent water from accumulating in the forward lower lobe of the forward cargo compartment and entering the adjacent electronic equipment bay, which could result in an electrical short and the potential loss of several functions essential for safe flight.

NMFS closes the southern Florida west coast subzone in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to commercial king mackerel fishing using run-around gillnets. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by pot catcher/processors in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season apportionment of the 2012 Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) specified for pot catcher/processors in the BSAI.

In accordance with Section 743 of Division C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117), we are publishing this notice to advise the public of the availability of the FY 2011 Service Contract inventory. This inventory provides information on FY 2011 service contract actions over $25,000. We organized the information by function to show how we distribute contracted resources throughout the agency. We developed the inventory in accordance with guidance issued on November 5, 2010 by the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). OFPP's guidance is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/ procurement/memo/service-contract-inventories-guidance-110520 10.pdf. You can access the inventory and summary of the inventory on our homepage at the following link: https://www.socialsecurity.gov/sci.

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of a currently approved collection, and allow 60 days for public comment in response to this notice. This notice solicits comments on information needed to ensure that separating service members, especially service members with disabilities are informed about their life insurance option, including converting from Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance to Veterans' Group Life Insurance.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Office of Management (OM), Department of Veterans Affairs, has submitted the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and it includes the actual data collection instrument.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Office of Management (OM), Department of Veterans Affairs, has submitted the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB's approval of the information collection requirements contained in the Asbestos in Construction Standard (29 CFR 1926.1101). The standard protects workers from adverse health effects from occupational exposure to asbestos, including lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis (an emphysema-like condition) and gastrointestinal cancer.

The Board grants an exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502 from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10902 for Iowa Interstate Railroad, Ltd. (IAIS), a Class II rail carrier, to lease and operate 8.4 miles of railroad owned by Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway Co. (CRANDIC). The rail line, known as the Hills Line, extends from a connection with CRANDIC's Cedar Rapids-Iowa City line at milepost 25.0 near Burlington Street in Iowa City, Iowa to the end of track at milepost 33.4 in Hills, Iowa. The exemption is subject to employee protective conditions.

In 1999, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century made $5 million per year available to the Secretary of Homeland Security for payment of Coast Guard expenses for personnel and activities directly related to coordinating and carrying out the national recreational boating safety program. In 2005, the law was amended, and the amount was increased to $5.5 million. The Coast Guard is publishing this notice to satisfy a requirement of the Act that a detailed accounting of the projects, programs, and activities funded under the national recreational boating safety program provision of the Act be published annually in the Federal Register. In this notice, we have specified the funding amounts the Coast Guard has committed, obligated, or expended during fiscal year 2011, as of September 30, 2011.