March 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the US 70 Alfred Cunningham Bridge across the Trent River, mile 0.0, at New Bern, NC. The deviation is necessary to accommodate cyclists in the ``Cyclist Goin Coastal'' charity event. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed position for one-half hour to ensure safe passage for the cyclists.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the public comment period on the July 27, 2011, proposed designation of critical habitat for Ipomopsis polyantha (Pagosa skyrocket), Penstemon debilis (Parachute beardtongue), and Phacelia submutica (DeBeque phacelia) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We also announce the availability of a draft economic analysis, a draft environmental assessment, and an amended required determinations section of the proposal. We also propose to revise critical habitat unit boundaries for Ipomopsis polyantha units 2 and 4, and for Phacelia submutica units 6, 7, and 9. Finally, we announce some potential additional areas being considered for exclusion from critical habitat for Penstemon debilis unit 3. We are reopening the comment period for the proposal to allow all interested parties an opportunity to comment simultaneously on the proposed rule, the associated draft economic analysis (DEA), and draft environmental assessment (Draft EA), and the amended required determinations section. If you submitted comments previously, you do not need to resubmit them because we have already incorporated them into the public record and will fully consider them in preparation of the final rule.

The FDIC is proposing a rule (``Proposed Rule''), with request for comments, that implements section 210(c)(16) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the ``Dodd-Frank Act'' or the ``Act''), codified at 12 U.S.C. section 5390(c)(16), which permits the Corporation, as receiver for a financial company whose failure would pose a significant risk to the financial stability of the United States (a ``covered financial company''), to enforce contracts of subsidiaries or affiliates of the covered financial company despite contract clauses that purport to terminate, accelerate, or provide for other remedies based on the insolvency, financial condition or receivership of the covered financial company. As a condition to maintaining these subsidiary contracts in full force and effect, the Corporation as receiver must either: transfer any supporting obligations of the covered financial company that back the obligations of the subsidiary or affiliate under the contract (along with all assets and liabilities that relate to those supporting obligations) to a bridge financial company or qualified third-party transferee by the statutory one-business-day deadline; or provide adequate protection to such contract counterparties. The Proposed Rule sets forth the scope and effect of the authority granted under section 210(c)(16), clarifies the conditions and requirements applicable to the receiver, addresses requirements for notice to certain affected counterparties, and defines key terms.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and commercial and industrial equipment, including battery chargers and external power supplies (EPSs). EPCA also requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine whether more stringent, amended standards for these products are technologically feasible, economically justified, and would save a significant amount of energy. In this notice, DOE proposes amended energy conservation standards for Class A EPSs and new energy conservation standards for non-Class A EPSs and battery chargers. The notice also announces a public meeting to receive comment on these proposed standards and associated analyses and results.

These special conditions are issued for the Airbus A350-900 series airplane. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with seats that include non-traditional, large, non-metallic panels that would affect survivability during a post-crash fire event. 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 adopts as a final rule, without change, the proposed amendments to the CBP regulations that provide that where an owner or master of a vessel documented under the laws of the United States fails to timely pay the duties determined to be due to CBP that are associated with the purchase of equipment for, or repair to, the vessel while it is outside the United States, interest will accrue on the amounts owed to CBP and that person will be liable for interest. The purpose of this document is to ensure that the CBP regulations reflect that CBP collects interest as part of its inherent revenue collection functions in situations where an owner or master of a vessel fails to pay the vessel repair duties determined to be due within 30 days of CBP issuing the bill.

EPA is proposing approval of a revision to the Connecticut State Implementation Plan (SIP) that addresses regional haze for the first planning period from 2008 through 2018. It was submitted by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (now known as Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, CT DEEP) on November 18, 2009, February, 24, 2012 and March 12, 2012. 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, manmade impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I areas (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.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) establishes migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations in Alaska for the 2012 season. These regulations will enable the continuation of customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory birds in Alaska and prescribe regional information on when and where the harvesting of birds may occur. These regulations were developed under a co-management process involving the Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Native representatives. The rulemaking is necessary because the regulations governing the subsistence harvest of migratory birds in Alaska are subject to annual review. This rulemaking establishes region-specific regulations that go into effect on April 2, 2012, and expire on August 31, 2012.

In this NPRM, PHMSA is proposing to revise the Hazardous Materials Regulations applicable to air bag inflators, air bag modules, and seat-belt pretensioners. The proposed changes would incorporate the provisions of two special permits into the regulations. In addition, PHMSA proposes to revise the current approval and documentation requirements for a material appropriately classified as a UN3268 air bag inflator, air bag module, or seat-belt pretensioner. The proposed changes will, if adopted, reduce the regulatory burden on the automotive industry while maintaining the current level of safety.

This document proposes amendments to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to provide that if certain imports do not comply with applicable energy conservation or labeling standards, CBP will refuse admission when so notified by the Department of Energy (DOE) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and CBP may, upon a recommendation from DOE or FTC, conditionally release the goods so that they may be brought into compliance. Specifically, CBP will refuse admission into the customs territory of the United States to consumer products and industrial equipment deemed noncompliant with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA) and its implementing regulations, and for which CBP has received written notice from the DOE or the FTC that identifies merchandise as noncompliant with applicable EPCA requirements. In lieu of immediate refusal of admission, and upon written or electronic notice by DOE or FTC, CBP may conditionally release under bond to the importer such noncompliant products or equipment for purposes of reconditioning, re-labeling, or other action so as to bring the subject product or equipment into compliance with applicable energy conservation and labeling admissibility standards. If the subject import is not timely brought into compliance, CBP, at the direction of DOE or FTC, will issue a refusal of admission notice to the importer and demand redelivery of the subject products to CBP custody. A failure to comply with a demand for redelivery will result in the assessment of liquidated damages. This proposed regulation, if adopted, will implement the mandate of the EPCA, as amended, to preclude admission into the United States of certain consumer products and industrial equipment that do not meet applicable labeling or energy conservation requirements.

This action proposes to amend Class E Airspace at Memphis, TN, as the West Memphis Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) has been decommissioned and new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures have been developed at Memphis International Airport. This action also would remove West Memphis Municipal Airport, West Memphis, TN from the existing airspace surrounding Memphis International Airport, Memphis, TN. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at West Memphis, AR. Separation of existing Class E airspace surrounding West Memphis Municipal Airport from the Class E airspace of Memphis International Airport, Memphis, TN, has made this action necessary to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

EPA is finalizing its approval of most of the Nevada Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) that implements the Clean Air Act (CAA) Regional Haze Rule requiring states to prevent any future and remedy any existing man-made impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I areas through a regional haze program. EPA proposed to approve all parts of Nevada's SIP revisions on June 22, 2011 (76 FR 36450). This final approval applies to all aspects of Nevada's SIP except for that portion of Nevada's determination regarding the Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions at the Reid Gardner Generating Station (RGGS). We will take action on BART for NOX at RGGS in a future notice.

EPA is proposing to approve a State implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Colorado on May 25, 2011 that addresses regional haze (RH). EPA is proposing to determine that the plan submitted by Colorado satisfies the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act'') and our rules that require states to prevent any future and remedy any existing man-made 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 taking this action pursuant to section 110 of the CAA.

The EPA is proposing National Uniform Emission Standards for Storage Vessels and Transfer Operations, Equipment Leaks and Control Devices, herein referred to as Uniform Standards. The EPA is also proposing supplemental revisions to the National Uniform Emission Standards General Provisions, which were proposed with the National Uniform Emission Standards for Heat Exchange Systems, signed by the EPA Administrator on November 30, 2011. The proposed Uniform Standards would be referenced, as appropriate, in future revisions to new source performance standards and national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for individual source categories that are part of the chemical manufacturing and refining industries that have storage vessels and transfer operations, equipment leaks or control devices used to control process vents from reactors, distillation and other operations, as well as from emissions from storage vessels, transfer operations and equipment leaks that are routed to control devices. Establishing these Uniform Standards is consistent with the objectives of Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, issued on January 18, 2011. In the future, as we periodically review and, if necessary, revise new source performance standards and national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants, as required by the Clean Air Act, we can direct those rulemakings to the proposed Uniform Standards, provided the Uniform Standards meet the applicable statutory stringency requirements for the specific rulemaking. The proposed Uniform Standards would ensure consistency and streamline recordkeeping and reporting requirements for facilities with storage vessels and transfer operations, equipment leaks and process vents that must comply with multiple regulations.

This final rule implements measures in Amendment 17 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan which was approved on March 8, 2012. This action amends the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan to explicitly define and facilitate the effective operation of state-operated permit banks. As proposed in Amendment 17, state-operated permit banks may be allocated an annual catch entitlement and specifically authorized to provide their annual catch entitlement and/or days-at-sea to approved groundfish sectors to enhance the fishing opportunities available to sector members. This action also approves a provision allowing NMFS to issue a days-at-sea credit to a vessel that cancels a fishing trip prior to setting or hauling fishing gear.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 18A to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 18A), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). If implemented, this rule would update the current rebuilding strategy for black sea bass, modify the current system of accountability measures for black sea bass, limit effort in the black sea bass segment of the snapper- grouper fishery, and improve fisheries data in the for-hire sector of the snapper-grouper fishery. The intent of this rule is to reduce overcapacity in the black sea bass segment of the snapper-grouper fishery.

On February 14, 2012, EPA proposed amendments to the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for secondary aluminum production (77 FR 8576). The EPA is extending the deadline for written comments on the proposed amendments by 14 days to April 13, 2012. The EPA received a request for an extension from the Aluminum Association. The Aluminum Association has requested the extension in order to allow more time to review the redlined of the original rule and the proposed revisions, as well as review the test data for Group I furnaces.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Burkhart GROB Luft- und Raumfahrt GmbH Models GROB G 109 and GROB G 109B powered sailplanes. 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 excessive corrosion on the nose plate in the vertical stabilizer, which could cause the vertical stabilizer nose plate to fail. We are issuing this proposed AD to require actions to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Rolls-Royce Deutschland (RRD) Models Tay 611-8 and Tay 611-8C turbofan engines. This AD requires replacement of the high-pressure (HP) turbine spanner retaining nut. This AD was prompted by the discovery that certain HP turbine spanner retaining nuts were improperly heat treated after application of silver plating. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the HP turbine stage 2 disc, uncontained engine failure, and damage to the airplane.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish temporary special local regulations on the navigable waters of Narragansett Bay and Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, for the Ocean State Tall Ships Festival 2012. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life and property on the navigable waters of Narragansett Bay and Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, during the Ocean State Tall Ships Festival on July 6-9, 2012. These temporary special local regulations would restrict vessel traffic in portions of Narragansett Bay and Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, unless authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) Sector Southeastern New England.

The Commander, Seventh Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the N.W. 12th Avenue Bridge across the Miami River, mile 2.1, in Miami, Florida. This deviation will test a change to the drawbridge operation schedule to determine whether a permanent change to the schedule is needed. The test deviation is necessary to determine whether possible vehicle traffic congestion during Miami Marlins home baseball games poses a safety concern. This 90 day test deviation will allow the N.W. 12th Avenue Bridge to remain closed to navigation for a short period prior to the start of Miami Marlins home baseball games. Tugs and tugs with tows, public vessels of the United States, and vessels in distress shall be passed at any time.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is classifying the Near Infrared (NIR) Brain Hematoma Detector into class II (special controls). The Agency is classifying the device into class II (special controls) in order to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of the device.