March 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces a forthcoming meeting of a public advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss current knowledge about the safety and effectiveness of Metal-on-Metal (MoM) hip arthroplasty systems. FDA is convening this committee to seek expert scientific and clinical opinion on the risks and benefits of these types of devices based on available scientific data. The meeting will be open to the public.

This document corrects errors in the DATES section of a Federal Register document (77 FR 12952, March 2, 2012) regarding the Federal Communications Commission comprehensively reforming and beginning to modernize the Universal Service Fund's Lifeline program. The reforms adopted will substantially strengthen protections against waste, fraud, and abuse; improve program administration and accountability; improve enrollment and consumer disclosures; initiate modernization of the program for broadband; and constrain the growth of the program in order to reduce the burden on all who contribute to the Universal Service Fund. This document also contains corrections to the paragraph numbering of final rule regulations in part 54.

This provides the consolidated notice of all agency specific excepted authorities, approved by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), under Schedule A, B, or C, as of June 30, 2011, as required by Civil Service Rule VI, Exceptions from the Competitive Service.

The FAA has issued the final EA and FONSI/ROD for the Dual Track Airport Project for Brookings Regional Airport. The EA was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, FAA Orders 1050.1E, ``Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures'' and FAA Order 5050.4B, ``NEPA Implementing Instructions for Airport Actions''.

In accordance with Section 102(a)(4)(C) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989, this announcement notifies the public of funding decisions made by the Department in competitions for funding under the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control Grant Program Notices of Funding Availability. This announcement contains the name and address of the award recipients and the amounts of award awarded under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 and prior-year appropriations.

This Information Collection Request (ICR) seeks clearance to select teacher preparation programs, and recruit districts and schools, collect student rosters, and administer a baseline student achievement test for an experimental study of the effect on student learning of teachers who have experienced certain types of clinical practice features within university-based preparation programs.

This notice provides information regarding the FHWA's finding that a partial Buy America waiver is appropriate for the obligation of Federal-aid Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) improvement program funds for the purchase of eight 2012 Ford Escape hybrid four- wheel drive vehicles by Merced County, CA.

The Department of Transportation (DOT), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is providing an important opportunity through this notice for all stakeholders to publically comment on the scope of recently commissioned studies involving leak detection systems and valves. This action and others described within this notice will support the comprehensive investigation of topics and issues Congress has charged to PHMSA.

This notice sets forth the agenda for the June 25-26, 2012, meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI); and provides information to members of the public on submitting written comments and on requesting to make oral comments at the meeting. The notice of this meeting is required under Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and Section 114(d)(1)(B) of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended. Meeting Date and Place: The NACIQI meeting will be held on June 25- 26, 2012, from approximately 8:30 a.m. to approximately 5:30 p.m. at the Westin Alexandria, 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314. Meeting Agenda: Below is a list of agencies, including their current and requested scopes of recognition, scheduled for review during the June 25-26, 2012, meeting:

The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') has received requests to conduct administrative reviews of various antidumping and countervailing duty orders and findings with February anniversary dates. In accordance with the Department's regulations, we are initiating those administrative reviews. The Department received a request to revoke one antidumping duty order in part. The Department also received a request to defer the initiation of an administrative review for one anitdumping duty order.

NMFS proposes to implement Amendment 24 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). If implemented, this rule would establish red grouper commercial and recreational sector annual catch limits (ACLs); establish red grouper sector accountability measures (AMs); and remove the combined gag, black grouper, and red grouper commercial quota, and commercial and recreational sector ACLs and AMs. The intent of this rule is to specify ACLs and AMs for red grouper while maintaining catch levels consistent with achieving optimum yield (OY) for the red grouper resource. Additionally, Amendment 24 would implement a rebuilding plan for red grouper in the South Atlantic.

NMFS is seeking information regarding nations whose vessels are engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing, bycatch of protected living marine resources (PLMRs), and/or fishing activities in waters beyond any national jurisdiction that target or incidentally catch sharks. Such information will be reviewed for the purposes of the identification of nations pursuant to the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (Moratorium Protection Act).

This final rule implements a Secretarial Amendment to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan to establish a mechanism for specifying annual catch limits and accountability measures for the small-mesh multispecies fishery beginning in fishing year 2012. This amendment is necessary because the New England Fishery Management Council has been delayed in implementing a mechanism to specify annual catch limits and accountability measures for the silver hake, red hake, and offshore hake stocks that are managed as a sub-set of the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan to meet the 2011 deadline in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

This document contains notices of pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of proposed exemptions from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). This notice includes the following proposed exemptions: D-11582, South Plains Financial, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the Plan or the Applicant); and D-11668, TIB Financial Corp. Employee Stock Ownership Plan with 401(k) Provisions (the Plan).

This document contains a notice of pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of an amendment to a proposed individual exemption from certain prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). The proposed transactions involve Sammons Enterprises, Inc. (Sammons). The proposed exemption, if granted, would affect the ESOP for which Sammons is the sponsor, and the participants and beneficiaries of the ESOP. Temporary Nature of Exemption: This exemption, if granted, will expire at the earlier of (i) the first day of the first fiscal year of Sammons next following the fiscal year in which falls the fifth anniversary of the date of grant of the exemption; and (ii) the first day upon which the ESOP fails to own at least 99% of the issued and outstanding shares of Sammons. Written Comments and Hearing Requests: All interested persons are invited to submit written comments and/or requests for a hearing on the proposed exemption within forty five (45) days from the date of the publication of this Federal Register Notice. Comments and requests for a hearing should state: (1) The name, address and telephone number of the person making the comment or the request for a hearing and (2) the nature of the person's interest in the proposed exemption and the manner in which the person would be adversely affected by the proposed exemption. A request for a hearing must also state the issues to be addressed at the requested hearing and include a general description of the evidence to be presented at the requested hearing.

This notice announces our proposal to renew the Medicare Advantage ``deeming authority'' of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc. (AAAHC) for Health Maintenance Organizations and Preferred Provider Organizations for a term of 6 years. This new term of approval would begin July 11, 2012, and end July 10, 2018. This notice announces a 30-day period for public comments on the renewal of the application.

This notice announces our proposal to renew the Medicare Advantage ``deeming authority'' of the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC) for Health Maintenance Organizations and Preferred Provider Organizations for a term of 6 years. This new term of approval would begin May 26, 2012 and end May 25, 2018. This notice announces a 30-day period for public comments on the renewal of the application.

This notice amends the notice of a major disaster declaration for the State of Indiana (FEMA-4058-DR), dated March 9, 2012, and related determinations.