May 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS issues this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to provide background information and request public comment on potential adjustments to the National Standard 1 Guidelines, one of 10 national standards for fishery conservation and management contained in Section 301 of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Since the guidelines were last updated in 2009, a number of issues regarding the application of the guidelines were identified by stakeholders and managers that may warrant their revision. This action provides the public with a formal opportunity to comment on the specific ideas mentioned in this ANPR, as well as any additional ideas and solutions that could improve provisions of the National Standard 1 Guidelines.

This document corrects a technical error that appeared in the proposed rule published elsewhere in this Federal Register entitled ``Medicaid Program; State Plan Home and Community-Based Services, 5- Year Period for Waivers, Provider Payment Reassignment, and Setting Requirements for Community First Choice.'' The proposed rule was intended to carry a 60-day comment period, but was submitted with a 30- day comment period. This document corrects that error.

The Department of Justice is amending its internal organizational regulations to clarify the authority of the respective agency heads of the Bureau of Prisons, the Federal Prison Industries, the United States Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to settle claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are reclassifying the wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) from endangered to threatened. This action is based on a review of the best available scientific and commercial data, which indicate that the primary threat that led to population decline, unregulated hunting, is no longer a threat and that recovery actions have led to a substantial increase in the number of herds that have a stable or increasing trend in population size. Critical habitat has not been designated because free- ranging wood bison only occur in Canada and we do not designate critical habitat in foreign countries.

The purpose of this notice is to announce that: 1 the EPA has received a complete application from the State of Tennessee requesting approval of its Underground Injection Control program; 2 the EPA has determined the application contains all the required elements; 3 the application is available for inspection and copying at the address appearing below; 4 public comments are requested; and (5) a public hearing will be held.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection published an interim final rule on December 21, 2011 (76 FR 79486), republishing implementing regulations under the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (ILSA). The interim final rule contained a typographical error, which this document corrects.

The Postal Service will revise the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[supreg]) throughout various sections to discontinue price eligibility based on the use of POSTNETTM barcodes on all types of mail.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus Model A300 B2-1C, B2K-3C, B2-203, B4-2C, B4-103, and B4-203 airplanes. This AD was prompted by analysis that in a specific failure case of the upper primary attachment of the trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuator (THSA), the THSA upper secondary attachment engaged because it could only withstand the loads for a limited period of time. This AD requires installing three secondary retention plates for the gimbal bearings on the THSA upper primary attachment. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the secondary load path, which could result in loss of control of the airplane.

This proposed rule would revise Medicaid regulations to define and describe State plan home and community-based services (HCBS) under the Social Security Act (the Act) as added by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Affordable Care Act \1\). This proposed rule offers States new flexibility in providing necessary and appropriate services to elderly and disabled populations and reflects CMS' commitment to the general principles of the President's Executive Order released January 18, 2011, entitled ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.'' In particular, this rule does not require the eligibility link between HCBS and institutional care that exists under the Medicaid HCBS waiver program. This regulation would describe Medicaid coverage of the optional State plan benefit to furnish home and community-based services and receive Federal matching funds. As a result, States will be better able to design and tailor Medicaid services to accommodate individual needs. This may result in improved patient outcomes and satisfaction, while enabling States to effectively manage their Medicaid resources.

The 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) require that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the agency) establish criteria for a program to monitor unregulated contaminants and publish a list of up to 30 contaminants to be monitored every five years. This final rule meets the SDWA requirement by publishing the third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (i.e., UCMR 3), listing the unregulated contaminants to be monitored and addressing the requirements for such monitoring. This final rule describes analytical methods to monitor for 28 chemical contaminants and describes the monitoring for two viruses. UCMR 3 provides EPA and other interested parties with scientifically valid data on the occurrence of these contaminants in drinking water, permitting the assessment of the number of people potentially being exposed and the levels of that exposure. These data are one of the primary sources of occurrence and exposure information the agency uses to develop regulatory decisions for these contaminants. In addition, as part of an Expedited Methods Update, this rule finalizes amendatory language for a drinking water inorganic analysis table (``Inorganic chemical sampling and analytical requirements'') in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). This minor editorial correction to the table does not affect the UCMR program.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to establish a new danger zone in the waters adjacent to Camp Rilea located in Clatsop County, Oregon. The regulation would prohibit any activity by the public within the danger zone during use of weapons training ranges. The new danger zone is necessary to ensure public safety and satisfy the Oregon National Guard operations requirements for small arms training.

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Bridge across Manchester Harbor, mile 1.0, at Manchester, Massachusetts. The deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed position to facilitate timber replacement.

Through this final rule NMFS establishes fishery management measures for the 2012 ocean salmon fisheries off Washington, Oregon, and California and the 2013 salmon seasons opening earlier than May 1, 2013. Specific fishery management measures vary by fishery and by area. The measures establish fishing areas, seasons, quotas, legal gear, recreational fishing days and catch limits, possession and landing restrictions, and minimum lengths for salmon taken in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (3-200 NM) off Washington, Oregon, and California. The management measures are intended to prevent overfishing and to apportion the ocean harvest equitably among treaty Indian, non- treaty commercial, and recreational fisheries. The measures are also intended to allow a portion of the salmon runs to escape the ocean fisheries in order to provide for spawning escapement and to provide for inside fisheries (fisheries occurring in state internal waters). This document also announces the availability of an environmental assessment (EA) analyzing the environmental impacts of implementing the 2012 ocean salmon management measures.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Texas regulatory program (Texas program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Texas proposes revisions to its regulations regarding: definitions; review of permit applications; criteria for permit approval or denial; commission review of outstanding permits; challenge of ownership or control and applicant/violator system procedures; identification of interests and compliance information; mining in previously mined areas; conditions of permits; revegetation standards; cessation orders; alternative enforcement; application approval and notice; permit revisions; permit renewals; transfer, assignment or sale of permit rights; and requirements for new permits for persons succeeding to rights granted under a permit. Texas intends to revise its program to be no less effective than the Federal regulations and improve operational efficiency. This document gives the times and locations that the Texas program and this proposed amendment to that program are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

We are approving a request by Pennsylvania to remove a required amendment to Pennsylvania's regulatory program (the ``Pennsylvania program'') regulations under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The provision that we are removing required Pennsylvania to demonstrate that all applications for surface mining permits in Pennsylvania include the specific information for all cessation orders received by the applicant and anyone linked to the applicant through ownership and control, prior to the date of the application.

The Secretary amends four sections of the Federal Pell Grant Program regulations to make them consistent with recent changes in the law that prohibit a student from receiving two consecutive Pell Grants in a single award year.

This final rule partially approves, and implements, 19 Northeast (NE) multispecies (groundfish) sector operations plans and contracts for fishing year (FY) 2012, and allocates quotas of NE multispecies to the sectors. This final rule does not approve certain exemptions and measures proposed in the operations plans, as explained below. Approval of sector operations plans is necessary to allocate quota to the sectors and to grant the sectors regulatory exemptions. This provides vessels participating in sectors with increased operational flexibility while limiting overall fishing mortality. This final rule also announces a preliminary allocation to the New Hampshire State-Operated Permit Bank.

On August 30, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) published a final rule requiring employers subject to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to post notices informing their employees of their rights as employees under the NLRA. (76 FR 54006, August 30, 2011.) On October 12, 2011, the Board amended that rule to delay the effective date from November 14, 2011, to January 31, 2012. (76 FR 63188, October 12, 2011.) The Board later further amended the rule to delay the effective date from January 31, 2012, to April 30, 2012. (76 FR 82133 December 30, 2011.) On April 17, 2012, in light of conflicting decisions at the district court level, the D.C. Circuit entered an injunction pending appeal further delaying the effective date of the rule. National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB (12-5068 D.C. Cir. April 17, 2012) citing Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB (11-02516 D.S.C. April 13, 2012) (finding Board lacked authority to issue rule). The purpose of this notice is to announce that delay in the effective date of the rule.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) publishes this proposed rule describing how energetic materials and related articles that the President determines no longer warrant control under Category V (Explosives and Energetic Materials, Propellants, Incendiary Agents and Their Constituents) of the United States Munitions List (USML) would be controlled under the Commerce Control List (CCL) in new Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) 1B608, 1C608, 1D608, and 1E608. If implemented, this proposed rule would also control under ECCN 1C111 some of the aluminum powder and hydrazine and derivatives thereof that are now controlled under Category V of the USML. This proposed rule also would control equipment for the ``production'' of explosives and solid propellants, currently controlled under ECCN 1B018.a, and related ``software,'' currently controlled under ECCN 1D018, under new ECCNs 1B608 and 1D608, respectively. In addition, this proposed rule would control commercial charges and devices containing energetic materials, which are currently controlled under ECCN 1C018, under new ECCN 1C608. This is one of a planned series of proposed rules describing how various types of articles that the President determines, as part of the Administration's Export Control Reform Initiative, no longer warrant control on the USML, under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), would be controlled on the CCL in accordance with the requirements of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This proposed rule is being published in conjunction with a proposed rule from the Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, which would amend the list of articles controlled by USML Category V.

The Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) is promulgating regulations to establish procedures governing collection of delinquent royalties, rentals, bonuses, and other amounts due under leases and other agreements for the production of oil, natural gas, coal, geothermal energy, other minerals, and renewable energy from Federal lands onshore, Indian tribal and allotted lands, and the Outer Continental Shelf. The regulations include provisions for administrative offset and clarify and implement the provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 (DCA) and the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA).

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of acequinocyl in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. This regulation additionally removes several established individual tolerances, as they will be superseded by inclusion in crop subgroup tolerances or by updated commodity terminology. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

EPA proposes to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Maryland Department of Environment to revise the Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision removes a 1980 Consent Order issued to the Maryland Slag Company (now known as MultServ). The 1980 Consent Order is no longer required to satisfy applicable Federal regulations and the Clean Air Act (CAA). In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's SIP submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

This document announces the Agency's receipt of several initial filings of pesticide petitions requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities.