2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-64. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG, is available via the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov.

NMFS is prohibiting retention of big skate in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary because the 2012 total allowable catch of big skate in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA has been reached.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 757 and Model 767 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a standby power relay failure and subsequent illumination of the ``STANDBY BUS OFF'' light, which led the flightcrew to set the standby power switch to the ``BAT'' position, isolating the battery and standby buses, disabling the battery charger, and eventually causing the main battery to be depleted. This proposed AD would require doing wiring changes and installing a new air/ground relay to the battery charger system. We are proposing this AD to prevent discharge of the main battery, which could result in multiple system degradation, reduced airplane controllability, and runway excursion upon landing.

In this document, the Commission extends the deadline for filing reply comments on the Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in this proceeding, which was published in the Federal Register. The extension will facilitate the development of a full record given the importance of the issues in this proceeding.

This document corrects errors in the codification of final rules published on July 13, 2011, August 8, 2011, February 21, 2012, and October 29, 2012. The July 13, 2011, and October 29, 2012, actions pertain to State Implementation Plan (SIP) submissions by Illinois regarding the infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 1997 eight-hour ground level ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), the 1997 fine particle (PM2.5) NAAQS, and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. The August 8, 2011, and February 21, 2012, actions pertain to Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) to reduce interstate transport of PM2.5 and ozone.

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision that was submitted by the State of Colorado on August 8, 2006. The August 8, 2006, revision updates Regulation Number 11, ``Motor Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program,'' by removing the light duty vehicle emission testing limits that went into effect on January 1, 2006, for 1996 and newer model year vehicles. This action is being taken under section 110 of the Clean Air Act.

In October 2012, the Postal Service filed a notice of mailing services price adjustments with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), effective in January 2013. This final rule contains the revisions to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[supreg]) that we will adopt to implement the changes coincident with the price adjustments.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is revising the rules of practice in patent cases to implement the micro entity provision of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). Certain patent fees set or adjusted under the fee setting authority in the AIA will be reduced by seventy-five percent for micro entities. The Office is revising the rules of practice to set out the procedures pertaining to claiming micro entity status, paying patent fees as a micro entity, notification of loss of micro entity status, and correction of payments of patent fees paid erroneously in the micro entity amount. In a separate rulemaking, the Office is in the process of proposing to set or adjust patent fees under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, including setting fees for micro entities with a seventy-five percent reduction. The Office has sought to address the concerns of its stakeholders as expressed in the public comment, and plans to seek additional public comment on the micro entity provisions after the Office and the public have gained experience with the micro entity procedures in operation. The Office will pursue further improvements to the micro entity procedures in light of the public comment and its experience with the micro entity procedures.

The Captain of the Port New Orleans, under the authority of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, intends to establish a temporary safety zone on the Mississippi River in the vicinity of Woldenburg Park, mile marker 94 to mile marker 96, extending out 300 feet from the East Bank of the Mississippi River during Super Bowl 2013 celebratory events. The Super Bowl is a large scale event that poses many public safety concerns due to the number of people that will attend. This safety zone would be established to protect the public from the hazards created by congested river traffic. This rule would be effective from 6:00 a.m. on January 29, 2013 through 6:00 a.m. on February 4, 2013. The zone will be enforced between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. on each day of the effective period described above.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 17 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan for Commercial and Recreational Salmon Fisheries off the Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California (Salmon FMP). Amendment 17, which was transmitted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) on November 5, 2012, to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review and approval, revises the maximum fishing mortality threshold (MFMT) for Quillayute fall coho, revises the FMP to correct typographical errors, updates reporting measures to reflect new technology, and updates or removes other obsolete or unnecessary language. The Northwest Regional Administrator has determined that the actions of Amendment 17 have all either been previously analyzed in a NEPA document or qualify for categorical exclusion (CE) from further NEPA analysis under NAO 216-6. NMFS also proposes minor updates to regulations unrelated to Amendment 17.

We are revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH (Eurocopter) Model BO-105A, BO- 105C, BO-105LS A-1, BO-105LS A-3, and BO-105S helicopters, which proposed inspecting for debonding of the erosion protective shell (abrasion strip) on the leading edge of each main rotor blade. This SNPRM proposes to revise those inspection requirements by identifying specific dates of replacement of the applicable parts and identifying a specific inspection method for debonding of an abrasion strip.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to delist the southern Selkirk Mountains population of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants as determined under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Based on our review, we find that the petition presents substantial information indicating that delisting this population of the woodland caribou subspecies may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we initiate a review of the status of the subspecies to determine if delisting the southern Selkirk Mountains population of woodland caribou is warranted. To ensure that this status review is comprehensive, we are requesting scientific and commercial data and other information regarding the status of the woodland caribou subspecies (Rangifer tarandus caribou), the southern Selkirk Mountains population of woodland caribou, the mountain ecotype of the woodland caribou, and other possible woodland caribou distinct population segment configurations. Based on the status review, we will issue a 12- month finding on the petition, which will address whether the petitioned action is warranted, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act.

We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of sand pears (Pyrus pyrifolia) from China into the United States. As a condition of entry, sand pears from areas in China in which the Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) is not known to exist will have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that includes requirements for registration of places of production and packinghouses, sourcing of pest-free propagative material, inspection for quarantine pests at set intervals by the national plant protection organization of China, bagging of fruit, safeguarding, labeling, and importation in commercial consignments. Sand pears from areas in China in which Oriental fruit fly is known to exist may be imported into the United States if, in addition to these requirements, the places of production and packinghouses have a monitoring system in place for Oriental fruit fly and the pears are treated with cold treatment. All sand pears from China will also be required to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that all conditions for the importation of the pears have been met and that the consignment of pears has been inspected and found free of quarantine pests. This action will allow for the importation of sand pears from China into the United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a petition for rulemaking from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Commonwealth or petitioner) requesting that the NRC rescind its regulations excluding consideration of spent fuel pool storage impacts from license renewal environmental review. The petition was filed on June 2, 2011, with the NRC's Atomic Safety Licensing Board (ASLB) in conjunction with a request for a waiver of the NRC's spent fuel pool exclusion regulations. The petitioner requested that, if the ASLB rejected the Commonwealth's waiver petition, the NRC initiate a rulemaking. On November 28, 2011, the ASLB denied the Commonwealth's waiver petition, and on March 8, 2012, in a Commission Memorandum and Order, the petition for rulemaking was referred to NRC staff. The NRC is not requesting public comment period on this petition at this time.

On December 11, 2012, the Coast Guard published in the Federal Register an interim temporary final rule establishing a safety zone around the Gilmerton Bridge center span barge. Inadvertently, this rule included an error in the inclement weather date of the safety zone. This document corrects that error.

This document contains correcting amendments to the temporary regulations (TD 9564), which were published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, December 27, 2011, relating to guidance regarding deduction and capitalization of expenditures related to tangible property. These amendments revise the general asset account regulations to provide the time and manner of making a general asset account election. The amendatory instructions of TD 9564 inadvertently redesignated paragraphs (m)(2) and (m)(3) for the general asset account regulations as in effect before TD 9564 as paragraphs (l)(2) and (l)(3) for the general asset account regulations as amended by TD 9564. These correcting amendments will affect all taxpayers that make a general asset account election.

In this rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding a requirement for persons shipping under Authorization Validated End-User (VEU) to send written notice of such shipments to the recipient VEU. BIS further amends the EAR to clarify that when items subject to item-specific conditions under Authorization VEU no longer require a license for export or reexport or become eligible for shipment under a license exception, as set forth in the EAR, VEUs are no longer bound by the conditions associated with the original receipt of such items. On April 17, 2012, BIS published a proposed rule and requested public comments on these topics (77 FR 22689). The comment period closed June 18, 2012. BIS has addressed the public comments received in response to the proposed rule in this final rule.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of propiconazole in or on sugarcane, cane. Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

EPA published in the Federal Register of August 1, 2012, a final rule approving the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submissions submitted by the State of South Carolina, through the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC), as demonstrating that the South Carolina SIP met certain requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). This rulemaking corrects several errors identified in the August 1, 2012, final rule.

This document responds to eight petitions for reconsideration received in relation to FRA's final rule, published on April 9, 2012, which revised the existing regulations containing safety standards for locomotives. In response to the petitions, this document amends and clarifies certain sections of the final rule.

These regulations provide comprehensive guidance for the award program authorized under Internal Revenue Code (Code) section 7623, as amended. The regulations provide guidance on submitting information regarding underpayments of tax or violations of the internal revenue laws and filing claims for award, as well as on the administrative proceedings applicable to claims for award under section 7623. The regulations also provide guidance on the determination and payment of awards, and provide definitions of key terms used in section 7623. Finally, the regulations confirm that the Director, officers, and employees of the Whistleblower Office are authorized to disclose return information to the extent necessary to conduct whistleblower administrative proceedings. The regulations provide needed guidance to the general public as well as officers and employees of the IRS who review claims under section 7623. This document also provides notice of a request for a public hearing on the proposed regulations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will consider in the NRC rulemaking process the issues raised in a petition for rulemaking (PRM) submitted by Thomas Popik (the petitioner) on behalf of the Foundation for Resilient Societies. The petition was dated March 14, 2011, and was docketed as PRM-50-96. The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations to require facilities licensed by the NRC to assure long-term cooling and unattended water makeup of spent fuel pools (SFP).

The Coast Guard proposes the establishment of a Regulated Navigation Area (RNA) at the Youngs Bay PacifiCorp property in Astoria, OR. This RNA is necessary to preserve the integrity of an engineered sediment cap as part of an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) required remedial action. This proposed RNA will do so by prohibiting activities that could disturb or damage the engineered sediment cap.