February 14, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS issues a final rule under authority of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) 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). NMFS approved Amendment 17 on February 5, 2013. Among other things, Amendment 17 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. This rule implements certain portions of Amendment 17; specifically, it discontinues the public comment period for final management measures that are published in the Federal Register and updates mechanisms for obtaining information on management of the fishery. NMFS also makes minor updates to regulations unrelated to Amendment 17.

EPA is proposing approval of State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Massachusetts. These SIP revisions consist of a demonstration that Massachusetts meets the requirements of reasonably available control technology for oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) set forth by the Clean Air Act with respect to the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. Additionally, we are proposing approval of updates to two existing regulations limiting emissions of volatile organic compounds. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

This action proposes to modify two jet routes and seven VOR Federal airways; and remove two VOR Federal airways in the vicinity of Jackson, MS. The FAA is proposing this action due to the scheduled decommissioning of the Jackson, MS, VORTAC, and the commissioning of the Magnolia, MS, VORTAC navigation aids.

EPA is finalizing narrowly tailored amendments to the portions of its rules for the protection of human subjects of research applying to third parties who conduct or support research with pesticides involving intentional exposure of human subjects and to persons who submit the results of human research with pesticides to EPA. The amendments broaden the applicability of the rules to cover human testing with pesticides submitted to EPA under any regulatory statute it administers. The amendments also disallow participation in third- party pesticide studies by subjects who cannot consent for themselves. Finally, the amendments identify specific considerations to be addressed in EPA science and ethics reviews of proposed and completed human research with pesticides, drawn from the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The amendments make no changes to the current Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (the ``Common Rule''), which governs research with human subjects conducted or supported by EPA and many other Federal departments and agencies.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is publishing examination guidelines concerning the first inventor to file provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). The AIA amends the patent laws pertaining to the conditions of patentability to convert the U.S. patent system from a ``first to invent'' system to a ``first inventor to file'' system, treats patents and patent application publications as prior art as of their earliest effective U.S., foreign, or international filing date, eliminates the requirement that a prior public use or sale activity be ``in this country'' to be a prior art activity, and treats commonly owned or joint research agreement patents and patent application publications as being by the same inventive entity for purposes of novelty, as well as nonobviousness. The changes to the conditions of patentability in the AIA result in greater transparency, objectivity, predictability, and simplicity in patentability determinations. The Office is providing these examination guidelines to Office personnel, and notifying the public of these guidelines, to assist in the implementation of the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. These examination guidelines also clarify, in response to the public comment, that there is no requirement that the mode of disclosure by an inventor or joint inventor be the same as the mode of disclosure of an intervening disclosure (e.g., inventor discloses his invention at a trade show and the intervening disclosure is in a peer-reviewed journal). Additionally, there is no requirement that the disclosure by the inventor or a joint inventor be a verbatim or ipsissimis verbis disclosure of an intervening disclosure in order for the exception based on a previous public disclosure of subject matter by the inventor or a joint inventor to apply. These guidelines also clarify that the exception applies to subject matter of the intervening disclosure that is simply a more general description of the subject matter previously publicly disclosed by the inventor or a joint inventor.

The Secretary of Education (Secretary) amends regulations for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA or Act). These regulations govern the Assistance to States for the Education of Children with Disabilities program, including the Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities program. These amendments revise the parental consent requirements a public agency must meet before it may access for the first time a child's or parent's public benefits or insurance (e.g., Medicaid) to pay for services required under the Act; ensure that parents of children with disabilities are specifically informed of all of their legal protections when public agencies seek to access public benefits or insurance (e.g., Medicaid) to pay for services required under the Act; and address the concerns expressed by State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) that requiring parental consent each time access to public benefits or insurance is sought, in addition to the parental consent required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and section 617(c) of the IDEA, imposes unnecessary costs and administrative burdens.

On August 14, 2008, Congress enacted the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), Public Law 110-314. Section 108 of the CPSIA, as amended by Public Law 112-28, provides that the prohibition on specified products containing phthalates does not apply to any component part of children's toys or child care articles that is not accessible to a child through normal and reasonably foreseeable use and abuse of such product. In this document, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) issues guidance on inaccessible component parts in children's toys or child care articles subject to section 108 of the CPSIA.

We, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board), plan to revise and update our accessibility guidelines issued pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act for transportation vehicles that operate on fixed guideway systems (e.g., rapid rail, light rail, commuter rail, and intercity rail). We are establishing a Rail Vehicles Access Advisory Committee (Committee) to make recommendations for revisions and updates to the accessibility guidelines. We request applications from interested organizations for representatives to serve on the Committee.

The Coast Guard will enforce the 2013 California Ironman Triathlon Special Local Regulation located in Oceanside Harbor in Oceanside, California from 6:40 a.m. through 9:30 a.m. on March 30, 2013. This action is necessary to provide to provide for the safety of the participants, crew, spectators, sponsor vessels of the event, and general users of the waterway. During the enforcement period, no spectators shall anchor, block, loiter in, or impede the transit of participants or official patrol vessels in the regulated area during the effective dates and times, unless cleared for such entry by Coast Guard Patrol Commander or through an official supporting vessel.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Company swing span bridge across Bayou Boeuf, mile 10.2, at Amelia, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. The deviation is necessary to complete scheduled repairs necessitated by a bridge allision. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to- navigation position for sixteen consecutive hours.

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittal from the State of Alaska as meeting the requirements of Clean Air Act (CAA) sections169A and 169B and federal regional haze regulations. The SIP implements a regional haze program in the State of Alaska for the first regional haze planning period, through July 31, 2018. This submittal 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 caused by emissions of air pollutants from numerous sources located over a wide geographic area (also referred to as the ``regional haze program''). In this action, EPA is approving all provisions of Alaska's Regional Haze SIP submission, including the requirements for the calculation of baseline and natural visibility conditions, statewide inventory of visibility-impairing pollutants, best available retrofit technology (BART), Reasonable Progress Goals (RPGs), and Long-Term Strategy (LTS). Additionally, EPA is approving the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Best Available Retrofit Technology regulations, and amendments to Alaska's Area Wide Pollution Control Program for Regional Haze.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 707 airplanes, and Model 720 and 720B series airplanes. That AD currently requires replacing wiring for the fuel boost pumps and override pumps with new wiring, installing Teflon sleeving on the wiring, and doing associated actions; and doing repetitive inspections to detect damage of the wiring or evidence of a fuel leak. This new AD reduces the repetitive inspection interval. This AD was prompted by a determination that an inspection interval must be reduced. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct damaged wiring for the fuel boost pumps and override pumps, which could cause electrical arcing that could puncture the conduit containing the wire, and result in a fuel tank explosion or a fire adjacent to the fuel tank.

EPA is proposing to fully approve two permitting rules submitted by California as a revision to the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD or District) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These rules were adopted by the SMAQMD to regulate the construction and modification of stationary sources of air pollution within Sacramento County. EPA is proposing to approve this SIP revision based on the Agency's conclusion that the rules are consistent with applicable Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements, policies and guidance. Final approval of these rules would make the rules federally enforceable and correct program deficiencies identified in a previous EPA rulemaking on July 20, 2011.

The Commission is proposing amendments to the premerger notification rules (``the Rules'') to provide a framework for the withdrawal of a premerger notification filing under the Hart Scott Rodino Act (``the Act'' or ``HSR''). The Act and Rules require the parties to certain mergers and acquisitions to file reports with the Federal Trade Commission (``the Commission'') and the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (``the Assistant Attorney General'') (collectively, ``the Agencies'') and to wait a specified period of time before consummating such transactions. The reporting and waiting period requirements are intended to enable these enforcement agencies to determine whether a proposed merger or acquisition may violate the antitrust laws if consummated and, when appropriate, to seek a preliminary injunction in federal court to prevent consummation. This proposed rulemaking sets forth the procedure for voluntarily withdrawing an HSR filing, establishes when an HSR filing will be automatically withdrawn after an electronically submitted filing publicly announcing the termination of a transaction is made with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'') under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and rules promulgated under that act, and sets forth the procedure for resubmitting a filing after a withdrawal with no additional filing fee.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection is amending Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act and the official interpretation to the regulation, which interprets the requirements of Regulation Z. This final rule implements provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act regarding mortgage loan servicing. Specifically, this final rule implements Dodd- Frank Act sections addressing initial rate adjustment notices for adjustable-rate mortgages, periodic statements for residential mortgage loans, prompt crediting of mortgage payments, and responses to requests for payoff amounts. This final rule also amends current rules governing the scope, timing, content, and format of disclosures to consumers regarding the interest rate adjustments of their variable-rate transactions. Concurrently with the issuance of this final rule, the Bureau is amending Regulation X, which contains companion rules implementing amendments to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974.