February 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule invites comments on five proposed amendments to Marketing Order No. 920 (order) which regulates the handling of kiwifruit grown in California. The amendments were proposed by the Kiwifruit Administrative Committee (Committee or KAC), which is responsible for local administration of the order. The five proposals would amend the marketing order by adding authority to recommend and conduct production and postharvest research, adding authority to recommend and conduct market research and development projects, adding authority to receive and expend voluntary contributions, amending procedures to specify that recommendations for production research and market development be approved by eight members of the Committee, and updating provisions regarding alternate members' service on the Committee.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the Glycine max herbicide-resistant acetolactate synthase (GM-HRA) enzyme when used as a plant-incorporated protectant inert ingredient in or on the food and feed commodities of soybean. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (DuPont Pioneer), submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of Glycine max herbicide-resistant acetolactate synthase enzyme in or on the food and feed commodities of soybean.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) Model 500N, 600N and MD900 helicopters to require determining the cure date for each NOTAR fan blade tension- torsion strap (T-T strap), establishing a calendar-time retirement life for certain T-T straps, reducing the retirement life of certain T-T straps, marking each T-T strap with the expiration date, creating a component record card for each T-T strap, and revising the airworthiness limitations section of the maintenance manual to reflect the changes to the retirement life. This AD was prompted by a report from the T-T strap manufacturer that, over a period of time, moisture may reduce the strength of a T-T strap. The actions are intended to prevent failure of a T-T strap, loss of directional control and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

OSHA is correcting its regulations that were amended by the Hazard Communication Standard final rule, published in the Federal Register on March 26, 2012. The majority of the corrections are to references inadvertently missed in the original publication of the final rule. Other corrections include correcting values or notations in tables, and updating references to terms.

The EPA is proposing to approve several State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Massachusetts. The revisions add new monitoring, inspection, maintenance and testing requirements for certain fossil fuel utilization facilities, rename and clarify stationary source emission reporting requirements, and establish compliance and certification standards for new boilers. The intended effect of this action is to propose approval of the state's revised fossil fuel utilization facility regulation, source registration regulation, and new industrial performance standards for boilers. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.

We (NMFS) have determined that a final rule to withdraw the alternative tow time restriction and require all skimmer trawls, pusher-head trawls, and wing nets (butterfly trawls) rigged for fishing to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in their nets is not warranted at this time. Thus, we are discontinuing our Environmental Review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and do not intend to prepare a Final Environmental Impact Statement for this Action. We therefore withdraw our proposed rule to require TEDs in these vessels published May 10, 2012, in the Federal Register.

We are proposing to amend the Hawaii quarantine regulations to allow the interstate movement of untreated Sharwil avocados from Hawaii into the continental United States. As a condition of movement, Sharwil avocados from Hawaii would have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that would include requirements for registration and monitoring of places of production and packinghouses, an orchard trapping program, grove sanitation, limits on harvest periods and distribution areas, and harvesting and packing requirements to ensure that only intact fruit that have been protected against infestation are shipped. This action would allow for the interstate movement of Sharwil avocados from Hawaii into other States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests.

OSHA published a direct final rule and a companion notice of proposed rulemaking on November 9, 2012, to broaden the exemption for digger derricks in its construction standard for cranes and derricks. OSHA received a significant adverse comment on the direct final rule and is, therefore, withdrawing the direct final rule. OSHA will issue a final rule at a later date based on the notice of proposed rulemaking.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 620 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2013 total allowable catch of pollock for Statistical Area 620 in the GOA.

This notice announces that the period for submitting comments to the notice of proposed determination, published December 31, 2012, about commercial and industrial compressors is reopening to February 28, 2013.

These special conditions are issued for the Embraer S.A., Model EMB-550 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with hydrophobic coatings. 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.

We propose to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all Turbomeca S.A. Arrius Models 2B, 2B1, and 2F turboshaft engines. The existing AD currently requires replacement of injector manifolds and borescope-inspection of the flame tube and the high-pressure (HP) turbine area for possible damage. Since we issued that AD, we received a report that the corrective actions of the existing AD were insufficient to eliminate the unsafe condition. This proposed AD would require, depending on the engine model, repetitive replacements of fuel injection manifolds and the privilege injector, or, repetitive replacements of the privilege injector. We are proposing this AD to prevent an uncommanded in-flight shutdown of Arrius 2B1 and 2F turboshaft engines and damage to the helicopter.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Engine Alliance GP7270 and GP7277 turbofan engines. This proposed AD was prompted by damage to the high-pressure compressor (HPC) stage 7-9 spool caused by failure of the baffle plate feature on affected HPC stage 6 disks. This proposed AD would require initial and repetitive borescope inspections of the baffle plate feature and removal from service of the HPC stage 6 disk before further flight, if the plate is missing material. This proposed AD would also require mandatory removal from service of these HPC stage 6 disks at the next HPC module exposure. We are proposing this AD to prevent uncontained failure of the HPC stage 7-9 spool, uncontained engine failure, and damage to the airplane.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 747-400 series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of auxiliary power unit (APU) faults due to power feeder cable chafing. This proposed AD would require detailed inspections for damage of the APU power feeder cables; replacing the clamps and installing grommets; and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct chafing of the APU power feeder cables within a flammable fluid leakage zone, which, with arcing, could result in fire and structural damage.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a proposed order to reclassify temporary mandibular condyle prosthesis, a preamendments class III device, into class II (special controls), and rename the device ``temporary mandibular condyle reconstruction plate.'' FDA is also issuing the draft special controls guideline, ``Class II Special Controls Guideline: Temporary Mandibular Condyle Reconstruction Plate,'' which sets forth the special controls that the Agency believes are necessary to provide a reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness of the device.

This document is the final decision proposing to permanently adopt changes to the manufacturing cost allowances and the butterfat yield factor used in Class III and Class IV product-price formulas applicable to all Federal milk marketing orders. These amendments were adopted by an interim final rule issued on, July 25, 2008, that became effective on October 1, 2008. This document also terminates the proceeding with regard to additional proposals that addressed the collection of manufacturing cost information, the use of an energy cost adjustor and providing for a cost add-on feature to Class III and Class IV product-price formulas. The orders amended by this decision require producer approval. Referenda will be conducted in three markets and dairy farmer cooperatives will be polled in the other seven markets to determine whether dairy farmers approve the issuance of the orders as amended.

This proposed rule would reform Medicare regulations that CMS has identified as unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome on health care providers and suppliers, as well as certain regulations under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA). This proposed rule would increase the ability of health care professionals to devote resources to improving patient care, by eliminating or reducing requirements that impede quality patient care or that divert resources away from providing high quality patient care. This is one of several rules that we are proposing to achieve regulatory reforms under Executive Order 13563 on improving regulation and regulatory review and the Department's plan for retrospective review of existing rules.

This action sets forth the EPA's final decision on the issues for which it granted reconsideration in December 2011, which pertain to certain aspects of the March 21, 2011, final rule titled ``Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units'' (CISWI rule). This action also includes our final decision to deny the requests for reconsideration with respect to all issues raised in the petitions for reconsideration of the final commercial and industrial solid waste incineration rule for which we did not grant reconsideration. Among other things, this final action establishes effective dates for the standards and makes technical corrections to the final rule to clarify definitions, references, applicability and compliance issues. In addition, the EPA is issuing final amendments to the regulations that were codified by the Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials rule (NHSM rule). Originally promulgated on March 21, 2011, the non-hazardous secondary materials rule provides the standards and procedures for identifying whether non-hazardous secondary materials are solid waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act when used as fuels or ingredients in combustion units. The purpose of these amendments is to clarify several provisions in order to implement the non-hazardous secondary materials rule as the agency originally intended.

EPA is proposing to disapprove in part revisions to the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP) to implement the regional haze program addressing visibility impairment in mandatory Class I areas covered by the requirements related to the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission, an optional program for certain western states. These SIP revisions were submitted to address the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requiring states to prevent any future and remedy any existing impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I areas caused by man-made pollution. We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing for public comment a notice of receipt for a petition for rulemaking (PRM), dated October 3, 2012, which was filed with the NRC by Anthony R. Pietrangelo on behalf of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI or the petitioner). The petition was docketed by the NRC on October 18, 2012, and assigned Docket No. PRM-72-7. The petitioner requests that the NRC add a new rule that governs the format and content of spent fuel storage cask Certificates of Compliance (CoCs), extend the backfit rule to CoCs, and make other improvements that result in ``more efficient and effective NRC oversight of dry cask storage activities as well as improved implementation of dry cask storage requirements by industry.''

On November 29, 2011 and November 9, 2012, FEMA published in the Federal Register a proposed rule and a correction to the proposed rule that contained erroneous tables. This notice provides corrections to those tables, to be used in lieu of the information published at 76 FR 73537 and 76 FR 67325. The table provided here represents the flooding sources, location of referenced elevations, effective and modified elevations, and communities affected for Sullivan County, Pennsylvania (All Jurisdictions). Specifically, it addresses the flooding sources Big Run, Little Loyalsock Creek, Loyalsock Creek, and Muncy Creek.

We are revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for all Fokker Services B.V. Model F.27 Mark 050 airplanes, and Model F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes. That NPRM proposed to require inspecting and, if necessary, adjusting, the torque values of nuts on circuit breakers, contactors, and terminal blocks of the electrical power center (EPC) and battery relay panel. This proposed AD would also require inspecting to determine if certain parts are installed, and installing the parts if necessary. This action revises that NPRM by adding a previously omitted terminal block to the required actions. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct loose nuts, which could result in arcing and potentially an onboard fire, possibly resulting in damage to the airplane and injury to occupants or maintenance personnel. Since these actions impose an additional burden over that proposed in the NPRM, we are reopening the comment period to allow the public the chance to comment on these proposed changes.

We propose to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Airbus Model A310 series airplanes. The existing AD currently requires repetitive inspections for fatigue cracking of the area around the fasteners of the landing plate of the aileron access doors of the bottom skin panel of the wings, and related corrective action. The existing AD provides for an optional terminating action, which ends the repetitive inspections. Since we issued that AD, a reassessment of the previous fatigue threshold and inspection interval resulted in a determination that reduced inspection thresholds and intervals for accomplishment of the tasks are necessary. This proposed AD would reduce the initial inspection compliance time and intervals and provide additional terminating action options. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of the area around the fasteners of the landing plate of the aileron access doors and the bottom skin panel of the wings, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the wings.

The U.S. Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone around vessels involved in Coast Guard training exercises in Hood Canal, WA. This is necessary to ensure the safety of the maritime public during these exercises, which involve fast moving surface vessels, smoke machines, pyrotechnics, and other elements which could create safety concerns for waterway users. This safety zone ensures the safety of the maritime public by prohibiting any person or vessel from entering or remaining in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) or a Designated Representative.

This rule revises the regulations governing FHA's Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program (Section 242 program) for the purpose of codifying, in regulation, FHA's implementation of its authority to refinance existing loans of hospitals without FHA-insured mortgages, without conditioning the exercise of such authority on the expenditure of funds for construction or renovation. Hospitals with FHA's Section 242 mortgage insurance may refinance existing debt under section 223(a)(7) of the National Housing Act, and such refinancing under section 223(a)(7) is not conditioned upon the hospital undertaking new construction or renovation. When credit availability contracted considerably in 2008, FHA, in 2009, commenced the exercise of its authority to refinance the capital debt of hospitals without section 242 mortgage insurance. FHA exercised this authority through notices issued on July 1, 2009, and February 22, 2010. FHA initiated rulemaking to make this refinancing authority a permanent part of the Section 242 regulatory program through a January 29, 2010, proposed rule, which solicited comment on HUD's implementation of this refinancing authority to date. This final rule provides for codification in regulation of HUD's refinancing of existing debt and acquisitions for non-FHA insured loans of hospitals without conditioning such refinancing and acquisition on new construction or renovation. This rule makes certain changes to the regulations proposed January 2010 in response to public comments submitted on the proposed rule and further consideration of issues by HUD.