January 29, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Montana on June 4, 2013. This submission revises the Administrative Rules of Montana that pertain to the issuance of Montana air quality permits. The June 4, 2013 revisions contain amended and renumbered rules that, among other things, address the proper treatment of air pollutants under the State's prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) program. In this rulemaking, we are taking final action on all of the June 4, 2013 submittal, with the exception of one small portion. This action is being taken under section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to require contracting officers to consider information in the Statistical Reporting module of the Past Performance Information Retrieval System when evaluating past performance of offerors under competitive solicitations for supplies using simplified acquisition procedures.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to update the descriptions of Federal supply groups (now identified as product service groups) subject to trade agreements to conform to the current Federal Procurement Data System Product and Service Codes Manual.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to require that scientific and technical reports be submitted in electronic format.

The FAA is correcting the final rule, ``Harmonization of Airworthiness StandardsGust and Maneuver Load Requirements'' (79 FR 73462), published December 11, 2014. In the rule, the FAA amended certain airworthiness regulations for transport category airplanes to eliminate regulatory differences between the airworthiness standards of the FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It does not add new requirements beyond what manufacturers currently meet for EASA certification and does not affect current industry design practices. This final rule revises the pitch maneuver design loads criteria; revises the gust and turbulence design loads criteria; revises the application of gust loads to engine mounts, high lift devices, and other control surfaces; adds a ``round-the-clock'' discrete gust criterion and a multi-axis discrete gust criterion for airplanes equipped with wing-mounted engines; revises the engine torque loads criteria; adds an engine failure dynamic load condition; revises the ground gust design loads criteria; revises the criteria used to establish the rough air design speed; and requires the establishment of a rough air Mach number. This document corrects errors in the rule by ensuring that certain letters in the included equations have the right formatting and therefore the correct meaning.

In March 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule establishing new standards for the certification of closed-circuit escape respirators (CCERs) by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The new standards were designed to take effect over a 3-year transition period. HHS has determined that extending the concluding date for the transition is necessary to allow sufficient time for respirator manufacturers to meet the demands of the mining, maritime, railroad, and other industries. Pursuant to this interim final rule, NIOSH will extend the phase-in period until 6 months after the date that the first approval is granted to certain CCER models.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A300 B4-601, B4-603, B4-605R, F4-605R, and C4-605R Variant F airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of cracking found in the pylon box, which was due to the stresses resulting from the pressure applied by the thrust reverser cowl bumpers. This AD requires repetitive high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspections for cracking; and replacement of all fittings if necessary, which terminates the repetitive HFEC inspections for the modified side only. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracks of the pylon rib 5, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

We are superseding airworthiness directive (AD) 2011-23-01 for all Technify Motors GmbH (TMG) models TAE 125-01 and TAE 125-02-99 reciprocating engines with certain part number (P/N) and serial number (S/N) clutch assemblies installed. AD 2011-23-01 required replacement of certain P/N and S/N clutch assemblies. This AD requires the same actions but expands the population of affected P/N and S/N clutch assemblies. This AD was prompted by an additional report of a clutch assembly that malfunctioned due to disk springs that received a nonconforming heat treatment process. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the clutch assembly, which could lead to failure of the engine, in-flight shutdown, and loss of control of the airplane.