Agencies and Commissions March 15, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that the staff of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared a model license amendment request (LAR), model safety evaluation (SE), and model proposed no significant hazards consideration (NSHC) determination related to deletion of the E Bar definition and revision to reactor coolant system (RCS) specific activity technical specification. This request revises the RCS specific activity specification for pressurized water reactors to utilize a new indicator, Dose Equivalent Xenon-133 instead of the current indicator known as E Bar. The purpose of these models is to permit the NRC staff to efficiently process amendments to incorporate these changes into plant- specific technical specifications (TS) for Babcock and Wilcox, Westinghouse, and Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Licensees of nuclear power reactors to which the models apply can request amendments conforming to the models. In such a request, a licensee should confirm the applicability of the model LAR, model SE and NSHC determination to its plant.

Notice is hereby given that the staff of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared a model license amendment request (LAR), model safety evaluation (SE), and model proposed no significant hazards consideration (NSHC) determination related to changes to Standard Technical Specifications (STSs) for Combustion Engineering Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs), NUREG-1432, Revision 3.1. This change would allow the numerical limits located in technical specification (TS) 3.4.1, ``RCS Pressure, Temperature, and Flow [Departure from Nucleate Boiling (DNB)] Limits'' to be replaced with references to the Core Operating Limits Report (COLR). Associated changes are also included for the TS 3.4.1 Bases, and TS 5.6.3 ``Core Operating Limits Report (COLR).'' The Technical Specifications Task Force (TSTF) proposed these changes to the TS in TSTF-487 Revision 0, ``Relocate DNB Parameters to the COLR.'' The purpose of the model SE, LAR, and NSHC is to permit the NRC to efficiently process amendments to incorporate these changes into plant- specific TSs for Combustion Engineering PWRs. Licensees of nuclear power reactors to which the models apply can request amendments conforming to the models. In such a request, a licensee should confirm the applicability of the model LAR, model SE and NSHC determination to its plant. The NRC staff is requesting comments on the model LAR, model SE and NSHC determination before announcing their availability for referencing in license amendment applications.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing proposed regulations clarifying representative rate as used in OPM's retention regulations. These regulations clarify how an agency determines employees' retention rights when the agency has positions in one or more pay bands. These regulations also clarify the order in which an agency releases employees from a competitive level. Finally, these regulations clarify how an agency determines employees' retention rights when a competitive area includes more than one local commuting area.

The Office of Personnel Management is issuing final regulations to amend a number of rules on pay and leave administration, including employment in the Senior Executive Service, use of paid leave during uniformed service, time limits for using compensatory time off earned in lieu of overtime pay, and other miscellaneous changes. The final regulations are being issued to standardize pay and leave policies in support of the consolidation of agency human resources and payroll systems.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulations on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans and Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans prescribe interest assumptions for valuing and paying benefits under terminating single-employer plans. This final rule amends the regulations to adopt interest assumptions for plans with valuation dates in April 2007. Interest assumptions are also published on the PBGC's Web site (https://www.pbgc.gov).

The FDIC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). Currently, the FDIC is soliciting comments concerning the following collections of information titled: Application For Consent to Exercise Trust Powers (3064-0025); Asset Securitization (3064-0137); and Insurance Sales Consumer Protections (3064-0140).