Agencies and Commissions February 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

To comply with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Postal Service intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed construction and operation of a mail processing facility in Aliso Viejo, Orange County, California. The public is invited to participate in the project scoping process, to review and comment on the draft EIS, and to attend public meetings.

The Media Bureau extends the reply comment deadline on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on revisions to the Commission's program access and retransmission consent rules and whether it may be appropriate to preclude the practice of programmers to tie desired programming with undesired programming. To facilitate the development of a thorough record, the deadline for filing reply comments in response to the NPRM is extended to February 12, 2008.

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The Board is publishing for comment proposed amendments to Regulation D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions) and Regulation I (Issue and Cancellation of Federal Reserve Bank Capital Stock). Of these, only two are intended to represent substantive changes from existing law, while the remaining amendments are intended principally as clarifications. The first of the proposed substantive amendments would amend Regulation D to implement Section 603 of the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006 by authorizing member banks of the Federal Reserve System to enter into pass-through arrangements. Previously, member banks were statutorily prohibited from passing required reserve balances through a correspondent institution. The second of the proposed substantive amendments would eliminate the provision in the ``savings deposit'' definition of Regulation D limiting certain kinds of transfers from savings deposits to not more than three per month. As a result, all kinds of transfers and withdrawals from a savings deposit that must be limited in number per month would be subject to the same numeric limitation of not more than six per month. The remaining proposed amendments, intended as clarifications, would reorganize the provisions relating to deposit reporting and the calculation and maintenance of required reserves, clarify the definitions of ``time deposit'' and ``vault cash,'' and make other minor editorial changes.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces a meeting of the Planetary Science Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). This Subcommittee reports to the Science Committee of the NAC. The Meeting will be held for the purpose of soliciting from the scientific community and other persons scientific and technical information relevant to program planning.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing, at the petitioner's request, a petition for rulemaking (PRM-50-57) (57 FR 2059; January 17, 1992) filed by the North Carolina Utilities Commission Public Staff (petitioner). The petitioner requested that the Commission amend its regulations to substantially reduce or eliminate insurance requirements for nuclear power reactors when all the nuclear reactors on a reactor station site have been shut down or are awaiting decommissioning, and all nuclear fuel has been removed from the reactor site.

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a current valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA or Agency), through the FCA Board (Board), issued a direct final rule with opportunity for comment under part 630 on November 15, 2007 (72 FR 64129) amending our regulation on the external auditor's assessment of internal control over financial reporting concerning the System-wide annual report to investors. The opportunity for comment expired on December 17, 2007. The FCA received no comments and therefore, the direct final rule becomes effective without change. In accordance with 12 U.S.C. 2252, the effective date of the final rule is 30 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register during which either or both Houses of Congress are in session. Based on the records of the sessions of Congress, the effective date of the regulations is January 31, 2008.

The Committee is proposing to add to the Procurement List services to be furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities, and to delete products and a service previously furnished by such agencies. Comments Must be Received On or Before: March 9, 2008.