U.S. Federal Register Update

July 25, 2009 – July 31, 2009

The U.S. Federal Register Update contains summaries of entries in the U.S. Federal Register that relate to the standards and conformity assessment community. Summaries are divided into items that would be of broad interest to the entire community (top section) and items that may be more targeted toward specific stakeholders (bottom section). This update is provided on a weekly basis by ANSI as a service to its members as part of the ANSI What’s New? email newsletter.

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Broad Interest Items

Topic HIT Policy Committee Advisory Meeting; Notice of Meeting

Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/31/2009 N/A HHS pp.38193

Standard Ref. N/A

Summary This notice announces a forthcoming meeting of a public advisory committee of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The meeting will be open to the public.

Topic Smart Grid Policy; Final Rule

Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/27/2009 18 CFR Chapter I DOE pp. 37097-37119

Standard Ref. N/A

Summary This Policy Statement provides guidance regarding the development of a smart grid for the nation's electric transmission system, focusing on the development of key standards to achieve interoperability and functionality of smart grid systems and devices. In response to the need for urgent action on potential challenges to the bulk-power system, in this Policy Statement the Commission provides additional guidance on standards to help to realize a smart grid. The Commission also adopts an Interim Rate Policy for the period until interoperability standards are adopted by the Commission, which will encourage investment in smart grid systems.

Targeted Interest Items

Topic Revisions to Environmental Review for Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses

Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/31/2009 10 CFR Part 51 NRC pp. 38117-38140

Standard Ref. N/A

Summary The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its environmental protection regulations by updating the Commission's 1996 findings on the environmental impacts related to the renewal of a nuclear power plant's operating license. The Commission stated that it intends to review the assessment of impacts and update it on a 10-year cycle, if necessary. The proposed rule redefines the number and scope of the environmental impact issues which must be addressed by the Commission in conjunction with the review of applications for license renewal. As part of this 10-year update, the NRC revised the 1996 Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants. Concurrent with the amendments described in this proposed rule, the NRC is publishing for comment the revised GEIS, a revised Regulatory Guide 4.2, Supplement 1, Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal Applications, and a revised Environmental Standard Review Plan, Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants, Supplement 1: Operating License Renewal.

Topic Voluntary Labeling Program for Biobased Products; Proposed Rule

Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/31/2009 7 CFR Part 2904 DOA pp. 38295-38317

Standard Ref. ASTM D6866, ISO 9001

Summary The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to establish a voluntary labeling program for biobased products under section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, as amended by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. Under the proposed labeling program, a biobased product, after being certified by USDA, could be marketed using the ``USDA Certified Biobased Product'' label. The presence of the label will mean that the product meets USDA standards for the amount of biobased content and that the manufacturer or vendor has provided relevant information on the product for the USDA BioPreferred Web site. The proposed rule applies to manufacturers and vendors who wish to participate in the voluntary labeling program. The proposed rule also applies to other entities (e.g., trade associations) that wish to use the label to promote biobased products.

Topic Airworthiness Standards; Fire Protection

Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/30/2009 14 CFR Part 33 FAA pp. 37927-37930

Standard Ref. ICAO

Summary The FAA amends the airworthiness standards for issuance of original and amended aircraft engine type certificates for fire protection. The new standard will change aircraft engine fire protection certification standards to update and harmonize them with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) fire protection requirements, thereby simplifying airworthiness approvals for import and export purposes.

Topic Final Risk and Exposure Assessment Report for Sulfur Dioxide (SO[bdi2])

Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/29/2009 N/A EPA pp. 37705-37706

Standard Ref. NAAQS

Summary On or about July 31, 2009, the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA is making available a final report, Risk and Exposure Assessment to Support the Review of the SO2 Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard: Final Report. This document presents the approaches taken to assess exposures to ambient SO2 and to characterize associated health risks, and presents the results of those assessments. This document also contains a staff policy assessment regarding the adequacy of the current SO2 NAAQS and potential alternative primary SO2 standards.

Topic Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Door Locks and Door Retention Components, Correction

Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/28/2009 49 CFR Part 571 NHTSA pp. 37176

Standard Ref. FMVSS

Summary NHTSA published in the Federal Register of July 20, 2009, a document delaying the compliance date of the sliding door provisions of a February 6, 2007 final rule. The regulatory text adopted by that document contained errors. This document corrects those errors.

Topic Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Test Procedures for Residential Furnaces and Boilers

Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/27/2009 10 CFR Part 430 DOE pp. 36959-36971

Standard Ref. ANSI/ASHRAE 103-1993, IEC62301, 62087

Summary In order to implement recent amendments to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to amend its test procedures for residential furnaces and boilers to provide for measurement of standby mode and off mode energy consumption. Specifically, the proposed amendments would incorporate into the DOE test procedures the International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC) Standard 62301, Household electrical appliances--Measurement of standby power (First Edition 2005-06), as well as language to clarify application of this standard for measuring standby mode and off mode power consumption in furnaces and boilers. In addition, the proposed amendments would add new calculations to determine annual energy consumption associated with standby mode and off mode measured power. Finally, the amendments would modify existing energy consumption equations to integrate standby mode and off mode energy consumption into the calculation of overall annual energy consumption ofthese products. DOE is also announcing a public meeting to discuss and receive comments on the issues presented in this notice.

Topic Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Air Brake Systems; Final Rule

Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/27/2009 49 CFR Part 571 DOT pp. 37121-37158

Standard Ref. FMVSS

Summary This document amends the Federal motor vehicle safety standard on air brake systems to improve the stopping distance performance of truck tractors. The rule requires the vast majority of new heavy truck tractors to achieve a 30 percent reduction in stopping distance compared to currently required levels. For these heavy truck tractors (approximately 99 percent of the fleet), the amended standard requires those vehicles to stop in not more than 250 feet when loaded to their gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and tested at a speed of 60 miles per hour (mph). For a small number of very heavy severe service tractors, the stopping distance requirement will be 310 feet under these same conditions. In addition, this final rule requires that all heavy truck tractors must stop within 235 feet when loaded to their ``lightly loaded vehicle weight'' (LLVW).

Topic Proposed Information Collection Request; Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations; Petitions for Modification of Mandatory Safety Standards

Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/27/2009 N/A DOL pp. 37061-37062

Standard Ref. N/A

Summary The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden conducts a pre-clearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.