Standards and Trade Related Notices from the U.S. Federal Register, 7.24.09

U.S. Federal Register Update July 18, 2009 – July 24, 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. To access the full Federal Register entry for any of the summaries below, please visit http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/retrieve.html, select Volume 74, and enter the first page number of the announcement you would like to view. To view more detailed instructions on accessing full entries in the Federal Register, please click here. For more information on keywords used to search FR announcements, please click here. If you would like to subscribe to the What’s New? newsletter, or to provide feedback about this Federal Register Update, please contact [email protected]. Broad Interest Items Topic Third Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Interim Roadmap Public Workshop Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/24/2009 N/A NIST p. 36672 Standard Ref. N/A Summary The National Institute of Standards and Technology announces that a free two-day public workshop on Smart Grid interoperability standards will be held on August 3-4, 2009, in the Washington, DC area. Space is limited to about 300 people. Registration will be on a first come, first served basis. Opening and closing plenary sessions will be Webcast, and the breakout sessions will be teleconferenced. Information on how to view the Webcasts and join the teleconferences will be posted in advance on the NIST smart grid Web site at: http://www.nist.gov/smartgrid/.

Topic Energy Conservation Program for Certain Industrial Equipment: Energy Conservation Standards and Test Procedures for Commercial Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Water-Heating Equipment; Final Rule Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/22/2009 10 CFR Part 431 DOE pp. 36311-36356 Standard Ref. ASHRAE, IESNA Summary The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is adopting amended energy conservation standards for commercial packaged boilers and adopting a new energy conservation standard for water-cooled and evaporatively-cooled commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps with a cooling capacity at or above 240,000 Btu/h and less than 760,000 Btu/h at the efficiency levels specified in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE)/Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Standard 90.1-2007. DOE has determined that the ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007 efficiency levels for commercial packaged boilers are more stringent than the existing Federal energy conservation standards and will result in economic and energy savings compared to existing energy conservation standards. Furthermore, DOE has concluded that clear and convincing evidence does not exist, as would justify more-stringent standard levels than the efficiency levels in ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007. In addition, DOE is adopting related amendments to its test procedures for commercial packaged boilers.

Topic Notice of Consultation Pursuant to Section 106 of the CPSIA; Request for Comments and Information Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/21/2009 N/A CPSC pp. 35848-35850 Standard Ref. ASTM F963-07 Summary Section 106 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (``CPSC'' or ``Commission'') to examine and assess, in consultation with consumer groups, juvenile product manufacturers, and independent child product engineers and experts, the effectiveness of ASTM F963-07, ``Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety,'' or its successor standard (except for section 4.2 and Annex 4), as it relates safety requirements, safety labeling requirements, and test methods related to: (1) Internal harm or injury hazards caused by the ingestion or inhalation of magnets in children's products; (2) toxic substances; (3) toys with spherical ends; (4) hemispheric-shaped objects; (5) cords, straps, and elastics; and (6) battery-operated toys. This notice is issued to facilitate the receipt of any written submissions on these matters as part of the consultative process required by section 106 of the CPSIA. The Commission invites comments concerning the issues discussed in this notice.

Targeted Interest Items Topic Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Application of the Accreditation Commission for Health Care for Deeming Authority for Hospices Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/24/2009 N/A HHS pp. 36720-36722 Standard Ref. ACHC Summary This proposed notice acknowledges the receipt of a deeming application from the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) for recognition as a national accrediting organization for hospices that wish to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs. Section 1865(a)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act requires that within 60 days of receipt of an organization's complete application, we publish a notice that identifies the national accrediting body making the request, describes the nature of the request, and provides at least a 30-day public comment period.

Topic Standards for Business Practices for Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/24/2009 N/A FERC pp. 36633-36638 Standard Ref. NAESB Summary The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is proposing to amend its regulations prescribing standards for interstate natural gas pipeline business practices and electronic communications (found at 18 CFR 284.12) to incorporate by reference standards adopted by the Wholesale Gas Quadrant of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) for Index-Based Capacity Release and Flexible Delivery and Receipt Points. These standards can be obtained from NAESB at 1301 Fannin, Suite 2350, Houston, TX 77002, 713- 356-0060, http://www.naesb.org, and are available for viewing in the Commission's Public Reference Room. The proposed standard for Flexible Delivery and Receipt Points allows natural gas-fired generators easier access to fuel at times when capacity is scarce. The proposed standard for Index-Based Capacity Release provides clarity on the timing and use of price indices for pricing and arranging index-based capacity release transactions.

Topic Safety Management System Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/23/2009 14 CFR Parts 21, 119, 121, 125, 135, 141, 142, and 145 DOT pp. 36414-36417 Standard Ref. ISO Summary This ANPRM solicits public comments on a potential rulemaking requiring certain 14 CFR part 21, 119, 121, 125, 135, 141, 142, and 145 certificate holders, product manufacturers, applicants, and employers (hereafter ``product/service providers'') to develop a Safety Management System (SMS). SMS is a comprehensive, process-oriented approach to managing safety throughout an organization. An SMS includes an organization-wide safety policy, formal methods of identifying hazards, mitigating and continually assessing risk, and promotion of a safety culture. SMS stresses not only compliance with technical standards but increased emphasis on the organizational aspects and processes that ensure risk management and safety assurance.

Topic Waste Energy Recovery Registry Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/23/2009 40 CFR Part 1200 EPA pp. 36430-36446 Standard Ref. N/A Summary EPA is proposing to establish the criteria for including sources or sites in a Registry of Recoverable Waste Energy Sources (Registry), as required under Title IV, Subtitle D of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The Agency is also proposing the Survey processes by which EPA will collect data and populate the Registry. The rule would apply to major industrial and large commercial sources as defined by EPA in this rulemaking. This proposed rule would not require the installation of new monitoring equipment; rather it would require only that sources above certain threshold levels that wish to be included in the Registry enter specific already-monitored data points into the voluntary Survey, which is a software tool that will calculate the quantity and quality of potentially recoverable waste energy.

Topic Pipeline Safety: Periodic Updates of Regulatory References to Technical Standards and Miscellaneous Edits Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/22/2009 N/A DOT pp. 36139-36151 Standard Ref. API, ARI, ASME, ASTM, NACE, NFPA, ISO Summary PHMSA is proposing to incorporate by reference (IBR) into the pipeline safety regulations all or parts of new editions of voluntary consensus standards to allow pipeline operators to use current technology, new materials, and other industry and management practices. In this document, PHMSA also proposes to make nonsubstantive edits and clarify regulatory language in certain provisions. These proposed amendments to the pipeline safety regulations would not require pipeline operators to undertake any significant new pipeline safety initiatives.

Topic Positive Train Control Systems; Proposed Rule Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/21/2009 49 CFR Parts 229, 234, 235 et al. DOT pp. 35949- 36028 Standard Ref. CENELEC, IEEE, IEC, ISO Summary FRA proposes regulations implementing a requirement of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 that certain passenger and freight railroads install positive train control systems. The proposal includes required functionalities of the technology and the means by which it would be certified. The proposal also describes the contents of the positive train control implementation plans required by the statute and contains the proposed process for submission of those plans for review and approval by FRA. These proposed regulations could also be voluntarily complied with by entities not mandated to install positive train control systems.

Topic Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Door Locks and Door Retention Components Date-CFR-Ref.-Pages 07/20/2009 49 CFR Parts 571 DOT pp. 35131-35135 Standard Ref. FMVSS Summary This final rule delays the compliance date of the sliding door provisions of a February 6, 2007 final rule, from September 1, 2009 to September 1, 2010. The February 6, 2007, final rule amended the Federal motor vehicle safety standard on door locks and door retention components to add and update requirements and test procedures and to harmonize with the world's first global technical regulation for motor vehicles. NHTSA received four petitions for reconsideration of that final rule, including two that requested a delay in the effective date of the sliding door provisions of the rule, and others which raised concerns about some of the new test requirements and procedures. To accommodate manufacturers' design and production cycles while allowing the agency more time to analyze the petitions in regards to other issues, the agency is delaying the compliance date of the sliding door provisions of S4.2.2 until September 1, 2010.