January 24, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Base (1% annual-chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and modified BFEs are made final for the communities listed below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that each community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

This rule identifies communities where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that are scheduled for suspension on the effective dates listed within this rule because of noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. If the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) receives documentation that the community has adopted the required floodplain management measures prior to the effective suspension date given in this rule, the suspension will not occur and a notice of this will be provided by publication in the Federal Register on a subsequent date. Also, information identifying the current participation status of a community can be obtained from FEMA's Community Status Book (CSB). The CSB is available at https:// www.fema.gov/fema/csb.shtm.

This notice provides the names, addresses, professional affiliations, and selected biographical data of persons recently nominated to serve on the Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) established under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The Agency, at this time, anticipates selecting two new FIFRA SAP members to serve, as a result of membership terms that expire in 2014. Public comments on the current nominations are invited. These comments will be used to assist the Agency in selecting the new FIFRA SAP members.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Gear Certification Standard (29 CFR part 1919).

In the 2013 Special 301 Report (www.ustr.gov), the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that, in order to monitor progress on specific intellectual property rights (IPR) issues, an Out-of-Cycle Review (OCR) would be conducted for El Salvador and Spain. USTR requests written submissions from the public concerning any act, policy, or practice that is relevant to the decision regarding whether Spain should be identified under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242).

In this document, the Commission seeks comment on its proposal to eliminate the sports blackout rules. Elimination of the sports blackout rules alone likely would not end sports blackouts, but it would leave sports carriage issues to private solutions negotiated by the interested parties in light of current market conditions and eliminate unnecessary regulation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the State of North Carolina's April 12, 2013, State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision to its approved maintenance plan for the Greensboro/ Winston-Salem/High Point 1997 8-hour Ozone Maintenance Area (Triad). Specifically, North Carolina's SIP revision, including updated modeling, shows that the Triad Area would continue to maintain the 1997 8-hour ozone standard if the currently applicable Federal Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) standard for gasoline of 7.8 pounds per square inch (psi) were modified to 9.0 psi for four portions (Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford and Davie Counties) of the ``Triad Area'' during the high- ozone season. The State has included a technical demonstration with the SIP revision to demonstrate that a less-stringent RVP standard of 9.0 psi in these portions of this area would not interfere with continued maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) or any other applicable standard. Approval of this SIP revision is a prerequisite for EPA's consideration of an amendment to the regulations to remove the aforementioned portions of the Triad Area from the list of areas that are currently subject to the Federal 7.8 psi RVP requirements. In addition, the revised on-road mobile and non-road mobile source emissions modeling associated with the requested modification to the RVP standard utilizes the updated Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES) and NONROAD2008 models which are the most current versions of modeling systems available for these sources. EPA has determined that North Carolina's April 12, 2013, SIP revision with respect to the revisions to the modeling and associated technical demonstration associated with the State's request for the removal of the Federal 7.8 psi RVP requirements, and with respect to the updated on-road mobile, non-road mobile and area source emissions, is consistent with the applicable provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). Should EPA decide to remove the subject portions of the Triad Area from those areas subject to the 7.8 psi Federal RVP requirements, such action will occur in a subsequent rulemaking.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Standard on Ethylene Oxide (EtO) (29 CFR 1910.1047). The standard protects workers from adverse health effects from occupational exposure to ethylene oxide.

The Coast Guard is adding a permanent security zone, which will be enforced 2 weeks each year, on the Detroit River, Detroit, Michigan. This security zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of the Detroit River in order to ensure the safety and security of participants, visitors, and public officials at the Annual North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), which is held at Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit, MI.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is proposing changes to the rules of practice to facilitate the examination of patent applications and to provide greater transparency concerning the ownership of patent applications and patents. This initiative is one of a number of executive actions issued by the Administration that are designed to ensure the highest-quality patents, enhance competition by providing the public with more complete information about the competitive environment in which innovators operate, enhance technology transfer and reduce the costs of transactions for patent rights by making patent ownership information more readily and easily available, reduce abusive patent litigation by helping the public defend itself against frivolous litigation, and level the playing field for innovators. The Office is proposing in this document to require that the attributable owner, including the ultimate parent entity, be identified during the pendency of a patent application and at specified times during the life of a patent. The Office is specifically proposing that the attributable owner be identified on filing of an application (or shortly thereafter), when there is a change in the attributable owner during the pendency of an application, at the time of issue fee and maintenance fee payments, and when a patent is involved in supplemental examination, ex parte reexamination, or a trial proceeding before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The Office is also seeking comments on whether the Office should enable patent applicants and owners to voluntarily report licensing offers and related information to the Office, which the Office will then make available to the public in an accessible online format.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the State of West Virginia's requests to redesignate to attainment the Charleston nonattainment area for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). EPA is also proposing to determine that the Charleston Area continues to attain both the1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. In addition, EPA is proposing to approve as a revision to the West Virginia state implementation plan (SIP), the associated maintenance plans to show maintenance of the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS through 2025 for the Charleston Area. As part of the maintenance plan, EPA is proposing to approve a 2008 emissions inventory for the Charleston Area for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is proposing that the 2008 emissions inventory for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ammonia (NH3), in conjunction with inventories for nitrogen oxides (NOx), direct PM2.5, and sulfur dioxide (SO2) meet the comprehensive emissions inventory requirement of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. West Virginia's maintenance plans include insignificance findings for the mobile source contribution of PM2.5 and NOx emissions for the Charleston Area for both the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA agrees with these insignificance findings, and is proposing approval of such findings for transportation conformity purposes. In this rulemaking action, EPA also addresses the effects of two decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC Circuit Court): The DC Circuit Court's August 21, 2012 decision to vacate and remand the Cross-State Air Pollution Control (CSAPR); and the DC Circuit Court's January 4, 2013 decision to remand to EPA two rules implementing the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. This rulemaking action to propose approval of the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS redesignation requests and associated maintenance plans for the Charleston Area is based on EPA's determination that the Area has met the criteria for redesignation to attainment specified in the CAA for both the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.