March 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Section 106 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (the HUD Reform Act) requires HUD to publish quarterly Federal Register notices of all regulatory waivers that HUD has approved. Each notice covers the quarterly period since the previous Federal Register notice. The purpose of this notice is to comply with the requirements of section 106 of the HUD Reform Act. This notice contains a list of regulatory waivers granted by HUD during the period beginning on October 1, 2014, and ending on December 31, 2014.

The Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention Act (CGBPA or the Act) adopted the child-resistance requirements for closures on portable gasoline containersfound in the 2005 version of the applicable ASTM rule, F2517-05as a consumer product safety rule. The 2005 ASTM standard was recently revised. Under the Act, the consumer product standard for portable gasoline containers will, by operation of law, incorporate the 2015 revisions to the child-resistance requirements unless the Commission finds that the revisions do not carry out the purposes of the CGBPA's requirements. The Commission has not found that the revisions fail to carry out the purposes of the CGBPA's requirements. As a result, the 2015 revisions to the child-resistance requirements will be automatically incorporated and apply as the statutorily-mandated standard for closures on portable gasoline containers. This direct final rule is to codify certain sections of the 2015 standard to eliminate potential confusion as to the applicable standard.

The Coast Guard is issuing regulations applicable to newly constructed mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs), floating outer continental shelf (OCS) facilities, and vessels other than offshore supply vessels (OSVs) that engage in OCS activities. The regulations expand the list of acceptable national and international explosion protection standards and add the internationally accepted independent third-party certification system, the International Electrotechnical Commission System for Certification to Standards relating to Equipment for use in Explosive Atmospheres (IECEx), as an accepted method of testing and certifying electrical equipment intended for use in hazardous locations. The regulations also provide owners and operators of existing U.S. MODUs, floating OCS facilities, vessels other than OSVs, and U.S. tank vessels that carry flammable or combustible cargoes, the option of following this compliance regime as an alternative to the requirements contained in existing regulations.

This notice establishes the terms and conditions by which HUD will approve a request for the transfer of project-based rental assistance, debt held or insured by the Secretary, and statutorily required income-based use restrictions from one multifamily housing project to another (or between several such projects). The Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2014 and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2015 give the Secretary the authority to approve transfer requests for fiscal years 2014 through 2016, provided that the Secretary publish a notice in the Federal Register establishing the terms and conditions for HUD approval of such transfers no later than 30 days before such notice takes effect. HUD believes that publication of the criteria will assist project owners to determine whether a transfer is feasible given the specific circumstances of their multifamily projects. Publication of the criteria will also facilitate HUD's review of transfer requests by helping owners formulate their requests in a manner that adequately addresses the statutory criteria.

The Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, and Commerce are jointly revising the procedures they established in November 2005 for expedited trial-type hearings required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The hearings are conducted to expeditiously resolve disputed issues of material fact with respect to conditions or prescriptions developed for inclusion in a hydropower license issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under the Federal Power Act. The Departments are also revising the procedures for considering alternative conditions and prescriptions submitted by a party to a license proceeding.

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA), BOEM is announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed Western Planning Area (WPA) Lease Sale 248 in the Gulf of Mexico (WPA 248 Supplemental EIS). The WPA 248 Supplemental EIS will update the environmental and socioeconomic analyses in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2012-2017; Western Planning Area Lease Sales 229, 233, 238, 246, and 248; Central Planning Area Lease Sales 227, 231, 235, 241, and 247, Final Environmental Impact Statement (2012-2017 WPA/CPA Multisale EIS; OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2012-019); Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2013-2014; Western Planning Area Lease Sale 233; Central Planning Area Lease Sale 231, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (WPA 233/CPA 231 Supplemental EIS; OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2013-0118); Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2014-2016; Western Planning Area Lease Sales 238, 246, and 248, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (WPA 238, 246, and 248 Supplemental EIS; OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2014-009); and Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2015 and 2016; Western Planning Area Lease Sales 246 and 248, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (WPA 246 and 248 Supplemental EIS; OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2015-008). The WPA 248 Supplemental EIS will supplement the NEPA documents cited above for the proposed lease sale in order to consider new circumstances and information arising from, among other things, the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil spill, and response. It will focus on updating the baseline conditions and any new information on the potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development, and production in the WPA identified through the Area Identification procedure as the proposed lease sale area. In addition to the no action alternative (i.e., canceling the proposed lease sale), other alternatives may be considered for the proposed WPA lease sale, such as deferring certain areas from the proposed lease sale area.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a joint meeting of its Shrimp and Deepwater Shrimp APs in North Charleston, SC. The meeting is open to the public.

The Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior (DOI) jointly propose an updated Framework for the National System of Marine Protected Areas of the United States (Framework). The Framework is required by Executive Order 13158 on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This Framework provides overarching guidance for collaborative efforts among federal, state, commonwealth, territorial, tribal and local governments and stakeholders to implement an effective National System of MPAs (National System) from existing sites, build management capacity among MPA programs, coordinate collaborative efforts to address common management issues and identify ecosystem-based gaps in the protection of significant natural and cultural resources for possible future action by the nation's MPA authorities. This document updates the previous version of the Framework, completed in November 2008, using experience gained implementing the National System and advice from the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee and MPA programs.

The Administration for Children and Families is removing the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) regulations in their entirety. These regulations no longer apply to the CAPTA programs they were originally designed to implement because of major legislative changes to CAPTA since the regulations were issued.

We are advising the public of our decision to authorize the importation into the continental United States of fresh tejocote fruit from Mexico. Based on the findings of a pest risk analysis, which we made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice, we have determined that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via the importation of fresh tejocote fruit from Mexico.

This document contains corrections to the final rule, which published in the Federal Register on March 22, 2013 (78 FR 17836). Errors in the amendatory instruction are identified and corrected in this action.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection notice was previously published in the Federal Register on June 27, 2014, at 79 FR 36543, allowing for a 60-day public comment period. USCIS received two comments in connection with the 60-day notice.

We are notifying the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has received a petition requesting that we amend the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulations to define the term alternatives, clarify the existing definition of painful procedure, and establish standards governing the consideration of such alternatives at research facilities that are registered under the AWA regulations. We are making this petition available to the public and soliciting comments regarding the petition and any issues raised by the petition that we should take into account as we consider this petition.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species, marine mammals, or both. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) prohibit activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.

This document is being issued under the authority of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. The Department is providing notice of a proposed subsequent arrangement under the Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Civil Uses of Nuclear Energy Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Canada and the Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy Between the United States of America and the European Atomic Energy Community.

We are advising the public of our determination that Saudi Arabia is free of African horse sickness (AHS). Based on our evaluation of the animal health status of Saudi Arabia, which we made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice, the Administrator has determined that AHS is not present in Saudi Arabia and that the importation of horses, mules, zebras, and other equids from Saudi Arabia presents a low risk of introducing AHS into the United States.

EPA has received applications to register new uses for pesticide products containing currently registered active ingredients. Pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby providing notice of receipt and opportunity to comment on these applications.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating Work Platforms Standard,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected costs and burden.

This notice announces the availability of the ROD to implement the Hooper Springs Transmission Project in Caribou County, Idaho. BPA has decided to implement the South Alternative's Option 3A (Option 3A) identified in the Hooper Springs Transmission Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0451, January 2015). Option 3A consists of: (1) A new 138/115-kilovolt (kV) Hooper Springs Substation located near the city of Soda Springs, Idaho; (2) a new, approximately 24-mile-long, double-circuit 115-kV transmission line extending generally north then east from the Hooper Springs Substation to a new BPA connection facility that will connect the new line to Lower Valley Energy's (LVE) existing transmission system in northeastern Caribou County; (3) a new, approximately 0.2-mile-long, single-circuit 138-kV transmission line extending generally south from the Hooper Springs Substation to PacifiCorp's existing Threemile Knoll Substation to connect the new line to the regional transmission grid; and (4) required ancillary facilities such as access roads. The new Hooper Springs Substation will be constructed as a 138/115- kV substation, meaning that it will include a transformer capable of converting 138-kV electricity to 115-kV electricity. BPA will acquire 100-foot-wide right-of-way for the length of the 115-kV line. Approximately 174 new double-circuit 115-kV steel structures, ranging in height from 55 to 120 feet with an average span length between structures of 730 feet, will be installed in this new right-of-way. The BPA connection facility will be located about two miles southeast of the intersection of Blackfoot River Road and Diamond Creek Road and will consist of overhead line disconnect switches to connect the new 115-kV line to the existing LVE line. For the single-circuit 138-kV transmission line, two wood, H-frame structures approximately 80 to 85 feet tall will be installed within a new 125-foot-wide right-of-way. A fiber optic cable also will be installed along the 138-kV transmission line. About 14 miles of new access roads will be constructed and about 2.4 miles of existing access roads will be improved or reconstructed. All mitigation measures identified in the EIS are adopted.