January 28, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action proposes to amend Class D and Class E Airspace at Reading, PA, as the SHAPP OM has been decommissioned, requiring the modification of Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) at Reading Regional/Carl A. Spaatz Field. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is amending its regulations to adjust its Class I civil penalties under the Clean Water Act and the National Fishing Enhancement Act to account for inflation. The adjustment of civil penalties to account for inflation is required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended. Since we have not made any adjustments to our Class I penalties to account for inflation since 2004, we are making a second round of penalty adjustments to account for inflation. Using the adjustment criteria provided in the statute, the Class I civil penalty under the Clean Water Act remains at $11,000 per violation, but the maximum civil penalty increases to $32,500. Under the National Fishing Enhancement Act, the Class I civil penalty remains at $11,000 per violation. Increasing the maximum amount of the Class I civil penalty under the Clean Water Act to account for inflation will maintain the deterrent effects of the penalty.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is amending its nationwide permit regulations so that district engineers can issue nationwide permit verification letters that expire on the same date a nationwide permit expires. This amendment will provide regulatory flexibility and efficiency, by allowing district engineers to issue nationwide permit verifications that are valid for the same period of time a nationwide permit is in effect. We are also amending these regulations to reflect the 45-day pre-construction notification review period that has been in effect for the nationwide permit ``pre-construction notification'' general condition since June 7, 2000.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone in the navigable waters of Suisun Bay near Military Ocean Terminal Concord, CA in support of military onload and offload operations. This safety zone is established to enhance the safety of mariners transiting the area in the unlikely event of an ordnance related mishap. All persons or vessels are prohibited from anchoring or otherwise loitering in the safety zone during military onloads and offloads without permission of the Captain of the Port or their designated representative.

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.

In response to a petition for rulemaking, FRA proposed, in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) dated December 11, 2012, amendments to regulations implementing a requirement of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 that certain passenger and freight railroads install positive train control (PTC) systems. The present document clarifies FRA's responses to several elements of the Association of American Railroads' (AAR) petition for rulemaking and which elements of the petition for rulemaking FRA is considering, and asks specific questions concerning those elements. This document does not alter FRA's proposal as issued December 11, 2012, but it does extend the comment period in this proceeding to March 11, 2013.

Section 1525 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) requires the Secretary of Transportation to modify FHWA regulations to ensure that States shall have the autonomy to determine culvert and storm sewer material types to be included in the construction of a project on a Federal-aid highway. This final rule is intended to implement this legislative requirement.

The Department of Justice (the Department) proposes three amendments to part 25 of title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations. These proposed changes are intended to promote public safety, to enhance the efficiency of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) operations, and to resolve difficulties created by unforeseen processing conflicts within the system. The proposed amendments are for the following purposes: to add tribal criminal justice agencies to those entities authorized to receive information in connection with the issuance of a firearm-related permit or license; to authorize access for criminal justice agencies to the FBI-maintained NICS Index to permit background checks for the purpose of disposing of firearms in the possession of those agencies; and to permit NICS to retain in a separate database its Audit Log records relating to denied transactions beyond 10 years, rather than transferring them to a Federal Records Center for storage.

The Federal Communications Commission published in the Federal Register of November 16, 2011, a document amending Sec. 1.229(b). Inadvertently, this rule was amended incorrectly. This document makes correcting amendments.

This document contains final regulations under chapter 4 of Subtitle A (sections 1471 through 1474) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code) regarding information reporting by foreign financial institutions (FFIs) with respect to U.S. accounts and withholding on certain payments to FFIs and other foreign entities. These regulations affect persons making certain U.S.-related payments to FFIs and other foreign entities and payments by FFIs to other persons.

In this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) adopts data specifications for collecting incumbent local exchange carrier (LEC) study area boundaries. The Bureau will use the maps to analyze costs of LECs and determine which LECs are eligible for support to deliver telecommunications and information services in rural and high cost areas, and to implement certain reforms to universal service support. The data will be used as an essential input in a model that determines the level of high cost support for rate of return carriers. The Bureau will also use the data to determine whether unsubsidized competitors offer service within all or a portion of an incumbent LEC's study area, and to phase out support where unsubsidized competitors offer voice and broadband service throughout an entire study area. Commission intends to allocate support among eligible LECs in a manner that best ensures that consumers in rural and high cost area have services and rates that are reasonably comparable to those in urban areas.