February 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including residential water heaters. EPCA also requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine whether more stringent amended standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified, and would save a significant amount of energy. Accordingly, DOE established amended energy conservation standards for several classes of residential water heaters in an April 2010 final rule. Subsequent to the publication of that final rule, a number of utility companies brought forth concerns regarding the amended energy conservation standard levels for electric storage water heaters and the impact of these standards on electric thermal storage programs that utility companies administer to manage peak load. In this document, DOE proposes to establish a waiver process that will mitigate the concerns of utility companies regarding the implementation of the April 2010 standard levels by allowing for the manufacture of certain large-volume electric storage water heaters provided that they meet a set of conditions discussed in this proposed rule. The document also announces a public meeting to receive comment on the proposed waiver process and criteria for obtaining a waiver.

This document announces the effective date of rules published in the Federal Register on January 3, 2005. The final rules revised the obligation of television broadcasters to protect and serve children in their audience.

This final rule eliminates the requirement that states a NAS is needed for non-emergency inpatient mental health care in order for a TRICARE Standard beneficiary's claim to be paid. Currently, NAS are required for non-emergency inpatient mental health care for TRICARE Standard beneficiaries who live within a military treatment facility catchment area. At this time, the number of NASs issued is negligible as most mental health admissions are emergency admissions. Requiring a NAS for a relatively few non-emergency inpatient mental health admissions is disproportionate to the cost of maintaining the systems necessary to process and coordinate the NAS.

The President's Export Council will hold a meeting to deliberate on recommendations related to promoting the expansion of U.S. exports. Topics may include the Administration's ``Doing Business in Africa'' campaign, the need for nominations to the U.S. Export- Import Bank Board of Directors, a rapid response mechanism for sanitary and phytosanitary issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, an international services agreement, bilateral investment treaties, U.S.- Canada trade facilitation, the UNIDROIT Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, and workforce readiness. The final agenda will be posted at least one week in advance of the meeting on the President's Export Council Web site at https://trade.gov/ pec.

The Department of Labor's (Department's) Employment and Training Administration proposes to designate in regulation data exchange standards, developed in consultation with an interagency work group established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), for Unemployment Insurance (UI) administration as required by amendments to Title IX of the Social Security Act (SSA) made by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (the Act). This proposed regulation would establish data exchange standards for three categories of information: real-time applications on the Interstate Connection Network (ICON); the State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES); and implementation of the standards identified for ICON and SIDES in major Information Technology (IT) modernization projects to upgrade UI Benefits and Tax systems by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) using Federal funds.

This final rule repeals NHTSA's regulation requiring motor vehicle insurers to submit information on the number of thefts and recoveries of insured vehicles and actions taken by the insurer to deter or reduce motor vehicle theft. NHTSA is repealing this regulation because the agency's only available statutory authority to require insurers to submit this information was removed by the Motor Vehicle and Highway Safety Improvement Act of 2012 (Mariah's Act) (incorporated into the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)). Given that NHTSA no longer has the authority to require insurers to submit this information and thus has no discretion to take any action other than rescinding the regulation, the agency did not issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) prior to this final rule. Under those circumstances, public comment to the rulemaking is unnecessary. The repeal of the authority to maintain and enforce the insurer reporting requirements reduced the paperwork burden on the public by 13,375 hours and reduced the cost to the government in collecting the information by $64,000.

EPA is proposing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 37 chemical substances which were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs). Seventeen of these chemical substances are subject to TSCA section 5(e) consent orders issued by EPA. This action would require persons who intend to manufacture, import, or process any of these 37 chemical substances for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by this proposed rule to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. The required notification would provide EPA with the opportunity to evaluate the intended use and, if necessary, to prohibit or limit that activity before it occurs.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adopts as a final rule, without change, the proposal to establish a pilot program known as the Rural Veterans Coordination Pilot (RVCP). The RVCP will provide grants to eligible community-based organizations and local and State government entities to be used by these organizations and entities to assist veterans and their families who are transitioning from military service to civilian life in rural or underserved communities. VA will use information obtained through the pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of using community-based organizations and local and State government entities to improve the provision of services to transitioning veterans and their families. Five RVCP grants will be awarded for a 2-year period in discrete locations pursuant to a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) to be published in the Federal Register.

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance 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. Currently, the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) of the Department of Labor (Department) is soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of the collection of information requirements implementing Executive Order (E.O.) 13496: Notification of Employee Rights Under Federal Labor Laws. A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addresses section of this Notice.

NMFS proposes to implement a temporary emergency action that would suspend existing monkfish possession limits for vessels issued both a Federal limited access Northeast multispecies permit and a limited access monkfish Category C or D permit that are fishing under a Northeast multispecies day-at-sea in the monkfish Northern Fishery Management Area for 180 days beginning on May 1, 2013. This action is necessary to help mitigate expected adverse economic and social harm resulting from substantial reductions to the 2013 annual catch limits for several groundfish stocks managed under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. The intended effect of this action is to provide additional fishing opportunities to vessels affected by reductions to groundfish catch limits, without resulting in overfishing monkfish within the Northern Fishery Management Area.

The United States Global Change Research Program, in cooperation with the Department of State, request expert review of the Second Order Draft of the Working Group III Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Mitigation of Climate Change. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) established the IPCC in 1988. In accordance with its mandate and as reaffirmed in various decisions by the Panel, the major activity of the IPCC is to prepare comprehensive and up-to-date assessments of policy-relevant scientific, technical, and socio-economic information for understanding the scientific basis of climate change, potential impacts, and options for mitigation and adaptation. The IPCC develops a comprehensive assessment spanning all the above topics approximately every six years. The First Assessment Report was completed in 1990, the Second Assessment Report in 1995, the Third Assessment Report in 2001, and the Fourth Assessment in 2007. Three working group volumes and a synthesis report comprise the Fifth Assessment Report. Working Group I assesses the scientific aspects of the climate system and climate change; Working Group II assesses the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to climate change, potential negative and positive consequences, and options for adapting to it; and Working Group III assesses options for limiting greenhouse gas emissions and otherwise mitigating climate change. Procedures for the IPCC and its preparation of reports can be found at the following Web sites: http: //www.ipcc.ch/organization/ organization_review.shtml#.UEY0LqSe7x8 https://ipcc.ch/organization/ organizationprocedures.shtml. In October 2009, the IPCC approved the outline for the Working Group III contribution to the 5th Assessment Report (Working Group III Table of Contents: https://www.ipcc-wg3.de/.files/WGIII-Outline- AR5.pdf). Authors were nominated starting in January 2010 and selected in May 2010. All IPCC reports go through two broad reviews: a ``first- order draft'' reviewed by experts, and a ``second-order draft'' reviewed by both experts and governments. The Second Order Draft of the Working Group III contribution to the 5th Assessment Report will be available for review beginning on 25 February 2013. As part of the U.S. Government Review of the Second Order Draft of the Working Group III Contribution to the 5th Assessment Report, the U.S. Government is soliciting comments from experts in relevant fields of expertise (Again, the Table of Contents for the Working Group contribution can be viewed here: https://www.ipcc-wg3.de/.files/WGIII- Outline-AR5.pdf). Beginning on 25 February, experts may register to review the draft report at: https://review.globalchange.gov, the same day the draft report will be made available. To be considered for inclusion in the U.S. Government submission, comments must be received by 27 March 2013. The United States Global Change Research Program will coordinate collection and compilation of U.S. expert comments and the review of the report by a Review Committee of Federal scientists and program managers in order to develop a consolidated U.S. Government submission, which will be provided to the IPCC by April 22, 2013. Instructions for review and submission of comments are available at: https:// review.globalchange.gov. Experts may choose to provide comments directly through the IPCC's expert review process, which occurs in parallel with the U.S. government review. More information on the IPCC's comment process can be found at http: //www.ipcc.ch/activities/activities.shtml and https:// www.ipcc.ch/pdf/ar5/review_of_wg_contributions.pdf. To avoid duplication, reviewers who participate in the U.S. Government Review should not also submit comments directly to the IPCC Secretariat through the Expert Review process. Comments to the U.S. government review should be submitted using the Web-based system at: https:// review.globalchange.gov. This certification will be published in the Federal Register.

This action reduces the Atlantic herring 2013 sub-annual catch limits in herring management area 1A to account for catch overages in 2011, and to prevent overfishing.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD)/Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Ironwood Forest National Monument (IFNM), located in portions of Pima and Pinal counties, northwest of Tucson, Arizona. The IFNM was established by Presidential Proclamation on June 9, 2000, for the protection of the significant cultural, biological, geological, and natural resources. These resources were identified as Monument objects in the Proclamation. The Arizona State Director signed the ROD on February 19, 2013, which constitutes the final decision of the BLM and makes the Approved RMP effective immediately.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Equal Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship Training,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

On Tuesday, February 12, 2013 (78 FDR 9945), the National Science Foundation published a notice announcing a meeting of the Advisory Committee for Innovation Corps. The location and time of the business meeting are updated to reflect the accurate plans. In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92- 463, as amended), the National Science Foundation announces the following meeting: