April 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher/processors (C/Ps) using trawl gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2013 Pacific cod total allowable catch apportioned to C/Ps using trawl gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that revised the quantity of Class 1 (Scotch) and Class 3 (Native) spearmint oil that handlers may purchase from, or handle on behalf of, producers during the 2012-2013 marketing year under the Far West spearmint oil marketing order. The interim rule increased the Scotch spearmint oil salable quantity from 782,413 pounds to 2,622,115 pounds and the allotment percentage from 38 percent to 128 percent. In addition, the interim rule increased the Native spearmint oil salable quantity from 1,162,473 pounds to 1,348,270 pounds and the allotment percentage from 50 percent to 58 percent. This change is expected to moderate extreme fluctuations in the supply and price of spearmint oil. Also, this change will help maintain stability in the Far West spearmint oil market.

EPA is proposing to approve, through parallel processing, portions of a draft revision to the Tennessee State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) through the Division of Air Pollution Control, on October 4, 2012. The draft SIP revision modifies Tennessee's New Source Review (NSR) Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program to adopt, into the Tennessee SIP, federal PSD requirements regarding fine particulate matter (PM2.5) increments. EPA is proposing to approve portions of Tennessee's October 4, 2012, SIP revision because the Agency has preliminarily determined that it is consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and EPA regulations regarding NSR permitting.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is proposing to remove its regulation implementing the Governmentwide common rule on drug-free workplace requirements for financial assistance, and issuing a new regulation to adopt the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. This regulatory action implements the OMB's initiative to streamline and consolidate into one title of the CFR all Federal regulations on drug-free workplace requirements for financial assistance. These changes constitute an administrative simplification that would make no substantive change in U.S. Department of Commerce policy or procedures for drug-free workplace.

This action provides notice that on March 28, 2013, the Acting EPA Administrator, Bob Perciasepe, signed a letter denying a petition for reconsideration of the final rule published in the Federal Register on September 19, 2012. The rule established new emission limits for hard and decorative chromium electroplating and chromium anodizing tanks, and steel picklingHCl process facilities and hydrochloric acid regeneration plants.

EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Maricopa County Area portion of the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern particulate matter (PM10) emissions from fugitive dust sources. We are approving local statutes that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the SR 170 Centerville Turnpike Bridge, across the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, mile 15.2, Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, at Chesapeake, VA. The deviation is necessary to facilitate structural repairs to the superstructure of the SR 170 Centerville Turnpike Draw Bridge. This temporary deviation will allow the drawbridge to change the operating schedule on specific dates and times.

The Coast Guard proposes amendments to its regulation establishing security zones that are enforceable in connection with the arrival or departure of international leaders for United Nations meetings in New York, NY. New regulated navigation areas would be established and some security zones would be modified, and the regulation would be rearranged. The proposed amendments would assist the Coast Guard in protecting public safety and visiting dignitaries during these events, and thus promote the Coast Guard's maritime safety and maritime security missions.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is issuing a notice of a regulatory review that will be conducted in accordance with the process set forth in the regulatory review plan published by FHFA last year,\1\ and requesting comments on how its regulations may be made more effective and less burdensome.

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or Board) hereby amends its rules of practice and procedure in order to correct several minor errors inadvertently introduced into the Board's regulations during a recent comprehensive revision of the Board's adjudicatory regulations.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone on the waters of St. Thomas Harbor in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands during the V.I. Carnival Finale, a firework display. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 27, 2013, and will entail a barge being positioned near the St. Thomas Harbor channel from which fireworks will be lit. The safety zone is necessary to ensure the safety of vessels, spectators, and the public on the navigable waters of the United States during the event. Persons and vessels are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port San Juan.

This document contains corrections to final and temporary regulations (TD 9614) that were published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, March 19, 2013 (78 FR 17024). The final and temporary regulations apply to transfers of certain property by a domestic corporation to a foreign corporation in certain nonrecognition exchanges, or to distributions of stock of certain foreign corporations by a domestic corporation in certain nonrecognition distributions. The final regulations also establish reporting requirements for property transfers and stock distributions to which the final regulations apply.

EPA is proposing to approve a request submitted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management on January 30, 2013, to revise the Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) for particulate matter under the Clean Air Act. This submission contains the 24-hour fine particle National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) promulgated by EPA in 2006, and removes the annual coarse particle NAAQS that EPA has previously revoked. The submission also asks EPA to approve into the SIP certain Federally regulated criteria pollutant definitions and abbreviations.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 7X airplanes. This AD requires revising the aircraft flight manual (AFM); performing operational tests of the oxygen mask oxygen assembly; and replacing affected stowage boxes, which terminates the AFM revision and operational tests. This AD was prompted by failure of the flight crew oxygen supply due to a potentially defective flight crew mask oxygen assembly. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure to supply oxygen upon demand to the flight crew in flight in ``100%'' and ``Emergency'' modes, which, in an emergency, may result in incapacitation of the flight crew.

EPA is approving a revision to the Illinois State Implementation plan (SIP) submitted by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) on November 14, 2011. This SIP revision consists of amendments to the Illinois Administrative Code (Ill. Adm. Code) by adding a ``small container exemption'' for pleasure craft surface coating operations in the Chicago and Metro-East St. Louis 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas. These exemptions are approvable because they are consistent with EPA volatile organic compound (VOC) reasonably available control technology (RACT) policy.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 737-600 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of early fatigue cracks at chem-mill areas on the crown skin panels. This AD requires repetitive inspections for cracking of the fuselage skin at certain locations at chem-mill areas, and repair if necessary. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of the skin panel at the specified chem-mill step locations, which could result in rapid decompression of the airplane.

Pursuant to 36 CFR 294.27 the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is proposing to modify Idaho Roadless Area boundaries for the Big Creek, Grandmother Mountain, Pinchot Butte, Roland Point, Wonderful Peak Idaho Roadless Areas on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests to reflect lands acquired within and/or adjacent to these roadless areas. In addition, modifications to correct mapping errors involving Forest Plan Special Areas in the Salmo-Priest, and Upper Priest Idaho Roadless Areas are addressed. An administrative correction is proposed to Sec. 294.29 to add the Buckhorn Ridge Idaho Roadless Areas to the list under the Kootenai National Forest. Notice is given pursuant to 36 CFR 294.27(b), that the Chief proposes to issue the modifications after a 45-day public notice and opportunity to comment.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all The Boeing Company Model 777-200, -200LR, -300, and -300ER series airplanes. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections for cracking of the elevator actuator fittings. This new AD requires, for previously modified airplanes, repetitive inspections for movement of the fittings or fastener heads, and eventual replacement of certain bolts (including related investigative and corrective actions if necessary). For all airplanes, this replacement, with corrected torque values, would terminate the requirements of the existing AD. This new AD also removes certain airplanes from the applicability. This AD was prompted by the manufacturer's development of a modification that was approved as an optional terminating action to the existing AD's required repetitive inspections. We have been advised that the modification procedures include certain incorrect torque values. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct a cracked actuator fitting or incorrectly installed bolts to the actuator fitting, which could lead to the elevator becoming detached and unrestrained, and a consequent unacceptable flutter condition and loss of control of the airplane.

EPA published a direct final rule, Air Quality: Revision to Definition of Volatile Organic CompoundsExclusion of trans 1-chloro- 3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-ene [SolsticeTM 1233zd(E)], on February 15, 2013, and a parallel proposed rule to revise the definition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for purposes of preparing state implementation plans (SIPs) to attain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone under title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The direct final action added trans 1-chloro- 3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-ene (also known as SolsticeTM 1233zd(E)) to the list of compounds excluded from the definition of VOCs on the basis that the compound makes a negligible contribution to tropospheric ozone formation. Because EPA received one adverse comment, we are withdrawing the direct final rule.

In this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau adds a new virtual workshop discussion topic, entitled ``Operating Expenses Input Values'' to seek public input.

This proposed rule would streamline the FHA financial statement reporting requirements for lenders and mortgagees who are supervised by federal banking agencies and whose consolidated assets do not meet the thresholds set by their supervising federal banking agencies for submission of audited financial statements (currently set at $500 million in consolidated assets). HUD's regulations currently require all supervised lenders and mortgagees to submit annual audited financial statements as a condition of FHA lender approval and recertification. Through this proposed rule, in lieu of the annual audited financial statements, small supervised lenders and mortgagees would be required to submit the unaudited financial regulatory reports that align with their fiscal year ends and are required to be submitted to their supervising federal banking agencies. Small supervised lenders and mortgagees would only be required to submit audited financial statements if HUD determines that the supervised lenders or mortgagees pose heightened risk to the FHA insurance fund. This rule does not impact FHA's annual audited financial statements submission requirement for nonsupervised and large supervised lenders and mortgagees. The rule also does not impact those supervised lenders and mortgagees with consolidated assets in an amount that requires that lenders or mortgagees submit audited financial statements to their respective supervising federal banking agencies. Finally, HUD has taken the opportunity afforded by this proposed rule to make three technical changes to current regulations regarding reporting requirements for FHA-approved supervised lenders and mortgagees.

This document contains final regulations relating to reporting by brokers for transactions involving debt instruments and options. These final regulations reflect changes in the law made by the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 that require brokers when reporting the sale of securities to the IRS to include the customer's adjusted basis in the sold securities and to classify any gain or loss as long-term or short-term. These final regulations also implement the requirement that a broker report gross proceeds from a sale or closing transaction with respect to certain options. In addition, this document contains final regulations that implement reporting requirements for a transfer of a debt instrument or an option to another broker and for an organizational action that affects the basis of a debt instrument or an option. Moreover, this document contains final regulations relating to the filing of Form 8281, ``Information Return for Publicly Offered Original Issue Discount Instruments,'' for certain debt instruments with original issue discount and temporary regulations relating to information reporting for premium. The text of the temporary regulations in this document also serves as the text of the proposed regulations (REG-154563-12) set forth in the Proposed Rules section in this issue of the Federal Register.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is inviting comments on a proposed rule to implement section 318 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), which directs the Board to collect assessments, fees, or other charges equal to the total expenses the Board estimates are necessary or appropriate to carry out the supervisory and regulatory responsibilities of the Board for bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or more and nonbank financial companies designated for Board supervision by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (Council).