November 29, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces that the Farm Service Agency (FSA), on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), intends to complete a Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SPEIS) assessing the environmental impacts of potential changes to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The intent of this notice is to provide an initial summary introduction to the alternatives being considered for potential changes to CRP, and to request comments on these proposed alternatives. The input we receive as a result of this notice will enable us to refine the alternatives, begin to evaluate their impacts, and document results in the scoping report as required by NEPA.

This notice announces a Town Hall meeting in accordance with the Social Security Act (the Act) to discuss fiscal year (FY) 2015 applications for add-on payments for new medical services and technologies under the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS). Interested parties are invited to this meeting to present their comments, recommendations, and data regarding whether the FY 2015 new medical services and technologies applications meet the substantial clinical improvement criterion.

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) has prepared a Draft Joint Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan Amendment for the Soda Mountain Solar Project (Project), San Bernardino County, California, and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as lead agency, with the City of San Jacinto and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as cooperating agencies, intends to file a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) with the EPA for the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians' (Tribe) proposed fee-to-trust acquisition and hotel/casino project to be located in Riverside County, California. This notice also announces that the FEIS is now available for public review.

This document contains final regulations relating to the annual fee imposed on covered entities engaged in the business of providing health insurance for United States health risks. This fee is imposed by section 9010 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended. The regulations affect persons engaged in the business of providing health insurance for United States health risks.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for use to assist the homeless.

EPA has received a number of petitions for a waiver of the renewable fuel standards that would apply in 2014. The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) submitted a joint petition to the Administrator, dated August 13, 2013, on behalf of their members requesting a partial waiver of the 2014 applicable volumes under the RFS. Subsequently, several refining companies submitted individual petitions to the Administrator that also request a waiver of the 2014 applicable volumes. Section 211(o)(7)(A) of the Clean Air Act allows the Administrator of the EPA to waive the national volume requirements of the renewable fuel standard program in whole or in part if the Administrator determines that implementation of those requirements would severely harm the economy or environment of a State, a region, or the United States, or that there is inadequate domestic supply. EPA is inviting comment on all issues relevant to the petitions for a waiver that have been submitted. Comments submitted in response to a related Federal Register notice proposing the 2014 volume requirements will be considered to also have been submitted to the docket for this notice.

The States of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska and the local agencies of Lincoln-Lancaster County, Nebraska, and the city of Omaha, Nebraska, have submitted updated regulations for delegation of EPA authority for implementation and enforcement of NSPS, NESHAP, and MACT standards. The submissions cover new EPA standards and, in some instances, revisions to standards previously delegated. EPA's review of the pertinent regulations shows that they contain adequate and effective procedures for the implementation and enforcement of these Federal standards. This action informs the public of delegations to the above-mentioned agencies.

Under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to set the renewable fuel percentage standards each November for the following year. Today's action proposes the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and renewable fuels that would apply to all motor vehicle gasoline and diesel produced or imported in the year 2014. For cellulosic biofuel, the statute specifies that EPA is to project the volume of production and must base the cellulosic biofuel standard on projected available volume if it is less than the applicable volume set forth in the Act. Today EPA is proposing a cellulosic biofuel volume for 2014 that is below the applicable volume specified in the Act. The statute also provides EPA the discretion to adjust the volumes of advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel under certain conditions. Relying on its Clean Air Act waiver authorities, EPA is proposing to adjust the applicable volumes of advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel to address projected availability of qualifying renewable fuels and limitations in the volume of ethanol that can be consumed in gasoline given practical constraints on the supply of higher ethanol blends to the vehicles that can use them and other limits on ethanol blend levels in gasoline. These adjustments are intended to put the program on a manageable trajectory while supporting growth in renewable fuels over time. Finally, the statute requires EPA to determine the applicable volume of biomass-based diesel to be used in setting annual percentage standards under the renewable fuel standard program for years after 2012. EPA is proposing the applicable volume of biomass-based diesel that would apply in 2014 and 2015. EPA is requesting comment on a variety of alternative approaches and on a range of inputs and methodologies relevant for setting the applicable standards.

This final rule is intended to further the safety of passenger train occupants through both enhancements and additions to FRA's existing requirements for emergency systems on passenger trains. In this final rule, FRA is adding requirements for emergency passage through vestibule and other interior passageway doors and enhancing emergency egress and rescue access signage requirements. FRA is also establishing requirements for low-location emergency exit path markings to assist occupants in reaching and operating emergency exits, particularly under conditions of limited visibility. Further, FRA is adding standards to ensure that emergency lighting systems are provided in all passenger cars, and FRA is enhancing requirements for the survivability of emergency lighting systems in new passenger cars. Finally, FRA is clarifying requirements for participation in debriefing and critique sessions following emergency situations and full-scale simulations.

The Board is adopting a final policy statement on the approach to scenario design for stress testing that will be used in connection with the supervisory and company-run stress tests conducted under the Board's regulations pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act or Act) and the Board's capital plan rule.