2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the public comment periods on our January 11, 2013, proposed rules to list the Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) as endangered and to designate critical habitat for the species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). For the proposed designation of critical habitat for the Gunnison sage-grouse, we also announce the availability of a draft economic analysis (DEA), a draft environmental assessment (EA), and an amended required determinations section. In addition, we announce two public informational sessions and public hearings for both the proposed listing and proposed critical habitat, and we provide information on several conservation efforts that may be considered in our final determinations. We are reopening the comment periods to allow all interested parties an additional opportunity to comment on the proposed listing and the proposed designation of critical habitat, and to comment on the proposed critical habitat's associated DEA, draft EA, and amended required determinations section. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in preparation of the final rules.

EPA is approving a revision to the Massachusetts State Implementation Plan (SIP) that addresses regional haze for the first planning period from 2008 through 2018. The revision was submitted by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) on December 30, 2011, with supplemental final submittals on August 9, 2012 and August 28, 2012. These submittals address the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's rules that require States to prevent any future, and remedy any existing, manmade impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I Areas caused by emissions of air pollutants from numerous sources located over a wide geographic area (also referred to as the ``regional haze program''). States are required to assure reasonable progress toward the national goal of achieving natural visibility conditions in Class I areas.

We (the USGS) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection request (ICR) described below. This collection consists of 1 form. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this ICR. This collection is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2013.

The NTSB is announcing it is submitting a plan for an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This ICR Plan describes various questionnaires the NTSB plans to use to obtain feedback from witnesses who observe crashes, accidents, and/or incidents in all modes of transportation. Feedback from such witnesses, including those who are survivors of crashes and accidents, is important to the NTSB in fulfilling its obligation of determining the probable cause of transportation events, and in recommending changes to mitigate the effects of future transportation events. This Notice informs the public that it may submit to the NTSB comments concerning the agency's proposed plan for information collection.

The NTSB proposes amending one of its rules of practice that is applicable to cases proceeding on an emergency timeline. This proposed amendment will require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide releasable portions of its enforcement investigative report (EIR) to each respondent in emergency cases.

This document contains final regulations that provide guidance on the application of sections 162(a) and 263(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to amounts paid to acquire, produce, or improve tangible property. The final regulations clarify and expand the standards in the current regulations under sections 162(a) and 263(a). These final regulations replace and remove temporary regulations under sections 162(a) and 263(a) and withdraw proposed regulations that cross referenced the text of those temporary regulations. This document also contains final regulations under section 167 regarding accounting for and retirement of depreciable property and final regulations under section 168 regarding accounting for property under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) other than general asset accounts. The final regulations will affect all taxpayers that acquire, produce, or improve tangible property. These final regulations do not finalize or remove the 2011 temporary regulations under section 168 regarding general asset accounts and disposition of property subject to section 168, which are addressed in the notice of proposed rulemaking on this subject in the Proposed Rules section in this issue of the Federal Register.

The EPA Office of the Science Advisor announces a public meeting of the Human Studies Review Board to advise the Agency on the EPA scientific and ethical reviews of research with human subjects.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is amending the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP to address bluefin tuna management due to recent trends and characteristics of the bluefin fishery. This action is necessary to meet domestic management objectives of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act including preventing overfishing, achieving optimal yield, and minimizing bycatch to the extent practicable, as well as the objectives of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA) and obligations pursuant to binding recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). NMFS takes these actions to reduce bluefin dead discards and account for dead discards in all categories; optimize fishing opportunities in all categories; enhance reporting and monitoring; and adjust other aspects of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP as necessary. The proposed measures include Allocation measures, Area- Based measures, Bluefin Quota Controls, Enhanced Reporting measures, and other measures with respect to how the various quota categories utilize quota. In the proposed rule that published on August 21, 2013, NMFS announced the end of the comment period as October 23, 2013, which allowed an approximately 60-day comment period. Given the length and complexity of the rule, and to provide additional time for constituents to consider the proposed rule in light of any new recommendations adopted by ICCAT at its November 2013 meeting, NMFS is extending the comment period for this action until December 10, 2013, to provide additional opportunities for public comment.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 27 (Amendment 27) to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP) for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 27 would extend the South Atlantic Council's jurisdiction for management of Nassau grouper into the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) exclusive economic zone (EEZ); increase the number of allowable crew members to four on dual-permitted snapper-grouper vessels (i.e., vessels holding a South Atlantic Charter Vessel/Headboat Permit for Snapper-Grouper and a commercial South Atlantic Unlimited or a 225-Pound Trip Limit Snapper-Grouper Permit) that are fishing commercially; remove the prohibition on retaining any fish under the aggregate bag limit for grouper and tilefish or the vermilion snapper bag limit by captain and crew of federally-permitted for-hire vessels; modify the snapper-grouper framework procedures to allow acceptable biological catch levels (ABCs), annual catch limits (ACLs), and annual catch targets (ACTs) to be adjusted via an abbreviated framework process; and remove blue runner from the FMP.

This notice announces EPA's order for the cancellations, voluntarily requested by the registrants, and accepted by the Agency, of the products listed in Tables 1 and 2 of Unit II., pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). This cancellation order follows a May 29, 2013 Federal Register Notice of Receipt of Requests from the registrants listed in Table 3 of Unit II., to voluntarily cancel these product registrations. In the May 29, 2013 notice, EPA indicated that it would issue an order implementing the cancellations, unless the Agency received substantive comments within the 30-day comment period that would merit its further review of these requests, or unless the registrants withdrew their requests. The Agency received a comment on the notice but it did not merit its further review of the requests. Further, the registrants did not withdraw their requests. Accordingly, EPA hereby issues in this notice a cancellation order granting the requested cancellations. Any distribution, sale, or use of the products subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in accordance with the terms of this order, including any existing stocks provisions.

The Secretary waives the requirements in the Education Department General Administrative Regulations that generally prohibit project periods exceeding five years and extensions of project periods involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. This waiver and extension of the project period enables the currently funded Technical Assistance Coordination Center (Center) to receive funding from October 1, 2013, through September 30, 2014.

On September 6, 2012, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) concerning various modifications to the Department's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program. In a later notice published on October 25, 2012, the Department extended the public comment period until December 24, 2012. Various commenters to the NPRM expressed interest in the Department holding a public meeting on the proposed changes prior to issuing a final rule. The Department agrees. The Department will hold a public listening session on the changes proposed in the NPRM on October 9, 2013, from 12:00 p.m. EDT to 4:00 p.m. EDT in the Department's Washington, DC headquarters. The Department is simultaneously reopening the comment period from September 18, 2013 to October 30, 2013. Interested persons from both the public and private sectors are invited to offer their views orally or in writing on specific aspects of the NPRM noted below.

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 Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) is soliciting comments concerning the proposed collection: Regulations Governing the Administration of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LS-200, LS-201, LS-203, LS-204, LS-262, LS-267, LS- 271, LS-274, and LS-513). A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the address section of this Notice.

EPA has granted emergency exemptions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for use of pesticides as listed in this notice. The exemptions were granted during the period October 1, 2012 through March 31, 2013 to control unforeseen pest outbreaks.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a notice extending the application deadline for funds available under the Grant Program for Transportation of Veterans in Highly Rural Areas in the Federal Register on September 13, 2013 (78 FR 56773), that contained an error. In the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of the notice, VA announced that a copy of the Application Package can be downloaded directly from ``https://www.ruralhealth.va.gov/coordination-pilot/ index.asp''. It should have read, ``https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/ view-opportunity.html?oppId=237336``. This error is corrected by this notice.