2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or Agency) is publishing policies and procedures for loan and guarantee financial assistance in support of energy efficiency programs (EE Programs) sponsored and implemented by electric utilities for the benefit of rural persons in their service territory. This final rule amends RUS regulations on General and Pre-Loan Policies and Procedures Common to Electric Loans and Guarantees, which were codified on December 20, 1993. The final rule also includes conforming amendments to additional RUS regulations. Under Section 2 of the Rural Electrification Act (RE Act), RUS is authorized to assist electric borrowers in implementing Demand side management, energy efficiency and conservation programs, and on-grid and off-grid renewable energy systems. The scope of this regulation falls within the authority of the Act.

In accordance with relevant provisions of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice of its determination of the trade surplus in certain sugar and syrup goods and sugar-containing products of Chile, Morocco, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Colombia, and Panama. As described below, the level of a country's trade surplus in these goods relates to the quantity of sugar and syrup goods and sugar-containing products for which the United States grants preferential tariff treatment under (i) the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (Chile FTA); (ii) the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (Morocco FTA); (iii) the Dominican Republic-Central America- United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR); (iv) the United States- Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (Peru TPA); (v) the United States- Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (Colombia TPA); and (vi) the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (Panama TPA).

In this document, the Commission released a public notice announcing the meeting and agenda of the North American Numbering Council (NANC). The intended effect of this action is to make the public aware of the NANC's next meeting and agenda.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a revised draft guidance for industry entitled ``Bioequivalence Recommendations for Paliperidone Palmitate.'' The guidance provides specific recommendations on the design of bioequivalence (BE) studies to support abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) for paliperidone palmitate extended-release injectable suspension.

The FTC intends to ask the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') to extend through December 31, 2016, the current Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') clearance for the FTC's enforcement of the information collection requirements in its Affiliate Marketing Rule (or ``Rule''), which applies to certain motor vehicle dealers, and its shared enforcement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (``CFPB'') of the provisions (subpart C) of the CFPB's Regulation V regarding other entities (``CFPB Rule''). The current clearance expires on December 31, 2013.

The Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) changes its regulations on compassionate release, to provide that when considering an inmate for reduction in sentence, the General Counsel will solicit the opinion of the United States Attorney in the district in which the inmate was sentenced; and the final decision is subject to the general supervision and direction of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General.

The Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board (Board) will meet in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Board is established consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C. App. II), the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et.seq.), the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. sec. 1612), and the Federal Public Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (Pub. L. 108-447). The purpose of the Board is to provide advice and recommendations on a broad range of forest issues such as forest plan revisions or amendments and forest health, including fire and mountain pine beetle epidemics, travel management, forest monitoring and evaluation, recreation fees, and site-specific projects having forest-wide implications. The meeting is open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is to: (1) Conduct Annual Ethics Training for all members of the Advisory Board; (2) provide orientation to Board Members on Basic Laws governing the Forest Service work; (3) update and discussion with working group on Motorized Travel on trails in the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota; and (4) update and report on Mountain Pine Beetle Working Group actions.

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, this notice announces the renewal of a CMP that CMS plans to conduct with the Purchased Care at the Health Administration Center (PC@HAC) of the Department of Veteran Affairs. We have provided background information about the proposed matching program in the ``Supplementary Information'' section below. Although the Privacy Act requires only that CMS provide an opportunity for interested persons to comment on the proposed matching program, CMS invites comments on all portions of this notice. See ``Effective Dates'' section below for comment period.

On June 14, 2013, NOAA published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to revise the regulations for the boundary of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This document re-opens the public comment period.

In this notice, OSHA announces the application of Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., for expansion of its recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory and presents the Agency's preliminary finding to grant the application and request. Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., requests the addition of multiple test standards to its scope of recognition. This preliminary finding does not constitute an interim or temporary approval of the application and request.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) approval for renewal of an existing information collection that is summarized below. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). Information pertaining to the requirement to be submitted: 1. The title of the information collection: NRC Nuclear Education Grantee Survey. 2. Current OMB approval number: 3150-XXXX. 3. How often the collection is required: Once every 5 years. 4. Who is required or asked to report: NRC Grantees. 5. The number of annual respondents: 60. 6. The number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 45 hours. 7. Abstract: The NRC seeks to conduct a survey of grantees funded between 2007 and 2011 under NRC's Nuclear Education Grants. The survey will allow the NRC to collect information that is not otherwise available from all grantees to assess the impact of these funds on grantee programs, their faculty, and their students. Submit, by February 3, 2014, comments that address the following questions: 1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical utility? 2. Is the burden estimate accurate? 3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected? 4. How can the burden of the information collection be minimized, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology? The public may examine and have copied, for a fee, publicly available documents, including the draft supporting statement, at the NRC's Public Document Room, Room O-1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. Office of Management and Budget clearance requests are available at https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/ doc-comment/omb/. The document will be available on the NRC's public Web site for 60 days after the signature date of this notice. Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made available for public inspection. Because your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you against including any information in your submission that you do not want to be publicly disclosed. Comments submitted should reference Docket ID NRC- 2013-0256. You may submit your comments by any of the following methods: Electronic comments: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0256. Mail comments to NRC Clearance Officer, Tremaine Donnell (T-5 F53), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Questions about the information collection requirements may be directed to the NRC Clearance Officer, Tremaine Donnell (T-5 F53), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, by telephone at 301-415-6258, or by email to INFOCOLLECTS.Resource@NRC.GOV.

This Request for Information (RFI) notice informs the public that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is currently developing a National Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Research and Development Plan (NCISR R&D Plan) to conform to the requirements of Presidential Policy Directive 21, Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience. As part of a comprehensive national review process, DHS solicits public comment on issues or language in the NCISR R&D Plan that need to be included. Critical infrastructure includes both cyber and physical components, systems, and networks for the sixteen established ``critical infrastructures''.

This document contains final regulations relating to certain dividend equivalents for purposes of section 871(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). The regulations provide guidance to nonresident alien individuals and foreign corporations that hold specified notional principal contracts providing for payments that are contingent upon or determined by reference to U.S. source dividend payments and to withholding agents.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), notify the public that we are making changes to our proposed rule of August 7, 2012, to reclassify the straight-horned markhor (Capra falconeri jerdoni) from endangered to threatened. We propose to combine the straight-horned markhor (Capra falconeri jerdoni) and the Kabul markhor (Capra falconeri megaceros) into one subspecies, the straight-horned markhor (Capra falconeri megaceros), under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) due to a change in taxonomy. We have conducted a status review of the straight-horned markhor (C. f. megaceros) and propose to list this subspecies as threatened under the Act. We are also proposing a concurrent special rule. The effects of these regulations will be to protect and conserve the straight-horned markhor, while encouraging local communities to conserve additional populations of the straight-horned markhor through sustainable-use management programs.

This action terminates a rulemaking proceeding that proposed to establish a marketing agreement (agreement) under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (Act) to regulate the handling of fresh leafy green vegetables in the United States. The agreement that was proposed by members of the produce industry would have authorized the development and implementation of handling regulations (audit metrics) to reflect the United States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), Good Handling Practices (GHPs), and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs).

The EPA today designates four new Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Sites (ODMDS) located offshore of Texas for the disposal of dredged material from the Sabine-Neches Waterway (SNWW) Channel Improvement Project (CIP), which includes an extension of the Entrance Channel into the Gulf of Mexico, pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, as amended (MPRSA). The designation of these four disposal sites does not by itself authorize the disposal of dredged material, but makes these sites available for use for dredged material from the CIP if no environmentally preferable, practicable alternative for managing that dredged material exists, and if analysis of the dredged material indicates that it is suitable for open-water disposal. This action is to designate adequate, environmentally- acceptable ocean disposal site capacity for suitable dredged material generated from new work (construction) and future maintenance dredging from the SNWW CIP.