February 20, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This revision will implement low sulfur fuel oil provisions that will reduce the amount of sulfur in fuel oils used in combustion units which will aid in reducing sulfates that cause decreased visibility. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

NMFS issues regulations to implement Amendment 95 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP). These regulations modify halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) management in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) by establishing halibut PSC limits for the GOA in Federal regulation and reducing the GOA halibut PSC limits for the trawl and hook-and-line gear sectors. The reduction to the trawl gear PSC limit also proportionately reduces a subset of trawl halibut PSC limits (also called sideboard limits) for American Fisheries Act, Amendment 80, and Central GOA Rockfish Program vessels. These regulations also incorporate three measures to minimize adverse economic impacts on fishing industry sectors. First, the reductions for these sectors will be phased-in over 3 years. Second, this action allows the Amendment 80 sector to roll over unused halibut PSC sideboard limits from one season to the subsequent season. Third, this action combines management of the deep-water and shallow-water halibut PSC limits from May 15 to June 30, which allows the aggregate halibut PSC limit to be used in either the deep-water or shallow-water fishery. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws.

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection associated with the Commission's Third Report and Order; An Inquiry Into the Commission's Policies and Rules Regarding AM Radio Service Directional Antenna Performance Verification. This document is consistent with the Third Report and Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the requirements.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to reclassify the shortwave diathermy (SWD) for all other uses, a preamendments class III device, into class II (special controls), and to rename the device ``nonthermal shortwave therapy (SWT).'' FDA is proposing this reclassification on its own initiative based on new information. FDA is also proposing a technical correction in the regulation for the carrier frequency for SWD and nonthermal SWT devices. This proposed action would implement certain regulatory requirements.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) are amending their joint Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations, to remove any reference to the NEH, the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities (FCAH), an agency for which the NEH provides legal counsel, and the IMLS. The NEA, the NEH and the IMLS are amending these joint regulations because each agency has adopted or plans to adopt its own separate FOIA regulations.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is initiating a rulemaking and data collection process to consider amendments to DOE's test procedure for commercial packaged boilers. This rulemaking is intended to fulfill DOE's statutory obligation to review its test procedures for covered products at least once every seven years. As part of this process, DOE is considering the potential for adoption of part-load efficiency measurement as part of this test procedure rulemaking for commercial packaged boilers. To help inform the test procedure rulemaking, DOE has identified a variety of issues on which it is seeking comment, as outlined in this document; these issues mainly concern part-load operation and efficiency, appropriate operating conditions for both part-load and full-load operation, and the integration of part-load measurements into the applicable energy efficiency metric. Although DOE welcomes comment on all aspects of its test procedure, DOE is particularly interested in receiving comments and data from stakeholders and the public on these topics.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is proposing to amend its Identity Theft Red Flags rule, which implements section 615(e) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010 (Clarification Act) added a definition of ``creditor'' in FCRA section 615(e) that is specific to section 615(e). Accordingly, the proposed rule would amend the definition of ``creditor'' in the Identity Theft Red Flags rule to reflect the definition of that term as added by the statute. The proposed rule would also update a cross-reference in the Identity Theft Red Flags rule to reflect a statutory change in rulemaking authority.

FMCSA proposes to establish the Commercial Driver's License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse), a database under the Agency's administration that will contain controlled substances (drug) and alcohol test result information for the holders of commercial driver's licenses (CDLs). The proposed rule would require FMCSA- regulated motor carrier employers, Medical Review Officers (MROs), Substance Abuse Professionals (SAPs), and consortia/third party administrators (C/TPAs) supporting U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) testing programs to report verified positive, adulterated, and substituted drug test results, positive alcohol test results, test refusals, negative return-to-duty test results, and information on follow-up testing. The proposed rule would also require employers to report actual knowledge of traffic citations for driving a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) while under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs. The proposed rule would establish the terms of access to the database, including the conditions under which information would be submitted, accessed, maintained, updated, removed, and released to prospective employers, current employers, and other authorized entities. Finally, it would require laboratories that provide FMCSA- regulated motor carrier employers with DOT drug testing services to report, annual, summary information about their testing activities. This rule is mandated by Section 32402 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA, we, or our) proposes to amend its regulations governing standards of conduct of directors, employees, and agents of Farm Credit System (System) institutions, excluding the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation. The amendments would clarify and strengthen reporting requirements and prohibitions, require institutions to establish a Code of Ethics, and enhance the role of the Standards of Conduct Official.