April 21, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to revise and update transportation-related clauses and their prescriptions to create basic and alternate clauses structured in a manner to facilitate use of automated contract writing systems. The rule also includes the full text of each alternate, rather than only showing the paragraphs that differ from the basic clause.

On July 10, 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) to amend the test procedures for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers. That proposed rulemaking serves as the basis for this action. This final rule amends the test procedure that will be required for the testing of these products starting on September 15, 2014. The amendments include test procedures for products with multiple compressors and an alternative method for measuring and calculating energy consumption for refrigerator-freezers and refrigerators with freezer compartments. DOE is also amending certain aspects of the test procedure in order to ensure better test accuracy and repeatability. This final rule does not address the proposal's approach regarding the measurement of energy use associated with ice making, nor does it address the proposed treatment of built-in products, as DOE plans to address these topics in a future rule.

Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to disapprove the state implementation plan (SIP) for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) with respect to prevention of significant deterioration (PSD), and to incorporate by reference the Federal PSD regulations into the applicable CNMI plan. EPA is also taking final action to grant a petition by CNMI for an exemption of the applicable PSD major source baseline date, and to establish an alternate date, January 13, 1997, as the major source baseline date and trigger date in CNMI. EPA is also making certain corrections to errors that were made in previous rulemakings related to the CNMI SIP. This action establishes the Federal PSD regulations as a basic element of the applicable CNMI plan and, through the exemption, establishes January 13, 1997 as the major source baseline date (and trigger date) under the PSD program in CNMI for sulfur dioxide, PM10 and nitrogen dioxide.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (``FDIC'') proposes to rescind and remove regulations transferred from the Office of Thrift Savings (``OTS''), and amend its rules of practice and procedure in ways that will ensure that all insured depository institutions, for which the FDIC is the appropriate Federal banking agency (``FBA''), are subject to the same substantive and procedural rules governing administrative hearings.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are announcing the availability of an interpretive rule to address the exemption from permitting provided under section 404(f)(1)(A) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharges of dredged or fill material associated with certain agricultural conservation practices based on the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation practice standards that are designed and implemented to protect and enhance water quality. While the interpretive rule is already in effect, the agencies recognize the importance and value of receiving public input on the implementation of this interpretive rule and welcome comments in response to this notice within the next 45 days.