September 10, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations to implement the Civilian Service Recognition Act of 2011. The final regulations will assist agencies in administering a United States flag recognition benefit for fallen Federal civilian employees, and describe the eligibility requirements and procedures to request a flag.

This action proposes to establish Class D airspace and amend Class E airspace at Dallas, GA, to accommodate the proposed temporary air traffic control tower at Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport. This action also would recognize the airport's name change.

This rule identifies communities where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that are scheduled for suspension on the effective dates listed within this rule because of noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. If the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) receives documentation that the community has adopted the required floodplain management measures prior to the effective suspension date given in this rule, the suspension will not occur and a notice of this will be provided by publication in the Federal Register on a subsequent date. Also, information identifying the current participation status of a community can be obtained from FEMA's Community Status Book (CSB). The CSB is available at https:// www.fema.gov/fema/csb.shtm.

The Coast Guard is aligning its regulations with the 2010 Coast Guard Authorization Act. Before 2010, certain uninspected commercial vessels including barges and sailing vessels fell outside the scope of the statute requiring the Coast Guard to regulate lifesaving devices on uninspected vessels. Lifesaving devices were required on such uninspected commercial vessels only if they carried passengers for hire. The 2010 Act brought all uninspected commercial vessels within the scope of the statutory requirement to carry lifesaving devices even if they carry no passengers for hire. The effect of the 2010 Act was to bring, for the first time, uninspected non-passenger commercial barges and sailing vessels within the scope of the lifesaving devices requirement. The Coast Guard is now requiring the use of wearable personal flotation devices for individuals on board those vessels, and amending several regulatory tables to reflect that requirement. This rulemaking promotes the Coast Guard's marine safety mission.

The Food and Drug Administration is correcting a proposed rule entitled ``Revocation of General Safety Test Regulations That Are Duplicative of Requirements in Biological License Applications'' that appeared in the Federal Register of August, 22, 2014. The document proposed to amend the biologics regulations by removing the general safety test requirements for biological products. The document published with the incorrect title. This document corrects that error.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a special local regulation on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico in the vicinity of Clearwater Beach, Florida during the Clearwater Super Boat National Championship. The race is scheduled to take place annually from approximately 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily during the last Saturday and Sunday of September. The proposed special local regulation is necessary to protect the safety of race participants, participant vessels, spectators, and the general public on the navigable waters of the United States during the event. The special local regulation would restrict vessel traffic in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico in the vicinity of Clearwater, Florida. It would establish the following three areas: a race area, where all persons and vessels, except those persons and vessels participating in the high speed boat races, are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within; a spectator area, where all vessels must be anchored or operate at No Wake Speed; and an enforcement area where designated representatives may control vessel traffic as determined by the prevailing conditions.

This final rule amends the Manufactured Home Model Installation Standards by revising existing requirements for ground anchor installations and establishing standardized test methods to determine ground anchor performance and resistance. The performance of conventional ground anchor assemblies is critical to the overall quality and structural integrity of manufactured housing installations. Because there was no generally accepted method for rating and certifying ground anchors, states had adopted different requirements for certifying ground anchor performance. This final rule establishes a uniform test method that can be utilized to determine and rate ground anchor performance in different soil classifications and may be used by states to certify and accept ground anchor assemblies.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is proposing to amend its regulations to provide for a set of standardized formulas by which fees are calculated. The methodology used to calculate and implement the fees charged by AMS user-funded programs would be specified in the regulations. Currently, AMS publishes separate rules for each of the service fees it collects. The fees are calculated using formulas to account for all costs incurred by AMS in providing these services. Each year, fees would be announced in a notice in the Federal Register by June 1 and take effect at the start of the fiscal year, crop year, or as required by specific laws. This would provide greater transparency to the customers we serve as to how the fees are derived. The standardized formulas would be used to calculate fees that AMS charges for providing voluntary grading, inspection, certification, auditing and laboratory services for a variety of agricultural commodities including meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables, eggs, dairy products, and cotton and tobacco. The fees would also apply to those persons requesting such services including producers, handlers, processors, importers and exporters. Fees charged for inspection of fruits, vegetables, and specialty crops subject to the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 also would be affected by this rule. Provisions of this proposed rule would not supersede rates established by Memorandum of Understanding, Marketing Orders, or by cooperative agreements already in place. Furthermore, the cotton program would continue to consult with its industry before rates are established.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) proposes to increase small business size standards for 209 industries in North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Sector 31-33, Manufacturing. SBA also proposes to increase the refining capacity component of the Petroleum Refiners (NAICS 324110) size standard to 200,000 barrels per calendar day total capacity for businesses that are primarily engaged in petroleum refining. In addition, SBA proposes to eliminate the requirement that 90 percent of output being delivered is refined by the bidder. As part of its ongoing comprehensive size standards review, SBA evaluated employee based size standards for all 364 industries in NAICS Sector 31-33 to determine whether they should be retained or revised. This proposed rule is one of a series of proposed rules that will review size standards of industries grouped by NAICS Sector.