September 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

This proposed rule would implement a Seabird Avoidance Program in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery. The proposed rule was recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) in November 2013 and is specifically designed to minimize the take of ESA- listed short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus). A 2012 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion required NMFS to initiate implementation of regulations within 2 years mandating the use of seabird avoidance measures by vessels greater than or equal to 55 feet length overall (LOA) using bottom longline gear to harvest groundfish. The seabird avoidance measures, including streamer lines that deter birds from ingesting baited hooks, are modeled after a similar regulatory program in effect for the Alaskan groundfish fishery.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by adding the Holtec International HI- STORM Underground Maximum Capacity (UMAX) Canister Storage System, Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1040, to the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks.'' Holtec International intends to provide an underground storage option compatible with the Holtec International HI- STORM FLOOD/WIND (FW) System (CoC No. 1032). The HI-STORM UMAX Canister Storage System stores a hermetically sealed canister containing spent nuclear fuel in an in-ground vertical ventilated module. The HI-STORM UMAX Canister Storage System is designed to provide long-term underground storage of loaded multi-purpose canisters previously certified for storage in CoC No. 1032.

We are proposing to amend our regulations governing the importations of fruits and vegetables by broadening our existing performance standard to provide for approval of all new fruits and vegetables for importation into the United States using a notice-based process. We are also proposing to remove the region- or commodity- specific phytosanitary requirements currently found in these regulations. Likewise, we are proposing an equivalent revision of the performance standard in our regulations governing the interstate movements of fruits and vegetables from Hawaii and the U.S. territories (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and the removal of commodity-specific phytosanitary requirements from those regulations. This proposal would allow for the approval of requests to authorize the importation or interstate movement of new fruits and vegetables in a manner that enables a more flexible and responsive regulatory approach to evolving pest situations in both the United States and exporting countries. It would not however, alter the science-based process in which the risk associated with importation or interstate movement of a given fruit or vegetable is evaluated or the manner in which risks associated with the importation or interstate movement of a fruit or vegetable are mitigated.

The Coast Guard is establishing special local regulations on the waters of Lake Dora in Tavares, Florida, during the Hydrocross, a series of high-speed personal watercraft races. The event is scheduled to take place on September 13 and 14, 2014. Approximately 50 vessels are anticipated to participate in the races. This special local regulation is necessary to ensure the safety of life on navigable waters of the United States during the races.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone in the waters off of Tarague Basin, Anderson AFB, Guam, for the safety of waterway users, during U.S. Air Force explosive ordnance disposal operations. The U.S. Air Force plans to engage in explosive ordnance disposal operations starting in August 2014, and continue to do so at varying times weekly, for an indefinite duration. The safety zone is activated, and therefore subject to enforcement, during these operations. When the safety zone is activated for enforcement, all entry into the safety zone (including vessels and persons) is prohibited except by permission from the Captain of the Port or his designated representative. The Coast Guard is implementing this interim rule for the safety of mariners; we encourage comments on this rulemaking as to how we may improve the rule.

In this document, Petitions for Reconsideration (Petitions) have been filed in the Commission's Rulemaking proceeding, by Charles W. Logan, Lawler, Metzger, Keeney & Logan, LLC, on behalf of Sprint Corporation, and by Trey Hanbury, Hogan Lovells US, LLP, on behalf of T-Mobile USA, Inc.

This action corrects the Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) in a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on Thursday, August 14, 2014, to amend regulations of the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to reinstate reporting requirements for the 2014 BE-10, Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad. Benchmark surveys are conducted every five years; the prior survey covered 2009.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a Texas State Implementation (SIP) revision for control of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from storage tanks. The revision implements additional controls in the Dallas-Fort Worth 1997 ozone nonattainment area (DFW area); modifies control requirements in the DFW area, the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria ozone nonattainment area (HGB area), the Beaumont-Port Arthur area and El Paso, Gregg, Nueces and Victoria Counties; and makes non-substantive changes to VOC control provisions that apply in Aransas, Bexar, Calhoun, Matagorda, San Patricio and Travis Counties. In addition, EPA is proposing to find that the SIP revision implements serious area reasonable available control technology (RACT) controls for the VOC storage source category in the DFW area and continues to implement severe area RACT for this source category in the HGB area as required by the Clean Air Act.

FRA proposes amendments to the brake system safety standards for freight and other non-passenger trains and equipment to strengthen the requirements relating to the securement of unattended equipment. Specifically, FRA would codify many of the requirements already included in its Emergency Order 28, Establishing Additional Requirements for Attendance and Securement of Certain Freight Trains and Vehicles on Mainline Track or Mainline Siding Outside of a Yard or Terminal. FRA proposes to amend existing regulations to include additional securement requirements for unattended equipment, primarily for trains transporting poisonous by inhalation hazardous materials or large volumes of Division 2.1 (flammable gases), Class 3 (flammable or combustible liquids, including crude oil and ethanol), and Class 1.1 or 1.2 (explosives) hazardous materials. For these trains, FRA also proposes additional communication requirements relating to job briefings and securement verification. Finally, FRA proposes to require all locomotives left unattended outside of a yard to be equipped with an operative exterior locking mechanism. Attendance on trains would be required on equipment not capable of being secured in accordance with the proposed and existing requirements.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine endangered species status under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), for Agave eggersiana (no common name) and Gonocalyx concolor (no common name), and threatened species status for Varronia rupicola (no common name). These three plants are endemic to the Caribbean. The effect of this regulation will be to add these species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants.

The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) published in the Federal Register on August 28, 2014, 79 FR 51450, amending its rules for Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS). That document inadvertently removed Sec. 64.604(c)(11)(iv) of the Commission's rules. This document corrects the final regulations by adding back that section.

This rule governs the secure disposal of controlled substances by registrants and ultimate users. These regulations will implement the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 by expanding the options available to collect controlled substances from ultimate users for the purpose of disposal, including: Take-back events, mail-back programs, and collection receptacle locations. These regulations contain specific language allowing law enforcement to voluntarily continue to conduct take-back events, administer mail-back programs, and maintain collection receptacles. These regulations will allow authorized manufacturers, distributors, reverse distributors, narcotic treatment programs (NTPs), hospitals/clinics with an on-site pharmacy, and retail pharmacies to voluntarily administer mail-back programs and maintain collection receptacles. In addition, this rule expands the authority of authorized hospitals/clinics and retail pharmacies to voluntarily maintain collection receptacles at long-term care facilities. This rule also reorganizes and consolidates previously existing regulations on disposal, including the role of reverse distributors.

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for the commercial sector for vermilion snapper in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. Commercial landings for vermilion snapper, as estimated by the Science Research Director (SRD), are projected to reach the commercial annual catch limit (ACL) for the July 1 through December 31, 2014, fishing period on September 12, 2014. Therefore, NMFS closes the commercial sector for vermilion snapper in the South Atlantic EEZ on September 12, 2014, and it will remain closed until the start of the January 1 through June 30, 2015, fishing period. This closure is necessary to protect the vermilion snapper resource.

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) published a final rule in the Federal Register on November 1, 2013 to strengthen liquidity risk management at the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, improve the quality of assets in its liquidity reserves, and bolster its ability to fund its obligations and continue operations during times of economic, financial, or market adversity. This document corrects and clarifies the section amended by final rule.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires that NMFS periodically review existing regulations that have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, such as small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. This plan describes how NMFS will perform this review and describes the regulations that are being proposed for review during the current review cycle.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is correcting a final rule entitled ``Postmarketing Safety Reports for Human Drug and Biological Products; Electronic Submission Requirements'' that appeared in the Federal Register of June 10, 2014 (79 FR 33072). The document amended FDA's postmarketing safety reporting regulations for human drug and biological products to require that persons subject to mandatory reporting requirements submit safety reports in an electronic format that FDA can process, review, and archive. The document was published with an incorrect RIN number. This document corrects the error.

These special conditions are issued for Airbus Model A350-900 airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with electronic system-security protection from unauthorized external access. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

The U.S. Secretary of Education (Secretary) proposes revising the final requirements for the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program, published in the Federal Register on October 28, 2010, authorized under section 1003(g) of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), to implement language in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, that allows local educational agencies (LEAs) to implement additional interventions, provides flexibility for rural LEAs, and extends the grant period from three to five years. Additionally, the proposed requirements make changes that reflect lessons learned from four years of SIG implementation.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect approval actions for new animal drug applications (NADAs) and abbreviated new animal drug applications (ANADAs) during July 2014. FDA is also informing the public of the availability of summaries of the basis of approval and of environmental review documents, where applicable. The animal drug regulations are also being amended to add a cross reference to a tolerance.