2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action supplements our notice of proposed rulemaking for the national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for secondary aluminum production, which was published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2012. In that action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed decisions concerning the residual risk and technology review for the Secondary Aluminum Production source category and proposed amendments to correct and clarify rule requirements. This supplemental proposal presents a revised risk review (including a revised inhalation risk assessment, a refined multipathway risk assessment, and an updated ample margin of safety analysis) and a revised technology review for the Secondary Aluminum Production source category. Similar to the 2012 proposal, we found risks due to emissions of air toxics to be acceptable from this source category and we identified no cost effective controls under the updated ample margin of safety analysis or the technology review to achieve further emissions reductions. Therefore, we are proposing no revisions to the numeric emission standards based on these revised analyses. However, this supplemental proposal supplements and modifies several of the proposed technical corrections and rule clarifications that were originally presented in the February 14, 2012 proposal; withdraws our previous proposal to include affirmative defense provisions in the regulation; proposes alternative compliance options for the operating and monitoring requirements for sweat furnaces; and provides a revised cost analysis for compliance testing. This action, if finalized, would result in improved monitoring, compliance and implementation of the rule.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) has adopted revisions to part II of the Federal Reserve Policy on Payment System Risk (PSR policy) related to the procedures for measuring balances intraday in institutions' accounts at the Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks). The changes relate to the Board's procedures for posting debit and credit entries to institutions' Federal Reserve accounts for automated clearinghouse (ACH) debit transactions and commercial check transactions. Elsewhere in the Federal Register under Docket No. R-1473, the Board has adopted related changes to the Board's Regulation J that affect when paying banks settle for check transactions presented to them by the Reserve Banks. Additionally, in this document, the Board has adopted a set of principles for establishing future posting procedures for the Reserve Banks' same-day ACH service. The Board has also adopted a change in language of the PSR policy intended to clarify the Reserve Banks' administration of the policy for U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banking organizations. Finally, the Board has adopted two technical revisions to the posting procedures to reflect deposit deadlines already in effect for Treasury checks, postal money orders, local Federal Reserve Bank checks, and savings bond redemptions in separately sorted deposits.

The Coast Guard announces a public meeting to receive comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled ``Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Illinois Waterway, Joliet, IL'' that was published in the Federal Register on August 27, 2014. As stated in the NPRM, the Coast Guard proposes to modify the operating regulations for six drawbridges, located between river mile 285.8 and river mile 288.7, across the Illinois Waterway, at Joliet, Illinois. The NPRM proposes to consolidate the current operating regulation, which includes five on-site bridge tender control stations, into one centralized control point for all five drawbridges. The NPRM also proposes to add a sixth drawbridge that will also operate under the centralized control point. The proposed action is intended to improve navigational safety and operational efficiency in the Joliet area.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of 2,5-Furandione, polymer with methoxyethene, butyl ethyl ester, sodium salt; when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide chemical formulation. The firm Lewis & Harrison, on behalf of International Specialty Products submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of 2,5-Furandione, polymer with methoxyethene, butyl ethyl ester, sodium salt on food or feed commodities.

In this document, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) provides notice that it issued Orders dated December 1, 2014, with respect to reporting under section 165(i)(2) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act).

In this Candidate Notice of Review (CNOR), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), present an updated list of plant and animal species native to the United States that we regard as candidates for or have proposed for addition to the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Identification of candidate species can assist environmental planning efforts by providing advance notice of potential listings, allowing landowners and resource managers to alleviate threats and thereby possibly remove the need to list species as endangered or threatened. Even if we subsequently list a candidate species, the early notice provided here could result in more options for species management and recovery by prompting candidate conservation measures to alleviate threats to the species. The CNOR summarizes the status and threats that we evaluated in order to determine that species qualify as candidates, to assign a listing priority number (LPN) to each species, and to determine whether a species should be removed from candidate status. Additional material that we relied on is available in the Species Assessment and Listing Priority Assignment Forms (species assessment forms) for each candidate species. Overall, this CNOR recognizes 23 new candidates, changes the LPN for one candidate, and removes one species from candidate status. Combined with other decisions for individual species that were published separately from this CNOR in the past year, the current number of species that are candidates for listing is 146. This document also includes our findings on resubmitted petitions and describes our progress in revising the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (Lists) during the period October 1, 2013, through September 30, 2014. We request additional status information that may be available for the 146 candidate species identified in this CNOR.

This proposed rule would amend Indian Health Service (IHS) Purchased and Referred Care (PRC), formally known as the Contract Health Services (CHS), regulations to apply Medicare payment methodologies to all physician and other health care professional services and non-hospital-based services that are either authorized under such regulations or purchased by urban Indian organizations. Specifically, it proposes that the health programs operated by IHS, Tribe, Tribal organization, or urban Indian organization (collectively, I/T/U programs) will pay the lowest of the amount provided for under the applicable Medicare fee schedule, prospective payment system, or Medicare waiver; the amount negotiated by a repricing agent, if available; or the usual and customary billing rate. Repricing agents may be used to determine whether IHS may benefit from savings by utilizing negotiated rates offered through commercial health care networks. This proposed rule seeks comment on how to establish reimbursement that is consistent across Federal health care programs, aligns payment with inpatient services, and enables the IHS to expand beneficiary access to medical care.

We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2011-12-10 for Robinson Helicopter Company (Robinson) Model R22, R22 Alpha, R22 Beta, R22 Mariner, R44, and R44 II helicopters with certain main rotor blades (blade) installed. AD 2011-12-10 required inspecting each blade at the skin-to-spar line for debonding, corrosion, a separation, a gap, or a dent and replacing any damaged blade with an airworthy blade. This new AD also requires a terminating action for those inspection requirements. These actions are intended to detect debonding of the blade skin, which could result in blade failure and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter, and to correct the unsafe condition by replacing the main rotor blades with new blades that do not require the AD inspection.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that the period for providing public comments on the October 6, 2014, supplemental proposed rule titled ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Ferroalloys Production'' is being extended an additional 11 days.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A318, A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of a crack found in the fuselage during a fatigue test campaign. This AD requires repetitive rototest inspections for cracking; corrective actions if necessary; and modification of the torsion box, which would terminate the repetitive inspections. We are issuing this AD to prevent cracking in the side box beam flange of the fuselage, which could affect the structural integrity of the airplane.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is adopting new Regulation Systems Compliance and Integrity (``Regulation SCI'') under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') and conforming amendments to Regulation ATS under the Exchange Act. Regulation SCI will apply to certain self-regulatory organizations (including registered clearing agencies), alternative trading systems (``ATSs''), plan processors, and exempt clearing agencies (collectively, ``SCI entities''), and will require these SCI entities to comply with requirements with respect to the automated systems central to the performance of their regulated activities.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 to include in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), to the extent practicable, identification of any immediate owner or subsidiary, and all predecessors of an offeror that held a Federal contract or grant within the last three years. The objective is to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the performance and integrity of the corporation before awarding a Federal contract.

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for commercial Atlantic migratory group cobia in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. Commercial landings for Atlantic migratory group cobia, as estimated by the Science Research Director (SRD), are projected to reach the commercial annual catch limit (ACL) on December 11, 2014. Therefore, NMFS closes the commercial sector for Atlantic migratory group cobia on December 11, 2014, and it will remain closed throughout the remainder of the fishing year, through December 31, 2014. This closure is necessary to protect the resource of Atlantic migratory group cobia.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its regulations governing the content and format of the ``Pregnancy,'' ``Labor and delivery,'' and ``Nursing mothers'' subsections of the ``Use in Specific Populations'' section of the labeling for human prescription drug and biological products. The final rule requires the removal of the pregnancy categories A, B, C, D, and X from all human prescription drug and biological product labeling. For human prescription drug and biological products subject to the Agency's 2006 Physician Labeling Rule, the final rule requires that the labeling include a summary of the risks of using a drug during pregnancy and lactation, a discussion of the data supporting that summary, and relevant information to help health care providers make prescribing decisions and counsel women about the use of drugs during pregnancy and lactation. The final rule eliminates the ``Labor and delivery'' subsection because information about labor and delivery is included in the ``Pregnancy'' subsection. The final rule requires that the labeling include relevant information about pregnancy testing, contraception, and infertility for health care providers prescribing for females and males of reproductive potential. The final rule creates a consistent format for providing information about the risks and benefits of prescription drug and/or biological product use during pregnancy and lactation and by females and males of reproductive potential. These revisions will facilitate prescriber counseling for these populations.

The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is issuing this final rule to revoke the designation of one departmental component of one agency and designate a new bureau as a departmental component for purposes of the one-year post-employment conflict of interest restriction in the United States Code; to revoke the designation of two departmental components of another agency and designate their successor bureau as a departmental component; to change the name of an existing departmental component; and to revoke the designation of a departmental component that was abolished.

This rulemaking relieves burdens on pilots seeking to obtain aeronautical experience, training, and certification by increasing the allowed use of aviation training devices. These training devices have proven to be an effective, safe, and affordable means of obtaining pilot experience. These actions are necessary to bring the regulations in line with current needs and activities of the general aviation training community and pilots.

On September 30, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a notice of proposed rulemaking for small, large, and very large air-cooled commercial package air conditioning and heating equipment in the Federal Register. This document announces the reopening of the public comment period for submitting comments and data on the proposed rulemaking, associated technical support document (TSD), or any other aspect of the rulemaking for small, large, and very large air-cooled commercial package air conditioning and heating equipment. The reopened comment period ends December 22, 2014.

On February 11, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) to amend the test procedures for commercial clothes washers (CCWs). That proposed rulemaking serves as the basis for today's action. DOE is issuing a final rule making a technical correction to the certification reporting requirements for CCWs established under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), adopting a new test procedure to be used to determine compliance with any revised energy conservation standards for CCWs, and clarifying the dates for which the current and new test procedures must be used to determine compliance with existing energy conservation standards and any future revised energy conservation standards for CCWs.

NMFS proposes regulations that would revise Federal regulations regarding sport fishing guide services for Pacific halibut in International Pacific Halibut Commission Regulatory Areas 2C (Southeast Alaska) and 3A (Central Gulf of Alaska). The proposed regulations would remove the requirement that a guided sport (charter) vessel guide be on board the same vessel as a charter vessel angler to provide sport fishing guide services. This proposed rule would clarify that all sport fishing for halibut in which anglers receive assistance from a compensated guide would be managed under charter fishery regulations, and all harvest would accrue toward charter allocations. This proposed rule would align Federal regulations with State of Alaska regulations. Additional minor changes to the regulatory text pertaining to the charter halibut fishery would be required to maintain consistency in the regulations with these new definitions. This action is necessary to achieve the halibut fishery management goals of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a proposed rule to amend the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program regulations to add an additional enrollment type called ``self plus one'' for premium rating and family member eligibility purposes.

On July 1, 2014, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) proposed to adjust the timing of the annual stress testing cycle and to clarify the method used to calculate regulatory capital in the stress tests (proposed rule). The OCC is now adopting the proposed rule as final (final rule). The final rule shifts the dates of the annual stress testing cycle by approximately three months. The final rule also provides that covered institutions will not have to calculate their risk-weighted assets using the internal ratings-based and advanced measurement approaches until the stress testing cycle beginning on January 1, 2016.

EPA issued a document in the Federal Register of September 12, 2013, announcing the filing of a pesticide tolerance petition for residues of the fungicide, Bacillus subtilis strain IAB/BS03. That pesticide petition requested that EPA establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of that fungicide in or on all food commodities. Through an administrative error, the summary of the pesticide petition was not made available in the docket. Now available in the docket, this document reopens the comment period for that pesticide petition for 30 days to allow for public review and comment.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC, Commission) announces that there will be an opportunity for interested persons to present oral comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) the Commission issued proposing a standard to reduce the risk of injury associated with recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs). Any oral comments will be part of the rulemaking record.

This rulemaking adopts as final, without change, a proposed rule creating regulations for the Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) benefits program. Through the HISA benefits program, VA provides monetary benefits to disabled veterans for necessary home improvements and alterations. An increase in the HISA benefits limit was authorized by the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010. This rulemaking codifies regulations governing the HISA benefits program and incorporates the increase in HISA benefits authorized by the 2010 Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a request submitted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) on September 17, 2014, to revise the Indiana state implementation plan (SIP). The submission revises the Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) definition of ``References to the Code of Federal Regulations,'' from the 2011 edition to the 2013 edition. There is also a revised definition of ``Board.''