February 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This regulation establishes a tolerance for residues of fomesafen in or on watermelon. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested this tolerance under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). A final rule establishing a tolerance for residues of fomesafen on watermelon, among other commodities, was previously published in the Federal Register on November 1, 2013, however, watermelon was not ultimately included in the table in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under section 180.433 paragraph (a). This document corrects that error.

This regulation establishes a temporary exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the VNT1 protein in potato when used as a plant-incorporated protectant in accordance with the terms of Experimental Use Permit (EUP) No. 8917-EUP-2. J.R. Simplot Company submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting the temporary tolerance exemption. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of VNT1 protein in potato. The temporary tolerance exemption expires on December 31, 2015.

The FAA is proposing to amend its regulations to adopt specific rules to allow the operation of small unmanned aircraft systems in the National Airspace System. These changes would address the operation of unmanned aircraft systems, certification of their operators, registration, and display of registration markings. The proposed rule would also find that airworthiness certification is not required for small unmanned aircraft system operations that would be subject to this proposed rule. Lastly, the proposed rule would prohibit model aircraft from endangering the safety of the National Airspace System.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Rolls-Royce plc (RR) RB211 Trent 768-60, 772-60, and 772B-60 turbofan engines. This AD requires inspection of the oil feed tube sealing sleeve and removal of those oil feed tube sealing sleeves that are affected by this AD. This AD was prompted by fractures of the high- pressure/intermediate-pressure (HP/IP) turbine support internal oil feed tube. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the HP/IP turbine support internal oil feed tube, which could result in uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane.

DOE is issuing the first comprehensive updating of regulations concerning Assistance to Foreign Atomic Energy Activities since 1986, reflecting a need to make the regulations consistent with current global civil nuclear trade practices and nonproliferation norms, and to update the activities and technologies subject to the Secretary of Energy's specific authorization and DOE reporting requirements. This rule also identifies destinations with respect to which most assistance would be generally authorized and destinations that would require a specific authorization by the Secretary of Energy.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Short Brothers & Harland Ltd. Model SC-7 Series 3 airplanes. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as fatigue cracking, which could lead to structural failure of the nose landing gear (NLG). We are issuing this AD to require actions to address the unsafe condition on these products.

NMFS reduces the trip limit for the commercial sector of Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel in the southern zone to 1,500 lb (680 kg) of Spanish mackerel per day in or from the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This trip limit reduction is necessary to protect the Spanish mackerel resource.

PHMSA is extending for modes of transportation other than air the mandatory compliance date of a final rule published on August 6, 2014, under Docket No. HM-224F from February 6, 2015, until August 7, 2015. This extension is made in response to formal comments received from multiple stakeholders outlining challenges faced by the regulated community in fully implementing the provisions of the final rule by the February 6, 2015 mandatory compliance date.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of dimethenamid in or on cottonseed subgroup 20C and cotton, gin byproducts. BASF Corporation requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Illinois State Implementation Plan. The revision amends the Illinois Administrative Code by updating the definition of volatile organic material or volatile organic compound to exclude additional compounds. This revision is in response to EPA rulemakings in 2013 which exempted these chemical compounds from the Federal definition of volatile organic compounds because, in their intended uses, the compounds have a negligible contribution to tropospheric ozone formation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving revisions to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted to meet Emissions Inventory (EI) requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) nonattainment areas. EPA is approving the SIP revisions because they satisfy the CAA EI requirements for the DFW and HGB nonattainment areas under the 2008 eight-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA is approving the revisions pursuant to section 110 and part D of the CAA and EPA's regulations.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE or OSM), are announcing our final decision on a petition for rulemaking that was submitted by WildEarth Guardians. The petition requested that we revise our current regulations to prohibit visible nitrogen oxide clouds during blasting. The Director has decided to grant the petition in principle, and although we do not intend to propose the specific rule changes requested in the petition, will instead initiate a rulemaking to address this issue as discussed more fully below.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) is engaged in an initiative to make electronic filing or ``eFiling'' available to parties in all cases before the FLRA. Making eFiling available is another way in which the FLRA is using technology to improve the customer-service experience. These eFiling enhancements are expected to increase efficiency by reducing procedural filing errors and processing delays.

This final rule revises the Postal Service's current procedures concerning the expansion, relocation, and construction of Post OfficesTM to clarify these procedures, and to require the Postal Service to provide more information to communities and elected officials about certain types of projects earlier in the planning phase. Under the final rule, the Postal Service will notify communities and officials, and solicit and consider their input, regarding proposals to relocate retail services or add a new retail service facility. The final rule also will require the Postal Service to provide information about the anticipated new location for relocated services or for a new retail service facility when the Postal Service first gives notice of the proposal.

The FHWA proposes to establish a process for the development of a State asset management plan in accordance with section 1106 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), to improve or preserve the condition of the assets and the performance of the National Highway System (NHS) as they relate to physical assets. In this document ``asset management plan'' and ``risk-based asset management plan'' are used interchangeably. An asset management plan is a key management tool for highway infrastructure owners. State departments of transportation (State DOT) increasingly use asset management plans to make decisions about where and when to invest State and Federal funds in highway infrastructure improvements to achieve and sustain a desired state of good repair over the life cycle of the assets at minimum practicable cost. The development and implementation of an asset management plan also is an important part of the overall MAP-21 framework for enhancing the management and performance of transportation highway infrastructure funded through the Federal-aid highway program (FAHP). The asset management plan required by section 1106 of MAP-21 will provide States with critical data and identify investment and management strategies to improve or preserve the condition of the assets and the performance of the NHS. Under section 1106, the plan must include strategies leading to a program of projects that would make progress toward achievement of the State targets for asset condition and performance of the NHS in accordance with section 1203(a) of MAP-21, and supporting progress toward the achievement of the national goals identified in section 1203(a). While the primary purpose of this proposed rule is to address asset management plan requirements in section 1106, this proposed rule also would address other MAP-21 requirements that relate to asset management. The proposed rule defines the minimum standards that States would use in developing and operating highway bridge and pavement management systems as required by section 1203(a) of MAP-21. Also, this proposed rule would address the requirements in section 1315(b) of MAP- 21 by requiring States to conduct statewide evaluations to determine if reasonable alternatives exist to roads, highways, or bridges that repeatedly require repair and reconstruction activities from emergency events. The proposed rule would require State DOTs to take these evaluations into account in their asset management plans for facilities that are included in the plans.

The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board (ABCAQCB) submitted updated regulations for receiving delegation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority for implementation and enforcement of New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for all sources (both part 70 and non-part 70 sources). The delegation of authority under this action applies only to sources located in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and does not extend to sources located in Indian Country. EPA is providing notice that it is updating the delegation of certain NSPS to ABCAQCB, and is taking direct final action to approve the delegation of certain NESHAPs to ABCAQCB.

This action finalizes changes to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) emissions inventory reporting requirements. This action lowers the threshold for reporting lead (Pb) emissions sources as point sources, eliminates the requirement for reporting emissions from wildfires and prescribed fires, and replaces a requirement for reporting mobile source emissions with a requirement for reporting the input parameters that can be used to run the EPA models that generate emissions estimates. This action also reduces the reporting burden on state, local, and tribal agencies by removing the requirements to report daily and seasonal emissions in their submissions under this rule, while clarifying the requirement to report these emissions under pollutant-specific regulations. Lastly, this action modifies some emissions reporting requirements which we believe are not necessary for inclusion in the Air Emissions Reporting Requirements (AERR) rule or are not clearly aligned with current inventory terminology and practices.

This proposed rule would adjust the 2015 fishing season quotas for North and South Atlantic swordfish based upon 2014 commercial quota underharvests and international quota transfers consistent with International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) Recommendations 13-02 and 13-03. This proposed rule would apply to commercial and recreational fishing for swordfish in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. This action would implement ICCAT recommendations, consistent with the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), and would further domestic management objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

NMFS issues regulations under authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFC Implementation Act) to implement decisions of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Commission or WCPFC) on fishing restrictions related to the oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus), the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), and the silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis). The regulations apply to owners and operators of U.S. fishing vessels used for commercial fishing for highly migratory species (HMS) in the area of application of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Convention). The regulations for oceanic whitetip sharks and silky sharks prohibit the retention, transshipment, storage, or landing of oceanic whitetip sharks or silky sharks, and require the release of any oceanic whitetip shark or silky shark as soon as possible after it is caught, with as little harm to the shark as possible. The regulations for whale sharks prohibit setting a purse seine on a whale shark and specify certain measures to be taken and reporting requirements in the event a whale shark is encircled in a purse seine net. This action is necessary for the United States to satisfy its obligations under the Convention, to which it is a Contracting Party.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for SOCATA Model TBM 700 airplanes (type certificate previously held by EADS SOCATA) that would revise AD 2007-04-13. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as cracks found on the main landing gear cylinders. We are issuing this proposed AD to require actions to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are removing the Oregon chub (Oregonichthys crameri) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. This determination is based on a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, which indicates that the Oregon chub has recovered and no longer meets the definition of an endangered species or a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Our review of the status of this species shows that the threats to this species have been eliminated or reduced and populations are stable so that the species is not currently, and is not likely to again become, a threatened species within the foreseeable future in all or a significant portion of its range. This rule also removes the currently designated critical habitat for the Oregon chub throughout its range.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing this action on several amendments involving technical clarifications for different mobile source regulations. First, we are making a variety of corrections to the Tier 3 motor vehicle emission and fuel standards. These changes generally correct or clarify various provisions from the Tier 3 rule without expanding the Tier 3 program or otherwise making substantive changes. Second, we are revising the test procedures and compliance provisions for nonroad spark-ignition engines at or below 19 kW (and for the corresponding nonroad equipment) to conform to current practices. The changes to evaporative emission test procedures also apply to some degree to other types of nonroad equipment powered by volatile liquid fuels. Third, we are addressing an ambiguity regarding permissible design approaches for portable fuel containers meeting evaporative emission standards. Fourth, we are revising the regulations to more carefully align with current requirements that apply to marine vessels with diesel engines as specified under MARPOL Annex VI. Fifth, we are correcting typographical errors in regulatory changes finalized in the Voluntary Quality Assurance Program rulemaking. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, we are taking direct final action without a prior proposed rule. If we receive no adverse comment, we will not take further action on this proposed rule.

The Coast Guard proposes to amend its regulations for commercial diving that is conducted from deepwater ports or deepwater port safety zones, or in connection with Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) activities, or from vessels that are required to have a Coast Guard certificate of inspection. The regulations would be revised and updated to improve safety and to reflect current industry best practices. The proposed regulations would also allow the Coast Guard to approve independent third-party organizations to assist with ensuring regulatory compliance of commercial diving regulations. The proposed amendments promote the Coast Guard's maritime safety mission.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the approximately 38,000-acre ``Fountaingrove District'' viticultural area in Sonoma County, California. The viticultural area lies entirely within the larger, multicounty North Coast viticultural area. TTB designates viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

This rule amends the Export Administration Regulations to revise the general licensing policy of denial to one of case-by-case licensing for exports and reexports to Sudan of telecommunications equipment and associated computers, software, and technology for civil end use, including items useful for the development of civil telecommunications network infrastructure. It also revises License Exception Consumer Communications Devices (CCD), which previously applied only to consumer communications devices to Cuba, to authorize exports and reexports of such devices to Sudan. Additionally, it makes minor technical changes to the list of items that are eligible for both Sudan and Cuba under the license exception. This rule also makes changes to License Exception Temporary Imports, Exports, Reexports and Transfers (in- country) (TMP) in light of the changes to License Exception CCD. Finally, it removes a license requirement for reexports to Sudan of certain telecommunications software. BIS is making these changes consistent with the U.S. Government's commitment to the advancement of the free flow of information to, from, and within Sudan, including during a national dialogue.