August 5, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Maritime Administration (``MARAD'') is soliciting public comments on amendments to its regulations that implement amendments to the Maritime Security Act of 2003 by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (``NDAA 2013''). The proposed revisions to the regulation, among other things, make changes to vessel eligibility for participation in the Maritime Security Program (MSP), authorize the extension of current MSP Operating Agreements, establish a new procedure for the award of new MSP Operating Agreements, extend the MSP through fiscal year 2025, update the Operating Agreement payments and schedule of payments, and eliminate the Maintenance and Repair Pilot Program.

The U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'' or, in context, ``the Department'') is giving notice of a public meeting and that DOE intends to establish a negotiated rulemaking working group under the Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee (``ASRAC'') in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (``FACA'') and the Negotiated Rulemaking Act (``NRA'') to negotiate proposed amended energy conservation standards for six equipment classes (i.e., the two equipment classes of multiplex condensing refrigeration systems operating at medium and low temperatures and the four equipment classes of dedicated condensing refrigeration systems operating at low temperatures) of walk-in cooler and freezer refrigeration systems. The purpose of the working group will be to discuss and, if possible, reach consensus on a proposed rule regarding amended energy conservation standards for only those aforementioned equipment classes of refrigeration systems of walk-in coolers and freezers, as authorized by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975, as amended. The working group will consist of representatives of parties having a defined stake in the outcome of the proposed standards, and will consult as appropriate with a range of experts on technical issues. Per the ASRAC Charter, the working group is expected to make a concerted effort to negotiate a final term sheet by December 27, 2015.

NMFS is temporarily closing the U.S. pelagic longline fishery for bigeye tuna for vessels over 24 meters in overall length in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) through December 31, 2015 because the 2015 catch limit of 500 metric tons is expected to be reached. This action is necessary to prevent the fishery from exceeding the applicable catch limit established by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) in Resolution C-13-01, which governs tuna conservation in the EPO from 2014-2016.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is announcing the availability of final interim policy guidance on the Capital Investment Grant (``CIG'') program. The final interim guidance has been placed both in the docket and on FTA's Web site. In brief, the policy guidance that FTA periodically issues on the CIG program complements the FTA regulations that govern the program. The regulations set forth the process that grant applicants must follow to be eligible for discretionary funding under the CIG program. The policy guidance provides a greater level of detail about the methods FTA uses to apply the evaluation criteria and the sequential steps a sponsor must follow in developing a project.

DoD, GSA, and NASA issued a proposed rule (FAR Case 2014-025) on May 28, 2015, amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13673, ``Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces,'' which is designed to improve contractor compliance with labor laws and increase efficiency and cost savings in Federal contracting. On July 14, 2015, DoD, GSA, and NASA published an extension of the comment period by 15 days, from July 27, 2015, to August 11, 2015. The deadline for submitting comments is being further extended by an additional 15 days from August 11, 2015, to August 26, 2015, to provide additional time for interested parties to comment on the FAR case. The due date for comments on DOL's Guidance for Executive Order 13673, ``Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces'', which also implements the E.O., is being extended to August 26, 2015 as well.

NMFS is transferring 40 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the Harpoon category. With this transfer, the adjusted Harpoon category quota for the 2015 fishing season is 73.4 mt. The 2015 Harpoon category fishery is open until November 15, 2015, or until the Harpoon category quota is reached, whichever comes first. The action is based on consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments, and applies to Atlantic tunas Harpoon category (commercial) permitted vessels.

NMFS proposes regulations to allow an exemption for Northern Gulf of Maine federally permitted vessels with state-waters permits issued from the State of Maine to continue fishing in the Maine state-waters portion of the Northern Gulf of Maine management area once NMFS has announced that the Federal total allowable catch has been fully harvested in a given year. Maine requested this exemption as part of the Scallop State Water Exemption Program, which specifies that a state may be eligible for a state waters exemption to specific Federal regulations if it has a scallop fishery and a scallop conservation program that does not jeopardize the biomass and fishing mortality/effort limit objectives of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The regulations further state that the Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, NMFS, shall determine if a state meets that criteria and shall authorize the exemption for such state by publishing a rule in the Federal Register. Based on the information that Maine has submitted, NMFS has preliminarily determined that Maine qualifies for this exemption and that this exemption would not have an impact on the effectiveness of Federal management measures for the scallop fishery overall or within the Northern Gulf of Maine management area.

NMFS is prohibiting retention of squids in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2015 initial total allowable catch of squids in the BSAI has been reached.

The Department is issuing a final rule to amend its rules implementing section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires accessibility in airport terminal facilities that receive Federal financial assistance. The final rule includes new provisions related to service animal relief areas and captioning of televisions and audio-visual displays that are similar to existing requirements applicable to U.S. and foreign air carriers under the Department's Air Carrier Access (ACAA) regulations. The final rule also reorganizes a provision concerning mechanical lifts for enplaning and deplaning passengers with mobility impairments, and amends this provision to require airports to work not only with U.S. carriers but also foreign air carriers to ensure that lifts are available where level entry loading bridges are not available. This final rule applies to airport facilities located in the United States with 10,000 or more annual enplanements that receive Federal financial assistance.

This final rule updates the prospective payment rates for Medicare inpatient hospital services provided by inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs) (which are freestanding IPFs and psychiatric units of an acute care hospital or critical access hospital). These changes are applicable to IPF discharges occurring during fiscal year (FY) 2016 (October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016). This final rule also implements: a new 2012-based IPF market basket; an updated IPF labor- related share; a transition to new Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) designations in the FY 2016 IPF Prospective Payment System (PPS) wage index; a phase-out of the rural adjustment for IPF providers whose status changes from rural to urban as a result of the wage index CBSA changes; and new quality measures and reporting requirements under the IPF quality reporting program. This final rule also reminds IPFs of the October 1, 2015 implementation of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM), and updates providers on the status of IPF PPS refinements.