August 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) is adopting revisions to the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System (EDGAR) Filer Manual and related rules to reflect updates to the EDGAR system. The updates are being made primarily to add new NRSRO submission form types for Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization filers; add new applicant types for filers to select when completing the process to apply for EDGAR access (New) on the EDGAR Filer Management Web site; make a documentation only change to Chapter 3, ``Index to Forms,'' of the ``EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume II: EDGAR Filing,'' to update submission form types SF-1 and SF- 3; and make documentation only changes to ``EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume I: General Information'' for compliance with Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act. The EDGAR system is scheduled to be upgraded to support this functionality on August 3, 2015. The Filer Manual is also being revised to address software changes made previously in EDGAR. On June 18, 2015, the Regulation A submission form types DOS, DOS/A, 1-A, 1-A/A, 1-A POS, 1-K, 1-K/A, 1-Z, and 1-Z/A in the EDGAR system were modified to display OMB information. On June 29, 2015, the Regulation A submission form types DOS, DOS/A, 1-A, 1-A/A and 1-A POS in the EDGAR system were updated to allow filers to optionally enter values in the ``Name of Class (if any),'' ``CUSIP (if any)'' and ``Name of Trading Center or Quotation Medium (if any)'' field if a value of zero was provided in the ``Units Outstanding'' field for the Common Equity, Preferred Equity, and Debt Securities; and Item 6(e) was updated to Item 6(d) on ``Item 6: Unregistered Securities Issued or Sold Within One Year'' for Regulation A submission form types DOS, DOS/A, 1-A, 1-A/ A, and 1-A POS. Additionally, Item 6(d) was updated to optionally allow a response if ``None'' is selected on ``Item 6: Unregistered Securities Issues or Sold Within One Year.''

This rulemaking is part of FRA's broader initiative to reduce the paperwork burden of its regulations. To support compliance with the Federal hours of service laws, Federal regulations have long required railroads to create and retain records regarding the hours of service of their employees who are covered by those laws (covered service employees). In general, the current regulations require covered service employees whose hours are recorded to sign the record by hand (the traditional, manual system) or ``certify'' the record using a complex computerized system (an electronic system). FRA proposes to amend these regulations to provide a third, simplified method of compliance, for certain entities. FRA proposes to allow railroads with less than 400,000 employee hours per year, and contractors and subcontractors providing covered service employees to such railroads to use an automated system, in which employees apply their electronic signatures to the automated records, which are stored in a railroad computer system. The proposed rule would not require the use of electronic or automated recordkeeping, would be better tailored to small operations, and is expected, if adopted, to decrease the burden hours spent on hours of service recordkeeping.

This document corrects a notice of public hearing on proposed regulations that published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, August 19, 2015. The proposed regulations provide guidance regarding when a foreign insurance company's income is excluded from the definition of passive income under section 1297(b)(2)(B).

The Coast Guard is amending a special local regulation for the Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix that occurs on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico near Sarasota, Florida. The event is scheduled to take place annually on the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of July from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The amendment is needed in order to protect the safety of race participants, participant vessels, spectators, and the general public on the navigable waters of the United States. The amended special local regulation will restrict vessel traffic on the waters near the event by establishing 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 prevailing conditions.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary moving safety zone during the Swim Around Charleston, a swimming race occurring on waters of the Wando River, the Cooper River, Charleston Harbor, and the Ashley River, in Charleston, South Carolina. The Swim Around Charleston is scheduled to take place on September 26, 2015. The temporary safety zone is necessary for the safety of the swimmers, participant vessels, spectators, and the general public during the event. Persons and vessels are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Charleston or a designated representative.

Idaho applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for final authorization of certain changes to its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended. On June 2, 2015, the EPA published a proposed rule to authorize the changes and opened a public comment period under Docket ID No. EPA-R10- RCRA-2015-0307. The comment period closed on July 2, 2015. The EPA received no comments on the proposed rule. The EPA has determined that the revisions to the Idaho hazardous waste management program satisfy all the requirements necessary to qualify for final authorization. The EPA is approving these revisions to Idaho's authorized hazardous waste management program in this final rule.

On August 5, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy published a final rule amending the test procedures for clothes washers. This correction addresses a numbering error in the regulatory text, by which two provisions were inadvertently assigned the same section number. Neither the error nor the correction in this document affects the substance of the rulemaking or any of the conclusions reached in support of the final rule.

The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) Regulations contain a list of countries with which the Department of Defense (DOD) has entered into security of supply arrangements. Persons in the United States may request the assistance of the DOD in seeking priority delivery from parties in those countries. This rule adds Spain to the list, reflecting DOD's recent security of supply arrangement with that country. Listing these countries in the DPAS Regulations is purely informational and does not affect any right, duty or prohibition that applies to any person under those regulations.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Hood Canal Floating Drawbridge across Hood Canal (Admiralty Inlet), mile 5.0, near Port Gamble, WA. This deviation allows the bridge to open the draw span half-way, 300 feet; as opposed to all the way, which is 600 feet. One half of the span will remain closed, allowing for the replacements of bridge anchors for this section of the bridge.

This rule prescribes final early-season frameworks from which the States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands may select season dates, limits, and other options for the 2015-16 migratory bird hunting seasons. Early seasons are those that generally open prior to October 1, and include seasons in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The effect of this final rule is to facilitate the selection of hunting seasons by the States and Territories to further the annual establishment of the early-season migratory bird hunting regulations.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of Kansas in a letter dated March 30, 2015. This SIP revision provides Kansas' state-determined allowance allocations for existing electric generating units (EGUs) in the State for the 2016 control periods and replaces certain allowance allocations for the 2016 control periods established by EPA under the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). The CSAPR addresses the ``good neighbor'' provision of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) that requires states to reduce the transport of pollution that significantly affects downwind air quality. In this final action EPA is approving Kansas' SIP revision, incorporating the state-determined allocations for the 2016 control periods into the SIP, and amending the regulatory text of the CSAPR Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to reflect this approval and inclusion of the state-determined allocations. EPA is taking direct final action to approve Kansas' SIP revision because it meets the requirements of the CAA and the CSAPR requirements to replace EPA's allowance allocations for the 2016 control periods. This action is being taken pursuant to the CAA and its implementing regulations. EPA's allocations of CSAPR trading program allowances for Kansas for control periods in 2017 and beyond remain in place until the State submits and EPA approves state-determined allowance allocations for those control periods through another SIP revision. The CSAPR FIPs for Kansas remain in place until such time as the State decides to replace the FIPs with a SIP revision.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), issue a final rule to revise the critical habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal (Neomonachus schauinslandi) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. Specific areas for designation include sixteen occupied areas within the range of the species: ten areas in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and six in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). These areas contain one or a combination of habitat types: Preferred pupping and nursing areas, significant haul-out areas, and/or marine foraging areas, that will support conservation for the species. Specific areas in the NWHI include all beach areas, sand spits and islets, including all beach crest vegetation to its deepest extent inland, lagoon waters, inner reef waters, and including marine habitat through the water's edge, including the seafloor and all subsurface waters and marine habitat within 10 meters (m) of the seafloor, out to the 200-m depth contour line around the following 10 areas: Kure Atoll, Midway Islands, Pearl and Hermes Reef, Lisianski Island, Laysan Island, Maro Reef, Gardner Pinnacles, French Frigate Shoals, Necker Island, and Nihoa Island. Specific areas in the MHI include marine habitat from the 200-m depth contour line, including the seafloor and all subsurface waters and marine habitat within 10 m of the seafloor, through the water's edge 5 m into the terrestrial environment from the shoreline between identified boundary points on the islands of: Kaula, Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui Nui (including Kahoolawe, Lanai, Maui, and Molokai), and Hawaii. In areas where critical habitat does not extend inland, the designation ends at a line that marks mean lower low water. Some terrestrial areas in existence prior to the effective date of the rule within the specific areas lack the essential features of Hawaiian monk seal critical habitat because these areas are inaccessible to seals for hauling out (such as cliffs) or lack the natural areas necessary to support monk seal conservation (such as hardened harbors, shorelines or buildings) and therefore do not meet the definition of critical habitat and are not included in the designation. In developing this final rule we considered public and peer review comments, as well as economic impacts and impacts to national security. We have excluded four areas because the national security benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of inclusion, and exclusion will not result in extinction of the species. Additionally several areas are precluded from designation under section 4(a)(3) of the ESA because they are managed under Integrated Natural Resource Management Plans that we have found provide a benefit to Hawaiian monk seals.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 is publishing a direct final Notice of Deletion of the National Southwire Aluminum (NSA) Superfund Site (Site), located in Hawesville, Hancock County, Kentucky, from the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). This direct final deletion is being published by the EPA with the concurrence of the State of Kentucky, through the Kentucky Division of Waste Management (KDWM), because the EPA has determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other than operation, maintenance, monitoring and five-year reviews, have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. (Embraer) Model EMB-135 airplanes and Model EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145MP, and -145EP airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of chafing between the fuel pump electrical harness and the fuel pump tubing during scheduled maintenance. This proposed AD would require a detailed inspection for chafing on the electrical harness of each electrical fuel pump in the fuel tanks, replacing the affected electrical fuel pump with a new or serviceable pump if necessary, and installing clamps on the fuel pump electrical harnesses. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct chafing of the fuel pump harnesses with other parts inside the fuel tank, which could present a potential ignition source that could result in a fire or fuel tank explosion.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the District of Columbia State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision addresses the infrastructure requirements for interstate transport pollution with respect to the 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA is approving this revision in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

This rule amends, suspends, or removes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide for the safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposes to revise the United States Standards for Grades of Processed Raisins. AMS is proposing to remove five references to the term ``midget'' throughout the standards. These changes would modernize and clarify the standards by removing dual terminology for the same requirement.

EPA updates the federal water quality standards (WQS) regulation to provide a better-defined pathway for states and authorized tribes to improve water quality and protect high quality waters. The WQS regulation establishes a strong foundation for water quality management programs, including water quality assessments, impaired waters lists, and total maximum daily loads, as well as water quality-based effluent limits in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge permits. In this rule, EPA is revising six program areas to improve the WQS regulation's effectiveness, increase transparency, and enhance opportunities for meaningful public engagement at the state, tribal and local levels. Specifically, in this rule EPA: Clarifies what constitutes an Administrator's determination that new or revised WQS are necessary; refines how states and authorized tribes assign and revise designated uses for individual water bodies; revises the triennial review requirements to clarify the role of new or updated Clean Water Act (CWA) section 304(a) criteria recommendations in the development of WQS by states and authorized tribes, and applicable WQS that must be reviewed triennially; establishes stronger antidegradation requirements to enhance protection of high quality waters and promotes public transparency; adds new regulatory provisions to promote the appropriate use of WQS variances; and clarifies that a state or authorized tribe must adopt, and EPA must approve, a permit compliance schedule authorizing provision prior to authorizing the use of schedules of compliance for water quality-based effluent limits (WQBELs) in NPDES permits. In total, these revisions to the WQS regulation enable states and authorized tribes to more effectively address complex water quality challenges, protect existing water quality, and facilitate environmental improvements. The final rule also leads to better understanding and proper use of available CWA tools by promoting transparent and engaged public participation. This action finalizes the WQS regulation revisions initially proposed by EPA on September 4, 2013.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on Lake Erie, Cleveland Harbor, Cleveland, OH. This safety zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of Lake Erie during the Whiskey Island Paddleboard Festival and Race. This temporary safety zone is necessary to protect mariners and race participants from the navigational hazards associated with a paddleboard race.

The Coast Guard announces that it has received approval from the Office of Management and Budget for an information collection request associated with notice of arrival requirements in a final rule we published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2015. In that rule, we stated we would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of these collection-of-information related sections. This rule establishes today as the effective date for those sections.

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for the hogfish recreational sector in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic for the 2015 fishing year through this temporary rule. NMFS estimates recreational landings from the 2014 and 2015 fishing years have exceeded the recreational annual catch limit (ACL) for hogfish. Therefore, NMFS reduces the length of the 2015 recreational fishing season, i.e., closes the recreational sector, for hogfish in the South Atlantic EEZ on August 24, 2015. This closure is necessary to protect the hogfish resource.

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) authorizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) to award priority review vouchers (PRVs) to tropical disease product applicants when the applications meet certain criteria. The FD&C Act lists the diseases that are considered to be tropical diseases for purposes of obtaining PRVs, and also provides for Agency expansion of that list to include other diseases that satisfy the definition of ``tropical diseases'' as set forth in the FD&C Act. FDA has determined that Chagas disease and neurocysticercosis satisfy this definition, and therefore is adding them to the list of designated tropical diseases whose product applications may result in the award of PRVs. Sponsors submitting certain applications for the treatment of Chagas disease and neurocysticercosis may be eligible to receive a PRV if such applications are approved by FDA.

This document contains corrections to the final rule (RM12-11- 003) which was published in the Federal Register of Friday, July 24, 2015 (80 FR 43944). The final rule amended regulations to: provide pre- granted authority under a new paragraph to abandon or replace auxiliary facilities, subject to certain conditions; permit auxiliary facilities that cannot meet the conditions for the pre-granted abandonment authority in the new paragraph to be abandoned under the blanket certificate regulations, subject to those regulations' requirements; and permit replacement facilities constructed under the regulations to be abandoned under the blanket certificate regulations, subject to those regulations' requirements.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Alcoa Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) averaging time for nitrogen oxides (NOX) in the Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP). On July 23, 2014, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) submitted to EPA a revision to the daily NOX emissions limits, changing from a rolling 24-hour average to a 24-hour daily average. IDEM provided an analysis showing that no significant increase in emissions will occur as a result of this change. EPA is approving this SIP revision because it will not interfere with attainment or maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).

We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2013-21-01 for Eurocopter France Model AS350B, AS350BA, AS350B1, AS350B2, AS350B3, AS350C, AS350D, AS350D1, AS355E, AS355F, AS355F1, AS355F2, AS355N, and AS355NP helicopters. AD 2013-21-01 required certain inspections of each tail rotor pitch horn assembly (pitch horn) for a crack, replacing a cracked pitch horn before further flight, and a one-time visual inspection of pitch horns above certain hours time-in-service (TIS). This new AD retains the requirements of AD 2013-21-01 but requires a repetitive visual inspection for all pitch horns regardless of hours TIS. This AD was prompted by a report of a crack in the yoke of a pitch horn and is intended to detect a crack in the pitch horn to prevent failure of the pitch horn, loss of the anti-torque function, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.