September 3, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Through this Notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) has designated the Republic of Yemen (Yemen) for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for a period of 18 months, effective September 3, 2015, through March 3, 2017. Under section 244(b)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1)(A), the Secretary is authorized to designate a foreign state (or any part thereof) for TPS upon finding that there is an ongoing armed conflict within the foreign state and, due to such conflict, requiring the return of nationals of the state would pose a serious threat to their personal safety. This designation allows eligible Yemeni nationals (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Yemen) who have continuously resided in the United States since September 3, 2015, and have been continuously physically present in the United States since September 3, 2015 to be granted TPS. This Notice also describes the other eligibility criteria applicants must meet. Individuals who believe they may qualify for TPS under this designation may apply within the 180-day registration period that begins on September 3, 2015, and ends on March 1, 2016. They may also apply for Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) and for travel authorization. Through this Notice, DHS also sets forth the procedures for nationals of Yemen (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Yemen) to apply for TPS, EADs, and travel authorization with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Following receipt of a request dated August 20, 2015 (received August 21, 2015) from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) under section 131 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2151), the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) instituted investigation No. TA-131-040, WTO Environmental Goods Trade Negotiations: Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty-Free Treatment, Second List of Articles.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

AMS proposes to amend the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations by decreasing the value assigned to imported cotton for calculating supplemental assessments collected for use by the Cotton Research and Promotion Program. The amendment is required each year to ensure that assessments collected on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products will be the same as those paid on domestically produced cotton. AMS is publishing this amendment as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the action is contemplated by statute and required by regulation and the agency anticipates no significant adverse comment. AMS has explained its reasons in the preamble of the direct final rule. If AMS receives no significant adverse comment during the comment period, no further action on this proposed rule will be taken. If, however, AMS receives significant adverse comment, AMS will withdraw the direct final rule and it will not take effect. In that case, AMS will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. AMS will not institute a second comment period on this rule. Any parties interested in commenting must do so during this comment period. This proposed rule is a companion document to the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) direct final rule (published today in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of the Federal Register).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a petition for rulemaking (PRM), PRM-51-29, submitted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the Commonwealth or the petitioner). The petitioner requested that, in light of information gained from the Fukushima Dai- ichi accident, the NRC rescind its regulations that make a generic determination that spent fuel pool storage does not have a significant environmental impact for nuclear power plant license renewal actions. The NRC is denying the petition because the NRC finds no basis to consider a rulemaking to revise such regulations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an exemption to Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (Duke Energy or the applicant) related to the operation of Oconee Nuclear Station (Oconee) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) (Docket No. 72-40). The request is for an exemption from the requirement to comply with Technical Specification 1.2.4a of Attachment A of Certificate of Compliance (CoC or Certificate) No. 1004, Amendment No. 9, for the Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage System.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an amendment to Combined Licenses (NPF-93 and NPF-94), issued to South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G) and South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper) (the licensee), for construction and operation of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station (VCSNS), Units 2 and 3 located in Fairfield County, South Carolina. The proposed amendment departs from Tier 2* and associated Tier 2 information in the VCSNS Units 2 and 3 Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) (which includes the plant specific Design Control Document Tier 2 information) to demonstrate that the mechanical weldable couplers to structural steel weld capacity required by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) 349-01 is satisfied using the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) N690-1994 analysis and testing provisions.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a revised license renewal application from GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC (GEH), requesting renewal of Special Nuclear Material License No. SNM-960 for the Vallecitos Nuclear Center. This license authorizes GEH to conduct laboratory analysis and engineering studies of licensed material and to store onsite material previously used in analysis. The request, if granted, would authorize GEH to continue licensed activities at the Vallecitos Nuclear Center for 10 years.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the establishment of a multi-faceted Expedited Public Transportation Improvement Initiative (``XPEDITE'') and solicits participation in a forthcoming Online Dialogue on the initiative. The goal of XPEDITE is to facilitate the transit industry's implementation of:

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is amending the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations, decreasing the value assigned to imported cotton for the purposes of calculating supplemental assessments collected for use by the Cotton Research and Promotion Program. This amendment is required each year to ensure that assessments collected on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products will be the same as those paid on domestically produced cotton.

This document is issued under the joint authority of DOD, GSA, and NASA. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a summary of the rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-84, which amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). An asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding these rules by referring to FAC 2005-84, which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at https:// www.regulations.gov.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are adopting as final, with changes, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement changes in the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT[supreg]) registry.

On October 28, 2014, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced in the Federal Register the $1 million H2 Refuel H-Prize competition, allowing teams from across the United States to compete to develop systems that generate and dispense hydrogen from resources commonly available to residences (electricity or natural gas) for use in homes, community centers, businesses or similar locations, to supplement the current infrastructure roll-out and reduce barriers to using hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. The Federal Register notice announcing the competition included the H2 Refuel H-Prize Competition Guidelines. The purpose of today's notice is to update the H2 Refuel H-Prize Competition Guidelines. Substantive changes in this update provide additional information on communication expectations for finalists, expand the process used to resolve ties, correct a typographical error in the dispensing time criteria table, define how availability will be calculated, and provide a method to determine a winner in the event that no entry receives at least a minimum score of one for each of the scoring criteria (not including bonus criteria). In addition, language is added for clarification where necessary. The section on the draft guideline public comments and responses is deleted. Finally, minor errors are corrected and contact information is updated.

The Commission is requesting public comment on its Trade Regulation Rule entitled ``Ophthalmic Practice Rules (Eyeglass Rule),'' which requires eye care practitioners to release eyeglass prescriptions to their patients (``Eyeglass Rule''). The Commission is soliciting comments about the efficiency, costs, benefits, and regulatory impact of the Rule as part of its systematic review of all current Commission regulations and guides. All interested persons are hereby given notice of the opportunity to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the Rule.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is issuing a final rule regarding the housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) for 2015 through 2017. The Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, as amended (the Safety and Soundness Act), requires FHFA to establish annual housing goals for mortgages purchased by the Enterprises. The housing goals include separate categories for single-family and multifamily mortgages on housing that is affordable to low-income and very low-income families, among other categories. The final rule establishes the benchmark levels for each of the housing goals and subgoals for 2015 through 2017. In addition, the final rule establishes a new housing subgoal for small multifamily properties affordable to low-income families. The final rule also adds or revises a number of other provisions in the housing goals regulation in order to provide greater clarity about the mortgages that will qualify for the goals or subgoals. In addition, the final rule makes a number of clarifying and conforming changes, including revisions to the definitions of ``rent'' and ``utilities'' and to the rules for determining affordability of both single-family and multifamily units. The final rule also establishes more transparent agency procedures for FHFA guidance on the housing goals. FHFA also discusses here its plans to require more detailed Enterprise reporting to FHFA on the Enterprises' purchases of mortgages on single-family rental housing.