October 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, make available the draft environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act regarding a permit application submitted by Dallas Zoo Management, on behalf of the Dallas Zoo, Sedgwick County Zoo, and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. The three zoos are requesting authorization under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora to import 18 live African elephants from Swaziland.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone on the waters of Biscayne Bay, east of Bayfront Park, in Miami, Florida during the 2015 Ironman 70.3 Miami, a triathlon. The Ironman 70.3 Miami is scheduled to take place on October 25, 2015. Approximately 2,500 participants are anticipated to participate in the swim portion of the event. No spectators are expected to be present during the event. The safety zone is necessary to ensure the safety of participants, vessels, and the general public during the event. Persons and vessels, except those participating in the event, are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within the regulated area unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Miami or a designated representative.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Safety Standards for Roof Bolts in Metal and Nonmetal Mines and Underground Coal Mines,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Cross-Trades of Securities by Index and Model-Driven Funds,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Ground Control Plans for Surface Coal Mines and Surface Work Areas of Underground Coal Mines,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Hawthorne Bridge, mile 13.1, across the Willamette River at Portland, OR. The deviation is necessary for maintenance repairs to the bridge lifting mechanism. This deviation allows the bridges to remain in the closed-to-navigation position to allow safe and timely movement of workers.

On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) its approval authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), to approve of and assign OMB numbers to collection of information requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the Board. Board- approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies of the PRA Submission, supporting statements and approved collection of information instruments are placed into OMB's public docket files. The Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB number.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper), has determined that certain Cooper tires do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5.1(b) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic Tires Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Cooper has filed an appropriate report dated August 13, 2015, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

Ford Motor Company, (Ford) has determined that certain model year (MY) 2014 Ford Focus passenger cars do not fully comply with paragraph S3.1.4.1(a) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 102, Transmission Shift Position Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect. Ford has filed an appropriate report dated November 25, 2013 pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a meeting of the Institutional Committee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). This committee reports to the NAC.

Pursuant to sections 14(b)(1) an 9(c) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), and after consultation with the Committee Management Secretariat, General Services Administration, the NASA Administrator has determined that renewal of the charter of the International Space Station National Laboratory Advisory Committee is in the public interest in connection with the performance of duties imposed on NASA by law. The renewed charter is for a two-year period ending October 8, 2017. It is identical to the previous charter in all respects.

On May 27, 2015, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published a Notice and Request for Input (Notice) describing a method for assessing the national average single-family house price for use in adjusting the maximum conforming loan limits of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the ``Enterprises''). The Notice responded to section 1322 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) (``Safety and Soundness Act'') which required FHFA to ``establish and maintain a method of assessing the national average 1-family house price for use in adjusting the conforming loan limitations.'' The Notice indicated that FHFA intends to use its existing ``expanded-data'' house price index (HPI) for such purpose and invited public feedback. In line with the proposal in the original Notice, after reviewing the public feedback, FHFA has decided to use the expanded-data HPI for annual loan-limit adjustment. Specifically, FHFA will use the seasonally adjusted, expanded-data HPI for the United States.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is establishing the regulation for the Agriculture Priorities and Allocations System (APAS). Food is a critical commodity essential to the national defense (including civil emergency preparedness and response). To avoid civilian hardship during national defense emergencies, it may be necessary to regulate the production, processing, storage, and wholesale distribution of food. Through the APAS rule, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will respond to requests to place priority ratings on contracts or orders (establishing priority on which contracts or orders are filled first) for agriculture commodities up through the wholesale levels, including agriculture production equipment, and allocate resources, as specified in the Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950, as amended, if the necessity arises. FSA is implementing this rule as a way to redirect the agriculture commodities and resources to areas of hardship or potential hardship due to national emergencies. In most cases, there is likely to be no economic impact in filling priority orders because it would generally just be changing the timing in which orders are completed.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) intends to request approval, from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of information described below. The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 44 U.S.C Chapter 35 requires federal agencies to publish a notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information before submission to OMB, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice complies with that requirement.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing revisions and confidentiality determinations for the petroleum and natural gas systems source category of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. These revisions include the addition of calculation methods and reporting requirements for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from gathering and boosting facilities, completions and workovers of oil wells with hydraulic fracturing, and blowdowns of natural gas transmission pipelines between compressor stations. The revisions also include the addition of well identification reporting requirements to improve the EPA's ability to verify reported data and enhance transparency. This action also finalizes confidentiality determinations for new data elements contained in these amendments.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing this final regulation that requires the electronic reporting and sharing of Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program information instead of the current paper-based reporting of this information. This action will save time and resources for permittees, states, tribes, territories, and the U.S. Government while increasing data accuracy, improving compliance, and supporting EPA's goal of providing better protection of the nation's waters. By modernizing this Clean Water Act reporting program, permittees and regulators will use existing, available information technology to electronically report information and data related to the NPDES permit program. This regulation will help provide greater clarity on who is and who is not in compliance and enhances transparency by providing a timelier, complete, more accurate, and nationally-consistent set of data about the NPDES program. By providing improved data in a more accessible form, this final rulemaking will improve the ability of EPA and authorized NPDES programs to target the most serious water quality and compliance problems. Furthermore, by reducing the time and resources devoted to outdated data management activities, the rule could allow authorized NPDES programs to shift limited resources to important water quality and public health protection activities. The transition from paper to electronic reporting will require close coordination and cooperation between EPA and authorized NPDES programs. This regulation provides important flexibility while still implementing electronic reporting in a timely and effective fashion.