October 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action terminates a rulemaking proceeding that proposed to establish a Hardwood Lumber and Hardwood Plywood Promotion, Research and Information Order (Order) under authority in the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996 (1996 Act). The Order was proposed by the proponent group, the Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC), and would have authorized a national research and promotion program for hardwood lumber and hardwood plywood. USDA issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking in response to the extensive comments received. Based on comments received, outstanding substantive questions and significant proposed modifications from stakeholders, USDA is terminating the proceeding. Termination of this proceeding will remove ex parte communication prohibitions and allow USDA to engage fully with all interested parties to discuss and consider the evolving needs of the industry going forward.

On September 14, 2015, the Administrator of the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program received a petition (Petition 009) to add the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis to the List of WTC-Related Health Conditions (List). Upon reviewing the information provided by the petitioner, the Administrator has determined that Petition 009 is not substantially different from Petitions 007 and 008, which also requested the addition of autoimmune diseases. The Administrator recently published responses to both Petition 007 and Petition 008 in the Federal Register and has determined that Petition 009 does not provide additional evidence of a causal relationship between 9/11 exposures and autoimmune diseases. Accordingly, the Administrator finds that insufficient evidence exists to request a recommendation of the WTC Health Program Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), to publish a proposed rule, or to publish a determination not to publish a proposed rule.

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for the yellowtail snapper commercial sector in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic for the 2015 fishing year through this temporary rule. Commercial landings for yellowtail snapper, as estimated by the Science and Research Director, are projected to reach the commercial annual catch limit (ACL) on October 31, 2015. Therefore, NMFS closes the yellowtail snapper commercial sector on October 31, 2015, through the remainder of the fishing year in the South Atlantic EEZ. This closure is necessary to protect the South Atlantic yellowtail snapper resource.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is publishing a list of rules to be reviewed pursuant to Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The list is published to provide the public with notice that these rules are scheduled for review by the agency and to invite public comment on whether the rules should be continued without change, or should be amended or rescinded to minimize any significant economic impact of the rules upon a substantial number of such small entities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing four public hearings to be held on the proposed ``Federal Plan Requirements for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Electric Utility Generating Units Constructed on or before January 8, 2014; Model Trading Rules; Amendments to Framework Regulations.''

This rule implements a recommendation from the California Date Administrative Committee (committee) for a decrease in the assessment rate established for the 2015-16 and subsequent crop years from $0.20 to $0.10 per hundredweight of dates handled. The committee locally administers the marketing order, which regulates the handling of dates grown or packed in Riverside County, California. Assessments upon date handlers are used by the committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The crop year begins October 1 and ends September 30. The new assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (``FDIC'') is adopting a final rule (``Final Rule'') to rescind and remove from the Code of Federal Regulations 12 CFR part 391, subpart B (``part 391, subpart B''), entitled ``Safety and Soundness Guidelines and Compliance Procedures,'' appendices A and B to part 391, subpart B, and supplement A to appendix B. The Final Rule also amends 12 CFR part 308, subpart R (``part 308, subpart R''), entitled ``Submission and Review of Safety and Soundness Compliance Plans and Issuance of Orders to Correct Safety and Soundness Deficiencies,'' and 12 CFR part 364 (``part 364''), entitled ``Standards for Safety and Soundness'' and its corresponding appendices and supplement. Part 391, subpart B was one of several rules transferred to the FDIC following dissolution of the former Office of Thrift Supervision (``OTS'') in connection with the implementation of applicable provisions of Title III of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank Act''). Section 316(b)(3) of the Dodd-Frank Act provided that the former OTS rules that were transferred to the FDIC would be enforceable by or against the FDIC until they were modified, terminated, set aside, or superseded in accordance with applicable law by the FDIC, by any court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of law. On January 30, 2015, the FDIC published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (``NPR'' or ``Proposed Rule'') that explained and solicited public comment on a proposal to rescind and remove part 391, subpart B and to amend part 364, its appendices, and its supplement and part 308, subpart R by making them applicable to ``State savings associations'' and making minor technical updates to the appendices and supplement to part 364. The FDIC received no comments on the Proposed Rule and consequently is adopting the Final Rule as proposed in the NPR without change.

On November 25, 2014, the FDIC published a notice of proposed rulemaking (proposed rule or NPR) to amend its filing requirements and processing procedures for notices filed under the Change in Bank Control Act (Notices). The comment period closed January 26, 2015, and no comments were received. The FDIC is now adopting that proposed rule as final with one change (final rule). The final rule accomplishes several objectives. First, the final rule consolidates into one subpart the current requirements and procedures for Notices filed with respect to State nonmember banks and certain parent companies thereof, and the requirements and procedures for Notices filed with respect to State savings associations and certain parent companies thereof. Second, the final rule rescinds the FDIC's separate regulation governing the requirements and procedures for Notices filed with respect to State savings associations and certain parent companies thereof and rescinds any guidance issued by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) relating to changes in control of State savings associations that is inconsistent with the final rule. Third, the final rule adopts the best practices of the related regulations of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board of Governors). Finally, the final rule clarifies the FDIC's requirements and procedures based on its experience interpreting and implementing the existing regulation. This final rule is also part of the FDIC's continuing review of its regulations under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996.

In this final rule, the Librarian of Congress adopts exemptions to the provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (``DMCA'') that prohibits circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works, codified in section 1201(a)(1) of title 17 of the United States Code. As required under the statute, the Register of Copyrights, following a public proceeding, submitted a Recommendation concerning proposed exemptions to the Librarian of Congress. After careful consideration, the Librarian adopts final regulations based upon the Register's Recommendation.

This Recommended Decision proposes the issuance of a marketing agreement and order (order) under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 to cover pecans grown in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. The proposed order would provide authority to collect industry data and to conduct research and promotion activities. In addition, the order would provide authority for the industry to recommend grade, quality and size regulation, as well as pack and container regulation, subject to approval by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program would be financed by assessments on pecan handlers and would be locally administered, under USDA oversight, by a Council of seventeen growers and shellers (handlers) nominated by the industry and appointed by USDA. This rule also announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's intention to request approval by the Office of Management and Budget of new information collection requirements to implement this program.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection is amending Regulation C to implement amendments to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act made by section 1094 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). Consistent with section 1094 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Bureau is adding several new reporting requirements and clarifying several existing requirements. The Bureau is also modifying the institutional and transactional coverage of Regulation C. The final rule also provides extensive guidance regarding compliance with both the existing and new requirements.

The Office of Personnel Management is issuing final regulations on behalf of the President's Pay Agent. These final regulations link the definitions of General Schedule (GS) locality pay area boundaries to updated metropolitan area definitions established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in February 2013. These final regulations also establish 13 new locality pay areas, which the Federal Salary Council recommended after reviewing pay levels in all ``Rest of U.S.'' metropolitan statistical areas and combined statistical areas with 2,500 or more GS employees.

The electronic sharing of information and documents between intellectual property (IP) offices is critical for increasing the efficiency and quality of patent examination worldwide. Current examples of this sharing include the priority document exchange (PDX) program and the program by which U.S. search results are delivered to the European Patent Office (EPO). In support of electronic file sharing, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is revising its rules of practice to include a specific provision by which an applicant can authorize the Office to give a foreign IP office that is a party to an agreement with the Office access to all or part of the file contents of an unpublished U.S. patent application in order to satisfy a requirement for information imposed on a counterpart application filed with the foreign IP office. Previously, for unpublished U.S. patent applications, applicants followed one regulatory provision to provide the Office with authorization for a foreign IP office to access an application-as-filed and followed another regulatory provision to provide the Office with authorization to share the file contents with a foreign IP office. The final rule changes consolidate the specific provisions of the regulations by which applicants give the Office authority to provide a foreign IP office with access to an application in order to satisfy a requirement for information of the foreign IP office. The Office is also revising the rules of practice to indicate there is no fee for providing a foreign IP office with an electronic copy of an application-as-filed or an electronic copy of file contents pursuant to a bilateral or multilateral agreement. Additionally, along with changes to the application data sheet (ADS) form, the final rule changes simplify the process for how applicants provide the Office with the required authorization, thereby reducing the resources applicants must expend to comply with these foreign IP office requirements, and enhance the quality of patent examination.

The Department of Labor (Department) previously announced that it would not bring enforcement actions against any employer for violations of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) obligations resulting from amendments to its domestic service regulations for 30 days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a mandate making effective its opinion affirming the validity of the regulatory changes. The Court issued its mandate on October 13, 2015; the Department's 30-day non-enforcement period will therefore conclude on November 12, 2015. From November 12, 2015 through December 31, 2015, the Department will exercise prosecutorial discretion pursuant to its previously announced time-limited non-enforcement policy.

This document withdraws a portion of the notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on September 26, 2006 (71 FR 56072). The withdrawn portion relates to certain general definitions for purposes of section 141 of the Internal Revenue Code and the treatment of partnerships for purposes of section 145(a).

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (``FDIC'') is adopting a final rule to rescind and remove from the Code of Federal Regulations the transferred regulation entitled ``Electronic Operations.'' This regulation was included in the regulations that were transferred to the FDIC from the Office of Thrift Supervision (``OTS'') on July 21, 2011, in connection with the implementation of applicable provisions of title III of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank Act''). There is no corresponding FDIC Electronic Operations rule and the rule is deemed obsolete, unnecessary, and burdensome. Therefore, the FDIC has decided to rescind and remove the regulation in its entirety.

We are revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier, Inc. Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes. The NPRM proposed to require revising the maintenance or inspection program to incorporate revised tasks specified in certain temporary revisions (TRs) to the airplane airworthiness limitations (AWLs). The NPRM was prompted by the need for more stringent inspection requirements for certain affected components. This action revises the NPRM by proposing to require revising the maintenance or inspection program to incorporate certain revised AWL tasks instead of TRs, and by proposing to require repairs of affected components. We are proposing this supplemental NPRM (SNPRM) to detect and correct fatigue cracking in the affected components, which could result in loss of structural integrity. Since these actions impose an additional burden over those proposed in the NPRM, we are reopening the comment period to allow the public the chance to comment on these proposed changes.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is amending the table of Excluded Nonnarcotic Products to update the company name for the drug product Nasal Decongestant Inhaler/Vapor Inhaler (containing 50 milligrams levmetamfetamine) to Aphena Pharma SolutionsNew York, LLC. This over-the-counter, nonnarcotic drug product is excluded from the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified an autosomal recessive carrier screening gene mutation detection system into class II (special controls). The special controls that apply to this device are identified in this order and will be part of the codified language for the autosomal recessive carrier screening gene mutation detection system classification. The Agency has classified the device into class II (special controls) in order to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of the device.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve three state implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (Oregon or ODEQ) and a specific portion of a fourth SIP submittal identified in a supplementary letter. These SIP submittals primarily include rule amendments related to control measures for volatile organic compounds from gasoline dispensing facilities in the Portland- Vancouver, Medford-Ashland, and Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study air quality management areas, as well as all of Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties. The EPA received the SIP submittals from the ODEQ on February 5, 2009, November 1, 2010, May 25, 2011, and April 20, 2015, and the supplementary letter on September 18, 2015. The EPA is approving the SIP submittals because they are consistent with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (Act or CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to revise the Minnesota Federal implementation plan (FIP) for visibility, to establish emission limits for Northern States Power Company's (NSP's) Sherburne County Generating Station (Sherco), pursuant to a settlement agreement. The settlement agreement, signed by representatives of EPA, NSP, and three environmental groups, was for resolution of a lawsuit filed by the environmental groups for EPA to address any contribution from Sherco to reasonably attributable visibility impairment (RAVI) that the Department of Interior (DOI) certified was occurring at Voyageurs and Isle Royale National Parks.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to update a portion of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Air Regulations. Requirements applying to OCS sources located within 25 miles of States' seaward boundaries must be updated periodically to remain consistent with the requirements of the corresponding onshore area (COA), as mandated by the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (the Act). The portion of the OCS air regulations that is being updated pertains to the requirements for OCS sources for which Maryland is the designated COA. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is taking this action as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires each State Implementation Plan (SIP) to contain adequate provisions prohibiting emissions that will have certain adverse air quality effects in other states. On May 11, 2015, the State of Washington made a submittal to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address these requirements. The EPA is proposing to approve the submittal as meeting the requirement that each SIP contain adequate provisions to prohibit emissions that will contribute significantly to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) in any other state.

Due to the receipt of adverse comments, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is withdrawing the September 2, 2015 direct final rule that approves a state implementation plan (SIP) revision related to the removal of ``Stage II'' vapor recovery equipment at gasoline dispensing facilities in the Phoenix-Mesa area. The EPA will address the comments in a subsequent final action based upon the proposed rulemaking action, also published on September 2, 2105. The EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has completed a preliminary analysis for purposes of considering energy conservation standards for electric pool heaters. At this time, DOE is not proposing energy conservation standards for electric pool heaters. However, it is publishing this analysis so stakeholders can review the analysis's output and the underlining assumptions and calculations that might ultimately support a proposed standard. DOE encourages stakeholders to provide any additional data or information that may improve the analysis. The analysis is now publicly available at on the DOE Web site.