November 2, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA), as part of its annual public notification process, is publishing for notice an index of the 18 Board policy statements currently in existence. Most of the policy statements remain unchanged since our last Federal Register notice on October 22, 2014 (79 FR 63033), except for three as discussed below on Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity, Travel, and Rules for the Transaction of Business of the FCA Board.

The Department of State is updating its regulations regarding nonimmigrant visa format, and records retention procedures. These updates reflect changes in technology, including the current practice of issuing machine-readable visas and the planned future practice of issuing visas electronically. The Department is also removing an obsolete records retention provision and a visa review provision, both of which are now addressed in the Foreign Affairs Manual.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is classifying a gastrointestinal microorganism multiplex nucleic acid-based assay into class II (special controls). The Agency is classifying 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 finalizing a limited approval and limited disapproval of, and other actions on, revisions to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) portion of the applicable state implementation plan (SIP) for the State of Arizona (State or Arizona) under the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). These revisions submitted by Arizona are primarily intended to serve as a replacement of ADEQ's existing SIP-approved rules for the issuance of New Source Review (NSR) permits for stationary sources, including review and permitting of major and minor sources under the Act. After a lengthy stakeholder process, the State submitted a NSR program for SIP approval that satisfies most of the applicable CAA and NSR regulatory requirements, and which will significantly update ADEQ's existing SIP- approved NSR program. It also represents an overall strengthening of ADEQ's SIP-approved NSR program by clarifying and enhancing the NSR requirements for major and minor stationary sources. This final action updates the applicable plan while allowing ADEQ to remedy certain deficiencies in ADEQ's rules.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Belt Line Railroad Bridge across the South Branch of the Elizabeth River, mile 2.6, between Portsmouth and Chesapeake, VA. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position to facilitate a tie replacement project.

The Commission issues final amendments to expand coverage of the Lighting Facts label, require room air conditioner labels on packaging instead of the units themselves, enhance the durability of appliance labels, and improve plumbing disclosure requirements. This Notice completes the Commission's recent regulatory review of the Energy Labeling Rule.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Port St. Lucie Inlet. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by a grounded vessel outside the Port St. Lucie Inlet. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Miami.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A330-200, -200 Freighter, and -300 series airplanes; and Model A340-200 and -300 series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports that cracks were found on an adjacent hole of certain frames of the center wing box (CWB). This proposed AD would require removing fasteners, a rototest inspection of fastener holes, installing new fasteners; and if necessary, oversizing the holes and doing rototest inspections for cracks, and repairing any cracking that is found. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking on certain holes of certain frames of the CWB, which could affect the structural integrity of the airplane.

In this request for information (RFI), we seek public input to inform the potential development of standards with regard to Medicaid beneficiaries' access to covered services under the Medicaid program. Specifically, we are interested in obtaining information on core access to care measures and metrics that could be used to measure access to care for beneficiaries in the Medicaid program (including in fee-for- service and managed care delivery systems) and used to develop local, state and national thresholds and goals to inform and improve access in the program. We are also interested in feedback on approaches to using the metrics, which could include setting access goals and thresholds and formal processes for beneficiaries to raise access concerns.

EPA is finalizing updates and revisions to the existing worker protection regulation for pesticides. This final rule will enhance the protections provided to agricultural workers, pesticide handlers, and other persons under the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) by strengthening elements of the existing regulation, such as training, notification, pesticide safety and hazard communication information, use of personal protective equipment, and the providing of supplies for routine washing and emergency decontamination. EPA expects this final rule to prevent unreasonable adverse effects from exposure to pesticides among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers, vulnerable groups (such as minority and low-income populations, child farmworkers, and farmworker families) and other persons who may be on or near agricultural establishments, and to mitigate exposures that do occur. In order to reduce compliance burdens for family-owned farms, in the final rule EPA has expanded the existing definition of ``immediate family'' and continued the existing exemption from many provisions of the WPS for owners and members of their immediate families.