April 8, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of fresh Andean blackberry and raspberry fruit from Ecuador into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, the fruit will have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that includes requirements for importation in commercial consignments from a pest free production site within a certified low pest prevalence area for fruit flies, and pest monitoring and trapping. The fruit will also have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of Ecuador bearing an additional declaration stating that the consignment was produced and prepared for export in accordance with the requirements of the systems approach. This action will allow for the importation of fresh Andean blackberry and raspberry fruit from Ecuador while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests into the continental United States.

We are proposing to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of fresh pitahaya fruit into the continental United States from Ecuador. As a condition of entry, the fruit would have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that would include requirements for fruit fly trapping, pre-harvest inspections, approved production sites, and packinghouse procedures designed to exclude quarantine pests. The fruit would also be required to be imported in commercial consignments and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of Ecuador stating that the consignment was produced and prepared for export in accordance with the requirements of the systems approach. This action would allow for the importation of fresh pitahaya from Ecuador while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of plant pests into the United States.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This SIP revision amends two regulations to clarify testing and sampling methods for stationary sources of particulate matter (PM) and add the requirement to measure and report filterable and condensable PM. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

Under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), EPA is finalizing a significant new use rule (SNUR) for trichloroethylene (TCE). The significant new use is the manufacture or processing for use in a consumer product, with an exception for use of TCE in cleaners and solvent degreasers, film cleaners, hoof polishes, lubricants, mirror edge sealants, and pepper spray. Persons subject to the SNUR will be required to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing any manufacturing or processing of TCE for a significant new use. The required notification will provide EPA with the opportunity to evaluate the intended use and, if necessary based on the information available at that time, an opportunity to protect against potential unreasonable risks, if any, from that activity before it occurs.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Blynman (SR127) Bridge across the Annisquam River and Blynman Canal at mile 0.0 at Gloucester, MA. This deviation is necessary to facilitate public safety during a public event, the annual Saint Peter's Fiesta 5K Road Race. This deviation allows the bridge to remain closed for thirty minutes to facilitate public safety.

The Department of Energy (DOE) published a final rule in the Federal Register on December 3, 2014 revising the test procedure provisions for commercial clothes washers. DOE published another final rule on December 15, 2014 amending the energy conservation standards for commercial clothes washers. This final rule correction amends the test procedure provisions for commercial clothes washers to clarify the applicability of the revised test procedures to the amended energy conservation standards. The correction also removes obsolete regulatory provisions.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is revising the definition of spouse in its regulations on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as a result of the decision by the United States Supreme Court holding section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. The new definition replaces the existing definition, which contains language from DOMA that refers to ``a legal union between one man and one woman.'' The new definition permits Federal employees with same-sex spouses to use FMLA leave in the same manner as Federal employees with opposite-sex spouses.

The Commission is updating the product lists. This action reflects a publication policy adopted by Commission order. The referenced policy assumes periodic updates. The updates are identified in the body of this document. The product lists, which is re-published in its entirety, includes these updates.

The Coast Guard has modified a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the S165 (North Landing Road) Bridge across the North Landing River, mile 20.2, at Chesapeake, VA. This modified deviation is necessary to perform emergency bridge repairs and provide for safe navigation. This modified deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position.

The Coast Guard proposes to amend and update its annual and recurring safety zones that take place in the Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River area of responsibility (AOR). This document informs the public of regularly scheduled events that require additional safety measures through establishing a safety zone. This document also proposes to update the current list of recurring safety zones with revisions, additional events, and removal of events that no longer take place in Sector Upper Mississippi River's AOR. Additionally, this one proposed rulemaking project reduces administrative costs involved in producing separate proposed rules for each individual recurring safety zone and serves to provide notice of the known recurring safety zones throughout the year. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

This document contains amendments to prohibited transaction exemptions (PTEs) 75-1, 77-4, 80-83 and 83-1. Generally, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) prohibit fiduciaries with respect to employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from engaging in self- dealing, including using their authority, control or responsibility to affect or increase their own compensation. These exemptions generally permit fiduciaries to receive compensation or other benefits as a result of the use of their fiduciary authority, control or responsibility in connection with investment transactions involving plans or IRAs. The amendments require the fiduciaries to satisfy uniform Impartial Conduct Standards in order to obtain the relief available under each exemption. The amendments affect participants and beneficiaries of plans, IRA owners, and fiduciaries with respect to such plans and IRAs.

This document amends and partially revokes Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 84-24, an exemption from certain prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). The ERISA and Code provisions at issue generally prohibit fiduciaries with respect to employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from engaging in self-dealing in connection with transactions involving these plans and IRAs. Non-fiduciary service providers also may not enter into certain transactions with plans and IRAs without an exemption. The amended exemption allows fiduciaries and other service providers to receive compensation when plans and IRAs purchase insurance contracts, ``Fixed Rate Annuity Contracts,'' as defined in the exemption, securities of investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as well as certain related transactions. The amendments increase the safeguards of the exemption. This document also contains the revocation of the exemption as it applies to plan and IRA purchases of annuity contracts that do not satisfy the definition of a Fixed Rate Annuity Contract, and the revocation of the exemption as it applies to IRA purchases of investment company securities. The amendments and revocations affect participants and beneficiaries of plans, IRA owners, and certain fiduciaries and service providers of plans and IRAs.

This document contains an exemption from certain prohibited transactions provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (the Code). The provisions at issue generally prohibit fiduciaries with respect to employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from purchasing and selling investments when the fiduciaries are acting on behalf of their own accounts (principal transactions). The exemption permits principal transactions and riskless principal transactions in certain investments between a plan, plan participant or beneficiary account, or an IRA, and a fiduciary that provides investment advice to the plan or IRA, under conditions to safeguard the interests of these investors. The exemption affects participants and beneficiaries of plans, IRA owners, and fiduciaries with respect to such plans and IRAs.

This document contains a final regulation defining who is a ``fiduciary'' of an employee benefit plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) as a result of giving investment advice to a plan or its participants or beneficiaries. The final rule also applies to the definition of a ``fiduciary'' of a plan (including an individual retirement account (IRA)) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code). The final rule treats persons who provide investment advice or recommendations for a fee or other compensation with respect to assets of a plan or IRA as fiduciaries in a wider array of advice relationships.

This document contains proposed regulations under section 385 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) that would authorize the Commissioner to treat certain related-party interests in a corporation as indebtedness in part and stock in part for federal tax purposes, and establish threshold documentation requirements that must be satisfied in order for certain related-party interests in a corporation to be treated as indebtedness for federal tax purposes. The proposed regulations also would treat as stock certain related-party interests that otherwise would be treated as indebtedness for federal tax purposes. The proposed regulations generally affect corporations that issue purported indebtedness to related corporations or partnerships.

The Department of Treasury (Treasury Department) and the IRS are issuing temporary regulations that address transactions that are structured to avoid the purposes of sections 7874 and 367 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and certain post-inversion tax avoidance transactions in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register. The temporary regulations affect certain domestic corporations and domestic partnerships whose assets are directly or indirectly acquired by a foreign corporation and certain persons related to such domestic corporations and domestic partnerships. The text of the temporary regulations also serves as the text of these proposed regulations.

This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposes to revise the Pipeline Safety Regulations applicable to the safety of onshore gas transmission and gathering pipelines. PHMSA proposes changes to the integrity management (IM) requirements and proposes changes to address issues related to non-IM requirements. This NPRM also proposes modifying the regulation of onshore gas gathering lines.