April 14, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On November 9, 2015, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) published a notice of intent requesting comments and nominations for Tribal representatives for the Accountability Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (Committee). The comment period for this notice of intent closed December 24, 2015. The BIE is reopening the comment period for Tribes to nominate individuals for membership on the Committee and is expanding the scope of what the Committee will address. The BIE also solicits comments on the proposal to establish the Committee, including comments on additional interests not identified in this notice of intent and comments on the expansion of the scope of the Committee.

On September 15, 2015, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announced a proposed rule to list Platanthera integrilabia (white fringeless orchid), a plant species from Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We now announce that we are reopening the comment period for the proposed rule, in order to completely satisfy the notification requirements under the Act.

The Commission is noticing a recent filing requesting that the Commission initiate an informal rulemaking proceeding to consider changes to analytical principles relating to periodic reports (Proposal One). This notice informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes other administrative steps.

NMFS is proposing to revise the regulations that currently require persons surgically implanting archival tags in Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) or externally affixing archival tags to such species to obtain written authorization from NMFS and that require fishermen to report their catches of Atlantic HMS with such tags to NMFS. Archival tags are tags that record scientific information about the migratory behavior of a fish and include tags that are surgically implanted in a fish and tags that are externally affixed, such as pop-up satellite (PSAT) and smart position and temperature tags (SPOT). Specifically, this rule would remove the requirement for researchers to obtain written authorization from NMFS to implant or affix an archival tag but would continue to allow persons who catch a fish with a surgically implanted archival tag to retain the fish while requiring them to return the tag to the person indicated on the tag or to NMFS. The regulation would no longer require the person retaining the fish to submit to NMFS a landing report or make the fish available for inspection and tag recovery by a NMFS scientist, enforcement agent, or other person designated in writing by NMFS. Any persons who land an Atlantic HMS with an externally affixed archival tag would be encouraged to follow the instructions on the tag to return the tag to the appropriate research entity or to NMFS. This action could affect any researchers wishing to place archival tags on Atlantic HMS and any fishermen who might catch such a tagged fish.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on March 18, 2016 (81 FR 14736). The document included a listing of areas for which states had not submitted State Implementation Plans (SIPs) addressing nonattainment area SIP requirements for the 2010 1-hour primary sulfur dioxide (SO2) NAAQS. This action corrects that listing to clarify that the Indiana, Pennsylvania nonattainment area for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS consists of the entirety of Indiana County and part of Armstrong County.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving in part and disapproving in part State implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by California to address moderate area Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements for the 2006 fine particulate (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in the Los AngelesSouth Coast air basin (South Coast) PM2.5 nonattainment area. These SIP revisions are the 2012 PM2.5 Plan, submitted February 13, 2013, and the 2015 Supplement, submitted March 4, 2015. We are disapproving the Reasonably Available Control Measure, Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACM/RACT), and Reasonable Further Progress elements of the SIP revisions because of new information indicating that the 2010 RECLAIM program does not meet the RACM/RACT requirement for certain sources of emissions. The EPA is prepared to work with the State to correct this deficiency. We are not finalizing our proposed action on the District's ports-related commitment at this time.