July 28, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Surface Transportation Board is withdrawing the proposed rules and discontinuing the EP 385 (Sub-No. 7) rulemaking proceeding which proposed to expand the Waybill Sample collection with respect to traffic movements designated as a Toxic Inhalation Hazard.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is withdrawing its proposal to amend its regulations to clarify the scope of ownership information that sellers seeking to obtain or retain market-based rate authority must provide. The Commission is also concurrently issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in Docket No. RM16-17-000, which supersedes this proposal.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to incorporate by reference the latest version (Version 003.1) of certain Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities adopted by the Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ) of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB). These standards mainly modify and update NAESB's WEQ Version 003 Standards. The Commission also proposes to revise its regulations to incorporate NAESB's updated Smart Grid Business Practice Standards in the Commission's General Policy and Interpretations.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 747-100, 747-100B, 747-100B SUD, 747- 200B, 747-200C, 747-200F, 747-300, 747-400, 747-400D, 747-400F, 747SR, and 747SP series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by an evaluation by the design approval holder (DAH) indicating that the nose wheel well is subject to widespread fatigue damage (WFD). This proposed AD would require modification of the nose wheel body structure; a detailed inspection of the nose wheel body structure for any cracking; a surface high frequency eddy current inspection (HFEC) or an open hole HFEC inspection of the vertical beam outer chord and web for any cracking; and all applicable related investigative actions including repetitive inspections, and other specified and corrective actions. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking in the nose wheel well structure; such cracking could adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane.

On December 12, 2012, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) submitted, on behalf of the Governor of Oregon, a State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission to address violations of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to a nominal 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) for the Oakridge PM2.5 nonattainment area (2012 SIP submission). The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) in coordination with ODEQ developed the 2012 SIP submission for purposes of attaining the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. On February 22, 2016, the ODEQ withdrew certain provisions of the 2012 SIP submission (2016 SIP withdrawal). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated whether the remaining portions of the Oakridge 2012 SIP submission meet the applicable Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements. Based on this evaluation, the EPA is proposing to partially approve and partially disapprove the remaining portions of the 2012 SIP submission.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action on revisions to the EPA's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program. We are approving these revisions to improve the practical utility of the program, minimize burden, and clarify requirements that have been the subject of questions from recipients of EPA financial assistance and from disadvantaged business enterprises. These revisions are in accordance with the requirements of the Federal laws that govern the EPA DBE program.

This final rule implements changes described in a proposed rule that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published on June 17, 2015. Specifically, this final rule describes how articles the President has determined no longer warrant control under Category XIV (Toxicological Agents, Including Chemical Agents, Biological Agents, and Associated Equipment) or Category XVIII (Directed Energy Weapons) of the United States Munitions List (USML) are now controlled under the Commerce Control List (CCL). The affected Category XIV articles consist primarily of dissemination, detection, and protection ``equipment'' and related articles, such as production and test ``equipment,'' and are controlled under new Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) 1A607, 1B607, 1C607, 1D607, and 1E607, as added to the CCL by this final rule. The affected Category XVIII articles consist primarily of tooling, production ``equipment,'' test and evaluation ``equipment,'' test models, and related articles and are controlled under new ECCNs 6B619, 6D619 and 6E619, as added to the CCL by this final rule. This final rule is one in a series of rules describing how various types of articles that the President has determined no longer warrant control on the USML, as part of the Administration's Export Control Reform Initiative, are controlled on the CCL in accordance with the requirements of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This final rule is being published by BIS in conjunction with a final rule from the Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, which amends the list of articles controlled by USML Categories XIV and XVIII. The citations in this BIS rule to USML Categories XIV and XVIII reflect the amendments contained in the Department of State's rule. The revisions made by BIS in this rule are part of Commerce's retrospective regulatory review plan under Executive Order 13563 completed in August 2011.

FMCSA is correcting the effective and compliance dates for its August 23, 2013, Unified Registration System (URS) final rule, as revised on October 21, 2015. The 2013 URS final rule was issued to improve the registration process for motor carriers, property brokers, freight forwarders, Intermodal Equipment Providers (IEPs), hazardous materials safety permit (HMSP) applicants, and cargo tank facilities required to register with FMCSA, and streamline the existing Federal registration processes to ensure the Agency can more efficiently track these entities. The October 21, 2015 final rule made slight revisions to the 2013 rule and delayed the effective dates of that rule. This final rule corrects the effective and compliance dates, revised in 2015, and corrects regulatory provisions that have not yet gone into effect, as well as several temporary sections that are in effect already, to allow FMCSA additional time to complete the information technology (IT) systems work.

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA or we) is adopting a final rule that revises our regulatory capital requirements for Farm Credit System (System) institutions to include tier 1 and tier 2 risk-based capital ratio requirements (replacing core surplus and total surplus requirements), a tier 1 leverage requirement (replacing a net collateral requirement for System banks), a capital conservation buffer and a leverage buffer, revised risk weightings, and additional public disclosure requirements. The revisions to the risk weightings include alternatives to the use of credit ratings, as required by section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.