July 29, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard is providing the following information on dynamic positioning training certification programs.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the SR 156/Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge across the James River, mile 65.0, at Hopewell, VA. The deviation is necessary to facilitate bridge maintenance and repairs. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position.

This final rule, consistent with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), expands the class of individuals who may be eligible for a provisional waiver of certain grounds of inadmissibility based on the accrual of unlawful presence in the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver (``provisional waiver'') process allows certain individuals who are present in the United States to request from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) a provisional waiver of these grounds of inadmissibility before departing the United States for consular processing of their immigrant visas rather than applying for a waiver abroad after their immigrant visa interviews using the Form I-601, Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility (``Form I-601 waiver process''). The provisional waiver process is designed to encourage unlawfully present individuals to leave the United States, attend their immigrant visa interviews, and return to the United States legally to reunite with their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) family members. Having an approved provisional waiver helps facilitate immigrant visa issuance at DOS, streamlines both the waiver and the immigrant visa processes, and reduces the time that applicants are separated from their U.S. citizen or LPR family members, thus promoting family unity. The rule is intended to encourage eligible individuals to complete the immigrant visa process abroad, promote family unity, and improve administrative efficiency.

Petitions for Reconsideration and Clarification (Petitions) have been filed in the Commission's rulemaking proceeding by Mary J. Sisak on behalf of Custer Telephone Cooperative, Inc., et al, Michael R. Romano on behalf of NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, Robert W. Schwartz on behalf of Madison Telephone Company, Derrick B. Owens on behalf of WTA-Advocates For Rural Broadband.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier, Inc. Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700, 701, & 702), Model CL-600-2D15 (Regional Jet Series 705), Model CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900), and Model CL-600-2E25 (Regional Jet Series 1000) airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of corrosion found on the slat and flap torque tubes in the slat and flap control system. This AD requires replacement of the slat and flap torque tubes in the slat and flap control system. We are issuing this AD to prevent rupture of a corroded slat or flap torque tube. This condition could result in an inoperative slat or flap system and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane.

These special conditions are issued for ATR Model ATR-42-200/- 300/-320/-500 and ATR-72-102/-202/-212/-212A airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport- category airplanes. This design feature is seats with non-traditional, large, non-metallic panels. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) directs the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to develop a new or modified Reliability Standard that addresses supply chain risk management for industrial control system hardware, software, and computing and networking services associated with bulk electric system operations. The new or modified Reliability Standard is intended to mitigate the risk of a cybersecurity incident affecting the reliable operation of the Bulk- Power System.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Alabama State Implementation Plan submitted by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management on October 26, 2015. The revision modifies the definition of ``volatile organic compounds'' (VOC). Specifically, the revision adds three compounds to the list of those excluded from the VOC definition on the basis that these compounds make a negligible contribution to tropospheric ozone formation. This action is being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is discontinuing eight rulemaking activities. The purpose of this action is to inform members of the public that these rulemaking activities are being discontinued and to provide a brief discussion of the NRC's decision to discontinue them. These rulemaking activities will no longer be reported in the NRC's portion of the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the Unified Agenda).

On July 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy published a final rule establishing a final coverage determination and test procedures for miscellaneous refrigeration products. This correction addresses technical errors in the preamble and regulatory text. Neither the errors nor the corrections in this document affects the substance of the rulemaking or any of the conclusions reached in support of the final rule.

ONRR convened two technical conferences on November 20, 2015 to discuss amending the boundaries of four of the designated areas it uses to calculate the index-based major portion prices in its regulations. At the technical conferences, the participants discussed issues regarding the appropriate boundary line between the North Fort Berthold and South Fort Berthold Designated Areas and adding additional counties to one or both of the two designated areas in the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing to amend its existing Onshore Oil and Gas Order Number 1 (Onshore Order 1) to require the electronic filing (or e-filing) of all Applications for Permit to Drill (APD) and Notices of Staking (NOS). Currently, Onshore Order 1 states that an ``operator must file an APD or any other required documents in the BLM Field Office having jurisdiction over the lands described in the application,'' but allows for e-filing of such documents in the alternative. This proposal would change that structure to make e-filing the required method of submission, subject to limited exceptions. The BLM is making this change to improve the efficiency and transparency of the APD and NOS processes.

As required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, this final rule revises the State agency's administrative review process in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program to establish a unified accountability system designed to ensure that school food authorities offering school meals comply with program requirements. The updated administrative review process includes new procedures, retains key existing requirements from the Coordinated Review Effort and the School Meals Initiative, provides new review flexibilities and efficiencies for State agencies, and simplifies fiscal action procedures. In addition to establishing a unified administrative review process, this rule requires State Agencies public disclosure of a summary of the administrative review results. These changes are expected to strengthen program integrity through a more robust, effective, and transparent process for monitoring school nutrition program operations.

This rule adopts as final, with some modifications, the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program regulations set forth in the interim final rule published in the Federal Register on June 28, 2013. The requirements addressed in this rule conform to the provisions in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 regarding nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools, other than food sold under the lunch and breakfast programs. Most provisions of this final rule were implemented on July 1, 2014, a full year subsequent to publication of the interim final rule. This was in compliance with section 208 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which required that State and local educational agencies have at least one full school year from the date of publication of the interim final rule to implement the competitive food provisions. Based on comments received on the interim final rule and implementation experience, this final rule makes a few modifications to the nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools implemented on July 1, 2014. In addition, this final rule codifies specific policy guidance issued after publication of the interim rule. Finally, this rule retains the provision related to the standard for total fat as interim and requests further comment on this single standard.

PHMSA, in consultation with the Federal Railroad Administration, is issuing this NPRM to propose revisions to regulations that would expand the applicability of comprehensive oil spill response plans (OSRPs) based on thresholds of liquid petroleum oil that apply to an entire train consist. Specifically, we are proposing to expand the applicability for comprehensive OSRPs so that any railroad that transports a single train carrying 20 or more loaded tank cars of liquid petroleum oil in a continuous block or a single train carrying 35 or more loaded tank cars of liquid petroleum oil throughout the train consist must also have a current comprehensive written OSRP. We are further proposing to revise the format and clarify the requirements of a comprehensive OSRP (e.g., requiring that covered railroads develop response zones describing resources available to arrive onsite to a worst-case discharge, or the substantial threat of one, which are located within 12 hours of each point along the route used by trains subject to the comprehensive OSRP). We also solicit comment on defining high volume areas and staging resources using alternative response times, including shorter response times for spills that could affect such high volume areas. Further, in accordance with the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015, this action proposes to require railroads to share information about high-hazard flammable train operations with state and tribal emergency response commissions to improve community preparedness and seeks comments on these proposals. Lastly, PHMSA is proposing to incorporate by reference an initial boiling point test for flammable liquids from the ASTM D7900 method referenced in the American National Standards Institute/American Petroleum Institute Recommend Practices 3000, ``Classifying and Loading of Crude Oil into Rail Tank Cars,'' First Edition, September 2014 as an acceptable testing alternative to the boiling point tests currently specified in the HMR. PHMSA believes providing this additional boiling test option provides regulatory flexibility and promotes enhanced safety in transport through accurate packing group assignment.