October 7, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Interagency Per Diem Working Group (IPDWG) is meeting to discuss studying the process of setting continental United States (CONUS) Non-Standard Area (NSA) boundaries for lodging maximum reimbursement rates and meals and incidental expense (M&IE) per diem reimbursement rates. The purpose of the study would be to recommend whether the NSA boundary-setting process should be replaced, changed, or maintained as is. Interested parties are invited to attend and provide comments.

The National Park Service is soliciting comments on the significance of properties nominated before September 10, 2016, for listing or related actions in the National Register of Historic Places.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following application to conduct activities intended to enhance the survival of endangered or threatened species.

Many modern service providers give people access to their own data in machine readable format to download and use as they see fit. Proponents of increased data portability point to numerous, significant benefits for users, service providers, and the broader public. For users, perhaps the most important benefits are the ability to create backups of their most important data, like photographs, tax returns, and other financial information while reducing the danger of becoming locked-in to a single service provider, especially in a world where service providers may change business models or discontinue products. Consumers may also benefit from increased competition. If consumers cannot switch easily between platforms, then it may be difficult for would-be services to enter the market, potentially resulting in less innovation or higher prices. Increasing data portability may induce businesses to compete with one another to offer better prices and higher quality services so as to win or retain a customer's business. Service providers, meanwhile, can benefit from offering data portability to increase user trust through the transparency and ease of switching data portability provides, and to help manage the termination of services. Finally, the public benefits when data portability increases competition, provides some sense of accountability, and promotes transparency as to what information a provider is holding. Others may point to potential private and public downsides. With lower switching costs, businesses might adjust their business models and become more selective in their initial customer acquisition strategy or invest less in their customer relationships, which might leave some sets of customers worse off than before. Some privacy and security advocates also worry that the strength of data portability easier sharing of informationcould encourage more information sharing, including when it might be inadvisable from a privacy perspective or when a criminal successfully breaks into an unsecured service. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is interested in understanding the benefits and drawbacks of increased data portability as well as potential policy avenues to achieve greater data portability. The views of the American people, including stakeholders such as consumers, academic and industry researchers, and private companies, are important to inform an understanding of these questions.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of a currently approved collection, and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on information needed to identify areas for improvement in clinical training programs.

The Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Judges Panel) will meet in closed session Sunday, October 30, 2016 through Friday, November 4, 2016, from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Eastern time each day. The purpose of this meeting is to review recommendations from site visits, and recommend 2016 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipients. The meeting is closed to the public in order to protect the proprietary data to be examined and discussed at the meeting.

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the provisions of the rules and regulations of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission), and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), that meetings of the West Virginia Advisory Committee (Committee) to the Commission will convene by conference call at 12:00 p.m. (EST) on. The purpose of meetings are to discuss and vote on the Committee's report regarding Mental Health and discuss topics for the Committee's future civil rights review.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is publishing this notice to comply with requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), which requires agencies to submit proposed reporting and recordkeeping requirements to OMB for review and approval, and to publish a notice in the Federal Register notifying the public that the agency has made such a submission. This notice also allows an additional 30 days for public comments.

This action proposes to modify area navigation (RNAV) routes Q-39 and Q-67, in the eastern United States. The modifications would provide a more efficient airway design within a portion of the airspace assigned to the Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve revisions to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions to the SIP were submitted in 2015. These revisions are related to the implementation of the state's motor vehicle emissions Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Program. The EPA is proposing to approve these revisions pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve portions of State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittals from the State of Texas pertaining to Clean Air Act (CAA) section 110(a)(2)(J): Consultation with Government Officials, Public Notification, and Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Visibility Protection for the 2008 Ozone (O3) and 2010 Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). These submittals address how the existing SIP provides for implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the 2008 O3 and 2010 NO2 NAAQS (infrastructure SIPs or i-SIPs). These i-SIPs ensure that the State's SIP is adequate to meet the State's responsibilities under the CAA. Today's proposal and the accompanying direct final action will complete the rulemaking process started in our February 8, 2016, proposal, approve the SIP submittals as meeting CAA section 110(a)(2)(J), and confirm that the SIP has adequate infrastructure to implement, maintain and enforce this section of the CAA with regard to the 2008 O3 and 2010 NO2 NAAQS.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the State of Nebraska. This action will amend the SIP to include revisions to title 129 of the Nebraska Air Quality Regulations, chapter 5, ``Operating PermitsWhen Required''; chapter 9, ``General Operating Permits for Class I and Class II Sources''; chapter 22, ``Incinerators; Emission Standards''; chapter 30, ``Open Fires''; and chapter 34 ``Emission Sources; Testing; Monitoring. These revisions were requested by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) in three submittals, submitted on May 1, 2003, November 8, 2011, and July 14, 2014. The May 1, 2003, submittal revised chapters 5 and 9, to address changes in regard to the permits-by-rule provisions of Title 129. The November 8, 2011, submittal allows for the issuance of multiple operating permits to major sources through revisions to chapter 5. In addition, revisions to chapters 22 and 30 encourage the use of air curtain incinerators over open burning; and changes to chapter 34 clarify the authority of NDEQ to order emission sources to do testing when NDEQ deems it necessary. The July 14, 2014, submittal further revises chapter 34, by updating the reference to allowable test methods for evaluating solid waste, changing the amount of time allowed to submit test results, and allowing the Department to approve a request for testing with less than 30 days notification.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) propose discharge performance standards for 11 discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel of the Armed Forces into the navigable waters of the United States, the territorial seas, and the contiguous zone. When implemented, the proposed discharge performance standards would reduce the adverse environmental impacts associated with the vessel discharges, stimulate the development of improved vessel pollution control devices, and advance the development of environmentally sound vessels of the Armed Forces. The 11 discharges addressed by the proposed rule are the following: catapult water brake tank and post-launch retraction exhaust, controllable pitch propeller hydraulic fluid, deck runoff, firemain systems, graywater, hull coating leachate, motor gasoline and compensating discharge, sonar dome discharge, submarine bilgewater, surface vessel bilgewater/oil-water separator effluent, and underwater ship husbandry.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for use to assist the homeless.

OSHA is proposing to add two modified PortaCount[supreg] quantitative fit-testing protocols to its Respiratory Protection Standard. The proposed protocols would apply to employers in general industry, shipyard employment, and the construction industry. Both proposed protocols are variations of the existing OSHA-accepted PortaCount[supreg] protocol, but differ from it by the exercise sets, exercise duration, and sampling sequence. If approved, the modified PortaCount[supreg] protocols would be alternatives to the existing quantitative fit-testing protocols already listed in an appendix of the Respiratory Protection Standard. In addition, OSHA is proposing to amend an appendix to clarify that PortaCount[supreg] fit test devices equipped with the N95-CompanionTM Technology are covered by the approved PortaCount[supreg] protocols.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) seeks comment on various specific issues involved in implementing a process of eliminating the provision of high-cost support to more than one competitive Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) in the same geographic area. The Commission specifically seeks comment on how best to eliminate duplicative funding consistent with our universal service goals, should the evaluation of Form 477 data reveal areas where more than one carrier is receiving support for the provision of 4G LTE service. The Commission also seeks comment on how to address a carrier's performance obligations and support payments to the extent it loses funding eligibility as a consequence of the elimination of duplicative support.

This notice announces actions taken by FHWA that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to a proposed highway project, Interstate 94 (I-94) East-West Corridor, 70th Street to 16th Street, in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Those actions grant approvals for the project.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``USPTO'' or ``Office'') is amending the Trademark Rules of Practice (``Trademark Rules'' or ``Rules''), in particular the rules pertinent to practice before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (``Board''), to benefit the public by providing for more efficiency and clarity in inter partes and ex parte proceedings. Certain amendments are directed to reducing the burden on the parties, to conforming the rules to current practice, to updating references that have changed, to reflecting technologic changes, and to ensuring the usage of standard, current terminology. This final rule also furthers strategic objectives of the Office to increase end-to-end electronic processing.