December 20, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is adopting a final rule addressing the conduct of receiverships for national banks that are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (uninsured banks) and for which the FDIC would not be appointed as receiver. The final rule implements the provisions of the National Bank Act (NBA) that provide the legal framework for receiverships of such institutions. The final rule adopts the rule as proposed without change.

This document announces EPA's receipt of several initial filings of pesticide petitions requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities.

This rule revises the regulations that the Department of the Interior (Department) follows in processing records under the Freedom of Information Act in part to comply with the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. The revisions clarify and update procedures for requesting information from the Department and procedures that the Department follows in responding to requests from the public.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the operation of the US 90 highway bridge (East Pearl River Bridge), a swing span bridge across the Pearl River, mile 8.8, between Slidell, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana and Pearlington, Hancock County, Mississippi. The deviation is necessary to remove and repair three gear motors to allow for the continued safe operation of the bridge. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to- navigation position for a period of 32 days, broken in to one 12-Day Period and two 10-Day periods, as repairs to each motor will be done separately.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is issuing regulations to set forth postmarketing safety reporting requirements for combination products. Specifically, this final rule describes the postmarketing safety reporting requirements that apply when two or more different types of regulated medical products (drugs, devices, and/or biological products, which are referred to as ``constituent parts'' of a combination product) comprise a combination product and the combination product or its constituent parts have received FDA marketing authorization. The rule is intended to promote and protect the public health by setting forth the requirements for postmarketing safety reporting for these combination products, and is part of FDA's ongoing effort to ensure the consistency and appropriateness of the regulatory requirements for combination products.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) rule that requires public water systems to collect occurrence data for contaminants that may be present in drinking water but are not yet subject to EPA's drinking water standards set under the SDWA. This rule identifies eleven analytical methods to support water system monitoring for a total of 30 chemical contaminants, consisting of nine cyanotoxins and one cyanotoxin group; two metals; eight pesticides plus one pesticide manufacturing byproduct (hereinafter collectively referred to as ``pesticides''); three brominated haloacetic acid disinfection byproduct groups; three alcohols; and three semivolatile organic chemicals. EPA is also announcing a public meeting and webinar to discuss the implementation of the fourth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule.

The Department of Homeland Security is issuing a final rule to amend its regulations to exempt portions of a newly established system of records titled, ``Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection (DHS/CBP)-023 Border Patrol Enforcement Records (BPER) System of Records'' from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. Specifically, the Department exempts portions of the ``DHS/CBP-023 BPER System of Records'' from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act because of criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement requirements.

The Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), Packers and Stockyards Program (P&SP) is proposing to amend the regulations issued under the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, as amended and supplemented (P&S Act). The proposed amendments will clarify the conduct or action by packers, swine contractors, or live poultry dealers that GIPSA considers unfair, unjustly discriminatory, or deceptive and a violation of section 202(a) of the P&S Act. The proposed amendments will also identify criteria that the Secretary will consider in determining whether conduct or action by packers, swine contractors, or live poultry dealers constitutes an undue or unreasonable preference or advantage and a violation of section 202(b) of the P&S Act. This proposed rule identifies the conduct or action that is a per se violation of section 202(a) of the P&S Act, includes an illustrative list of conduct or action, absent demonstration of a legitimate business justification, GIPSA believes is unfair, unjustly discriminatory, or deceptive and a violation of section 202(a) of the P&S Act regardless of harm to competition, and clarifies that any conduct or action that harms or is likely to harm competition is a violation of section 202(a) of the P&S Act. The proposed rule also includes criteria the Secretary will consider in determining whether conduct or action constitutes an undue or unreasonable preference or advantage and a violation of section 202(b) of the P&S Act.

The Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), Packers and Stockyards Program (P&SP) is amending the regulations issued under the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, as amended and supplemented (P&S Act). GIPSA is adding a paragraph addressing the scope of sections 202(a) and (b) of the P&S Act. This interim final rule clarifies that conduct or action may violate sections 202(a) and (b) of the P&S Act without adversely affecting, or having a likelihood of adversely affecting, competition. This interim final rule reiterates USDA's longstanding interpretation that not all violations of the P&S Act require a showing of harm or likely harm to competition. The regulations would specifically provide that the scope of section 202(a) and (b) encompasses conduct or action that, depending on their nature and the circumstances, can be found to violate the P&S Act without a finding of harm or likely harm to competition. This interim final rule finalizes a proposed amendment that GIPSA published on June 22, 2010. GIPSA is now publishing as an interim final rule what was proposed on June 22, 2010, with slight modifications, in order to allow additional comment on these provisions.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that implemented a recommendation from the California Date Administrative Committee (committee) to decrease the assessment rate established for the committee for the 2016-17 and subsequent crop years from $0.10 to $0.05 per hundredweight of dates handled under the marketing order (order). The committee locally administers the order and is comprised of producers and handlers of dates operating within the area of production. The interim rule was necessary to allow the committee to reduce its financial reserve while still providing adequate funding to meet program expenses.

This rule implements a recommendation from the Almond Board of California (Board) for an increase of the assessment rate established for the 2016-17 through the 2018-19 crop years from $0.03 to $0.04 per pound of almonds handled under the marketing order (order). Of the $0.04 per pound assessment, 60 percent (or $0.024 per pound) is available as credit-back for handlers who conduct their own promotional activities. The assessment rate will return to $0.03 for the 2019-20 and subsequent crop years, and the amount available for handler credit- back will return to $0.018 per pound (60 percent). The Board locally administers the order and is comprised of growers and handlers of almonds grown in California. Assessments upon almond handlers are used by the Board to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The crop year began on August 1 and ends on July 31. The $0.04 assessment rate will remain in effect until July 31, 2019. Beginning August 1, 2019, the assessment rate will return to $0.03 and will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated. Two comments period were provided to interested individuals. Comments will be addressed later in this document.

This document is issued under the joint authority of DOD, GSA, and NASA. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a summary of the rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-94, which amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). An asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding these rules by referring to FAC 2005-94, which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at https:// www.regulations.gov.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to require that contractors, whose employees have access to a system of records or handle personally identifiable information, complete privacy training.

On October 6, 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule in the Federal Register approving certain revisions to the Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District (NSCAPCD, or the District) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP), and disapproving others. The EPA indicated in this final action that these revisions would supersede certain older rules in the California SIP but inadvertently included erroneous references in the regulatory text. This document corrects the regulatory text to clarify the replacement of these superseded regulations.

This document contains an amendment to a final regulation that describes how states may design and operate payroll deduction savings programs for private-sector employees, including programs that use automatic enrollment, without causing the states or private-sector employers to have established employee pension benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The amendment expands the final regulation beyond states to cover qualified state political subdivisions and their programs that otherwise comply with the regulation. This final rule affects individuals and employers subject to such programs.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 737-600, -700, -700C, -800, -900, and -900ER series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of an aborted takeoff because the rudder pedals were not operating correctly. Investigation revealed a protruding screw in the rudder pedal heel rest adjacent to the pedals. This proposed AD would require a torque check of the screws in the cover assembly of the heel rest for both the Captain and the First Officer's rudder pedals, and corrective action if necessary. We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for The Boeing Company Model 777 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of uncommanded altitude display changes in the mode control panel (MCP) altitude window. This proposed AD would require replacing the existing MCP with a new MCP having a different part number. We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Learjet Inc. Model 60 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by an evaluation by the design approval holder (DAH) indicating that the upper fuselage skin under the aft oxygen line fairing is subject to multi-site damage (MSD). This proposed AD would require a one-time inspection of the fuselage skin for corrosion and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE or OSM), are revising our regulations, based on, among other things, advances in science, to improve the balance between environmental protection and the Nation's need for coal as a source of energy. This final rule will better protect water supplies, surface water and groundwater quality, streams, fish, wildlife, and related environmental values from the adverse impacts of surface coal mining operations and provide mine operators with a regulatory framework to avoid water pollution and the long-term costs associated with water treatment. We have revised our regulations to define ``material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area'' and require that each permit specify the point at which adverse mining-related impacts on groundwater and surface water would reach that level of damage; collect adequate premining data about the site of the proposed mining operation and adjacent areas to establish an adequate baseline for evaluation of the impacts of mining and the effectiveness of reclamation; adjust monitoring requirements to enable timely detection and correction of any adverse trends in the quality or quantity of surface water and groundwater or the biological condition of streams; ensure protection or restoration of perennial and intermittent streams and related resources; ensure that permittees and regulatory authorities make use of advances in science and technology; ensure that land disturbed by mining operations is restored to a condition capable of supporting the uses that it was capable of supporting before mining; and update and codify the requirements and procedures for protection of threatened or endangered species and designated critical habitat. Approximately thirty percent of the final rule consists of editorial revisions and organizational changes intended to improve consistency, clarity, accuracy, and ease of use.

This rule is intended to carry out the President's directives in Executive Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review. The final rule will make Child Support Enforcement program operations and enforcement procedures more flexible, more effective, and more efficient by recognizing the strength of existing State enforcement programs, advancements in technology that can enable improved collection rates, and the move toward electronic communication and document management. This final rule will improve and simplify program operations, and remove outmoded limitations to program innovations to better serve families. In addition, the final rule clarifies and corrects technical provisions in existing regulations. The rule makes significant changes to the regulations on case closure, child support guidelines, and medical support enforcement. It will improve child support collection rates because support orders will reflect the noncustodial parent's ability to pay support, and more noncustodial parents will support their children.