2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency) is implementing its civil monetary penalty provision. Currently, the Agency is limited to severe actions, such as acceleration and foreclosure, as a remedy for non-monetary compliance violations, actions that may not be in the best interest of the government. New Civil Monetary Penalties regulations will enable the Agency to target the non-monetary default issues and elicit compliance by the borrower without such a drastic step as foreclosure. By implementing procedures for Civil Monetary Penalties, the Agency will be provided an important tool to enforce compliance with the regulations.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Commonwealth of Virginia state implementation plan (SIP). The revisions amend the definition of ``nonroad engine'' under Virginia's minor New Source Review (NSR) requirements to align with Federal requirements. EPA is approving these revisions to the Virginia SIP in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The proposed rule would modify a part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) regulations, which addresses requirements for the Federal Home Loan Banks' (Banks) new business activities (NBAs). The proposed rule would reduce the scope of NBAs for which the Banks must seek approval from FHFA and would establish new timelines for agency review and approval of NBA notices. The proposed rule also would reorganize a part of our regulations to clarify the protocol for FHFA review of NBAs.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is correcting an interim final rule that published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2016 (81 FR 42987). The rule amended DHS regulations to adjust DHS and component civil monetary penalties for inflation. DHS calculated the adjusted penalties according to the statutory formula in the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, which was signed into law on November 2, 2015. DHS is correcting an error in the amendatory instruction related to one regulatory section.

The FHWA is revising its regulations governing the acquisition, management, and disposal of real property for transportation programs and projects receiving funds under title 23, United States Code. The revisions are prompted by enactment of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). Section 1302 of MAP-21 includes new early acquisition flexibilities that can be used by State departments of transportation (SDOT) and other grantees of title 23 Federal-aid highway program funds. This final rule addresses the use of those new early acquisition flexibilities. The FHWA is also updating the real estate regulations to reflect the agency's experience with the Federal-aid highway program since the last comprehensive rulemaking for part 710, which occurred more than a decade ago. The update clarifies the Federal-State partnership, streamlines processes to better meet current Federal-aid highway program needs, and eliminates duplicative and outdated regulatory language. The enactment of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act had a minimal effect on this rule.

NMFS adjusts the 2016 Winter II commercial scup quota. This action complies with Framework Adjustment 3 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, which established a process to allow the rollover of unused commercial scup quota from the Winter I period to the Winter II period.

In accordance with section 421 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, this rule amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection regulations to set forth procedures for CBP to investigate claims of evasion of antidumping and countervailing duty orders.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is expanding the approximately 33,380-acre ``Sta. Rita Hills'' viticultural area in Santa Barbara County, California, by approximately 2,296 acres. The established viticultural area and the expansion area are both located entirely within the larger Santa Ynez Valley viticultural area and the multicounty Central Coast viticultural area. TTB designates viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

NMFS announces that the 2016 summer flounder commercial quota allocated to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been harvested. Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in Massachusetts for the remainder of calendar year 2016, unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer from another state. Regulations governing the summer flounder fishery require publication of this notification to advise Massachusetts that the quota has been harvested and to advise vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no Federal commercial quota is available for landing summer flounder in Massachusetts.

These special conditions are issued for the Bombardier Aerospace Inc. (Bombardier) Model BD-700-2A12 and BD-700-2A13 airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport-category airplanes. This design feature is associated with a reduced margin between design cruising speed, VC/MC, and design diving speed, VD/ MD, based on the incorporation of a high-speed-protection system that limits nose-down pilot authority at speeds above VD/MD. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for these design features. 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.

This action closes the Gulf of Maine Cod Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area to Northeast multispecies common pool vessels fishing with trawl gear, sink gillnet gear, and longline/hook gear for the remainder of Trimester 1, through August 31, 2016. The closure is required by regulation because the common pool fishery has caught 90 percent of its Trimester 1 quota for Gulf of Maine cod. This closure is intended to prevent an overage of the common pool's quota for this stock.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone in Superior Bay near Barkers Island in Superior, WI. This safety zone is intended to restrict vessels from specified waters in the Superior Bay during the Dragon Boat Festival Fireworks Display. This safety zone is necessary to protect spectators from the hazards associated with the fireworks display.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all The Boeing Company Model 737-100, -200, -200C, -300, -400, and -500 series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of skin cracking found at the corners of the aft entry and aft galley doorways. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections for cracking of the corners of the aft entry and aft galley doorways; and repair if necessary, which would terminate the repetitive inspections of the repaired areas. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking of the corners of the aft entry and aft galley doorways, which could result in rapid decompression and consequent reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Montlake Bridge across the Lake Washington Ship Canal, mile 5.2, at Seattle, WA. The deviation is necessary to accommodate vehicular traffic attending football games at Husky Stadium at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position two and a half hours before and two and a half hours after each game. The game times for three of the seven games scheduled for Husky Stadium have not yet been determined due to NCAA television scheduling.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of New Hampshire on March 31, 2011 and on July 23, 2013. These SIP revisions establish particulate matter (PM) and visible emissions (VE) standards for the following sources: foundries, smelters, and investment casting operations; hot mix asphalt plants; and sand and gravel sources, non-metallic mineral processing plants, and cement and concrete sources. In addition, EPA is proposing to approve a part of a SIP revision submitted by New Hampshire on March 12, 2003 that establishes procedures for testing opacity of emissions (i.e., VE). This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC or Commission) proposes to amend its rules governing Service Contracts and NVOCC Service Arrangements. The proposed rule is intended to update, modernize, and reduce the regulatory burden.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) proposes to amend its regulations on ``Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands'' to implement Executive Order 13690, which establishes the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). FEMA also proposes a supplementary policy (FEMA Policy: 078-3) that would further clarify how FEMA applies the FFRMS.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Commonwealth of Virginia state implementation plan (SIP). These revisions pertain to preconstruction permitting requirements under Virginia's minor New Source Review (NSR) program. EPA is approving these revisions to the Virginia SIP in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (FAA), authorizes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide foreign assistance in the form of development and humanitarian assistance that reflect American ideals. To help emphasize USAID's intent and expectation of non-discrimination of beneficiaries in USAID- funded activities, USAID is proposing to amend its Agency for International Development Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR) to include a new clause entitled ``Nondiscrimination against End-Users of Supplies or Services.'' This proposed clause expressly states that USAID-funded contractors must not discriminate among end-users of supplies or services (referred to in this rule as beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries) in any way that is contrary to the scope of the activity as defined in the statements of work (SOWs).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is removing its environmental considerations regulations and replacing the regulations with a new Directive and Instruction on environmental planning and historical preservation requirements. DHS instituted procedures for environmental considerations that apply Department-wide (including FEMA) in a new Directive and Instruction. FEMA is issuing supplemental procedures to the new DHS Directive and Instruction; a Notice of Availability for these supplemental procedures appears in the Notice section of today's edition of the Federal Register.

On December 3, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNOPR) to revise its test procedures for cooking products. As part of the December 2014 test procedure SNOPR, DOE proposed a change to the test equipment that would allow for measuring the energy efficiency of induction cooking tops. DOE also proposed methods to test non-circular electric surface units, electric surface units with flexible concentric cooking zones, full-surface induction cooking tops, and gas burners with high input rates. In this SNOPR, to address issues raised by interested parties regarding the ability of the previous cooking top proposals to adequately measure energy use during a representative average use cycle, DOE proposes to amend its test procedure for all conventional electric cooking tops to incorporate by reference the relevant selections from European standard EN 60350-2:2013 ``Household electric cooking appliances Part 2: HobsMethods for measuring performance'' (EN 60350-2:2013). DOE also revises its proposals for testing non- circular electric surface units, electric surface units with flexible concentric cooking zones, and full-surface induction cooking tops based on EN 60350-2:2013. Furthermore, DOE proposes to extend the test methods in EN 60350-2:2013 to measure the energy consumption of gas cooking tops by correlating test equipment diameter to burner input rate, including input rates that exceed 14,000 British thermal units per hour (Btu/h). DOE also proposes to modify the calculations of conventional cooking top annual energy consumption and integrated annual energy consumption to account for the proposed water-heating test method. DOE proposes to incorporate by reference test structures from American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z21.1-2016 ``Household cooking gas appliances'' to standardize the installation conditions under which cooking tops are tested. DOE also proposes minor technical clarifications to the gas heating value correction and other grammatical changes to the regulatory text in appendix I that do not alter the substance of the existing test methods. With regard to conventional ovens, DOE proposes to repeal the regulatory provisions establishing the test procedure for conventional ovens under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). DOE has determined that the conventional oven test procedure may not accurately represent consumer use as it favors conventional ovens with low thermal mass and does not capture cooking performance-related benefits due to increased thermal mass of the oven cavity.

We are revising the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment systems (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs of acute care hospitals to implement changes arising from our continuing experience with these systems for FY 2017. Some of these changes will implement certain statutory provisions contained in the Pathway for Sustainable Growth Reform Act of 2013, the Improving Medicare Post- Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014, the Notice of Observation Treatment and Implications for Care Eligibility Act of 2015, and other legislation. We also are providing the estimated market basket update to apply to the rate-of-increase limits for certain hospitals excluded from the IPPS that are paid on a reasonable cost basis subject to these limits for FY 2017. We are updating the payment policies and the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) for FY 2017. In addition, we are making changes relating to direct graduate medical education (GME) and indirect medical education payments; establishing new requirements or revising existing requirements for quality reporting by specific Medicare providers (acute care hospitals, PPS-exempt cancer hospitals, LTCHs, and inpatient psychiatric facilities), including related provisions for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) participating in the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program; updating policies relating to the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program, the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, and the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program; implementing statutory provisions that require hospitals and CAHs to furnish notification to Medicare beneficiaries, including Medicare Advantage enrollees, when the beneficiaries receive outpatient observation services for more than 24 hours; announcing the implementation of the Frontier Community Health Integration Project Demonstration; and making technical corrections and changes to regulations relating to costs to related organizations and Medicare cost reports; we are providing notice of the closure of three teaching hospitals and the opportunity to apply for available GME resident slots under section 5506 of the Affordable Care Act. We are finalizing the provisions of interim final rules with comment period that relate to a temporary exception for certain wound care discharges from the application of the site neutral payment rate under the LTCH PPS for certain LTCHs; application of two judicial decisions relating to modifications of limitations on redesignation by the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board; and legislative extensions of the Medicare-dependent, small rural hospital program and changes to the payment adjustment for low-volume hospitals.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for certain waters of the St. Clair River in the vicinity of Port Huron, Michigan. Though this is an unsanctioned, non-permitted marine event, this action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters near Port Huron, MI, during a float down event on August 21, 2016. This regulation prohibits persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Detroit or a designated representative.

On March 24, 2016, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule, Temporary General License. The March 24 final rule created a temporary general license that restored, for a specified time period, the licensing requirements and policies under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) as of March 7, 2016, to two entities (ZTE Corporation and ZTE Kangxun) that were added to the Entity List on March 8, 2016. At this time, the U.S. Government has decided to extend the temporary general license until November 28, 2016. In order to implement this decision, this final rule revises the temporary general license to remove the expiration date of August 30, 2016, and to substitute the date of November 28, 2016. This final rule makes no other changes to the EAR.

NMFS issues a proposed rule to implement Amendment 101 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP) for the sablefish individual fishing quota (IFQ) fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This proposed rule would authorize the use of longline pot gear in the GOA sablefish IFQ fishery. This proposed rule would establish management measures to minimize potential conflicts between hook-and-line and longline pot gear used in the sablefish IFQ fisheries in the GOA. This proposed rule also includes proposed regulations developed under the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act) to authorize harvest of halibut IFQ caught incidentally in longline pot gear used in the GOA sablefish IFQ fishery. This proposed rule is necessary to improve efficiency and provide economic benefits for the sablefish IFQ fleet and minimize potential fishery interactions with whales and seabirds. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Halibut Act, the GOA FMP, and other applicable laws.