January 18, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the availability of a final Programmatic Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transit Projects (Programmatic Assessment) and an accompanying Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) Estimator Tool (Estimator Tool). On November 22, 2016, FTA announced in the Federal Register the availability of the draft Programmatic Assessment and Estimator Tool and requested public comment. FTA received five comment letters and presents its responses to those comments in this notice.

PHMSA is considering revising the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to establish vapor pressure limits for unrefined petroleum-based products and potentially all Class 3 flammable liquid hazardous materials that would apply during the transportation of the products or materials by any mode. PHMSA is currently assessing the merits of a petition for rulemaking submitted by the Attorney General of the State of New York regarding vapor pressure standards for the transportation of crude oil. The petition requests that PHMSA implement a Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) limit less than 9.0 pounds per square inch (psi) for crude oil transported by rail. PHMSA will use the comments in response to this ANPRM to help assess and respond to the petition and to evaluate any other potential regulatory actions related to sampling and testing of crude oil and other Class 3 hazardous materials. PHMSA will also evaluate the potential safety benefits and costs of utilizing vapor pressure thresholds within the hazardous materials classification process for unrefined petroleum-based products and Class 3 hazardous materials.

NMFS proposes annual catch limits (ACLs) for Pacific Island bottomfish, crustacean, precious coral, and coral reef ecosystem fisheries, and accountability measures (AMs) to correct or mitigate any overages of catch limits. The proposed ACLs and AMs would be effective for fishing year 2016. The fishing year for each fishery begins on January 1 and ends on December 31, except for precious coral fisheries, which begin July 1 and end on June 30 the following year. Although the 2016 fishing year has ended for most stocks, we will evaluate 2016 catches against these proposed ACLs when data become available in mid- 2017. The proposed ACLs and AMs support the long-term sustainability of fishery resources of the U.S. Pacific Islands.

We propose to supersede airworthiness directive (AD) 2012-04- 01 that applies to all Rolls-Royce plc (RR) RB211-Trent 800 model turbofan engines. AD 2012-04-01 requires removal from service of certain critical engine rotating parts based on reduced life limits. Since we issued AD 2012-04-01, RR has further revised the life limits of certain critical engine rotating parts. This proposed AD would make additional revisions to the life limits of certain critical engine rotating parts. We are proposing this AD to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a permanent special local regulation for the Annual Fautasi Ocean Challenge canoe race in Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa. This annual event historically occurs during the weeks of Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving Day. This action is necessary to safeguard the participants and spectators, including all crews, vessels, and persons on the water in Pago Pago Harbor during the event. This regulation will functionally close the port to vessel traffic during the race, but will not require the evacuation of any vessels from the harbor. Entry into, transiting, or anchoring in the harbor would be prohibited to all vessels not registered with the sponsor as participants or not part of the race patrol, unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) Honolulu or a designated representative. Vessels who are already moored or anchored in the harbor seeking permission to remain there shall request permission from the COTP unless deemed a spectator vessel that is moored to a waterfront facility within the regulated area. The area forming the subject of this permanent special local regulation is described below. We invite your comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

Notice is hereby given of a public meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF). The meeting will be held Thursday, February 23, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. in Washington, DC, at the U.S. Department of Interior, 1925 Constitution Avenue NW., 20006. The meeting provides a forum for coordinated planning and action among federal agencies, state and territorial governments, and nongovernmental partners. Registration is requested for all events associated with the meeting. This meeting has time allotted for public comment. All public comments must be submitted in written format. A written summary of the meeting will be posted on the USCRTF Web site within two months of occurrence. For information about the meeting, registering and submitting public comments, go to https://www.coralreef.gov. Commenters may address the meeting, the role of the USCRTF, or general coral reef conservation issues. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comments, you should be aware that your entire comment, including personal identifying information may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Established by Presidential Executive Order 13089 in 1998, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force mission is to lead, coordinate and strengthen U.S. government actions to better preserve and protect coral reef ecosystems. Co-chaired by the Departments of Commerce and Interior, Task Force members include leaders of 12 federal agencies, seven U.S. states and territories and three freely associated states.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to revise its regulations for medical qualification determinations. The revised regulations update references and language; add and modify definitions; clarify coverage and applicability; address the need for medical documentation and medical examination and/or testing for an applicant or employee whose position may or may not have medical standards and/or physical requirements; and recommend the establishment of agency medical review boards. The final rule provides agencies guidance regarding medical evaluation procedures.

On Feb. 9, 2016, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that proposed policy changes to update and modernize the Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records (42 CFR part 2). SAMHSA explained in the NPRM that these changes were intended to better align the regulations with advances in the U.S. health care delivery system while retaining important privacy protections for individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders. The last substantive update to these regulations was in 1987. SAMHSA is issuing this Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) to propose additional clarifications to the part 2 regulations as amended by the concurrently issued final rule. As noted in the final rule, 42 CFR part 2 Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records, questions raised by commenters highlighted varying interpretations of the 1987 rule's restrictions on lawful holders and their contractors and subcontractors' use and disclosure of part 2-covered data for purposes of carrying out payment, health care operations, and other health care related activities. In consideration of this feedback and given the critical role that third-party payers, other lawful holders, and their contractors, subcontractors, and legal representatives play in the provision of health care services, SAMHSA is issuing this SNPRM to seek further comments on our proposals to address and help clarify these matters before establishing any appropriate restrictions on disclosures to contractors, subcontractors and legal representatives.

NMFS publishes the standard ex-vessel prices and fee percentage for cost recovery under the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program. This action is intended to provide participants in a rockfish cooperative with the standard prices and fee percentage for the 2016 fishing year, which was authorized from May 1 through November 15. The fee percentage is 2.54 percent. The fee payments are due from each rockfish cooperative on or before February 15, 2017.

The Federal Transit Administration has placed in the docket and on its Web site, the final National Public Transportation Safety Plan that establishes performance measures to improve the safety of public transportation systems that receive FTA Federal financial assistance. Transit agencies will set performance targets based on the measures in order to monitor and assess the safety performance of their public transportation systems.

This document contains final regulations that identify certain stock of a foreign corporation that is disregarded in calculating ownership of the foreign corporation for purposes of determining whether it is a surrogate foreign corporation. These regulations also provide guidance on the effect of transfers of stock of a foreign corporation after the foreign corporation has acquired substantially all of the properties of a domestic corporation or of a trade or business of a domestic partnership. These regulations affect certain domestic corporations and partnerships (and certain parties related thereto) and foreign corporations that acquire substantially all of the properties of such domestic corporations or of the trades or businesses of such domestic partnerships. The text of the temporary regulations also serves as the text of the proposed regulations set forth in the notice of proposed rulemaking on Rules Regarding Inversions and Related Transactions in the Proposed Rules section of this issue of the Federal Register.

This document withdraws portions of a notice of proposed rulemaking (REG-135734-14) published on April 8, 2016, in the Federal Register (81 FR 20588). The withdrawn portions relate to exceptions to general rules addressing certain transactions that are structured to avoid the purposes of section 7874 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code).

In this final rule, NMFS specifies an annual catch limit (ACL) of 318,000 lb of Deep 7 bottomfish in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) for the 2016-17 fishing year. As an accountability measure (AM), if the ACL is projected to be reached, NMFS would close the commercial and non-commercial fisheries for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish for the remainder of the fishing year. The ACL and AM support the long-term sustainability of Hawaii bottomfish.

This rulemaking proposes the establishment of an industry- funded promotion, research, and information program for certified organic products. The purpose of the program would be to strengthen the position of certified organic products in the marketplace, support research to benefit the organic industry, and improve access to information and data across the organic sector. The proposed program, the Organic Research, Promotion, and Information Order (proposed Order), was submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by the Organic Trade Association (OTA). Under the proposed Order, certified producers (producers) and certified handlers (handlers) with gross sales in excess of $250,000 for the previous marketing year of certified organic agricultural commodities would pay an assessment of one-tenth of one percent of net organic sales. Importers importing greater than $250,000 in transaction value of organic products for the previous marketing year would pay an assessment of one-tenth of one percent of the transaction value of certified organic products reported to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Customs or CBP). Producers, handlers, and importers that fall below these thresholds could choose to pay assessments into the program as a ``voluntarily assessed'' entity. The proposed program would be implemented under the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 (the Act) and would be administered by a board of assessment payers and one public member appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary). An initial referendum would be held among mandatorily and voluntarily assessed entities (i.e. domestic producers, handlers, and importers) to determine whether they favor implementation of the program prior to it going into effect. This proposed rule also announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) intent to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of new information collection requirements to implement the program.

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 established the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and gave the Comptroller General responsibility for appointing its members. GAO is now accepting nominations for MedPAC appointments that will be effective May 1, 2017. Letters of nomination and resumes should be submitted no later than March 10, 2017 to ensure adequate opportunity for review and consideration of nominees prior to appointment of new members. Acknowledgement of submissions will be provided within a week of submission. Please contact Greg Giusto at (202) 512-8268 if you do not receive an acknowledgment.

The purpose of this final rule is to establish measures for State departments of transportation (State DOT) to use to carry out the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP) and to assess the condition of the following: Pavements on the National Highway System (NHS) (excluding the Interstate System), bridges carrying the NHS which includes on- and off-ramps connected to the NHS, and pavements on the Interstate System. The NHPP is a core Federal-aid highway program that provides support for the condition and performance of the NHS and the construction of new facilities on the NHS. The NHPP also ensures that investments of Federal-aid funds in highway construction are directed to support progress toward the achievement of performance targets established in a State's asset management plan for the NHS. This final rule establishes regulations for the new performance aspects of the NHPP that address measures, targets, and reporting. The FHWA is in the process of creating a new public Web site to help communicate the national performance story. The Web site will likely include infographics, tables, charts, and descriptions of the performance data that State DOTs report to FHWA. The FHWA issues this final rule based on sec. 1203 of MAP-21, which identifies national transportation goals and requires the Secretary to promulgate rules to establish performance measures and standards in specified Federal-aid highway program areas.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Executive Order, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade, and the biobased product acquisition provisions of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (also known as the 2014 Farm Bill).