January 18, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are revising our medical evidence rules. The revisions include redefining several key terms related to evidence, revising our rules about acceptable medical sources (AMS), revising how we consider and articulate our consideration of medical opinions and prior administrative medical findings, revising our rules about medical consultants (MC) and psychological consultants (PC), revising our rules about treating sources, and reorganizing our evidence regulations for ease of use. These revisions conform our rules to the requirements of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA), reflect changes in the national healthcare workforce and in the manner that individuals receive medical care, and emphasize the need for objective medical evidence in disability and blindness claims. We expect that these changes will simplify our rules to make them easier to understand and apply, and allow us to continue to make accurate and consistent disability determinations and decisions.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Fokker Services B.V. Model F28 Mark 0100 airplanes. This AD was prompted by an analysis which determined that, for certain areas of the fuselage, the current threshold of an Airworthiness Limitations Section inspection is insufficient to detect early crack development. This AD requires one time high and low frequency eddy current inspections of the affected fuselage skin for cracks, and repair if necessary. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus Defense and Space S.A. Model C-212 airplanes. This AD was prompted by multiple reports of damaged and cracked rudder torque tube shafts. This AD requires various repetitive inspections, and corrective actions if necessary. This AD also provides a modification which terminates the repetitive inspections. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This action sets forth the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) final decision on the issues for which it announced reconsideration on July 12, 2016, that pertain to certain aspects of the June 30, 2015, final amendments for the Ferroalloys Production source category regulated under national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP). The EPA is amending the rule to allow existing facilities with positive pressure baghouses to perform visible emissions monitoring twice daily as an alternative to installing and operating bag leak detection systems (BLDS) to ensure the baghouses are operating properly. In addition, this final action explains that EPA is maintaining the requirement that facilities must use a digital camera opacity technique (DCOT) method to demonstrate compliance with opacity limits. However, this final action revises the rule such that it references the recently updated version of the DCOT method. In this action, the EPA also explains that no changes are being made regarding the rule provision that requires quarterly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) emission testing for furnaces producing ferromanganese (FeMn) with an opportunity for facilities to request decreased compliance test frequency from their permitting authority after the first year. Furthermore, in this action, the EPA is denying the request for reconsideration of the PAH emission limits for both FeMn and silicomanganese (SiMn) production furnaces.

The OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (collectively, the Agencies) are amending their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations to adjust the asset-size thresholds used to define ``small bank'' or ``small savings association'' and ``intermediate small bank'' or ``intermediate small savings association.'' As required by the CRA regulations, the adjustment to the threshold amount is based on the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The FDIC is also amending its CRA Notice requirements to reflect two technical changes concerning the manner in which the agency will receive public comments considered in the CRA examination process.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, sets forth a variety of provisions designed to improve energy efficiency. Part C of Title III establishes the ``Energy Conservation Program for Certain Industrial Equipment.'' The covered equipment includes pumps. In this direct final rule, DOE is adopting new energy conservation standards for dedicated-purpose pool pumps. It has determined that the energy conservation standards for these products would result in significant conservation of energy, and are technologically feasible and economically justified.