January 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an information collection request (ICR), ``NSPS for Sewage Sludge Treatment Plants (40 CFR part 60, subpart O) (Renewal)'' (EPA ICR No 1063.13, OMB Control No. 2060-0035), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through January 31, 2017. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (81 FR 26546) on May 3, 2016, during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. An Agency may neither conduct nor sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently-valid OMB control number.

The Department of Commerce is rescinding the expedited review of the countervailing duty order on certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) for the period of review January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2014, based on the timely withdrawal of requests for review.

On December 14, 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued minor revisions to AP-42 Section 13.5: Industrial Flares. AP-42 is the primary compilation of the EPA's emissions factor information. The EPA finalized these revisions in compliance with a settlement agreement entered into with Air Alliance Houston, Community In-Power and Development Association, Inc., Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (``Plaintiffs'').

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``CFTC'' or ``Commission'') is proposing technical amendments to its regulations that govern registration and review of exchange disciplinary, access denial or other adverse actions. The amendments would integrate existing advisory guidance and the amendments to part 9 would also incorporate swap execution facilities (``SEFs'') and update provisions currently applicable to designated contract markets (``DCMs''). The proposal revises existing rules to delete numerous cross-references to previously deleted regulations and adds citations to applicable parallel provisions for SEFs and DCMs. Additionally, the proposal addresses the publication of final disciplinary and access denial actions taken by the SEFs and DCMs on their exchange Web sites.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled ``Compliance with and Recommendations for Implementation of the Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption for Sprout Operations.'' The draft guidance, when finalized, will help sprout operations subject to FDA's final rule entitled ``Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption'' (the Produce Safety Rule), and primarily focuses on assisting such operations in complying with the sprout-specific requirements in Subpart M (Sprouts) of the Produce Safety Rule. The draft guidance also includes limited discussion on certain other applicable requirements of the Produce Safety Rule. This draft guidance may also be useful to sprout operations that are not subject to the Produce Safety Rule that voluntarily choose to follow the standards established by the rule.

This rule provides for annual adjustments to the level of civil monetary penalties contained in Bureau of Indian Affairs (Bureau) regulations to account for inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing a tobacco product standard that would establish a limit of N-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) in finished smokeless tobacco products. FDA is taking this action because NNN is a potent carcinogenic agent found in smokeless tobacco products and is a major contributor to the elevated cancer risks associated with smokeless tobacco use. Because products with higher NNN levels pose higher risks of cancer, FDA finds that establishing a NNN limit in finished smokeless tobacco products is appropriate for the protection of the public health.

The Department of Health and Human Services (``HHS'' or ``Department'') has revised the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (Guidelines), 73 FR 71858 (November 25, 2008) for urine testing.

This document contains corrections to a notice of proposed rulemaking by cross-reference to temporary regulation (REG-133353-16) that was published in the Federal Register on Friday, December 9, 2016. The proposed regulations authorize the disclosure of specified return information to the Census Bureau (Bureau) for purposes of structuring the censuses and national economic accounts and conducting related statistical activities authorized by title 13.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration's final rule amends the Agency's standards for the examination of working places in metal and nonmetal mines. This final rule requires that an examination of the working place be conducted before miners begin working in that place, that operators notify miners in the affected areas of any conditions found that may adversely affect their safety or health, that operators promptly initiate corrective action, and that a record be made of the examination. The final rule also requires that the examination record include: The name of the person conducting the examination, the date of the examination, the location of all areas examined, a description of each condition found that may adversely affect the safety or health of miners, and the date of the corrective action. In addition, the final rule requires that mine operators make the examination record available for inspection by authorized representatives of the Secretary and miners' representatives and provide a copy upon request.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (``Board'') is amending Regulation D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions) to revise the rate of interest paid on balances maintained to satisfy reserve balance requirements (``IORR'') and the rate of interest paid on excess balances (``IOER'') maintained at Federal Reserve Banks by or on behalf of eligible institutions. The final amendments specify that IORR is 0.75 percent and IOER is 0.75 percent, a 0.25 percentage point increase from their prior levels. The amendments are intended to enhance the role of such rates of interest in moving the Federal funds rate into the target range established by the Federal Open Market Committee (``FOMC'' or ``Committee'').

We, NMFS, are issuing a final rule to remove the Puget Sound/ Georgia Basin canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) Distinct Population Segment (DPS) from the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Species and remove its critical habitat designation. We proposed these actions based on newly obtained samples and genetic analysis that demonstrates that the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin canary rockfish population does not meet the DPS criteria and therefore does not qualify for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Following public and peer review of the proposed rule and supporting scientific information, this final rule implements the changes to the listing and critical habitat for canary rockfish. We also update and amend the listing description for the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin yelloweye rockfish (S. ruberrimus) DPS based on a geographic description to include fish within specified boundaries. Further, although the current listing description is not based on boundaries, with this final rule we are also correcting a descriptive boundary for the DPS depicted on maps to include an area in the northern Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Channel in waters of Canada consistent with newly obtained genetic information on yelloweye rockfish population grouping. We also update and amend the listing description for the bocaccio DPS based on a geographic description and to include fish within specified boundaries.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) is amending its rule that governs the maximum amount of civil monetary penalties, to adjust for inflation. This rule sets forth the maximum, inflation-adjusted dollar amount for civil monetary penalties (CMPs) assessable for violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and Commission rules, regulations and orders thereunder. The rule, as amended, implements the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended.

This final rule amends the Department of Labor's regulations under the Freedom of Information Act (``FOIA''). The regulations have been revised to update and streamline the language of several procedural provisions and to incorporate changes brought about by the amendments to the FOIA under the OPEN Government Act of 2007 and the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. Additionally, the regulations have been updated to incorporate changes in the agency's administrative structure.

The Delaware River Basin Commission published a document in the Federal Register on December 29, 2016 (81 FR 95860), in relevant part amending the Rules of Practice and Procedure. The document failed to include rule text approved by the Commission relating to the annual monitoring and coordination fee. This document corrects the final regulations by incorporating the approved language. In addition, this document corrects the preamble to clarify that in adopting the final rule, the Commission acted by Resolution No. 2016-9, not 2016-8.

This temporary rule amends the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) regulations to implement changes made to the definition of ``hard cider'' in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015. The modified definition broadens the range of wines eligible for the hard cider tax rate. TTB is amending its regulations to reflect the modified definition of hard cider effective for products removed on or after January 1, 2017, and to set forth new labeling requirements to identify products to which the hard cider tax rate applies. The new labeling requirements include both a one-year transitional rule and a new labeling requirement that takes effect for products removed on or after January 1, 2018. TTB is also soliciting comments from all interested parties on these amendments through a notice of proposed rulemaking published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) is adopting revisions to the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System (EDGAR) Filer Manual and related rules to reflect updates to the EDGAR system. The updates are being made primarily to support the submission of Municipal Advisor submission form types. The EDGAR system is scheduled to be upgraded to support the other functionalities on December 12, 2016.

As part of its review under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is revising certain of its rules to remove outdated or otherwise unnecessary provisions. Specifically, the OCC is: revising certain licensing rules related to chartering applications, business combinations involving Federal mutual savings associations, and notices for changes in permanent capital; clarifying national bank director oath requirements; revising certain fiduciary activity requirements for national banks and Federal savings associations; removing certain financial disclosure regulations for national banks; removing certain unnecessary regulatory reporting, accounting, and management policy regulations for Federal savings associations; updating the electronic activities regulation for Federal savings associations; integrating and updating OCC regulations for national banks and Federal savings associations relating to municipal securities dealers, Securities Exchange Act disclosure rules, and securities offering disclosure rules; updating and revising recordkeeping and confirmation requirements for national banks' and Federal savings associations' securities transactions; integrating and updating regulations relating to insider and affiliate transactions; and making other technical and clarifying changes.