September 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), withdraw the proposed rule to list the Kenk's amphipod (Stygobromus kenki), an invertebrate from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (Act) as amended. This withdrawal is based on our conclusion that the threats to the species as identified in the proposed rule are not as significant as we previously determined and the proposed listing is not warranted. We base this conclusion on our analysis of new information concerning the results of new surveys, current and future threats, and conservation efforts. We find the best scientific and commercial data available indicate that the Kenk's amphipod does not meet the statutory definitions of an endangered or threatened species. Therefore, we are withdrawing our proposed rule to list the Kenk's amphipod as an endangered species.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve elements of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission, and an amended SIP submission from the State of Iowa for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). Infrastructure SIPs address the applicable requirements of Clean Air Act (CAA) section 110, which requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of each new or revised NAAQS promulgated by the EPA. These SIPs are commonly referred to as ``infrastructure'' SIPs. The infrastructure requirements are designed to ensure that the structural components of each state's air quality management program are adequate to meet the state's responsibilities under the CAA.

NMFS is issuing regulations under the Tuna Conventions Act to implement amendments to Resolution C-17-01 (Conservation of Tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean During 2017) per Resolution C-17-02 (Conservation Measures for Tropical Tunas in the Eastern Pacific Ocean During 2018- 2020 and Amendment to Resolution C-17-01) which was adopted by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC or Commission) in July 2017. Applicable to the purse seine fleet fishing for tropical tunas (bigeye, yellowfin, and skipjack tuna) in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) and only for the remainder of the 2017 calendar year, the amendments to Resolution C-17-01 remove the total allowable catches (TACs) for bigeye tuna (BET) and yellowfin tuna (YFT), and replace them with an extension in the purse seine closure period from 62 days to 72 days. Additionally, to ensure that the time/area closure, known as the corralito, does not overlap with the extended closure periods, the amendments also shift the dates for the corralito closure. This rule is necessary for the conservation of tropical tuna stocks in the EPO and for the United States to satisfy its obligations as a member of the IATTC.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``CFTC'' or ``Commission'') is adopting final rules to establish a new delegation of authority to Commission staff under the Commission's system safeguards rules to notify each designated contract market (``DCM'') of its percentage of the total annual trading volume among all DCMs regulated by the Commission for purposes of whether it is a covered DCM under the system safeguards rules.

With the issuance of this final rule, the Drug Enforcement Administration removes the substance naldemedine (4R,4aS,7aR,12bS)-3- (cyclopropylmethyl)-4a,7,9-trihydroxy-N-(2-(3-phenyl-1,2,4-ox adiazol-5- yl)propan-2-yl)-2,3,4,4a,5,7a-hexahydro-1H-4,12-methanobenzof uro[3,2- e]isoquinoline-6-carboxamide) including its salts from the schedules of the Controlled Substances Act. Prior to the effective date of this rule, naldemedine was a schedule II controlled substance because it can be derived from opium alkaloids. This action removes the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to controlled substances, including those specific to schedule II controlled substances, on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, dispense, conduct research, import, export, or conduct chemical analysis) or propose to handle naldemedine.

The Coast Guard is extending, for an additional six months, the existing temporary safety zone surrounding the entry of lava from the Kilauea volcano into the navigable waters of the Pacific Ocean on the southeast side of the Island of Hawaii, HI. The extension of this safety zone is necessary to protect persons and vessels from hazards associated with molten lava entering the ocean while the proposed rule is reviewed.

This interim final rule revises the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board's (CSB) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) rule. The purpose of this revision is to ensure consistency with the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 and to update certain other provisions of the CSB's current rule. This interim final rule supersedes all previous CSB rules and guidance that supplement and implement the CSB FOIA Program.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve the state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) on behalf of the State of Maryland in response to EPA's February 3, 2017 Findings of Failure to Submit for various requirements relating to the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). This SIP revision is specific to nonattainment new source review (NNSR) requirements. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's SIP submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed description of the state submittal and EPA's evaluation is included in a technical support document (TSD) prepared in support of this rulemaking action. A copy of the TSD is available, upon request, from the EPA Regional Office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document or is also available electronically within the Docket for this rulemaking action. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing withdrawal of the federal implementation plan (FIP) provisions that require affected electricity generating units (EGUs) in Texas to participate in Phase 2 of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) trading programs for annual emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX). Withdrawal of the FIP requirements is intended to address a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) remanding the CSAPR Phase 2 SO2 budget for Texas to the EPA for reconsideration. With this action, the EPA is also determining that, following withdrawal of the FIP requirements, sources in Texas do not contribute significantly to nonattainment in, or interfere with maintenance by, any other state with regard to the 1997 national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Accordingly, we are also determining that the EPA has no obligation to issue new FIP requirements for Texas sources to address transported PM2.5 pollution under Clean Air Act (CAA) section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) with regard to that NAAQS. Finally, the EPA is also affirming the continued validity of the Agency's 2012 determination that participation in CSAPR meets the Regional Haze Rule's criteria for an alternative to the application of source- specific best available retrofit technology (BART). The EPA has determined that changes to CSAPR's geographic scope resulting from the actions EPA has taken or expects to take in response to the D.C. Circuit's remand do not affect the continued validity of participation in CSAPR as a BART alternative, because the changes in geographic scope would not have adversely affected the results of the air quality modeling analysis upon which the EPA based the 2012 determination.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve elements of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission, for the 2012 Annual Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). Infrastructure SIPs address the applicable requirements of Clean Air Act (CAA) section 110, which requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of each new or revised NAAQS promulgated by the EPA. These SIPs are commonly referred to as ``infrastructure'' SIPs. The infrastructure requirements are designed to ensure that the structural components of each state's air quality management program are adequate to meet the state's responsibilities under the CAA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving New York's regional haze progress report, submitted on June 16, 2015, as a revision to its State Implementation Plan (SIP). New York's SIP revision addresses requirements of the Clean Air Act and the EPA's rules that require each state to submit periodic reports describing progress towards reasonable progress goals established for regional haze and a determination of the adequacy of the state's existing regional haze SIP. The EPA is approving New York's determination that the State's regional haze SIP is adequate to meet these reasonable progress goals for the first implementation period which extends through 2018.

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 EDGAR system is scheduled to be upgraded on September 11, 2017.

This SNPRM provides interested parties the opportunity to comment on the proposed revisions to the FHWA and FTA joint regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 4(f) requirements. The FHWA, FRA, and FTA (hereafter referred to as ``the Agencies'') propose these revisions after the enactment of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which requires a rulemaking to address programmatic approaches in environmental reviews and makes other changes to existing law that should be addressed in a rulemaking. In this SNPRM the Agencies also propose to add FRA to regulations governing environmental impact and related procedures and the parks, recreation areas, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and historic site, making those regulations FRA's NEPA implementing procedures and FRA's Section 4(f) implementing regulations, respectively. This SNPRM proposes to modify the FHWA/FTA Environmental Impact and Related Procedures due to changes to the environmental review process made by the FAST Act and to modify the Parks, Recreation Areas, Wildlife and Waterfowl Refuges, and Historic Sites regulations due to new exceptions created by the FAST Act. Lastly, the Agencies request comments regarding the current FHWA and FTA definition of ``existing operational right-of-way'' in their respective categorical exclusion sections. The Agencies seek comments on the proposals in this document.

This decision proposes amendments to Marketing Order No. 989 (order), which regulates the handling of raisins produced from grapes grown in California and provides producers with the opportunity to vote in a referendum to determine if they favor the changes. Five amendments proposed by the Raisin Administrative Committee (RAC or Committee), the agency responsible for local administration of the order, would: Authorize production research; establish new nomination procedures for independent producer member and alternate member seats; add authority to regulate quality; add authority to establish different regulations for different markets; and add a continuance referenda requirement. In addition, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) proposed to: Remove order language pertaining to volume regulation and reserve pool authority; establish term limits for Committee members; and, to make any such changes as may be necessary to the order to conform to any amendment that may be adopted, or to correct minor inconsistencies and typographical errors. These proposed amendments would update the order to reflect changes in the industry and potential future changes, and would improve the operation and administration of the order.

EPA is taking direct final action to correct an editing oversight that led to a potential conflict in a prior rulemaking as to whether or not containers holding two pounds or less of non-exempt substitute refrigerants for use in motor vehicle air conditioning that are not equipped with a self-sealing valve can be sold to persons that are not certified technicians, provided those small cans were manufactured or imported prior to January 1, 2018. This action clarifies that those small cans may continue to be sold to persons that are not certified as technicians under sections 608 or 609 of the Clean Air Act.

This document announces the effective date for specific portions of the National Performance Management measures; Assessing Performance of the National Highway System, Freight Movement on the Interstate System, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program Final Rule (PM#3).

This final rule amends U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect the extension of import restrictions on certain archaeological and ecclesiastical ethnological materials from Guatemala. These restrictions, which were last extended and revised by CBP Dec. 12-17, are due to expire on September 29, 2017, unless extended. The Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State (Department of State), has determined that conditions continue to warrant the imposition of import restrictions. Accordingly, the restrictions will remain in effect for an additional five years, and the CBP regulations are being amended to indicate this additional extension. These restrictions are being extended pursuant to determinations of the Department of State under the terms of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act, which implements the 1970 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. CBP Dec. 12-17 contains the Designated List of archaeological and ecclesiastical ethnological materials that describes the articles to which the restrictions apply.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Honeywell International Inc. (Honeywell) TFE731-20 and TFE731-40 turbofan engines. This AD was prompted by two fan disks found with a manufacturing-caused flaw. This AD requires removing affected fan disks and replacing fan disks with a part eligible for installation. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve the state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of removing regulations from the Virginia SIP that established EPA-administered annual NOX, ozone season NOX, and sulfur dioxide (SO2) trading programs under the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). These EPA-administered trading programs under CAIR were discontinued on December 31, 2014 upon the implementation of the Cross- State Air Pollution Rule (CASPR), which was promulgated by EPA to replace CAIR. In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is approving the State's SIP submittal as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received in response to this action, no further activity is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision that the State of New Hampshire submitted to EPA on January 31, 2017 for attaining the 1- hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) primary national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for the Central New Hampshire Nonattainment Area. This plan (herein called a ``nonattainment plan'') includes New Hampshire's attainment demonstration and other elements required under the Clean Air Act (CAA). In addition to an attainment demonstration, the nonattainment plan addresses the requirement for meeting reasonable further progress (RFP) toward attainment of the NAAQS, reasonably available control measures and reasonably available control technology (RACM/RACT), base-year and projection-year emission inventories, and contingency measures. As a part of approving the attainment demonstration, EPA is also proposing to approve SO2 emission limits and associated compliance parameters for Merrimack Station into the New Hampshire SIP. EPA proposes to conclude that New Hampshire has appropriately demonstrated that the nonattainment plan provisions provide for attainment of the 2010 1-hour primary SO2 NAAQS in the Central New Hampshire Nonattainment Area by the applicable attainment date and that the nonattainment plan meets the other applicable requirements under the CAA.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Rolls-Royce plc (RR) RB211 Trent 553-61, Trent 553A2-61, Trent 556-61, Trent 556A2-61, Trent 556B-61, Trent 556B2-61, Trent 560-61, and Trent 560A2-61 turbofan engines. This AD requires replacement of the low- pressure compressor (LPC) case A-frame hollow locating pins. This AD was prompted by LPC case A-frame hollow locating pins that may have reduced integrity due to incorrect heat treatment. We are issuing this AD to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

The National Indian Gaming Commission proposes to amend the minimum technical standards for Class II gaming systems and equipment. The proposed rule would amend regulations that describe how tribal governments, tribal gaming regulatory authorities, and tribal gaming operations comply with the technical standards. In particular, the proposed rule amends the requirement that gaming systems manufactured before November 10, 2008, be modified to meet standards applicable to gaming systems manufactured on or after November 10, 2008, or be removed from the gaming floor by November 10, 2018. The Commission proposes this action to assist tribal governments, tribal gaming regulatory authorities, and operations in ensuring the integrity and security of Class II games and gaming revenue through minimum technical standards for Class II gaming systems and equipment.

The Office of Head Start will delay the compliance date for background check procedures and the date for programs to participate in their state or local Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). Both requirements are described in the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) final rule that was published in the Federal Register on September 6, 2016. We believe programs and states will benefit from more time to fully implement these changes.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is proposing to amend the rules of practice of its Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) to implement procedures for protests of eligibility for inclusion in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) database, and procedures for appeals of denials and cancellations of inclusion in the CVE database. These amendments would be in accordance with Sections 1832 and 1833 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (NDAA 2017).

This decision proposes amendments to Marketing Order No. 982 (order), which regulates the handling of hazelnuts grown in Oregon and Washington, and provides growers with the opportunity to vote in a referendum to determine if they favor the changes. Two amendments are proposed by the Hazelnut Marketing Board (Board), which is responsible for local administration of the order. The proposed amendments would add both the authority to regulate quality for the purpose of pathogen reduction and the authority to establish different regulations for different markets. In addition, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) proposed to make any such changes as may be necessary to the order to conform to any amendment that may result from the public hearing. The proposals would aid in pathogen reduction and the industry's ability to meet the needs of different market destinations.