January 29, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Alabama regulatory program (Alabama program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Alabama proposes revisions to its program to allow the Alabama Surface Mining Commission (ASMC) to revise its current permit fee collection procedures from the term of the mine permit to enable the collection of permit fees over the entire life of the mine. The revision also defines the life of the mine to be from the issuance of the permit through the full release of the performance bond. This document gives the locations and times where the Alabama program documents and proposed amendment to that program are available for your inspection, establishes the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and describes the procedures we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the California Route 160 Drawbridge across Three Mile Slough, mile 0.1, near Rio Vista, CA. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position while the bridge owner conducts emergency repairs.

This final rule adjusts the level of civil monetary penalties contained in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) regulations governing onshore oil and gas operations as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 and consistent with applicable Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. The adjustments made by this final rule constitute the 2018 annual inflation adjustments, accounting for one year of inflation spanning the period from October 2016 through October 2017.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the navigable waters on the Lower Mississippi River between mile marker (MM) 95.6 and MM 96.6 Above Head of Passes (AHP). This safety zone is necessary to protect persons and vessels from potential safety hazards associated with a fireworks display on February 3, 2018. This rulemaking will prohibit persons and vessels from entering the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector New Orleans (COTP) or a designated representative.

We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2017-07-02 for Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Sikorsky) Model 269D and Model 269D Configuration A helicopters. AD 2017-07-02 required reducing the life limit of and inspecting certain drive shafts. This new AD retains the requirements of AD 2017-07-02 and requires repeating the inspections. The actions of this AD are intended to detect and prevent an unsafe condition on these products.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maryland. The revision is 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. EPA is approving this revision in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

This action finalizes amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Off-Site Waste and Recovery Operations (OSWRO). The final amendments address continuous monitoring on pressure relief devices (PRDs) on containers. This issue was raised in a petition for reconsideration of the 2015 amendments to the OSWRO NESHAP, which were based on the residual risk and technology review (RTR). Among other things, the 2015 amendments established additional monitoring requirements for all PRDs, including PRDs on containers. For PRDs on containers, these monitoring requirements were in addition to the inspection and monitoring requirements for containers and their closure devices already required by the OSWRO NESHAP. This final action removes the additional monitoring requirements for PRDs on containers that resulted from the 2015 amendments because we have determined that they are not necessary. This action does not substantially change the level of environmental protection provided under the OSWRO NESHAP, but reduces burden to this industry compared to the current rule by $28 million in capital costs related to compliance, and $4.2 million per year in total annualized costs under a 7 percent interest rate. Over 15 years at a 7-percent discount rate, this constitutes an estimated reduction of $39 million in the present value, or $4.3 million per year in equivalent annualized cost savings.

The Department of Justice is adjusting for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by components of the Department, in accordance with the provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, for penalties assessed after January 29, 2018, with respect to violations occurring after November 2, 2015.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier, Inc., Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports that operation of fuselage doors was interrupted due to corrosion in certain door roller bearings. This AD requires a one-time detailed inspection of the bearings for corrosion, and replacement if necessary. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Federal Election Commission requests comments on proposed changes to its regulations concerning independent expenditures by candidates. The Commission also requests comments on proposed changes to its regulations to address reporting of independent expenditures and electioneering communications that relate to presidential primary elections and that are publicly distributed in multiple states but that do not refer to any particular state's primary election. The Commission has made no final decision on the issues and proposals presented in this rulemaking.