February 6, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army (``the agencies'') are publishing a final rule adding an applicability date to the ``Clean Water Rule: Definition of `Waters of the United States' '' published June 29, 2015 (the ``2015 Rule'') of February 6, 2020. On August 27, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota enjoined the applicability of the 2015 Rule in the 13 States challenging the 2015 Rule in that court. On October 9, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit stayed the 2015 Rule nationwide pending further action of the court. On January 22, 2018, the Supreme Court held that the courts of appeals do not have original jurisdiction to review challenges to the 2015 Rule. With this final rule, the agencies intend to maintain the status quo by adding an applicability date to the 2015 Rule and thus providing continuity and regulatory certainty for regulated entities, the States and Tribes, and the public while the agencies continue to consider possible revisions to the 2015 Rule.

We are notifying the public of our decision to supplement our requirements governing the importation of fresh sweet orange, grapefruit, mandarin, clementine, and tangerine fruit from Colombia into the United States and are requesting public comment on these changes. We have determined that, in order to mitigate the current pest risks posed by the importation of these commodities from Colombia into the United States, it is necessary to supplement the phytosanitary requirements now in place with additional requirements. This action will help to protect the United States against plant pests while allowing the resumption of imports of fresh sweet orange, grapefruit, mandarin, clementine, and tangerine fruit from Colombia, which were suspended in 2016 due to the discovery of new plant pests in South America.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 announces the deletion of the Vancouver Water Station #1 Superfund Site (Site) located in Vancouver, Washington, from the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The NPL refers to the Site as the Vancouver Water Station #1 Contamination Superfund Site. The EPA and the State of Washington, through the Department of Ecology, have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve revisions to the Missouri state plan for designated facilities and pollutants developed under sections 111(d) and 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) that were requested by Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) in two separate submissions made on August 8, 2011 and on July 3, 2014. This proposed action will amend the state regulations referenced in the state's 111(d) plan applicable to existing Hospital, Medical, Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI) operating in the state of Missouri. The state rule revisions we are proposing to approve with this action update HMIWI regulatory requirements for emission limits for waste management plans, training, compliance and performance testing, monitoring, and reporting and recordkeeping to be consistent with updates to Federal rules. These regulatory revisions proposed for approval into Missouri's state plan do not impact air quality. EPA's proposed approval of this revision is being done in accordance with the requirements of CAA section 111(d) as further described in the Technical Support Document that is included in this docket.

This final rule implements status quo commercial quotas for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries for 2018 and projected status quo quotas for 2019 and 2020. This action is necessary to establish allowable harvest levels of Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs that will prevent overfishing and allow harvesting of optimum yield. This action also continues to suspend the minimum shell size for Atlantic surfclams for the 2018 fishing year. The intended effect of this action is to provide benefit to the industry from stable quotas to maintain a consistent market.

NMFS issues regulations to implement management measures described in an abbreviated framework action to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP), as prepared by the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule removes the limit on the number of unrigged hooks that a commercial reef fish vessel with a bottom longline endorsement is allowed on board when using or carrying bottom longline gear in the Federal waters of the eastern Gulf. This final rule does not change the limit of 750 hooks that these vessels can have rigged for fishing at any given time. The purpose of this final rule is to reduce the regulatory and potential economic burden to bottom longline fishers.

This rule revises the Department of Defense (DoD) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulation to implement the FOIA and incorporate the provisions of the OPEN Government Act of 2007 and the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. This part promotes uniformity in the Department of Defense (DoD) FOIA Program. It takes precedence over all DoD Component issuances that supplement and implement the DoD FOIA Program. DoD will be removing individual component rulemakings in this area as subsequent actions to this rule.

On December 16, 2017, the U.S. Copyright Office released a new version of the Single Application, an online registration option that allows a single author to register a claim in one work that is solely owned by the same author and is not a work made for hire. The new Single Application includes enhanced features that should improve the user experience, increase the efficiency of the examination, and reduce the correspondence rate for these types of claims. To coincide with these technical upgrades, the Office is now proposing to amend its regulations to clarify the eligibility requirements for the Single Application, and codify certain practices set forth in the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition. In addition, the proposed rule confirms that the Single Application may be used to register one sound recording and one musical work, literary work, or dramatic worknotwithstanding the fact that a sound recording and the work embodied in that recording are separate works. The proposed rule will also clarify the eligibility requirements for the Office's Standard Application, which is used to register certain works that are ineligible for the Single Application, such as works with more than one owner. In addition, the proposed rule will eliminate the ``short form'' version of the Office's paper applications, and make technical amendments to the regulations governing preregistration, architectural works, mask works, vessel designs, the unit of publication registration option, and the group registration option for database updates. The proposed rule will also allow for paper applications to be certified with a typed or printed signature by removing the requirement that the certification must include a ``handwritten'' signature of the certifying party.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), is amending the regulations under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA or Act) to enhance clarity and improve the administration and enforcement of the PACA. The revisions will provide greater direction to the industry as to how growers and other principals that employ selling agents may preserve their PACA trust rights. The revisions will also clarify the definition of ``written notification'' as the term is used in 6(b) of the PACA, and the jurisdiction of USDA to investigate alleged PACA violations.