December 7, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 is issuing a Notice of Intent to Delete the Tomah Armory Landfill Superfund Site (Tomah Armory Site), located in Tomah, Wisconsin, from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comments on this proposed action. 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). EPA and the State of Wisconsin, through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other than operation and maintenance, monitoring and five-year reviews, have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 announces the partial deletion of all media at the 20-acre Former Research Center Property of the Beloit Corporation Superfund Site (Site), in Rockton, Illinois 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 remainder of the Site will remain on the NPL and is not being considered for deletion as part of this action. EPA and the State of Illinois through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other than operation and maintenance, monitoring and five-year reviews, have been completed. However, the deletion of this parcel does not preclude future actions under Superfund.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is adopting a final rule pertaining to the operation of the Financing Corporation (FICO), a vehicle established by one of FHFA's predecessors to issue bonds, the proceeds of which were used to help fund the resolution of failed savings and loan associations during the 1980s. The last of those FICO bonds will mature in September 2019. By statute, FICO obtains the monies to pay the interest on those bonds by assessing depository institutions (FICO assessments) that are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The final rule addresses the manner in which FICO will conduct the 2019 FICO assessments, which will be the last of those assessments. Specifically, the final rule provides that all payments made by FDIC-insured depository institutions during 2019 are final, and that no adjustments to prior FICO assessments will be permitted after March 26, 2019, the projected date as of which the FDIC will finalize the amounts of the final collection for the 2019 FICO assessments.

Establishment of the Office of Economics and Analytics. This action is taken to enhance the role of economic analysis, the design and implementation of auctions, and the use and management of data at the Federal Communications Commission (the Commission or FCC). The Commission determined that the proper dispatch of its business and the public interest will be served by creating an Office of Economics and Analytics (the Office or OEA). In the Order, the Commission amended its Rules to reflect the new organizational structure, describe the Office's functions and delegated authority, and make other conforming changes. The Commission found it appropriate to make these organizational changes to integrate the use of economics and data analysis into the Commission's various rulemakings and other actions in a more comprehensive and thorough manner.

This document contains proposed regulations that provide guidance relating to the determination of the foreign tax credit under the Internal Revenue Code (the ``Code''). The guidance relates to changes made to the applicable law by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the ``Act''), which was enacted on December 22, 2017. Guidance on other foreign tax credit issues, including in relation to pre-Act statutory amendments, is also included in this document. The proposed regulations provide guidance needed to comply with statutory changes and affect individuals and corporations claiming foreign tax credits.

This notice announces the members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and Senior Level (SL) and Scientific or Professional (ST) Performance Review Board. Agriculture has two PRBs that are represented by each Mission Area. The PRB is comprised of a Chairperson and a mix of career and noncareer senior executives and senior professionals that meet annually to review and evaluate performance appraisal documents and provides a written recommendation to the Secretary for final approval of each executive's performance rating, performance-based pay adjustment, and performance award.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopts limited changes to the rules governing Priority Access Licenses (PALs) that will be issued in the 3500-3700 MHz Band (3.5 GHz band)including larger license areas, longer license terms, renewability, and performance requirementsas well as changes to the competitive bidding rules for the issuance of PALs and to the ability to partition and disaggregate areas within PALs. These changes are consistent with the rules that helped foster the development of 4G and LTE services in the United States, and adopting similar rules in this band will help promote additional investment in the next generation of wireless services. The Commission also adopts changes to the technical rules to facilitate transmissions over wider bandwidth channels without significant power reduction and changes to the information security requirements to better safeguard commercially sensitive information and protect critical infrastructure. These targeted changes will spur additional investment and broader deployment in the band, promote robust and efficient spectrum use, and help ensure the rapid deployment of advanced wireless technologiesincluding 5Gin the United States.