December 20, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Defense is publishing this proposed rule to add certified or licensed physical therapy assistants (PTAs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) as TRICARE-authorized providers to engage in physical therapy or occupational therapy under the supervision of a TRICARE-authorized physical therapist or occupational therapist in accordance with Medicare's rules for supervision and qualification when billed by under the supervising therapist's national provider identification number. This rule will align TRICARE with Medicare's policy, which permits PTAs or OTAs to provide physical or occupational therapy when supervised by and billed under a licensed or certified physical therapist or occupational therapist.

This request for information (RFI) seeks public comment regarding the appropriateness of the practices of some Medicare- approved Accrediting Organizations (AOs) to provide fee-based consultative services for Medicare-participating providers and suppliers as part of their business model. We wish to determine whether AO practices of consulting with the same facilities which they accredit under their CMS approval could create actual or perceived conflicts of interest between the accreditation and consultative entities. We intend to consider information received in response to this RFI to assist in future rulemaking.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) received a request from the United Food and Commercial Workers International UnionIndustry Pension Fund for approval of a plan amendment providing for special withdrawal liability rules. PBGC published a Notice of Pendency of the Request for Approval of the amendment. PBGC is now advising the public that the agency has approved the requested amendment.

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

CBERA, as amended, provides duty-free treatment for certain apparel articles imported directly from Haiti. One of the preferences is known as the ``value-added'' provision, which requires that apparel meet a minimum threshold percentage of value added in Haiti, the United States, and/or certain beneficiary countries. The provision is subject to a quantitative limitation, which is calculated as a percentage of total apparel imports into the United States for each 12-month annual period. For the annual period from December 20, 2018 through December 19, 2019, the quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under the value-added provision is 372,889,066 square meters equivalent.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office of Communications (OCOM) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) submitted a SIP revision on May 2, 2018 seeking the removal from the Pennsylvania SIP of the requirement limiting summertime gasoline volatility to 7.8 pounds per square inch (psi) Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) to address nonattainment under the 1- hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley ozone nonattainment area (hereafter Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area). The submitted SIP revision includes a demonstration, pursuant to Clean Air Act (CAA), that amendment of the approved SIP will not interfere with the area's ability to attain or maintain any NAAQS. EPA is approving this revision to remove the PADEP requirement for use of 7.8 psi RVP gasoline in summer months from the Pennsylvania SIP, in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is revising its Submission of Invoices clause to add electronic invoicing requirements. In 2019 the EPA will begin using the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP), which is a secure web-based service provided by the U.S. Treasury that efficiently manages government invoicing.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is establishing January 1, 2022, as the uniform compliance date for food labeling regulations that are published on or after January 1, 2019, and on or before December 31, 2020. We periodically announce uniform compliance dates for new food labeling requirements to minimize the economic impact of label changes.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing amendments to the rulemaking titled ``Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units (EGUs),'' which the EPA promulgated by notice dated October 23, 2015 (i.e., the 2015 Rule). Specifically, the EPA proposes to amend its previous determination that the best system of emission reduction (BSER) for newly constructed coal-fired steam generating units (i.e., EGUs) is partial carbon capture and storage (CCS). Instead, the EPA proposes to find that the BSER for this source category is the most efficient demonstrated steam cycle (e.g., supercritical steam conditions for large units and subcritical steam conditions for small units) in combination with the best operating practices. The EPA proposes to revise the standard of performance for newly constructed steam generating units as separate standards of performance for large and small steam generating units that reflect the Agency's amended BSER determination. In addition, the EPA proposes to revise the standard of performance for reconstructed steam generating units to be separate standards of performance for reconstructed large and small steam generating units, consistent with the proposed revised standards for newly constructed steam generating units. The EPA also proposes separate standards of performance for newly constructed and reconstructed coal refuse-fired EGUs. In addition, the EPA proposes to revise the maximally stringent standards for large modifications of steam generating units to be consistent with the standards for reconstructed large and small steam generating units. The EPA is not proposing to amend and is not reopening the standards of performance for newly constructed or reconstructed stationary combustion turbines. The EPA is also proposing to make other miscellaneous technical changes in the regulatory requirements.