2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a final guidance for industry (GFI) #243 entitled ``Studies to Evaluate the Metabolism and Residue Kinetics of Veterinary Drugs in Food-Producing Species: Study Design Recommendations for Residue Studies in Honey for Establishing MRLs and Withdrawal Periods'' (VICH GL56). This guidance has been developed for veterinary use by the International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products (VICH). This VICH guidance document is intended to provide study design recommendations that will facilitate the universal acceptance of the generated residue depletion data to fulfill the national/regional requirements in order to establish appropriate Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) or other safe limits in honey following the treatment of honeybees with veterinary drug products, or to justify withdrawal periods in honey for registration or approval purposes, as applicable, when an MRL already exists.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, this notice announces that the Board of Veterans' Appeals, Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and it includes the actual data collection instrument.

The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection 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 (PRA). The information collection is published in the Federal Register to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies. Comments are encouraged and will be accepted (no later than December 14, 2018 to be assured of consideration.

GSA is amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to remove duplicative text already contained in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval, with modifications, of a collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, of its collection of information for Annual Reporting under OMB control number 1212-0057. This notice informs the public of PBGC's request and solicits public comment on the collection.

This action amends certain existing testing regulations to reflect corrections, updates, and the addition of alternative equipment and methods for source testing of emissions. These revisions will improve the quality of data and provide flexibility in the use of approved alternative procedures. The revisions do not impose any new substantive requirements on source owners or operators.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Department of Defense, Office of the General Counsel/Defense Legal Services Agency announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is publishing this notice to announce that it is administratively suspending the charter for the Lake Eufaula Advisory Committee (``the Committee'').

This notice amends the notice of a major disaster declaration for the State of Georgia (FEMA-4400-DR), dated October 14, 2018, and related determinations.

This notice amends the notice of an emergency declaration for the State of Georgia (FEMA-3406-EM), dated October 10, 2018, and related determinations.

The Internal Revenue Service, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning floor stocks credits or refunds and consumer credits or refunds with respect to certain tax-repealed articles; excise tax on heavy trucks, and excise tax on heavy trucks, truck trailers, semitrailers, and tractors; reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

The Internal Revenue Service, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The IRS is soliciting comments concerning procedure for waiver of right to consistent agreement of partnership items and partnership-level determinations as to penalties, additions to tax, and additional amounts.

This rulemaking proposes amendments to Marketing Order No. 981, which regulates the handling of almonds in California. The Almond Board of California (Board) recommended changing the dates associated with the process to nominate members to the Board as well as the start of the term of office of members of the Board. The Board also recommended adding authority to allow future revisions of the nomination methods and term of office start date through the development of regulations using informal rulemaking.

The Commission is noticing a recent Postal Service filing for the Commission's consideration concerning a negotiated service agreement. This notice informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes other administrative steps.

The OCC has determined that the renewal of the charter of the OCC Mutual Savings Association Advisory Committee (MSAAC) is necessary and in the public interest. The OCC hereby gives notice of the renewal of the charter.

This action amends Class D airspace, Class E surface area airspace, Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface, and removes Class E airspace designated as an extension at Juneau International Airport, Juneau, AK. Airspace redesign is necessary as the FAA transitions from ground-based to satellite-based navigation for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at this airport. This action also updates the airport's geographic coordinates to match the FAA's aeronautical database for the associated Class D and E airspace areas, and replaces the outdated term Airport/ Facility Directory with Chart Supplement in the Class D airspace legal description.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, FRA seeks approval of the Information Collection Requests (ICRs) abstracted below. Before submitting these ICRs to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is developing a framework that can be used to improve organizations' management of privacy risk for individuals arising from the collection, storage, use, and sharing of their information.\1\ The NIST Privacy Framework: An Enterprise Risk Management Tool (``Privacy Framework''), is intended for voluntary use and is envisioned to consist of outcomes and approaches that align policy, business, technological, and legal approaches to improve organizations' management of processes for incorporating privacy protections into products and services. This notice requests information to help identify, understand, refine, and guide development of the Privacy Framework. The Privacy Framework will be developed through a consensus-driven, open, and collaborative process that will include workshops and other opportunities to provide input.

On October 12, 2018, the Department of Energy (DOE) received a petition from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) asking DOE to initiate notice-and-comment rulemaking to develop a new, unified test procedure for residential furnaces which would replace the three currently required performance metrics (i.e., annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE), fan efficiency ratio (FER), and standby mode/off mode energy consumption (PW,SB and PW,OFF)) with a single new metric (AFUE2). As the petition acknowledges, a combined metric would necessitate a translation of the existing energy conservation standards applicable to residential furnaces using an appropriate crosswalk. Through this announcement, DOE seeks comment on the petition, as well as any data or information that could be used in DOE's determination whether to proceed with the petition.

This rulemaking would provide greater flexibility to States to use proprietary or patented materials in Federal-aid projects. The FHWA is seeking comment on two alternate co-proposals to help advance this objective: First, FHWA proposes to amend and replace the requirements relating to patented and proprietary product approvals with a more flexible general requirement that enhances fairness, open competition, and transparency in the product selection process. Alternatively, the agency proposes rescinding the requirements, thereby encouraging further innovation in the development of new highway transportation technology and methods, as well as potentially reducing costs.

We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2016-13-16, which applied to all The Boeing Company Model 737-600, -700, -700C, - 800, -900, and -900ER series airplanes. AD 2016-13-16 required an inspection or records check to determine if affected horizontal stabilizers are installed, related investigative actions, and, for affected horizontal stabilizers, repetitive inspections for any crack of the horizontal stabilizer rear spar upper chord, and corrective action if necessary. This AD requires retaining the requirements of AD 2016-13-16, with revised service information that clarifies the inspection areas and serial number information of the horizontal stabilizer. This AD was prompted by reports of a manufacturing oversight, in which a supplier omitted the required protective finish on certain bushings installed in the rear spar upper chord on horizontal stabilizers, which could lead to galvanic corrosion and consequent cracking of the rear spar upper chord. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to convert its September 22, 2017 conditional approval of revisions to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP), addressing Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for the TXI Operations, LP (Texas Industries, Inc., TXI) cement manufacturing plant in Ellis County, to full approval. The August 21, 2018 SIP submittal satisfies Texas' commitment which was the basis for our conditional approval of NOX RACT for this plant. Final approval of this SIP submittal will convert our earlier conditional approval to full approval. We are taking this action in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA, the Act) requirements.