April 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Endowment for the Humanities (``NEH'') is proposing to issue regulations to implement the Privacy Act of 1974 (the ``Privacy Act''). These regulations would establish procedures by which an individual may determine whether a system of records maintained by NEH contains a record pertaining to him or her; gain access to such records; and request correction or amendment of such records. These regulations also would establish exemptions from certain Privacy Act requirements for all or part of certain systems of records maintained by NEH.

Pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve elements of two State Implementation Plan (SIP) submissions from the State of Texas for the 2015 Ozone (O3) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). These submittals address how the existing SIP provides for implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the 2015 O3 NAAQS (infrastructure SIP or i-SIP). The i-SIP ensures that the Texas SIP is adequate to meet the state's responsibilities under the CAA for this NAAQS.

The Coast Guard is modifying the operating schedule that governs three bridges in Astoria, OR: The US101 (New Youngs Bay) highway bridge (New Youngs Bay Bridge), mile 0.7 across Youngs Bay; the Oregon State (Old Youngs Bay) highway bridge (Old Youngs Bay Bridge), mile 2.4, across Youngs Bay; and the Oregon State (Lewis and Clark River) highway bridge (Lewis and Clark River Bridge), mile 1.0, across the Lewis and Clark River. This modification will remove the weekend bridge operator and allow the bridge to open during the weekend only after receiving a 2 hour advance notice.

This final rule amends the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List) section of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) organic regulations to implement recommendations submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). This rule adds elemental sulfur to the National List for use in organic livestock production and reclassifies potassium acid tartrate from a non- agricultural substance to an agricultural substance and requires the organic form of the ingredient when commercially available. This rule also corrects the amendatory instructions to ensure proper placement of the regulatory text.

The Commission is extending the compliance date for the recently adopted amendments to Rule 606 of Regulation National Market System (``Regulation NMS'') under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act''), which require additional disclosures by broker- dealers to customers concerning the handling of customer orders. Specifically, the Commission is extending the compliance date for the recently adopted amendments to Rule 606. Following September 30, 2019, broker-dealers must begin to collect the information required by Rules 606(a) and 606(b) as amended. The compliance date remains May 20, 2019 for the amendments to Rule 605. The Commission is extending the compliance date for the recently adopted amendments to Rule 606 in order to give broker-dealers additional time to develop, program, and test for compliance with the new and amended requirements of the rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve elements of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) regarding the infrastructure requirements of section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard). The infrastructure requirements are designed to ensure that the structural components of each state's air quality management program are adequate to meet the state's responsibilities under CAA. This action pertains specifically to infrastructure requirements in the Wisconsin SIP concerning interstate transport provisions.

The DOE Contractor Employee Protection Program extends whistleblower protections similar to those in the Whistleblower Protection Act to employees of DOE contractors and subcontractors. The Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) proposes to modernize the Department of Energy's (DOE or Department) contractor employee whistleblower program, as well as provide improvements within the existing program.

DoD is making a technical amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to update the list of debarring and suspending officials.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 regarding set- asides for architect-engineer and construction design contracts.

DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to modify the text of an existing DFARS clause to include the text of another DFARS clause on the same subject in an effort to streamline contract terms and conditions for contractors, pursuant to action taken by the DoD Regulatory Reform Task Force.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement sections of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 and 2018 to permit expedited closeout of certain contracts entered into on a date that is at least 17 fiscal years before the current fiscal year.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are inviting public comment on a proposal to implement section 402 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. Section 402 directs these agencies to amend the supplementary leverage ratio of the regulatory capital rule to exclude certain funds of banking organizations deposited with central banks if the banking organization is predominantly engaged in custody, safekeeping, and asset servicing activities.

This action proposes special conditions for Boeing Model 787 series airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport-category airplanes. This design feature is seats with inertia locking devices. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These proposed special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

The FAA announces airworthiness criteria for a special class of aircraft, the Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., model Fazer R, which is an unmanned aircraft system. It designates airworthiness criteria found by the FAA to provide an equivalent level of safety to existing standards.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is adding regulations to implement Executive Order of September 12, 2018 (``Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election''). OFAC intends to supplement these regulations with a more comprehensive set of regulations, which may include additional interpretive and definitional guidance, general licenses, and statements of licensing policy.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a temporary safety zone for certain waters of the Upper Potomac River. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters of the Upper Potomac River at Washington, DC on July 4, 2019 (with alternate date of July 5, 2019) during a fireworks display to commemorate the July 4th holiday. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Maryland-National Capital Region or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for navigable waters within a 420-foot radius of a portion of Lake St. Clair, Grosse Point, MI. This zone is necessary to protect spectators and vessels from potential hazards associated with the Grosse Pointe War Memorial Red, White, and Blue Gala Fireworks.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations to amend its current regulations on compensatory time off for religious observances. The final rule addresses comments and clarifies provisions on employee coverage, employee and agency responsibilities, scheduling time to earn and use religious compensatory time off, accumulation and documentation, and employee separation or transfer. We are also implementing other miscellaneous changes in the pay and leave area.

The Coast Guard proposes to authorize the Main Street Bridge, mile 1.58, the Walnut Street Bridge, mile 1.81, and the Tilleman Memorial Bridge, mile 2.27, all over the Fox River at Green Bay, WI to operate remotely. The request was made by WISDOT to operate all three bridges from the Walnut Street Bridge. This proposed rule will test the remote operations with tenders onsite, and will not change the operating schedule of the bridges.

The Electronic Fund Transfers Act (EFTA), as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), establishes certain protections for consumers sending international money transfers, or remittance transfers. The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection's (Bureau) remittance rules (Remittance Rule or Rule) implement these protections. This document seeks information and evidence that may inform possible changes to the Rule that would not eliminate, but would mitigate the effects of the expiration of a statutory exception for certain financial institutions. EFTA expressly limits the length of the temporary exception to July 21, 2020 and does not authorize the Bureau to extend this term. Therefore, the exception will expire on July 21, 2020 unless Congress changes the law. In addition, the Bureau seeks information and evidence related to the scope of coverage of the Rule, including whether to change a safe harbor threshold in the Rule that determines whether a person makes remittance transfers in the normal course of its business, and whether an exception for small financial institutions may be appropriate.

These special conditions are issued for the Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam S.P.A., Model P2012 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with installation of an engine that includes an electronic engine control system. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

This action modifies Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Mettel Field Airport, Connersville, IN, and Richmond Municipal Airport, Richmond, IN. This action is due to an airspace review caused by the decommissioning of the Richmond VHF omnidirectional range (VOR), which provided navigation information to the instrument procedures at these airports, as part of the VOR Minimum Operational Network (MON) Program. The geographic coordinates of the airports are also being updated to coincide with the FAA's aeronautic database. Airspace redesign is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at these airports.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce 90- day findings on four petitions to add species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Based on our review, we find that petitions to list the Arizona eryngo (Eryngium sparganophyllum) and giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this document, we announce that we plan to initiate reviews of the statuses of those species to determine if the petitioned actions are warranted. To ensure that the status reviews are comprehensive, we are requesting scientific and commercial data and other information regarding those species. Based on the status reviews, we will issue 12-month findings on the petitions, which will address whether or not the petitioned actions are warranted, in accordance with the Act. We also find that petitions to list the Refugio manzanita (Arctostaphylos refugioensis) and San Gabriel chestnut snail (Glyptostoma gabrielense) do not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted. Therefore, we are not initiating status reviews of these species in response to the petitions. We refer to these findings as ``not substantial'' petition findings.

This action implements measures for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the 2019 fishing year. This action is necessary to ensure that the Northeast multispecies common pool fishery may achieve the optimum yield (OY) for the relevant stocks, while controlling catch to help prevent inseason closures or quota overages. These measures include possession and trip limits and the allocation of zero trips into the Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock Special Access Program for common pool vessels to target yellowtail flounder.

The Coast Guard proposes to amend its safety zones regulation for Annual Events in the Captain of the Port Buffalo Zone. This proposed amendment adds eight new permanent safety zones. These amendments and additions are necessary to protect spectators, participants, and vessels from the hazards associated with annual maritime events, including fireworks displays, boat races, and air shows. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.