August 29, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) invites comments on a proposal to reduce the fees for the sampling, inspection, weighing, and certification of rice performed under authority of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (AMA), as amended. Under the proposal, fees would decrease by 20 percent for fiscal year (FY) 2020 and by another 20 percent for FY 2021. The proposed changes are necessary to lower the balance in the program's operating reserve to a level adequate to cover three to six months' expenses. AMS is also proposing to adopt standardized AMS user-fee calculations used in other AMS programs for rice inspection services beginning in FY 2022.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for certain waters of the Ohio River. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters near Portsmouth, OH, during a fireworks display on September 1, 2019. This regulation prohibits persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Ohio Valley or a designated representative.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is publishing this notice to announce that the following Federal Advisory Committee meeting of the Uniform Formulary Beneficiary Advisory Panel will take place.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) received written notice, July 26, 2019, from the City of Williston advising that on October 10, 2019, it will permanently close Sloulin Field International Airport (ISN), Williston, ND. The notice was in excess of 30 days before the closure in accordance with federal law.

In this direct final rule (DFR), the Department of Labor (Department) makes two procedural changes to its Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Job Corps regulations to enable the Secretary to delegate procurement authority as it relates to the development and issuance of requests for proposals for the operation of Job Corps centers, outreach and admissions, career transitional services, and other operational support services. The Department is taking this procedural action to align regulatory provisions with the relevant WIOA statutory language and to provide greater flexibility for internal operations and management of the Job Corps program.

In this direct final rule (DFR), the Department of Labor (Department) is amending three definitions in the Department of Labor Acquisition Regulation (DOLAR) in order to provide the Secretary of Labor greater flexibility and a streamlined procedure to delegate procurement authority and appoint procurement officials. Currently, the definitions section of DOLAR delegates the Secretary's procurement authority to certain specified Department officials. The changes would remove some of those specific designations, allowing the Secretary to delegate the Secretary's procurement authority and assign roles and responsibilities related to procurement through internal guidance, without the need to revise the DOLAR.

Metal and nonmetal (MNM) miners and coal miners exposed to silica (quartz) in respirable dust can develop various forms of pneumoconiosis that are irreversible, life limiting, and may lead to death. MSHA's existing standards limit miners' exposures to quartz in respirable dust. In this Request for Information (RFI), MSHA solicits information and data on feasible, best practices to protect miners' health from exposure to quartz in respirable dust, including an examination of an appropriately reduced permissible exposure limit, potential new or developing protective technologies, and/or technical and educational assistance.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) invites public comment on a notice of proposed rulemaking that would amend the deposit insurance assessment regulations that govern the use of small bank assessment credits (small bank credits) and one-time assessment credits (OTACs) by certain insured depository institutions (IDIs). Under the proposal, once the FDIC begins to apply small bank credits to quarterly deposit insurance assessments, such credits would continue to be applied as long as the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) reserve ratio is at least 1.35 percent (instead of, as currently provided, 1.38 percent). In addition, after small bank credits have been applied for eight quarterly assessment periods, and as long as the reserve ratio is at least 1.35 percent, the FDIC would remit the full nominal value of any remaining small bank credits in lump-sum payments to each IDI holding such credits in the next assessment period in which the reserve ratio is at least 1.35 percent, and would simultaneously remit the full nominal value of any remaining OTACs in lump-sum payments to each IDI holding such credits.