September 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule amends the geographic boundaries of several nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. Based on consensus recommendations of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is defining St. Joseph County, Indiana, as an area of application county to the Lake, Illinois, NAF FWS wage area; Greene County, Missouri, as an area of application county to the Leavenworth-Jackson-Johnson, Kansas, NAF FWS wage area; Lucas County, Ohio, as an area of application county to the Macomb, Michigan, NAF FWS wage area; and the municipality of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, as an area of application municipality to the Guaynabo-San Juan, PR, NAF FWS wage area. These changes are necessary because NAF FWS employees are now working in these locations, but the locations are not currently defined to NAF wage areas. In addition, OPM is removing the municipalities of Ceiba, Isabela, Toa Baja, and Vieques, PR, and the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas, from the wage area definition of the Guaynabo-San Juan NAF wage area because there are no longer NAF FWS employees working in these locations.

This proposed rule would replace the current regulations that implement section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended by the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA). While this proposed rule retains many provisions of the existing regulations, a number of substantive changes are proposed, primarily to implement FIRRMA.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the United States Code section that prohibits the award of certain Federal contracts to institutions of higher education that prohibit Reserve Officer Training Corps units or military recruiting on campus.

This document contains proposed regulations that provide guidance regarding the additional first year depreciation deduction under section 168(k) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). These proposed regulations reflect and clarify the increase of the benefit and expansion of the universe of qualifying property, particularly to certain classes of used property, made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. These proposed regulations generally affect taxpayers who deduct depreciation for qualified property acquired and placed in service after September 27, 2017. This document also provides notice of a public hearing on these proposed regulations. Finally, this document withdraws a portion of the proposed regulations published on August 8, 2018.

Pursuant to the Wilderness Act of 1964, and in accordance with National Park Service (NPS) Management Policies (2006), Section 6.2.1, the NPS has completed a Wilderness Eligibility Assessment to determine if lands within Obed Wild and Scenic River (Obed WSR) meet criteria indicating eligibility for preservation as wilderness. Based on the assessment, the NPS has concluded that the assessed lands: (1) Are not predominantly roadless and undeveloped; (2) are not greater than 5,000 acres in size or of sufficient size as to make practicable their preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (3) do not meet the wilderness character criteria listed in the Wilderness Act and NPS Management Policies (2006). As a result of these findings, the NPS has determined that lands within the Obed WSR do not warrant further study for possible designation as wilderness.

NMFS apportions amounts of the non-specified reserve to the initial total allowable catch (ITAC) and Community Development Quota (CDQ) of Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) arrowtooth flounder and to the ITAC of Aleutian Islands (AI) Greenland turbot, AI sablefish, Bering Sea (BS) sablefish, BS ``other rockfish,'' Bering Sea and Eastern Aleutian Islands (BS/EAI) blackspotted/rougheye rockfish, Central Aleutian Islands and Western Aleutian Islands (CAI/WAI) blackspotted/rougheye rockfish, BSAI northern rockfish, BSAI sharks, and BSAI shortraker rockfish. This action is necessary to allow the fisheries to continue operating. It is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the fishery management plan for the BSAI management area.

This notice is to inform the interested public that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS) of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will hold a public Research and Development (R&D) Roundtable on October 24, 2019, in Washington, DC OHMS will host the meeting to provide an overview of its next Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) which will help the agency meet its goals of promoting safety and fostering innovation. The meeting will provide an overview of OHMS' R&D program; internal and external processes behind the BAA; limits of the BAA; and the results of the 2017 BAA. All participants will have an equal chance to provide input for future consideration.

The FHWA, on behalf of UDOT, is issuing this notice to announce actions taken by UDOT that are final Federal agency actions. The final agency actions relate to a proposed highway project, improvements to Washington Parkway, from North Green Springs Drive to Interstate 15 (I-15) in Washington City, Washington County, State of Utah. Those actions grant licenses, permits and/or approvals for the project.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of the draft guidance entitled ``The Accreditation Scheme for Conformity Assessment (ASCA) Pilot Program.'' The Pilot Accreditation Scheme for Conformity Assessment Program (hereafter referred to as the ASCA Pilot) is authorized under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). In accordance with amendments made to the FD&C Act by the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (FDARA) and as part of the enactment of the Medical Device User Fee Amendments of 2017 (MDUFA IV), FDA was directed to issue a draft guidance regarding the goals and implementation of the ASCA Pilot. The establishment of the goals, scope, procedures, and a suitable framework for the voluntary ASCA Pilot supports the Agency's continued efforts to use its scientific resources effectively to protect and promote public health by simplifying certain aspects of premarket review, thereby reducing burdens on the Agency for individual submissions. FDA believes the voluntary ASCA Pilot may further encourage international harmonization of medical device regulation because it incorporates elements, where appropriate, from a well-established set of international conformity assessment practices and standards (e.g., ISO/IEC 17000 series). The voluntary ASCA Pilot does not supplant or alter any other existing statutory or regulatory requirements governing the decision-making process for premarket submissions. This draft guidance is not final nor is it in effect at this time.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment providing information and feedback on the design of a potential prize competition with a goal of increasing resource recovery from municipal wastewater treatment plants across the United States, and in so doing, lower the ultimate cost of treatment by extracting additional value from the wastewater (i.e., improve energy efficiency). Through this potential prize, DOE would seek novel, systems-based solutions from multidisciplinary teams to implement resource recovery at small-to- medium-sized wastewater treatment plants. Specifically, the intent is to encourage teams of wastewater treatment plants, engineering and design firms, technology developers, resource customers (e.g., farmers, electric and gas utilities), and others to develop holistic community and/or watershed-based resource recovery plans for their respective wastewater treatment systems. Input from this RFI may be used to further develop the competition objectives, rules, metrics, and incentives.

The Coconino Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Flagstaff, Arizona. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with Title II of the Act. RAC information can be found at the following website: https://cloudapps-usda- gov.secure.force.com/FSSRS/RAC_page?id=001t0000002JcuiAAC.

The Lyon-Mineral Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Yerington, Nevada. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with Title II of the Act. RAC information can be found at the following website: https://cloudapps- usda-gov.secure.force.com/FSSRS/RAC_page?id=001t0000002JcuxAA C.

We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk analysis relative to the importation into the United States of sand pears (Pyrus pyrifolia) fruit from Japan. Currently, sand pears may only be imported from certain authorized production areas within Japan. Based on the findings of the analysis, we are proposing to authorize the importation of sand pears from all of Japan, rather than specific areas of production, and to revise the conditions under which sand pears from Japan may be imported into the United States. We are making the pest risk analysis available to the public for review and comment.

In accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of requests by registrants through 2019 Pesticide Registration Maintenance Fee responses to voluntarily cancel certain pesticide registrations. EPA intends to grant these requests at the close of the comment period for this announcement unless the Agency receives substantive comments within the comment period that would merit its further review of the requests, or unless the registrants withdraw its requests. If these requests are granted, any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will be permitted after the registrations have been cancelled only if such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms as described in the final order.

We are advising the public that we have added Laos to the list of regions that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service considers to be affected with African swine fever (ASF). We have taken this action because of confirmation of ASF in Laos.

In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is submitting its information collection FERC-920 [Electric Quarterly Reports (EQR)] to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review of the information collection requirements. Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained below. The Commission previously published a Notice in the Federal Register on July 8, 2019 requesting public comments. The Commission received no comments and is making this notation in its submittal to OMB.

This document contains final regulations that amend the rules relating to hardship distributions from section 401(k) plans. The final regulations reflect statutory changes affecting section 401(k) plans, including changes made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The regulations affect participants in, beneficiaries of, employers maintaining, and administrators of plans that include cash or deferred arrangements or provide for employee or matching contributions.