November 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of West Virginia. This revision updates the effective date of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and the associated monitoring reference and equivalent methods for those NAAQS that West Virginia incorporates by reference into its state regulations. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain General Electric Company (GE) GE90-115B model turbofan engines. Emergency AD 2019-21-51 was sent previously to all known operators of the GE GE90-115B model turbofan engines with certain engine serial numbers. This AD requires the removal from service of the Interstage Seal, part number 2505M72P01, from the affected engines. This AD was prompted by a recent event involving an uncontained high-pressure turbine (HPT) failure, resulting in an aborted takeoff and debris penetrating the airplane's fuselage and the other engine. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its regulations concerning collection and recovery by VA for medical care and services provided to an individual at a VA medical facility for treatment of a nonservice-connected condition. Specifically, this rulemaking would add a regulation that establishes the requirements VA will use to determine whether a VA medical facility has provider-based status. Such determination affects the amount VA can recover from a third party for the cost of the nonservice-connected care. Currently, VA uses the requirements established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to determine whether the facility has provider-based status; however, it is necessary for VA to establish its own requirements that are tailored to VA's unique operation and structure.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are approving an amendment to the Texas regulatory program (Texas program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Texas proposed revisions to its program regarding annual permit fees for calendar years 2017 and 2018. Texas also proposed to remove a restriction in its rules that conflicts with the United States Bankruptcy Code.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is correcting an interim final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on July 18, 2019. The rule adjusted the monetary-based industry size standards (i.e., receipts- and assets-based) for inflation that occurred since the last adjustment in 2014. SBA is correcting a reference in the table titled ``Small Business Size Standards by NAICS Industry'' that incorrectly identifies the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the Dredging and Surface Cleanup Activities exception as ``237900'' instead of ``237990.''

This final rule implements regulations that require Charter Halibut Permits (CHPs) to be registered annually with NMFS before use. In 2010, NMFS implemented the Charter Halibut Limited Access Program that issued a limited number of CHPs to persons who operate in the guided sport (charter) halibut fishery on the waters of International Pacific Halibut Commission Regulatory Areas 2C and 3A. The annual registration of CHPs is intended to improve the enforcement of CHP transfer limitations and ownership caps, as well as provide additional information to NMFS and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council on any changes in CHP ownership, leasing, and participation.

This action modifies three United States Area Navigation (RNAV) routes (T-274, T-276, and T-302), removes one RNAV route (T- 304), and establishes five RNAV routes (T-268, T-317, T-328, T-332, and T-355) in the western United States. These amendments promote operational efficiencies for users and provide connectivity to current and proposed RNAV enroute and terminal procedures.

The Department of Justice (``DOJ'') and the Department of Homeland Security (``DHS'') (collectively, ``the Departments'') are adopting an interim final rule (``IFR'' or ``rule'') to modify existing regulations to provide for the implementation of Asylum Cooperative Agreements (``ACAs'') that the United States enters into pursuant to section 208(a)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (``INA'' or ``Act''). Because the underlying purpose of section 208(a)(2)(A) is to provide asylum seekers with access to only one of the ACA signatory countries' protection systems, this rule adopts a modified approach to the expedited removal (``ER'') and section 240 processes in the form of a threshold screening as to which country will consider the alien's claim. This rule will apply to all ACAs in force between the United States and countries other than Canada, including bilateral ACAs recently entered into with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in an effort to share the distribution of hundreds of thousands of asylum claims. The rule will apply only prospectively to aliens who arrive at a U.S. port of entry, or enter or attempt to enter the United States between ports of entry, on or after the effective date of the rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a petition for rulemaking (PRM), dated March 13, 2015, submitted by Mark Edward Leyse (petitioner). The petition was docketed by the NRC on April 24, 2015, and assigned Docket No. PRM-50-111. The petitioner requested that the NRC require all holders of operating licenses for nuclear power plants to operate them with in-core temperature- monitoring devices (e.g., thermoacoustic sensors or thermocouples) located at different elevations and radial positions throughout the reactor core. The NRC is denying the petition because current regulations provide a sufficient level of safety, such that additional requirements for in-core temperature-monitoring devices as specified in the petition are not needed.

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2015-20-04 for certain Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. (P&WC) PT6B-37A turboshaft engines. AD 2015-20-04 required initial and repetitive inspections until replacement of the No. 10 bearing, and eventual replacement of the No. 9 bearing, both located in the engine reduction gearbox (RGB) assembly. This AD requires removal from service and replacement of the No. 9 and No. 10 position bearings. This AD was prompted by reports of incorrect engine torque for PT6B-37A turboshaft engines. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus SAS Model A321-111, -112, -131, -211, -212, -213, -231, and -232 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a quality control review, which determined that the wrong aluminum alloy was used to manufacture several structural parts. This AD requires a one-time eddy current conductivity measurement of certain structural parts of the outer flaps to determine if the incorrect alloy was used, and replacement if necessary, as specified in a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is incorporated by reference. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This document contains final regulations regarding the attribution of ownership of stock or other interests for purposes of determining whether a person is a related person with respect to a controlled foreign corporation (``CFC'') under section 954(d)(3). In addition, the final regulations provide rules for determining whether a CFC is considered to derive rents in the active conduct of a trade or business for purposes of computing foreign personal holding company income. This document finalizes the proposed regulations published on May 20, 2019. The regulations affect United States persons with direct or indirect ownership interests in certain foreign corporations.

The Federal Register document of November 12, 2019 proposing changes to the Board's Regulation TT provided an expired comment period end date. This document corrects that error.

This interpretive rule construes the Bureau's Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). Generally, if a mortgage loan originator organization employs an individual loan originator who is not licensed and is not required to be licensed, Regulation Z requires the loan originator organization to perform specific screening of that individual before permitting the individual to act as a loan originator and to provide certain ongoing training. Regulation Z is ambiguous as to whether these requirements apply to loan originator organizations employing individual loan originators who have temporary authority to originate loans pursuant to the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 (EGRRCPA) amendments to the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act). These amendments take effect on November 24, 2019. This interpretive rule concludes that a loan originator organization is not required to comply with certain screening and training requirements under Regulation Z if the individual loan originator employee is authorized to act as a loan originator pursuant to the temporary authority described in the SAFE Act.

Pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving as a revision to the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP), the State's plan for maintaining the 1997 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) through 2028. On April 12, 2019, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency submitted the 1997 ozone NAAQS Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP) for the Canton-Massillon (Stark County), Lima (Allen County), and Toledo (Lucas and Wood Counties) areas and the Ohio portion of the Parkersburg- Marietta [OH-WV] (Washington County), Steubenville-Weirton [OH-WV] (Jefferson County), Wheeling [OH-WV] (Belmont County), and Youngstown- Warren-Sharon [OH-PA] (Columbiana, Mahoning, and Trumbull Counties) multi-state areas. The effect of this action makes certain commitments related to maintenance of the 1997 ozone NAAQS in these areas federally enforceable as part of the Ohio SIP.

In this document, the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) proposes to add a new code to the list of prohibited act codes in the inmate discipline regulations which will clarify that the Bureau may discipline inmates for pressuring or otherwise intimidating other inmates into producing copies of their own legal documents, such as pre-sentence reports (PSRs), or statement of reasons (SORs).

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2018-19-27 and AD 2014-16-12, which apply to certain Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 2000EX airplanes. Those ADs require revising the maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new maintenance requirements and airworthiness limitations. Since AD 2018- 19-27 and AD 2014-16-12 were issued, the FAA has determined that new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. This proposed AD would require revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

In this rule NMFS implements Amendment 28 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, changing closed areas that affect commercial vessels fishing with bottom contacting gear in Federal waters off of Washington, Oregon, and California under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. The final rule establishes new and revised areas closed to bottom trawling to conserve and protect Pacific coast groundfish essential fish habitat, and re-open areas that were closed to bottom trawling to rebuild previously-overfished groundfish stocks. Combined, these two changes increase protections for groundfish essential fish habitat and provide additional flexibility to participants fishing with bottom trawl gear in the groundfish trawl rationalization program. Amendment 28 also closes deep-water areas off the coast of California to bottom contacting gear to protect deep-water habitats, including deep-sea corals, under fishery management plan discretionary provisions in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

This is a notice of proposed rulemaking to repromulgate or revise certain regulatory provisions of the Department of Health and Human Services, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for HHS Awards.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to make miscellaneous corrections. These changes include removing obsolete language and correcting references, a typographical error, mailing, email, and web page addresses, grammatical errors, a division title, and a division address and title. This document is necessary to inform the public of these non-substantive amendments to the NRC's regulations.

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2017-23- 06, for certain General Electric Company (GE) CF34-8C1, CF34-8C5, CF34- 8C5A1, and CF34-8C5B1 engines. AD 2017-23-06 required an inspection of the bleed air manifold link rod assemblies and the supply, return, and drain fuel fittings on the operability bleed valve (OBV). This AD requires repetitive inspections of the OBV fuel tubes, OBV bleed air manifold link rod assemblies, and the OBV fuel fittings and replacement of OBVs or related hardware that fail inspection. In addition, this AD expands the applicability of these inspections to include additional GE CF34-8C model turbofan engines. This AD was prompted by multiple engine fires that have occurred as a result of malfunctions related to the OBV. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This proposed rule would promote transparency by establishing new reporting requirements for states to provide CMS with certain information on supplemental payments to Medicaid providers, including supplemental payments approved under either Medicaid state plan or demonstration authority, and applicable upper payment limits. Additionally, the proposed rule would establish requirements to ensure that state plan amendments proposing new supplemental payments are consistent with the proper and efficient operation of the state plan and with efficiency, economy, and quality of care. This proposed rule addresses the financing of supplemental and base Medicaid payments through the non-federal share, including states' uses of health care- related taxes and bona fide provider-related donations, as well as the requirements on the non-federal share of any Medicaid payment.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Dassault Aviation Model MYSTERE-FALCON 20-C5, 20-D5, 20-E5, and 20-F5 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a determination that new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. This proposed AD would require revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We propose to revise our regulations regarding when and how often we conduct continuing disability reviews (CDR), which are periodic reviews of eligibility required for benefit continuation. The proposed rules would add a category to the existing medical diary categories that we use to schedule CDRs and revise the criteria for assigning each of the medical diary categories to cases. The proposed rules would also change the frequency with which we perform a CDR for claims with the medical diary category for permanent impairments. The revised changes would ensure that we continue to maintain appropriate stewardship of the disability program and identify medical improvement (MI) at its earliest point.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or removes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures (ODPs) for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.