November 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard proposes to modify the operating schedule that governs the Chelsea Street Bridge across the Chelsea River, mile 1.3, at Chelsea, Massachusetts. The bridge owner, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), submitted a request to allow the bridge to open to 139 feet above mean high water instead of the full open position of 175 feet unless a full bridge opening is requested. It is expected that this change to the regulations will create efficiency in drawbridge operations and better serve the needs of the community while continuing to meet the reasonable needs of navigation.

Effective on November 27, 2019, NMFS is closing the directed fishery for Herring Management Area 1A, based on a projection that a threshold catch amount for that management area has been reached. Beginning November 27, 2019, through December 31, 2019, no person may, or attempt to fish for, possess, transfer, receive, land, or sell more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of Atlantic herring per trip or calendar day in or from Management Area 1A from a vessel issued and holding a valid Federal herring permit. For the duration of this action, federally permitted dealers may not possess or receive, or attempt to possess or receive, more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring from Management Area 1A per trip or calendar day from vessels issued and holding a valid Federal herring permit. This action is necessary to comply with the regulations implementing the Atlantic herring Fishery Management Plan and is intended to prevent overharvest of herring in Management Area 1A.

This final rule establishes the 2020 opening date for all Atlantic shark fisheries, including the fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. This final rule also establishes the quotas for the 2020 fishing year based on harvest levels during 2019 and the large coastal shark (LCS) retention limits for directed shark limited access permit holders. NMFS may increase or decrease these retention limits for directed shark limited access permit holders during the year, in accordance with existing regulations, to provide, to the extent practicable, equitable fishing opportunities for commercial shark fishermen in all regions and areas. These actions could affect fishing opportunities for commercial shark fishermen in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing that the Zinpro Corp. (Zinpro) has amended their pending petition proposing that the food additive regulations be amended to provide for the safe use of chromium DL-methionine as a nutritional source of chromium in cattle feed. The amendment provides for a change in the feeding rate.

In this document, the Commission extends the comment and reply comment period of the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking portion of the proceeding that was released on August 27, 2019.

This document contains a correction to final regulations and removal of temporary regulations (T.D. 9623) that were published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, July 3, 2013. The final regulations relate to the application of section 108(i) of the Internal Revenue Code to partnerships and S corporations and provide rules regarding the deferral of discharge of indebtedness income and original issue discount deductions by a partnership or an S corporation with respect to reacquisitions of applicable debt instruments after December 31, 2008, and before January 1, 2011.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish four safety zones for certain waters of the Patapsco River, Chesapeake Bay, and Potomac River. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters at Baltimore Harbor Anchorage No. 5, between Belvidere Shoal and Kent Island, MD, between Point Lookout, MD, and St. George Island, MD, and between Possum Point, VA, and Cockpit Point, VA, during non- lethal signaling and warning device training conducted from on board U.S. Coast Guard vessels. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from being in the safety zones 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 Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) finalizes the Common Crop Insurance Regulations, Sugar Beet Crop Insurance Provisions (Crop Provisions) and makes amendments to the final rule, with request for comment, published in the Federal Register on September 10, 2018, that updated existing policy provisions and definitions to better reflect current agricultural practices. This final rule is amended based on comments received and other issues identified since implementation of the previous final rule. The changes will be effective for the 2020 and succeeding crop years in states with a November 30 contract change date and for the 2021 and succeeding crop years in all other states.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) published a final rule in the Federal Register on August 1, 2019 amending the regulation text and official interpretations for Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), to include annual calculations for dollar amounts for several provisions in Regulation Z. This document corrects an error in one of the amendments to the official interpretation for Regulation Z.

The U.S. Copyright Office is extending the deadline for the submission of written reply comments in response to its September 24, 2019 notification of inquiry regarding implementation regulations for the Musical Works Modernization Act, title I of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act.

The NCUA Board (Board) proposes to amend the agency's regulation requiring appraisals for certain real estate-related transactions. The proposed rule would increase the threshold level below which appraisals would not be required for residential real estate-related transactions from $250,000 to $400,000. Consistent with the requirement for other transactions that fall below applicable appraisal thresholds, federally insured credit unions (FICUs) would be required to obtain written estimates of market value of the real estate collateral that is consistent with safe and sound banking practices in lieu of an appraisal. For easier reference, the proposed rule would explicitly incorporate the existing statutory requirement that appraisals be subject to appropriate review for compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). This proposal is consistent with the final rule, effective on October 9, 2019, issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (other banking agencies) that increases the threshold level at or below which appraisals are not required for residential real estate transactions from $250,000 to $400,000.

NMFS is implementing changes to aspects of the commercial and recreational summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass management program, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. This action incorporates new management measures for the commercial and recreational fisheries for these species. The intent of this action is to allow for more management flexibility.

This action modifies the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Madera Municipal Airport, Madera, CA, eliminates references to the Clovis and Friant Very High Frequency Omni-Directional Range/Tactical Air Navigation Aids (VORTAC) from the Airspace description, and updates the airport's geographic coordinates to match the FAA's aeronautical database. In addition, this action updates the airspace lateral dimensions to meet current requirements. This action supports the operation of Instrument flight Rules (IFR) under standard instrument approach and departure procedures in the National Airspace System.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency) is amending its regulations to implement several provisions of the National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA) of 2016 and 2017 and the Recovery Improvements for Small Entities After Disaster Act of 2015 (RISE Act), as well as to clarify existing regulations. This rule clarifies that contracting officers have the authority to request information in connection with a contractor's compliance with applicable limitations on subcontracting clauses; provides exclusions for purposes of compliance with the limitations on subcontracting for certain contracts performed outside of the United States, for environmental remediation contracts, and for information technology service acquisitions that require substantial cloud computing; requires a prime contractor with a commercial subcontracting plan to include indirect costs in its subcontracting goals; establishes that failure to provide timely subcontracting reports may constitute a material breach of the contract; clarifies the requirements for size and status recertification; and limits the scope of Procurement Center Representative (PCR) reviews of Department of Defense acquisitions performed outside of the United States and its territories. This rule also authorizes agencies to receive double credit for small business goaling achievements as announced in SBA's scorecard for local area small business set-asides in connection with a disaster. Finally, SBA is removing the kit assembler exception to the non-manufacturer rule.

This rule codifies in the regulations the prior approval of North Dakota's underground storage tank program and incorporates by reference approved provisions of the State's regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses the regulations entitled, ``Approved Underground Storage Tank Programs,'' to provide notification of the approval status of State programs and to incorporate by reference into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) those provisions of the State's regulations that are approved and that the EPA will enforce under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The EPA previously provided notification and opportunity for comments on the Agency's decisions to approve the North Dakota underground storage tank program, and the EPA is not reopening the decisions, nor requesting comments, on the approval of the North Dakota program, as published in the Federal Register documents specified in Section I.C of this document.

This rule amends, suspends, or removes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures 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 for the safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amends the Common Crop Insurance Regulations, Coarse Grains Crop Insurance Provisions (Crop Provisions). The intended effect of this action is to allow separate enterprise and optional units by the cropping practices Following Another Crop (FAC) and Not Following Another Crop (NFAC). The changes will be effective for the 2020 and succeeding crop years.

NMFS apportions amounts of the non-specified reserve, to the initial total allowable catch (ITAC) of Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) sculpins and to the total allowable catch (TAC) of Aleutian Islands (AI) Greenland turbot, Bering Sea (BS) ``other rockfish,'' BSAI arrowtooth flounder, BSAI sharks, BSAI shortraker rockfish, and Bering Sea and Eastern Aleutian Islands (BS/EAI) blackspotted/rougheye 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.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending its regulations to remove lists of foreign countries eligible to export meat, poultry, and egg products to the United States. FSIS will maintain a single list of eligible foreign countries on its website. The criteria FSIS uses to evaluate whether a foreign country is eligible to export meat, poultry, or egg products has not changed. This rule will allow FSIS to more efficiently and clearly communicate equivalence determinations by maintaining a single list of exporting countries on its website, rather than maintaining one list on the website and outdated lists in the codified regulations. In addition, the Agency is amending it regulations to remove references to the lists.

In this final rule, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is requiring public utility transmission providers with transmission formula rates under an Open Access Transmission Tariff, a transmission owner tariff, or a rate schedule to revise those transmission formula rates to account for changes caused by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The Commission is requiring public utilities with transmission formula rates to include a mechanism in those transmission formula rates to deduct any excess accumulated deferred income taxes (ADIT) from or add any deficient ADIT to their rate bases. Public utilities with transmission formula rates are also required to incorporate a mechanism to decrease or increase their income tax allowances by any amortized excess or deficient ADIT, respectively. Finally, the Commission is requiring public utilities with transmission formula rates to incorporate a new permanent worksheet into their transmission formula rates that will annually track information related to excess or deficient ADIT. The Commission does not adopt the proposals in the notice of proposed rulemaking that were applicable to public utilities with transmission stated rates.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this final rule amending an appendix for Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Bureau is required to calculate annually the dollar amount of the maximum allowable charge for disclosures by a consumer reporting agency to a consumer pursuant to FCRA Section 609; this final rule establishes the maximum allowable charge for the 2020 calendar year.

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.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to modify the text of an existing clause prescription to require, instead of permit, the clause be included in applicable solicitations and contracts, pursuant to action taken by the Regulatory Reform Task Force.

This final rule implements a recommendation from the Washington Cherry Marketing Committee (Committee) to decrease the assessment rate established for the 2019-2020 and subsequent fiscal periods. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to designate critical habitat for the Suwannee moccasinshell (Medionidus walkeri) under the Endangered Species Act (Act). The Suwannee moccasinshell is a freshwater mussel species from the Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia. In total, approximately 306 kilometers (190 miles) of stream channels in Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, and Union Counties, Florida, and Brooks and Lowndes Counties, Georgia, fall within the boundaries of the proposed critical habitat designation. If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would extend the Act's protections to this species' critical habitat. The effect of this regulation is to designate critical habitat for the Suwannee moccasinshell under the Act. We also announce the availability of a draft economic analysis of the proposed designation.