2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The OCC is making technical corrections to the Capital Simplification for Qualifying Community Banking Organizations final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on November 13, 2019. The technical corrections align the rule text in the final rule with changes made by other final rules. The technical corrections also include a conforming edit.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is amending its diesel fuel regulations to allow fuel suppliers to distribute distillate diesel fuel that complies with the sulfur standard that applies internationally for ships instead of the fuel standards that otherwise apply to distillate diesel fuel in the United States. The affected fuel may not be used in the United States' Emission Control Areas.

This document contains final regulations that provide guidance regarding the distribution by a distributing corporation of stock or securities of a controlled corporation without the recognition of income, gain, or loss. In particular, the final regulations provide guidance in determining whether a corporation is a predecessor or successor of a distributing or controlled corporation for purposes of the exception under section 355(e) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to the nonrecognition treatment afforded qualifying distributions. In addition, the final regulations provide certain limitations on the recognition of gain in certain cases involving a predecessor of a distributing corporation. The final regulations also provide rules regarding the extent to which section 355(f) causes a distributing corporation (and in certain cases its shareholders) to recognize income or gain on the distribution of stock or securities of a controlled corporation. These regulations affect corporations that distribute the stock or securities of a controlled corporation and the shareholders or security holders of those distributing corporations.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is issuing a final rule amending the Department of the Interior Acquisition Regulation (DIAR) to implement Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act and remove outdated references and/or obsolete information.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission provided by the State of Florida, through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), through a letter dated September 18, 2018, for inclusion into the Florida SIP. This proposal pertains to the infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2015 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Whenever EPA promulgates a new or revised NAAQS, the CAA requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by EPA. FDEP certified that the Florida SIP contains provisions that ensure the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS is implemented, enforced, and maintained in Florida. EPA is proposing to determine that Florida's SIP submission satisfies certain required infrastructure elements for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a temporary safety zone for certain waters in Isle of Wight Bay. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of personnel and vessels at and immediately adjacent to the Harry W. Kelley Memorial (US-50) Bridge during submarine electrical cable replacement operations which will occur from January 27, 2020, through February 3, 2020, daily from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port MarylandNational Capital Region or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

This action proposes to amend the Class E airspace area, designated as a surface area, at Astoria Regional Airport, Astoria, OR by reducing the size of the Class E surface airspace. Also, this action proposes to amend the Class E airspace by adding two Class E airspace areas, designated as an extension to a Class D or Class E surface area, at the airport. Additionally, this action proposes to amend the Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface of the earth, by reducing the dimensions of the area and sizing it to properly contain IFR arrivals and departures. Further, this action proposes to make several administrative corrections to the airport's legal descriptions. This action would ensure the safety and management of IFR operations at the airport.

The NCUA Board (Board) is amending the NCUA's previously revised regulations regarding prompt corrective action (PCA). The final rule delays the effective date of both the NCUA's October 29, 2015 final rule regarding risk-based capital (2015 Final Rule) and the NCUA's November 6, 2018 supplemental final rule regarding risk-based capital (2018 Supplemental Rule), moving the effective date from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2022. During the extended delay period, the NCUA's current PCA requirements will remain in effect.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on November 29, 2019, and was corrected on December 5, 2019. The document amended the NRC's regulations to reflect internal organizational changes and make conforming amendments, including removing all references to the Office of New Reactors because that office has merged with the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, changing the names of divisions that are affected by the reorganization of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, and making conforming amendments throughout the regulations to reflect the office merger and the office reorganization.

OSHA is issuing corrections to the Walking-Working Surfaces, Personal Protective Equipment, and Special Industries standards.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the ``Commission'') is issuing a final rule that amends the Commission's regulations to eliminate the provisions that set forth the procedures for the formulation, amendment, or repeal of rules or regulations. Because the Administrative Procedure Act (``APA'') governs the Commission's rulemaking process, the Commission believes that it is unnecessary to codify the rulemaking process in a Commission regulation. The amended regulation is comprised solely of the procedure for filing petitions for rulemakings, as the APA does not address this process.

This rule implements changes to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program identified during the Catch Share Program 5- Year Review. This action is intended to modify outdated regulations, complete outstanding program elements, and respond to problems identified following implementation of the Catch Share Program. This action revises regulations consistent with Amendment 21-4 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, and revises elements in four areas of the Catch Share Program.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Embraer S.A. Model ERJ 170 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of erroneous indications of certain engine parameters and reports of ``pitch up'' and ``pitch down'' uncommanded attitudes with autopilot engaged in cruise flight. This proposed AD would require installing updated PRIMUS EPIC LOAD software, as specified in an Ag[ecirc]ncia Nacional de Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC) Brazilian AD, which will be incorporated by reference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency, or we) is proposing to amend the medical device regulations regarding the procedures for the announcement of approvals and denials of premarket approval applications (PMAs) and humanitarian device exemption applications (HDEs). We are proposing to discontinue publishing in the Federal Register after each quarter a list of PMA and HDE approvals and denials announced in that quarter. We will continue to post approval and denial notices for PMAs and HDEs on FDA's home page on the internet and will also continue to make available on the internet and place on public display summaries of safety and effectiveness data (SSED) for PMAs and summaries of safety and probable benefit (SSPB) for HDEs. FDA is proposing to take this action to improve the efficiency of announcing approvals and denials of PMAs and HDEs and to eliminate duplication in the current process for announcing this information. We are also proposing to update Agency contact information and statutory references in certain sections of the PMA and HDE regulations for purposes of accuracy, clarity, and consistency.

This document provides proposed amendments to the regulations under sections 162, 164, and 170 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). First, the proposed amendments update the regulations under section 162 to reflect current law regarding the application of section 162 to a taxpayer that makes a payment or transfer to an entity described in section 170(c) for a business purpose. Second, the proposed amendments provide safe harbors under section 162 to provide certainty with respect to the treatment of payments made by business entities to an entity described in section 170(c). Third, the proposed amendments provide a safe harbor under section 164 for payments made to an entity described in section 170(c) by individuals who itemize deductions and receive or expect to receive a state or local tax credit in return. Fourth, the proposed amendments update the regulations under section 170 to reflect past guidance and case law regarding the application of the quid pro quo principle under section 170 to benefits received or expected to be received by a donor from a third party.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill) made changes to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This interim rule makes conforming changes to EQIP policies and procedures in the regulations. NRCS has responsibility for administering EQIP using funding, facilities, and authorities of the CCC. EQIP helps agricultural producers conserve and enhance soil, water, air, plants, animals (including wildlife), energy, and related natural resources on their land. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, rangeland, pasture, wetlands, nonindustrial private forest land, and other agricultural land on which agricultural or forest- related products or livestock are produced and natural resource concerns may be addressed. Participation in the program is voluntary.

This document contains final regulations that provide guidance relating to the determination of the foreign tax credit under the Internal Revenue Code. The guidance relates to changes made to the applicable law by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was enacted on December 22, 2017. This document finalizes the proposed regulations published on December 7, 2018. This document also finalizes proposed regulations on overall foreign losses that were published on June 25, 2012, and finalizes certain portions of proposed regulations published on November 7, 2007, relating to a U.S. taxpayer's obligation to notify the IRS of a foreign tax redetermination.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Miscellaneous Organic Chemical Manufacturing source category. The EPA is proposing decisions concerning the residual risk and technology review (RTR), including proposing amendments pursuant to the technology review for equipment leaks and heat exchange systems, and also proposing amendments pursuant to the risk review to specifically address ethylene oxide emissions from storage tanks, process vents, and equipment leaks. The EPA is also proposing amendments to correct and clarify regulatory provisions related to emissions during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM), including removing general exemptions for periods of SSM, adding work practice standards for periods of SSM where appropriate, and clarifying regulatory provisions for certain vent control bypasses. Lastly, the EPA is proposing to add monitoring and operational requirements for flares that control ethylene oxide emissions and flares used to control emissions from processes that produce olefins and polyolefins; and add provisions for electronic reporting of performance test results and reports, performance evaluation reports, and compliance reports. We estimate that, if finalized, these proposed amendments (not including the potential excess emission reductions from flares) would reduce hazardous air pollutants (HAP) emissions from this source category by 116 tons per year (tpy) and would reduce ethylene oxide emissions from this source category by approximately 10 tpy.

The Coast Guard is establishing two temporary safety zones on the navigable waters of the Cape Fear River at the Isabel Holmes Bridge in Wilmington, North Carolina. These temporary safety zones are intended to restrict vessel traffic on the Cape Fear River from December 15, 2019, through February 15, 2020, while work crews repair the bridge and replace power cables crossing under the river. This rule prohibits vessels or persons from being in the safety zones unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) North Carolina or a designated representative.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Agency, or we) is issuing a final rule amending requirements for medical device premarket submissions to remove paper and multiple copies and replace them with requirements for a single submission in electronic format. This action would reduce the number of copies in electronic format required, thus improving and making more efficient the FDA's premarket submission program for medical devices.

The Board of Governors (Board) is publishing a final rule that applies an inflation adjustment to the threshold for total consolidated assets in Regulation I. Federal Reserve Bank (Reserve Bank) stockholders that have total consolidated assets above the threshold receive a different dividend rate on their Reserve Bank stock than stockholders with total consolidated assets at or below the threshold. The Federal Reserve Act requires that the Board annually adjust the total consolidated asset threshold to reflect the change in the Gross Domestic Product Price Index, published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Based on the change in the Gross Domestic Product Price Index as of September 26, 2019, the total consolidated asset threshold will be $10,715,000,000 through December 31, 2020.

NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is transferring a portion of its 2019 commercial summer flounder quota to the Commonwealth of Virginia. This quota adjustment is necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of the revised 2019 commercial quotas for North Carolina and Virginia.

This rule identifies communities where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that are scheduled for suspension on the effective dates listed within this rule because of noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. If the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) receives documentation that the community has adopted the required floodplain management measures prior to the effective suspension date given in this rule, the suspension will not occur and a notice of this will be provided by publication in the Federal Register on a subsequent date. Also, information identifying the current participation status of a community can be obtained from FEMA's Community Status Book (CSB). The CSB is available at https:// www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program-community-statu s-book.

FMCSA requests public comments on the National Association of the Deaf's (NAD) petition for rulemaking to rescind the requirement for interstate drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) to be able to hear. NAD also requests that FMCSA amend the requirement that interstate drivers be able to speak, and the rule prohibiting the use of interpreters during the administration of the commercial driver's license (CDL) skills test. NAD believes the origins of the hearing requirement dates to a time of misguided stereotypes about the abilities and inabilities of deaf and hard of hearing individuals and the rules should now be changed.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for International Aero Engines AG (IAE) V2500-A1, V2522-A5, V2524-A5, V2525-D5, V2527-A5, V2527E-A5, V2527M-A5, V2528-D5, V2530-A5, V2531-E5, and V2533-A5 turbofan engine models with a certain diffuser case assembly installed. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of a manufacturing quality escape that could impact the life of the diffuser case assembly. This proposed AD would require removal of the affected diffuser case assembly from service and replacement with a part eligible for installation. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.