April 23, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is revising procedural requirements in regulations related to service of process of summonses, complaints, and subpoenas.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Leonardo S.p.a. (Leonardo) Model A109E, A109S, and AW109SP helicopters. This proposed AD would require inspecting each fire extinguisher bottle for a crack. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of a cracked fire extinguisher bottle. The actions of this proposed AD are intended to address an unsafe condition on these helicopters.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) on behalf of the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). The SIP revision, submitted on October 3, 2017, provides for attainment of the 2010 sulfur dioxide (SO2) primary national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) in the Allegheny Pennsylvania SO2 nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as the ``Allegheny Area'' or ``Area''). The SIP submission includes an attainment plan, including an attainment demonstration showing SO2 attainment in the Area, an analysis of reasonably available control technology (RACT) and reasonably available control measures (RACM) requirements, enforceable emission limitations and control measures, a reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, and contingency measures for the Allegheny Area. EPA is approving new SO2 emission limits and associated compliance parameters for the four major sources of SO2 in the Allegheny Area into the Allegheny County portion of the Pennsylvania SIP. Three of the sources (Clairton Coke Works, Edgar Thomson, and Irvin Works) are collectively known as the U.S. Steel (USS) Mon Valley Works, and the fourth is the Harsco Metals Facility, also referred to as Braddock Recovery. EPA is also approving the base year emissions inventory for the Allegheny Area and ACHD's certification that the nonattainment new source review (NNSR) permit program meets requirements. These revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP are in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) requests public comment on an Economic Analysis Report related to the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices final rule (OLPP Rule), published on January 19, 2017, and the final rule withdrawing the OLPP Rule (Withdrawal Rule), published on March 13, 2018. The public comment process for the Economic Analysis Report is being conducted consistent with an Order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, which granted USDA's Motion to Remand a legal challenge to the Withdrawal Rule for purposes of clarifying and supplementing the record regarding the economic analysis underlying both the OLPP Rule and the Withdrawal Rule. (See Organic Trade Association v. USDA; Civil Action No. 17-1875 (RMC) (March 12, 2020), ECF No. 112).

This document announces receipt of a petition received by DOE on January 10, 2020, from the Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA), International, Air Conditioning Contractors of America, and Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Contractors of America requesting that DOE establish a Federal test procedure for commercial and industrial fans. The petition, which appears at the end of this document, requests that DOE resume a previous DOE rulemaking effort to establish a Federal test procedure for commercial and industrial fans, and that such test procedure be based on an upcoming industry test method. This document summarizes the substantive aspects of this position and requests public comments on the merits of the petition.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 121 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Management Area (BSAI FMP) and Amendment 110 to the FMP for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) (GOA FMP), collectively referred to as Amendments 121/110. If approved, this proposed rule would prohibit directed fishing for sculpins by federally permitted groundfish fishermen and specify a sculpin retention limit in the GOA and BSAI groundfish fisheries. This action is necessary to properly classify sculpins in the BSAI and GOA FMPs. This proposed rule is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), Amendments 121/110, the BSAI and GOA FMPs, and other applicable laws.

In this document, the Media Bureau, Federal Communications Commission (Commission), grants a blanket extension until December 20, 2020, of the effective date of new truth-in-billing requirements in the Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019.

In this final rule document, we adopt proposals to modernize the Commission's carriage election notice rules with respect to certain television broadcast stations and open video systems (OVS) operators. First, we conclude that low power television stations (LPTVs) that qualify for mandatory carriage (qualified LPTVs) must send notices to affected multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) by email when changing their carriage election status in the same manner as full power television broadcast stations. However, unlike the requirement for full power television broadcast stations, qualified LPTVs and noncommercial educational (NCE) television translator stations that qualify for must carry (qualified NCE translators) will not be required to make their carriage election statements available for public inspection. Second, we find that MVPDs with carriage-related questions should be able to rely on the contact information provided by qualified LPTV and qualified NCE translator stations in the Commission's Licensing and Management System (LMS) database. If an MVPD contacts the phone number or email address provided by the station regarding a concern about carriage, those concerns must be addressed as soon as is reasonably possible. Third, we conclude that, in the same manner as cable operators, OVS operators must post contact information for questions regarding carriage election to the Cable Operations and Licensing System (COALS) database, accept email election change notices, and timely respond to carriage-related questions. Through this Order, we continue our efforts to modernize our rules.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), reclassify the golden conure (Gauruba guarouba) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), from endangered to threatened on the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List). Our determination is based on a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, which indicates that the golden conure no longer meets the definition of an endangered species, but is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. We are also establishing a rule pursuant to section 4(d) of the Act for the golden conure to provide for its further conservation. Additionally, this final rule updates the List to reflect the latest scientifically accepted taxonomy and nomenclature for the species as Guaruba guarouba, golden conure.

This interim final rule provides a graduated transition to a community bank leverage ratio requirement of 9 percent from the temporary 8-percent community bank leverage ratio requirement (transition interim final rule). When the requirements in the transition interim final rule become applicable, the community bank leverage ratio will be 8 percent beginning in the second quarter of calendar year 2020, 8.5 percent through calendar year 2021, and 9 percent thereafter. The transition interim final rule also maintains a two-quarter grace period for a qualifying community banking organization whose leverage ratio falls no more than 1 percentage point below the applicable community bank leverage ratio requirement. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (together, the agencies) issued concurrently an interim final rule that established an 8-percent community bank leverage ratio, as mandated under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The agencies are issuing the transition interim final rule to provide community banking organizations with sufficient time and clarity to meet the 9 percent leverage ratio requirement under the community bank leverage ratio framework while they also focus on supporting lending to creditworthy households and businesses given the recent strains on the U.S. economy caused by the coronavirus disease emergency.

EPA is finalizing two technical corrections to the light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards regulations which were first promulgated in the 2012 rulemaking that established standards for model years 2017-2025 light-duty vehicles. First, EPA is correcting regulations pertaining to how auto manufacturers calculate credits for the GHG program's optional advanced technology incentives. This final rule corrects an error to ensure that auto manufacturers receive the appropriate amount of credits for electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles, and natural gas fueled vehicles. Second, this rule corrects an error in the regulations regarding how manufacturers must calculate certain types of off-cycle credits. Both of these corrections allow the program to be implemented as originally intended. The corrections are not expected to result in any additional regulatory burdens or costs.