April 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action proposes to amend Class E surface airspace, and Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport, (previously Warren County Airport), Glens Falls, NY due to the decommissioning of the Glens Falls VORTAC, and cancellation of associated approaches. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations in the area. This action also would update the airport's name.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is making available for comment a set of proposed frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding individual service lines directly connected to production, gathering, or transmission pipelines, commonly referred to as farm taps. The proposed FAQs address the applicability of the Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations and include guidance related to the Exercise of Enforcement Discretion Regarding Farm Taps published in the Federal Register on March 26, 2019.

On June 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') published a final rule adopting test procedures for portable air conditioners (``June 2016 final rule''). A correction rule was subsequently published on October 14, 2016 (``October 2016 correction rule''), to correct typographical errors in the June 2016 final rule that were included in the regulatory text. This document corrects typographical errors introduced in the October 2016 correction rule, including missing parentheses and incorrect variable names. Neither the errors nor the corrections in this document affect the substance of the rulemaking or any of the conclusions reached in support of the final rule.

This document corrects information displayed in a Table within the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2020. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule determining that the Greater Connecticut Serious 8-hour ozone nonattainment area had attained the 2008 8-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone.

The Postal Service is amending its Postage Evidencing Systems regulations. These changes set forth the current procedure (which may be updated based upon changes to postal regulations) to become an authorized Postage Evidencing System (PES) provider. The changes also update or create new definitions, update all references of the Office of Payment Technology to the Office of Commercial Payment, and reorganize or reword certain provisions currently in the regulations for clarity.

In January 2017, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a consumer product safety standard for sling carriers under section 104 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The standard incorporated by reference the ASTM voluntary standard that was in effect for sling carriers at the time, with an additional requirement for warning label attachment. ASTM has since revised the voluntary standard for sling carriers. The CPSIA provides a process for when a voluntary standards organization updates a standard that the Commission incorporated by reference in a section 104 rule. Consistent with that process, this direct final rule revises the mandatory standard for sling carriers to incorporate by reference the updated version of the ASTM standard, while retaining the additional requirement for warning label attachment.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing this final rule to amend regulations for the Senior Biomedical Research Service, a component of the Public Health Service. These amendments are necessary to ensure consistency with amendments made to the 21st Century Cures Act to improve scientific expertise and outreach within the Service

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is adopting amendments to the financial disclosure requirements for guarantors and issuers of guaranteed securities registered or being registered, and issuers' affiliates whose securities collateralize securities registered or being registered in Regulation S-X to improve those requirements for both investors and registrants. The changes are intended to provide investors with material information given the specific facts and circumstances, make the disclosures easier to understand, and reduce the costs and burdens to registrants. In addition, by reducing the costs and burdens of compliance, issuers may be encouraged to offer guaranteed or collateralized securities on a registered basis, thereby affording investors protection they may not be provided in offerings conducted on an unregistered basis. Finally, by making it less burdensome and less costly for issuers to include guarantees or pledges of affiliate securities as collateral when they structure debt offerings, the revisions may increase the number of registered offerings that include these credit enhancements, which could result in a lower cost of capital and an increased level of investor protection.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Continental Aerospace Technologies, Inc. model GTSIO-520-C, GTSIO-520-D, GTSIO-520-H, GTSIO-520-K, GTSIO-520-L, GTSIO-520-M, GTSIO- 520-N, IO-550-G, IO-550-N, IO-550-P, IO-550-R, IOF-550-N, IOF-550-P, IOF-550-R, TSIO-520-BE, TSIO-550-A, TSIO-550-B, TSIO-550-C, TSIO-550-E, TSIO-550-G, TSIO-550-K, TSIO-550-N, TSIOF-550-D, TSIOF-550-J, TSIOF- 550-K, and TSIOF-550-P reciprocating aviation gasoline (AvGas) engines with a certain cross-flow cylinder assembly installed. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of in-flight engine failures due to fractured cross-flow cylinder assemblies. This proposed AD would require visual inspection and, depending on the results of the inspection, modification or replacement of the cross-flow cylinder assembly. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus SAS Model A318 series airplanes; Model A319-111, - 112, -113, -114, -115, -131, -132, and -133 airplanes; Model A320-211, -212, -214, -216, -231, -232, and -233 airplanes; and Model A321-111, - 112, -131, -211, -212, -213, -231, and -232 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report that cracks were detected on the left-hand (LH) and right-hand (RH) sides of the first rivet hole of the frame (FR) 43 foot coupling during scheduled maintenance. This proposed AD would require a rotating probe test of the fastener holes at FR43 on the LH and RH sides for any cracking, and on-condition actions if necessary, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which will be incorporated by reference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This proposed rule would establish 2020 harvest specifications and management measures for Pacific whiting, shortbelly rockfish and cowcod taken in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Pacific Whiting Act of 2006, and other applicable laws. This rule proposes 2020 harvest specifications for Pacific whiting including the U.S. and coastwide Total Allowable Catch (TAC), the 2020 tribal allocation for the Pacific whiting fishery, allocations for three commercial whiting sectors, and set-asides for Pacific whiting research and incidental mortality in other fisheries. The proposed rule would also adjust the 2020 harvest specifications for shortbelly rockfish and cowcod. The proposed measures are intended to help prevent overfishing, achieve optimum yield, and ensure that management measures are based on the best scientific information available.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a regional haze progress report State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Wyoming on November 28, 2017. The revision addresses the requirements for states to submit periodic reports describing progress toward reasonable progress goals established for regional haze and a determination of adequacy of the State's existing regional haze SIP and federal implementation plan (FIP). The regional haze progress report SIP revision also includes a revision to the Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) requirements for Unit 3 at the Naughton Power Plant. The EPA acted on the BART revision for the Naughton Power Plant in a previous rulemaking and is not proposing to act on the BART revision in this rulemaking. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

In light of emergency stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders issued all over the country, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) is temporarily waiving the requirement to notarize a spouse's signature on withdrawal election forms.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving revisions to the State Implementation Plans (SIPs) for Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska and is also approving revisions to the Operating Permit Programs for Iowa and Nebraska. The SIP revisions incorporate changes to the definition of chemical process plants under the States' Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations and change the same definition in the approved State operating permit programs. Consistent with an EPA regulation finalized in 2007, this action approves several State rules that modify the definition of chemical process plant to exclude ethanol manufacturing facilities that produce ethanol by natural fermentation processes. Approving these modified definitions into the SIP establishes that the PSD major source applicability threshold in the SIPs for these ethanol plants is 250 tons per year (tpy) (rather than 100 tpy) and removes the requirement to include fugitive emissions when determining if the source is major for PSD. In addition, this action approves changes to the Iowa and Nebraska Title V operating permit programs that remove the requirement to include fugitive emissions when determining if a source is major for Title V purposes. The EPA concludes that the changes to the State rules described herein are approvable because they are consistent with EPA regulations governing State PSD and Title V programs and will not interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (as defined in section 171 of the Clean Air Act (CAA)), or any other applicable requirement of the CAA.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the comment period for a notice issued in the Federal Register on March 18, 2020, supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) titled ``Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science.'' This document is extending the comment period on this SNPRM from April 17, 2020, to May 18, 2020.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'' or ``CFTC'') is proposing revisions to its regulations setting forth the real-time public reporting and dissemination requirements for swap data repositories (``SDRs''), derivatives clearing organizations (``DCOs''), swap execution facilities (``SEFs''), designated contract markets (``DCMs''), swap dealers (``SDs''), major swap participants (``MSPs''), and swap counterparties that are neither SDs nor MSPs. The Commission is also proposing revisions that, among other things, change the ``block trade'' definition, change the block swap categories, update the block thresholds and cap sizes, and adjust the delay for the public dissemination of block transactions.

The Coast Guard is finalizing its 2013 proposal to update the Liquid Chemical Categorization tables, aligning them with the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk and the International Maritime Organization's Marine Environment Protection Committee circulars from December 2012 and 2013. This final rule corrects errors in our interim rule of August 16, 2013, and follows our supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking of October 22, 2015. The updated tables provide a list of liquid hazardous materials and liquefied and compressed gases approved for international and domestic maritime transportation, and indicate how each substance is categorized by its pollution potential, safe carriage requirements, chemical flammability, combustibility, and compatibility with other substances. This rule imposes no cost to chemical shippers and vessel owners.

This action establishes Class E airspace at Big Horn County Airport, Hardin, MT. The airspace extends upward from 700 feet above the surface and contains arriving and departing IFR aircraft operating to/from the airport.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain International Aero Engines, LLC (IAE) PW1133G-JM, PW1133GA-JM, PW1130G-JM, PW1129G-JM, PW1127G-JM, PW1127GA-JM, PW1127G1-JM, PW1124G- JM, PW1124G1-JM, and PW1122G-JM model turbofan engines. This AD was prompted by reports of failures of certain low-pressure turbine (LPT) 3rd-stage blades. This AD requires replacement of the affected LPT 3rd- stage blades. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus SAS Model A350-941 and -1041 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report indicating that when the number 2 engine thrust reverser (T/R) was opened, the right-hand T/R hinge nut located at position 4 was found detached; investigation revealed that certain nuts could have been installed with noncompliant locking features, or with locking features that could degrade quicker than anticipated. This proposed AD would require inspecting each T/R hinge for the presence of a nut and washer, installing a new nut and washer if necessary, and applying a torque stripe at each T/R hinge location, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which will be incorporated by reference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

On March 31, 2020, DoD, GSA, and NASA published a rule proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to incorporate recent revisions and updates to accessibility standards issued by the U.S. Access Board pursuant to section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. DoD, GSA, and NASA are making editorial changes to correct amendatory instructions.

This document contains a correction to the notice of proposed rulemaking that was published in the Federal Register on Thursday, April 2, 2020. The proposed regulations in the notice of proposed rulemaking provide guidance on the computation of life insurance reserves and the change in basis of computing certain reserves of insurance companies.

In this document, the Commission makes non-substantive, editorial revisions to the Commission's rules to eliminate regulations that have become unnecessary because they no longer have any applicability. These relevant provisions are now without legal effect and therefore obsolete due to the completion of the transition from local hard copy public inspection files to online public inspection files.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), revise the List of Migratory Birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) by both adding and removing species. Reasons for the changes to the list include adding species based on new taxonomy and new evidence of natural occurrence in the United States or U.S. territories, removing species no longer known to occur within the United States or U.S. territories, and changing names to conform to accepted use. The net increase of 67 species (75 added and 8 removed) will bring the total number of species protected by the MBTA to 1,093. We regulate the taking, possession, transportation, sale, purchase, barter, exportation, and importation of migratory birds. An accurate and up-to- date list of species protected by the MBTA is essential for public notification and regulatory purposes.

This proposed rule would update the hospice wage index, payment rates, and cap amount for fiscal year (FY) 2021. This rule also proposes changes to the hospice wage index by adopting the most recent Office of Management and Budget statistical area delineations, with a 5 percent cap on wage index decreases. Finally, this proposed rule summarizes the changes to the hospice election statement finalized in the FY 2020 Hospice Wage Index and Rate Update final rule and effective for October 1, 2020; and provides hospices with a model election statement and sample addendum.