June 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In this document the Commission adopts changes to its rules and procedures for broadcast station applicants to provide public notice of application filings to the principal area that is served or to be served by the station. The changes are designed to improve, streamline, and standardize the notices, including replacing notice by newspaper with online notice. The changes are further designed to enhance rule compliance and public participation in the application process, increase public access to filed applications, and reduce applicant burdens.

The Department of Education (Department) issues this interim final rule so that institutions of higher education may appropriately determine which individuals attending their institution are eligible to receive emergency financial aid grants to students under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (March 27, 2020).

On May 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a request for information (RFI) pertaining to the energy conservation standards for air-cooled commercial package air conditioning and heating equipment (ACUACs and ACUHPs) and commercial warm air furnaces (CWAFs). The RFI provided an opportunity for submission of written comments, data, and information to the Department by June 11, 2020. Prior to the end of the comment period for the RFI, DOE received a request from the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), as well as from the American Public Gas Association (APGA), seeking additional time to consider the applicability and impact of an updated energy conservation standard for this equipment. In light of these requests, DOE is reopening the comment period for the subject RFI for an additional 14 days.

In this document, the Office of Economics and Analytics (Office) and the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) propose and seek comment on specific adjustment factor values for purposes of bidding in the 5G Fund auction as well as for disaggregating legacy support. The Office and Bureau seek comment on these adjustment factor values and specifically on whether these values are appropriate to achieve the Commission's objective of distributing 5G Fund and legacy support to a range of areas across the country that are geographically and economically diverse, and to ensure that the 5G Fund supports those areas that absent such support would be unlikely to reap the benefits of 5G deployment.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) publishes this final rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the decisions made at the February 2020 Australia Group (AG) Intersessional Implementation Meeting, and those later adopted pursuant to the AG's silence procedure. Specifically, this rule amends Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) 1C350, 1C351 and 2B352 on the Commerce Control List (CCL) to reflect these AG changes. ECCN 1C350 is amended by adding twenty-four precursor chemicals, as well as mixtures in which at least one of these chemicals constitutes 30 percent or more of the weight of the mixture, to ECCN 1C350.d. ECCN 1C351 is amended to add Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-related coronavirus). ECCN 2B352 is amended by adding a Technical Note to indicate that cultivation chamber holding devices controlled in 2B352.b.2.b include single-use cultivation chambers with rigid walls. The items addressed by this final rule were not previously listed on the CCL or controlled multilaterally. BIS, consistent with the interagency process described in the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA), identified the precursor chemicals and single-use cultivation chambers addressed by this final rule as emerging technologies that are essential to U.S. national security and for which effective controls can be implemented. The inclusion of such items in this final rule is consistent with the requirements of ECRA and the decision of the AG to add such items to its common control lists, thereby making exports of such items subject to multilateral control (following the implementation of these changes by individual AG participating countries, including the United States).

In this final rule, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is making the 2020 annual inflation adjustment to its civil monetary penalties. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act) was signed into law on November 2, 2015. Pursuant to the 2015 Act, all agencies must adjust civil monetary penalties annually and publish the adjustment in the Federal Register. Accordingly, this final rule adjusts DHS's civil monetary penalties for 2020 pursuant to the 2015 Act and OMB guidance. The new penalties will be effective for penalties assessed after June 17, 2020 whose associated violations occurred after November 2, 2015.

The general debt management regulations of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) provide that individual USDA agencies may issue regulations for their own specific debt collection activities principally in recognition that the agencies conducted debt collection activities prior to the enactment of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA). Many of the provisions of individual agencies are redundant to part 3. This rule will eliminate the debt collection regulations of the following USDA agencies, and part 3 will be revised to include specific provisions used by these agencies: the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC); the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), and the Farm Service Agency (FSA). In addition, as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act of 2015 (the 2015 Civil Penalties Act), this rule updates the size of civil monetary penalties to reflect inflationary adjustments for 2020.

On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) posted on its website an interim final rule relating to the implementation of sections 1102 and 1106 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act or the Act) (published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2020). Section 1102 of the Act temporarily adds a new product, titled the ``Paycheck Protection Program,'' to the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA's) 7(a) Loan Program. Subsequently, SBA issued a number of interim final rules implementing the Paycheck Protection Program. On June 5, 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (Flexibility Act) was signed into law, amending the CARES Act. This interim final rule revises SBA's interim final rule published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2020, by changing key provisions, such as the loan maturity, deferral of loan payments, and forgiveness provisions, to conform to the Flexibility Act. SBA also is making conforming amendments to the use of PPP loan proceeds for consistency with amendments made in the Flexibility Act. Several of these amendments are retroactive to the date of enactment of the CARES Act, as required by section 3(d) of the Flexibility Act.

The FAA is superseding airworthiness directive (AD) 2011-20-01 for certain Empresa Brasileira de Aeron[aacute]utica S.A. (now Embraer S.A.) Model EMB-505 airplanes. AD 2011-20-01 required replacing the bolts that attach the balance mass weights to the elevator structure. This AD requires inspections of the mass-balance weights of the elevators, ailerons, and rudder (flight control surfaces) and their attachment parts and corrective actions if necessary, and revising the airworthiness limitation section of the existing maintenance manual or instructions for continued airworthiness to incorporate new airworthiness limitations. This AD also adds airplanes to the applicability. This AD was prompted by reports of corrosion in the mass-balance weights of the flight control surfaces, and a determination that new airworthiness limitations are necessary. 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 The Boeing Company Model 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 airplanes powered by Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of damage to the inner fixed structure (IFS) forward upper fire seal and damage to thermal insulation blankets in the forward upper area of the thrust reverser (TR). This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections of the IFS forward upper fire seal and thermal insulation blankets in the forward upper area of the TR for damage and applicable on-condition actions. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This action proposes to amend two existing low altitude RNAV routes (T-routes), and establish nine new T-routes in support of the South-Central Florida Metroplex Project. The proposed changes would reduce the dependency of the National Airspace System (NAS) on ground- based navigational systems, and assist with the transition to a more efficient Performance Based Navigation (PBN) route structure.

The Immigration and Nationality Act provides for the granting of special immigrant status for certain aliens who have been employed by, and performed faithful service for, the U.S. government abroad for at least fifteen years. This rule codifies in regulation the eligibility criteria for special immigrant status of such aliens and the application process for applicants.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is revising the rules of practice pertaining to patent term adjustment in view of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) in Supernus Pharm., Inc. v. Iancu (Supernus). The Federal Circuit in Supernus held that a reduction of patent term adjustment must be equal to the period of time during which the applicant failed to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude prosecution of the application. The USPTO is revising the provisions pertaining to reduction of patent term adjustment for alignment with the Federal Circuit decision in Supernus.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to the Wisconsin State Implementation Plan (SIP). On December 13, 2019, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) submitted the State's plans for maintaining the 1997 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) in the following areas: Kewaunee County, Door County, Manitowoc County, and Milwaukee- Racine area (Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha counties). EPA is approving these maintenance plans because they provide for the maintenance of the 1997 ozone NAAQS through the end of the second 10-year maintenance period. This action makes certain commitments related to maintenance of the 1997 ozone NAAQS in these areas federally enforceable as part of the Wisconsin SIP. EPA proposed to approve this action on March 24, 2020 and received no adverse comments.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending and updating its VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) in phased increments to revise or remove any policy superseded by changes in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), to remove procedural guidance internal to VA into the VAAM, and to incorporate any new agency specific regulations or policies. These changes seek to align the VAAR with the FAR and remove outdated and duplicative requirements and reduce burden on contractors. The VAAM incorporates portions of the removed VAAR as well as other internal agency acquisition policy. VA will rewrite certain parts of the VAAR and VAAM, and as VAAR parts are rewritten, will publish them in the Federal Register. In particular, this rulemaking revises VAAR coverage concerning Administrative and Information Matters, Publicizing Contract Actions, and Termination of Contracts, as well as an affected part concerning Solicitation Provisions and Contract Clauses.

The Department of Education (Department) announces a funding priority and requirements under the Technical Assistance on State Data Collection program, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.373F. The Department may use this priority and these requirements for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2020 and later years. We take this action to focus attention on an identified national need to provide technical assistance (TA) to improve the capacity of States to meet the data collection requirements under Parts B and C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

This final rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulations on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single- Employer Plans and Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans to prescribe certain interest assumptions under the benefit payments regulation for plans with valuation dates in July 2020 and interest assumptions under the asset allocation regulation for plans with valuation dates in the third quarter of 2020. These interest assumptions are used for valuing benefits and paying certain benefits under terminating single-employer plans covered by the pension insurance system administered by PBGC.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (Gulfstream) Model G-IV airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of un-commanded nose wheel steering turns. This AD requires replacing the nose wheel steering servo valve manifold, incorporating revised operating procedures into the airplane flight manual (AFM), doing a records inspection for any incidents of un-commanded nose wheel steering turns, and reporting the results to the FAA. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This action proposes to amend the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Clinton Regional Airport, Clinton, MO. The FAA is proposing this action as the result of an airspace review due to the decommissioning of the Golden Valley non- directional beacon (NDB) which provided navigation information to the instrument procedures at this airport. The name and geographic coordinates of the airport would also be updated to coincide with the FAA's aeronautic database.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors is revising its regulations to clarify the practical meaning and impact of the statutory firewall contained within the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994, as amended, upon Agency operations. Consistent with this action, this rule makes appropriate conforming changes.

The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (collectively, ``the Departments'') propose to amend the regulations governing credible fear determinations so that individuals found to have such a fear will have their claims for asylum, withholding of removal under section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (``INA'' or ``the Act'') (``statutory withholding of removal''), or protection under the regulations issued pursuant to the legislation implementing the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (``CAT''), adjudicated by an immigration judge within the Executive Office for Immigration Review (``EOIR'') in streamlined proceedings (rather than in proceedings under section 240 of the Act), and to specify what standard of review applies in such streamlined proceedings. The Departments further propose changes to the regulations regarding asylum, statutory withholding of removal, and withholding and deferral of removal under the CAT regulations. The Departments also propose amendments related to the standards for adjudication of applications for asylum and statutory withholding.

NMFS issues regulations to implement Regulatory Amendment 29 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP) (Regulatory Amendment 29), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule requires descending devices to be on board vessels and requires the use of specific fish hook types while fishing for or possessing snapper-grouper species. This rule also allows the use of powerheads in Federal waters off South Carolina to harvest snapper- grouper species. The purpose of this rule is to modify fishing gear requirements to promote best fishing practices and to ensure consistent regulations for the dive component of the snapper-grouper fishery.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is designating two pharmaceutical preparations containing esterified estrogens and methyltestosterone as exempt anabolic steroid products under the Controlled Substances Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on behalf of the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD), on May 23, 2019. The revision pertains to ACHD's amendments of the ACHD Rules and Regulations, Article XXI (Air Pollution Control) to implement Federal nonattainment new source review (NNSR) provisions for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). EPA is approving these revisions to the Allegheny County portion of the Pennsylvania SIP in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

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.