August 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commission is noticing a recent Postal Service filing for the Commission's consideration concerning negotiated service agreements. This notice informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes other administrative steps.

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) publishes a revised Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Electronic Announcement (EA), originally posted May 6, 2020, that describes the public reporting requirements for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (the Department) is issuing this notice to announce the applicable minimum wage rate for workers performing work on or in connection with federal contracts covered by Executive Order 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors (the Executive Order or the Order), beginning January 1, 2021. Beginning on that date, the Executive Order minimum wage rate that generally must be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $10.95 per hour, while the required minimum cash wage that generally must be paid to tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $7.65 per hour.

On August 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (``NOPR'') regarding proposals to amend the test procedures for showerheads and to request comment on the proposals. That NOPR also announced a webinar but did not announce a webinar date. DOE is announcing that the webinar will be held on September 3, 2020, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Additionally, on August 18, 2020, DOE received a request from Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) to extend the comment period for the NOPR by 30 days. DOE is announcing the comment period is extended to September 30, 2020.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on proposed information collections. This is a revision of currently approved information collection requirements associated with initiating collection actions against households who have received an overissuance in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) allows for specified persons to employ measures to deter marine mammals from damaging fishing gear and catch, damaging personal or public property, or endangering personal safety, as long as these measures do not result in death or serious injury of marine mammals. The MMPA directs the Secretary of Commerce, through NOAA's NMFS, to publish a list of ``guidelines'' for use in safely deterring marine mammals under NMFS' jurisdiction and to recommend ``specific measures,'' which may be used to nonlethally deter marine mammals listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). While the guidelines and specific measures are not mandatory, the MMPA provides protection from liability under the MMPA for take resulting from such deterrence measures by specifying that any actions taken to deter marine mammals that are consistent with the guidelines or specific measures are not a violation of the act. NMFS has not evaluated these deterrents for effectiveness. This rulemaking also includes prohibitions on certain deterrent methods that NMFS has determined, using the best available scientific information, would have a significant adverse effect on marine mammals.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to permit the use Defense Logistics Agency Energy as a source of fuel for contractors performing under certain contracts.

DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which amended the statutory presumption of development exclusively at private expense for commercial items in the procedures governing the validation of asserted restrictions on technical data.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to remove a clause that is no longer necessary.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 that increases the micro-purchase threshold for DoD from $5,000 to $10,000 and repeals a section in the United States Code.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce, will host a virtual, online symposium on September 22, 2020, focusing on national spectrum policy development and the evolution of new techniques and technologies for federal spectrum management including spectrum sharing.

In accordance with requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) performed a periodic review of the emissions standards and other requirements for Other Solid Waste Incineration (OSWI) units, covering certain very small municipal waste combustion (VSMWC) and institutional waste incineration (IWI) units. Although the EPA is not proposing revisions to the OSWI New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines (EG) specifically based on its statutory periodic review, the EPA is otherwisein accordance with its authority under the CAAproposing changes to the OSWI NSPS and EG.

This direct final rule corrects an error in EPA's regulations for test procedures used in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program finalized in a 2012 rulemaking. EPA established the procedures under the general provisions of Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) which authorize EPA to establish test and calculation procedures for CAFE. The correction clarifies the method for how flex-fuel vehicles are accounted for in manufacturer fuel economy calculations in model years 2020 and later. This correction allows the program to be implemented as originally intended in the 2012 rule. This rulemaking action is not expected to result in any significant changes in regulatory burdens or costs.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes the final Annual Determination (AD) for 2020, pursuant to its authority under the Endangered Species Act (ESA or Act). Through the AD, NMFS identifies U.S. fisheries operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific Ocean that will be required to take fisheries observers upon NMFS' request. The purpose of observing identified fisheries is to learn more about sea turtle bycatch in a given fishery, evaluate measures to prevent or reduce sea turtle bycatch, and implement the prohibition against sea turtle takes. Fisheries identified on the 2020 AD (see Table 1) will remain on the AD for a five-year period from the effective date of the final determination and will be required to carry observers upon NMFS' request.

The NCUA Board (Board) proposes to amend its regulation governing assessment of an annual operating fee to federal credit unions (FCUs). First, for purposes of calculating the annual operating fee, the proposed rule would amend the current rule to exclude from total assets any loan an FCU reports under the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or similar future programs approved for exclusion by the NCUA Board. Second, the proposed rule would delete from the current regulation references to the Credit Union System Investment Program and the Credit Union Homeowners Affordability Relief Program, both of which no longer exist. Third, the proposed rule would amend the period used for the calculation of an FCU's total assets. Currently, total assets are calculated using the FCU's December 31st Call Report of the preceding year. Under the proposed rule, total assets would be calculated as the average total assets reported on the FCU's previous four Call Reports available at the time the NCUA Board approves the agency's budget for the upcoming year, adjusted for any excludable programs as determined by the Board. Finally, the proposed rule also would make some minor technical changes. The Board has separately published a document and requested public comment about the methodologies it uses for computing the Overhead Transfer Rate and setting the annual operating fee schedule for fees charged to FCUs. Members of the public are encouraged to comment about these methodologies by responding to the appropriate Federal Register document. The notice relating to National Credit Union Administration Overhead Transfer Rate Methodology and Operating Fee Schedule Methodology is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

The Agencies, in accordance with section 205(h) of the Dodd- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank Act''), are jointly adopting a final rule to implement provisions applicable to the orderly liquidation of covered brokers and dealers under Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act (``Title II'').

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are opening, for the first time, eight National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) that were previously closed to hunting and sport fishing. In addition, we are opening or expanding hunting and sport fishing at 89 other NWRs and adding pertinent station-specific regulations for other NWRs that pertain to migratory game bird hunting, upland game hunting, big game hunting, and sport fishing for the 2020-2021 season. We are also opening hunting or sport fishing on nine units of the National Fish Hatchery System (NFHs). We are also adding pertinent station-specific regulations that pertain to migratory game bird hunting, upland game hunting, big game hunting, and sport fishing at these nine NFHs for the 2020-2021 season. Further, we are opening 41 limited-interest easement NWRs in North Dakota for upland and big game hunting and sport fishing in accordance with State regulations. Access to these NWRs is controlled by the current landowners, and, therefore, they are not open to the public unless authorized by the landowner. We are also making regulatory changes to existing station-specific regulations in order to reduce the regulatory burden on the public, increase access for hunters and anglers on Service lands and waters, and comply with a Presidential mandate for plain language standards. Lastly, we are prohibiting domestic sheep, goat, and camelid pack animals on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

We are adopting amendments to our rules and forms to improve their application, assist registrants in making more meaningful determinations of whether a subsidiary or an acquired or disposed business is significant, and to improve the disclosure requirements for financial statements relating to acquisitions and dispositions of businesses, including real estate operations and investment companies. The changes are intended to improve for investors the financial information about acquired or disposed businesses, facilitate more timely access to capital, and reduce the complexity and costs to prepare the disclosure.