September 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This proposed rule would adjust quotas and retention limits and establish the opening date for the 2021 fishing year for the Atlantic commercial shark fisheries. Quotas would be adjusted as required or allowable based on any overharvests and/or underharvests experienced during the 2020 fishing year. NMFS proposes the opening date and commercial retention limits to provide, to the extent practicable, fishing opportunities for commercial shark fishermen in all regions and areas. The proposed measures could affect fishing opportunities for commercial shark fishermen in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea.

This document contains corrections to Treasury Decision 9901, which was published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. The Treasury Decision provided guidance regarding the deduction for foreign derived intangible income (FDII) and global intangible low- taxed income (GILTI).

Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, as amended by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (Section 3), contributes to the establishment of stronger, more sustainable communities by ensuring that employment and other economic opportunities generated by Federal financial assistance for housing and community development programs are, to the greatest extent feasible, directed toward low- and very low-income persons, particularly those who receive government assistance for housing. In accordance with statutory authority, HUD is charged with the responsibility to implement and enforce Section 3. HUD's regulations implementing the requirements of Section 3 have not been updated since 1994 and are not as effective as HUD believes they could be. This final rule updates HUD's Section 3 regulations to create more effective incentives for employers to retain and invest in their low- and very low-income workers, streamline reporting requirements by aligning them with typical business practices, provide for program-specific oversight, and clarify the obligations of entities that are covered by Section 3. These changes will increase Section 3's impact for low- and very low- income persons, increase compliance with Section 3 requirements, and reduce regulatory burden.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces revisions to regulations updating guidance on Federal agency use of conformity assessment that reflects advancement in conformity assessment concepts, and the evolution in Federal agency strategies and coordination in using and relying on conformity assessment. The provisions are solely intended to be used as guidance for agencies in their use and reliance on conformity assessment to meet agency requirements and do not preempt the agency authority and responsibility to make decisions authorized by statute or required in establishing regulatory, procurement, or programmatic activities.

The Office of the Secretary proposes to exempt records maintained in CIG-26, ``Case Control SystemInvestigative.'' The System of Records Notice was published in the Federal Register on August 9, 2011. This rule is being published as a direct final rule as the DoD does not expect to receive any adverse comments. If such comments are received, this direct final rule will be cancelled and a proposed rule for comments will be published.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 3.72, ``Guidance for Implementation of Changes, Tests, and Experiements.'' Revision 1 to RG 3.72 endorses Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 12-04, Revision 2. NEI 12-04, Revision 2, updates and revises previous guidance to incorporate operating experience and NRC's inspection findings. In addition, RG 3.72, Revision 1, changes the NRC's guidance on departures from a method of evaluation (MOE) and the NRC's approval of an MOE.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements associated with the Uniform License Renewal, Discontinuance of Operation, and Geographic Partitioning and Spectrum Disaggregation Rules and Policies for Certain Wireless Radio Services Second Report and Order and the Report and Order on the Commission's Rules to Facilitate the Use of Vehicular Repeater Units. This document is consistent with the Second Report and Order, Report and Order, all of which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the information collection requirements.

In this supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is supplementing the proposal published on January 15, 2020, and pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the EPA is notifying the public that we have received CAA section 111(d)/129 negative declarations from New Mexico and Albuquerque-Bernalillo County, New Mexico, for existing incinerators subject to the Other Solid Waste Incineration units (OSWI) emission guidelines (EG). The information provided in the negative declaration letter previously submitted by New Mexico on October 11, 2007, and addressed in our January 15, 2020 proposal, was clarified and reaffirmed in a June 15, 2020, negative declaration letter from New Mexico. The negative declarations from New Mexico and Albuquerque- Bernalillo County, New Mexico, certify that incinerators subject to the OSWI EG and the requirements of sections 111(d) and 129 of the CAA do not exist within the jurisdictions of New Mexico and Albuquerque- Bernalillo County. The EPA is supplementing our previous proposal and proposing to accept the negative declarations and amend the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in accordance with the requirements of the CAA.

This final rule implements civil money penalties authority provided to all Federal health care programs, including the TRICARE program, under the Social Security Act. This authority allows the Secretary of Defense as the administrator of a Federal health care program to impose civil money penalties (CMPs or penalties) as described in section 1128A of the Social Security Act against providers and suppliers who commit fraud and abuse in the TRICARE program. This final rule establishes a program within the DoD to impose CMPs for certain unlawful conduct in the TRICARE program. To the extent applicable, this final rule adopts the Department of Health and Human Service's (HHS's) well-established CMP rules and procedures. The program to impose CMPs within TRICARE is called the Military Health Care Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program. The Defense Health Agency (DHA) shall be the agency within the DoD responsible for administering the Military Health Care Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program.

In order to streamline FDIC regulations, the FDIC proposes to rescind and remove from the Code of Federal Regulations rules entitled ``Prompt Corrective Action'' that were transferred to the FDIC from the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) on July 21, 2011, in connection with the implementation of Title III of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), and amend certain sections of existing FDIC regulations governing the issuance and review of orders pursuant to the prompt corrective action provisions of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to make it clear that such rules apply to all insured depository institutions for which the FDIC is the appropriate Federal banking agency.

The Department of Commerce (Department) issues regulations to implement the requirements of an Executive order entitled ``Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents'' signed October 9, 2019. Consistent with the Executive order, these regulations require that the Department clearly state that guidance documents issued by the Department do not bind the public, except as authorized by law or as incorporated into a contract; establish procedures for the public to petition for withdrawal or modification of guidance documents; and provide, with certain exceptions, that for significant guidance documents, the Department will submit those documents for review by the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and provide for a period of public notice and comment of at least 30 days.

In this Report and Order, the Commission repeals two rules regarding access to FM and TV broadcast antenna sites. These rules prohibit the grant or renewal of an FM or TV broadcast license to any person who owns, leases, or controls a particular site which is peculiarly suitable for such broadcasting in a particular area, if: The site is not available for use by other such licensees, no other comparable site is available in the area, and the exclusive use of the site would unduly limit the number of such stations that can be licensed or unduly restrict competition among those stations. After review of the record, the Commission concludes that these rules no longer serve any practical purpose in light of the significant broadcast infrastructure development since the rules were first adopted 75 years ago. Therefore, the Commission determines that it is in the public interest to eliminate them.

Through this temporary rule, NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for the red snapper recreational sector private angling component in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) off Louisiana for the 2020 fishing year. Based on information provided by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), NMFS has determined that the 2019 Louisiana regional management area private angling component annual catch limit (ACL) for Gulf red snapper was exceeded. Therefore, NMFS reduces the 2020 private angling component ACL of Gulf red snapper for the Louisiana regional management area. This reduction will remain in effect through the remainder of the current fishing year on December 31, 2020, and is necessary to protect the Gulf red snapper resource.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Limited (BHTC) Model 429 helicopters. This AD requires repetitive inspections of certain cyclic and collective assembly bearings. This AD was prompted by reports that precipitation can lead to reduced effectiveness of the grease in the bearings. The actions of this AD are intended to address an unsafe condition on these products.

The OCC, Board, FDIC, SEC, and CFTC (together, the agencies) are issuing this correction to make technical corrections to the Federal Register rule adopting amendments to the regulations implementing section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act published on July 31, 2020.

With the publication of this Final Rule, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is designating one ocean dredged material disposal site (ODMDS), the Isles of Shoals North Disposal Site (IOSN), located in the Gulf of Maine off the coast of southern Maine and New Hampshire, pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA). This action is necessary to serve the long-term need for an ODMDS for the possible future disposal of suitable dredged material from harbors and navigation channels in southern Maine, New Hampshire, and northern Massachusetts. The basis for this action is described herein and in the Final Environmental Assessment (FEA). The FEA identifies designation of the IOSN as the preferred alternative from the range of options considered. The Site Management and Monitoring Plan (SMMP) is provided as Appendix G of the FEA.

This document provides notification of substantive rules issued by the Coast Guard that were made temporarily effective but expired before they could be published in the Federal Register. This document lists temporary safety zones, security zones, and special local regulations, all of limited duration and for which timely publication in the Federal Register was not possible.

In fiscal year 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) admitted over 2 million foreign nationals into the United States in the F academic student, J exchange visitor, and I representatives of foreign information media nonimmigrant categories. This is a testament to the United States' exceptional academic institutions, cutting-edge technology, and environment that promotes the exchange of ideas, research, and mutual enrichment. Currently, aliens in the F, J, and I categories are admitted into the United States for the period of time that they are complying with the terms and conditions of their nonimmigrant category (``duration of status''), rather than an admission for a fixed time period. This duration of status framework generally lacks predetermined points in time for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) immigration officers to directly evaluate whether F, J, and I nonimmigrants are maintaining their status and poses a challenge to the Department's ability to effectively monitor and oversee these categories of nonimmigrants. Specifically, because nonimmigrants admitted in the F, J, and I classifications generally do not currently begin to accrue unlawful presence until the day after there is a formal finding of a status violation by USCIS or an immigration judge, they are often are able to avoid accrual of unlawful presence for purposes of statutory inadmissibility grounds of unlawful presence, in part, because they do not file applications or petitions, such as extension of stay, that would result in a formal finding. The Department accordingly is concerned about the integrity of the programs and a potential for increased risk to national security. To address these issues, DHS proposes to amend its regulations by changing the admission period of F, J, and I aliens from duration of status to an admission for a fixed time period. Admitting individuals in the F, J, and I categories for a fixed period of time will require all F, J, and I nonimmigrants who wish to remain in the United States beyond their specifically authorized admission period to apply for an extension of stay directly with USCIS or to depart the country and apply for admission with CBP at a port of entry (POE). This change would provide the Department with additional protections and mechanisms to exercise the oversight necessary to vigorously enforce our nation's immigration laws, protect the integrity of these nonimmigrant programs, and promptly detect national security concerns.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR or Wisconsin) on December 13, 2019. Wisconsin requests that EPA approve rules related to control of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from offset lithographic printing operations into the Wisconsin's SIP. These revisions include amendments to the Wisconsin Administrative Code (WAC), Chapter NR 422.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of saflufenacil in or on the caneberry subgroup 13-07A, fig, chia seed and chia straw. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

In this notice of proposed rulemaking, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) proposes to rescind and remove from the Code of Federal Regulations rules entitled ``Nondiscrimination Requirements'' (part 390, subpart G), and to amend FDIC regulation part 338 to make it applicable to State savings associations. Part 390, subpart G was included in the regulations that were transferred to the FDIC from the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) on July 21, 2011, in connection with the implementation of applicable provisions of Title III of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). The FDIC's part 338 is entitled ``Fair Housing'' and applies to insured State nonmember banks. Several provisions for State savings associations in part 390, subpart G have substantively similar provisions in part 338. The remaining provisions in part 390, subpart G without a direct counterpart are largely duplicative of federal laws (Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), Fair Housing Act (FHA), Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA) and other laws concerning nondiscrimination in lending, employment, and services) and implementing regulations. After careful review of part 390, subpart G, the FDIC proposes to rescind and remove in its entirety part 390, subpart G to streamline the FDIC's rules and eliminate unnecessary, inconsistent, and duplicative regulations and to modify the scope of part 338 to include State savings associations to reflect the scope of the FDIC's current supervisory responsibilities as the appropriate Federal banking agency for those institutions. The FDIC also proposes to define ``FDIC-supervised institution'' and ``State savings association.'' If the proposal is adopted in final form, insured State nonmember banks and State savings associations will be subject to the same anti-discrimination requirements. Upon removal of part 390, subpart G, nondiscrimination regulations related to lending applicable for all insured depository institutions for which the FDIC has been designated the appropriate Federal banking agency will be found at part 338 and related nondiscrimination federal regulations listed above, as applicable.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the approximately 815-acre ``Candy Mountain'' viticultural area in Benton County, Washington. TTB is also expanding the boundary of the existing 1,093-square mile Yakima Valley viticultural area by approximately 72 acres in order to avoid a partial overlap with the newly established Candy Mountain viticultural area. Both the existing Yakima Valley viticultural area and the newly established Candy Mountain viticultural area are located entirely within the existing Columbia Valley viticultural area. TTB designates viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

On August 28, 2020, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Seasoned QM Proposal) proposing to create a new category of qualified mortgages in Regulation Z for first-lien, fixed- rate covered transactions that have met certain performance requirements over a 36-month seasoning period, are held in portfolio until the end of the seasoning period, comply with general restrictions on product features and points and fees, and meet certain underwriting requirements. The 30-day comment period for the Seasoned QM Proposal is counted from the date of publication, which was August 28. Thus, the 30-day comment period was set to close on September 28, 2020, which this year is the date on which the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur falls. In response to a request that we change the due date in light of the holiday, the Bureau is extending the comment period for the Seasoned QM Proposal until October 1, 2020.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is amending the Cuban Assets Control Regulations to further implement portions of the President's foreign policy toward Cuba to deny the Cuban regime sources of revenue. Specifically, this rule: Adds a new prohibition for persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction regarding lodging and related transactions at certain properties in Cuba identified on a new list maintained by the State Department, and amends an interpretive provision and several general licenses to incorporate this new prohibition; amends four general licenses to restrict the importation into the United States of Cuban-origin alcohol and tobacco products; amends a general license to remove the authorization for persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction to attend or organize professional meetings or conferences in Cuba; and removes a general license that authorizes persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction to participate in or organize certain public performances, clinics, workshops, other athletic or non-athletic competitions, and exhibitions, and replaces it with a specific licensing policy. OFAC is also making a number of technical and conforming changes.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. Model PC-7 airplanes. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as the need to revise the Airworthiness Limitations section (ALS) of the existing aircraft maintenance manual (AMM) to introduce new mandatory repetitive inspections for the flap pivot arm assemblies and for certain wing angle brackets, and to implement a change to the Oxygen cylinder and pressure reducer task item. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.