2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The NCUA Board (Board) is adopting as final an interim final rule to temporarily amend its regulations requiring all federally insured credit unions to provide appraisals of real estate for certain real estate related transactions. The final rule defers the requirement to obtain an appraisal or written estimate of market value for up to 120 days following the closing of certain residential and commercial real estate transactions, excluding transactions for acquisition, development, and construction of real estate. Credit unions should make best efforts to obtain a credible estimate of the value of real property collateral before closing the loan, and otherwise underwrite loans consistent with safety and soundness principles. The final rule allows credit unions to expeditiously extend liquidity to creditworthy households and businesses in light of recent strains on the U.S. economy as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID event). The final rule adopts the interim final rule without change. The final rule is similar to a recent final rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury (OCC); Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB); and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the other banking agencies) that also defers the requirement to obtain an appraisal or evaluation for up to 120 days following the closing of a transaction for certain residential and commercial real estate transactions.

Pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maine. On February 18, 2020, the State submitted its 1997 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) Limited Maintenance Plans (LMPs) for the Portland and Midcoast areas. EPA is approving the Portland and Midcoast LMPs because they provide for the maintenance of the 1997 ozone NAAQS through the end of the second 10-year portion of the maintenance period. The effect of this action will be to make certain commitments related to maintenance of the 1997 ozone NAAQS in the Portland and Midcoast maintenance areas part of the Maine SIP and therefore federally enforceable.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is adopting the interim final rule published on June 1, 2020 as final, without change. This final rule amends DOE's Financial Assistance Regulations to authorize deviations, when necessary to achieve program objectives; necessary to conserve public funds; otherwise essential to the public interest; or necessary to achieve equity.

NMFS transfers 40 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the October through November 2020 General category subquota period and closes the General category fishery until the General category reopens on December 1, 2020. The quota transfer is intended to provide additional fishing opportunities based on consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments and applies to Atlantic tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT. Given that the adjusted quota is projected to be caught quickly, the closure is being filed simultaneously to prevent overharvest of the adjusted General category October through November 2020 BFT subquota.

This action proposes to remove the Class E airspace extending upward from the surface designated as an extension to a Class C surface area at Fresno Yosemite International Airport, Fresno, CA, as it is no longer needed. This action would support the operation of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) under standard instrument approach and departure procedures in the National Airspace System.

NMFS is exchanging unused rock sole Community Development Quota (CDQ) for yellowfin sole CDQ acceptable biological catch (ABC) reserves in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the 2020 total allowable catch (TAC) of yellowfin sole in the BSAI to be harvested.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain General Electric Company (GE) GE90-110B1 and GE90-115B model turbofan engines. This AD was prompted by the detection of melt-related freckles in the billet, which may reduce the life limits of certain high-pressure turbine (HPT) rotor stage 2 disks and certain rotating compressor discharge pressure (CDP) HPT seals. This AD requires the replacement of the affected HPT rotor stage 2 disks and rotating CDP HPT seals. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This document corrects technical errors that appeared in the final rule published in the Federal Register on June 2, 2020 entitled ``Medicare Program; Contract Year 2021 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, and Medicare Cost Plan Program.''

This action changes the effective date of a final rule published in the Federal Register on August 20, 2020, removing Jet Route J-590, amending VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Federal airways V-11 and V-70, and establishing area navigation (RNAV) routes T-362 and T-365 due to the planned decommissioning of the VOR portion of the Greene County, MS (GCV), VOR/Tactical Air Navigation (VORTAC) navigation aid (NAVAID). The FAA is delaying the effective date to coincide with the slipped decommissioning date of the Greene County VOR to June 17, 2021, and the anticipated completion of flight inspection activities associated with related VOR Minimum Operational Network (MON) Program projects necessary to adopt the rule amendments.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to establish a restricted area in the Washington Channel adjacent to Fort McNair. Fort McNair is the headquarters of the Army's Military District of Washington and home of the National Defense University as well as the official residence of the U.S. Army's Vice Chief of Staff. Fort McNair requested a restricted area to fulfill Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall (JBM-HH) security needs including Marine Helicopter Squadron (HMX) missions and protection of VIP quarters at Fort McNair. On August 8, 2019, the Corps published a proposed rule for the establishment of a restricted area in the Washington Channel adjacent to Fort McNair. After evaluating the comments received in response to that proposed rule, the proposal has been revised and the Corps is inviting public comment on the revised proposed rule text.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve an application from the State of New Mexico under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to revise the state's existing Underground Injection Control (UIC) program for Class I injection wells located within the state, except those in Indian country. New Mexico has revised the state's UIC Class I program regulations to remove the current ban on Class I injection wells and establish new permit conditions, oversight, and enforcement to safely manage Class I hazardous waste disposal wells.

This document contains final regulations that clarify the definition of a ``qualifying relative'' for purposes of various provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) for taxable years 2018 through 2025. These regulations generally affect taxpayers who claim Federal income tax benefits that require a taxpayer to have a qualifying relative.

The proposed rule would update and clarify guidance on examining records kept by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The proposed amendments reflect statutory changes to the Freedom of Information Act and recent updates to PBGC's procedures for record examination.

In this document, the Office of Managing Director of the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopts an Order that amends the Commission's rules to reflect the upcoming new address of the Commission's headquarters, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. It also makes changes to clarify that certain documents are now available for inspection through the Commission's website, removes references to a Commission copy contractor, and performs minor formatting corrections.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, withdraw the proposed rule to list the distinct population segment (DPS) of the North American wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) occurring in the contiguous United States as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This withdrawal is based on our conclusion that the factors affecting the species as identified in the proposed rule are not as significant as believed at the time of the proposed rule. We base this conclusion on our analysis of current and future threat factors. We also find that North American wolverines occurring in the contiguous United States do not qualify as a DPS. Therefore, we are withdrawing our proposal to list the wolverine within the contiguous United States as a threatened species.

This final rule amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect the imposition of import restrictions on certain archaeological material from the Republic of Chile (Chile). These restrictions are being imposed pursuant to an agreement between the United States and Chile that has been entered into under the authority of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act. The final rule amends the CBP regulations by adding Chile to the list of countries which have a bilateral agreement with the United States that imposes cultural property import restrictions. The final rule also contains the Designated List that describes the types of archaeological material to which the restrictions apply.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) proposes to establish annual hunting regulations for certain migratory game birds for the 2021-22 hunting season. We annually prescribe outside limits (frameworks) within which States may select hunting seasons. This proposed rule provides the regulatory schedule, announces the Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee (SRC) and Flyway Council meetings, describes the proposed regulatory alternatives for the 2021-22 general duck seasons and preliminary proposals that vary from the 2020-21 hunting season regulations, and requests proposals from Indian tribes that wish to establish special migratory game bird hunting regulations on Federal Indian reservations and ceded lands. Migratory bird hunting seasons provide opportunities for recreation and sustenance; aid Federal, State, and tribal governments in the management of migratory game birds; and permit harvests at levels compatible with migratory game bird population status and habitat conditions.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 610 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the D season allowance of the 2020 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 610 in the GOA.

In this document, the Commission proposes measures to implement section 8 of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED Act) and seeks comment on how to best implement it. As directed by the TRACED Act, the Commission seeks to ensure that any exemption the Commission has granted under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for calls to residential lines or for calls to wireless numbers includes requirements with respect to the classes of parties that may make such calls; the classes of parties that may be called; and the number of such calls that may be made to a particular called party. The Commission also seeks comment on any conditions that are necessary to ensure that the existing exemptions for calls made to residential telephone lines satisfy section 8 of the TRACED Act and proposes to allow residential consumers to opt out of any calls made pursuant to an exemption.

This document contains final regulations that provide guidance under section 274 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) regarding certain recent amendments made to that section. Specifically, the final regulations address the elimination of the deduction under section 274 for expenditures related to entertainment, amusement, or recreation activities, and provide guidance to determine whether an activity is of a type generally considered to be entertainment. The final regulations also address the limitation on the deduction of food and beverage expenses under section 274(k) and (n), including the applicability of the exceptions under section 274(e)(2), (3), (4), (7), (8), and (9). The final regulations affect taxpayers who pay or incur expenses for meals or entertainment.

The Department of Energy (``DOE'' or ``the Department'') proposes amending its procedures for providing public input on possible corrections to pre-publication drafts of energy conservation standard documents, as informed by a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding the implementation and scope of the existing procedures. This proposal seeks to modify certain aspects of these procedures and to clarify and reflect the Department's intent with regard to the procedures. In particular, the proposal would clarify that although DOE has elected to utilize a distinct error correction process to receive public input on certain pre-publication draft documents, this process does not in any way restrict, limit, diminish, or eliminate the Secretary's discretion to determine whether to establish or amend an energy conservation standard, or to determine the appropriate level at which to amend or establish any energy conservation standard.

This document announces that the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) will be conducting consultation meetings by webinar to obtain oral and written comments on the BIE National Policy Memorandum (NPM- EDUC-33), which is an interim policy, applicable to BIE-operated elementary and secondary schools and dormitories, on the nondiscrimination prohibitions based on disability found in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the Department's implementing regulations. The Department will use comments received during consultation to inform its development of a final Section 504 policy for BIE-operated elementary and secondary schools and dormitories.

On September 24, 2020, HUD published a final rule amending HUD's disparate impact standard regulation. This document corrects an incorrect amendatory instruction.

EPA is proposing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs). The SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these chemical substances for an activity that is proposed as a significant new use by this rule to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. The required notification initiates EPA's evaluation of the use, under the conditions of use for that chemical substance, within the applicable review period. Persons may not commence manufacture or processing for the significant new use until EPA has conducted a review of the notice, made an appropriate determination on the notice, and has taken such actions as are required by that determination.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) of the State of West Virginia. This revision pertains to West Virginia's plan for maintaining the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) through June 7, 2027 for the West Virginia portion of the Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH Area comprising Wood County. EPA is approving these revisions to the West Virginia SIP in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).