2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is opening directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 meters) length overall (LOA) using hook-and-line or pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). This action is necessary to fully use the 2020 total allowable catch of Pacific cod allocated to catcher vessels less than 60 feet LOA using hook-and-line or pot gear in the BSAI.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus SAS Model A300 series airplanes, and Airbus SAS Model A300 B4-600, B4-600R, and F4-600R series airplanes, and Model A300 C4- 605R Variant F airplanes (collectively called Model A300-600 series airplanes). This proposed AD was prompted by reports of cracking at a certain hole location on the left-hand (LH) side of a certain frame (FR). This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections for discrepancies of certain areas in and around the fuselage, as specified in two European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ADs, which will be incorporated by reference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

As authorized by the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018 (FASCSA), the Federal Acquisition Security Council (FASC) is issuing this interim final rule to implement the requirements of the laws that govern the operation of the FASC, the sharing of supply chain risk information, and the exercise of its authorities to recommend issuance of removal and exclusion orders to address supply chain security risks.

This proposed rule would establish the requirements for registering with the Department of Labor as a ``pooled plan provider'' for ``pooled employer plans'' under sections 3(43) and 3(44) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) provides that newly permitted ``pooled plan providers'' can begin offering ``pooled employer plans'' on January 1, 2021, but requires such persons to register with the Secretary of Labor before beginning operations. The proposed rule would also establish a new formEBSA Form PR (Pooled Plan Provider Registration)as the required filing format for pooled plan provider registrations. Filing the proposed Form PR with the Department of Labor would also satisfy the SECURE Act requirement to register with the Treasury Department. The proposed rule would affect persons wishing to serve as pooled plan providers, employee defined contribution pension benefit plans that are operated as pooled employer plans, employers participating in such plans, and participants and beneficiaries covered by such plans.

This document contains technical amendments to the Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation regarding the Standards of Care for Chimpanzees Held in the Federally Supported Sanctuary System. The regulatory content is being amended to correct references that are made throughout the regulation regarding delegated authorities and activities of the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). With the abolishment of NCRR in 2011, the Director, NIH, delegated these authorities to the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) within the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI), NIH. The ORIP/DPCPSI now has the lead responsibility for coordinating all efforts on behalf of HHS concerning the sanctuary system for surplus chimpanzees from both federal and non-federal sources. The references to NCRR throughout the regulation are corrected to reflect ORIP/DPCPSI, the definition of National Primate Research Center is corrected to reflect the correct number of currently existing centers, and the office address provided for ORIP/DPCPSI in the regulation is corrected.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce 12- month findings on petitions to add Big Cypress epidendrum (Epidendrum strobiliferum) and Cape Sable orchid (Trichocentrum undulatum) to the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that it is not warranted at this time to list the Big Cypress epidendrum or Cape Sable orchid. However, we ask the public to submit to us at any time any new information relevant to the status of either of the species mentioned above or their habitats.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for emergency purposes for all waters of the Lower Mississippi River (LMR), between Mile Marker 618 and 622. The emergency safety zone is needed to protect persons, property, infrastructure, and the marine environment from the potential safety hazards associated with the Mat Sinking Unit effort in the vicinity of the Knowlton Revetment, AR. Deviation from the safety zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Lower Mississippi River or a designated representative.

This action proposes to modify Class E airspace, designated as an extension to Class D or Class E surface airspace, at Truckee-Tahoe Airport. This action also proposes to modify Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface. Lastly, this action proposes an administrative correction to all of the airspace's legal descriptions. This action would ensure the safety and management of instrument flight rule (IFR) operations at the airport.

In the August 6, 2015 issue of the Federal Register, we published a final rule that provided hospice quality reporting program updates, including finalizing the proposal to codify the Hospice Quality Reporting Program Submission Extension and Exemption Requirements. The effective date of the final rule was October 1, 2015. This correcting amendment corrects an omission identified in the August 6, 2015 final rule.

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.

OSHA is amending its existing construction and shipyard standards for occupational exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds to clarify certain provisions and simplify or improve compliance. These changes are designed to accomplish three goals: to more appropriately tailor the requirements of the construction and shipyards standards to the particular exposures in these industries in light of partial overlap between the beryllium standards' requirements and other OSHA standards; to aid compliance and enforcement across the beryllium standards by avoiding inconsistency, where appropriate, between the shipyards and construction standards and recent revisions to the general industry standard; and to clarify certain requirements with respect to materials containing only trace amounts of beryllium. This final rule does not affect the general industry beryllium standard.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve, through parallel processing, a draft source-specific State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality (DAQ) through a letter dated June 24, 2020. North Carolina's June 24, 2020, draft source-specific SIP revision requests that EPA incorporate into the SIP more stringent sulfur dioxide (SO2) permit limits than those currently contained in the SIP for the Blue Ridge Paper Products, LLC (also known as BRPP) facility located in the Beaverdam Township Area of Haywood County, North Carolina. Specifically, EPA is proposing to approve, into the SIP, specific SO2 permit limits and associated operating restrictions, monitoring, recordkeeping, reporting (MRR) and testing compliance requirements established in a BRPP title V operating permit as permanent and enforceable SO2 control measures. North Carolina submitted these limits to support its recommendation that EPA designate the Beaverdam Township Area as ``attainment/unclassifiable'' under the 2010 primary SO2 national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or standard) (also referred to as the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS). The purpose of this rulemaking is not to take action on whether these SO2 emissions limits are adequate for EPA to designate the Beaverdam Township Area as attainment under the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS. Instead, EPA will determine the air quality status and designate remaining undesignated areas for the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS, including the Beaverdam Township Area, in a separate action. This proposed SIP approval does not prejudge that future designation action.

EPA is proposing to correct 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 proposed action is not expected to result in any significant changes in regulatory burdens or costs. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register, we are taking direct final action without a prior proposed rule. If we receive no adverse comment, we will not take further action on this proposed rule.

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.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface in Montezuma, GA, due to the decommissioning of the Montezuma non-directional beacon (NDB) and cancellation of the associated approach at Dr. CP Savage Sr. Airport. This action would also update the geographic coordinates of the airport. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations in the area.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus SAS Model A318-111, -112, -121, and -122 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 AD was prompted by reports of fatigue cracks on continuity fittings at the lower framing of the front windshield on airplanes on which a certain production modification has been embodied. Additional analysis showed that certain certification requirements for damage tolerance and fatigue are not met on airplanes in a certain post- production modification configuration. This AD requires repetitive high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspections of the central node windshield area for cracking, and applicable corrective actions if cracking is found, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is incorporated by reference. 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 Coffey County Airport, Burlington, KS. The FAA is proposing this action as the result of an airspace review caused by the decommissioning of the Boyd non- directional beacon (NDB) which provided navigation information to the instrument procedures at this airport.

To implement the executive order ``Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents,'' we are amending our regulations to set forth procedures for issuing guidance documents. The amendment defines ``guidance'' document and explains the procedures that the Railroad Retirement Board will follow in issuing a guidance document.