2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area is closed to Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota scallop vessels for the remainder of the 2020 fishing year. No vessel issued a Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota permit may fish for, possess, or land scallops from the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area. Regulations require this action once it is projected that 100 percent of trips allocated to the Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota scallop vessels for the Mid- Atlantic Scallop Access Area will be taken.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 is publishing a direct final Notice of Deletion of the FMC Dublin Road Superfund Site (Site), located in the Towns of Shelby and Ridgeway, Orleans County, NY, from the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of New York, through the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other than operation and maintenance, monitoring, and five-year reviews, have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a portion of State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions for South Carolina submitted by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) through letters dated August 8, 2014, and August 12, 2015, and a portion of a SIP revision for Tennessee submitted by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) through a letter dated February 17, 2014. The South Carolina SIP revisions modify a provision that requires fossil fuel-fired steam generators having a heat input capacity of more than 250 million British thermal units (Btu) per hour (Btu/hr) to submit continuous opacity monitoring reports required by the SIP on a quarterly basis. This provision is being modified to allow such reporting on a semiannual basis instead. The South Carolina SIP does not contain any other continuous opacity monitoring report requirements for the subject sources, and this rule revision has no impact on any federal reporting requirements. Specifically, the South Carolina SIP revisions do not override any other reporting requirements that might continue to require more frequent reporting. The Tennessee SIP revision would add a new provision that requires any source subject to the State's title V operating permit program to submit emission monitoring reports required by the SIP on a semiannual basis rather than on a quarterly basis. Much like the South Carolina SIP revisions, the Tennessee SIP revision has no impact on any federal reporting requirements and does not override any other reporting requirements that might continue to require more frequent reporting. EPA is proposing to approve these changes to the South Carolina and Tennessee SIPs because they are consistent with recent proposed changes to federal regulations and because EPA has preliminarily determined that the South Carolina and Tennessee SIP revisions are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Austro Engine GmbH model E4 and E4P diesel piston engines. This AD was prompted by reports of considerable wear of the timing chain and failure of fuel injectors on these engines. This AD requires replacement of the timing chain and fuel injectors on the affected Austro Engine GmbH model E4 and E4P diesel piston engines. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

NMFS implements management measures described in the Gulf For- hire Reporting Amendment, as prepared and submitted by the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council) and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (South Atlantic Council). The Gulf For-hire Reporting Amendment includes amendments to the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Reef Fish FMP) and the Coastal Migratory Pelagic (CMP) Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region (CMP FMP). This final rule revises reporting requirements for an owner or operator of a charter vessel or headboat (for-hire vessel) with a Federal charter vessel/ headboat permit for Gulf Reef Fish or Gulf CMP species. The purpose of this final rule is to increase and improve fisheries information collected from federally permitted for-hire vessels in the Gulf. The information is expected to improve recreational management of the for- hire component of the reef fish and CMP fisheries in the Gulf.

The U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') is reopening the public comment period for its Request for Information (``RFI'') regarding test procedures for commercial prerinse spray valves. DOE published the RFI in the Federal Register on June 5, 2020, establishing a 30-day public comment period that ended on July 6, 2020. On June 25, 2020, DOE received a comment requesting extension of the comment period by 30 days. DOE is reopening the public comment period for submitting comments for an additional 30 days.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing its withdrawal of the 2011 determination to regulate perchlorate in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, (SDWA). On February 11, 2011, the EPA published a Federal Register document in which the Agency determined that perchlorate met the SDWA's criteria for regulating a contaminant. On June 26, 2019, the EPA published a proposed national primary drinking water regulation (NPDWR) for perchlorate and requested public comments on multiple alternative actions, including the alternative of withdrawing the 2011 regulatory determination for perchlorate. The EPA received approximately 1,500 comments on the proposed rulemaking. The EPA has considered these public comments and based on the best available information the Agency is withdrawing the 2011 regulatory determination and is making a final determination not to regulate perchlorate. The EPA has determined that perchlorate does not occur ``with a frequency and at levels of public health concern'' within the meaning of the SDWA. In addition, in the judgment of the EPA Administrator, regulation of perchlorate does not present a ``meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public water systems.'' Accordingly, the EPA is withdrawing its 2011 determination and is making a final determination not to regulate perchlorate, and therefore will not issue a NPDWR for perchlorate at this time.

The Coast Guard will enforce safety zones surrounding vessels involved in Coast Guard training exercises in Hood Canal, WA, from August 17, 2020, through August 21, 2020. This enforcement is necessary to ensure the safety of the maritime public and vessels near training exercises. During the enforcement period, entry into the safety zones is prohibited, unless authorized by the Captain of the Port or her Designated Representative.

The National Park Service proposes to revise regulations that govern the solicitation, award, and administration of concession contracts to provide commercial visitor services at National Park Service units under the authority granted through the Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998 and the National Park Service Centennial Act. The proposed changes would reduce administrative burdens and expand sustainable, high quality, and contemporary concessioner-provided visitor services in national parks.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 is issuing a Notice of Intent to Delete the Hormigas Ground Water Plume Superfund Site (Site) located in Caguas, Puerto Rico, from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comments on this proposed action. The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA), is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, through the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG RB211-524G2-19, RB211- 524G2-T-19, RB211-524G3-19, RB211-524G3-T-19, RB211-524H2-19, RB211- 524H2-T-19, RB211-524H-36 and RB211-524H-T-36 model turbofan engines. This AD requires replacement of the low-pressure turbine (LPT) stage 1 disk before it reaches its new Declared Safe Cycle Limit (DSCL) or within 25 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs later. This AD was prompted by a determination by the manufacturer that the affected LPT stage 1 disks cannot operate until their former published life limit. 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 all Airbus Helicopters Model AS332C, AS332C1, AS332L, and AS332L1 helicopters. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of corrosion on attachment screws and fittings fastening the main gearbox (MGB) suspension bars to the fuselage. This proposed AD would require inspecting the affected parts and associated frame bores for discrepancies, and applicable corrective actions. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') is reopening the public comment period for its Request for Information (``RFI'') regarding energy conservation standards for commercial prerinse spray valves. DOE published the RFI in the Federal Register on June 10, 2020, establishing a 30-day public comment period that ended July 10, 2020. On June 25, 2020, DOE received a comment requesting extension of the comment period by 30 days. DOE is reopening the public comment period for submitting comments and data on the RFI for an additional 30 days.

This rule identifies communities where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that are scheduled for suspension on the effective dates listed within this rule because of noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. If the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) receives documentation that the community has adopted the required floodplain management measures prior to the effective suspension date given in this rule, the suspension will not occur and a notice of this will be provided by publication in the Federal Register on a subsequent date. Also, information identifying the current participation status of a community can be obtained from FEMA's Community Status Book (CSB). The CSB is available at https:// www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program-community-statu s-book.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve a revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Missouri on December 3, 2018 and supplemented by letter on May 22, 2019. Missouri requests that the EPA remove a rule related to control of emissions from bakery ovens in the Kansas City, Missouri area from its SIP. This removal does not have an adverse effect on air quality. The EPA's approval of this rule revision is in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The National Labor Relations Board (``NLRB'' or ``Board''), with the concurrence of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE), is issuing this final procedural rule amending the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB Supplemental Ethics Regulations) to eliminate an out-of-date and unnecessary reference to the identity of its Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official (ADAEO) from its regulations.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Texas Abandoned Mine Land Plan (hereinafter, the Plan) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Texas proposes revisions to its Plan to allow its AML program to receive limited liability protection for certain non-coal reclamation projects. Texas intends to revise its Plan in order to meet the requirements of SMCRA and the implementing Federal regulations. This document gives the times and locations where the Texas Plan and this proposed amendment to that Plan are available for your inspection, establishes the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and describes the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve revisions to the State Implementation Plans (SIP) for Florida, Georgia, the Jefferson County portion of Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The SIP revisions incorporate changes to the definition of chemical process plants under the States' Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations. Consistent with an EPA regulation completed in 2007, EPA is proposing to approve the rules for Florida, Georgia, the Jefferson County portion of Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina that modify the definition of chemical process plant to exclude ethanol manufacturing facilities that produce ethanol by natural fermentation processes. This will clarify that the PSD major source applicability threshold in the SIPs for these ethanol plants is 250 tons per year (tpy) (rather than 100 tpy) and removes the requirement to include fugitive emissions when determining if the source is major for PSD. EPA is proposing to find that the changes to the state and local rules described herein are approvable because the Agency believes that they are consistent with EPA regulations governing state PSD programs and will not interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (as defined in section 171 of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act)), or any other applicable requirement of the CAA.

This regulation amends the tolerance for residues of quinclorac in or on rice, grain. BASF Corporation requested this tolerance amendment under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The Corps of Engineers (Corps) is amending its danger zone regulations to establish a danger zone in the Pacific Ocean adjacent to the existing Finegayan Small Arms Range at Naval Base Guam telecommunication site on the northwestern coast of Guam. The danger zone is located entirely within the Pacific Ocean, comprising 892 acres and extending 2.36 miles into the ocean from the high tide line. Establishment of the danger zone will intermittently prohibit vessels from lingering in the danger zone when the small arms range is in active use in order to ensure public safety.

In this document, the Commission is streamlining its rules to facilitate the deployment of a class of satellites known as small satellites, which have relatively short duration missions. The Commission also announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection associated with the revisions to the Commission's rules.

The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding digital music providers' obligations to transfer and report accrued royalties for unmatched musical works (or shares) to the mechanical licensing collective for purposes of being eligible for the limitation on liability for prior unlicensed uses under title I of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. Having solicited public comments through multiple prior notices, the Office is now proposing an update to regulations concerning the transfer and reporting of such royalties, namely the content, format, and delivery of cumulative statements of account to be submitted by digital music providers to the mechanical licensing collective at the conclusion of the statutory transition period.

NMFS is prohibiting retention of non-Community Development Quota (CDQ) sablefish by vessels using trawl gear in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2020 non-CDQ sablefish initial total allowable catch (ITAC) in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the BSAI will be reached.

In the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, signed by the President on December 20, 2019, Congress provided $50 million in budget authority for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA) program to cover the subsidy required to provide a much larger amount of credit assistance. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) estimates that this budget authority may provide approximately $5 billion in credit assistance and may finance approximately $10 billion in water infrastructure investment, while covering increased costs associated with implementing a larger program. The purpose of this notice of funding availability (NOFA) is to solicit letters of interest (LOIs) from prospective borrowers seeking credit assistance from EPA. EPA will evaluate and select proposed projects described in the LOIs using the selection criteria established in statute and regulation, and further described in this NOFA as well as the WIFIA program handbook. This NOFA establishes relative weights that will be used in the current LOI submittal period for the selection criteria, introduces new budgetary scoring factors to determine budgetary scoring compliance, and outlines the process that prospective borrowers should follow to be considered for WIFIA credit assistance. In addition, EPA reserves the right to make additional awards using FY 2020 appropriated funding or available carry-over resources, consistent with Agency policy and guidance, if additional funding is available after the original selections are made. This could include holding a subsequent selection round.