2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the navigable water within a 500-yard radius of a tug and barge in the Straits of Mackinac. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from the potential hazards created by the work, inspection, surveying and the removal of cables for the Straits of Mackinac. Entry of vessels or persons into the zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sault Sainte Marie or their designated representive.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations to implement the Social Security Number Fraud Prevention Act of 2017. This statute directed agencies to issue regulations that prohibit the inclusion of an individual's Social Security account number (Social Security number or SSN) on any document sent through the mail unless the head of the agency deems it necessary and the appropriate precautions are taken to protect the Social Security number. Applicants, licensees, and members of the public who are required to submit a form containing a Social Security number may be affected.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish special local regulations for certain waters of the Chesapeake Bay. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters located between Sandy Point, Anne Arundel County, MD, and Kent Island, Queen Anne's County, MD, during a paddling event on September 27, 2020. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from entering the regulated area unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Maryland-National Capital Region or the Coast Guard Patrol Commander. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

This action corrects errors in the Season 2 barndoor skate wing possession limit value specified in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of the final rule to implement Framework Adjustment 8 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan, published in the Federal Register on April 27, 2020. This action is necessary to minimize confusion to the public, and to ensure the correct values are provided for all possession limits.

This rule proposes to adopt certain changes to the risk adjustment data validation error estimation methodology starting with the 2019 benefit year and beyond for states where the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) operates the risk adjustment program. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) established a permanent risk adjustment program under which payments are made to health insurance issuers that attract higher-than-average risk populations funded by payments from health insurance issuers that attract lower-than-average risk populations. To ensure the integrity of the HHS-operated risk adjustment program, CMS, on behalf of HHS, performs risk adjustment data validation, also known as HHS-RADV, to validate the accuracy of data submitted by issuers for the purposes of risk adjustment transfer calculations. Based on lessons learned from the first payment year of HHS-RADV, this rule proposes changes to the HHS-RADV error estimation methodology, which is used to calculate adjusted risk scores and risk adjustment transfers, beginning with the 2019 benefit year of HHS-RADV. This rule also proposes to change the benefit year to which HHS-RADV adjustments to risk scores and risk adjustment transfers would be applied starting with 2021 benefit year HHS-RADV. These proposals seek to further the integrity of the HHS-RADV program, address stakeholder feedback, promote fairness, and improve the predictability of HHS-RADV adjustments.

This action proposes to amend Class E surface airspace, and Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Boone County Airport, Harrison, AR, due to the decommissioning of the (HRO) RWY 36 Outer Marker (OM) and Compass Locator and cancellation of associated approaches. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations in the area. This action also would update the airport's designator by removing the city from the second line of the header.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Schuylkill County (Joe Zerbey) Airport, Pottsville, PA due to the extension of runway 11. This action would also update the geographic coordinates of the airport, and Schuylkill Medical Center Heliport, (formerly Pottsville Hospital). Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations in the area.

The Coast Guard is amending and updating its safety zones regulations for annual events that take place in the Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley area. This action is necessary to update the current list of recurring safety zones with revisions, additional events, and removal of events that no longer take place in Sector Ohio Valley. This regulation restricts vessel traffic from the safety zones during the events unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Ohio Valley or a designated representative.

This final rule will revise regulations for the Medicare Advantage (MA or Part C) program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D) program, and Medicare Cost Plan program to implement certain sections of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 and the 21st Century Cures Act. In addition, it will enhance the Part C and D programs, codify several existing CMS policies, and implement other technical changes.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is adopting as final, with minor technical corrections, temporary regulations relating to excise taxes imposed on distilled spirits, wines, and beer that were published in the Federal Register on January 4, 2017. These regulatory amendments implement certain changes made to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC) by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, which amended the IRC to remove bond requirements and change tax return due dates for certain eligible excise taxpayers.

The Coast Guard is updating its recurring special local regulations for marine events located within the Captain of the Port Lake Michigan zone. This rule reorganizes five separate regulations of a similar nature currently listed in the Code of Federal Regulations into a single regulation, makes minor formatting changes for consistency, moves six existing events into this regulation, updates the dates listed for events, and lists these regulations in table form.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the navigable waters within 100 yards from the pilings, work equipment, and structures of the Pensacola Bay Bridge, Pensacola Beach, FL. This temporary safety zone is necessary to provide for the safety of life and property on these navigable waters during a bridge construction project on the waterway. Entry into or transiting in this zone is prohibited to all vessels, mariners, and persons unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Mobile (COTP) or a designated representative.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action on a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Arizona on behalf of the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) to meet Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act'') requirements for the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or ``standards'') in the Phoenix-Mesa (``Phoenix'') ozone nonattainment area (NAA). The EPA is finalizing approval of the portions of the ``MAG 2017 Eight-Hour Ozone Moderate Area Plan for the Maricopa Nonattainment Area (December 2016)'' (``MAG 2017 Ozone Plan'' or ``Plan'') that address the requirements for emissions inventories, a demonstration of attainment by the applicable attainment date, reasonably available control measures (RACM), reasonable further progress (RFP), motor vehicle emission budgets for transportation conformity, vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs, new source review (NSR) rules, and offsets. The EPA is finalizing a disapproval of the portion of the MAG 2017 Ozone Plan that addresses the requirements for contingency measures for failure to attain or to make RFP. However, based on a separate finding that the Phoenix 2008 ozone NAA (``Phoenix NAA'') attained the 2008 ozone standards by the applicable attainment date, we previously determined that the requirement for the State to submit a SIP revision addressing attainment contingency measures no longer applies for the Phoenix NAA. We are also finalizing our determination that the requirement for the State to submit a SIP revision addressing RFP contingency measures no longer applies for the Phoenix NAA. Finally, we are finalizing approval of the portions of a SIP revision, the ``MAG 2014 Eight-Hour Ozone PlanSubmittal of Marginal Area Requirements for the Maricopa Nonattainment Area (June 2014)'' (``MAG 2014 Ozone Plan''), on which we previously deferred action.

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Navy (Navy) to take marine mammals incidental to training and testing activities conducted in the Northwest Training and Testing (NWTT) Study Area. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue regulations and subsequent Letters of Authorization (LOAs) to the Navy to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS will consider public comments prior to issuing any final rule and making final decisions on the issuance of the requested LOAs. Agency responses to public comments will be provided in the notice of the final decision. The Navy's activities qualify as military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (2004 NDAA).

This document announces EPA's receipt of an initial filing of a pesticide petition requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of a pesticide chemical in or on various commodities.

On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) posted an interim final rule announcing the implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act temporarily adds a new program, titled the ``Paycheck Protection Program,'' to the SBA's 7(a) Loan Program. The CARES Act also provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount of qualifying loans guaranteed under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP is intended to provide economic relief to small businesses nationwide adversely impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). SBA posted additional interim final rules on April 3, 2020, April 14, 2020, April 24, 2020, April 28, 2020, April 30, 2020, May 5, 2020, May 8, 2020, May 13, 2020, May 14, 2020, May 18, 2020, and May 20, 2020, and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) posted an additional interim final rule on April 27, 2020. SBA and Treasury posted an interim final rule on Loan Forgiveness contemporaneously with this interim final rule on May 22, 2020. This interim final rule supplements the previously posted interim final rules in order to inform borrowers and lenders of SBA's process for reviewing PPP loan applications and loan forgiveness applications, and requests public comment.

This temporary rule implements emergency measures under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to extend portions of the fishing year 2019 carryover provisions in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan into the 2020 fishing year. This action is necessary to provide the scallop fleet with the opportunity to land allocations that otherwise may have gone unharvested and reduce economic harm to the scallop industry.

FMCSA revises the hours of service (HOS) regulations to provide greater flexibility for drivers subject to those rules without adversely affecting safety. The Agency expands the short-haul exception to 150 air-miles and allows a 14-hour work shift to take place as part of the exception; expands the driving window during adverse driving conditions by up to an additional 2 hours; requires a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving time (instead of on-duty time) and allows an on-duty/not driving period to qualify as the required break; and modifies the sleeper berth exception to allow a driver to meet the 10- hour minimum off-duty requirement by spending at least 7, rather than at least 8 hours of that period in the berth and a minimum off-duty period of at least 2 hours spent inside or outside of the berth, provided the two periods total at least 10 hours, and that neither qualifying period counts against the 14-hour driving window.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2018-25-02 and AD 2019-23-01, which apply to certain Airbus SAS Model A318 series airplanes; Model A319-111, -112, -113, -114, -115, -131, - 132, and -133 airplanes; Model A320-211, -212, -214, -216, -231, -232, -233, -251N, -252N, and -271N airplanes; and Model A321 series airplanes. Those ADs require revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more restrictive maintenance requirements and/or airworthiness limitations. Since the FAA issued AD 2018-25-02 and AD 2019-23-01, the agency has determined that new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary and models need to be added to the applicability. This proposed AD would require revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which will be incorporated by reference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is initiating a data collection process through this request for information (RFI) to consider whether to amend DOE's test procedure for illuminated exit signs. Specifically, DOE seeks data and information pertinent to whether amended test procedures would more accurately or fully comply with the requirement that the test procedure produces results measure energy use during a representative average use cycle or period of use for the product without being unduly burdensome to conduct, or reduce testing burden. DOE welcomes written comments from the public on any subject within the scope of this document (including topics not raised in this RFI), as well as the submission of data and other relevant information.

On October 1, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), revising the standard to 0.070 parts per million. Whenever a new or revised is promulgated, the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requires each state to submit a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the new standard. This submission is commonly referred to as an infrastructure SIP. In this action we are proposing to approve the State of Utah's 2015 ozone NAAQS infrastructure SIP submitted to the EPA on January 29, 2020.

In light of recent disruptions in economic conditions caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 and strains in U.S. financial markets, the OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (together, the agencies) are issuing an interim final rule that temporarily revises the supplementary leverage ratio calculation for depository institutions. Under the interim final rule, any depository institution subsidiary of a U.S. global systemically important bank holding company or any depository institution subject to Category II or Category III capital standards may elect to exclude temporarily U.S. Treasury securities and deposits at Federal Reserve Banks from the supplementary leverage ratio denominator. Additionally, under this interim final rule, any depository institution making this election must request approval from its primary Federal banking regulator prior to making certain capital distributions so long as the exclusion is in effect. The interim final rule is effective as of the date of Federal Register publication and will remain in effect through March 31, 2021. The agencies are adopting this interim final rule to allow depository institutions that elect to opt into this treatment additional flexibility to act as financial intermediaries during this period of financial disruption. The tier 1 leverage ratio is not affected by this interim final rule.

The Department of Energy (DOE) publishes this interim final rule to amend 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.

On February 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) published a policy interpretation and request for comment concerning a change in policy regarding the use of Federal vocational rehabilitation (VR) funds reserved for pre-employment transition services. The interpretation established a deadline of March 30, 2020, for submitting comments. This document reopens the comment period.

On December 16, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission revised Commission rules. That document inadvertently listed an incorrect subordinate paragraph in a cross-reference to a rule. This document corrects the final regulations.