2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), NESHAP for Vinyl Chloride (EPA ICR Number 0186.16, OMB Control Number 2060-0071), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through December 31, 2021. Public comments were previously requested, via the Federal Register, on February 8, 2021 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. An agency may neither conduct nor sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier, Inc., Model CL-600-2B16 (604 Variant) airplanes. This AD was prompted by multiple reports of cracking of the main landing gear (MLG) shock strut lower pin. This AD requires repetitive lubrication and repetitive detailed visual inspections (DVI) and non- destructive test (NDT) inspections of the MLG shock strut lower pins, and replacement if necessary. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2019-19- 06, which applied to certain Airbus SAS Model A330-202, -243, -243F, - 302, -323, and -343 airplanes. AD 2019-19-06 required an inspection to determine the part number and serial number of the slat geared rotary actuators (SGRAs), and replacement of each affected SGRA with a serviceable part. This AD continues to require replacement of each affected SGRA with a serviceable part, expands the applicability to include all airplanes on which the affected part may be installed, and also prohibits installation of an affected part; as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is incorporated by reference. This AD was prompted by a report that cracks have been found within the ring gears of the SGRAs due to a change in the manufacturing process and inadequate post-production non-destructive testing for potential cracking, and a determination that the requirements of AD 2019-19-06 may not ensure the permanent removal from service of affected SGRAs. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Commission is noticing a recent Postal Service filing for the Commission's consideration concerning a negotiated service agreement. This notice informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes other administrative steps.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface for Covington Municipal Airport, Covington, GA. The FAA is proposing this action as a result of an airspace review caused by the decommissioning of the ALCOVY Non- directional Beacon (NDB) and cancellation of the associated approaches. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations in the area.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests approval to renew an ICR titled, ``Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Vendor Registration.'' This ICR is necessary for ELD vendors to register their ELDs with the Agency.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator signed an Order dated September 22, 2021, granting in part and denying in part a Petition dated September 12, 2017 from the Environmental Integrity Project and Sierra Club. The Petition requested that the EPA object to a Clean Air Act (CAA) title V operating permit issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to Phillips 66 Company (Phillips) for its Borger Refinery located in Hutchinson County, Texas.

In accordance with the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, as amended, the Millennium Challenge Corporation is publishing a summary, justification, and full text of the proposed First Amendment to Millennium Challenge Compact between the United States of America, acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Kingdom of Morocco. Representatives of the United States Government and the Kingdom of Morocco plan to conclude the Amendment before the end of 2021. Authority: 22 U.S.C. 7708 (i) (2).

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), as a part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal Agencies to comment on the proposed information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This form is to be completed by EXIM borrowers as required under certain EXIM long-term guarantee and direct loan transactions in conjunction with a borrower's request for disbursement for U.S. goods and services. It is used to summarize disbursement documents submitted with a borrower's request and to calculate the requested financing amount. It will enable EXIM to identify the specific details of the amount of disbursement requested for approval to ensure that the financing request is complete and in compliance with EXIM's disbursement requirements. This form will be uploaded into an electronic disbursement portal.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), as a part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal Agencies to comment on the proposed information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This form is to be completed by EXIM borrowers as required under EXIM Credit Guarantee Facility (CGF) transactions in conjunction with a borrower's request for disbursement for U.S. goods and services. It is used to summarize disbursement documents submitted with a borrower's request and to calculate the requested financing amount. It will enable EXIM lenders to identify the specific details of the amount of disbursement requested for approval to ensure that the financing request is complete and in compliance with EXIM's disbursement requirements.

The Federal CDO Council was established by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th- congress/house-bill/4174/text), which also requires all federal agencies to appoint a CDO. The Council's vision is to improve government mission achievement and increase the benefits to the Nation through improvement in the management, use, protection, dissemination, and generation of data in government decision-making and operations. The CDO Council is publishing this Request for Information (RFI) for the public to provide input on key questions to support the council's mission and focus areas. Responses to this RFI will inform the Council's efforts and will be shared with the relevant groups in the Council.

The Department of Labor (Department) in this document proposes amendments to the Investment Duties regulation under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), to clarify the application of ERISA's fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty to selecting investments and investment courses of action, including selecting qualified default investment alternatives, exercising shareholder rights, such as proxy voting, and the use of written proxy voting policies and guidelines.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 747-400, -400D, and -400F series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of burned Boeing Material Specification (BMS) 8-39 urethane foam, and a report from the airplane manufacturer that airplanes were assembled with seals throughout various areas of the airplane (including flight deck and cargo compartments) made of BMS 8-39 urethane foam, a material with fire-retardant properties that deteriorate with age. This proposed AD would require replacing the system tube/wire seals made of BMS 8-39 urethane foam in certain areas of the airplane. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving most of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Rhode Island to address the infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This action does not address three requirements related to interstate transport. The infrastructure requirements are designed to ensure that the structural components of each state's air quality management program, including provisions prohibiting emissions that will have certain adverse air quality effects in other states, are adequate to meet the state's responsibilities under the CAA. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is amending the rules of practice to permit higher-capacity physical media to be submitted to the USPTO. Patent applications for certain inventions require significant data in American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) plain text format to be submitted to the USPTO in order to determine whether the invention described in the patent application is patentable. When submission of such data exceeds the USPTO's patent electronic filing system capacity, submission of large data submission in ASCII plain text format can be made on physical media. To that end, the rules of practice are amended to provide applicants with the ability to use physical media larger than compact discs (CDs) for submission of data in ASCII plain text format, such as an electronic version of amino acid and nucleotide sequence information, information compiled in a large table, or information related to a computer program listing. Additionally, extraction of compressed data files, which had not been permitted in the past for certain submissions, will be permitted if the compressed data files are compliant with the requirements of the rules. Other rules related to certain obsolete and non-secure methods of presenting data are eliminated.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS or the Department) is proposing to amend the Department's Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, the HHS Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR), to support the HHS Electronic Invoicing Implementation Project and HHS's transition to the Department of the Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform. This complies with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum M-15-19, Improving Government Efficiency and Saving Taxpayer Dollars Through Electronic Invoicing, issued on July 17, 2015.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its regulations to limit the circumstances in which benefits will be apportioned and to stop apportioning certain benefits. Currently, in limited situations, VA may pay a portion of a VA beneficiary's monetary benefits directly to the beneficiary's dependents. This is referred to as apportionment of benefits. Most claims for apportionment involve complex issues of family law, issues that are best suited to the expertise and authority of state courts. VA claims adjudicators have limited ability to analyze these complex and fact-intensive claims, to include both technical expertise as well as an ability to compel participation in necessary accounting measures. When VA awards apportionments, decisions rendered can disturb state court support awards, requiring a state court to expend additional resources to revisit a prior determination. Finally, due to their intricacy, a significant amount of information is needed to properly adjudicate apportionment claims. While this information is typically already available to state courts, VA must attempt to gather this information from the VA beneficiary and beneficiary's dependent, which is unavoidably a time-consuming process and often cannot result in a comprehensive evidentiary picture. The additional time and effort needed to gather this information increases VA workloads and results in the potential for delays of all VA claims processes, to include apportionment awards. Because VA apportionment awards often conflict with the awards of better-situated state family courts and because VA lacks the authority and expertise to make fully-informed, accurate, and economically appropriate awards, VA is proposing to amend its regulations to discontinue making apportionment awards in most circumstances and to stop apportioning certain benefits.

FMCSA amends its regulations by making technical corrections throughout the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). The Agency makes minor changes to correct inadvertent errors and omissions, remove or update obsolete references, and improve the clarity and consistency of certain regulatory provisions. The Agency also makes nondiscretionary, ministerial changes that merely align regulatory requirements with the underlying statutory authority. Finally, FMCSA adds two new provisions for transparency relating to agency management and to FMCSA's rules of organization, procedures, or practice, and makes corresponding changes to definitions, addresses, and employee titles throughout the FMCSRs.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) announces a forthcoming public advisory committee meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC). The general function of the committee is to provide advice and recommendations to FDA on regulatory issues. Members will participate via teleconference. The meeting will be open to the public. FDA is establishing a docket for public comment on this document.

This notice amends the notice of a major disaster declaration for the State of Oklahoma (FEMA-4587-DR), dated February 24, 2021, and related determinations.

This document directs that a referendum be conducted among eligible California walnut growers to determine whether they favor continuance of the marketing order regulating the handling of walnuts grown in California.