2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending its regulations that govern the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program. This interim final rule will provide a more effective subsidy to veterans in high-cost rental markets; increase the cap on General Housing Assistance to reflect increased costs; and extend the ability of SSVF grantees to provide emergency housing for the most vulnerable, unsheltered veterans and their families.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this advisory opinion to highlight that a consumer reporting agency that uses inadequate matching procedures to match information to consumers, including name-only matching (i.e., matching information to the particular consumer who is the subject of a consumer report based solely on whether the consumer's first and last names are identical or similar to the names associated with the information), in preparing consumer reports is not using reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy under section 607(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), revise the designation of critical habitat for the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA or Act), by withdrawing the January 15, 2021, final rule that would have been effective December 15, 2021, and which would have excluded approximately 3.4 million acres (1.4 million hectares) of designated critical habitat for the northern spotted owl (January Exclusions Rule); and instead as we proposed on July 20, 2021, we now exclude approximately 204,294 acres (82,675 hectares) in Benton, Clackamas, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Washington, and Yamhill Counties, Oregon, under section 4(b)(2) of the Act.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the approximately 25,000-acre ``Lower Long Tom'' viticultural area in portions of Lane and Benton Counties, Oregon. The viticultural area is located entirely within the existing Willamette Valley viticultural area. TTB designates viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to establish the approximately 98,000-acre ``Gabilan Mountains'' viticultural area in Monterey and San Benito Counties, California. The proposed viticultural area lies entirely within the established Central Coast viticultural area and would entirely encompass the established Mt. Harlan and Chalone viticultural areas. TTB designates viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase. TTB invites comments on this proposed addition to its regulations.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary special local regulation (SLR) for the San Diego Fleet Week Veterans Day Boat Parade marine event that will be held on the waters of San Diego Bay, California. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of the participants, crew, spectators, sponsor vessels, and general users of the waterway during the event on November 11, 2021. This SLR temporarily encompasses all navigable waters, from surface to bottom, on a pre-determined course in the northern portion of the San Diego Main Ship Channel from Shelter Island Basin, past the Embarcadero, crossing the Federal navigable channel and ending off of Coronado Island.

On July 20, 2020, FEMA published in the Federal Register a final rule revising the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulations to codify certain provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, and to clarify certain existing NFIP rules relating to NFIP operations and the Standard Flood Insurance Policy. This document provides corrections to information provided in a table.

This amendment adopts miscellaneous amendments to the required IFR (instrument flight rules) altitudes and changeover points for certain Federal airways, jet routes, or direct routes for which a minimum or maximum en route authorized IFR altitude is prescribed. This regulatory action is needed because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System. These changes are designed to provide for the safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace under instrument conditions in the affected areas.

This final rule removes a multiengine training requirement for pilots seeking to obtain an initial airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate concurrently with a single-engine airplane type rating. The final rule also removes a 2014 compliance date because it is no longer necessary.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of calcium bisulfate when used as an inert ingredient (acidifying/buffering agent) in antimicrobial formulations applied to food-contact surfaces in public eating places, dairy- processing equipment, and food-processing equipment and utensils, limited to 2,000 parts per million (ppm). Burdock Group on behalf of SCG Solutions, LLC., submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting establishment of an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of calcium bisulfate.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a Clean Air Act (CAA or the ``Act'') section 111(d) state plan submitted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE or the ``Department'') on March 23, 2021. This state plan was submitted to fulfill the requirements of the CAA and is responsive to the EPA's promulgation of Emission Guidelines and Compliance Times (EG) for existing municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. The Colorado state plan establishes performance standards and other operating requirements for existing MSW landfills within the State of Colorado and provides for the implementation and enforcement of those standards and requirements by the Department. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to the CAA.

This final rule updates the home health and home infusion therapy services payment rates for calendar year (CY) 2022 in accordance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements. This rule also finalizes recalibration of the case-mix weights and updates the functional impairment levels, and comorbidity adjustment subgroups while maintaining the current low utilization payment adjustment (LUPA) thresholds for CY 2022. Additionally, this rule finalizes a policy to utilize the physical therapy LUPA add-on factor to establish the occupational therapy add-on factor for the LUPA add-on payment amounts and makes conforming regulations text changes to reflect that allowed practitioners are able to establish and review the plan of care. It also finalizes proposed changes to the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (QRP) including finalizing proposed measure removals and adoptions, public reporting, and modification of effective dates. It also finalizes proposed modifications to the effective date for the reporting of measures and certain standardized patient assessment data in the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) QRP and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) QRP. In addition, this final rule codifies certain Medicare provider and supplier enrollment policies. It also makes permanent selected regulatory blanket waivers related to home health aide supervision that were issued to Medicare participating home health agencies during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and updates the home health conditions of participation regarding occupational therapists assessment completion to implement provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA 2021). This final rule also finalizes proposals to expand the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model and to end the original HHVBP Model one year early. Lastly, it establishes survey and enforcement requirements for hospice programs as set forth in the CAA 2021; and finalizes revisions to the infection control requirements for long-term care (LTC) facilities (Medicaid nursing facilities and Medicare skilled nursing facilities, also collectively known as ``nursing homes'') that will extend the mandatory COVID-19 reporting requirements beyond the current COVID-19 PHE until December 31, 2024.

FMCSA amends the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to include rear impact guards on the list of items that must be examined as part of the required annual inspection for each commercial motor vehicle (CMV). In addition, FMCSA amends the labeling requirements for rear impact guards, and excludes road construction controlled (RCC) horizontal discharge trailers from the rear impact guard requirements, consistent with changes made by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to the corresponding Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). This final rule responds to rulemaking petitions, as well as a recommendation from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

NMFS announces that the quotas for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries for 2022 will remain status quo. NMFS also suspends the minimum size limit for Atlantic surfclams for the 2022 fishing year. Regulations for these fisheries require NMFS to notify the public of the allowable harvest levels for Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs from the Exclusive Economic Zone even if the previous year's quota specifications remain unchanged.

This rule makes technical changes to regulations issued by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to conform those regulations to recent statutory changes. First, the rule incorporates a required change to SBA's ownership requirements for small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans. The rule adopts changes to the treatment of certain surviving spouses made by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020. In addition, the rule incorporates changes to the dollar thresholds for certain contracting actions authorized for the 8(a) Business Development (BD) program made by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020. Finally, the rule adjusts the competitive threshold dollar levels authorized for SBA's contracting programs to changes made to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) due to inflation.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is issuing a final rule to amend its regulations to exempt portions of a newly established system of records titled, ``DHS/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (IC)-018 Analytical Records System of Records'' from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. Specifically, the Department exempts portions of the system of records'' from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act because of criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement requirements.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ or Department) is finalizing without changes its Privacy Act exemption regulations for the system of records titled, Security Monitoring and Analytics Service Records, JUSTICE/JMD-026, which were published as a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on July 30, 3021. Specifically, the Department's regulations will exempt the records maintained in JUSTICE/JMD-026 from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act. The exemptions are necessary to avoid interference with efforts to prevent the unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction of information, information systems, and networks of DOJ and external Federal agency subscribers. The Department received two comments on the NPRM, neither of which impact the Department's decision to proceed with issuing this final rule.

This final rule adjusts the number of members on the United Soybean Board (Board) to reflect changes in production levels that have occurred since the Board was last reapportioned in 2018. As required by the Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act (Act), membership on the Board is reviewed every 3 years and adjustments are made accordingly. This change results in a decrease in Board membership for one State (Alabama), decreasing the total number of Board members from 78 to 77. These changes are reflected in the Soybean Promotion and Research Order (Order) and will be effective with the Secretary of Agriculture's (Secretary) appointments for terms in the year 2022. This final rule also corrects the number of States and units to the Order. Technical corrections to the regulations adjust the number of States and units from 30 to 31.

This action proposes to amend United States Area Navigation (RNAV) route T-215 in the central United States due to the decommissioning of the Holston Mountain, TN, (HMV) VHF Omnidirectional Range Tactical Air Navigation (VORTAC), and the Hazard, KY, (AZQ) Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) in support of the VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Minimum Operational Network (MON) program. Additionally, this action would extend T-215 to the north and south of its current limits to expand the availability of RNAV in the National Airspace System (NAS).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is revising regulations associated with persons who must report data to the Agency's mercury inventory established under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Those reporting requirements were set forth in a final rule entitled ``Reporting Requirements for TSCA Mercury Inventory: Mercury'' (hereafter ``mercury inventory reporting rule''). These revisions implement an order issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Second Circuit), on June 5, 2020.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG (RRD) BR700-710A2-20 model turbofan engines. This AD was prompted by flight data obtained from airplanes equipped with certain Rockwell Collins avionics and auto- throttle systems that demonstrated significant oscillation of the engine rotor revolution speed during flight. This AD requires initial and repetitive recalculation of the consumed and remaining service life of certain life-limited parts (LLPs). This AD also requires removal of an LLP prior to its approved life limit or within 90 days after the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs later. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This action proposes to amend United States Area Navigation (RNAV) routes T-212, T-216, T-218, and T-221 in the eastern United States. The proposed route changes would add RNAV waypoints (WP) to replace VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) navigation aids (NAVAIDS) that are scheduled for decommissioning under the FAA's VOR Minimum Operational Network (MON) program.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to the Washington State Implementation Plan (SIP) pertaining to adoption by reference of a Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) program by the State of Washington. The Clean Air Act (CAA) grants authority to the EPA to adopt Federal standards relating to the control of emissions from new motor vehicles, and generally preempts states from doing so. However, the CAA provides California the ability to adopt and enforce its own new motor vehicle emission standards, as long as the EPA approves California's standards via a preemption waiver. The CAA also allows other states to adopt California's new motor vehicle emission standards for which the EPA has granted such a waiver providing other relevant criteria are met. Washington adopted California's LEV emission standards in 2005, effective with new vehicles sold in model year 2009. Washington subsequently amended its new motor vehicle emissions program to incorporate California's LEV updates to its program. The purpose of this SIP revision is to implement programs to reduce vehicle emissions that contribute to formation of ground level ozone and fine particulate matter. Washington did not submit provisions related to greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles or zero-emission vehicles requirements for inclusion in the SIP. The EPA is approving and incorporating by reference Washington's LEV SIP revision, as it relates to criteria pollutants, in accordance with the requirements of the CAA.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect application-related actions for new animal drug applications (NADAs) and abbreviated new animal drug applications (ANADAs) during April, May, and June 2021. FDA is informing the public of the availability of summaries of the basis of approval and of environmental review documents, where applicable. The animal drug regulations are also being amended to improve the accuracy and readability of the regulations.

This final rule updates the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for calendar year (CY) 2022. This rule also updates the payment rate for renal dialysis services furnished by an ESRD facility to individuals with acute kidney injury (AKI). In addition, this rule updates requirements for the ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP), including a measure suppression policy for the duration of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency (PHE) as well as suppression of individual ESRD QIP measures for Payment Year (PY) 2022 under the measure suppression policy. This rule also finalizes that CMS will not score facilities or reduce payment to any facility under the ESRD QIP in PY 2022. Further, this rule finalizes changes to the ESRD Treatment Choices (ETC) Model, which is a mandatory payment model that is focused on encouraging greater use of home dialysis and kidney transplants, to reduce Medicare expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care furnished to Medicare beneficiaries.