2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is prohibiting retention of blackspotted and rougheye rockfish in the Central Aleutian and Western Aleutian districts (CAI/ WAI) of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2021 blackspotted and rougheye rockfish total allowable catch (TAC) in the CAI/WAI of the BSAI has been reached.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the NAC International NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to include Amendment No. 8 to Certificate of Compliance No. 1015. Amendment No. 8 revises the certificate of compliance to add the storage of damaged boiling- water reactor spent fuel, including higher enrichment and higher burnup spent fuel; change the allowable fuel burnup range; expand the boiling- water reactor class 5 fuel inventory that could be stored in the cask; and revise definitions in the technical specifications.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is issuing this interim final rule to amend its adjudication regulations to establish presumptive service connection for three chronic respiratory health conditions, i.e., asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis, to include rhinosinusitis, in association with presumed exposures to fine, particulate matter. These presumptions would apply to veterans with a qualifying period of service, i.e., who served on active military, naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War (hereafter Gulf War), as well as in Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, or Uzbekistan, on or after September 19, 2001, during the Gulf War. This amendment is necessary to provide expeditious health care, services, and benefits to Gulf War Veterans who were potentially exposed to fine, particulate matter associated with deployment to the Southwest Asia theater of operations, as well as Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, and Uzbekistan. The intended effect of this amendment is to address the needs and concerns of Gulf War Veterans and service members who have served and continue to serve in these locations as military operations in the Southwest Asia theater of operations have been ongoing from August 1990 until the present time. Neither Congress nor the President has established an end date for the Gulf War. Therefore, to provide immediate health care, services, and benefits to current and future Gulf War Veterans who may be affected by particulate matter due to their military service, VA intends to provide presumptive service connection for the chronic disabilities of asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis, to include rhinosinusitis, as well as a presumption of exposure to fine, particulate matter. This will ease the evidentiary burden of Gulf War Veterans who file claims with VA for these three conditions, which are among the most commonly claimed respiratory conditions.

This document contains corrections to Treasury Decision 9889, which was published in the Federal Register on Monday, January 13, 2020. Treasury Decision 9889 contained final regulations under the Internal Revenue Code (Code) that govern the extent to which taxpayers may elect the Federal income tax benefits with respect to certain equity interests in a qualified opportunity fund (QOF).

NMFS will require the use of electronic logbooks in the Hawaii pelagic longline fisheries and on Class C and D vessels in the American Samoa pelagic longline fishery. This final rule is intended to reduce human error, improve data accuracy, save time for fishermen and NMFS, and provide more rigorous monitoring and forecasting of catch limits.

On June 29, 2021, the Federal Election Commission received a Petition for rulemaking asking the Commission to amend its existing regulations regarding reporting expenditures and certain other disbursements. The proposed amendments would require political committees and persons who make independent expenditures and electioneering communications to itemize certain payments made by vendors to others on behalf of the reporting entities.

This rule amends, suspends, or removes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide for the safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Bombardier, Inc., Model CL-600-1A11 (600), CL-600-2A12 (601), and CL- 600-2B16 (601-3A, 601-3R and 604 Variants) airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of corrosion on the passenger door internal structure of in-service airplanes. This AD requires revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Canada Limited Partnership Model BD-500-1A10 and BD-500- 1A11 airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of deficiencies in the primary flight control computer (PFCC) software and the remote electronics unit (REU) software. This AD requires installation of a software update to correct deficiencies in the PFCC and REU software, as specified in a Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) AD, which is incorporated by reference. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus SAS Model A330-200, -200 Freighter, -300, -800, and -900 series airplanes; and Model A340-200 and -300 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of incorrect installation of the lower attachment parts of the trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuator (THSA). This AD requires doing a detailed inspection of the THSA lower attachment parts for discrepancies and corrective action if necessary, and prohibits using earlier versions of certain airplane maintenance manual (AMM) tasks, 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.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. (P&WC) PW210A and PW210S model turboshaft engines. This AD was prompted by a report from the manufacturer that the Automated Damage Tracking System (ADTS) may under-count the number of cycles accrued by the impeller and the high-pressure compressor (HPC) rotor. This AD requires use of the manual low-cycle fatigue (LCF) counting method in place of the ADTS counting method to determine the number of cycles accrued by the impeller and HPC rotor. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is finalizing supplementary rules for all BLM-managed public lands within the Fairbanks District Office administrative site. These rules are necessary to enhance the safety of visitors, protect natural resources, improve recreation experiences and opportunities, and protect public health.

This rule invites comments on the proposed termination of the Federal marketing order regulating the handling of onions grown in South Texas and the rules and regulations issued thereunder. A corresponding change would be made to the onion import regulation as required under section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in response to a request from the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, finalize regulations authorizing the nonlethal, incidental, unintentional take by harassment of small numbers of polar bears and Pacific walruses during year-round oil and gas industry activities in the Beaufort Sea (Alaska and the Outer Continental Shelf) and adjacent northern coast of Alaska. Take may result from oil and gas exploration, development, production, and transportation activities occurring for a period of 5 years. These activities are similar to those covered by the previous 5-year Beaufort Sea incidental take regulations effective from August 5, 2016, through August 5, 2021. This rule authorizes take by harassment only. No lethal take is authorized. We will issue Letters of Authorization, upon request, for specific activities in accordance with these regulations.

In April 2020, the Coast Guard published a final rule updating the Liquid Chemical Categorization tables, aligning them with the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk and the International Maritime Organization's Marine Environment Protection Committee circulars from December 2012 and 2013. In May 2020, the Coast Guard published amendments to correct minor typographical errors in those regulations. Some minor corrections still need to be made. This document corrects the tables in the final regulations.

This document proposes amendments to several Federal motor vehicle safety standards and consumer information regulations to update the standard reference test tire (SRTT) used therein. The SRTT is used in those standards and regulations as a baseline tire to rate tire treadwear, define snow tires based on traction performance, and evaluate pavement surface friction. This proposed rule is necessary because the only manufacturer of the currently referenced SRTT ceased production of the tire. Referencing a new SRTT ensures the availability of a test tire for testing purposes.

On June 9, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army announced their intent to revise the definition of ``waters of the United States.'' This process includes two rulemakings: A foundational rule to restore longstanding protections, and a second rulemaking process that builds on that regulatory foundation. The forthcoming foundational rule will propose to restore the regulations defining ``waters of the United States'' that were in place for decades until 2015, with updates to be consistent with relevant Supreme Court decisions. The agencies will also pursue a separate, second rulemaking process that further refines and builds upon that regulatory foundation. The agencies intend to engage with state and tribal co-regulators and the public to inform these two rulemakings. The agencies are committed to learning from the past regulatory approachesthe pre-2015 regulations and guidance, the 2015 Clean Water Rule, and the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule while engaging with stakeholders and crafting a refined definition of ``waters of the United States.'' This document includes a schedule for initial public meetings to hear from interested stakeholders on their perspectives on defining ``waters of the United States'' under the Clean Water Act and how to implement that definition as the agencies pursue this process. The agencies are also accepting written recommendations from members of the public and are planning further opportunities for engagement. These opportunities will include 10 geographically focused roundtables that will provide for broad, transparent, regionally focused discussions among a full spectrum of stakeholders.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a special local regulation on the Ohio River at mile marker 596. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters during the Captain's Quarters Sailing Regatta from October 9, 2021 through October 10, 2021. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from being in the limited access area unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Ohio Valley or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

This action amends the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport, Eveleth, MN. This action is the result of an airspace review caused by the decommissioning of the Eveleth non-directional beacon (NDB). The geographic coordinates of the airport are also being updated to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database.

This final rule updates the hospice wage index, payment rates, and aggregate cap amount for Fiscal Year 2022. This rule makes changes to the labor shares of the hospice payment rates and finalizes clarifying regulations text changes to the election statement addendum that was implemented on October 1, 2020. In addition, this rule makes permanent selected regulatory blanket waivers that were issued to Medicare-participating hospice agencies during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and updates the hospice conditions of participation. This rule updates the Hospice Quality Reporting Program and finalizes changes beginning with the January 2022 public reporting for the Home Health Quality Reporting Program to address exceptions related to the COVID-19 PHE.

This final rule updates the payment rates used under the prospective payment system (PPS) for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for fiscal year (FY) 2022. In addition, the final rule includes a forecast error adjustment for FY 2022, updates the diagnosis code mappings used under the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM), rebases and revises the SNF market basket, implements a recently-enacted SNF consolidated billing exclusion along with the required proportional reduction in the SNF PPS base rates, and includes a discussion of a PDPM parity adjustment. In addition, the final rule includes updates for the SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) and the SNF Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program, including a policy to suppress the use of the SNF readmission measure for scoring and payment adjustment purposes in the FY 2022 SNF VBP Program because we have determined that circumstances caused by the public health emergency for COVID-19 have significantly affected the validity and reliability of the measure and resulting performance scores. We are also finalizing a technical correction to the physical environment requirements that Long-Term Care facilities must meet in order to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of zeta- cypermethrin in or on multiple commodities that are identified and discussed later in this document. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), a flightless bird species from Antarctica, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This proposal also serves as our 12-month finding on a petition to list the emperor penguin. After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the species is warranted. Accordingly, we propose to list the emperor penguin as a threatened species with a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act (``4(d) rule''). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would add this species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and extend the Act's protections to the species.

This final rule makes non-substantive technical, organizational, and conforming amendments to the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for all navigable waters within a one nautical mile radius around a capsized vessel in the Gulf of Mexico, South Timbalier block 22, near Port Fourchon, LA. The temporary safety zone is needed to protect life and property during emergency salvage operations surrounding the capsized vessel. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone and movement of vessels within this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Marine Safety Unit Houma or a designated representative.