January 6, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, enacted in December 2015, authorized the establishment of a Regional Infrastructure Accelerators Demonstration Program (the Program) to assist entities in developing improved infrastructure priorities and financing strategies for the accelerated development of a project that is eligible for funding under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Credit Program. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, enacted on December 27, 2020, appropriated $5 million for this Program. A NOFO was issued in December 2020 and five accelerators were selected from the initial round of applicants. The Build America Bureau (the Bureau) is issuing a second NOFO to further expand the Program and solicit applications for designating and funding Regional Infrastructure Accelerators (RIA) that: (1) Serve a defined geographic area; (2) act as a resource to qualified entities in the geographic area in accordance with the FAST Act; and (3) demonstrate the effectiveness of an RIA to expedite the delivery of projects eligible for the TIFIA credit program. Projects are not required to apply for or receive TIFIA credit assistance to be eligible; however, applicants who are considering the appropriateness of innovative financing methods such as TIFIA, the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) credit program, Private Activity Bonds (PABs), project bundling, private investment, and other innovative financing methods to accelerate the delivery of eligible projects are strongly encouraged to apply.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is implementing a pilot program to evaluate the effects of permitting applicants to defer responding to subject matter eligibility (SME) rejections in certain patent applications. Under this pilot program, applicants may receive invitations to participate if their applications meet the criteria for the program as specified in this notice, including a criterion that the claims in the application necessitate rejections on SME and other patentability-related grounds. An applicant who accepts the invitation to participate in this pilot program must still file a reply to every Office action mailed in the application, but is permitted to defer responding to SME rejections until the earlier of final disposition of the application, or the withdrawal or obviation of all other outstanding rejections. This notice outlines the conditions, eligibility requirements, and guidelines of the pilot program.

The FAA is announcing the availability of and requesting comments on the Draft Environmental Assessment for the Sierra Space Dream Chaser Vehicle Operator License at the Shuttle Landing Facility, Brevard County, Florida (Draft EA).

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) gives notice that it is requesting from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the information collection EAC Federal Financial Report (EAC-FFR).

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Groundfish Subcommittee of the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold an online meeting to review the 2021 groundfish stock assessment process and discuss process improvements for the next stock assessment cycle.

The 2022 Interim Meeting of the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) will be held using a virtual meeting platform and in-person at the Westin Tampa Waterside Hotel, Tampa Florida, from Sunday, January 9 through Wednesday, January 12, 2022. This notice contains information about significant items on the NCWM Committee agendas but does not include all agenda items. As a result, the items are not consecutively numbered.

The Postal Service has filed an Annual Compliance Report on the costs, revenues, rates, and quality of service associated with its products in fiscal year 2021. Within 90 days, the Commission must evaluate that information and issue its determination as to whether rates were in compliance with title 39, chapter 36, and whether service standards in effect were met. To assist in this, the Commission seeks public comments on the Postal Service's Annual Compliance Report.

NMFS has received a request from the United States Department of the Air Force (DAF) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to 2 years of activity related to testing of the Extended Range Cannon Artillery II (ERCA II) system at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue two consecutive one-year incidental harassment authorizations (IHA) to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible one-time, one-year renewal for each IHA that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request for Public Comments at the end of this notice. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorizations and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision. The DAF's activities are considered military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (2004 NDAA).

The Internal Revenue Service, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The IRS is soliciting comments concerning guidance on the distilled spirits credit.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies were provided to producers and exporters of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, (solar cells) from the People's Republic of China (China) during the period of review (POR), January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019. In addition, we intend to rescind this review with respect to 48 companies. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

As a result of these expedited sunset reviews, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) finds that revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) orders on certain hot-rolled steel flat products (hot-rolled steel) from Australia, Brazil, Japan, the Republic of Korea (Korea), the Netherlands, the Republic of Turkey (Turkey), and the United Kingdom would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping as indicated in the ``Final Results of Sunset Review'' section of this notice.

NMFS received a request from [Oslash]rsted Wind Power North America, LLC, ([Oslash]rsted) for the Renewal of their 2020 IHA to take marine mammals incidental marine site characterization surveys, using high-resolution geophysical (HRG) equipment, in coastal waters from New York to Massachusetts. [Oslash]rsted is also planning to conduct marine site characterization surveys along one or more potential submarine export cable routes (ECRs). The activities for which [Oslash]rsted has requested a Renewal IHA are identical to those covered under the initial IHA, which expired on September 24, 2021. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), prior to issuing the initial IHA in 2020, NMFS requested comments on both the proposed IHA and the potential for renewing the initial authorization if certain requirements were satisfied. The Renewal requirements have been satisfied, and NMFS is now providing an additional 15-day comment period to allow for any additional comments on the proposed Renewal not previously provided during the initial 30-day comment period. If issued, the Renewal would be effective through September 24, 2022.

Proposal to extend and amend the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Mali Concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Archaeological Material from Mali from the Paleolithic Era (Stone Age) to Approximately the Mid-Eighteenth Century.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the following meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). This meeting is open to the public. Time will be available for public comment. The meeting will be webcast live via the World Wide Web.

The United States Mint is announcing pricing for the 2022 Negro Leagues Baseball and Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Programs as shown below in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels using hook-and-line (HAL) gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2022 total allowable catch of Pacific cod by catcher vessels using HAL gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

The National Park Service is soliciting electronic comments on the significance of properties nominated before December 25, 2021, for listing or related actions in the National Register of Historic Places.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act in the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.

This final rule adopts without change the proposed rule modifying the definitions of ``excepted foreign state'' and ``excepted real estate foreign state'' by extending by one year the effective date of one of two criteria set forth in the definitions in the regulations implementing certain provisions of Section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is holding a series of meetings, under the Plan of Action to Establish a National Strategy for the Coordination of National Multimodal Healthcare Supply Chains to Respond to COVID-19, to implement the Voluntary Agreement for the Manufacture and Distribution of Critical Healthcare Resources Necessary to Respond to a Pandemic.