2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for the Florida bristle fern (Trichomanes punctatum ssp. floridanum) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. In total, approximately 1,698 hectares (ha) (4,195 acres (ac)) fall within 10 units of critical habitat in Miami-Dade and Sumter Counties, Florida. This rule extends the Act's protections to the Florida bristle fern's designated critical habitat.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is adopting amendments to Form N-PX under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (``Investment Company Act'') to enhance the information mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (``ETFs''), and certain other funds currently report about their proxy votes and to make that information easier to analyze. The Commission also is adopting rule and form amendments under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') that would require an institutional investment manager subject to the Exchange Act to report on Form N-PX how it voted proxies relating to executive compensation matters, as required by the Exchange Act. The reporting requirements for institutional investment managers complete implementation of those requirements added by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank Act'').

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all The Boeing Company Model 737-100, -200, -200C, -300, -400, and -500 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report indicating that a crack was found in one of the holes of the wing rear spar lower chord at the main landing gear (MLG) aft fitting at a certain wing buttock line (WBL). This AD requires repetitive open hole high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspections or surface HFEC and ultrasonic (UT) inspections for cracking of the wing rear spar lower chord at the MLG aft fitting at a certain WBL, and applicable on-condition actions. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of simazine in or on citrus fruits (crop group 10-10), pome fruits (crop group 11-10), stone fruits (crop group 12-12), and tree nuts (crop group 14-12) and amends the tolerance for residues in or on almond hulls. Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Paoli, IN. The FAA is proposing this action to support new public instrument procedures.

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2021-14- 20, which applied to all The Boeing Company Model 737 airplanes. AD 2021-14-20 required repetitive functional tests of the cabin altitude pressure switches, and on-condition actions, including replacement, if necessary. AD 2021-14-20 also required reporting test results. This AD was prompted by data collected from the reports required by AD 2021-14- 20, which revealed that the switches were subject to false test failures due to lack of clear instructions for setup of the test adapters during the functional tests. This AD retains the repetitive functional tests and on-condition actions, and specifies certain adapter requirements for the functional tests. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The EPA is proposing to grant the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) the authority to implement and enforce the amended Rhode Island Code of Regulations, Control of Emissions from Organic Solvent Cleaning (Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule), and the General Definitions Regulation (General Definitions Rule) in place of the National Emission Standard for Halogenated Solvent Cleaning (Halogenated Solvent NESHAP) as a partial rule substitution as it applies to organic solvent cleaning machines in Rhode Island. Upon approval, RI DEM's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule and General Definitions Rule would apply to all sources that otherwise would be regulated by the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP, except for continuous web cleaning machines, for which the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP would continue to apply. The EPA has reviewed RI DEM's request and has preliminarily determined that the State's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule and General Definitions Rule satisfy the requirements necessary for approval. Thus, the EPA is proposing to approve the request. This approval would make RI DEM's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule and General Definitions Rule federally enforceable. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of iron oxide (Fe3O4) (CAS Reg. No. 1317-61-9) when used as an inert ingredient (colorant) in pesticide formulations applied to animals. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service submitted a petition (IN-11661) 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 iron oxide (Fe3O4), when used in accordance with the terms of that exemption.

In this document, the Wireless Telecommunication Bureau (Bureau) selects the four entities that will represent the interest of the new entrants to the 3.45-3.55 GHz band in selecting the Reimbursement Clearinghouse. The four entities selected are NBCUniversal, Nexstar Broadcasting (Nexstar), CTIA-The Wireless Association (CTIA), and the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA). In addition, the Bureau adopts certain requirements regarding the Clearinghouse search committee process and the operation of the Clearinghouse. These requirements support the prevention of waste, fraud, and abuse in the handling of reimbursement funds and will protect confidential information.

On August 10, 2022, the President signed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, or the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 (PACT Act) into law, establishing substantial legislative changes in laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The Department of Veterans Affairs proposes to amend its State home per diem regulation to provide a new formula for calculating the prevailing rate VA would pay a State home that enters into a State home care agreement to provide nursing home care to eligible veterans.

This proposed rule includes proposed payment parameters and provisions related to the HHS-operated risk adjustment and risk adjustment data validation programs, as well as proposed 2024 user fee rates for issuers offering qualified health plans (QHPs) through Federally-facilitated Exchanges (FFEs) and State-based Exchanges on the Federal platform (SBE-FPs). This proposed rule also proposes requirements related to updating standardized plan options and reducing plan choice overload; re-enrollment hierarchy; plan and plan variation marketing name requirements for QHPs; essential community providers (ECPs) and network adequacy; failure to file and reconcile; special enrollment periods (SEPs); the annual household income verification; the deadline for QHP issuers to report enrollment and payment inaccuracies; requirements related to the State Exchange improper payment measurement program; and requirements for agents, brokers, and web-brokers assisting FFE and SBE-FP consumers.

This final rule amends the Protected Critical Infrastructure Information regulations to provide non-substantive technical, organizational, and conforming updates that are intended to improve the accuracy of these provisions. This action is editorial in nature and does not impose any new regulatory requirements on affected parties.

This proposed rule would revise the regulations governing the Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program (``Section 184 Program'') to fiscally strengthen the program by clarifying rules for Lenders, Tribes, and Borrowers. As the program has experienced an increase in demand, it now requires an update to the implementing regulations to minimize potential risk and increase program participation by financial institutions. This proposed rule strives to modernize and enhance the Section 184 Program by adding participation and eligibility requirements for Lenders and other financial institutions. This proposed rule would also clarify the rules governing Tribal participation in the program, establish underwriting requirements, specify rules on the closing and endorsement process, establish stronger and clearer servicing requirements, establish program rules governing claims submitted by Servicers and paid by HUD, and add standards governing monitoring, reporting, sanctions and appeals. This rule would add new definitions and make statutory conforming amendments, including the categorical exclusion of the Section 184 program in HUD's environmental review regulations. Ultimately, the changes made by this proposed rule would promote program sustainability, increase Borrower protections, and provide clarity for new and existing Lenders who participate in the program.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is amending its regulations in multiple sanctions programs to add, amend, or update general licenses authorizing official business of the United States government and official business of certain international organizations and entities, and update an interpretation explaining that the property and interests in property of an entity are blocked if one or more blocked persons own, whether individually or in the aggregate, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest in the entity. Additionally, OFAC is updating the authority citation of several CFR parts to consolidate or shorten citations to conform to Federal Register requirements.

On August 12, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final risk and technology review (RTR) for the Miscellaneous Organic Chemical Manufacturing NESHAP (2020 MON final rule) pursuant to Clean Air Act (CAA). Subsequently, the EPA received and granted petitions for reconsideration on two issues, specifically, on the use of the EPA's IRIS value for ethylene oxide in assessing cancer risk for the source category, and the use of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's (TCEQ's) risk value for ethylene oxide as an alternative risk value to the EPA's IRIS value for purposes of evaluating risk as part of the CAA residual risk review. On February 4, 2022, the EPA proposed the Reconsideration of the 2020 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP): Miscellaneous Organic Chemical Manufacturing Residual Risk and Technology Review to address these two issues and request public comment. This action finalizes the EPA's decision to use the IRIS value for ethylene oxide in the risk assessment for the 2020 MON final rule and our decision to reject the use of the TCEQ's risk value for ethylene oxide as an alternative risk value to the EPA's IRIS value. As such, in this final action, EPA is making no changes to the risk assessment or related regulatory text for the miscellaneous organic chemical manufacturing source category.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or CPSC) is announcing the availability of, and seeking comment on, a report from SEA, Ltd. (SEA), ``Study of Debris Penetration of Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle (ROV) Proof-of-Concept (POC) Floorboard Guards'' (SEA Technical Report). This report is related to CPSC's notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) regarding off-highway vehicle debris penetration hazards. CPSC contracted with SEA to perform debris penetration tests on POC floorboard guards per the test methods described in the NPR. The SEA Technical Report also evaluates an alternative test method for debris penetration that is proposed in two draft voluntary standards. The SEA testing evaluates the effectiveness of the test methods in addressing the debris penetration hazard and the feasibility of the proposed requirements in the NPR.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing the availability of a final guidance for industry entitled ``Best Practices for Convening a GRAS Panel.'' This guidance document is intended for any person who is responsible for a conclusion that a substance may be used in food on the basis of the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) when that person convenes a panel of experts (``GRAS panel'') to independently evaluate whether the available scientific data, information, and methods establish that the substance is safe under the conditions of its intended use in human food or animal food. This guidance provides our current thinking on best practices to identify GRAS panel members who have appropriate and balanced expertise; to take steps to reduce the risk that bias (or the appearance of bias) will affect the credibility of the GRAS panel's output (often called a ``GRAS panel report''), including the assessment of potential GRAS panel members for conflict of interest and the appearance of conflict of interest; and to limit the data and information provided to a GRAS panel to public information (e.g., by not providing the GRAS panel with information such as trade secret information).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is updating the regulatory materials incorporated by reference into the Oregon State Implementation Plan (SIP). The regulations addressed in this action were previously submitted by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) and approved by the EPA in prior rulemakings. In this action, the EPA is also notifying the public of corrections to typographical errors, and minor formatting changes to the incorporation by reference tables. This update affects the SIP materials that are available for public inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration and the EPA Regional Office.

This action establishes Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Brookings Airport, OR. This action will support the Airport's transition from visual flight rules (VFR) to instrument flight rules (IFR) at the airport.

The FAA announces the availability of, and requests comments on, the proposed airworthiness criteria for the Archer Aviation Inc. (Archer) Model M001 powered-lift. This document proposes airworthiness criteria the FAA finds to be appropriate and applicable for the powered-lift design.

FSIS is establishing January 1, 2026, as the uniform compliance date for new meat and poultry product labeling regulations that will be issued between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2024. FSIS periodically announces uniform compliance dates for new meat and poultry product labeling regulations to minimize the economic impact of label changes.

Pursuant to its decennial regulatory review schedule, the Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') requests public comment on its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (``Green Guides'' or ``Guides''). The Commission is soliciting comments about the efficiency, costs, benefits, and regulatory impact of the Guides to determine whether to retain, modify, or rescind them. All interested persons are hereby given notice of the opportunity to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the Guides.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve revisions to the California state implementation plan (SIP) concerning vehicle miles traveled (VMT) offset demonstrations for the Los AngelesSouth Coast Air Basin (South Coast), Riverside County (Coachella Valley), Los AngelesSan Bernardino Counties (West Mojave Desert), and San Joaquin Valley nonattainment areas (NAAs) for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). The EPA is proposing to approve these revisions because they demonstrate that California has added or implemented specific enforceable transportation control strategies and transportation control measures to offset the growth in emissions from growth in VMT and vehicle trips. We are proposing to approve these revisions under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act''), which establishes VMT offset demonstration requirements for ozone nonattainment areas classified as ``Severe'' or ``Extreme.''