May 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) currently implements a pilot program for motion to amend (MTA) practice and procedures in trial proceedings under the America Invents Act (AIA) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board). The USPTO seeks public comments on whether the MTA Pilot Program's procedures should be made permanent, and if so, whether any modifications would be beneficial. Additionally, the USPTO previously issued rulemaking covering the allocation of the burdens of persuasion in MTA proceedings. The USPTO seeks public input on the practical effects of the rules on the parties and AIA proceedings, and whether modifications to the rules, or additional guidance on implementing the rules, would be beneficial. Lastly, the USPTO seeks input on whether the Board should have broader authority to raise sua sponte grounds in the MTA process.

Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-108, notice is hereby given that the Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties (hereinafter OPCL), a component within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ or Department), proposes to develop a new system of records titled Data Protection Review Court Records System, JUSTICE/OPCL-001. The OPCL proposes to establish this system of records to maintain records of matters reviewed by and decisions made by the Data Protection Review Court (DPRC) concerning determinations made by the Civil Liberties Protection Officer of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in response to complaints that allege certain violations of United States law in the conduct of United States signals intelligence activities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is making technical amendments to Form BD and Form BDW, the uniform broker-dealer registration form and the uniform request for withdrawal from broker-dealer registration, respectively. The technical amendments will update the current list of self-regulatory organizations (``SROs'') and government jurisdictions listed on Form BD and Form BDW, and make conforming changes to the definition of ``jurisdiction'' in the forms.

In this document, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing five separate actions under section 111 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) addressing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric generating units (EGUs). The EPA is proposing revised new source performance standards (NSPS), first for GHG emissions from new fossil fuel-fired stationary combustion turbine EGUs and second for GHG emissions from fossil fuel-fired steam generating units that undertake a large modification, based upon the 8-year review required by the CAA. Third, the EPA is proposing emission guidelines for GHG emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired steam generating EGUs, which include both coal-fired and oil/gas-fired steam generating EGUs. Fourth, the EPA is proposing emission guidelines for GHG emissions from the largest, most frequently operated existing stationary combustion turbines and is soliciting comment on approaches for emission guidelines for GHG emissions for the remainder of the existing combustion turbine category. Finally, the EPA is proposing to repeal the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for the Miami tiger beetle (Cicindelidia floridana) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. In total, approximately 1,869 acres (756 hectares) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, fall within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation. This rule extends the Act's protections to the Miami tiger beetle's critical habitat.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Kentucky regulatory program (hereinafter, the Kentucky program), under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Kentucky proposes to revise their regulations regarding the qualifications of members of the Reclamation Guaranty Fund Commission. This document gives the times and locations that the Kentucky program and this proposed amendment to that program are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the West Virginia regulatory program (hereinafter, the West Virginia program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) seeks to amend its statutory provisions to develop and maintain a database to track reclamation liabilities in the WVDEP Special Reclamation Program. This document gives the times and locations that the West Virginia program and this proposed amendment to that program are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Honeywell International Inc. Model AS907-1-1A and AS907-2-1G engines. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of compressor surge, including a dual engine compressor surge, during takeoff climb out through a steep temperature inversion, causing a loss of engine thrust control. This proposed AD would require either the replacement of a certain electronic control unit (ECU) software version installed on AS907-1-1A engines with updated software or the replacement of certain ECUs installed on AS907-1-1A engines with ECUs eligible for installation. This proposed AD would also require the replacement of certain ECUs installed on AS907-2-1G engines with ECUs eligible for installation. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Department of State (Department) is seeking Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the information collection described below. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are requesting comments on this collection from all interested individuals and organizations. The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The United States (U.S.) General Services Administration (GSA) is proposing to amend the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) by implementing a third methodology for reimbursing temporary quarters subsistence expenses (TQSE) allowance and redefining the current methods of reimbursing TQSE to include, among others, lowering the percentage multipliers for calculating TQSE maximum daily amounts. The proposed rule would clarify that TQSE percentage multipliers cannot be adjusted for househunting days. The proposed rule also lists an exception to the ``reasonable proximity'' requirement for temporary quarters (TQ) located in a Presidentially-Declared Disaster area and allows agencies to authorize TQSE at the applicable locality per diem allowance or authorize actual expenses on an individual basis for TQ located in a Presidentially-Declared Disaster area. Instead of authorizing actual expenses on an individual basis, agencies can issue a blanket actual expense authorization for employees authorized to occupy TQ in Presidentially-Declared Disaster areas. The proposed rule would also update and clarify some TQSE sections and rearrange them into a more sequential order.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado's Southwest Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will hold three public meetings in 2023 and early 2024.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued amendments to Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (Constellation, the licensee) for Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-39 and NPF-85 for operation of the Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 and 2 (Limerick), located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. These amendments revise a license condition in each license to allow the use of an alternative seismic approach to categorizing structures, systems, and components in the licensee's application of NRC regulations. The NRC has also denied Constellation's request for amendments to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-39 and NPF-85 for operation of Limerick to allow proposed alternative defense-in-depth and pressure boundary component processes for categorizing structures, systems, and components in the licensee's application of NRC regulations.

These special conditions are issued for the Dassault Aviation (Dassault) Model Falcon 6X airplane. This airplane will have novel or unusual design features associated with flight-envelope protections, in icing and non-icing conditions, that use high-incidence protection to automatically advance throttles when the airplane angle of attack (AoA) reaches a predetermined value. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Federal Aviation Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, the FAA's exemption process. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion nor omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) publishes notice of certain Federal agency requests for records disposition authority (records schedules). We publish notice in the Federal Register and on regulations.gov for records schedules in which agencies propose to dispose of records they no longer need to conduct agency business. We invite public comments on such records schedules.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the review and approval period. OMB may act on HRSA's ICR only after the 30-day comment period for this notice has closed.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) is hosting listening sessions and requesting public input about the prevented planting provisions of the Common Crop Insurance Policy (CCIP), Basic Provisions. Prevented planting is a feature of many crop insurance plans that provides a payment to cover certain pre-plant costs for a crop that was prevented from being planted due to an insurable cause of loss. FCIC is interested in public input on the following: additional prevented planting coverage based on harvest prices in situations when harvest prices are higher than established prices initially set by FCIC prior to planting; the requirement that acreage must have been planted to a crop, insured, and harvested, in at least 1 of the 4 most recent crop years; additional levels of prevented planting coverage; prevented planting coverage on contracted crops; and other general prevented planting questions. We invite stakeholders to respond to this request for information or to participate in the listening session(s). All listening sessions will be posted publicly and open to the public for registration.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is withdrawing approval of new drug application (NDA) 016832 for CYCLERT (pemoline) tablets, 18.75 milligrams (mg), 37.5 mg, and 75 mg, as well as NDA 017703 for CYCLERT (pemoline) chewable tablets, 37.5 mg, held by Abbott Laboratories Pharmaceutical Products Division, c/o G&L Scientific, 25 Independence Blvd., 4th Floor, Warren, NJ 07059 (Abbott). Abbott requested that approval of these applications be withdrawn and has waived its opportunity for a hearing.