May 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) amends the test procedures for refrigerated bottled or canned beverage vending machines (BVMs) to reference the latest version of the industry standard, while maintaining certain provisions specified in the current DOE test procedure. DOE also provides setup instructions for non-beverage shelves, updates the lowest application product temperature definition and test instructions, specifies setup instructions for refrigeration leak mitigation controls, and removes the obsolete test procedure.

NMFS has received a request from the Virginia Electric and Power Company, doing business as Dominion Energy Virginia (Dominion Energy), for Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA) pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The requested regulations would govern the authorization of take, by Level A harassment and Level B harassment, of small numbers of marine mammals over the course of 5 years (2024-2029) incidental to construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial (CVOW-C) project offshore of Virginia within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Area OCS- A 0483 (Lease Area) and associated Export Cable Routes. Project activities likely to result in incidental take include pile driving activities (impact and vibratory) and site assessment surveys using high-resolution geophysical (HRG) equipment. NMFS requests comments on its proposed rule. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the promulgation of the requested ITR and issuance of the LOA; agency responses to public comments will be summarized in the final notice of our decision. The proposed regulations, if promulgated, would be effective February 5, 2024, through February 4, 2029.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is amending the test procedures for walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers to harmonize with updated industry standards, revise certain definitions, revise the test methods to more accurately represent field energy use, and to accommodate a wider range of walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer component equipment designs.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is proposing to amend its prudential management and operations standards Rule (rule) to clarify that FHFA may establish prudential management and operations standards (Standards) as regulations as well as guidelines. The proposed amendments to the rule would also revise definitions and make other conforming changes. FHFA is not proposing to establish new Standards or to revise Standards already established. However, FHFA is proposing that the rule and some of the existing Standards in the appendix to the rule be made applicable to the Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Bank System (OF).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is amending its administrative regulations by removing the procedural regulations for the review and issuance of agency guidance documents. Those regulations were issued in accordance with Executive Order (E.O.) 13891, which was revoked January 20, 2021, by E.O. 13992. This final rule implements the direction in section 3 of E.O. 13992 to rescind any regulations that were issued to implement or enforce E.O. 13891.

The Coast Guard proposes to modify the operating schedule that governs the Charles Berry Bridge, mile 0.6, and the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge, mile 1.2, both over the Black River. The regulation has not been updated since 1986. The Coast Guard's proposed revisions will ensure the needs of all modes of transportation are being met.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is reopening the comment period for its proposal, Modernization of Beneficial Ownership Reporting, Release No. 33-11030, (Feb. 10, 2022) (``Proposing Release''). In the Proposing Release, the Commission proposed to amend certain rules that govern beneficial ownership reporting (``Proposed Amendments''). The Proposed Amendments would modernize the filing deadlines for initial and amended beneficial ownership reports filed on Schedules 13D and 13G. The Proposed Amendments also would deem holders of certain cash-settled derivative securities as beneficial owners of the reference equity securities and clarify the disclosure requirements of Schedule 13D with respect to derivative securities. In addition, the Proposed Amendments would clarify and affirm the operation of the beneficial ownership reporting rules as applied to two or more persons that form a group under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and provide new exemptions to permit such persons to communicate and consult with each other, jointly engage issuers, and execute certain transactions without being subject to regulation as a group. Finally, the Proposed Amendments would require that Schedules 13D and 13G be filed using a structured, machine- readable data language. The Commission is reopening the comment period to allow interested persons an opportunity to comment on the additional analysis and data contained in a staff memorandum that was added to the public comment file on April 28, 2023.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is proposing to amend and update its regulations for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The proposed amendments would update NASA's regulations to better align with the Agency's current and near future actions, adjust the level of NEPA review and documentation required for certain actions, and provide more concise descriptions of NASA actions. Additionally, consistent with NASA's requirement to review existing Categorical Exclusions (CatExs) at least every seven years to determine whether modifications, additions, or deletions are appropriate, this proposed rule incorporates updates to NASA's CatExs based on that review.

This proposed rule would advance CMS' efforts to improve access to care, quality and health outcomes, and better address health equity issues for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) managed care enrollees. The proposed rule would specifically address standards for timely access to care and States' monitoring and enforcement efforts, reduce burden for some State directed payments and certain quality reporting requirements, add new standards that would apply when States use in lieu of services and settings (ILOSs) to promote effective utilization and specify the scope and nature of ILOS, specify medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements, and establish a quality rating system for Medicaid and CHIP managed care plans.

This final rule sets forth a process by which applicants for official grain inspection services (applicants) may request a service exception, allowing an official agency (OA) to cross boundary lines and perform services outside of its assigned geographic area. While four exception types are authorized in the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA or Act), this final rule focuses on two: the inability to provide services in a timely manner and the nonuse of service from the OA assigned to the applicant's geographic area (assigned OA). This final rule establishes a three-tiered system under which applicants can request a one-time, 90-day, or long-term timely service exception due to untimely service issues. This rule provides that nonuse of service exception requests must be preceded by ninety days without service from the assigned OA. This final rule further amends the regulations to provide criteria the Federal Grain Inspection Service (``FGIS'' or ``the Service'') will use to review, validate, and determine whether to grant service exception requests. This final rule also establishes a process that allows an assigned OA to challenge requests for service exceptions. Finally, this rule provides for FGIS review to ensure the validity of requests.

This document contains proposed regulations that, in certain cases, would terminate the continued application of certain tax provisions arising from a previous transfer of intangible property to a foreign corporation when the intangible property is repatriated to certain United States persons. The proposed regulations would affect certain United States persons that previously transferred intangible property to a foreign corporation.

On March 6, 2023, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) solicited comments on proposed amendments to its regulations to incorporate by reference proposed revisions to three regulatory guides, which would approve new, revised, and reaffirmed code cases published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In addition, the rulemaking proposed to extend the time periods required for licensees to update their codes of record. The public comment period was originally scheduled to close on May 5, 2023. The NRC has decided to extend the public comment period by an additional 42 days to June 16, 2023, to allow more time for members of the public to develop and submit their comments.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to address the unreasonable risk of injury to human health presented by methylene chloride under its conditions of use as documented in EPA's June 2020 Risk Evaluation for Methylene Chloride and November 2022 revised risk determination for methylene chloride prepared under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). TSCA requires that EPA address by rule any unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment identified in a TSCA risk evaluation and apply requirements to the extent necessary so that the chemical no longer presents unreasonable risk. Methylene chloride, also known as dichloromethane, is acutely lethal, a neurotoxicant, a likely human carcinogen, and presents cancer and non-cancer risks following chronic exposures as well as acute risks. Central nervous system depressant effects can result in loss of consciousness and respiratory depression, resulting in irreversible coma, hypoxia, and eventual death, including 85 documented fatalities from 1980 to 2018, a majority of which were occupational fatalities (see Unit II.A.). Nevertheless, methylene chloride is still a widely used solvent in a variety of consumer and commercial applications including adhesives and sealants, automotive products, and paint and coating removers. To address the identified unreasonable risk, EPA is proposing to: prohibit the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of methylene chloride for consumer use; prohibit most industrial and commercial uses of methylene chloride; require a workplace chemical protection program (WCPP), which would include a requirement to meet inhalation exposure concentration limits and exposure monitoring for certain continued conditions of use of methylene chloride; require recordkeeping and downstream notification requirements for several conditions of use of methylene chloride; and provide certain time-limited exemptions from requirements for uses of methylene chloride that would otherwise significantly disrupt national security and critical infrastructure.

The U.S. Copyright Office is amending its regulations governing Copyright Claims Board proceedings to address the filing of agreement- based counterclaims and related discovery requirements.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by vessels using jig gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2023 total allowable catch of Pacific cod by vessels using jig gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.

This final temporary rule implements interim measures to reduce overfishing of gag in Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf). This final temporary rule reduces the 2023 commercial and recreational sector harvest levels for gag and changes the 2023 recreational fishing season for gag in Federal waters of the Gulf. This temporary rule is effective for 180 days, but NMFS may extend the interim measures for a maximum of an additional 186 days. The purpose of this temporary rule is to reduce overfishing of gag while the long- term management measures are developed.

The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) seeks comment on the contours and specific requirements of the proposed 2023 Mandatory Data Collection for incarcerated people's communications services. The Commission has drafted proposed instructions, templates, and a certification form for the proposed 2023 Mandatory Data Collection. The Commission seeks comment on all aspects of these documents.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2022-04-05, which applies to all The Boeing Company Model 757 airplanes and Model 767 airplanes. AD 2022-04-05 requires revising the limitations and operating procedures sections of the existing airplane flight manual (AFM) to incorporate specific operating procedures for landing distance calculations, instrument landing system (ILS) approaches, non-precision approaches, speedbrake deployment, and go- around and missed approaches, when in the presence of 5G C-Band interference as identified by Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs). Since the FAA issued AD 2022-04-05, the FAA determined that additional limitations are needed due to the continued deployment of new 5G C-Band base stations whose signals are expected to cover most of the contiguous United States at transmission frequencies between 3.7-3.98 GHz. This proposed AD would require revising the limitations and operating procedures sections of the existing AFM to incorporate specific operating procedures for landing distance calculations, ILS approaches, non-precision approaches, speedbrake deployment, and go- around and missed approaches, due to the presence of 5G C-Band interference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2022-03-05, which applies to all The Boeing Company Model 747-8F and 747-8 series airplanes and Model 777 airplanes. AD 2022-03-05 requires revising the limitations section of the existing airplane flight manual (AFM) to incorporate limitations prohibiting dispatching or releasing to airports, and approaches or landings on runways, when in the presence of 5G C-Band interference as identified by Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs). Since the FAA issued AD 2022-03-05, the FAA determined that additional limitations are needed due to the continued deployment of new 5G C-Band base stations whose signals are expected to cover most of the contiguous United States at transmission frequencies between 3.7-3.98 GHz. This proposed AD would require revising the limitations section of the existing AFM to incorporate limitations prohibiting dispatching or releasing to airports, and approaches or landings on runways, due to the presence of 5G C-Band interference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2022-09-18, which applies to all The Boeing Company Model 707, 717, and 727 airplanes; Model DC-8, DC-9, and DC-10 airplanes; Model MD-10 and MD-11 airplanes; Model DC-9-81 (MD-81), DC-9-82 (MD-82), DC-9-83 (MD- 83), DC-9-87 (MD-87), and MD-88 airplanes; and Model MD 90-30 airplanes. AD 2022-09-18 requires revising the limitations and operating procedures sections of the existing airplane flight manual (AFM) to incorporate specific operating procedures for, depending on the airplane model, instrument landing system (ILS) approaches, non-precision approaches, ground spoiler deployment, and go-around and missed approaches, when in the presence of 5G C Band interference as identified by Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs). Since the FAA issued AD 2022-09-18, the FAA determined that additional limitations are needed due to the continued deployment of new 5G C-Band base stations whose signals are expected to cover most of the contiguous United States at transmission frequencies between 3.7- 3.98 GHz. This proposed AD would require revising the limitations and operating procedures sections of the AFM to incorporate specific operating procedures for, depending on the airplane model, ILS approaches, non-precision approaches, ground spoiler deployment, and go-around and missed approaches, due to the presence of 5G C-Band interference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish 63 temporary 500- meter safety zones around the construction of 62 wind turbine generators (WTGs) and one electrical service platform (ESP) located in the Vineyard Wind 1 Wind Farm (VW1WF) project area within federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), specifically in the northern portion of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 0501, approximately 12 nautical miles (NM) offshore of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts and 12 NM offshore Nantucket, Massachusetts. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life, property, and the environment during the planned construction of each facility's monopile type foundation and subsequent installation of the WTGs turbines and ESP platform from June 15, 2023, to May 31, 2024. When enforced, only attending vessels and those vessels specifically authorized by the First Coast Guard District Commander, or a designated representative, are permitted to enter or remain in the temporary safety zones. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment a draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1409, ``Guidelines for Lightning Protection for Production and Utilization Facilities.'' This DG is the proposed Revision 1 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.204, ``Guidelines for Lightning Protection of Nuclear Power Plants.'' DG- 1409 describes an approach that is acceptable to the staff of the NRC to meet regulatory requirements for adequate lightning protection of safety-related systems, structures, and components (SSCs). This DG endorses, with clarifications, the methods described in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard (Std.) 665-1995, ``IEEE Standard for Generating Station Grounding''; IEEE Std. 666-2007, ``IEEE Design Guide for Electrical Power Service Systems for Generating Stations''; IEEE Std. 1050-2004, ``IEEE Guide for Instrumentation and Control Equipment Grounding in Generating Stations''; and IEEE Std. C62.23-2017, ``IEEE Application Guide for Surge Protection of Electric Generating Plants.''

The Department of Education (Department) announces final priorities, requirements, and definitions for the State-Tribal Education Partnership (STEP) program, Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.415A. The Department may use one or more of these priorities, requirements, and definitions for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2023 and subsequent years. The Department is taking this action to support the development of partnerships among Tribal educational agencies (TEAs), State educational agencies (SEAs), and local educational agencies (LEAs) to support the creation or expansion of TEAs to directly administer education programs, including formula grant programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), consistent with State law and under a written agreement among the parties.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a safety zone to be enforced in the event of hurricanes, tropical storms, and other disasters in the Florida Keys. This action is necessary to ensure the safety of the waters of the Key West Captain of the Port (COTP) zone Key West, FL. This proposed rulemaking would establish actions to be completed by industry and vessels in the COTP zone prior to landfall of hurricanes, tropical storms, and other disasters threatening the Florida Keys. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the public comment period on our October 9, 2018, proposed rule to list the black-capped petrel (Pterodroma hasitata) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), with a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act to provide for the conservation of this species. We are reopening the comment period to present significant new information we have received since 2018 that is relevant to our consideration of the status of the black-capped petrel and allow interested parties to comment. Comments submitted during the 2018 comment period do not need to be resubmitted and will be fully considered in preparation of our final rule. We encourage those who may have commented previously to submit additional comments, if appropriate, in light of this new information.