July 24, 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold public meetings of the Council, including joint meetings with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board, the ASMFC Interstate Fishery Management Program Policy Board, and the ASMFC Bluefish Management Board.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is announcing a public meeting of the Science Advisory Board Environmental Justice Screen (EJScreen) Review Panel. The purpose of the meeting is to review and discuss the Panel's draft report on the EPA's EJScreen mapping and screening tool.

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 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Information Collection Request for Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)'' (EPA ICR No. 2606.03, OMB Control No. 2040-0297) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act . Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a proposed extension of the LCRR ICR with additional information on the potential burden that may result from respondents (public water systems, primacy agencies, and EPA) consulting EPA's recommendations in ``Guidance for Developing and Maintaining a Service Line Inventory'' (August 2022, EPA 816-B-22-001) (referred to as Service Line (SL) Inventory Guidance) when seeking to comply with the requirements of the LCRR. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. While this ICR covers a period of time following the LCRR compliance date, October 16, 2024, EPA intends to revise many parts of the LCRR through the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) prior to that compliance date. EPA intends to promulgate LCRI by October 16, 2024. EPA intends to issue an ICR that would revise the information collection to reflect the requirements under LCRI when it proposes and promulgates the LCRI.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 60- day public comment period associated with release of the draft IRIS Toxicological Review of Perfluorohexane Sulfonate (PFHxS) and Related Salts. The draft assessment was prepared by the Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment (CPHEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD). EPA is releasing this draft IRIS assessment for public comment in advance of a contractor-led peer review. Public comments received will be provided to the external peer reviewers. ERG, a contractor to EPA, will convene a public meeting to discuss the draft report during Step 4 of the IRIS Process. The external peer reviewers will consider public comments submitted in response to this notice and those provided at the public meeting when reviewing this assessment. EPA will consider all comments received when revising the assessment post-peer review. This draft assessment is not final as described in EPA's information quality guidelines, and it does not represent, and should not be construed to represent Agency policy or views.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that The Siam Industrial Wire Co. Ltd. (SIW) made sales of subject merchandise in the United States at prices below normal value during the period of review (POR) January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021.

Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines on the Conduct of Matching Programs, notice is hereby given of the conduct of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Do Not Pay (DNP) Computer Matching Program.

As part of its Provider of Choice effort, BPA is publishing a draft policy that describes the agency's long-term power sales marketing approach for the period following the expiration of existing long-term power sales contracts on September 30, 2028. The draft policy describes the agency's products and service offerings for this next contract period and how the agency proposes to distribute the costs and benefits from its system of federal resources, which includes the Federal Columbia River Power System, the Columbia Generating Station, as well as non-federal resources and short-term purchases of power power from the spot market. BPA expects to release the final policy and record of decision in early calendar year 2024, once all public comments have been reviewed. Following finalization of the policy, BPA will undertake a follow-on process to implement the policy through negotiation and development of contracts with the goal to offer and execute new long-term contracts by late 2025. Bonneville will use the time between contract signing and the start of power deliveries on October 1, 2028, to ready systems to ensure a smooth transition between contracts.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to the Wisconsin state implementation plan (SIP) revising air emissions reporting requirements codified in Chapter 438 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code (Wis. Admin. Code). Additionally, EPA is approving a related infrastructure requirement under section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2012 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The infrastructure requirements are designed to ensure that the structural components of each state's air quality management program are adequate to meet the state's responsibilities under the CAA. EPA proposed to approve this action on March 23, 2023, and received no adverse comments.

We, NMFS, propose to designate critical habitat for the Rice's whale (Balaenoptera ricei) by designating waters from the 100 meter (m) isobath to the 400 m isobath in the Gulf of Mexico (GOMx), pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We have considered economic, national security, and other relevant impacts of the proposed designation. We are not excluding any particular area from the critical habitat designation. We seek comments on all aspects of the proposed critical habitat designation and will consider information received before issuing a final designation.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing to revise the BLM's oil and gas leasing regulations. Among other things, the proposed rule would reflect provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act pertaining to royalty rates, rentals, and minimum bids, and would update the bonding requirements for leasing, development, and production. The proposed rule would also improve the BLM's leasing process to ensure proper stewardship of public lands and resources and would revise some operating requirements.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received applications for permits to conduct activities intended to enhance the propagation or survival of endangered or threatened species under the ESA. We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on these applications. Before issuing any of the requested permits, we will take into consideration any information that we receive during the public comment period.

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a Priority Mail Express International, Priority Mail International & First-Class Package International Service contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Competitive Product List in the Mail Classification Schedule.

A national public hearing is being held to consider and take evidence on proposals to amend the pricing formulas in the 11 Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs).

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) issues this final interpretation, which revises and supersedes its interpretation published on August 12, 2021 (the 2021 interpretation). This interpretation revises and clarifies the Department's position on the legality of State laws and regulations that govern various aspects of the servicing of Federal student loans, such as preventing unfair or deceptive practices, correcting misapplied payments, or addressing refusals to communicate with borrowers. The Department concludes that these State laws are preempted by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) and other applicable Federal laws only in limited and discrete respects, as further discussed in this interpretation. This interpretation will help facilitate close coordination between the Department and its State partners to further enhance both servicer accountability and borrower protections.