2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to consolidate existing contract clauses for the management and reporting of Government property into a single contract clause. The final rule also replaces references to legacy software applications used for reporting Government property within the DoD enterprise-wide eBusiness platform, and converts existing form-based processes into electronic processes within that platform.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement an Executive Order pertaining to project labor agreements in Federal construction projects.

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Desmet, SD. The FAA is proposing this action due to the development of new public instrument procedures and to support instrument flight rule (IFR) operations.

This action establishes Class E airspace at Liberty, TX. The FAA is taking this action to support new public instrument procedures.

This action delays the original effective date in the final rule published on October 18, 2023. This action also republishes the text of that final rule establishing Class E airspace at Uvalde, TX.

This action modifies the Class E airspace designated as a surface area and modifies the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport, Tanana, AK. These modifications correct administrative errors contained within a previous airspace action and support the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action proposes to modify the Class E airspace designated as a surface area, modify the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface, and remove the Class E airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface at Mammoth Lakes Airport, Mammoth Lakes, CA. Additionally, this action proposes administrative amendments to update the airport's existing Class E airspace legal descriptions. These actions would support the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia are transferring a portion of their 2023 commercial summer flounder quotas to the State of New Jersey. These adjustments to the 2023 fishing year quota are necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of the revised 2023 commercial quotas for North Carolina, Virginia, and New Jersey.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is extending the comment period for the advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding transit worker hours of service and fatigue risk management, published on October 30, 2023, with the original comment period closing on December 29, 2023. The extension is based on concerns from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) that the comment period did not provide sufficient time to review and provide comprehensive comments to the ANPRM due to two Federal holidays and the closure of many offices between Christmas and New Year's Day. FTA recognizes that others interested in commenting may have similar concerns and agrees that the comment period should be extended.

NMFS announces 2024 specifications for the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries, and projected 2025 specifications for summer flounder and scup. The implementing regulations for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan require us to publish specifications for the upcoming fishing year for each of these species and to respond to public comments received during the public comment period. This action is intended to inform the public of the specifications for the start of the 2024 fishing year for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. A Supplemental Information Report (SIR) was prepared for the 2024 black sea bass specifications. An Environmental Assessment (EA) was prepared for the 2024 and projected 2025 summer flounder and scup specifications.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Georgia, through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) via a letter dated October 20, 2022. The revision seeks to change Georgia's Rules for Air Quality Control in the SIP by removing the 1971 annual and 24-hour ambient air quality primary standard for sulfur dioxide (SO2), which no longer applied in Georgia as of April 30, 2022. EPA is proposing to approve this SIP revision because the State has demonstrated that this change is consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is issuing this proposed rule to address its process for reviewing, determining, and allocating reasonable fees for claim representation, and to address the effect on direct payment of the termination of an agent's or attorney's VA accreditation.

The Coast Guard is temporarily modifying the operating schedule that governs the draw of the Zuckerman Brothers (McDonald Island) bridge, mile 2.3, across Turner Cut, near Stockton, CA. This action is necessary to allow the bridge owner, Reclamation District 2030 (RD2030), to complete design plans and conduct repairs to the bridge to bring it back to its normal operating status.

The Department of Labor's (Department or DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is considering revisions to Schedule A of the permanent labor certification process to include occupations in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and other non- STEM occupations and invites employers and other interested parties to comment on this Request for Information (RFI). ETA's Office of Foreign Labor Certification developed this RFI and is publishing it for comment so that the public may provide input, including data, statistical metrics or models, studies, and other relevant information, on how the Department may establish a reliable, objective, and transparent methodology for revising Schedule A to include STEM and other non-STEM occupations that are experiencing labor shortages, consistent with requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The Department wants to ensure that it is striking an appropriate balance between the need to provide U.S. workers notice of available permanent job opportunities and the opportunity to apply for those job opportunities, and, where insufficient U.S. workers are available to satisfy an employer's need for permanent labor, the need to provide employers access to foreign labor through effective administration of the permanent labor certification program. Information received from the public will help inform decisions regarding whether or how to improve Schedule A and ensure that its purpose in responding to national labor shortages is more effectively met.

This document finalizes rules related to the fees established by the No Surprises Act for the Federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) process, as established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). These final rules amend existing regulations to provide that the administrative fee amount charged by the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services (the Departments) to participate in the Federal IDR process, and the ranges for certified IDR entity fees for single and batched determinations, will be set by the Departments through notice and comment rulemaking. The preamble to these final rules also sets forth the methodology used to calculate the administrative fee and the considerations used to develop the certified IDR entity fee ranges. This document also finalizes the amount of the administrative fee for disputes initiated on or after the effective date of these rules. Finally, this document finalizes the certified IDR entity fee ranges for disputes initiated on or after the effective date of these rules.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a revision to the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District's (GBUAPCD or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision governs the District's issuance of permits for stationary sources, and focuses on the preconstruction review and permitting of major sources and major modifications under part D of title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act'').

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve, as a revision of the Nevada state implementation plan (SIP), the State's second 10-year plan for maintaining the 1997 8-hour ozone standard in Clark County (``Clark County Second Maintenance Plan'' or ``Plan''). The Clark County Second Maintenance Plan includes, among other elements, a base year emissions inventory, a maintenance demonstration, contingency provisions, and motor vehicle emissions budgets for use in transportation conformity determinations to ensure the continued maintenance of the 1997 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone (``1997 ozone NAAQS'' or ``1997 8-hour ozone standard''). With this proposed rulemaking, the EPA is initiating the adequacy process for the 2017, 2023, and 2033 motor vehicle emissions budgets. The EPA is proposing these actions because the SIP revision meets the applicable statutory and regulatory requirements for such plans and motor vehicle emissions budgets.

This action proposes to amend the Class E airspace at Ebensburg, PA. The FAA is proposing this action as the result of an airspace review conducted due to the decommissioning of the Revloc very high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR) as part of the VOR Minimum Operating Network (MON) Program. This action will bring the airspace into compliance with FAA orders to support instrument flight rule (IFR) operations.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Leonardo S.p.a Model AW169 helicopters. This proposed AD was prompted by a determination that new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. This proposed AD would require revising the airworthiness limitations section (ALS) of the existing helicopter maintenance manual or instructions for continued airworthiness (ICA) for your helicopter and the existing approved maintenance or inspection program for your helicopter, as applicable, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This action proposes to revoke Colored Federal airway Amber 1 (A-1) in Alaska due to the pending decommissioning of the navigational aids (NAVAID) that support the airway.

This action proposes to amend Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Federal Airway V-220 and revoke VOR Federal Airways V-79 and V-380. The FAA is proposing this action due to the planned decommissioning of the VOR portion of the Hastings, NE (HSI), VOR/Distance Measuring Equipment (VOR/DME) navigational aid (NAVAID). The Hastings VOR is being decommissioned in support of the FAA's VOR Minimum Operational Network (MON) program.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2022-08-12, which applies to all The Boeing Company Model 757 airplanes. AD 2022-08-12 requires repetitive inspections for skin cracking and shim migration at the upper link drag fittings, diagonal brace cracking, and fastener looseness; and applicable on-condition actions. Since the FAA issued AD 2022-08-12, it was determined that certain drag fittings may be made of alternate materials, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the engine strut, and that additional inspections and revised compliance times are needed. This proposed AD would retain the requirements of AD 2022-08-12 with revised compliance times for certain actions and would add inspections for existing repairs and applicable on-condition actions. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is amending the official commentary to its Regulation Z in order to make annual adjustments to the asset-size thresholds exempting certain creditors from the requirement to establish an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan (HPML). These changes reflect updates to the exemption from the escrow requirement in the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) for creditors that, together with their affiliates that regularly extended covered transactions secured by first liens, had total assets of less than $2 billion (adjusted annually for inflation). They also reflect updates to the exemption the CFPB added, by implementing section 108 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA), for certain insured depository institutions and insured credit unions with assets of $10 billion or less (adjusted annually for inflation). These amendments are based on the annual percentage change in the average of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Based on the 4.1 percent increase in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November 2023, the exemption threshold for creditors and their affiliates that regularly extended covered transactions secured by first liens is adjusted to $2.640 billion from $2.537 billion and the exemption threshold for certain insured depository institutions and insured credit unions with assets of $10 billion or less is adjusted to $11.835 billion from $11.374 billion.

This action proposes to establish restricted area R-4601 in the vicinity of Townsend, MT. The new restricted area would provide the Montana Army National Guard (MTARNG) and the 40th Helicopter Squadron with the ability to conduct aerial gunnery training.

On December 1, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that revised water quality standards are necessary to protect aquatic life in certain water quality management zones of the Delaware River. Specifically, the EPA issued an Administrator's Determination, pursuant to the Clean Water Act (CWA), finding that a revised designated use to protect aquatic life propagation and corresponding dissolved oxygen criteria to protect that use are necessary in Zone 3, Zone 4, and the upper portion of Zone 5 (in total, river miles 108.4 to 70.0) of the Delaware River. The CWA requires the EPA to publish proposed water quality standards following an Administrator's Determination. Thus, the EPA is proposing to promulgate an aquatic life designated use that includes propagation and protective water quality criteria for dissolved oxygen for Zone 3, Zone 4, and upper Zone 5 of the Delaware River.