2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In the notice section of today's Federal Register, the Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties (hereinafter OPCL), a component within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ or Department), has published a notice of a new system of records, Data Protection Review Court Records System, JUSTICE/OPCL-001. In this notice of proposed rulemaking, the OPCL proposes to exempt this system of records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act to protect national security and law enforcement sensitive information, preserve judicial independence, and ensure the integrity of adjudicatory records in cases before the Data Protection Review Court (``DPRC''). For the reasons provided below, the Department proposes to amend its Privacy Act regulations by establishing an exemption for records in this system from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. Public comment is invited.

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.

In response to the Russian Federation's (Russia's) ongoing aggression against Ukraine, as substantially enabled by Belarus, the Department of Commerce is strengthening its existing sanctions under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) against Russia and Belarus, including by expanding the scope of the EAR's Russian and Belarusian Industry Sector Sanctions and by expanding the foreign direct product rule that currently applies to Russia and Belarus to apply to the temporarily occupied Crimea region of Ukraine as well. Additionally, this rule revises recent restrictions targeting Iran's supply of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Russia. This rule also refines existing export controls on Russia and Belarus. The Department of Commerce is taking these actions to enhance the effectiveness of its controls on these countries and to better align them with those implemented by U.S. allies and partners.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or Agency), an agency in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Mission area, published a final rule with comment in the Federal Register on March 1, 2023, to modify its coverage ratio requirements, add an additional set of ratios, update definitions, and add definitions. Through this action, RUS is confirming the final rule as it was published as no public comments were received.

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.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for certain waters of Umatilla Marina. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters near Umatilla, OR, during a fireworks display on June 24th, 2023. This regulation prohibits persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Columbia River or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard proposes to revise regulations associated with the approval, carriage, and maintenance of certain safety equipment required on board vessels and offshore units or facilities. We are taking this action to align the regulations with the current industry practice and provide more transparent regulations for the regulated industry. These proposed revisions would eliminate outdated requirements, reduce inspection and testing requirements, and update standards incorporated by reference. Additionally, this project would remove obsolete sections and align conflicting sections with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for certain waters of the Yaquina Bay. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of participants and the maritime public during a fireworks display on the Yaquina Bay near Newport, Oregon on July 4th, 2023. This regulation prohibits non-participant persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Columbia River or a designated representative.

This document announces the availability of the 2023 Compliance Supplement (2023 Supplement) for the Office of Management and Budget's uniform administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements regulations. This document also offers interested parties an opportunity to comment on the 2023 Supplement.

This action amends Very High Frequency (VHF) Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Federal airway V-260 in support of the FAA's VOR Minimum Operational Network (MON) program.

The Coast Guard will enforce the annual Seafair Air Show Performance safety zone on Lake Washington, Seattle, WA, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on August 3, 2023, and from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day from August 4, 2023, through August 6, 2023. This action is necessary to prevent injury and to protect life and property of the maritime public from the hazards associated with the aerial displays. The regulation prohibits persons and vessels from being in the regulated areas unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Puget Sound or a designated representative.

This action establishes Class E airspace at Marion, IA. This action supports new public instrument procedures.

This final rule implements a new credit assistance program administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Consistent with the funding provided under Subtitle C of Title V of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA), often referred to as the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA), credit assistance is available for safety projects to maintain, upgrade, and repair dams identified in the National Inventory of Dams with a primary owner type of state, local government, public utility, or private. This final rule establishes the process by which the Corps will administer such credit assistance, including the assessment of fees, and also sets forth the policies and procedures that the Corps will use for receiving, evaluating, approving applications, and servicing and monitoring direct loans and loan guarantees.

The FDIC is seeking comment on a proposed rule that would impose special assessments to recover the loss to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF or Fund) arising from the protection of uninsured depositors in connection with the systemic risk determination announced on March 12, 2023, following the closures of Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, CA, and Signature Bank, New York, NY, as required by the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act). The assessment base for the special assessments would be equal to an insured depository institution's (IDI) estimated uninsured deposits, reported as of December 31, 2022, adjusted to exclude the first $5 billion in estimated uninsured deposits from the IDI, or for IDIs that are part of a holding company with one or more subsidiary IDIs, at the banking organization level. The FDIC is proposing to collect special assessments at an annual rate of approximately 12.5 basis points, over eight quarterly assessment periods, which it estimates will result in total revenue of $15.8 billion. Because the estimated loss pursuant to the systemic risk determination will be periodically adjusted, the FDIC would retain the ability to cease collection early, extend the special assessment collection period one or more quarters beyond the initial eight-quarter collection period to collect the difference between actual or estimated losses and the amounts collected, and impose a final shortfall special assessment on a one-time basis after the receiverships for Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank terminate. The FDIC is proposing an effective date of January 1, 2024, with special assessments collected beginning with the first quarterly assessment period of 2024 (i.e., January 1 through March 31, 2024, with an invoice payment date of June 28, 2024).

The purpose of this notificaton is to announce that SBA's Office of Capital Access (OCA) is opening the application period for new Small Business Lending Companies (SBLC) licenses from June 1, 2023, to July 31, 2023, and share the process by which interested entities may apply. SBA is not accepting applications for Community Advantage SBLCs (CA SBLCs) at this time; however, qualified entities may apply under the Community Advantage pilot authority until September 30, 2023.

The EPA is issuing this supplemental proposal that would amend specific provisions in the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule to improve the quality and consistency of the rule by providing for the collection of improved data that would better inform and be relevant to a wide variety of Clean Air Act provisions that the EPA carries out. The EPA recently evaluated the requirements of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule to identify areas of improvement, including updates to the existing calculation, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements, and requested information for collection of additional data to understand new source categories in a proposed rule (June 21, 2022). In this notification, the EPA is proposing additional amendments to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, including updates to the General Provisions to reflect revised global warming potentials, and is proposing to require reporting of greenhouse gas data from additional sectorsspecifically energy consumption; coke calcining; ceramics production; calcium carbide production; and caprolactam, glyoxal, and glyoxylic acid production. The EPA is also proposing additional revisions that would improve implementation of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, such as updates to emissions calculation methodologies; revisions to reporting requirements to improve verification of reported data and the accuracy of the data collected; and other minor technical amendments, corrections, or clarifications. The EPA intends to consider the information received in response to this supplemental proposal prior to finalizing the amendments to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule proposed on June 21, 2022. This action also proposes to establish and amend confidentiality determinations for the reporting of certain data elements to be added or substantially revised in these proposed amendments.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus SAS Model A318 series airplanes; Model A319 series airplanes; Model A320-211, -212, -214, -216, -231, -232, -233, -251N, -252N, - 253N, -271N, -272N, and -273N airplanes; and Model A321 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report that certain overheat detection system (OHDS) sensing elements installed at certain positions might not properly detect thermal bleed leak events due to a quality escape during the manufacturing process. This AD requires a one-time detailed inspection of each affected part installed at an affected position and replacement if necessary, and prohibits the installation of affected parts at affected positions, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is incorporated by reference. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a temporary safety zone for the Monongahela River at mile marker 122-122.5 from 10 p.m. through 10:30 p.m. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters during firework display on July 2, 2023. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Pittsburgh (COTP) or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Coast Guard proposes to create a new operating schedule to govern all movable bridges over the Cuyahoga River. The Coast Guard is also proposing new rules that will assist mariners signal for and anticipate bridge openings. Mariners have raised concerns to the Ninth Coast Guard District Commander regarding the safety and consistency of moveable bridge operations on the Cuyahoga River. These additions are proposed in response to those concerns. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Department of Commerce is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding seventy-one entities to the Entity List. These entities have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States and will be listed on the Entity List under the destinations of Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.