2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard will enforce the special local regulation for the Charleston Parade of Boats on December 9, 2023, to provide for the safety of life on navigable waterways during this event. Our regulation for marine events within the Captain of the Port Charleston identifies the regulated area for this event in Charleston, SC. During the enforcement period, no person or vessel may enter, transit through, anchor in, or remain within the regulated area unless authorized by the Coast Guard Patrol Commander or a designated representative.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing revisions to the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for lead and copper under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). In this document, EPA is proposing to require water systems to replace lead service lines, remove the lead trigger level, reduce the lead action level to 0.010 mg/L, and strengthen tap sampling procedures, among other changes that would improve public health protection and simplify the rule relative to the 2021 Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR). This proposed rule provides improvements in the additional following areas: corrosion control treatment, public education and consumer awareness, requirements for small systems, and sampling in schools and child care facilities. EPA's proposed rule aims to address potential disproportionate impacts of lead in drinking water in communities, including through proposed lead service line replacement and public education, among other areas of the proposed rule.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Leonardo S.p.a. Model AB412 and AB412 EP helicopters. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of cracks in the lateral mounts of the main transmission support case. This proposed AD would require repetitive visual inspections and fluorescent penetrant inspections (FPI) and, depending on the results, corrective action, 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.

Because the EPA received adverse comment on eight amendments in the direct final rule published on August 9, 2023, we are withdrawing amendments to specific provisions through correction to the direct final rule.

This action corrects a final rule published by the FAA in the Federal Register on November 16, 2023, that amends restricted area R- 2512 in the vicinity of Holtville, CA.

The Video Division, Media Bureau (Bureau), has before it a petition for rulemaking filed September 27, 2023, by Carolina Christian Broadcasting, Inc. (Petitioner), the licensee of WGGS-TV, channel 2, Greenville, South Carolina (Station or WGGS). The Petitioner requests the substitution of channel 29 for channel 2 at Greenville, South Carolina (Greenville) in the Table of TV Allotments.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Deutsche Aircraft GmbH Model 328-100 and -300 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by operator reports of worn and ruptured bonding straps inside the feeder wing tanks and in both outer and inner wing tanks. This proposed AD would require a one-time detailed inspection of each affected part, and applicable corrective actions, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference (IBR). The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG (RRD) Model Trent 1000-AE3, Trent 1000-CE3, Trent 1000-D3, Trent 1000-G3, Trent 1000-H3, Trent 1000-J3, Trent 1000-K3, Trent 1000-L3, Trent 1000-M3, Trent 1000-N3, Trent 1000-P3, Trent 1000-Q3, and Trent 1000-R3 engines. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of wear in the combining spill-valve (CSV) assembly of certain hydro-mechanical units (HMUs). This proposed AD would require removing certain HMUs from service and replacing with a serviceable part or modifying the HMU by replacing the CSV assembly, which is an optional terminating action; and would prohibit installing certain HMUs unless the HMU is a serviceable part, 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.

NMFS publishes revisions to the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications for the 2024 groundfish fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) that are required by the final rule implementing Amendment 122 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). This action is necessary to revise the 2024 trawl catcher vessel sector's Pacific cod allocation of the total allowable catch and associated halibut and crab prohibited species catch (PSC) limits in the BSAI. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the BSAI in accordance with the FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act).

This document corrects a notice of proposed rulemaking (REG- 134420-10) published in the Federal Register on August 7, 2023, modifying regulations applicable to affiliated and controlled groups of corporations in order to reflect statutory changes, update language to remove antiquated or regressive terminology, and enhance clarity. The correction makes parallel amendments to similar regulations applicable to controlled groups of corporations.

This document provides notification of substantive rules issued by the Coast Guard that were made temporarily effective but expired before they could be published in the Federal Register. This document lists temporary safety zones, security zones, and special local regulations, all of limited duration and for which timely publication in the Federal Register was not possible. This document also announces notifications of enforcement for existing reoccurring regulations that we issued but were unable to be published before the enforcement period ended.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving into the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) a source-specific volatile organic compound (VOC) limit, excluding water and exempt solvents, for the applicable process lines at Forest City Technologies, Plant 4, in Wellington, Ohio as contained in the June 23, 2020, operating permit issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. On August 14, 2023, EPA proposed to approve this action and received no adverse comments.

The DoD is finalizing amendments to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulation to update organizational names, add additional FOIA Requester Service Centers, and adopt the standards in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Template for Agency FOIA Regulations noting the decision to participate in FOIA alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services is voluntary on the part of the requester and DoD.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Report and Order implementing the Safe Connections Act of 2022 (Safe Connections Act or SCA), taking significant steps to improve access to communications services for survivors of domestic abuse and related crimes. The Report and Order adopts rules to implement the line separation provisions in the Safe Connections Act that allow survivors to separate a mobile phone line from an abuser. To protect the privacy of calls and texts to hotlines, the Report and Order requires covered providers and wireline, fixed wireless, and fixed satellite providers of voice service to: omit from consumer-facing logs of calls and text messages any records of calls or text messages to covered hotlines in the central database established by the Commission; and maintain internal records of calls and text messages excluded from consumer- facing logs of calls and text messages. The Report and Order also designates the Lifeline program to support emergency communications service for survivors that have pursued the line separation process and are experiencing financial hardship.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list the northern distinct population segment (DPS) of the western spadefoot (Spea hammondii), an amphibian occurring in central and northern California, and the southern DPS of the western spadefoot, occurring in southern California and northwestern Mexico, as threatened DPSs under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. This determination serves as our 12-month finding on a petition to list the western spadefoot range-wide. After a review of the best scientific and commercial information available, we find that listing the northern and southern DPSs of the western spadefoot as threatened is warranted. Accordingly, we propose to list the northern and southern DPSs of the western spadefoot as threatened DPSs with a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act (``4(d) rule''). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would add the northern DPS and southern DPS of the western spadefoot to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and extend the Act's protections to the two DPSs. Due to the current lack of data sufficient to perform required analyses, we conclude that the designation of critical habitat for the northern DPS and southern DPS of the western spadefoot is not determinable at this time.

NMFS proposes 2024 and 2025 harvest specifications, apportionments, and prohibited species catch allowances for the groundfish fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2024 and 2025 fishing years and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). The 2024 harvest specifications supersede those previously set in the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications, and the 2025 harvest specifications will be superseded in early 2025 when the final 2025 and 2026 harvest specifications are published. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the BSAI in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

This final rule announces allocation carryover from fishing year 2022 into fishing year 2023 for the Northeast Multispecies sectors program. This action is necessary to distribute carryover quota to sectors. The carryover adjustments in this rule are routine and formulaic, and industry expects them each year.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is removing a regulation that addresses the circumstances under which a Veteran is to repay the value of training and rehabilitation supplies and the exceptions where repayment is not required. A prior version of the regulation's authorizing statute contained a provision that permitted VA to require the return or repayment of books, supplies, or equipment if a Veteran failed to complete a course of vocational rehabilitation due to fault on their part. However, because the authorizing statute no longer contains that provision, and because there is no statutory authority allowing VA to require reimbursement of books, supplies, or equipment under any circumstance where a Veteran fails to complete a course of vocational rehabilitation, VA is removing the governing regulation.

This rule amends, suspends, or removes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide for the safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

This document contains proposed regulations that would provide guidance regarding the excluded entity provisions with respect to the clean vehicle credit as amended by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The proposed regulations would also provide clarity on definitions with respect to new clean vehicles eligible for the clean vehicle credit. The proposed regulations would affect qualified manufacturers of new clean vehicles and taxpayers who purchase and place in service new clean vehicles.

This action amends Class D and Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface for Smith Reynolds Airport, Winston Salem, NC. This action also establishes Class E airspace designated as an extension to a Class D surface area and amends verbiage in the description.

The Department of State (the Department), pursuant to its regulations and in the interest of the security of the United States, temporarily modifies the United States Munitions List (USML) Category VIII.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) provides this notification of proposed interpretive rule and request for public comment on its interpretation of the statutory definition of ``foreign entity of concern'' (FEOC) in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). This statutory definition provides that, among other criteria, a foreign entity is a FEOC if it is ``owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a government of a foreign country that is a covered nation.'' In this document, DOE proposes to clarify the term ``foreign entity of concern'' by providing interpretations of the following key terms: ``government of a foreign country;'' ``foreign entity;'' ``subject to the jurisdiction;'' and ``owned by, controlled by, or subject to the direction of.''

This rulemaking would increase the recording time of cockpit voice recorders from the mandated 2 hours to a proposed 25-hour recording time for all future manufactured aircraft. This rulemaking would provide accident investigators, aircraft operators, and civil aviation authorities with substantially more cockpit voice recorder data to help find the probable causes of incidents and accidents, prevent future incidents and accidents, and make the FAA's regulations more consistent with existing international requirements.