January 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the approval of Amendment 18 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Scallop Fishery off Alaska (Scallop FMP). Amendment 18 revises timing requirements for the Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report to allow more flexibility for non-annual assessments and to set scallop harvest specifications less frequently than on an annual basis. This will reduce the burden on staff and provide more time for the development of new stock assessment methods. Amendment 18 is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Scallop FMP, and other applicable laws.

The Export-Import Banks of the United States (EXIM), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal Agencies to comment on the proposed information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this Notice is to announce the initiation of a 30-day period for public comment.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces a forthcoming public advisory committee meeting of the Medical Imaging Drugs Advisory Committee (the Committee). The general function of the Committee is to provide advice and recommendations to FDA on regulatory issues. The meeting will be open to the public. FDA is establishing a docket for public comment on this document.

Siegfried USA, LLC has applied to be registered as a bulk manufacturer of basic class(es) of controlled substance(s). Refer to SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION listed below for further drug information.

The Video Division, Media Bureau (Bureau), has before it a petition for rulemaking filed January 9, 2024, by VPM Media Corporation (Petitioner). The Petitioner requests the allotment of reserved noncommercial educational (NCE) television channel *12 to Waynesboro, Virginia (Waynesboro), as the community's first local television service and its first NCE television service.

This action deletes product(s) from the Procurement List that were furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities.

The Peace Corps will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment in the Federal Register preceding submission to OMB. We are conducting this process in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Utility-scale Solar Energy Development and associated Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendments and by this notice is providing information announcing the opening of the comment period on the Draft Programmatic EIS.

This direct final rule clarifies and provides technical updates to the Small Business Investment Company Investment Diversification and Growth final rule implemented on August 17, 2023 (SBIC IDG Final Rule), which reduced barriers to program participation for new SBIC fund managers and funds investing in underserved communities and geographies, capital intensive investments, and technologies critical to national security and economic development. In the SBIC IDG Final Rule, SBA introduced a new class of SBICs (``Accrual'' SBICs) to unlock more patient capital financing for small businesses through the SBIC program and implement changes to lower financial barriers to program participation for new fund managers. This direct final rule will help SBA implement Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, by reducing financial and administrative barriers to participate in the SBIC program and modernizing the program's license offerings to align with a more diversified set of private funds investing in underserved small businesses.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended (``EPCA''), prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including fans and blowers. EPCA also requires the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') to periodically determine whether more stringent standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified and would result in significant energy savings. In this notice of proposed rulemaking (``NOPR''), DOE proposes energy conservation standards for two categories of fans and blowers: air circulating fans (``ACFs''), and fans and blowers that are not ACFs, referred to as general fans and blowers (``GFBs'') throughout this document. DOE also announces a public meeting to receive comment on these proposed standards and associated analyses and results.

This document sets forth final regulations providing guidance relating to the minimum present value requirements applicable to certain defined benefit pension plans. These regulations provide guidance on changes made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to the prescribed interest rate and mortality table and other guidance, including rules regarding the treatment of preretirement mortality discounts and Social Security level income options. These regulations affect participants, beneficiaries, sponsors, and administrators of defined benefit pension plans.

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA) and other related statutes, such as the FREEDOM Support Act, the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, and the SEED Act of 1989, authorize the U.S. Department of State (Department of State, State, or Department) to provide foreign assistance that seeks to support efforts that would have the effect of protecting and promoting U.S. security, prosperity, and democratic values and shape an international environment to improve the lives of people around the world. To implement the Department's expectation of nondiscrimination against beneficiaries of Department- funded foreign assistance activities, the Department is proposing to amend its Department of State Acquisition Regulation (DOSAR) to include a new contract clause entitled ``Nondiscrimination in Foreign Assistance.'' The proposed clause expressly states that contractors and subcontractors receiving Department-funded foreign assistance funds must not discriminate on specified bases against end-users of supplies or services (also referred to in this rule as beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries) or in certain employment decisions involving persons employed in the performance of this contract and funded in whole or in part with foreign assistance funds except where target populations are specified in the relevant statement of work (SOW) or as otherwise required by U.S. law.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (collectively, the ``agencies'') may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), of which the agencies are members, has approved the agencies' publication for public comment of a proposal to revise and extend for three years, the Foreign Branch Report of Condition (FFIEC 030) and the Abbreviated Foreign Branch Report of Condition (FFIEC 030S), which are currently approved collections of information. The agencies are requesting comment on proposed revisions to the FFIEC 030 report that would incorporate new line items from the FR 2502q, Quarterly Report of Assets and Liabilities of Large Foreign Offices of U.S. Banks (OMB Control No. 7100-0079). The revisions are proposed to take effect as of the June 30, 2024, report date. There are no proposed revisions to the FFIEC 030S at this time.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections, which help us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

On January 10, 2024, the Department of Commerce published notice in the Federal Register of negative final determinations of less than fair value (LTFV) in connection with the subject investigations concerning the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Accordingly, the antidumping duty investigations concerning tin mill products from the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom (Investigation Nos. 731-TA-1602, 1604-1606 (Final)) are terminated.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving Indiana's September 21, 2023, state implementation plan (SIP) submission which revises the 2008 ozone maintenance plan for the Indiana portion (Lake and Porter Counties) of the Chicago Naperville, IL-IN-WI area (Chicago Naperville area). This SIP submission updates onroad vehicle emissions inventories for oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) for the years 2019, 2030 and 2035. In addition to updated emissions inventories, this SIP submission updates the Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets (budgets) for NOX and VOC for the years 2030 and 2035. EPA is approving the allocation of a portion of the safety margins for VOC and NOX in the ozone maintenance plan to the 2030 and 2035 budgets. Total year 2030 and 2035 emissions of NOX and VOC for the area will remain below the attainment level required by the transportation conformity regulations.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish shipping safety fairways (``fairways'') along the Atlantic Coast of the United States, identified in the Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study. Fairways would preserve the safe and reliable transit of vessels along well- established traffic patterns and routes. While vessels are not required to use them, fairways are designed to keep traditional navigation routes free from fixed structures that could impact navigation safety and impede other shared offshore activities. The Coast Guard recognizes that there is increasing interest in offshore commercial development, including offshore renewable energy installations, and believes this development is best served by the establishment of consistent and well- defined fairways. The proposed fairways would help ensure that offshore developments remain viable by allowing developers to construct and maintain installations without risk of impeding vessel traffic. The Coast Guard is also proposing to establish traffic separation schemes and precautionary areas along the Atlantic coast to further improve navigation safety.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the approved Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Royal Gorge Field Office located in eastern Colorado. The Colorado State Director signed the ROD on January 9, 2024, which constitutes the final decision of the BLM and makes the approved RMP effective immediately.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or removes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPS) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure procedures (ODPs) 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 safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

The Family and Youth Service Bureau (FYSB) is proposing to collect comprehensive Prevention Plans from grant recipients that have been awarded funding for a new prevention demonstration project to design and implement prevention and intervention services tailored to prevent at-risk youth from experiencing homelessness.

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: I hereby determine that a certain object being imported from abroad pursuant to an agreement with its foreign owner or custodian for temporary display in the exhibition ``George Gershwin and Modern Art: A Rhapsody in Blue'' at ArtisNaples, The Baker Museum, in Naples, Florida, and at possible additional exhibitions or venues yet to be determined, is of cultural significance, and, further, that its temporary exhibition or display within the United States as aforementioned is in the national interest. I have ordered that Public Notice of these determinations be published in the Federal Register.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), notice is hereby given that the next meeting of the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Advisory Committee (FRRCC) will be held in-person and virtually January 30-31, 2024. The FRRCC provides independent policy advice, information, and recommendations to the Administrator on a range of environmental issues and policies that are of importance to agriculture and rural communities.