2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard will enforce the special local regulations for the annual Opening Day on the San Francisco Bay Boat Parade on April 28, 2024, to provide for the safety of life on navigable waterways in the San Francisco Bay during this event. Our regulation for marine events in Northern California identifies the regulated area for this event in San Francisco, CA. During the enforcement period, unauthorized persons or vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or loitering or anchoring in the regulated area, unless authorized by the designated Patrol Commander (PATCOM) or other law enforcement agencies on scene.

The Coast Guard proposes to amend the regulations establishing safety zones for annual fireworks displays in the Captain of the Port Zone Columbia River. This action would include updating 12 existing safety zones, adding 2 safety zones for fireworks displays that were previously published under temporary regulations, and reordering the table alphabetically. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board published a final rule that revised its representation case procedures. That final rule failed to update certain cross-references. This document corrects those cross-references.

NMFS proposes 2024 harvest specifications for the salmon fishery of the Cook Inlet exclusive economic zone (EEZ) Area. This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for salmon during the 2024 fishing year and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Salmon Fisheries in the EEZ off Alaska (Salmon FMP). The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the salmon resources in Cook Inlet EEZ Area in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act).

This final rule revises the Legal Services Corporation's (LSC or Corporation) regulation prohibiting solicitation of clients. LSC adds definitions for the terms "communicate" and "communication," revises the existing text to make language more active, and clarifies how recipients may interact with client-eligible individuals. The main goal of these revisions is to formalize the interpretations of LSC's rule on solicitation that the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) has issued over the past several years, making clear that recipients may inform client-eligible individuals about their rights and responsibilities and provide them with information about the recipients' intake processes, as well as how recipients may relay that information without violating either LSC's Fiscal Year 1996 appropriations statute or the rule prohibiting solicitation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the North Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), Division of Air Quality, on December 19, 2022. The revision seeks to update the 2026 on-road and nonroad emissions inventories and safety margins, allocate a portion of the newly available 2026 safety margins in the 2008 8-hour Ozone Maintenance Plan to the 2026 nitrogen oxides (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) motor vehicle emissions budgets ("budgets") for the North Carolina portion of the Charlotte-Rock Hill, NC-SC bi-state Area (hereinafter referred to as the "North Carolina portion of the Charlotte Maintenance Area") to accommodate updates from the EPA Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES3) model. The SIP revision also revises the current 2026 budgets based on the MOVES3 updates and recalculates new available safety margins. NCDEQ's December 19, 2022, submission supplements the revised 2008 8-hour Ozone Maintenance Plan submitted by NCDEQ on July 16, 2020, and approved by EPA on August 25, 2021. EPA is proposing to approve North Carolina's December 19, 2022, SIP revision and deem the budgets adequate for transportation conformity purposes because they meet the applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

On March 28, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") published final rules in the Federal Register, titled "The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors" ("Final Rules" or "Rules"), in order to amend its rules under the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") to require registrants to provide certain climate-related information in their registration statements and annual reports. The Final Rules were to become effective on May 28, 2024. This document announces that the effective date of the Final Rules is delayed pending the completion of judicial review in consolidated proceedings in the Eighth Circuit.

We, the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service (Service), revise the regulations concerning the issuance of enhancement of survival and incidental take permits under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The purposes of these revisions are to: clarify the appropriate use of enhancement of survival permits and incidental take permits; clarify our authority to issue these permits for non-listed species without also including a listed species; simplify the requirements for enhancement of survival permits by combining safe harbor agreements and candidate conservation agreements with assurances into one agreement type; and incorporate portions of our five-point policies for safe harbor agreements, candidate conservation agreements with assurances, and habitat conservation plans into the regulations to reduce uncertainty. We also made technical and administrative revisions to the regulations. The regulatory changes are intended to reduce costs and time associated with negotiating and developing the required documents to support the applications. We anticipate that these improvements will encourage more individuals and companies to engage in these voluntary programs, thereby generating greater conservation results overall.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2021-22-05, which applies to all Leonardo S.p.a. (Leonardo) Model A119 and AW119 MKII helicopters. AD 2021-22-05 requires repetitively inspecting certain torque tube assemblies for any deficiency and corrective action if necessary, and replacing any affected part with a serviceable part, which is terminating action for the repetitive inspections. AD 2021-22-05 was prompted by reports of abnormal play on the collective torque tube on two Leonardo Model AW119 MKII helicopters, which were due to an erroneous manufacturing process. Since the FAA issued AD 2021-22-05, it was discovered that additional torque tube assemblies are subject to the unsafe condition. This proposed AD would retain certain requirements specified in AD 2021-22- 05, reduce the applicability to include helicopters with only affected part-numbered collective torque tube assemblies, reduce the inspection intervals, and remove the previously approved terminating 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.

This document contains proposed regulations that would provide guidance regarding the application of the new excise tax on repurchases of corporate stock made after December 31, 2022. The proposed regulations would affect certain publicly traded corporations that repurchase their stock or whose stock is acquired by certain specified affiliates. Another notice of proposed rulemaking (REG-118499-23) on this topic is published in the Proposed Rules section of this issue of the Federal Register to propose rules on procedure and administration applicable to this new excise tax.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing this final rule to align the Pathways Programs with the Federal Government's needs for recruiting and hiring interns and recent graduates. Robust Pathways Programs, with appropriate safeguards to promote their use as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the competitive hiring process, are essential to boosting the Federal Government's ability to recruit and retain early career talent.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is publishing a final rule for Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP). This final rule includes requirements for Agency Safety Plans (ASP), Safety Committees, cooperation with frontline transit worker representatives in the development of ASPs, safety risk reduction programs, safety performance targets, de-escalation training for certain transit workers, and addressing infectious diseases through the Safety Management System (SMS) process. This final rule also finalizes revisions to the regulation to coordinate and align with other FTA programs and safety rulemakings.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of silane, hexadecyltrimethoxy-, hydrolysis products with silica (CAS Reg. No. 199876-45-4) when used as an inert ingredient (Pickering emulsion) on growing crops and raw agricultural commodities pre- and post-harvest at no more than 0.6% by weight of the pesticide formulation. Evonik Corporation, 299 Jefferson Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054 submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting establishment of an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of silane, hexadecyltrimethoxy-, hydrolysis products with silica, when used in accordance with the terms of this exemption.

With the issuance of this final order, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is permanently placing 2-(2-(4- ethoxybenzyl)-1H-benzimidazol-1-yl)-N,N-diethylethan-1-amine (other names: etodesnitazene; etazene), 2-(4-ethoxybenzyl)-5-nitro-1-(2- (pyrrolidin-1-yl)ethyl)-1H-benzimidazole (other names: N-pyrrolidino etonitazene; etonitazepyne), and N,N-diethyl-2-(5-nitro-2-(4- propoxybenzyl)-1H-benzimidazol-1-yl)ethan-1-amine (other name: protonitazene), including their isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, esters, and ethers whenever the existence of such isomers, esters, ethers, and salts are possible within the specific chemical designation, in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. This scheduling action discharges the United States' obligations under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961). This action imposes permanent regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, import, export, engage in research or conduct instructional activities with, or possess), or handle etodesnitazene, N-pyrrolidino etonitazene, and protonitazene.

The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is issuing this temporary scheduling order to extend the temporary schedule I status of butonitazene, flunitazene, and metodesnitazene, as identified in this order. The schedule I status of these three substances currently is in effect through April 12, 2024. This temporary order will extend the temporary scheduling of these three substances for one year, or until the permanent scheduling action for these substances is completed, whichever occurs first.

The Coast Guard is seeking information and comments on a potential regulated navigation area for certain waters surrounding the Port of Miami. The current proposal in consideration would establish a slow speed zone throughout Fisherman's Channel and the Main Ship Channel for vessels less than 150 meters in length. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

On December 26, 2023, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the IRS issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) relating to the credit for production of clean hydrogen and the election to treat clean hydrogen production facilities as energy property, as established and amended by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, respectively. The NPRM referred to the collection of information associated with the process for taxpayers to request an emissions value from the Department of Energy (DOE) to petition the Secretary of the Treasury or her delegate (Secretary) for a provisional emissions rate (PER). This document invites comments on the information collection related to that process.

This document corrects a notice of proposed rulemaking (REG- 100908-23) published in the Federal Register on August 30, 2023, containing proposed regulations regarding increased credit or deduction amounts available for taxpayers satisfying prevailing wage and registered apprenticeship (collectively, PWA) requirements established by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is amending and updating its regulations for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The amendments revise NASA's regulations to better align with the Agency's current and near future actions, adjust the level of NEPA review and documentation required for certain actions, and provide more concise descriptions of NASA actions. Additionally, consistent with NASA's requirement to review existing Categorical Exclusions (CatExs) at least every seven years to determine whether modifications, additions, or deletions are appropriate, this final rule incorporates updates to NASA's CatExs based on that review. With the exception of revisions to the legal authority citations, there are no textual changes between the proposed rule that published for public comment on May 3, 2023, and this final rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is proposing two Clean Air Act (CAA) actions related to the attainment date for the Uinta Basin (Basin), Utah Marginal nonattainment area under the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). First, the Agency is proposing to grant a second 1-year extension of the attainment date for the area. This action would extend the Marginal area attainment date for this area from August 3, 2022, to August 3, 2023. Second, the Agency is proposing to determine that the area attained the standard by the extended attainment date of August 3, 2023, based on certified ozone monitoring data from 2020-2022. This action, if finalized, will fulfill the EPA's statutory obligation to determine whether the Uinta Basin Marginal ozone nonattainment area attained the NAAQS by the attainment date through publication in the Federal Register.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Wyoming on December 30, 2022, and supplemented on August 31, 2023, and November 16, 2023, addressing regional haze (Wyoming 2022 SIP revision). The Wyoming 2022 SIP revision replaces Wyoming's previously approved source-specific nitrogen oxide (NOX) determination for PacifiCorp's Jim Bridger power plant (Jim Bridger) Units 1 and 2 of 0.07 lb/MMBtu for each unit associated with the installation of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) controls to address the long-term strategy. Specifically, the Wyoming 2022 SIP revision finds that conversion from coal-firing to natural gas-firing, together with NOX emission and heat input limits of 0.12 lb/MMBtu (30-day rolling average), 1,314 tons/year, and 21,900,000 MMBtu/year, respectively, allows for identical reasonable progress during the first planning period as the installation SCR controls. Separately, we are also proposing to approve Wyoming's monthly and annual NOX and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions limits for Jim Bridger Units 1-4. The EPA is proposing this action pursuant to sections 110 and 169A of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is renaming and clarifying certain loss-mitigation terms used in VA's regulations. VA is making these changes to align the names and definitions with their general use in the housing finance industry. VA believes that these revisions will help avoid confusion and enable servicers and veterans to address loan defaults more quickly and effectively.

PHMSA is amending the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to maintain alignment with international regulations and standards by adopting various amendments, including changes to proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limitations, and vessel stowage requirements. PHMSA is also withdrawing the unpublished November 28, 2022, Notice of Enforcement Policy Regarding International Standards on the use of select updated international standards in complying with the HMR during the pendency of this rulemaking.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) adopts a Report and Order (Order) amending existing rules and requirements governing the management and administration of the Commission's Universal Service Fund (USF) high-cost program. The modifications adopted in the Order streamline processes, align timelines, and refine certain rules to more precisely address specific situations experienced by carriers.