2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document corrects a notice of proposed rulemaking (REG- 101552-24) published in the Federal Register on March 11, 2024, containing proposed regulations that would modify existing regulations to allow certain unincorporated organizations that are organized exclusively to produce electricity from certain property to be excluded from the application of partnership tax rules.

This action amends Class D airspace, Class E airspace designated as an extension to a Class D surface area, and Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface area for Greenbrier Valley Airport, Lewisburg, WV, as the BUSHI non-directional beacon (NDB) is removed from the airspace descriptions. This action amends verbiage in the descriptions, as well as adding additional extensions to the northeast and southwest of the airport.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone to be enforced in the event of hurricanes, tropical storms, and other disasters in the San Juan Captain of the Port (COTP) Zone. This action is necessary to ensure the safety of the waters of the San Juan COTP zone. This regulation establishes actions to be completed by parties operating on and around the navigable waterways of the San Juan COTP zone. This may include the owners and operators, and those in management and control positions of regulated facilities, waterfront facilities, and vessels, prior to landfall of hurricanes, tropical storms, and other disasters threatening the San Juan COTP Zone.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 610 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2024 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 610 in the GOA.

This document announces the acceptance of a means of compliance with FAA regulations for small unmanned aircraft (sUA) Category 2 and Category 3 operations over human beings. The Administrator finds that AVSS's means of compliance for small unmanned aircraft, revision 5.0, dated January 10, 2024, provides an acceptable means, but not the only means, of showing compliance with FAA regulations.

This final rule allocates Northeast multispecies annual catch entitlements to approved groundfish sectors and permit banks for fishing year 2024 based on 2024 annual catch limits set in Framework Adjustment 65 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan or default specifications. This action is intended to allow limited access permit holders to continue to operate sectors, as authorized under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2019-21-01, which applies to all Airbus SAS Model A300 B4-600, B4-600R, and F4-600R series airplanes, and Model A300 C4-605R Variant F airplanes (collectively called Model A300-600 series airplanes). AD 2019-21-01 requires revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations. Since the FAA issued AD 2019-21-01, the FAA has determined that new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. This proposed AD would require revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations, 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.

FWS and NMFS (collectively referred to as the "Services" or "we") finalize revisions to portions of our regulations that implement section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended ("Act"). The revisions to the regulations clarify, interpret, and implement portions of the Act concerning the interagency cooperation procedures.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS; collectively, the "Services"), finalize revisions to portions of our regulations that implement section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The revisions to the regulations clarify, interpret, and implement portions of the Act concerning the procedures and criteria used for listing, reclassifying, and delisting species on the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (Lists) and designating critical habitat.

This action finalizes the residual risk and technology review (RTR) conducted for the Commercial Sterilization Facilities source category regulated under national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) under the Clean Air Act. The EPA is finalizing decisions concerning the RTR, including definitions for affected sources, emission standards for previously unregulated sources, amendments pursuant to the risk review to address ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions from certain sterilization chamber vents (SCVs), aeration room vents (ARVs), chamber exhaust vents (CEVs), and room air emissions, and amendments pursuant to the technology review for certain SCVs and ARVs. In addition, we are taking final action to correct and clarify regulatory provisions related to emissions during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM), including removing exemptions for periods of SSM. We are also taking final action to require owners and operators to demonstrate compliance through the use of EtO continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS), with exceptions for very small users of EtO; add provisions for electronic reporting of performance test results and other reports; and include other technical revisions to improve consistency and clarity. We estimate that these final amendments will reduce EtO emissions from this source category by approximately 21 tons per year (tpy).

This final rule amends the affected regulation by correcting a cross-reference error and updating the mailing address interested persons should use when submitting a petition for rulemaking to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). This action does not create or change any substantive requirement or right.

On October 25, 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in the Federal Register the interim final rules (IFR), "Export Controls on Semiconductor Manufacturing Items" (SME IFR) and "Implementation of Additional Export Controls: Certain Advanced Computing Items; Supercomputer and Semiconductor End Use; Updates and Corrections" (AC/S IFR). This rule corrects inadvertent errors in those rules and makes additional clarifications for the two rules.

This proposed rule would update the hospice wage index, payment rates, and aggregate cap amount for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. This rule proposes changes to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program. This rule also proposes to adopt the most recent Office of Management and Budget statistical area delineations, which would change the hospice wage index. This rule proposes to clarify current policy related to the "election statement" and the "notice of election", as well as to add clarifying language regarding hospice certification. Finally, this rulemaking solicits comments regarding potential implementation of a separate payment mechanism to account for high intensity palliative care services.

These special conditions are issued for The Boeing Company (Boeing) Model 737-8 series airplane. This airplane, as modified by Jet Aviation AG (Jet Aviation), will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport-category airplanes. This design feature is oblique (side-facing) single-occupant seats equipped with airbag devices or 3-point restraints. 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 Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (CIRCIA), as amended, requires the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to promulgate regulations implementing the statute's covered cyber incident and ransom payment reporting requirements for covered entities. CISA seeks comment on the proposed rule to implement CIRCIA's requirements and on several practical and policy issues related to the implementation of these new reporting requirements.

The Department of Education (Department) issues priorities, requirements, and definition for use in the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence (Hawkins) Program, Assistance Listing Number 84.428A. The Department may use one or more of these priorities, requirements, and definition for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2024 and later years. We intend for these priorities, requirements, and definition to help increase the number of, and retain, well-prepared teachers from diverse backgrounds, resulting in a more diverse teacher workforce prepared to teach in our Nation's underserved elementary and secondary schools and close student opportunity and achievement gaps.

This action modifies the San Juan Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, PR (SJU), Class C airspace by adding a cutout to the surface area near the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport, PR (SIG). The FAA is taking this action to enhance safety and enable more efficient operations at SJU and SIG.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for navigable waters within a 500-yard radius of Tug Nancy Anne, Tug Champion, Tug General, Tug WM Boyd, Tug Shirley Ann and crew boat Timmy V. The safety zone is needed to protect the remotely operated vehicle survey operations from other vessels. Entry of vessels into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Northern Great Lakes.

In a final rule published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2022, and effective on January 30, 2023, we amended the regulations governing domestic quarantines for various plant pests by removing lists of quarantined areas and regulated articles from the regulations in order to maintain these lists on web pages maintained by the Agency. However, in the regulations governing black stem rust, we incorrectly stated that the web page listing articles determined to be rust- resistant only listed species and varieties of the genus Berberis, rather than species and varieties of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia. Therefore, we are amending the paragraph to correct the omission.

This final rule amends Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations by adding procedures regarding DHS's authority to debar from entering U.S. ports vessels owned or chartered by an entity found to be in violation of certain laws and regulations relating to the performance of longshore work by nonimmigrant crew members. The new procedures govern how U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) provides notice to a vessel owner or operator of a debarment and how the owner or operator may request mitigation. The new procedures will ensure that the vessel debarment process is consistent, fair, and transparent.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted to the Secretary of Commerce for review, Amendment 113 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). If approved, Amendment 113 would modify specific provisions of the Central Gulf of Alaska (CGOA) Rockfish Program (RP) to change the season start date, remove the catcher vessel (CV) cooperative holding cap, and revise the processing and harvesting caps implemented in the RP. This action is necessary to provide increased flexibility and efficiency, and better ensure the rockfish species total allowable catch (TAC) is fully harvested and landed in Kodiak while still maintaining the intent of the RP. Amendment 113 is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the FMP, and other applicable laws.

This final rule makes non-substantive, technical, organizational, and conforming amendments to existing Coast Guard regulations. This final rule is a continuation of our practice of periodically issuing rules to keep our regulations up-to-date and accurate. This final rule will have no substantive effect on the regulated public.

This rule proposes changes and updates to the policies and payment rates used under the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for FY 2025. First, we are proposing to rebase and revise the SNF market basket to reflect a 2022 base year. Next, we are proposing to update the wage index used under the SNF PPS to reflect data collected during the most recent decennial census. Additionally, we are proposing several technical revisions to the code mappings used to classify patients under the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) to improve payment and coding accuracy. Finally, this proposed rule includes a Request for Information (RFI) on potential updates to the Non-Therapy Ancillary (NTA) component of PDPM. This rulemaking also proposes to update the requirements for the SNF Quality Reporting Program and the SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program. We are also proposing to expand CMS' enforcement authority for imposing civil money penalties (CMPs). Finally, this proposed rule includes proposals to strengthen nursing home enforcement requirements.

This rulemaking proposes to update the prospective payment rates, the outlier threshold, and the wage index for Medicare inpatient hospital services provided by Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities (IPF), which include psychiatric hospitals and excluded psychiatric units of an acute care hospital or critical access hospital. This rulemaking also proposes to revise the patient-level adjustment factors, the Emergency Department adjustment, and the payment amount for electroconvulsive therapy. These proposed changes would be effective for IPF discharges occurring during the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025 (FY 2025). In addition, this proposed rule seeks to adopt a new quality measure and modify reporting requirements under the IPF Quality Reporting Program beginning with the FY 2027 payment determination. Furthermore, this proposed rule solicits comments through Requests for Information (RFIs) regarding potential future revisions to the IPF PPS facility-level adjustments and regarding the development of a standardized IPF Patient Assessment Instrument.

On December 12, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an interim final rule, which amended regulations to update information that was no longer accurate since the creation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), the Web-based system DHS uses to collect and maintain current and ongoing information on Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified schools, F-1 and M-1 nonimmigrant students, and J-1 Exchange Visitor Program participants and their sponsors. DHS is now issuing this final rule that introduces no substantive changes from the interim final rule.