2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document corrects a notice of proposed rulemaking (REG- 123376-22) published in the Federal Register on March 29, 2024, containing proposed amendments to the regulations relating to the disclosure of specified return information to the Bureau of the Census (Bureau).

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a temporary safety zone for certain waters in the vicinity of the Virginia Beach oceanfront. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters during an air show. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from entry in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Virginia (COTP) or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for navigable waters within a 250-yard radius of a fireworks barge located in the Appomattox River, near City Point, in Hopewell, VA. The purpose of this rulemaking is to ensure the safety of persons and vessels, and to protect the marine environment within the navigable waters proximate to fireworks displays, before, during, and after the scheduled events. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Virginia.

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the Bacillus thuringensis Cry1B.868 and Cry1Da_7 proteins (hereafter Cry1B.868 and Cry1Da_7) when used as a Plant-Incorporated Protectant (PIP) in or on the food and feed commodities of corn: corn, field; corn, sweet, and corn, pop. Bayer U.S.Crop Science submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of Cry1B.868 and Cry1Da_7 proteins.

The National Park Service is temporarily revising regulations for the National Capital Region. This revision will allow the Society of the First Infantry Division to hold an official dedication ceremony at the First Division Monument in Washington, DC, which is located in an area otherwise closed to demonstrations and special events. The ceremony, including setup and takedown, will last for no longer than three days, and occur between May 22 and May 29, 2024.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing that we have filed a petition, submitted by Lonza Greenwood LLC, proposing that the color additive regulations be amended to provide for the safe use of sodium copper chlorophyllin in dietary supplement capsules in an amount ranging from 0.08 to 0.4 percent of the weight of the capsule, and to add fescue grass (Festuca arundinacea) as a permitted source of the color additive.

Pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA or Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the State of Missouri's Underground Storage Tank (UST) program submitted by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). This action also codifies EPA's approval of Missouri's State program and incorporates by reference those provisions of the State regulations that we have determined meet the requirements for approval. The provisions will be subject to EPA's inspection and enforcement authorities under RCRA and other applicable statutory and regulatory provisions.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is adopting a final rule amending the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) to incorporate a general license that was previously published on OFAC's website. In particular, the rule incorporates, with amendments, a general license relating to the export, reexport, and provision of certain services, software, and hardware incident to communications over the internet. This amendment also makes additional conforming changes.

This action establishes Class C airspace and removes Class D airspace at the Harrisburg International Airport (MDT), PA. The Class C airspace created is larger than the existing Class D airspace at MDT and is described as areas A through F. In addition, the non-regulatory Terminal Radar Service Area (TRSA) is removed. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the efficient management of air traffic operations and reduce the potential for midair collision in the MDT terminal area.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2020-25-07, which applies to certain Embraer S.A. Model EMB-550 and EMB-545 airplanes. AD 2020-25-07 requires repetitive inspections of the flight deck side windows for any cracking or delamination, corrective action if necessary, and eventual replacement of the windows. Since the FAA issued AD 2020-25-07, additional part numbers were added to the installation prohibition list. This proposed AD would continue to require the actions in AD 2020-25-07, expand the list of affected parts, and prohibit the installation of affected parts, as specified in an Ag[ecirc]ncia Nacional de Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC) AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference (IBR). The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is issuing this final rule updating the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (Standards). The final rule updates the Standards based on OGE's experience gained from application of the regulation since its inception. The final rule also incorporates past interpretive guidance, adds and updates regulatory examples, improves clarity, updates citations, and makes technical corrections.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 787-9 and 787-10 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports that some floor beam side-of-body fittings have been manufactured with an incorrect material type. This proposed AD would require replacing the incorrectly manufactured floor beam side-of-body fittings, inspecting the fuselage frame and fastener holes for damage, and repairing any damage. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2023-25-07, which applies to all Dassault Aviation Model MYSTERE-FALCON 900 airplanes. AD 2023-25-07 requires revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations. Since the FAA issued AD 2023-25- 07, the FAA has determined that new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. This proposed AD would continue to require certain actions in AD 2023-25-07 and 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.

This document gives notice of an amendment to prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) 2006-06, a class exemption issued under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The exemption permits a "qualified termination administrator" (QTA) of an individual account pension plan that has been abandoned by its sponsoring employer to select itself to provide services to the plan in connection with the plan's termination and pay itself fees for the services. This amendment to PTE 2006-06 permits chapter 7 trustees who elect to be QTAs to rely on the exemption. This amendment to PTE 2006- 06 also permits "eligible designees" of such chapter 7 trustees to rely on the exemption. The amendment is issued in connection with amendments to three related regulations under ERISA, published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, that provide streamlined procedures for the termination of, and distribution of benefits from, abandoned individual account pension plans. The amendment would affect employee pension benefit plans (primarily small defined contribution plans), participants and beneficiaries of such plans, service providers, and individuals appointed to serve as bankruptcy trustees under chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the comment period for the proposed rule entitled "Revisions to Standards for the Open Burning/Open Detonation of Waste Explosives." EPA published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on March 20, 2024 (89 FR 19952) and the public comment period was scheduled to end on May 20, 2024. However, EPA has received requests for additional time to develop and submit comments on the proposal. In response to the requests for additional time, EPA is extending the comment period for an additional 31 days, through June 20, 2024.

NMFS announces the 2024 recreational fishing season for the Federal charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) component for red snapper in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) through this temporary rule. The red snapper recreational for-hire component in the Gulf EEZ opens on June 1, 2024, and will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 28, 2024. This closure is necessary to prevent the Federal for-hire component from exceeding its quota and to prevent overfishing of the Gulf red snapper resource.

The Secretary waives the requirements in the Education Department General Administrative Regulations that generally prohibit project periods exceeding five years and project period extensions involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. Under the waiver and extension, for projects funded in fiscal year (FY) 2019 under the Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Institutions Program (TCPCTIP), Assistance Listing Number 84.245A, the project period is extended through FY 2027, if Congress continues to appropriate funds under the existing program authority.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve an October 27, 2023, submittal from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to align provisions approved in the Wisconsin State Implementation Plan (SIP) with current Wisconsin administrative rules and statutes. WDNR requested that certain provisions previously approved into the Wisconsin SIP under now obsolete numbering schemes be renumbered to ensure citations in the Wisconsin SIP reflect the current numbering systems of the Wisconsin Administrative Code (WAC) and the Wisconsin Statutes (Wis. Stats.). WDNR also requested that EPA approve rule and statute provisions that have been revised since they were approved into the Wisconsin SIP. Finally, WDNR requested removal of rules and statutes from the Wisconsin SIP that are no longer in effect in Wisconsin. Approval of these changes in the Wisconsin SIP will not impact the state's air quality or ability to meet Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a revision to the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District's (SLOCAPCD or "District") portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision governs the District's issuance of permits for stationary sources, and focuses on the preconstruction review and permitting of major sources and major modifications under part D of title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA or "the Act").

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Brenham, TX. The FAA is proposing this action to support new instrument procedures at this airport.

These special conditions are issued for the Airbus Model A321neo XLR airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the applicable airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. This design feature is flight-envelope protections, in icing and non- icing conditions, that use high-incidence protection and an alpha-floor system to automatically advance throttles when the airplane angle of attack 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.

This action modifies the Class E airspace designated as a surface area and modifies the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport, Galena, AK. Additionally, this action contains administrative actions that update the airport's geographic coordinates in the legal description to match the FAA database. These actions support the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to the State of New York's State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) related to a Source-specific SIP (SSSIP) revision for Finch Paper LLC, located at 1 Glen Street, Glens Falls, New York. The control options in this SSSIP revision address nitrogen oxide (NOX) Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for the Facility sources identified as four power boilers, a wood waste boiler, and four recovery boilers. This action is being taken in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for implementation of the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS. The EPA proposed to approve this rule on January 19, 2024, and received three comments all of which were in favor of the rulemaking.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the Agency) is issuing this final rule that addresses barriers to sustainable housing opportunities for underserved communities by codifying existing FHFA practices in regulation and adding new requirements related to fair lending, fair housing, unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and Equitable Housing Finance Plans. The final rule furthers FHFA's fulfillment of its statutory purposes and its oversight of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks) (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collectively, the Enterprises; the Enterprises and the Banks collectively, the regulated entities), and their fulfillment of their statutory purposes.

This action finalizes amendments to the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) that apply to the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI) and amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) that apply to the SOCMI (more commonly referred to as the Hazardous Organic NESHAP or HON) and Group I and II Polymers and Resins (P&R I and P&R II, respectively) Industries. The EPA is finalizing decisions resulting from the Agency's technology review of the HON and the P&R I and P&R II NESHAP, and its review of the NSPS that apply to the SOCMI. The EPA is also finalizing amendments to the NSPS for equipment leaks of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in SOCMI based on its reconsideration of certain issues raised in an administrative petition for reconsideration. Furthermore, the EPA is finalizing emission standards for ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions and chloroprene emissions after considering the results of a risk assessment for the HON and for Neoprene Production processes subject to the P&R I NESHAP, and is finalizing a fenceline monitoring work practice standard for certain hazardous air pollutants (HAP). Lastly, the EPA is finalizing the removal of exemptions from standards for periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM), adding work practice standards for such periods where appropriate, finalizing standards for previously unregulated HAP, and adding provisions for electronic reporting of performance test reports and periodic reports.