Department of Defense January 23, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is withdrawing the proposed rule published on May 25, 2005 (70 FR 30042) which proposed to establish a procedure for modifying the scheduled operational hours at the Lake Washington Ship Canal, Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle, Washington. The proposed rule would have permitted the District Engineer to change the scheduled operational hours of the locks following issuance of a public notice and after providing a 30-day comment period for any proposed change. The Corps has determined that there is no present need to implement changes in the operation of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. The Corps intends to initiate rulemaking in the future if circumstances necessitate instituting a change in the schedule or other parameters of Locks operation.

DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to update requirements for DoD contractors to establish and maintain earned value management systems (EVMS). The rule revises the dollar thresholds at which EVMS requirements are applied and eliminates requirements for contractors to submit cost/schedule status reports under DoD contracts.

DoD has adopted as final, without change, an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement Sections 841 and 842 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005. Section 841 extends the length of the DoD Pilot Mentor-Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Program for 5 additional years. Section 842 expands the Program to permit service-disabled veteran- owned small business concerns and HUBZone small business concerns to participate in the Program as prot[eacute]g[eacute] firms.

DoD has issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to update text pertaining to contracting by negotiation. This rule is a result of a transformation initiative undertaken by DoD to dramatically change the purpose and content of the DFARS.

DoD has issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to update text pertaining to utility rates established by independent and nonindependent regulatory bodies. This rule is a result of a transformation initiative undertaken by DoD to dramatically change the purpose and content of the DFARS.