Department of Defense December 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Section 1122 of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016 requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) establish a pilot program to recommend ten projects for the beneficial use of dredged material. In response to a Federal Register Notice issued on February 9, 2018, the USACE received 95 proposals for beneficial use of dredged material. Those 95 proposals were evaluated by a team of subject matter experts. Based on criteria contained in Section 1122, ten projects were selected as having a high likelihood of delivering environmental, economic, and social benefits described in the proposals, and exhibit geographic diversity.

The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Secretary of Defense announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Department of the Navy announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is publishing this notice to announce that the following Federal Advisory Committee meeting of the Vietnam War Commemoration Advisory Committee will take place.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement an act to enhance whistleblower protection for contractor employees. The rule would make permanent the protection for disclosure of certain information. It also would clarify that the prohibition on reimbursement for certain legal costs applies to subcontractors, as well as contractors.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Rock Island and Chicago Districts, are extending the comment period for the report ``The Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) Brandon Road Integrated Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)Will County, Illinois,'' (Final GLMRIS-Brandon Road Report & EIS) for 14 days in response to stakeholder requests for an extension, from December 24, 2018 to January 7, 2019.

The Department of the Navy (DoN) announces the availability of the inventions listed below, assigned to the United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, for domestic and foreign licensing by the Department of the Navy.

DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 to require that inflation adjustments of statutory acquisition-related thresholds apply to existing contracts and subcontracts in effect on the date of the adjustment that contain the adjusted clauses.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement sections of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 to apply domestic source requirements to acquisitions at or below the simplified acquisition threshold when acquiring athletic footwear to be furnished to enlisted members of the Armed Forces upon their initial entry into the Armed Forces, and add Australia and the United Kingdom to the definition of the ``National Technology and Industrial Base.''

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to clarify policies and procedures for submission of payment requests and receiving reports in electronic form.

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2019-01. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG, is available via the internet at https://www.regulations.gov.

The Department of Defense is publishing this proposed rule to add certified or licensed physical therapy assistants (PTAs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) as TRICARE-authorized providers to engage in physical therapy or occupational therapy under the supervision of a TRICARE-authorized physical therapist or occupational therapist in accordance with Medicare's rules for supervision and qualification when billed by under the supervising therapist's national provider identification number. This rule will align TRICARE with Medicare's policy, which permits PTAs or OTAs to provide physical or occupational therapy when supervised by and billed under a licensed or certified physical therapist or occupational therapist.

The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense proposes to modify a system of records, DoD Postsecondary Education Complaint System, DPR 44 DoD. This system of records provides Uniformed Service Members, spouses, other family members the opportunity to file formal complaints when educational institutions fail to ensure that Federal military and veterans educational benefits programs are providing Service members, veterans, spouses, and other family members with information, support, and protections. This system of records is being modified to add more protections to ensure the privacy of each individual who submits a complaint, and when a complaint is submitted on behalf of an individual.

On June 8, 2018, DLA published an NOA in the Federal Register announcing the publication of the Environmental Assessment (EA) Addressing Construction and Operation of a Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) General Purpose Warehouse (GPW) at DLA Distribution Red River, Red River Army Depot, Texas. The EA was available for a 30-day public comment period that ended July 9, 2018. The EA was prepared as required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. In addition, the EA complied with DLA and Army NEPA regulations. No comments from the public were received during the EA public comment period.

This rule exercises the Department of Defense's (DoD's) authority to update current regulations to compute reasonable charges for inpatient and ambulatory (outpatient) institutional resources and also for pharmaceuticals, durable medical equipment (DME), supplies, immunizations, injections or other medications administered or furnished by DoD military treatment facilities (MTFs) under their three existing healthcare cost recovery programsThird Party Collections, Medical Services Account, and Medical Affirmative Claims. Specifically, the rule updates the reasonable charges methodologies for inpatient and ambulatory institutional billing to allow for the use of Itemized Resource Utilization (IRU) based ratesdeveloped from the cost to provide inpatient and ambulatory institutional healthcare resourcesin addition to current bundled prospective reimbursement approaches of diagnostic related group (DRG), ambulatory payment classification (APC), ambulatory surgery center (ASC) and ambulatory procedure visit (APV) based rates. It also revises the reasonable charges methodology for pharmaceuticals, DME, supplies, immunizations, injections or medication administered to allow for their calculation using either Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) prevailing rates or IRU based ratesdeveloped from the cost to provide these healthcare items and resources- regardless of whether CHAMPUS prevailing rates are available. The additional IRU methodology implements an itemized rate and reasonable charges structure that improves collections and operation of DoD's healthcare cost recovery programs by ensuring MTFs receive appropriate reimbursement for institutional healthcare resources as well as for pharmaceuticals, DME, supplies, immunizations, injections or medication provided or administered and is more consistent with civilian health insurance industry practice. The proposed rule also replaces ``hospital'' with ``institutional'' throughout most of the regulation to align it with civilian health insurance industry terminology and better promote identification and separate billing of institutional and professional services.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announces the availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Whittier Narrows Dam Safety Modification Study, Los Angeles County, California for review and comment. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Corps has prepared a Draft EIS for the Whittier Narrows Dam Safety Modification Study (DSMS). The Draft EIS evaluates risk management plans (alternatives) to remediate safety concerns such as overtopping and seepage. The Draft EIS describes and analyses the impacts of risk management plans (RMPs) that are formulated, evaluated and compared through the DSMS process in order to identify a recommended RMP that reduces risks to downstream life-safety and property associated with dam failure. Implementation of the recommended risk management plan would mitigate the intolerable Dam safety risk and allow the Dam to safely function as originally intended and authorized. Without this action, the Dam could fail resulting in life-threatening floods to downstream communities. The Proposed Action is needed to provide life-safety to the communities downstream of the Whittier Narrows Dam.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Defense Health Agency announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to revise the existing regulations to establish a danger zone at the U.S. Naval Base Guam Telecommunication Site in the Pacific Ocean, Guam. The Navy requested establishment of a danger zone extending over the Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Finegayan Small Arms Range. Establishment of a danger zone would intermittently restrict commercial, public, and private vessels from entering or lingering in the restricted safety zone to ensure public safety during small arms training activities. This danger zone is necessary to minimize potential conflicts between local populace activities and ongoing military training in the subject area.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council invites the public to comment on a renewal of an approved information collection requirement concerning value engineering requirements.

DoD is hosting several public meetings to obtain views of experts and interested parties in Government and the private sector regarding revising policies and procedures for contract financing, performance incentives, and associated regulations for DoD contracts.

The Department of the Army hereby gives notice of its intent to grant to H2 Power, LLC; a corporation having its principle place of business at 333 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1117, Chicago, IL 60601, an exclusive license.