Department of Defense 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army are publishing a final rule defining the scope of waters federally regulated under the Clean Water Act. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule is the second step in a comprehensive, two-step process intended to review and revise the definition of ``waters of the United States'' consistent with the Executive Order signed on February 28, 2017, ``Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the `Waters of the United States' Rule.'' Once effective, it replaces the rule published on October 22, 2019. This final rule implements the overall objective of the Clean Water Act to restore and maintain the integrity of the nation's waters by maintaining federal authority over those waters that Congress determined should be regulated by the Federal government under its Commerce Clause powers, while adhering to Congress' policy directive to preserve States' primary authority over land and water resources. This final definition increases the predictability and consistency of Clean Water Act programs by clarifying the scope of ``waters of the United States'' federally regulated under the Act.

On February 6, 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) published an updated notice that announced the third meeting of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee, which was to take place on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. DoD is publishing this notice to announce that this federal advisory committee meeting has been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns (the State of Missouri is under ``Stay at Home'' orders) and will be re- scheduled at a later date, along with meeting four.

On March 31, 2020, DoD, GSA, and NASA published a rule proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to incorporate recent revisions and updates to accessibility standards issued by the U.S. Access Board pursuant to section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. DoD, GSA, and NASA are making editorial changes to correct amendatory instructions.

The Department of the Army, through the United States Army Corps of Engineers (``Corps''), is soliciting comments on its proposed revision of its regulation that governs the possession and transportation of firearms and other weapons at Corps water resources development projects (``projects''). This proposed revision would align the Corps regulation with the regulations of the other Federal land management agencies by removing the need for an individual to obtain written permission before possessing a weapon on Corps projects.

The Air Force Deputy Chief Information Officer is adding a new System of Records titled, Bring Your Own Approved Device (BYOAD), F017 SAF CN A. The BYOAD program provides authorized AF users the ability to voluntarily use their authorized personal mobile devices to conduct government business. This system safeguards government records by providing secured communication mechanisms on personal mobile devices with secured containers and AF Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificates for conducting government business.

The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text of an arms sales notification.

DoD is making needed technical amendments to update the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS).

DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to remove internal agency guidance and a clause that is no longer necessary, pursuant to action taken by the Regulatory Reform Task Force.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to modify the text of an existing DFARS clause to include the text of another DFARS clause on the same subject in an effort to streamline contract terms and conditions for contractors, pursuant to action taken by the Regulatory Reform Task Force.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 that provides for accelerated payments to small business contractors and subcontractors.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to modify the text of an existing DFARS clause to include the text of another DFARS clause on the same subject, in an effort to streamline contract terms and conditions for contractors, pursuant to action taken by the Regulatory Reform Task Force.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Galveston District, has received a permit application for a U.S. Department of the Army (DA) permit pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act from Dow Chemical Company (Dow) (SWG-2016-01027) for the Harris Reservoir Expansion Project (proposed Project). The proposed Project site is located between the Brazos River and Oyster Creek approximately 8 miles northwest of the City of Angleton in Brazoria County, Texas. The primary federal involvement associated with the proposed action (proposed Project) is the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States (U.S.), and the construction of structures and/or work that may affect navigable waters. Federal authorizations for the Project would constitute a major federal action. Based on the potential impacts, both individually and cumulatively, the Corps intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to render a final decision on the permit applications. The Corps' decision will be to issue, issue with modification, or deny DA permits for the proposed action. The EIS will assess the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts of the construction and operation of the proposed project, and is intended to be sufficient in scope to address federal, state, and local requirements; environmental and socioeconomic issues concerning the proposed action; and permit reviews.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a revision and renewal of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding payments to small business subcontractors.

This final rule removes DoD's regulation that provides instructions to DoD Components on the collection and disposition of cash and cash equivalents received for the sale of DoD surplus personal property. Proceeds from the sale of surplus personal property shall be deposited by the collecting DoD Component promptly to a U.S. Treasury account. Process instructions are conveyed directly to potential buyers and bidders when invitation for bids are distributed or published. Therefore, this rule is unnecessary and can be removed from the CFR.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is modifying a System of Records titled, ``National Security Education Program Information Technology (NSEP-IT) System,'' DHRA 09. The modifications will update the System of Records Notice (SORN) to meet OMB Circular No. A-108 requirements, and specifically add new system components (National Security Education Program (NSEP) Network (NSEPnet), Student Certification System, and NSEP Grants Database), and expand the categories of records collected as required by a recent statutory change. The SORN enables the NSEP to provide the public with educational resources and provides the NSEP the ability to collect information necessary to select qualified candidates for scholarships and fellowships.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is modifying the System of Records, Mandatory Declassification Review Files, DWHS E05. This system was established to verify and declassify record requests from the public and to provide a resource to research historical data. Without the ability to review and declassify data in the Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) Files System of Records, information in the system would not be releasable to the public and the DoD would not comply with the applicable regulations and laws. Updates to this system include administrative changes required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-108, ``Federal Agency Responsibilities for Review, Reporting, and Publication under the Privacy Act,'' revised December 23, 2016. This modification includes changes to the system name, authorities, purpose, categories of records, routine uses, storage of records, retention and disposal of records, safeguards, records access procedures, contesting record procedures, notification procedures, and exemptions sections. In addition, the only exemption claimed for the system, (k)(1), is being deleted, since the system does not contain classified information. The records undergoing MDR are stored in a separate system, which is not a Privacy Act System of Records.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District (USACE) intends to prepare a Draft Supplemental Joint Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the 2007 Folsom Dam Safety and Flood Damage Reduction EIS/EIR (2007 EIS/EIR) and the 2017 Folsom Dam Raise Project Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (2017 SEIS/EIR). USACE will serve as lead National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) agency and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB) will serve as lead agency for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Folsom Dam Safety and Flood Damage Reduction Project (hereafter referred to as the Project) was originally authorized in the 2004 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act (EWDAA) and was later reauthorized in the 2007 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The Project is authorized for four components: (1) Emergency spillway gate modifications. (2) Raising the right and left wings of the main dam, Mormon Island Auxiliary Dam (MIAD), and the reservoir Dikes 1 through 8 by 3.5 feet. (3) Temperature control shutter automation and reconfiguration. (4) Downstream ecosystem restoration of Bushy Lake and Woodlake. This Draft Supplemental Joint EIS/EIR will address components of the authorized Project not previously addressed in the 2017 Folsom Dam Raise Project Final SEIS/EIR. Specifically, these components include construction of a new Dike 3, use of onsite borrow and multiple disposal locations including MIAD West and South and potential off-site locations, use of a rock crushing plant at MIAD East, use of on-site concrete batch plants for the Right Wing Dam and Left Wing Dam, and a detailed comprehensive plan for mitigation and restoration upon completion of construction. The flood risk management components of the Project will enhance the utilization of the existing surcharge flood storage space (temporary water storage space utilized during low- frequency flood events), and will increase the surcharge flood storage capacity of the reservoir.

The U.S. Air Force is issuing this notice of availability of HINDSIGHT\TM\ software and related documentation for enabling event- based tagging, multi-source audio archiving, POV video capturing, and user interface utilization tracking by supporting on-demand, mobile mission recording, and debriefing capability.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which requires agencies to provide a notice along with the solicitation to prospective bidders and offerors regarding definitization of requests for an equitable adjustment related to change orders under construction contracts.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to incorporate recent revisions and updates to accessibility standards issued by the U.S. Access Board pursuant to section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The AF is modifying the System of Records titled, ``Telecommunications Notification System,'' F010 AFSPC A. This System of Records will become the DoD ``Enterprise Mass Warning and Notification System (EMWNS),'' DCIO 02 DoD. The DoD seeks to implement a system to quickly send alert notifications to Active Duty, Reserve, and National Guard personnel, dependents, DoD civilians, and contractors in an emergency event. The system efficiently notifies and communicates critical safety information to personnel located both on and off military locations. The system enables respondents to communicate with their respective chains of command to account for themselves during emergency events.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Chief Management Officer, Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) 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 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 (OSD) is modifying the DoD Personnel Accountability and Assessment System, DPR 39 DoD, for the purpose of more clearly covering records that may be maintained in response to public health and safety events or other similar emergencies such as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The DoD blanket routine uses were removed and replaced with specific routine uses that explain the entities to which disclosures would be made.

The previous Air Force Scientific Advisory Board Federal Register Notice, Vol. 85, No. 46, published on Monday March 9, 2020, is hereby withdrawn. The United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board Meeting to be held on April 2, 2020 is cancelled. Due to circumstances beyond the control of the Department of Defense and the Designated Federal Officer for the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board was unable to provide public notification required by concerning the cancellation of the previously noticed meeting of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board for April 2, 2020. Accordingly, the Advisory Committee Management Officer for the Department of Defense waives the 15-calendar day notification requirement.