Department of Homeland Security December 12, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Through this notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) is designating Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, beginning on December 12, 2022 and ending on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. This designation allows Ethiopian nationals (and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Ethiopia) who have continuously resided in the United States since October 20, 2022, and who have been continuously physically present in the United States since December 12, 2022 to apply for TPS.

This notice lists communities where the addition or modification of Base Flood Elevations (BFEs), base flood depths, Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) boundaries or zone designations, or the regulatory floodway (hereinafter referred to as flood hazard determinations), as shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), and where applicable, in the supporting Flood Insurance Study (FIS) reports, prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for each community, is appropriate because of new scientific or technical data. The FIRM, and where applicable, portions of the FIS report, have been revised to reflect these flood hazard determinations through issuance of a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR), in accordance with Federal Regulations. The currently effective community number is shown in the table below and must be used for all new policies and renewals.

Flood hazard determinations, which may include additions or modifications of Base Flood Elevations (BFEs), base flood depths, Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) boundaries or zone designations, or regulatory floodways on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and where applicable, in the supporting Flood Insurance Study (FIS) reports have been made final for the communities listed in the table below. The FIRM and FIS report are the basis of the floodplain management measures that a community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of having in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending its regulations to update information that is no longer accurate since the creation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). DHS is updating obsolete or unnecessary information because SEVIS, a Web-based system that 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, has replaced older paper-based processes. In addition, DHS is making technical changes to correct typographical errors, update references and citations, and make other needed changes to reflect the transfer of responsibilities to DHS from the Department of Justice (DOJ). Further, this rule removes language requiring original signatures on Form I-17, Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Student or successor form, and clarifies language about the requirement of an original signature on Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status or successor form. This rulemaking introduces no substantive changes, does not raise existing costs; and places no additional burden on F, J, and M nonimmigrants, or on sponsoring academic institutions and programs.

The Coast Guard will enforce the safety zone in the navigable waters of Suisun Bay, off Concord, CA, in support of explosive on- loading to Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO) from December 11, 2022, through December 15, 2022. This safety zone is necessary to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential explosion within the explosive arc. The safety zone is open to all persons and vessels for transitory use, but vessel operators desiring to anchor or otherwise loiter within the safety zone must obtain the permission of the Captain of the Port San Francisco or a designated representative. All persons and vessels operating within the safety zone must comply with all directions given to them by the Captain of the Port San Francisco or a designated representative.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public to take this opportunity to comment on an extension, with change, of a currently approved information collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice seeks comments concerning the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Individuals and Households Program, providing financial assistance to individuals whose primary residences were destroyed as a result of a Presidentially-declared disaster. This revision reduces the overall burden on the public by updating the amount of time needed to complete most of the instruments in this collection.