Department of Homeland Security – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard will enforce special local regulations for a recurring marine event in the Fifth Coast Guard District to provide for the safety of life on navigable waterways from June 7 to 9, 2024. Our regulation for marine events within the Fifth Coast Guard District identifies the regulated area for this event (the Ocean City Offshore Grand Prix) in Ocean City, MD. During the enforcement periods, the operator of any vessel in the regulated area must comply with directions from the Patrol Commander or any Official Patrol displaying a Coast Guard ensign.

The Coast Guard will enforce various special local regulations for annual regattas and marine parades on dates between April 27, 2024, and September 1, 2024, in the Captain of the Port Detroit zone. Enforcement of these regulations is necessary and intended to ensure safety of life on the navigable waters immediately prior to, during, and after these regattas or marine parades. During the aforementioned period, the Coast Guard will enforce restrictions upon, and control movement of, vessels in a specified area immediately prior to, during, and after regattas or marine parades.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a temporary safety zone for certain waters of Seneca Lake near Sampson State Park, Romulus, NY. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by a fireworks display. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from being in the safety zone from 9:30 p.m. through 10:30 p.m., July 3, 2024 unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Eastern Great Lakes or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will submit the information collection abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The submission seeks comments concerning the effect of disasters on the mental health of emergency managers at local, State, and Federal levels.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is suspending certain regulatory requirements for certain Palestinian F-1 nonimmigrant students who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the current humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian Territories. The Secretary is providing relief to these students who are in lawful F-1 nonimmigrant status, so the students may request employment authorization, work an increased number of hours while school is in session, and reduce their course load while continuing to maintain their F-1 nonimmigrant status.

Through this notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) is extending the designation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, beginning on June 13, 2024, and ending on December 12, 2025. This extension allows existing TPS beneficiaries to retain TPS through December 12, 2025, if they otherwise continue to meet the eligibility requirements for TPS. Existing TPS beneficiaries who wish to extend their status through December 12, 2025, must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period described in this notice. The Secretary is also redesignating Ethiopia for TPS. The redesignation of Ethiopia allows additional Ethiopian nationals (and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Ethiopia) who have been continuously residing in the United States since April 11, 2024, to apply for TPS for the first time during the initial registration period described under the redesignation information in this notice. In addition to demonstrating continuous residence in the United States since April 11, 2024, and meeting other eligibility criteria, initial applicants for TPS under this designation must demonstrate that they have been continuously physically present in the United States since June 13, 2024, the effective date of this redesignation of Ethiopia for TPS.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment upon this proposed new collection of information. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the information collection notice is published in the Federal Register to obtain comments regarding the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e., the time, effort, and resources used by the respondents to respond), the estimated cost to the respondent, and the actual information collection instruments.

The Coast Guard will enforce the special local regulations for the annual Blessing of the Fleet Boat Parade on April 28, 2024, to provide for the safety of life on navigable waterways in the San Francisco Bay during this event. Our regulation for marine events in Northern California identifies the regulated area for this event in San Francisco, CA. During the enforcement period, unauthorized persons or vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or loitering or anchoring in the regulated area, unless authorized by the designated Patrol Commander (PATCOM) or other law enforcement agencies on scene.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for all navigable waters between Mile Marker 30 and 31 on the Calcasieu River Ship Channel. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by partially blocking the federally maintained channel to unload a ship loader at a waterfront facility. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port, Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.

The Coast Guard will enforce the safety zone for the San Francisco Giants Fireworks in the Captain of the Port San Francisco area of responsibility during the dates and times noted below. This action is necessary to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from the hazards associated with the fireworks display. During the enforcement period, unauthorized persons and vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or remaining in the safety zone, unless authorized by the Patrol Commander (PATCOM), or any Official Patrol defined as other law enforcement agencies on scene.

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.

The National Towing Safety Advisory Committee (Committee) and its subcommittees will conduct a series of meetings over 2 days in Annapolis, MD, to review and discuss matters relating to shallow-draft inland navigation, coastal waterway navigation, and towing safety. These meetings will be open to the public.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Coast Guard intends to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), requesting an extension of its approval for the following collection of information: 1625-0019, Alternative Compliance for International and Inland Navigation Rules; without change. Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Before submitting this ICR to OIRA, the Coast Guard is inviting comments as described below.

Comments are requested on proposed flood hazard determinations, which may include additions or modifications of any Base Flood Elevation (BFE), base flood depth, Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) boundary or zone designation, or regulatory floodway on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), and where applicable, in the supporting Flood Insurance Study (FIS) reports for the communities listed in the table below. The purpose of this notice is to seek general information and comment regarding the preliminary FIRM, and where applicable, the FIS report that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided to the affected communities. The FIRM and FIS report are the basis of the floodplain management measures that the 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 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

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 a revision of a currently approved information collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice seeks comments concerning information collected for the selling and servicing of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies by FEMA's direct servicing agent, NFIP Direct.

The Office for Bombing Prevention (OBP) within Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will submit the following information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. CISA previously published this information collection request (ICR) in the Federal Register on August 29, 2023 for a 60-day public comment period. No comments were received by CISA. The purpose of this notice is to allow additional 30-days for public comments.

The Coast Guard is establishing two temporary safety zones, a moving safety zone and a fixed safety zone, around the M/V HAPPY DIAMOND in the navigable waters of the Houston Ship Channel and its vicinity. The temporary safety zones are necessary to protect persons, property, and the marine environment from potential hazards associated with the transfer of large gantry cranes. Persons and vessels are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within the safety zones unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Houston-Galveston or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard proposes to change the name and operating schedule that governs the Central Oregon and Pacific railroad bridge across the Umpqua River, mile 11.5, at Reedsport, OR. Coos Bay Rail Line, the bridge owner, requested to change the name of the bridge to a locally recognized name and to change the current operating schedule due to reduced marine traffic using the waterway. The modified rule would change the name of the bridge, allow the bridge to be maintained in the closed to navigation position and remove the requirement for fog signals at the bridge. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Coast Guard will enforce the Blue Water Resort and Casino Spring Classic special local regulations on the waters of Parker, AZ from April 13, 2024, to April 14, 2024. These special local regulations are necessary to provide for the safety of the participants, crew, spectators, sponsor vessels, and general users of the waterway. During the enforcement period, persons and vessels are prohibited from anchoring, blocking, loitering, or impeding within this regulated area unless authorized by the Captain of the Port, or his designated representative.

On February 22, 2024, the Coast Guard published a proposed rule in the Federal Register proposing to update maritime security regulations by adding regulations specifically focused on establishing minimum cybersecurity requirements for U.S.-flagged vessels, facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, and U.S. facilities subject to regulations under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. The Coast Guard is extending the comment period for the proposed rulemaking for an additional 30 days through May 22, 2024, in response to requests for additional time. We invite comments on our proposed rulemaking.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requests that qualified individuals interested in serving on the FEMA National Advisory Council (NAC) apply for appointment as identified in this notice. Pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the NAC advises the FEMA Administrator on all aspects of emergency management, incorporating input from and ensuring coordination with tribal, state, territorial and local governments, and the non-governmental and private sectors. FEMA seeks to appoint or reappoint individuals to nine (9) discipline-specific positions on the NAC and up to two (2) members as Administrator Selections.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for navigable waters of the Cape Fear River. This action is necessary for the safety of life on these navigable waters, in Wilmington, NC, during a fireworks display to be executed by Zambelli Fireworks. This rulemaking will prohibit persons and vessel from being in the safety zone (which is near downtown Wilmington, adjacent to the USS North Carolina) unless authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector North Carolina, or a designated representative.