Industry and Security Bureau
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Children and Families Administration
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Railroad Administration
Comptroller of the Currency
Internal Revenue Service
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Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy.
Final rule; delay of effective date.
This document delays the effective date of a recently published final rule amending the test procedures for central air conditioners and heat pumps. DOE also seeks comment on any further delay of the effective date, including the impacts of such delay, as well as comment on the legal, factual, or policy issues raised by the rule.
The effective date of the rule amending 10 CFR parts 429 and 430 published at 90 FR 1224 on January 7, 2025, are delayed until March 21, 2025. Written comments and information will be accepted on or before March 7, 2025.
Dr. Pradeep Prathibha, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office, EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (240) 255-0630. Email:
Mr. Pete Cochran, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-4798. Email:
On January 20, 2025, the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff (“Chief of Staff”) issued a memorandum outlining the President's plan for managing the Federal regulatory process at the outset of the new Administration. In implementation of one of the measures directed by that memorandum, the United States Department of Energy (“DOE”) hereby temporarily postpones the effective date of its final rule amending the test procedures for central air conditioners and heat pumps published in the
To the extent that 5 U.S.C. 553 applies to this action, it is exempt from notice and comment because it constitutes a rule of procedure under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) and for which no notice of hearing is required by statute. The delay of the effective date to March 21, 2025, does not affect the compliance date for this rule, which remains July 7, 2025. DOE is, however, seeking comment on any further delay of the effective date, including the impacts of such delay, as well as comment on the legal, factual, or policy issues raised by the rule.
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on January 30, 2025, by Jocelyn Richards, Acting General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, pursuant to delegated authority from the Acting Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy.
Final rule; delay of effective date.
This document delays the effective date of a recently published final rule adopting several clarifications to the test procedures for general service lamps. DOE also seeks comment on any further delay of the effective date, including the impacts of such delay, as well as comment on the legal, factual, or policy issues raised by the rule.
The effective date of the rule amending 10 CFR part 430 published at 90 FR 4589 on January 16, 2025, is delayed until March 21, 2025. Written comments and information will be accepted on or before March 7, 2025.
Dr. Jordan Wilkerson, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office, EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 287-1445. Email:
Ms. Kiana Daw, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-4798. Email:
On January 20, 2025, the Assistant to the
To the extent that 5 U.S.C. 553 applies to this action, it is exempt from notice and comment because it constitutes a rule of procedure under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) and for which no notice or hearing is required by statute. The delay of the effective date to March 21, 2025, does not affect the compliance date for this rule, which remains July 15, 2025. DOE is, however, seeking comment on any further delay of the effective date, including the impacts of such delay, as well as comment on the legal, factual, or policy issues raised by the rule.
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on January 30, 2025, by Jocelyn Richards, Acting General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, pursuant to delegated authority from the Acting Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy.
Final rule; delay of effective date.
This document delays the effective date of a recently published final rule amending the test procedures for residential and commercial clothes washers and consumer clothes dryers. DOE also seeks comment on any further delay of the effective date, including the impacts of such delay, as well as comment on the legal, factual, or policy issues raised by the rule.
The effective date of the rule amending 10 CFR part 430 published at 90 FR 5519 on January 17, 2025, is delayed until March 21, 2025. Written comments and information will be accepted on or before March 7, 2025.
Dr. Carl Shapiro, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office, EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 287-5649. Email:
Mr. Uchechukwu “Emeka” Eze, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-4798. Email:
On January 20, 2025, the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff (“Chief of Staff”) issued a memorandum outlining the President's plan for managing the Federal regulatory process at the outset of the new Administration. In implementation of one of the measures directed by that memorandum, the United States Department of Energy (“DOE”) hereby temporarily postpones the effective date of its final rule amending the test procedures for residential and commercial clothes washers and consumer clothes dryers published in the
To the extent that 5 U.S.C. 553 applies to this action, it is exempt from notice and comment because it constitutes a rule of procedure under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) and for which no notice or hearing is required by statute. The delay of the effective date to March 21, 2025, does not affect the compliance date for this rule, which remains July 16, 2025. DOE is, however, seeking comment on any further delay of the effective date, including the impacts of such delay, as well as comment on the legal, factual, or policy issues raised by the rule.
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on January 30, 2025, by Jocelyn Richards, Acting General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, pursuant to delegated authority from the Acting Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
Final special conditions.
These special conditions are issued for the Airbus Model A321neo ACF and A321neo XLR airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. This design feature is a single-occupant oblique seat with an airbag and 3-point or pretensioner restraint system positioned at a 49-degree angle from the cabin centerline. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.
Effective February 5, 2025.
Shannon Lennon, Cabin Safety Section, AIR-624, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and Standards Division, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration, 2200 South 216th Street, Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone (206) 231-3209; email
On April 6, 2022, Airbus SAS applied for an amendment to Type Certificate (TC) No. A28NM for the installation of a single-occupant oblique seat with an airbag and 3-point or pretensioner restraint system, positioned at a 49-degree angle from the cabin centerline in new Airbus Model A321neo ACF and A321neo XLR airplanes. Airbus Model A321neo ACF and A321neo XLR airplanes, which are derivatives of the Model A321 currently approved under TC No. A28NM, are twin-engine, transport category airplanes with a maximum passenger capacity of 244. The maximum takeoff weight of the Airbus Model A321neo ACF is approximately 213,848 pounds, while the Airbus Model A321neo XLR has a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 222,667 pounds.
Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.101, Airbus SAS must show that the Model A321neo ACF and A321neo XLR airplanes, as changed, continue to meet the applicable provisions of the regulations listed in TC No. A28NM or the applicable regulations in effect on the date of application for the change, except for earlier amendments as agreed upon by the FAA.
If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness regulations (
Special conditions are initially applicable to the model for which they are issued. Should the type certificate for that model be amended later to include any other model that incorporates the same novel or unusual design feature, or should any other model already included on the same type certificate be modified to incorporate the same novel or unusual design feature, these special conditions would also apply to the other model under § 21.101.
In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special conditions, Airbus Model A321neo ACF and A321neo XLR airplanes must comply with the exhaust-emission requirements of 14 CFR part 34 and the noise-certification requirements of 14 CFR part 36.
The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19, in accordance with § 11.38, and they become part of the type certification basis under § 21.101.
Airbus Model A321neo ACF and A321neo XLR airplanes will incorporate the following novel or unusual design feature: single-occupant oblique seats with airbag devices and 3-point restraints or a pretensioner restraint system installed at 49 degrees relative to the aircraft cabin centerline.
Title 14 of the CFR, § 25.785(d), requires that each occupant of a seat installed at an angle of more than 18 degrees relative to airplane cabin centerline, must be protected from head injury using a seatbelt and an energy-absorbing rest that supports the arms, shoulders, head, and spine, or using a seatbelt and shoulder harness designed to prevent the head from contacting any injurious object.
The Airbus Model A321neo ACF and A321neo XLR airplane's single occupant oblique seat installation with airbag devices and 3-point restraint or pretensioner restraint system is novel such that the current requirements do not adequately address airbag or pretensioner devices and protection of the occupant's neck, spine, torso, and legs for seating configurations that are positioned at an angle of 49 degrees from the airplane centerline. The seating configuration installation angle is beyond the installation-design limits of current special conditions issued for seat positions at angles between 18 degrees and 45 degrees. At angles greater than 45 degrees, lateral neck bending and other injury mechanisms prevalent from a fully side-facing installation become a concern, given the addition of oblique seat properties. To address these potential injury mechanisms, these special conditions are based on FAA Policy Statement PS-AIR-25-27, “Technical Criteria for Approving Obliques Seats” as well as Policy Statement PS-ANM-25-03-R1, “Technical Criteria for Approving Side-Facing Seats.”
To provide a level of safety equivalent to that afforded to the occupants of forward and aft-facing seats, new special conditions containing additional airworthiness standards for dynamic testing requirements, including both the injury criteria limits from the oblique-seat policy and the fully side-facing seat policy, are necessary.
FAA-sponsored research found that an un-restrained flailing of the upper torso, even when the pelvis and torso are nearly aligned, can produce serious spinal and torso injuries. At lower impact severities, even with significant misalignment between the torso and
Other restraint systems, in lieu of single lap belt restrain systems, have been used to comply with the occupant injury criteria of § 25.562(c)(5). For instance, shoulder harnesses have been widely used on flight-attendant seats, flight-deck seats, in business jets, and in general-aviation airplanes to reduce occupant head injury in the event of an emergency landing. Special conditions, pertinent regulations, and published guidance exist that relate to other restraint systems. However, the use of pretensioners in the restraint system on transport category airplane seats to comply with the occupant injury criteria of § 25.562(c)(5) is a novel design.
Pretensioner technology involves a step-change in loading experienced by the occupant for impacts below and above that at which the device deploys, because activation of the shoulder harness, at the point at which the pretensioner engages, interrupts upper-torso excursion. Such an excursion could result in the head-injury criteria (HIC) being higher at an intermediate impact condition than that resulting from the maximum impact condition corresponding to the test conditions specified in § 25.562. See condition (a)(3) in these special conditions.
The ideal triangular maximum-severity pulse is defined in Advisory Circular (AC) 25.562-1B, “Dynamic Evaluation of Seat Restraint Systems and Occupant Protection on Transport Airplanes.” For the evaluation and testing of less-severe pulses for purposes of assessing the effectiveness of the pretensioner setting, a similar triangular pulse should be used with acceleration, rise time, and velocity change scaled accordingly. The magnitude of the required pulse should not deviate below the ideal pulse by more than 0.5g until 1.33 t
Additionally, the pretensioner might not provide protection, after actuation, during secondary impacts. Therefore, the case where a small impact is followed by a large impact should be addressed. If the minimum deceleration severity at which the pretensioner is set to deploy is unnecessarily low, the protection offered by the pretensioner may be lost by the time a second, larger impact occurs.
Conditions (a) through (g) address occupant protection in consideration of the oblique-facing seats. Condition (h) addresses airbag systems. Conditions (i)(1) through (i)(3) ensure that the pretensioner system activates when intended and protects a range of occupants under various accident conditions. Conditions (i)(4) through (9) address the maintenance and reliability of the pretensioner system, including any outside influences on the mechanism, to ensure it functions as intended. Condition (j) addresses general instructions that supplement these special conditions when tests are required to assist with test set-ups and appropriate ATD selection.
The special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.
The FAA issued Notice of Proposed Special Conditions No. 25-24-05-SC for the Airbus Model A321neo ACF and A321neo XLR airplanes, which was published in the
The FAA received responses from two commenters: Airbus Commercial Aircraft (Airbus) and The Boeing Company (Boeing).
Airbus, the applicant, requested that the FAA update paragraph (j)(1) of this special condition to include cross-references to the conditions in paragraphs (c)(5), (d)(3), and (e)(3). These conditions may necessitate additional tests using the ES-2re ATD.
The FAA concurs with the comment and added the cross-references to paragraph (j)(1).
Boeing requested that the FAA add a new condition to paragraph (i) of this special condition to ensure pretensioner exhaust is not hazardous to passengers, similar to the corresponding condition required for airbag systems.
The FAA concurs with the comment. Certain pretensioner restraint systems, like airbag systems, incorporate firing mechanisms that may exhaust small amounts of gas and particulate when activated. The FAA has previously published special conditions (see Special Condition No. 25-375-SC) to address this concern for airbags and has added a condition to paragraph (i)(8)(ii) to address the need to similarly ensure that pretensioner activation exhaust and particulate are not hazardous to passengers.
Except as discussed above, the special conditions are adopted as proposed.
As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the Airbus Model A321neo ACF and A321neo XLR airplanes. Should Airbus apply at a later date for a change to the type certificate to include another model incorporating the same novel or unusual design feature, these special conditions would apply to that model as well.
Under standard practice, the effective date of final special conditions would be 30 days after the date of publication in the
This action affects only a certain novel or unusual design feature on one model series of airplane. It is not a rule of general applicability.
Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:
49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40113, 44701, 44702, 44704.
Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, the following special conditions are issued as part of the type certification basis for the Airbus Model A321neo ACF and A321neo XLR airplanes.
In addition to the requirements of §§ 25.562 and 25.785, passenger seats with airbag devices and 3-point restraints or pretensioner restraints installed at an angle 49 degrees from the aircraft centerline must meet the following conditions:
HIC assessments are required only for head contact with the seat and other structures.
(1) Compliance with § 25.562(c)(5) is required, except when an airbag device is present in addition to the 3-point restraint system and the anthropomorphic test dummy (ATD)
(2) ATD head contact with the seat or other structure, through the airbag (if installed), or contact subsequent to contact with the airbag requires an HIC value not exceeding 1,000.
(3) The HIC value must not exceed 1,000 in any condition in which the airbag or pretensioner (if installed) does or does not deploy up to the maximum severity pulse specified by the existing requirements.
(4) To accommodate a range of occupant heights (5th percentile female to 95th percentile male), any surface, airbag or otherwise, that provides support for the occupant's head must provide that support in a consistent manner regardless of occupant stature. Otherwise, additional HIC assessment tests may be needed.
If a seat is installed aft of a structure, such as an interior wall or furnishing that does not provide a homogenous contact surface for the expected range of occupants and yaw angles, then additional analysis and tests may be required to demonstrate that the injury criteria are met for the area an occupant could contact. For example, different yaw angles could result in different injury considerations and airbag performance, and additional analysis or separate tests may be necessary to evaluate performance.
(1) The seating system must protect the occupant from experiencing serious neck injury. The assessment of neck injury must be conducted with the airbag device activated unless there is also reason to consider that the neck injury potential would be higher for impacts below the airbag device deployment threshold.
(2) Rotation of the head about its vertical axis, relative to the torso, is limited to 105 degrees in either direction from forward-facing.
(3) The neck must not impact any surface that would produce concentrated loading on the neck.
(4) Assess neck injury for fore and aft neck bending using an FAA Hybrid III ATD, as described in SAE International (SAE) Technical Paper 1999-01-1609, “A Lumbar Spine Modification to the Hybrid III ATD for Aircraft Seat Tests,” applying the following criteria:
(i) The Nij, calculated in accordance with 49 CFR 571.208, must be below 1.0, where Nij = Fz/Fzc + My/Myc, and Nij critical values are:
(ii) In addition, peak upper-neck Fz must be below 937 lbs (4168 N) in tension and 899 lbs (3999 N) in compression.
(5) When lateral neck bending is present, assess it using an ES-2re ATD as defined by 49 CFR part 572, subpart U. The data must be filtered at channel frequency class 600 as defined in SAE Recommended Practice J211/11, “Instrumentation for Impact Test Part 1- Electronic Instrumentation.”
(i) The upper-neck tension force at the occipital condyle (O.C.) location must be less than 405 lbs (1,800 N).
(ii) The upper-neck compression force at the O.C. location must be less than 405 lbs (1,800 N).
(iii) The upper-neck bending torque about the ATD x-axis at the O.C. location must be less than 1,018 in-lbs (115 Nm).
(iv) The upper-neck resultant shear force at the O.C. location must be less than 186 lbs (825 N).
(1) The seating system must protect the occupant from experiencing spine and torso injury. The assessment of spine and torso injury must be conducted with the airbag device activated unless it is necessary to also consider that the occupant-injury potential would be higher for impacts below the airbag-device deployment threshold.
(2) Assess spine and torso injury for oblique torso bending using an FAA Hybrid III ATD, applying the following criteria:
(i) The lumbar spine tension (Fz) cannot exceed 1,200 lbs (5338 N).
(ii) Significant concentrated loading on the occupant's spine, in the area between the pelvis and shoulders during impact, including rebound, is not acceptable. During this type of contact, the interval for any rearward (X direction) acceleration exceeding 20g must be less than 3 milliseconds, as measured by the thoracic instrumentation specified in 49 CFR part 572, subpart E, filtered in accordance with SAE Recommended Practice J211/1.
(3) When lateral torso bending is present, assess spine and torso injury using an ES-2re ATD, applying the following criteria:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(1) The seating system must protect the occupant from experiencing pelvis injury.
(2) Any part of the load-bearing portion of the bottom of the ATD pelvis must not translate beyond the edges of the seat-bottom seat-cushion supporting structure.
(3) When pelvis contact with the armrest or surrounding interior components is present, assess it using an ES-2re ATD. The pubic symphysis force measured by the ES-2re ATD must not exceed 1,350 lbs (6,000 N). Process the data as defined in FMVSS 571.214.
Limit axial rotations of the upper leg (about the z-axis of the femur, per SAE Recommended Practice J211/1) to 35 degrees from the nominal seated position. Evaluation during rebound does not need to be considered.
(1) Perform longitudinal tests to measure the injury criteria above using the FAA Hybrid III ATD or the ES-2re ATD. Conduct the tests with the undeformed floor, at the most critical yaw cases for injury, and with all lateral structural supports (
(2) For longitudinal tests conducted in accordance with § 25.562(b)(2), show compliance with the seat-strength requirements of § 25.562(c)(7) and (8), and these special conditions, to ensure proper loading of the seat by the occupant, the ATD pelvis must remain supported by the seat pan, and the restraint system must remain on the pelvis of the ATD until rebound begins. No injury criteria evaluation is necessary for tests conducted only to assess seat-strength requirements.
(3) If a seat installation includes adjacent items that are within contact range of an occupant, assess the injury potential of that contact. To make this assessment, tests may be conducted to include the actual contact item, located
(4) Conduct the combined horizontal and vertical test, required by § 25.562(b)(1) and these special conditions, with a Hybrid II ATD (49 CFR part 572, subpart B, as specified in § 25.562) or equivalent.
(5) The design and installation of seat belt buckles must prevent unbuckling due to applied inertial forces or impact from seat occupant hands and arms during an emergency landing.
An inflatable airbag-restraint system must meet the requirements of Special Conditions No. 25-375-SC, “Airbus A318, A319, A320 and A321 Series Airplanes Inflatable Restraints.”
(1)
The pretensioner activation setting must be demonstrated to maximize the probability of the protection being available when needed, considering secondary impacts.
(2)
Protection of occupants for a range of stature from a 2-year-old child to a 95th percentile male must be shown. For shoulder harnesses that include pretensioners, protection of occupants other than a 50th percentile male may be shown by test or analysis. In addition, the pretensioner must not introduce a hazard to passengers due to the following seating configurations:
(i) The seat occupant is holding an infant.
(ii) The seat occupant is a child in a child-restraint device.
(iii) The seat occupant is a pregnant woman.
(3)
Occupants in the traditional brace position, when the pretensioner activates, must not experience adverse effects from the pretensioner activation.
(4)
(i) The probability of inadvertent pretensioner actuation must be shown to be extremely remote (
(ii) The system must be shown not susceptible to inadvertent pretensioner actuation due to wear and tear or inertia loads resulting from in-flight or ground maneuvers likely to be experienced in service.
(iii) The seated occupant must not be seriously injured due to inadvertent pretensioner actuation.
(iv) Inadvertent pretensioner activation must not cause a hazard to the airplane nor cause serious injury to anyone positioned close to the retractor or belt (
(5)
The design must provide means for a crewmember to verify the availability of the pretensioner function before each flight or the probability of failure of the pretensioner function must be demonstrated to be extremely remote (
(6)
The system design must ensure that any incorrect orientation (twisting) of the seat belt does not compromise the pretensioner protection function.
(7)
The pretensioner mechanisms and controls must be protected from external contamination that could occur on or around passenger seating.
(8)
(i) The pretensioner system must not induce a hazard to passengers in case of fire, nor create a fire hazard if activated.
(ii) The pretensioner system must not release hazardous quantities of gas or particulate matter into the cabin.
(9)
The system must function properly after the loss of normal airplane electrical power and after a transverse separation in the fuselage at the most critical location. A separation at the location of the system does not have to be considered.
(1) The appropriate ATD to assess occupant injury (FAA Hybrid III or ES-2re) will be determined based on the occupant kinematics at the selected test angle. At the +10 degree yaw angle, the occupant kinematics show that occupant injury tests using both ATDs may be required. See the conditions in (c)(5), (d)(3), and (e)(3) when determining the necessity for additional tests using an ES-2re ATD.
(2) Conduct vertical tests with the Hybrid II ATD or equivalent, with existing pass/fail criteria.
(3) Conduct longitudinal structural tests with the Hybrid II ATD or equivalent, deformed floor, with 10 degrees yaw, and with all lateral structural supports (
(4) Conduct longitudinal occupant injury tests, as necessary, with the Hybrid III ATD or ES-2re ATD, or both, undeformed floor, yaw, and with all lateral structural supports (
(i)
(A) Perform HIC, fore/aft neck injury, spinal tension, and femur evaluations using an FAA Hybrid III ATD.
(B) Perform lateral neck injury, thoracic, abdominal, pelvis, and femur evaluations using an ES-2re ATD.
(ii) [Reserved]
(5) For injury assessments accomplished by testing with the ES-2re ATD for the longitudinal test(s) conducted in accordance with § 25.562(b)(2) and these special conditions, the ATDs must be positioned, clothed, and have lateral instrumentation configured as follows:
(i)
The rib-module linear slides are directional (
(ii)
Clothe each ATD in form-fitting cotton stretch garments with short to full-length sleeves, mid-calf to full-length pants, and size 11E (45) shoes weighing about 2.5 lbs (1.1 kg) and having a heel height of about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm). The color of the clothing should be in contrast to the color of the restraint system and the background. The color of the clothing should be chosen to avoid overexposing the high-speed images taken during the test. The ES-2re jacket is sufficient for torso clothing, although a form-fitting shirt may be used if desired.
(iii)
(A) Lower the ATD vertically into the seat while simultaneously:
(1) Aligning the midsagittal plane (a vertical plane through the midline of the body; dividing the body into right and left halves) with approximately the middle of the seat place.
(2) Keeping the upper legs horizontal by supporting them just behind the knees.
(3) Applying a horizontal x-axis direction (in the ES-2re ATD coordinate system) force of about 20 lbs (89 N) to
(B) After all lifting devices have been removed from the ATD:
(1) Rock it slightly to settle it in the seat.
(2) Bend the knees of the ATD.
(3) Separate the knees by about 4 inches (100 mm).
(4) Set the ATD's head at approximately the midpoint of the available range of z-axis rotation (to align the head and torso midsagittal planes).
(5) Position the ATD's arms at the joint's mechanical detent to position them to an approximately 20 to 40-degree angle with respect to the torso.
(6) Position the feet such that the centerlines of the lower legs are approximately parallel.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission.
Joint final rule; extension of compliance date.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) (collectively, “we” or “Commissions”) are extending the compliance date for the amendments to Form PF that were adopted on February 8, 2024, from March 12, 2025 to June 12, 2025. Form PF is the confidential reporting form for certain SEC-registered investment advisers to private funds, including those that also are registered with the CFTC as a commodity pool operator (“CPO”) or commodity trading adviser (“CTA”).
The Commissions are extending the compliance date of the Final Form PF under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”).
On February 8, 2024, the Commissions adopted amendments to Form PF [17 CFR 279.9] under the Advisers Act (“Final Form PF”).
Investment advisers to private funds file reports on Form PF at different times depending on the types of private funds they advise and their assets under management. Some file on an annual basis, some file on a quarterly basis, and some file on a quarterly basis for quarterly reporting funds and then subsequently amend that filing to report about their annual reporting funds. The Initial Compliance Date is after the fourth quarter of 2024 filing deadlines for many quarterly reporting funds (January 15, 2025, or March 1, 2025, depending on the type of private fund) but before the 2024 annual filing deadline for many annual reporting funds (April 30, 2025 for advisers with a December 31 fiscal year end).
The Commissions have become aware of various challenges associated with the timing of the Initial Compliance Date given the applicable reporting cycles for Form PF. In this regard, several industry groups submitted a letter that requested the Commissions
First among these challenges, the Current Form PF and the Final Form PF include different questions and require reported data to be computed in different ways, which would create additional burdens for many private fund advisers if 2024 data is reported on both versions of the form. For example, as discussed in the Industry Letter, many private fund advisers with annual and quarterly filing obligations would have to submit 2024 data on the two different versions of Form PF—submitting an initial filing on the Current Form PF to report data for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2024 for their quarterly reporting funds, and then submitting an amendment on the Final Form PF for their annual reporting funds with 2024 fiscal year data.
Additionally, most annual filers could choose to either submit their annual filing before the Initial Compliance Date on the Current Form PF or submit an annual filing after the Initial Compliance Date on the Final Form PF. While advisers could mitigate the burden associated with having to file on separate forms by filing before the Initial Compliance Date, doing so would have its own burdens associated with filing on a compressed time frame. The Commissions also may experience challenges in their ability to aggregate and compare the 2024 data filed on the Current Form PF and the Final Form PF given the substantial differences between the information required by each form and their instructions.
In addition, the Industry Letter discussed the compliance challenges associated with the scope and timing of technological changes necessary to be able to file on the Final Form PF by the Initial Compliance Date, as well as the challenges of simultaneously working on building systems for other new reporting obligations and fulfilling their other routine year-end regulatory and investor reporting obligations.
The Industry Letter requested that the Commissions extend the compliance date to September 12, 2025, or in the alternative, to June 12, 2025.
Although extending the compliance date to September 12, 2025 would provide filers additional time to address compliance challenges, it would result in a six-month delay (rather than a three-month delay) for reporting the information and additional data that the Commissions identified as important for facilitating FSOC's ability to monitor potential systemic risk and furthering the Commissions' investor protection efforts.
The SEC is mindful of the economic effects, including the costs and benefits, of the compliance date extension. Section 202(c) of the Advisers Act provides that when the SEC is engaging in rulemaking under the Advisers Act and is required to consider or determine whether an action is necessary or appropriate in the public interest, the SEC shall also consider whether the action will promote efficiency, competition, and capital formation, in addition to the protection of investors.
The baseline against which the costs, benefits, and the effects on efficiency, competition, and capital formation of the compliance date extension are measured consists of the current state of the market, Form PF filers' current practices, and the current regulatory framework, including recently adopted rules. As discussed above, pursuant to the 2024 Adopting Release, the Current Form PF was to remain in effect until March 12, 2025.
The changes to the Current Form PF represented in the Final Form PF will impact all categories of private fund advisers. These include, but are not limited to, advisers to hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds, securitized asset funds, liquidity funds, and venture capital funds.
This final rule will extend the compliance date for the Final Form PF to June 12, 2025. As discussed above, and as indicated by commenters, this compliance date extension will mitigate costs associated with certain advisers having to submit a filing on the Current Form PF to file fiscal quarter data for their quarterly reporting funds, and then filing an amendment on the Final Form PF for their annual reporting funds with fiscal year 2024 data.
The benefit of extending the compliance date is therefore that it will mitigate the costs those private fund advisers will face relative to the baseline of the Initial Compliance Date.
In addition, a June 12, 2025 compliance date will better facilitate the Commissions' analysis of 2024 data. Under the Initial Compliance Date, most annual filings for 2024 would be submitted on the Final Form PF, while quarterly filings for 2024, including fourth quarter filings, will be submitted on the Current Form PF. Applying a compliance date of June 12, 2025 will allow almost all investment advisers to shift from filing on the Current Form PF to the Final Form PF with respect to all of their private funds at the same time. Aligning these filings on the same time frame also may enhance how the data may be used by the Commissions.
The cost of extending the compliance date to June 12, 2025 will impact the economic benefits associated with the Final Form PF. Specifically, the Final Form PF was designed to facilitate two primary goals the SEC sought to achieve with reporting on Form PF as articulated in the 2024 Adopting Release, namely: (1) facilitating FSOC's understanding and monitoring of potential systemic risk relating to activities in the private fund industry and assisting FSOC in determining whether and how to deploy its regulatory tools with respect to nonbank financial companies; and (2) enhancing the SEC's abilities to evaluate and develop regulatory policies and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the SEC's efforts to protect investors and maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets.
The extension will likely not have any substantial effect on efficiency, competition, or capital formation because the extension simply provides additional time for all advisers to come into compliance with Form PF.
Lastly, the Commissions considered alternatives to the new compliance date, including the September 12, 2025 compliance date requested in the Industry Letter.
The Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) generally requires an agency to publish notice of a rulemaking in the
For the reasons cited above, the Commissions, for good cause, find that notice and solicitation of public comment to extend the compliance date for the Final Form PF are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.
For similar reasons, although the APA generally requires publication of a rule at least 30 days before its effective date, the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 808(2) are satisfied (notwithstanding the requirement of 5 U.S.C. 801)
Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has designated these amendments as not a “major rule,” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Form PF will not appear in the Code of Federal Regulations.
By the Commissions.
The following Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) appendix will not appear in the Code of Federal Regulations.
On this matter, Acting Chairman Pham and Commissioners Behnam, Johnson, Goldsmith Romero, and Mersinger voted in the affirmative. No Commissioner voted in the negative.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Final rule; delay of effective dates.
In accordance with the memorandum of January 20, 2025, from President Donald J. Trump, entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” this action temporarily delays until March 21, 2025, the effective date of the regulations listed in the table below. EPA has identified two additional regulations that meet the criteria in the memo and may identify additional regulations in subsequent notices.
As of February 5, 2025, the effective dates of the rules published at 89 FR 99727 (December 11, 2024), and 90 FR 573 (January 6, 2025), are delayed to March 21, 2025.
William Nickerson, Director, Office of Regulatory Policy and Management, Office of Policy, Mail code 1804, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20460; (202) 566-0326;
EPA is taking this action in response to the memorandum of January 20, 2025, from the President, entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review.” The memorandum directed the heads of Executive Departments and Agencies to consider postponing for sixty days from the date of the memorandum the effective date for any rules that have been published in the
The EPA is taking this action, without opportunity for public comment and effective immediately, based on the good cause exceptions in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 553(d)(3), in that seeking public comment is impracticable, unnecessary and contrary to the public interest. The temporary delay in effective dates until March 21, 2025, is necessary to give Agency officials the opportunity for further review and consideration of new regulations, consistent with the memorandum of the President dated January 20, 2025. Given the imminence of the effective dates of these regulations, seeking prior public comment on this temporary delay is impractical, as well as contrary to the public interest in the orderly promulgation and implementation of regulations. In addition, to the extent any regulation below is an interpretive rule, general statement of policy, or rule of agency organization, procedure, or practice, it is exempt from notice and comment under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A).
For the foregoing reasons, the good cause exception in 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) also applies to EPA's decision to make this action effectively immediately. Moreover, to the extent that extending the effective date of any of these rules would grant an exception or relieve a restriction, an exception also applies under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1).
Where appropriate, the Agency may consider further delaying the effective dates of the above-referenced regulations beyond March 21, 2025. If the Agency were to do so, consistent with the memorandum of the President, the Agency would consider whether to propose any later effective date for public comment.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Leonardo S.p.a. Model A109E, A109S, and AW109SP helicopters. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of incorrect installation of the motor (MTR) cables and the bonding braids connected to the engine fire extinguisher bottles. This proposed AD would require inspecting the cables and bonding braids installation and, depending on the results, accomplishing corrective action, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
The FAA must receive comments on this NPRM by March 24, 2025.
You may send comments, using the procedures found in 14 CFR 11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following methods:
•
•
•
•
• For EASA material identified in this proposed AD, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; phone: +49 221 8999 000; email:
• You may view this material at the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Room 6N-321, Fort Worth, TX 76177. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call (817) 222-5110. It is also available at
Peter Schmitt, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: (206) 231-3377; email:
The FAA invites you to send any written relevant data, views, or arguments about this proposal. Send your comments to an address listed under the
Except for Confidential Business Information (CBI) as described in the following paragraph, and other information as described in 14 CFR 11.35, the FAA will post all comments received, without change, to
CBI is commercial or financial information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to this NPRM contain commercial or financial information that is customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or responsive to this NPRM, it is important that you clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI. Please mark each page of your submission containing CBI as “PROPIN.” The FAA will treat such marked submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and they will not be placed in the public docket of this NPRM. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to Peter Schmitt, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: (206) 231-3377; email:
EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Union, has issued EASA AD 2024-0193, dated October 11, 2024 (EASA AD 2024-0193) (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition on certain serial-numbered Leonardo S.p.a. Model A109E, A109LUH, A109S, and AW109SP helicopters. The MCAI states that reports were received of incorrect installation of the MTR cables and the bonding braids connected to the engine fire extinguisher bottles. This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to reduced performance of the engine fire extinguishing system during an engine fire and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at
The FAA reviewed EASA AD 2024-0193, which requires inspecting the left-
These products have been approved by the aviation authority of another country and are approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant to the FAA's bilateral agreement with this State of Design Authority, it has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI referenced above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM after determining that the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop on other products of these same type designs.
This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified in EASA AD 2024-0193, described previously, as incorporated by reference, except for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed AD and except as discussed under “Differences Between this Proposed AD and the MCAI.”
In the FAA's ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of the AD process, the FAA developed a process to use some civil aviation authority (CAA) ADs as the primary source of information for compliance with requirements for corresponding FAA ADs. The FAA has been coordinating this process with manufacturers and CAAs. As a result, the FAA proposes to incorporate EASA AD 2024-0193 by reference in the FAA final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with EASA AD 2024-0193 in its entirety through that incorporation, except for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed AD. Using common terms that are the same as the heading of a particular section in EASA AD 2024-0193 does not mean that operators need comply only with that section. For example, where the AD requirement refers to “all required actions and compliance times,” compliance with this AD requirement is not limited to the section titled “Required Action(s) and Compliance Time(s)” in EASA AD 2024-0193. Material referenced in EASA AD 2024-0193 for compliance will be available at
EASA AD 2024-0193 applies to Model A109LUH helicopters; however, this proposed AD would not because that model is not FAA type-certificated.
The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would affect 101 helicopters of U.S. registry. Labor rates are estimated at $85 per work-hour. Based on these numbers, the FAA estimates the following costs to comply with the proposed AD.
Inspecting the engine fire extinguisher bottle electrical connections would take 1 work-hour for an estimated cost of $85 per helicopter and $8,585 for the U.S. fleet.
Disconnecting and reinstalling the MTR cable(s) and bonding braid(s) would take up to 1 work-hour for an estimated cost of up to $85 per helicopter.
Title 49 of the United States Code specifies the FAA's authority to issue rules on aviation safety. Subtitle I, section 106, describes the authority of the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII: Aviation Programs, describes in more detail the scope of the Agency's authority.
The FAA is issuing this rulemaking under the authority described in Subtitle VII, Part A, Subpart III, Section 44701: General requirements. Under that section, Congress charges the FAA with promoting safe flight of civil aircraft in air commerce by prescribing regulations for practices, methods, and procedures the Administrator finds necessary for safety in air commerce. This regulation is within the scope of that authority because it addresses an unsafe condition that is likely to exist or develop on products identified in this rulemaking action.
The FAA determined that this proposed AD would not have federalism implications under Executive Order 13132. This proposed AD would not have a substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
For the reasons discussed above, I certify this proposed regulation:
(1) Is not a “significant regulatory action” under Executive Order 12866,
(2) Would not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and
(3) Would not have a significant economic impact, positive or negative, on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Incorporation by reference, Safety.
Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, the FAA proposes to amend 14 CFR part 39 as follows:
49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.
The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive (AD) by March 24, 2025.
None.
This AD applies to Leonardo S.p.a. Model A109E, A109S, and AW109SP helicopters, certificated in any category, as identified in European Union Aviation Safety Agency AD 2024-0193, dated October 11, 2024 (EASA AD 2024-0193).
Joint Aircraft System Component (JASC) Code 2620, Extinguishing System.
This AD was prompted by reports of incorrect installation of the motor (MTR) cables and the bonding braids connected to the engine fire extinguisher bottles. The FAA is issuing this AD to detect and correct incorrect installation of the MTR cables and the bonding braids to the engine fire extinguisher bottles, which could lead to reduced performance of the engine fire extinguishing system during an engine fire and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.
Comply with this AD within the compliance times specified, unless already done.
Except as specified in paragraphs (h) and (i) of this AD: Comply with all required actions and compliance times specified in, and in accordance with, EASA AD 2024-0193.
(1) Where EASA AD 2024-0193 requires compliance in terms of flight hours, this AD requires using hours time-in-service.
(2) Where EASA AD 2024-0193 refers to its effective date, this AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
(3) Where paragraph (2) of EASA AD 2024-0193 states “any discrepancy,” this AD requires replacing that text with “an improper installation.”
(4) This AD does not adopt the “Remarks” section of EASA AD 2024-0193.
Although the material referenced in EASA AD 2024-0193 specifies to submit certain information to the manufacturer, this AD does not require that action.
(1) The Manager, International Validation Branch, FAA, has the authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, send your request to your principal inspector or local Flight Standards District Office, as appropriate. If sending information directly to the manager of the International Validation Branch, send it to the attention of the person identified in paragraph (k) of this AD and email to:
(2) Before using any approved AMOC, notify your appropriate principal inspector, or lacking a principal inspector, the manager of the local flight standards district office/certificate holding district office.
For more information about this AD, contact Peter Schmitt, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: (206) 231-3377; email:
(1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of the material listed in this paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
(2) You must use this material as applicable to do the actions required by this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise.
(i) European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2024-0193, dated October 11, 2024.
(ii) [Reserved]
(3) For EASA material identified in this AD, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; phone: +49 221 8999 000; email:
(4) You may view this material at the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Room 6N-321, Fort Worth, TX 76177. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call (817) 222-5110.
(5) You may view this material at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, visit
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.
Cancellation of a notice of public hearing on a proposed rulemaking and notice of public hearing.
This document contains proposed regulations that would provide certain administrative requirements for unincorporated organizations taking advantage of modifications to the rules governing elections to be excluded from the application of partnership tax rules.
The public hearing scheduled for February 7, 2025, at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) is cancelled.
Martina Greene of the Publications and Regulations Section, Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration) at (202) 317-6901 (not a toll-free number).
A notice of proposed rulemaking and a notice of public hearing that appeared in the
The public comment period for these regulations expired on January 21, 2025. The notice of proposed rulemaking and notice of public hearing instructed those interested in testifying at the public hearing to submit a request to testify and an outline of the topics to be addressed. We did not receive a request to testify at the Public Hearing. Therefore, the public hearing scheduled for February 7, 2025, at 10 a.m. EST is cancelled.
Postal Service
Proposed rule.
The Postal Service is proposing to amend
Submit comments on or before March 7, 2025.
Mail or deliver written comments to the Director, Product Classification, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Room 4446, Washington, DC 20260-5015. If sending comments by email, include the name and address of the commenter and send to
You may inspect and photocopy all written comments, by appointment only, at USPS® Headquarters Library, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, 11th Floor North, Washington, DC 20260. These records are available for review on Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., by calling 202-268-2906.
Dale Kennedy at (202) 268-6592 or Doriane Harley at (202) 268-2537.
All submitted comments and attachments are part of the public record and subject to disclosure. Do not enclose any
Currently, the standards in DMM sections 235 and 245 require mailers of First Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail flats to make a 5-digit, 3-digit, and ADC bundle and tray preparation.
The Postal Service is proposing to amend the standards in DMM sections 235 and 245 to make the 5-digit, 3-digit, and ADC preparation “optional” when preparing bundles and trays of First Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail flats.
The Postal Service is proposing to implement this change effective May 1, 2025.
We believe that the proposed revisions will encourage mailers to create full flat trays of flat mail and will reduce the volume of bundles entered into the mailstream.
Although exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b), (c)) regarding proposed rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), the Postal Service invites public comment on the proposed revisions to
We will publish an appropriate amendment to 39 CFR part 111 to reflect these changes.
Administrative practice and procedure, Postal Service.
Accordingly, the Postal Service proposes the following changes to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations (see 39 CFR 111.1):
5 U.S.C. 552(a); 13 U.S.C. 301-307; 18 U.S.C. 1692-1737; 39 U.S.C. 101, 401-404, 414, 416, 3001-3018, 3201-3220, 3401-3406, 3621, 3622, 3626, 3629, 3631-3633, 3641, 3681-3685, and 5001.
a. 5-digit (optional); 10-piece minimum; red Label 5 or optional endorsement line (OEL).
b. 3-digit (optional); 10-piece minimum; green Label 3 or OEL.
c. ADC (optional); 10-piece minimum; pink Label A or OEL.
a. 5-digit (optional); full trays (no overflow); labeling: * * *
b. 3-digit (optional); full trays (no overflow), except for one less-than-full tray for each origin 3-digit(s); labeling: * * *
c. ADC (optional); full trays (no overflow); labeling: * * *
Preparation sequence, bundle size (except as allowed under 203.4.12), and labeling:
c. c. 3-digit (optional); 10-piece minimum; green Label 3 or OEL.
d. d. ADC (optional); 10-piece minimum; pink Label A or OEL.
Preparation sequence, tray size, and labeling:
a. 5-digit (optional); full trays (no overflow); labeling: * * *
b. 3-digit (optional); full trays (no overflow); labeling: * * *
d. ADC (optional); full trays (no overflow); labeling: * * *
Tray size, preparation sequence, and Line 1 labeling:
a. 5-digit: optional (90-piece minimum); one less-than-full or overflow tray allowed; for Line 1, use city, state, and 5-digit ZIP Code destination of pieces (for military mail see 4.0). (Preparation to qualify for 5-digit price is optional and need not be done for all 5-digit destinations.)
b. 3-digit: optional (90-piece minimum); one less-than-full or overflow tray allowed; for Line 1, use
d. ADC: optional (90-piece minimum); one less-than-full or overflow tray allowed; group pieces by 3-digit ZIP Code prefix; for Line 1, use
b. 5-digit (optional), see definition in 1.4j: * * *
d. 3-digit (optional), see definition in
e. ADC (optional); 10-piece minimum; pink Label A or OEL.
a. 5-digit/scheme; scheme sort required before 5-digit sort, 5-digit sort optional, only for pieces meeting the automation flats criteria in 201.6.0, see definition in 1.4j; full flat tray; 125-piece, or 15-pound minimum; labeling: * * *
b. 3-digit (optional); full flat tray; 125-piece, or 15-pound minimum; labeling: * * *
d. ADC (optional); full flat tray; 125-piece, or 15-pound minimum; labeling: * * *
[Revise the first paragraph of item (b)
b. 5-digit presort (optional); see definition in 1.4g: * * *
d. 3-digit presort (optional); see definition in
e. ADC (optional); 10-piece minimum; pink Label A or OEL.
a.
b.
d.
Commission on Civil Rights.
Announcement of meeting.
Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the provisions of the rules and regulations of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission), and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), that a meeting of the Puerto Rico Advisory Committee to the Commission will convene by virtual web conference on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at 3:30 p.m. Atlantic Time. The purpose is to continue discussion on their project on the civil rights impacts of the Insular Cases in Puerto Rico.
February 26, 2025, Wednesday, at 3:30 p.m. Atlantic Time (2:30 p.m. ET).
Meeting will be held via Zoom.
Email Victoria Moreno, Designated Federal Officer at
This meeting will take place in Spanish with English interpretation. This committee meeting is available to the public through the registration link above. Any interested member of the public may listen to the meeting. An open comment period will be provided to allow members of the public to make a statement as time allows. Per the Federal Advisory Committee Act, public minutes of the meeting will include a list of persons who are present at the meeting. If joining via phone, callers can expect to incur regular charges for calls they initiate over wireless lines, according to their wireless plan. The Commission will not refund any incurred charges. Callers will incur no charge for calls they initiate over land-line connections to the toll-free telephone number. Closed captioning will be available for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or who have certain cognitive or learning impairments. To request additional accommodations, please email
Members of the public are entitled to submit written comments; the comments must be received in the regional office within 30 days following the meeting. Written comments may be emailed to Victoria Moreno at
Records generated from this meeting may be inspected and reproduced at the Regional Programs Coordination Unit Office, as they become available, both before and after the meeting. Records of the meetings will be available via
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Notice of public meeting.
Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the provisions of the rules and regulations of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, that the Wyoming Advisory Committee (Committee) to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will hold a virtual business meeting via Zoom at 1:00 p.m. MT on Thursday, March 13, 2025. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss post-report activity for the Committee's project,
Thursday, March 13, 2025, from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Mountain Time.
The meeting will be held via Zoom Webinar.
Kayla Fajota, Designated Federal Officer, at
This committee meeting is available to the public through the registration link above. Any interested member of the public may listen to the meeting. An open comment period will be provided to allow members of the public to make a statement as time allows. Per the Federal Advisory Committee Act, public minutes of the meeting will include a list of persons who are present at the meeting. If joining via phone, callers can expect to incur regular charges for calls they initiate over wireless lines, according to their wireless plan. The Commission will not refund any incurred charges. Callers will incur no charge for calls they initiate over land-line connections to the toll-free telephone number. Closed captioning will be available for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or who have
Members of the public are entitled to submit written comments; the comments must be received in the regional office within 30 days following the meeting. Written comments may be emailed to Kayla Fajota at
Records generated from this meeting may be inspected and reproduced at the Regional Programs Coordination Unit, as they become available, both before and after the meeting. Records of the meeting will be available via the file sharing website,
Pursuant to section 766.24 of the Export Administration Regulations, 15 CFR parts 730-774 (“EAR” or “the Regulations”),
On April 7, 2022, Matthew S. Axelrod, the then-Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement, signed an order denying Azur export privileges for a period of 180 days on the ground that issuance of the order was necessary in the public interest to prevent an imminent violation of the Regulations. The order was issued
On August 27, 2024, BIS, through OEE, submitted a written request for a fourth renewal of the TDO. The written request was made more than 20 days before the TDO's scheduled expiration and, given the temporary suspension of international mail service to Russia, OEE has attempted to deliver a copy of the renewal request to Azur by alternative means in accordance with sections 766.5 and 766.24(d) of the Regulations. No opposition to the renewal of the TDO has been received. On September 20, 2024, an order was issued renewing the Azur TDO based upon ongoing violations of the TDO and the Regulations, including the reexport of aircraft subject to the EAR on flights into Russia from Antalya, Turkey; Hurghada, Egypt; Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt; and Dalaman, Turkey. Based on additional investigation, OEE has since requested that the address of Azur Air be updated to Azur Air, Office 29, Vzletnaya St. 57, Krasnoyarsk, Russia 660020.
Having considered OEE's request, I find that the address of Azur Air should be modified to reflect this update.
A. Applying for, obtaining, or using any license (except directly related to safety of flight), license exception, or export control document;
B. Carrying on negotiations concerning, or ordering, buying, receiving, using, selling, delivering, storing, disposing of, forwarding, transporting, financing, or otherwise servicing in any way, any transaction involving any item exported or to be exported from the United States that is subject to the EAR except directly related to safety of flight and authorized by BIS pursuant to section 764.3(a)(2) of the Regulations, or engaging in any other activity subject to the EAR except directly related to safety of flight and authorized by BIS pursuant to section 764.3(a)(2) of the Regulations; or
C. Benefitting in any way from any transaction involving any item exported or to be exported from the United States that is subject to the EAR, or from any other activity subject to the EAR except directly related to safety of flight and authorized by BIS pursuant to section 764.3(a)(2) of the Regulations.
A. Export, reexport, or transfer (in-country) to or on behalf of Azur any item subject to the EAR except directly
B. Take any action that facilitates the acquisition or attempted acquisition by Azur of the ownership, possession, or control of any item subject to the EAR that has been or will be exported from the United States, including financing or other support activities related to a transaction whereby Azur acquires or attempts to acquire such ownership, possession or control except directly related to safety of flight and authorized by BIS pursuant to section 764.3(a)(2) of the Regulations;
C. Take any action to acquire from or to facilitate the acquisition or attempted acquisition from Azur of any item subject to the EAR that has been exported from the United States except directly related to safety of flight and authorized by BIS pursuant to section 764.3(a)(2) of the Regulations;
D. Obtain from Azur in the United States any item subject to the EAR with knowledge or reason to know that the item will be, or is intended to be, exported from the United States except directly related to safety of flight and authorized by BIS pursuant to section 764.3(a)(2) of the Regulations; or
E. Engage in any transaction to service any item subject to the EAR that has been or will be exported from the United States and which is owned, possessed or controlled by Azur, or service any item, of whatever origin, that is owned, possessed or controlled by Azur if such service involves the use of any item subject to the EAR that has been or will be exported from the United States except directly related to safety of flight and authorized by BIS pursuant to section 764.3(a)(2) of the Regulations. For purposes of this paragraph, servicing means installation, maintenance, repair, modification, or testing.
In accordance with the provisions of sections 766.24(e) of the EAR, Azur may, at any time, appeal this Order by filing a full written statement in support of the appeal with the Office of the Administrative Law Judge, U.S. Coast Guard ALJ Docketing Center, 40 South Gay Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202-4022.
In accordance with the provisions of section 766.24(d) of the EAR, BIS may seek renewal of this Order by filing a written request not later than 20 days before the expiration date. A renewal request may be opposed by Azur as provided in section 766.24(d), by filing a written submission with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement, which must be received not later than seven days before the expiration date of the Order.
A copy of this Order shall be provided to Azur, and shall be published in the
This Order is effective immediately and shall remain in effect until September 20, 2025, unless renewed in accordance with section 766.24(d) of the Regulations.
Office of Fossil Energy & Carbon Management, Department of Energy.
Extension of public comment period.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is extending the public comment period for its Notice of Availability of the 2024 LNG Export Study and Request for Comments, which was published in the
The comment period announced in the Notice of Availability and Request for Comments, published on December 20, 2024 (89 FR 104132), is extended. Comments are to be filed pursuant to the procedures detailed in the Public Comment Procedures section of that
Due to potential delays in DOE's receipt and processing of mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service, we encourage respondents to submit comments electronically to ensure timely receipt.
Ms. Beverly Howard, Docket Room Manager, U.S. Department of Energy (FE-34), Office of Regulation, Analysis, and Engagement, Office of Resource Sustainability, Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Forrestal Building, Room 3E-042, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9478,
On December 20, 2024, DOE published a notice in the
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on January 29, 2025, by Steven E. Winberg, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Fossil Energy & Carbon Management, pursuant to delegated authority from the Acting Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the
Take notice that the Commission has received the following Natural Gas Pipeline Rate and Refund Report filings:
Any person desiring to intervene, to protest, or to answer a complaint in any of the above proceedings must file in accordance with Rules 211, 214, or 206 of the Commission's Regulations (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214, or 385.206) on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on the specified comment date. Protests may be considered, but intervention is necessary to become a party to the proceeding.
The filings are accessible in the Commission's eLibrary system (
eFiling is encouraged. More detailed information relating to filing requirements, interventions, protests, service, and qualifying facilities filings can be found at:
The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or
On January 24, 2025, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (Vermont DEC) submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) notice that it received a request for a Clean Water Act section 401(a)(1) water quality certification as defined in 40 CFR 121.5, from Ampersand Gilman Hydro, LP, in conjunction with the above captioned project on January 24, 2025. Pursuant to section 4.34(b)(5) of the Commission's regulations,
If Vermont DEC fails or refuses to act on the water quality certification request on or before the above date, then the certifying authority is deemed waived pursuant to section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1341(a)(1).
Take notice that Commission staff will convene a technical conference on July 8, 9, and 10, 2025 to discuss opportunities for increasing real-time and day-ahead market and planning efficiency through improved software. A detailed agenda with the list of presentation dates and times for the selected speakers will be published on the Commission's website
This conference will bring together experts from diverse backgrounds including electric power system operators, software developers, government, research centers, and academia. The conference will bring these experts together for the purposes of stimulating discussion, sharing information, and identifying fruitful avenues for research on improving software for increased efficiency and reliability of the bulk power system.
This conference will build on discussions at prior conferences in this proceeding by focusing on topics identified as important to market efficiency in those conferences. Broadly, such topics fall into the following categories:
(1) Software for improving the resource adequacy process, including: software for improving computational tractability of resource adequacy and ease of use of resource adequacy tools, software for improving the fidelity of representing generators and loads in resource adequacy modeling, software for evaluating trade-offs between generation and transmission, software for implementing and evaluating new reliability metrics like expected unserved energy (EUE), software for implementing novel resource adequacy accreditation methods, and software for including climate change and extreme weather impacts on resource adequacy.
(2) Software for improving the efficiency of the interconnection process, including improved interconnection studies, software for automating parts of the interconnection process, software for expediting power flow analyses related to interconnection, etc.
(3) Software for implementing advanced computing methods such as artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning into existing or novel applications for improving real-time and day-ahead market and planning efficiency.
(4) Software related to grid-enhancing technologies, such as those described in Docket Nos. AD19-19
(5) Software for improving the performance of generating resources' ability and incentives to follow dispatch instructions and for eliminating unnecessary make-whole payments, including software for ensuring that product awards reflect prevailing transmission constraints and capabilities of resources to deliver awarded products.
(6) Software for better modeling and computation of resources with distinct operating characteristics such as storage resources, multi-stage/multi-configuration resources, hybrid resources, aggregations of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) (including DER Management Systems, or DERMS), and others. Presentations on this topic should focus on alternative formulations and solution methods for market models.
(7) Approaches to addressing challenges, such as delays, associated with deploying software to implement market reforms or operational improvements to wholesale electricity markets.
(8) Other improvements in algorithms, model formulations, hardware advancements, or other related approaches that may allow for improvements to the bulk power system in market efficiency and enhanced reliability.
The conference will take place in a hybrid format, with presenters and attendees allowed to participate either in person or virtually. Further details on both in-person and virtual participation will be released prior to the conference.
Attendees must register through the Commission's website on or before June 10, 2025. Access to the conference (virtual or in-person) may not be available to those who do not register.
Speaker nominations must be submitted on or before March 21, 2025 through the Commission's website by providing the proposed speaker's contact information along with a title, abstract, and list of contributing authors for the proposed presentation. Proposed presentations should be related to the topics discussed above. Speakers and presentations will be selected to ensure relevance to those topics and to accommodate time constraints.
In previous years, the Commission has received nominations for more presentations than could be accommodated, and we anticipate that may be the case this year as well. Speakers are encouraged to submit new findings and novel work to ensure that the conference reflects the latest research. Presentation selections may prioritize nominations that cover topics beyond the research covered in previous years' conferences. If a nomination builds on previous years' presentation(s), authors are encouraged to explain in their abstract what new ground is being covered. Presentation proposals that involve many of the same co-authors and have similar contents may be combined into a single proposal for one presentation.
All presentations materials (
The Commission will accept comments following the conference, with a deadline of August 10, 2025.
There is an “eSubscription” link on the Commission's website that enables subscribers to receive email notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please email
FERC conferences are accessible under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations please send an email to
For further information about these conferences, please contact:
Take notice that the following application has been filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
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j.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file scoping comments and motions to intervene and protests using the Commission's eFiling system at
The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all intervenors filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of that document on each person on the official service list for the project. Further, if an intervener files comments or documents with the Commission relating to the merits of an issue that may affect the responsibilities of a particular resource agency, they must also serve a copy of the document on that resource agency.
k. This application has been accepted for filing, but is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.
l.
Brookfield currently operates the project in a run-of-river mode by typically limiting impoundment drawdowns to no more than 1 foot below the normal elevation of 168.17 feet. However, the project is licensed to operate with up to four feet of impoundment drawdowns. The current license requires Brookfield to release a minimum flow of 1,430 cfs or inflow, whichever is less. Brookfield states that it meets this requirement by releasing 50 cfs from the impoundment to the Lewiston Canal System and 1,380 cfs to the river downstream of the project. The maximum hydraulic capacity of the project's generating units is 6,600 cfs and the minimum hydraulic capacity of a single unit is approximately 800 cfs.
The licensee is proposing to remove an existing building from the project boundary. The building is a non-project facility and is located near the Canal Gatehouse. The building is privately owned and serves no project purpose, according to Brookfield's application. In total, this change will remove 0.08 acre from the project boundary, resulting in a total of 237.88 acres remaining within the project boundary.
m. A copy of the application can be viewed on the Commission's website at
You may also register at
n. Anyone may submit a protest or a motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, 385.211, and 385.214. In determining the appropriate action to take, the Commission will consider all protests filed, but only those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with the Commission's Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any protests or motions to intervene must be received on or before the specified deadline date for the particular application.
When the application is ready for environmental analysis, the Commission will issue a public notice requesting comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, or prescriptions.
All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title “PROTEST” or “MOTION TO INTERVENE;” (2) set forth in the heading the name of the applicant and the project number of the application to which the filing responds; (3) furnish the name, address, and telephone number of the person protesting or intervening; and (4) otherwise comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. Agencies may obtain copies of the application directly from the applicant. A copy of any protest or motion to intervene must be served upon each representative of the applicant specified in the particular application.
o. The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, Tribal members and others, access publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or
p. The Commission's scoping process will help determine the required level of analysis and satisfy the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping requirements, irrespective of whether the Commission issues an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement.
In addition to written comments solicited by this notice, Commission staff will hold two public scoping meetings at the times and locations noted below. All interested individuals, resource agencies, Native American Tribes, and NGOs are invited to attend any of the meetings to assist Commission staff in identifying the scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed in the NEPA document.
The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:
Scoping Document 1 (SD1), which outlines the subject areas to be addressed in the environmental document, was mailed to the individuals and entities on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of SD1 will be available at the scoping meetings, or may be viewed on the web at
Brookfield White Pine and Commission staff will conduct an environmental site review of the project beginning at 8 a.m. on February 20, 2025. We recommend meeting at the Hampton Inn Lewiston/Auburn Hotel (located at 15 Lincoln Street, Lewiston, Maine 04240) to carpool to project.
All interested individuals, resource agencies, Native American Tribes, and NGOs are invited to attend the site review. Attendees should wear appropriate outdoor clothing and footwear. Persons planning on participating in the site visit must RSVP to Mr. Luke Anderson of Brookfield at
Individuals, NGOs, Native American Tribes, and agencies with environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in the NEPA document. At the start of each meeting, Commission staff will provide a brief overview of the meeting format and objectives. Individual oral comments will be taken on a one-on-one basis with a court reporter (with Commission staff present). This format is designed to receive the maximum number of oral comments in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted. If you wish to speak, Commission staff will hand out numbers in the order of your arrival. If all individuals who wish to provide comments have had an opportunity to do so, Commission staff may conclude the meeting a half hour earlier than the scheduled time. Please see appendix 1 for additional information on the session format and conduct.
Scoping comments will be recorded by the court reporter and become part of the public record for this proceeding. Transcripts will be publicly available on FERC's eLibrary system. If a significant number of people are interested in providing oral comments in the one-on-one settings, a time limit of 5 minutes may be implemented for each commentor.
It is important to note that the Commission provides equal consideration to all comments received, whether filed in writing or provided orally at a scoping session. Although there will not be a formal presentation, Commission staff will be available throughout the scoping session to answer your questions about the environmental review process. Representatives from White Pine will also be present to answer project-specific questions.
q.
Take notice that the Commission received the following exempt wholesale generator filings:
Take notice that the Commission received the following electric rate filings:
The filings are accessible in the Commission's eLibrary system (
Any person desiring to intervene, to protest, or to answer a complaint in any of the above proceedings must file in accordance with Rules 211, 214, or 206 of the Commission's Regulations (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214, or 385.206) on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on the specified comment date. Protests may be considered, but intervention is necessary to become a party to the proceeding.
eFiling is encouraged. More detailed information relating to filing requirements, interventions, protests, service, and qualifying facilities filings can be found at:
The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access publicly available information and navigate Commission processes.
For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or
The Commission hereby gives notice of the filing of the following agreements under the Shipping Act of 1984. Interested parties may submit comments, relevant information, or documents regarding the agreements to the Secretary by email at
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is adopting a proposal to extend for three years, without revision the Disclosure Requirements in Connection with Regulation H (Consumer Protection in Sales of Insurance) (FR H-7; OMB No. 7100-0298).
Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Nuha Elmaghrabi—Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer for the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. The OMB inventory, as well as copies of the PRA Submission, supporting statements (which contain more detailed information about the information collections and burden estimates than this notice), and approved collection of information instrument(s) are available at
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is adopting a proposal to extend for three years, with revision, the Procurement Solicitation Package (FR 1400; OMB No. 7100-0180).
The revisions are effective March 7, 2025.
Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Nuha Elmaghrabi—Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer for the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. The OMB inventory, as well as copies of the PRA Submission, supporting statements (which contain more detailed information about the information collections and burden estimates than this notice), and approved collection of information instrument(s) are available at
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is adopting a proposal to extend for three years, with revision, the Financial Statements of Foreign Subsidiaries of U.S. Banking Organizations, Financial Statements of U.S. Nonbank Subsidiaries of U.S. Holding Companies, (FR 2314/S, FR Y-11/S; OMB No. 7100-0073) and the Reports of Foreign Banking Organizations (FR Y-7N/NS/Q; OMB No. 7100-0125).
The revisions will take effect as of March 31, 2025.
Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Nuha Elmaghrabi—Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer for the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. The OMB inventory, as well as copies of the PRA Submission, supporting statements (which contain more detailed information about the information
The FR Y-11 reporting forms collect financial information for individual non-functionally regulated U.S. nonbank subsidiaries of domestic HCs, which is essential for monitoring the subsidiaries' potential impact on the condition of the HC or its subsidiary banks. HCs file the FR Y-11 on a quarterly or annual basis, or the FR Y-11S on an annual basis, predominantly based on whether the organization meets certain asset size thresholds. The data from the FR Y-11 forms are used with other HC data to assess the condition of HCs that are heavily engaged in nonbanking activities and to monitor the volume, nature, and condition of their nonbanking operations.
The commenter was supportive of the proposed revisions to align the regulatory reporting of loan modifications to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty (LMBEFD) on the FR 2314, FR Y-11, and FR Y-7N in accordance with ASU 2022-02 issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board in March 2022. The commenter
Additionally, on June 7, 2024, the Board published in the
The commenter was supportive of incorporating line items from the Quarterly Report of Assets and Liabilities of Large Foreign Offices of U.S. Banks (FR 2502q) into the FR 2314. However, the commenter requested the Board modify certain aspects of the proposal. First, the commenter urged the Board to limit the scope of respondents subject to the proposed FR 2314 Schedule BS-Q, “Due From, Due To, and Other” to those that meet the current criteria to file the FR 2502q. The commenter stated that there are significant scoping differences between the FR 2502q and the FR 2314. For subsidiaries, FR 2502q reporting is limited to those foreign subsidiaries located in the United Kingdom (U.K.) or the Caribbean that file the quarterly FR 2314, have a banking charter, engage in banking business, and report $2 billion or more in total assets and $10 million or more in total deposits. The FR 2314 quarterly instructions state that a U.S. Banking Organization (USBO) must file the report quarterly for its foreign subsidiary if the parent U.S. HC has total consolidated assets of $500 million or more or files the FR Y-9C, or the subsidiary is owned or controlled by a state member bank or an Edge or agreement corporation that has total consolidated assets equal to or greater than $500 million, and the subsidiary meets any one of several criteria.
Furthermore, this commenter also stated that the proposed changes and increased granularity of the items reported would necessitate both the development of new systems, as well as modifications to existing ones. This reporting burden would be greatest on respondents that have newly scoped-in entities that would be reporting this information for the first time. In light of this, the commenter requested that, if the scope of respondents on the proposed FR 2314 Schedule BS-Q is not limited to those that currently meet the criteria to file the FR 2502q, foreign subsidiaries would need at least four quarters from publication of the final forms and instructions to implement the revisions. However, if the scope were limited to foreign subsidiaries that meet the current criteria to file the FR 2502q, foreign subsidiaries would only need two additional quarters to implement the proposal.
The Board agrees with the commenter that broadening the criteria for reporting the proposed FR 2314 Schedule BS-Q beyond the current reporting criteria for the FR 2502q may impose additional burden on FR 2314 respondents and is finalizing the criteria for completing Schedule BS-Q as noted below. Foreign subsidiaries that are located in the U.K. or Caribbean (that are not located in a U.S. military facility), that have a banking charter and engage in banking business, that report $2 billion or more in total assets in Schedule BS, item 10, and $10 million or more in total deposits in Schedule BS-M, item 6, as of the end of the calendar quarter, must complete new Schedule BS-Q. Foreign Subsidiaries that file the FR 2314 on an annual basis would not report the new items. The FR 2314 instructions will be updated to reflect these changes. Substantially restricting the scope of institutions required to complete Schedule BS-Q should additionally limit the burden incurred due to system revisions necessary to implement the revisions. Although the proposed line items would be new on the FR 2314, there would be fewer items reported and they would be at the same level of granularity as currently reported on the FR 2502q. However, the Board acknowledges that U.S. HCs and their foreign subsidiaries may need additional time initially to develop their reporting systems to implement these changes. As such, the Board will delay the requirement to complete Schedule BS-Q until March 31, 2025.
The commenter noted that the notice proposes to revise the instructions of FR 2314 and FR Y-11, Schedule IS, line item 4, “Provision for Credit Losses”, to instruct respondents to include provisions for credit losses on all financial assets and off-balance-sheet credit exposures. The commenter stated that, despite this proposed revision, contradictory language would remain in the instructions for Schedule IS, line item 4, “Provisions for Credit Losses” stating to “exclude provision for credit losses on off-balance-sheet credit exposures and provisions for allocated transfer risk, both of which should be reported in Schedule IS, line item 7, “Noninterest expense”. The commenter also noted that the current instructions of Schedule IS line item 7(a), “Pertaining to nonrelated
The commenter also asked for clarification on FR 2314 Schedule BS-Q, line items 3, “Assets that are claims on U.S. addressees other than depository institutions”, and 4, “Liabilities to U.S. addressees other than depository institutions”. The instructions of proposed Schedule BS-Q state to exclude balances with related institutions from line items 3 and 4, while BS-Q, line items 1, “Balances due from related institutions, gross”, and 2, “Balances due to related institutions, gross”, represent balances due from and due to related institutions, gross, as stated in the line item caption name. The commenter requested that Board revise the instructions to explicitly clarify that these balances reported in Schedule BS-Q line items 1 and 2 should be excluded when reporting the balances in line items 3 and 4. In response, the Board will revise the instructions to explicitly clarify that balances with related institutions are excluded from Schedule BS-Q, line items 3 and 4.
The commenter also stated that proposed revisions to the draft FR 2314 and FR Y-11 report forms, Schedule IS-B, Memoranda items M3 and M4 contain a reference to a footnote (FN 6) following the the line item captions. The commenter requested that FN 6 be added and respondents be given the opportunity to comment on this item. Schedule IS-B, Memoranda items M3 and M4 should not reference FN 6 on the respective report forms. Therefore, the report forms will be updated to no longer reference FN 6.
Lastly, the commenter requested clarity regarding the statement that six line items from the FR 2502q would be incorporated into the proposed FR 2314 Schedule BS-Q, when it appears that only one line item is included. The commenter stated that, “although there are six line items on the proposed FR 2314 Schedule BS-Q, only line items 3 and 4, which break out FR 2502q line item 1.c. are from the FR 2502q.” The Board acknowledges that not all line items that were proposed to be added to the FR 2314 are explicitly from the FR 2502q. However, the intent of these new line items is to allow for the discontinuation of the FR 2502q and to support the supervisory data needs of the FR 2502q data users.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Notice, request for comment.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years the Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Disclosure Requirements Associated with Regulation NN (FR NN; OMB No. 7100-0353).
Comments must be submitted on or before April 7, 2025.
You may submit comments, identified by FR NN, by any of the following methods:
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•
•
•
Comments received are subject to public disclosure. In general, comments received will be made available on the Board's website at
Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer for the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Nuha Elmaghrabi—Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,
On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.
During the comment period for this proposal, a copy of the proposed PRA OMB submission, including the draft reporting form and instructions, supporting statement (which contains more detail about the information collection and burden estimates than this notice), and other documentation, will be made available on the Board's public website at
The Board invites public comment on the following information collection,
a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the information has practical utility;
b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;
d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and
e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board should modify the proposal.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Notice, request for comment.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the Notice of Proposed Declaration of Dividend (FR 1583; OMB No. 7100-0339).
Comments must be submitted on or before April 7, 2025.
You may submit comments, identified by FR 1583, by any of the following methods:
•
•
•
•
Comments received are subject to public disclosure. In general, comments received will be made available on the Board's website at
Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer for the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Nuha Elmaghrabi—Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,
On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.
During the comment period for this proposal, a copy of the proposed PRA OMB submission, including the draft reporting form and instructions, supporting statement (which contains more detail about the information collection and burden estimates than this notice), and other documentation, will be made available on the Board's public website at
The Board invites public comment on the following information collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:
a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the information has practical utility;
b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;
d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and
e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board should modify the proposal.
The notificants listed below have applied under the Change in Bank Control Act (Act) (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)) and § 225.41 of the Board's Regulation Y (12 CFR 225.41) to acquire shares of a bank or bank holding company. The factors that are considered in acting on the applications are set forth in paragraph 7 of the Act (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)(7)).
The public portions of the applications listed below, as well as other related filings required by the Board, if any, are available for immediate inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank(s) indicated below and at the offices of the Board of Governors. This information may also be obtained on an expedited basis, upon request, by contacting the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank and from the Board's Freedom of Information Office at
Comments received are subject to public disclosure. In general, comments received will be made available without change and will not be modified to remove personal or business information including confidential, contact, or other identifying information. Comments should not include any information such as confidential information that would not be appropriate for public disclosure.
Comments regarding each of these applications must be received at the Reserve Bank indicated or the offices of the Board of Governors, Ann E. Misback, Secretary of the Board, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551-0001, not later than February 20, 2025.
1.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Notice, request for comment.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the Reporting Requirements Associated with Regulation TT (FR TT; OMB No. 7100-0369).
Comments must be submitted on or before April 7, 2025.
You may submit comments, identified by FR TT, by any of the following methods:
•
•
•
•
Comments received are subject to public disclosure. In general, comments received will be made available on the Board's website at
Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer for the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
Federal Reserve Board Clearance
On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.
During the comment period for this proposal, a copy of the proposed PRA OMB submission, including the draft reporting form and instructions, supporting statement (which contains more detail about the information collection and burden estimates than this notice), and other documentation, will be made available on the Board's public website at
The Board invites public comment on the following information collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:
a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the information has practical utility;
b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;
d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and
e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board should modify the proposal.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is adopting a proposal to extend for three years, with revision, the Report of Selected Money Market Rates (FR 2420; OMB No. 7100-0357).
The revisions are effective February 9, 2026.
Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Nuha Elmaghrabi—Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer for the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. The OMB inventory, as well as copies of the PRA Submission, supporting statements (which contain more detailed information about the information collections and burden estimates than this notice), and approved collection of information instrument(s) are available at
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Notice, request for comment.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the Recordkeeping Provisions Associated with the Interagency Statement on Complex Structured Finance Activities (FR 4022; OMB No. 7100-0311).
Comments must be submitted on or before April 7, 2025.
You may submit comments, identified by FR 4022, by any of the following methods:
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Comments received are subject to public disclosure. In general, comments received will be made available on the Board's website at
Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer for the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer—Nuha Elmaghrabi—Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,
On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.
During the comment period for this proposal, a copy of the proposed PRA OMB submission, including the draft reporting form and instructions, supporting statement (which contains more detail about the information collection and burden estimates than this notice), and other documentation, will be made available on the Board's public website at
The Board invites public comment on the following information collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:
a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the information has practical utility;
b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;
d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and
e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board should modify the proposal.
Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Request for public comments.
The Administration for Children and Families is proposing revisions to an approved information collection, the Child Care Improper Payments Data Collection Instructions (OMB #0970-0323, expiration 1/31/2025). In addition to the proposed changes, we are requesting a 3-year extension.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to
The Office of Child Care (OCC) is completing the sixth 3-year cycle of case record reviews to meet the requirements for reporting under PIIA. The current data collection forms and instructions expire on January 31, 2025. As part of the renewal process, OCC has revised the forms and instructions with minor changes that do not change the methodology, but that provide additional guidance and clarification to facilitate complete and accurate data submissions. Existing instructions and examples were updated, expanded, or rewritten to clarify the information requested. Several formatting changes were made to streamline instructions. The instructions and forms were also reviewed for alignment with the 2024 CCDF Final Rule (89 FR 15366, March 1, 2024). A description of changes made in each section can be found in the Introduction section of the revised DCI.
OCC is particularly interested in feedback about updates made to the following sections:
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For this reason, OCC conducted a survey in the spring of 2024 to gather information about States' experiences completing the error rate reports, including their estimated burden hours for each report. All CCDF Lead Agencies required to submit the error rate reports were invited to participate, and 56 percent (29 out of 52 Lead Agencies) responded. Lead Agency respondents represented a geographically diverse group of States with a range in size as
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security.
General notice.
This notice advises the public that the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refunds (overpayments) of customs duties will decrease from the previous quarter. For the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2025, the interest rates for underpayments will be 7 percent for both corporations and non-corporations. The interest rate for overpayments will be 7 percent for non-corporations and 6 percent for corporations. This notice is published for the convenience of the importing public and U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel.
The rates announced in this notice are applicable as of January 1, 2025.
Bruce Ingalls, Revenue Division, Collection Refunds & Analysis Branch, 8899 E 56th Street, Mail Stop 203J, Indianapolis, IN 46249; telephone (317) 298-1107.
Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1505 and Treasury Decision 85-93, published in the
The interest rates are based on the Federal short-term rate and determined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on behalf of the Secretary of the Treasury on a quarterly basis. The rates effective for a quarter are determined during the first-month period of the previous quarter.
In Revenue Ruling 2024-25, the IRS determined the rates of interest for the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2025, and ending on March 31, 2025. The interest rate paid to the Treasury for underpayments will be the Federal short-term rate (4%) plus three percentage points (3%) for a total of seven percent (7%) for both corporations and non-corporations. For overpayments made by non-corporations, the rate is the Federal short-term rate (4%) plus three
For the convenience of the importing public and U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel, the following list of IRS interest rates used, covering the period from July of 1974 to date, to calculate interest on overdue accounts and refunds of customs duties, is published in summary format.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security.
Notice.
In order to effectuate the President's February 1, 2025 Executive Order “Imposing Duties to Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People's Republic of China,” which imposes specified rates of duty on imports of articles that are products of the People's Republic of China (PRC or China), the Secretary of Homeland Security has determined that appropriate action is needed to modify the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) as set out in the annex to this notice.
The duties set out in the annex to this document are effective with respect to products of the PRC that are entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on February 4, 2025.
Brandon Lord, Executive Director, Trade Policy and Programs, Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, (202) 325-6432 or by email at
On January 20, 2025, the President declared a national emergency with respect to the grave threat to the United States posed by the influx of illegal aliens and drugs into the United States in Proclamation 10886 (Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border).
On February 1, 2025, the President expanded the scope of the national emergency declared in that proclamation to cover the failure of the People's Republic of China (PRC or China) government to arrest, seize, detain, or otherwise intercept, chemical precursor suppliers, money launderers, other transnational criminal organizations, criminals at large, and drugs. In addition, the President determined that this failure to act on the part of the PRC constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.
To address this threat, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701
The Executive Order directed the Secretary of Homeland Security, to determine and implement the necessary modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), consistent with law, in order to effectuate the Executive Order.
In order to implement the rates of duty imposed by the Executive Order, effective on 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on February 4, 2025, subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS is modified by the annex to this notice.
Articles that are the products of China, which hereinafter will include products of Hong Kong in accordance with Executive Order 13936 on Hong Kong Normalization (
Imported products of China that are encompassed by 50 U.S.C. 1702(b) will not be subject to the additional ad valorem duty provided for in new HTSUS heading 9903.01.20, but such qualifying products, other than products for personal use included in accompanied baggage of persons arriving in the United States, must be declared and entered under new HTSUS heading 9903.01.21 or new HTSUS heading 9903.01.22. Specifically, new HTSUS heading 9903.01.21 covers products encompassed by 50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2) and new HTSUS heading 9903.01.22 covers products encompassed by 50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(3).
The additional ad valorem duty provided for in new HTSUS heading 9903.01.20 applies in addition to all other applicable duties, taxes, fees, exactions, and charges. Further, the February 1, 2025 Executive Order clarifies that duty-free
In order to protect the revenue of the United States and effectively carry out the Executive Order's instruction to exclude such articles from eligibility for the
Products of China that are eligible for temporary duty exemptions or reductions under subchapter II to chapter 99 shall be subject to the additional ad valorem rate of duty imposed by heading 9903.01.20.
The additional duties imposed by heading 9903.01.20 shall not apply to goods for which entry is properly claimed under a provision of chapter 98 of the tariff schedule pursuant to applicable regulations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), and whenever CBP agrees that entry under such a provision is appropriate, except for goods entered under heading 9802.00.80; and subheadings 9802.00.40, 9802.00.50, and 9802.00.60. For subheadings 9802.00.40, 9802.00.50, and 9802.00.60, the additional duties apply to the value of repairs, alterations, or processing performed (in the PRC), as described in the applicable subheading. For heading 9802.00.80, the additional duties apply to the value of the article assembled abroad (in the PRC), less the cost or value of such products of the United States, as described.
Articles that are products of the PRC, excluding those encompassed by 50 U.S.C. 1702(b), except those that are eligible for admission to a foreign trade zone under “domestic status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.43, and are admitted into a United States foreign trade zone on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on February 4, 2025, must be admitted as “privileged foreign status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.41. Such articles will be subject, upon entry for consumption, to the duties imposed by the Executive Order and the rates of duty related to the classification under the applicable HTSUS subheading in effect at the time of admission into the United States foreign trade zone.
No drawback shall be available with respect to the additional duties imposed pursuant to the Executive Order.
Effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on February 4, 2025, subchapter III of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is modified:
1. by inserting the following new heading 9903.01.20 in numerical sequence, with the material in the new heading inserted in the columns of the HTSUS labeled “Heading/Subheading”, “Article Description”, “Rates of Duty 1—General”, “Rates of Duty 1—Special” and “Rates of Duty 2”, respectively:
2. by inserting the following new heading 9903.01.21 in numerical sequence, with the material in the new heading inserted in the columns of the HTSUS labeled “Heading/Subheading”, “Article Description”, “Rates of Duty 1—General”, “Rates of Duty 1—Special” and “Rates of Duty 2”, respectively:
3. by inserting the following new heading 9903.01.22 in numerical sequence, with the material in the new heading inserted in the columns of the HTSUS labeled “Heading/Subheading”, “Article Description”, “Rates of Duty 1—General”, “Rates of Duty 1—Special” and “Rates of Duty 2”, respectively:
4. by inserting the following new heading 9903.01.23 in numerical sequence, with the material in the new heading inserted in the columns of the HTSUS labeled “Heading/Subheading”, “Article Description”, “Rates of Duty 1—General”, “Rates of Duty 1—Special” and “Rates of Duty 2”, respectively:
5. by inserting the following new U.S. note 2(s) to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS in numerical sequence:
“2. (s) For the purposes of heading 9903.01.20, products of China and Hong Kong, other than products described in heading 9903.01.21, heading 9903.01.22, heading 9903.01.23, and other than products for personal use included in accompanied baggage of persons arriving in the United States, shall be subject to an additional 10%
The additional duties imposed by heading 9903.01.20 shall not apply to goods for which entry is properly claimed under a provision of chapter 98 of the tariff schedule pursuant to applicable regulations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), and whenever CBP agrees that entry under such a provision is appropriate, except for goods entered under heading 9802.00.80; and subheadings 9802.00.40, 9802.00.50, and 9802.00.60. For subheadings 9802.00.40, 9802.00.50, and 9802.00.60, the additional duties apply to the value of repairs, alterations, or processing performed (in China and Hong Kong), as described in the applicable subheading. For heading 9802.00.80, the additional duties apply to the value of the article assembled abroad (in China and Hong Kong), less the cost or value of such products of the United States, as described.
Products of China and Hong Kong that are provided for in heading 9903.01.20 shall continue to be subject to antidumping, countervailing, or other duties, taxes, fees, exactions and charges that apply to such products, as well as to the additional
Products of China and Hong Kong that are provided for in heading 9903.01.20 shall not be eligible for the administrative exemption from duty and certain taxes at 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C)—the so-called “de minimis” exemption.
(t) Heading 9903.01.21 covers only products of China and Hong Kong, that are donations, by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, of articles, such as food, clothing, and medicine, intended to be used to relieve human suffering, except to the extent that the President determines that such donations (A) would seriously impair his ability to deal with any national emergency declared under section 1701 of title 19 of the U.S. Code, (B) are in response to coercion against the proposed recipient or donor, or (C) would endanger Armed Forces of the United States which are engaged in hostilities or are in a situation where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Notice.
On October 3, 2023, Venezuela was newly designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) based on the determination that there were extraordinary and temporary conditions in that country that prevented the safe return of Venezuelan nationals, and that permitting such Venezuelan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is not contrary to the U.S. national interest. The 2023 designation of Venezuela for TPS is set to expire on April 2, 2025. After reviewing country
The October 3, 2023 designation of Venezuela for TPS is terminated effective at 11:59 p.m., local time, on April 7, 2025.
Samantha Deshommes, Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 800-375-5283.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation with appropriate agencies of the U.S. Government, to designate a foreign state (or part thereof) for TPS if the Secretary determines that certain country conditions exist. INA 244(b)(1), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1). The determination whether to designate any foreign state (or part thereof) for TPS is discretionary, and there is no judicial review of “any determination of the [Secretary] with respect to the designation, or termination or extension of a designation, of a foreign state” for TPS. INA 244(b)(5)(A), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(5)(A). The Secretary, in the Secretary's discretion, may then grant TPS to eligible nationals of that foreign state (or individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in the designated foreign state).
At least 60 days before the expiration of a foreign state's TPS designation or extension, the Secretary, after consultation with appropriate U.S. Government agencies, must review the conditions in the foreign state designated for TPS to determine whether they continue to meet the conditions for the TPS designation.
TPS is a temporary immigration benefit granted to eligible nationals of a country designated for TPS under the INA, or to eligible aliens without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country. During the TPS designation period, TPS beneficiaries are eligible to remain in the United States, may not be removed, and are authorized to work and obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) so long as they continue to meet the requirements of TPS. TPS beneficiaries may also apply for and be granted travel authorization as a matter of discretion. The granting of TPS does not result in or lead to lawful permanent resident status or any other immigration status. To qualify for TPS, beneficiaries must meet the eligibility standards at INA section 244(c)(2), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)(2). When the Secretary terminates a country's TPS designation, beneficiaries return to the same immigration status or category that they maintained before TPS, if any (unless that status or category has since expired or been terminated), or any other lawfully obtained immigration status or category they received while registered for TPS, as long as it is still valid on the date TPS terminates.
On March 9, 2021, then Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas designated Venezuela for TPS based on his determination that there existed “extraordinary and temporary conditions” in Venezuela that prevented nationals of Venezuela from returning in safety and that permitting such aliens to remain temporarily in the United States is not contrary to the U.S. national interest (Venezuela 2021 designation).
On September 8, 2022, then Secretary Mayorkas extended the Venezuela 2021 TPS designation for 18 months.
On January 17, 2025, Secretary Mayorkas issued a notice extending the 2023 designation of Venezuela for TPS for 18 months. The notice was based on then Secretary Mayorkas's January 10, 2025 determination that the conditions for the designation continued to be met.
On January 28, 2025, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem vacated former Secretary Mayorkas's January 10, 2025 decision, restoring the status quo that preceded that decision.
At least 60 days before the expiration of a country's TPS designation or extension, the Secretary, after
Consistent with section 244(b)(3)(A) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(A), after consulting with appropriate U.S. Government agencies, DHS reviewed conditions in Venezuela and considered whether permitting the Venezuelan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States.
The Department, in consultation with the Department of State, has reviewed conditions in Venezuela and has considered whether permitting Venezuelan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the U.S. national interest. Overall, certain conditions for the 2023 TPS designation of Venezuela may continue; however, there are notable improvements in several areas such as the economy, public health, and crime that allow for these nationals to be safely returned to their home country.
Based on the Department's review, the Secretary has determined that, even assuming the relevant conditions in Venezuela remain both “extraordinary” and “temporary,” termination of the 2023 Venezuela TPS designation is required because it is contrary to the national interest to permit the Venezuelan nationals (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela) to remain temporarily in the United States.
In the TPS statute, Congress expressly prohibits the Secretary from designating a country for TPS or extending a TPS designation if she finds that “permitting the aliens to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States.” INA 244(b)(1), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1). Accordingly, as the Department and the Attorney General have long recognized, such a “national interest” assessment is an essential element of a determination whether to extend or terminate the 2023 Venezuela designation, which was based on “extraordinary and temporary conditions.”
“National interest” is an expansive standard that may encompass an array of broad considerations, including foreign policy, public safety (
President Trump in his recent, immigration and border-related executive orders and proclamations clearly articulated an array of policy imperatives bearing upon the national interest. First, the President directed the Secretary to terminate, as contrary to the policy of the United States, the parole program known as the “Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans” (CHNV). The parole process for Venezuelans had been in effect since October 19, 2022, allowing hundreds of thousands of inadmissible Venezuelans to enter the United States at interior ports of entry and remain in this country, generally for a period of two years, with employment authorization eligibility.
TPS has allowed a significant population of inadmissible or illegal aliens without a path to lawful immigration status to settle in the interior of the United States, and the sheer numbers have resulted in associated difficulties in local communities where local resources have been inadequate to meet the demands caused by increased numbers. Among these Venezuelan nationals who have crossed into the United States are members of the Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua.
Second, President Trump observed, referring to CHNV and other policies and processes, that “[o]ver the last 4 years, the prior administration invited, administered, and oversaw an unprecedented flood of illegal immigration into the United States,” including millions who crossed U.S. borders or were allowed to fly to a U.S. air port of entry and allowed to settle in American communities.
The President underscored that enforcing the immigration laws “is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States.”
Third, President Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border.
Fourth, as the President directed in Executive Order 14150, “the foreign policy of the United States shall champion core American interests and always put America and American citizens first.”
In making this finding and determination regarding the national interest, the Secretary also has taken into account the national-interest-related factors that were presented to former Secretary Mayorkas for his consideration for purposes of his now-vacated January 10, 2025 decision. However, especially in view of President Trump's Executive Orders relating to immigration and after consulting with the Department of State, the Secretary has reached a different conclusion and has determined that permitting such Venezuelan nationals (and aliens with no nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela) to remain in the United States is in fact contrary to the national interest, as is the Secretary's authority and prerogative under the statute.
The TPS statute provides that the termination of a country's TPS designation may not be effective earlier than 60 days after the
The Secretary may determine the appropriate effective date of the termination and the expiration of any TPS-related documentation, such as EADs, for the purpose of providing for an orderly transition.
The Secretary has considered putative reliance interests in the 2023 Venezuela TPS designation, especially when considering whether to allow for an additional transition period akin to that allowed under certain previous TPS terminations. Temporary Protected Status, as the name itself makes clear, is an inherently temporary status, TPS designations are time-limited and must be periodically reviewed, TPS notices clearly notify aliens of the designations' expiration dates, and whether to allow for an orderly transition period is left to the Secretary's unfettered discretion.
Although unorthodox, the prior Administration issued two separate designations of Venezuela.
By the authority vested in the Secretary of Homeland Security under section 244(b)(3) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3), I have reviewed, in consultation with appropriate agencies of the U.S. Government, (a) conditions in Venezuela; and (b) whether permitting the nationals of Venezuela (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela) to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States. Based on my review, I have determined that Venezuela no longer continues to meet the conditions for the October 3, 2023 designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under section 244(b)(1)(C) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1)(C).
Accordingly, I order as follows:
(1) Pursuant to INA section 244(b)(3)(B), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(B), and considering INA section 244(d)(3), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(d)(3), the October 3, 2023 designation of Venezuela for TPS is terminated effective at 11:59 p.m., local time, on April 7, 2025.
(2) This notice supersedes the January 17, 2025 notice at 90 FR 5961, the underlying decision for which was vacated on January 28, 2025.
(3) Information concerning the termination of TPS for nationals of Venezuela (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela) under the October 3, 2023 designation will be available at local USCIS offices upon publication of this notice and through the USCIS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283. This information will be published on the USCIS website at
On the basis of the record
The Commission instituted these reviews on July 1, 2024 (89 FR 54536) and determined on October 4, 2024 that it would conduct expedited reviews (89 FR 85986, October 29, 2024).
The Commission made these determinations pursuant to section 751(c) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(c)). It completed and filed its determinations in these reviews on January 31, 2025. The views of the Commission are contained in USITC Publication 5582 (January 2025), entitled
By order of the Commission.
Office on Violence Against Women, United States Department of Justice.
Notice; cancellation of meeting.
The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), U.S. Department of
Contact Sherriann C. Moore, Deputy Director, Tribal Affairs Division, Office on Violence Against Women, United States Department of Justice, at (202) 616-0039 or
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Notice; issuance.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing three exemptions requested by Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company (Maine Yankee). The requested exemptions are from NRC regulations that require compliance with the terms, conditions, and specifications of Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1015 for the NAC-UMS® Universal Storage System at Maine Yankee's Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). Maine Yankee currently stores sixty NAC-UMS® Systems under Amendment No. 6 to CoC No. 1015. In order to adopt Amendment No. 9 to CoC No. 1015, Maine Yankee is requesting the continuation of three previously approved exemptions.
The environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) referenced in this document are available on February 5, 2025. The exemptions take effect on February 5, 2025.
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0184 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly available information related to this document using any of the following methods:
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Kristina Banovac, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7116; email:
Maine Yankee is a general licensee under part 72 of title 10 of the
Maine Yankee is requesting the continuation of three exemptions from the terms and conditions of Amendment No. 9 to CoC No. 1015 that were previously approved for Amendment No. 6 to CoC No. 1015. Maine Yankee plans to adopt Amendment No. 9 to CoC No. 1015 as part of its work to adopt the renewed CoC No. 1015. Maine Yankee submitted its request by letter dated March 28, 2024, supplemented by email dated October 30, 2024. Maine Yankee requested specific exemptions from the requirements in 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and 72.214, with regard to certain terms and conditions of Appendices A and B to the technical specifications of Amendment No. 9 to CoC No. 1015 detailed as follows.
The three requested exemptions mirror previously approved exemptions to Amendment No. 6 to CoC No. 1015; specifically:
1. Appendix A, Section A.3.1.4, “Canister Maximum Time in Transfer Cask.” This exemption is from the requirement to comply with the 25-day requirement in Limiting Condition for Operation 3.1.4 for canister, NAC-UMS-TSC-790-016.
2. Appendix A, Section A.5.1, “Training Program.” This exemption is from the requirement to develop a systematic approach to training that includes comprehensive instructions for the operation and maintenance of the ISFSI, except for the NAC-UMS® System.
3. Appendix B, Section B.3.4.2.6. This exemption is from the requirement to maintain a coefficient of friction on the ISFSI pad surface of at least 0.5.
Originally, Maine Yankee requested the NRC also approve a fourth exemption regarding annual effluent reporting that was approved earlier under Amendment No. 6 of CoC No. 1015. However, Maine Yankee clarified in its October 30, 2024, email supplement that the exemption regarding the annual effluent report is no longer needed. Amendment No. 2 to CoC No. 1015 contained an explicit requirement in Appendix A, Section A.5.5.c. to submit an annual effluent report. This explicit requirement was removed from the CoC in Amendment No. 3 and is also not included in Amendment No. 9. Therefore, this exemption is not necessary for use of Amendment No. 9 to CoC No. 1015.
Maine Yankee provided the following basis for the requested continuation of the three exemptions. It stated that continuation of the exemptions would not result in any impact to the safe storage of the spent fuel at the ISFSI and will not increase the probability or consequences of an accident. No new accident precursors are created. No changes are being made in the types or quantities of any radiological effluent that may be released off site. There is no increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there is no radiological environmental impact associated with the continuation of the exemptions. Additionally, the continuation of the exemptions would not involve any construction or other ground disturbing activities, would not change the footprint of the existing ISFSI, and would have no other significant non-radiological impacts. The ISFSI is located on previously disturbed land, thus, the proposed continuation of the exemptions does not have the potential to create any significant impact on aquatic or terrestrial habitat in the vicinity of the ISFSI, or to threatened, endangered, or protected species. In addition, the proposed continuation of the exemptions does not have the potential to cause effects on historic or cultural properties, assuming such properties are present at the site of the Maine Yankee ISFSI. The NRC previously evaluated the impacts associated with Amendment No. 9 to CoC No. 1015 prior to issuance of the amendment. Thus, its adoption by Maine Yankee will not represent any additional radiological considerations.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, “Specific exemptions,” the Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant such exemptions from the requirements of the regulations of 10 CFR part 72 as it determines are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security and are otherwise in the public interest.
The requested exemptions would allow the licensee to depart from certain requirements of CoC No. 1015, Amendment No. 9. Section 72.7 allows the NRC to grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 72. Issuance of these exemptions are consistent with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and is not inconsistent with NRC regulations or other applicable laws. Therefore, the NRC has concluded that the exemptions are authorized by law.
The requested exemptions are the same exemptions as have been previously reviewed and approved by the NRC as discussed in this document. The NRC verified that there is no change in conditions under which the exemptions were previously approved. Therefore, the NRC has concluded that the exemptions will not endanger life or property, or the common defense and security.
The requested exemptions are the same exemptions as have been previously reviewed and approved by the NRC on multiple prior occasions as the licensee has sought, over time, to use new amendments to CoC No. 1015. Continuing to apply the exemptions would provide for consistent and efficient regulation of the NAC-UMS® System casks at the Maine Yankee ISFSI. Further, the alternative of denying the exemption requests would impose an administrative burden on Maine Yankee and the NRC that would not provide a significant safety benefit. Therefore, the NRC has concluded that the exemptions are in the public interest.
The NRC reviewed the requested exemptions to verify that there were no differences from the previously approved exemptions. There are no changes in Amendment No. 9 to CoC No. 1015 that affect the terms and conditions from which Maine Yankee is requesting the exemptions. These terms and conditions are identical to the equivalent sections in Amendment No. 6. Each of the exemptions are discussed in this document.
1. Appendix A, Section A.3.1.4, “Canister Maximum Time in Transfer Cask.” This exemption is from the requirement to comply with the 25-day requirement in Limiting Condition for Operation 3.1.4 for canister, NAC-UMS-TSC-790-016. The exemption was previously approved on multiple occasions. The exemption was originally approved by letter dated July 14, 2010, with the environmental assessment noticed in the
Maine Yankee originally requested this exemption when it sought to use a different amendment of the CoC, Amendment No. 5, and it evaluated its stored canisters to determine whether they could conform to this amendment. Maine Yankee determined that one canister (originally loaded and operated under Amendment No. 2) did not comply with Limiting Condition for Operation 3.1.4 of Amendment No. 5. The NRC previously determined, as discussed in the July 14, 2010, exemption, that the affected storage canister was in full compliance with Amendment No. 2, its stored spent fuel was maintained in a safe condition during the time the canister was in the transfer cask, and the transfer of the loaded canister was completed in a safe manner to ensure the transfer cask was not used as a long-term storage device. The NRC's environmental assessment of this exemption is discussed in the Environmental Assessment section in this document.
2. Appendix A, Section A.5.1, “Training Program.” This exemption is from the requirement to develop a systematic approach to training that includes comprehensive instructions for the operation and maintenance of the ISFSI, except for the NAC-UMS® System. This exemption was previously
This exemption would relieve Maine Yankee from the requirements to develop training modules under its systematic approach to training that include comprehensive instructions for the operation and maintenance of the ISFSI. The NRC previously determined, as discussed in the
3. Appendix B, Section B.3.4.2.6. This exemption is from the requirement to maintain a coefficient of friction on the ISFSI pad surface of at least 0.5. This exemption was previously approved on multiple occasions. The exemption was originally approved by letter dated February 1, 2004, with the environmental assessment noticed in the
Maine Yankee originally requested the exemption following the discovery of a winter icing condition at its ISFSI that created an indeterminate coefficient of friction between the vertical concrete casks and the ISFSI pad surface. The NRC determined that a specific coefficient of friction was not necessary. The NRC's environmental assessment of this exemption is discussed in the Environmental Assessment section in this document.
As stated previously, the exemption associated with the “Training Program” is categorically excluded from the requirements for an environmental review under NRC regulations. The requested exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and 72.214, regarding CoC No. 1015, Amendment No. 9, Appendix A, Section A.5.1., “Training Program,” involves allowing the licensee to limit its systematic approach to training program to the operation and maintenance of the NAC-UMS® System and not include the ISFSI. This requirement is unrelated to any operational restriction.
The NRC staff has determined that the granting of this exemption request involves no significant hazards consideration, per 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i), because it does not (1) involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. The NRC staff also determined there is no significant change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite per 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(ii), and no significant increase in individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure, per 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iii). The exempted regulations are not associated with construction, so there is no significant construction impact, per 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iv). The exempted regulations do not concern the source term (
Therefore, the NRC's approval of the exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and 72.214, with regard to CoC No. 1015, Amendment No. 9, Appendix A, Section A.5.1., “Training Program,” is categorically excluded from further environmental review in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i-v) and (vi)(E). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) and (c)(25), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the approval of this exemption request.
1. Appendix A, Section A.3.1.4, “Canister Maximum Time in Transfer Cask.” This exemption is from the requirement to comply with the 25-day requirement in Limiting Condition for Operation 3.1.4 for canister, NAC-UMS-TSC-790-016. This exemption was previously approved by the NRC by letter dated July 14, 2010, with the environmental assessment noticed in the
2. Appendix B, Section B.3.4.2.6. This exemption is from the requirement to maintain a coefficient of friction on the ISFSI pad surface of at least 0.5. This exemption was previously approved by the NRC by letter dated February 1, 2004, with the environmental assessment noticed in the
The requested exemption from Appendix A, Section A.3.1.4, “Canister Maximum Time in Transfer Cask” is an exemption from the requirement to comply with the 25-day requirement in Limiting Condition for Operation 3.1.4 for one canister, NAC-UMS-TSC-790-016. The affected storage canister had a heat load of 9.59kW, and was placed in a transfer cask for a total of 43 days between December 28, 2002, and February 18, 2003. At that time the Maine Yankee ISFSI operated under the provisions of CoC No. 1015, Amendment No. 2, and the Limiting Condition for Operation 3.1.4 time limit for a canister having a content decay heat load of less than or equal to 14kW was unlimited. During this period, the storage canister was in full compliance with CoC No. 1015, Amendment No. 2, and its stored spent fuel was maintained in a safe condition during the time the canister was in the transfer cask. The transfer of the loaded canister was completed in a safe manner to ensure the transfer cask was not used as a long-term storage device.
The requested exemption from Appendix B, Section B.3.4.2.6 is an exemption from the requirement to maintain a coefficient of friction on the ISFSI pad surface of at least 0.5. As discussed in the
The NRC evaluated the impact to public safety that would result from the proposed action and determined that approval of the exemptions would not increase the probability or consequences of accidents, no changes would be made to the types or amounts of effluents released offsite, and there would be no increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with the action. Additionally, the proposed action would not involve any construction or other ground disturbing activities, would not change the footprint of the existing ISFSI, and would have no other significant non-radiological impacts. The ISFSI is located on previously disturbed land, so it is unlikely to create any significant impact on aquatic or terrestrial habitat in the vicinity of the plant or to threatened, endangered, or protected species under the Endangered Species Act, or to essential fish habitat covered by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Approval of the exemptions is not the type of activity that has the potential to cause effects on historic or cultural properties, assuming such properties are present at the site.
Given that there are no significant differences in environmental impact between the proposed action and the alternative considered, and that there are no changes in the conditions under which the exemptions were previously approved, the NRC concludes that the preferred alternative is to grant the exemptions.
The NRC consulted with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (State) on December 19, 2024, via email. The State responded by email dated January 22, 2025, in which it noted it had no comments.
The environmental impacts of the exemptions were previously reviewed and determined to have no significant environmental impact. There have been no changes to the conditions under which the previous review was approved. Based upon the foregoing discussion and the previous approvals, the NRC finds that the exemptions will not significantly impact the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a FONSI is appropriate, and an environmental impact statement is not warranted.
The documents identified in the following table are available to interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as indicated.
The NRC may post materials related to this document, including public comments, on the Federal rulemaking website at
Based on the previously mentioned considerations, the NRC has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, the exemptions are authorized by law, will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security, and are otherwise in the public interest. Therefore, the NRC grants Maine Yankee the exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and 72.214.
These exemptions are effective upon publication.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Postal Regulatory Commission.
Notice.
The Commission is noticing a recent Postal Service filing for the Commission's consideration concerning a negotiated service agreement. This notice informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes other administrative steps.
Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing Online system at
David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 202-789-6820.
Pursuant to 39 CFR 3041.405, the Commission gives notice that the Postal Service filed request(s) for the Commission to consider matters related to Competitive negotiated service agreement(s). The request(s) may propose the addition of a negotiated service agreement from the Competitive product list or the modification of an existing product currently appearing on the Competitive product list.
The public portions of the Postal Service's request(s) can be accessed via the Commission's website (
Section II identifies the docket number(s) associated with each Postal Service request, if any, that will be reviewed in a public proceeding as defined by 39 CFR 3010.101(p), the title of each such request, the request's acceptance date, and the authority cited by the Postal Service for each request. For each such request, the Commission appoints an officer of the Commission to represent the interests of the general public in the proceeding, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505 and 39 CFR 3000.114 (Public Representative). Section II also establishes comment deadline(s) pertaining to each such request.
The Commission invites comments on whether the Postal Service's request(s) identified in Section II, if any, are
Section III identifies the docket number(s) associated with each Postal Service request, if any, to add a standardized distinct product to the Competitive product list or to amend a standardized distinct product, the title of each such request, the request's acceptance date, and the authority cited by the Postal Service for each request. Standardized distinct products are negotiated service agreements that are variations of one or more Competitive products, and for which financial models, minimum rates, and classification criteria have undergone advance Commission review.
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2.
None.
This Notice will be published in the
On November 26, 2024, NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca” or the “Exchange”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act” or “Exchange Act”)
As described in more detail in Amendment No. 1,
According to the Exchange, the investment objective of the Trust is to seek to provide exposure to the value of bitcoin and ether held by the Trust, less the expenses of the Trust's operations and other liabilities.
After careful review, the Commission finds that the Proposal is consistent with the Exchange Act and rules and regulations thereunder applicable to a national securities exchange.
The Trust will hold both spot bitcoin and spot ether weighted according to their relative market capitalizations.
The Proposal sets forth aspects of the proposed ETP, including the availability of pricing information, transparency of portfolio holdings, and types of surveillance procedures, that are consistent with other ETPs that the Commission has approved.
The Commission therefore finds that the Proposal, as with other ETPs that the Commission has approved,
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the Proposal is consistent with the Exchange Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
• Use the Commission's internet comment form (
• Send an email to
• Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.
The Commission finds good cause to approve the Proposal prior to the 30th day after the date of publication of notice of Amendment No. 1
This approval order is based on all of the Exchange's representations and descriptions in the Proposal, which the Commission has carefully evaluated as discussed above.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation.
Notice and request for comments.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. The collection involves aerial navigation aids (NavAids), electrical/electronic facilities, owned and operated by non-federal sponsors for use by the flying public. “Non-Federal sponsors” refers to entities such as State and local governments, businesses, and private citizens. The information to be collected is necessary to ensure that operation and maintenance of these non-federally owned facilities is in accordance with FAA safety standards. The FAA is not changing its information-collection practices pertaining to non-Federal facilities. It is merely renewing its legal authority to collect that information.
Written comments should be submitted by April 7, 2025.
Please send written comments:
Michael Schoen by email at
The collection involves the compilation of:
• Commissioning data, such as the initial standards and tolerances parameters for the aerial navigation aids (NavAids) and electrical/electronic facilities, owned and operated by non-federal sponsors;
• Maintenance activities and operational history, such as outages and repairs, for facilities owned and operated by non-federal sponsors; and
• The facilities' periodically verified parameters for the life of the facility.
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of Transportation (DOT).
Notice of approval.
FRA is issuing this notice to approve a petition from Georgia Central Railway, L.P. (GC) and Heart of Georgia Railroad, Inc. (HOG) (collectively, Petitioners), subsidiaries of Genesee and Wyoming (G&W), for a Test Program designed to test self-propelled, zero-emission, battery-electric rail vehicles and their associated computer and telemetry technology systems, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the system and new operational approaches to rail vehicle technology in the short-haul movement of containers. The approval grants limited, temporary suspension of certain FRA rules necessary to facilitate the conduct of the Test Program, including an exemption for certain safety appliance laws (collectively, Impacted FRA Safety Standards).
Matthew Brewer, Staff Director, FRA Engineering and Technology Division, Office of Railroad Safety at (509) 994-1978 or email:
Petitioners' submission (available in docket FRA-2023-0066 at
Petitioners state that the goal of the technology is to provide smaller freight railroads an opportunity to meaningfully compete in the short-haul transportation of containers, and the technology would provide public benefits for the environment, the economy, the national highway system, and communities disproportionately impacted by highway movement of containers. Petitioners contend that “safety is an overriding focus of the proposed Program,” and Petitioners have developed, and will adhere to, a Pilot Test Safety Plan (Safety Plan), Exhibit C of the submission, to ensure safety during testing. Petitioners explain the “Safety Plan includes protocols for hazard analysis, control, and verification of controls which will be reviewed by six technical working groups who will consider the risks associated with each phase and the necessary actions to mitigate each risk.”
Petitioners provide that the Program, detailed in Exhibit B of the submission, “is based on seven phases of tightly structured and closely monitored field testing.” The Program would use the “results of testing performed during each phase” “to evaluate the safety of the proceeding phase.” The Program would collect “data and service history” and then “evaluate changes in the design of the System, its components, and the relevant operating procedures in support of further testing before any proposed use of the System outside of the Program.” The Program includes a structured sequence of test phases to “allow collection and evaluation of the operating data in progressively more complex operating conditions.” Petitioners emphasize that the priority “of each phase of the Program is to assure safety of railroad employees, other persons and property, and the general public along the railroad lines that will be used for the Program.”
Petitioners state that the Program is “designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the system and new operational approaches to rail vehicle technology in the short-haul movement of containers.” As described in Exhibit B of the submission, the Program will gather “quantitative and qualitative data” in each phase and evaluate the reliability, compatibility, and cost of operation, along with a safety analysis. Additionally, phase-specific testing objectives are identified in the submission (
The testing is planned in seven phases, with defined success criteria that must be achieved prior to FRA approval to move to the next test phase:
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FRA conducted a public hearing on March 12, 2024, to provide the public an opportunity to provide oral comment on the petition. Additionally, as explained in Petitioners' submission, Petitioners have performed outreach to local, State, and federal government representatives, and local authorities in Georgia.
After review and analysis of Petitioners' submission and public comments, FRA approves temporary, limited suspension of compliance with Impacted FRA Safety Standards
49 CFR part 229, Locomotive Safety Standards: §§ 229.9(a)(3), 229.13, 229.15(a)(10), 229.29, 229.47, 229.53, 229.55(b), 229.71, 229.115(a) and (c), 229.117, 229.119, 229.127, 229.131(a), 229.137, 229.139, 229.141, 229.201 through 206, 229.301 through 319.
49 CFR part 231, Railroad Safety Appliance Standards: §§ 231.6(a), 231.6(d), 231.6(e).
49 CFR part 232, Brake System Safety Standards for Freight and Other Non-Passenger Trains and Equipment: §§ 232.103(f), (g), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), 232.205-212, 232.215, 232.303, 232.305, 232.503, 232.505.
49 CFR part 236—Rules, Standards, and Instructions Governing the Installation, Inspection, Maintenance and Repair of Signal and Train Control Systems, Devices, and Appliances, § 236.913.
49 CFR parts 240 and 242—Qualification and Certification of Engineers and Conductors: §§ 240.103 and 242.103.
49 U.S.C. 20302.
FRA finds that the temporary, limited suspension of Impacted FRA Safety Standards is necessary to the conduct of the approved Test Program, which is specifically designed to test self-propelled, zero-emission, battery-electric rail vehicles and their associated computer and telemetry technology systems and evaluate the effectiveness of the system and new operational approaches to rail vehicle technology in the short-haul movement of containers. Many of the suspensions are necessary because the newly designed equipment does not have certain conventional mechanical elements to which the regulations apply. For example, the vehicle does not have a cab and does not couple to other equipment. Similarly, there is no need for hand holds, ladders, or other safety appliances, because the vehicle is autonomous. FRA acknowledges the Petitioners have installed some safety appliances for use during maintenance and in the event of failure recovery of the vehicle. Suspension of the prohibition against tampering with safety devices is also necessary to perform the testing. For these tests, other safety mitigations are in place to ensure the safety of the employees and public.
Furthermore, FRA also finds that the scope and application of the suspensions, as applied to the Test Program, are limited to that necessary to conduct the Test Program. Each of the seven phases would take place in a limited, clearly defined area as described in the Test Program. Ultimately, the entire Test Program is limited to a 160-mile segment of track in central Georgia.
Finally, FRA's temporary, limited suspension of compliance with Impacted FRA Safety Standards is conditioned on the observance of the following conditions (incorporated here, as listed in FRA's decision letter dated January 15, 2025)
1. Petitioners must provide to FRA the projected scheduled testing for each phase outlined in their submission. FRA subject matter experts (SMEs) will use this information to plan and conduct site visits to monitor testing for compliance with the conditions outlined in this notice and for observation.
2. During each pilot phase readiness review, a multi-disciplinary team consisting of GC and HOG representatives (including operating and maintenance staff), Parallel Systems, and FRA, will review the results of each phase of testing and evaluate the readiness and safety of transitioning to the next test phase. Documentation must be provided at the completion of each phase to verify and validate that the criteria and metrics are met. Prior to Phase 1, GC and HOG representatives (including operating and maintenance staff), Parallel Systems, and FRA will hold a safety design review to discuss in detail the specific safety features that are designed into the system to ensure safety, including brake system design, electrical storage/regenerative braking, and emergency stop procedures. Only upon FRA's written approval will Petitioners be able to continue with the next phase of testing.
3. The testing must be restricted to the territory and mileposts documented in the Petitioners' submission, in dark territory under track warrant control.
4. Only railroad or designated representatives trained and qualified on Federal safety rules
5. All mechanical inspections must be performed by a qualified inspector.
6. All grade crossings must be flagged for all phases where crossings are present.
7. Equipment must be inspected daily prior to use and each control console must be equipped with a digital banner indicating the equipment is safe to operate, or if there is a defective component, the banner must indicate the defect and prevent operation until the defect is repaired. Each control console must also have an accurate speed display.
8. Each vehicle must have an appropriate direction of movement indicator light on the end of the vehicle that faces the direction of travel. The trailing end of the vehicle must have a rear end marker identifying the rear of the vehicle.
9. Each vehicle must be equipped with an operable audible warning device (bells/whistle/alarm) that sounds at the required decibel level (see 49 CFR 229.129(a)) prior to vehicle movement or over grade crossings.
10. Each vehicle must be equipped with a manual safety bus cut out switch located in a safe accessible position not on the ends of the vehicle, as well as having electronic remote safety stop capability on each control device as a first option to ensure personnel are out of harm's way when initiating an emergency stop.
11. Documentation must include clear instructions on how to test, inspect, maintain, and operate the brake system
12. Documentation must clearly define procedures to ensure the vehicle does not move (roll back or forward) when initiating a movement, including performing a standing braking test.
13. Brake calibration/inspection/maintenance processes must be clearly outlined and adhered to for the duration of the test.
14. Communications loss criteria between the vehicle and operator must be documented on the FRA Form 6180.49A (blue card). Length of communications loss before an automatic brake application must be documented prior to operation.
15. Test Program must address electronic safety features during the handoff between traction and braking. The Program must identify failsafe stop/emergency procedures in the event of a failure, outlining the electronics logic on how to enforce an emergency stop when there is a fault.
16. Test Program must provide a complete description of the braking technology process, including how energy stored in the batteries is managed to prevent overcharge from regenerative braking.
17. Petitioners must provide emergency response training for all emergency responders who might be called to respond in the event of an emergency.
18. Although these vehicles do not couple, there must be a provision for a rescue coupler or alternate process to provide a safe way to move the vehicle in the event of a system failure or emergency.
19. Petitioners must produce and provide FRA with a monthly test report in a common electronic format reviewable by FRA (such as in an Excel file). The report will contain information pertaining to the test area to include vehicle identification, date of each test, geographic (milepost) limits of the test, issues identified, anomalies and proposed solutions.
20. Prior to advancing beyond Phase 2 and in accordance with Condition 2, petitioners must provide FRA with specific documentation explaining how safety-critical products were developed, how the equipment is inspected, a concept of operations, maintenance schedule and a thorough testing plan indicating what constitutes a pass or fail. Petitioners must also describe how personnel working with safety-critical products will be trained to perform functions of the Program safely. Petitioners must provide FRA with an updated Railroad Safety Program Plan and Product Safety Plan and obtain FRA approval before any Phase 3 testing begins.
21. All personnel involved in the process outlined in this approval must be informed of the content and be aware of the conditions prior to participation in the process. Petitioners must make readily available at every test segment location a copy of the waiver decision letter and the test program and any amendments prior to participation in the test.
22. As this technology and operating approach does not involve a locomotive cab where facilities would normally be located, the Petitioners must make available lavatory facilities for operating and test crews.
23. End handholds and uncoupling levers are not applicable to this equipment because it does not couple. Based on evidence during the March 2024 hearing, FRA exempts Petitioners from the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 20302 for purposes of testing this new technology. The purpose of the statute is to protect employees who are between traditional rail equipment lacing air hoses and coupling equipment, but, because this novel equipment being tested does not couple or have air hoses, the risk has been engineered out.
This test program is approved. Based on the consideration and analysis of data gathered during the Program, or upon Petitioners' written request, FRA may modify or rescind the approval.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.
Notice and request for comment.
The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting comment concerning a revision to its information collection titled, “Company-Run Annual Stress Test Reporting Template and Documentation for Covered Institutions with Total Consolidated Assets of $250 Billion or More under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.” The OCC also is giving notice that it has sent the collection to OMB for review.
Comments must be received by March 7, 2025.
Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
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Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should also be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to
You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to this information collection following the
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• For assistance in navigating
Shaquita Merritt, Clearance Officer, (202) 649-5490, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501
On October 9, 2012, the OCC published in the
In 2012, the OCC first implemented the reporting templates referenced in the final rule, and the OCC proposed changes to these templates on October 29, 2024.
The OCC recognizes that many covered institutions with total consolidated assets of $250 billion or more are required to submit reports using reporting form FR Y-14A. To the extent practical, the OCC will keep its reporting requirements consistent with the Board's FR Y-14A to minimize burden on covered institutions.
The OCC's changes include only limited updates, and the revised OCC reporting forms will substantially resemble the forms used by the OCC last year and the Board's reporting forms. The OCC's changes include removing the CECL Supplemental Schedule from the reporting instructions. The CECL Supplemental Schedule was a one-time schedule that reporting banks provided during the first submission cycle following their implementation of the ASU 2016-13 standards. This collection was implemented to identify the effect and timing of the adoption of CECL and the associated transition provisions as provided by section 301 of the regulatory capital rules. As all firms have now adopted ASU 2016-13, this supplemental collection is not needed on a go-forward basis for modeling or analytic purposes. The changes also include minor corrections and eliminate references to LIBOR, which is no longer a reference rate, in the reporting instructions.
If the Board proposes additional changes to the FR Y-14A reporting forms after the publication of this notice, the OCC may make corresponding changes to the OCC's reporting forms to minimize inconsistencies and reduce burden. The OCC's proposed new reporting forms and instructions are available on the OCC's website at
(a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the OCC, including whether the information has practical utility;
(b) The accuracy of the OCC's estimate of the burden of the collection of information;
(c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;
(d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and
(e) Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) gives notice under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. ch. 10, that a meeting of VA's National Academic Affiliations Council (NAAC) will be held on March 26, 2025-March 27, 2025 at The American Legion, 7th Floor, 1608 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006. The meeting sessions will begin and end as follows:
The meeting is open to the public.
The purpose of the Council is to advise the Secretary on matters affecting partnerships between VA and its academic affiliates.
On March 26, 2025, the Council will convene an open session and receive presentations and updates beginning at 9 a.m. EST. The agenda will include updates on workforce pathways for mental health trainees, loan repayment and scholarships, mental health residency programs and the Strategic Academic Advisory Council (SAAC). In the afternoon, the Council will receive a presentation and open discussions including Artificial Intelligence updates in the VA. The meeting will adjourn that day at 4:30 p.m.
On March 27, 2025, the Council will convene an open session and receive presentations and updates beginning at 9 a.m. EST. The Council will receive updates from MISSION ACT, Section 403 Implementation and VHA Background, Suitability, Recruitment, and replacement issues with trainees. The Council will receive public comments from 11:20 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. EST. The meeting will adjourn at 12 p.m. EST.
Interested persons may attend and present oral statements to the Council on March 27, 2025, during the public comment period. The designated public dial in number to attend the conference is 872 701 0185. At the prompt, enter meeting ID 480 459 519#. A sign-in sheet for those who want to give comments will be available at the meeting. Individuals who speak are invited to submit a 1-2-page summary of their comments at the time of the meeting for inclusion in the official meeting record. Oral presentations will be limited to five minutes or less, depending on the number of participants. Interested parties may also provide written comments for review by the Council prior to the meeting to Ms. Nellie Mitchell, Designated Federal Officer, or at any time via email to