Federal Register - August 2016

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NSF -  The National Science Foundation has published a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. Public comments will be accepted until August 31, 2016. [August 1, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 147)]

EPA - The National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT), a group of members from academia, industry, non-governmental organizations, and all levels of government that advises the EPA Administrator on policy, technology and management issues, will hold a public teleconference to discuss developments in citizen science on August 22, 2016. [August 2, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 148)]

NOAA - The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) makes available its final Technical Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing—Underwater Acoustic Thresholds for Onset of Permanent and Temporary Threshold Shifts (Technical Guidance or Guidance) that provides updated received levels, or acoustic thresholds, above which individual marine mammals under NMFS’ jurisdiction are predicted to experience changes in their hearing sensitivity (either temporary or permanent) for all underwater anthropogenic sound sources.  [August 4, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 150)]

EPA - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to extend for certain inactive coal combustion residuals surface impoundments the compliance deadlines under subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery act. The final rule will be effective October 4, 2016, unless EPA receives adverse comment by August 22, 2016.  [August 5, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 151)]

DOE - The National Coal Council (NCC) will meet at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 30, 2016 to receive the report “CO2 Building Blocks: Assessing CO2 Utilization Options” from the Coal Policy Committee. To join the meeting, register online by close of business on August 26, 2016. [August 8, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 152)]

DOE - The Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee announces a public meeting on August 17-18, 2016 to develop advice and guidance that promotes research and development leading to production of biobased fuel and biobased products. The public is welcome to attend the meeting and make oral statements. [August 8, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 152)]

NOAA - The U.S. IOOS office, National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has finalized a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) which analyzed the potential environmental impacts associated with ocean observing activities including sensors and instrumentation; vessels (including personal watercraft) and sampling; autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), gliders, and drifters; moorings, marine stations, buoys, and fixed arrays; High Frequency radar (HF radar); and sound navigation and ranging (sonar) and light detection and ranging (lidar) and prepared a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) to the environmental resources within U.S. IOOS regions. [August 9, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 153)]

EPA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice that it has responded to 11 petitions for reconsideration of the final rule titled ‘‘Oil and Natural Gas Sector: New Source Performance Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Reviews,’’ published in the Federal Register on August 16, 2012, and seven petitions for reconsideration of subsequent amendments published in the Federal Register on September 23, 2013, and December 31, 2014. [August 10, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 154)

DOI - The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) proposes to amend the regulations requiring lessees and owners of operating rights to submit summaries of actual decommissioning expenditures incurred for certain decommissioning activities related to oil and gas and sulfur operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Comments on the proposed rule-making will be accepted until September 12, 2016. [August 12, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 156)

EPA - The Environmental Protection agency has issued a finding that elevated concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations and finds that six major gases together constitute the primary cause of the climate change problem. Emissions of those six well-mixed greenhouse gases from certain classes of engines used in aircraft are contributing to air pollution. [August 15, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 157)

DOI - The Secretary of the Interior is giving notice of the renewal of the United States Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (USEITI) Federal Advisory Committee (Committee) to advise the Department on the implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which requires governments to publicly disclose their revenues from oil, gas, and mining assets and for companies to make paralle. [August 15, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 157)

DOI - U.S. Department of the Interior, announce a public meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force and a request for written comments. This meeting, the 36th biennial meeting of the task force, provides a forum for coordinated planning and action among Federal agencies, State and territorial governments, and nongovernmental partners. The meeting is on September 22-23, 2016. [August 15, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 157)

DOE - This notice announces an open meeting of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) on September 22 from 8:30 am - 12:30 pm at the Department of Energy Headquarters in Washington, DC. [August 16, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 158)

DOE - This notice announces a teleconference call of the State Energy Advisory Board (STEAB) to make recommendations to the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy regarding goals and objectives, programmatic and administrative policies, and to otherwise carry out the Board’s responsibilities as designated in the State Energy Efficiency Programs Improvement Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101– 440).  [August 16, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 158)]

BOEM - The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed lease sales (250 and 251) in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), as scheduled in the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program. Federal agencies, tribal, state and local governments, and other stakeholders are invited to comment on the scope of the EIS by September 19, 2016. [August 19, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 161)]

NSF - The Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education will hold an open meeting to discuss recommendations, advice, and oversight related to environmental research and education on September 28-29, 2016 at the National Science Foundation. [August 19, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 161)]

FEMA - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has removed its environmental considerations regulations and replaced the regulations with a new Directive and Instruction on environmental planning and historical preservation requirements. [August 22, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 162)]

FEMA - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is requesting public comments on its proposal to amend regulations on “Floodplain Management and the Protection of Wetlands” to establish the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) and an additional policy clarifying how FEMA apples the FFRMS. [August 22, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 162)]

DOE - The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the extension of the deadline to submit innovation U.S.-China energy performance contracting (EPC) projects, which can be conducted at public, commercial and industrial facilities in the U.S. or China. Project submissions must be received by September 9, 2016. [August 22, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 162)]

EPA - The Environmental Protection Agency has announced a public teleconference of the Science and Information Subcommittee and the Great Lakes Advisory Board to discuss the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The teleconference is scheduled for September 14, 2016. [August 23, 2016 (Volume 81, Number 163)]