WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management has issued a direct final rule to give energy producers more time to meet increased bonding requirements for operations on federal lands. The action extends the phase-in deadline for statewide oil and gas bonds from June 22, 2026, to June 22, 2027. By moving the date, the BLM aligns the compliance timeline for Statewide bonds with the schedule for individual lease bonds. This shift is intended to provid  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (TNSFR) -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has proposed an order to grant exemptive relief that would allow for the expansion of cross-margining arrangements for U.S. treasury securities. This proposal, announced in response to a petition from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME), Illinois, and the Fixed Income Clearing Corp. (FICC) aims to improve market efficiency ahead of new clearing requirements. The proposed order would allow joint clearing members of C  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule to approve portions of Arizona's state implementation plan intended to manage fine particulate matter pollution. The action ensures the state meets federal standards established in 2012 for air quality maintenance and enforcement. The decision follows a review of submittals from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. These filings, provided in Dec. 2015 and Feb. 2022, address how the state will  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a final rule to update the state of Oklahoma's authority to manage federal air quality requirements. This action clarifies the delegation of New Source Performance Standards to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, allowing the state agency to lead enforcement and implementation of these rules. The update ensures that Oklahoma regulations match federal standards as they existed through June 30, 2023.   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a rule granting the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality the authority to implement and enforce federal air quality standards within the state. This decision allows the state agency to manage requirements for the New Source Performance Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants. Under the agreement, the state incorporates federal regulations as they existed through July 1,  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration has issued a proposal to modify Class D airspace and establish Class E airspace over Chandler and Phoenix, Arizona. The action follows biennial airspace reviews intended to support instrument flight rule operations and ensure compliance with agency orders. Under the proposal, the Class D airspace radius for Chandler Municipal Airport would increase from 4 miles to 4.8 miles. The vertical limit w  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (TNSFR) -- The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board has issued a final rule to provide U.S. government employees with increased flexibility when managing missed Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) loan payments. The update changes how resumed payroll deductions are applied to outstanding loan balances, helping participants avoid tax penalties associated with loan defaults. Under previous regulations, if a participant missed a loan payment due to a change in payroll status or a   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service has issued a final rule regarding the base erosion and anti-abuse tax, known as base erosion and anti-abuse tax (BEAT). These regulations clarify how large corporate taxpayers determine and report qualified derivative payments, or QDPs, specifically within the context of securities lending transactions. The BEAT framework imposes a tax on U.S. corporations with high gross receipts that make payments to   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service has issued final regulations governing the unintentional taking of marine mammals by the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Army during military readiness activities in the Hawaii-California training and testing study area. The seven-year authorization, effective Dec. 21, 2025, through Dec. 20, 2032, allows for the incidental harassment of marine  more