Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 32 / Wednesday, February 16, 2011 / Proposed Rules 8961 

on Form F–7, F–8, or F–80, in which 

case no such reconciliation is required. 

Dated: February 9, 2011. 

By the Commission. 

Elizabeth M. Murphy, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–3259 Filed 2–15–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL 

DEVELOPMENT 

22 CFR Part 228 

RIN 0412–AA70 

Rules on Source, Origin and 

Nationality for Commodities and 

Services Financed by USAID 

AGENCY: United States Agency for 

International Development (USAID). 

ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed 

rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is 

to solicit comments on whether changes 

are needed to USAID’s rules on Source, 

Origin, and Nationality (S/O/N). This 

solicitation is in furtherance of a USAID 

initiative to review and if necessary, 

revise these rules in order to reduce the 

burden of procurement processes for 

USAID and contractors and grantees 

implementing USAID-funded 

development assistance activities and 

programs. In particular, USAID wishes 

to simplify Agency S/O/N procedures as 

implemented in our regulations and 

align them more closely with statutory 

procurement authorities. 

DATES: Please submit comments no later 

than April 4, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN number 0412–AA70, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: jniemeyer@usaid.gov. 

Include RIN number 0412–AA70 in the 

subject line of the message. 

• Mail: U.S. Agency for International 

Development, Office of the General 

Counsel, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 

Washington DC 20523, Attention: John 

Niemeyer, Esq. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the Agency name and 

docket number or Regulatory 

Information Number (RIN) for this 

rulemaking. All comments received will 

be included in the public docket 

without change and will be made 

available online at http:// 

www.regulations.gov including any 

personal information provided. For 

further instructions on submitting 

comments, see the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this document. 

Public Participation: Because security 

screening precautions have slowed the 

delivery and dependability of surface 

mail and hand delivery to USAID/ 

Washington, USAID recommends 

sending all comments to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal. The e-mail address 

listed above is provided in the event 

that submission to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal is not convenient 

(all comments must be in writing to be 

reviewed). You may submit comments 

by electronic mail, avoiding the use of 

any special characters and any form of 

encryption. 

USAID will consider all comments as 

it determines how to revise its S/O/N 

regulation and will publish any 

proposed changes to this regulation for 

public comment under a separate 

publication in the Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Niemeyer, Esq. Telephone: 202–712– 

5053, E-mail: jniemeyer@usaid.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background 

Currently, USAID implements the 

statutory procurement directives in 

Section 604(a) of the Foreign Assistance 

Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, through 

the creation and application of 

‘‘principal geographic codes’’ found at 

22 CFR 228.03 and the related concepts 

of ‘‘source,’’ ‘‘origin’’ and ‘‘nationality’’ as 

defined or described in 22 CFR 228. 

Geographic codes set forth at USAID’s 

Automated Directives System (ADS) 

Chapter 260 identify geographic 

entities—countries, territories, 

organizations, regions, and subregions—and program activities 

associated with geographic entities. 

They are established and used by 

USAID for administrative purposes, 

including determining the source, 

origin, and nationality of commodities 

and services financed by USAID. 

Section 604(a) of the FAA allows for 

procurement of program-funded goods 

and services only in the United States, 

the recipient country, or developing 

countries (excluding advanced 

developing countries); however, no 

single geographic code reflects this 

statutory directive. USAID employees as 

well as USAID-funded contractors and 

grantees, spend a substantial amount of 

time and resources interpreting, 

applying, and when necessary and 

appropriate, seeking waivers from the 

application of the current codes and 

related rules. This extensive process 

results in significant use of resources, 

and at times, uncertainty across USAID 

in application of 22 CFR Part 228. In 

light of these issues, USAID is inquiring 

whether or not geographic codes 

developed before the current era of 

globalized manufacturing processes and 

which usually limit procurements to 

one country are still relevant and 

effective in today’s globalized economy. 

In addition, USAID is concerned with 

the cost of compliance with the current 

geographic code requirements. 

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the 

current system of authorizing a specific 

geographic code for particular 

procurements creates delays in 

implementation of sometimes urgently 

needed assistance. In situations where 

procurement from the one designated 

geographic code may not be possible, a 

waiver may be required to implement 

the project effectively, adding to the cost 

and detracting from the effectiveness of 

implementation. For example, one 

USAID contractor estimates the average 

time to process a waiver request for its 

programs at 55 days. Because the cost of 

the resources expended in these efforts 

means fewer resources available for 

project implementation and foreign 

assistance, USAID is considering 

revising the S/O/N regulation to 

simplify it, to be more consistent with 

the underlying statutory requirements of 

Section 604(a) of the FAA, and to 

streamline the related implementation 

procedures. 

Any issues in this rulemaking that 

relate to cargo preference will be 

covered by the comprehensive 

rulemaking that is being developed to 

govern the Maritime Administration’s 

cargo preference program. 

2. Questions 

USAID invites comments and 

suggestions on the existing source, 

origin, and nationality rules in 22 CFR 

Part 228. In particular: 

› What, if any, sections of 22 CFR 

Part 228 lead to inefficiencies and 

ineffectiveness in implementing USAID 

development assistance activities and 

programs? What are the efficiency 

impacts to contractors and grantees from 

provisions reflecting the concept of 

‘‘origin’’ and ‘‘source’’ (essentially, the 

country where a commodity is produced 

and the country from which a 

commodity is shipped to the 

cooperating country, respectively, see 

22 CFR 228.01), given the difficulty of 

determining with specificity the origin 

and source of many commodities in an 

increasingly globalized economy? 

› Should the regulatory guidance 

concerning ‘‘nationality’’ (the place of 

incorporation, ownership, citizenship, 

residence, etc. of suppliers of USAIDfunded goods and services) be modified, 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
8962 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 32 / Wednesday, February 16, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

and if so, in what manner to improve 

efficacy of the rule, particularly as 

applied to suppliers of services and 

goods in the recipient country? 

› Should USAID modify the ‘‘special 

source rules,’’ FAA 604(b), (c), (e), (f), 

and (g), and reflected in 22 CFR 228.13, 

for procurement of agricultural 

commodities, vehicles or 

pharmaceuticals within limitations set 

forth in the FAA; and, if so, in what 

manner? 

› Should references in 22 CFR part 

228 to other statutory requirements, 

such as the Fly America Act (49 U.S.C 

40118) be removed or changed? 

Specifically is it useful for USAID to 

include Agency-specific policy and 

procedures in 22 CFR Part 228, when 

separate statutes and prevailing 

regulatory systems are already in place 

and publicly available from other 

sources? 

› What difficulties do contractors and 

grantees encounter when requesting a 

waiver to procure in any country other 

than those in the approved geographic 

code for each USAID-funded agreement 

(contract or grant?) How can the 

USAID’s waiver guidance be modified 

or improved for more clear and cost 

effective application of the statutory and 

regulatory waiver requirements? 

If commenters suggest modification, 

USAID requests specific proposals for 

what elements of 22 CFR Part 228 

should be modified. USAID requests 

commenters to provide information and 

supporting data related to: 

• The potential costs of modifying the 

existing regulatory language noted 

above. 

• The potential quantifiable 

efficiency benefits of modifying the 

regulatory language noted above. 

Revisions to this regulation will have 

an impact on related provisions in the 

48 CFR 7 Agency for International 

Development Acquisition Regulation 

(AIDAR) and various chapters in 

USAID’s Automated Directives System 

(ADS), including but not limited to ADS 

chapters 303, 310, and 311 (the ADS is 

accessible at http://www.usaid.gov/ 

policy/ads/). 

Dated: February 1, 2011. 

John Niemeyer, 

Assistant General Counsel, USAID. 

[FR Doc. 2011–3401 Filed 2–11–11; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 

Regulation and Enforcement 

30 CFR Part 285 

[Docket ID: BOEM–2010–0045] 

RIN 1010–AD71 

Renewable Energy Alternate Uses of 

Existing Facilities on the Outer 

Continental Shelf—Acquire a Lease 

Noncompetitively 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Regulation and 

Enforcement (BOEMRE), Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: BOEMRE proposes to revise 

the regulations that pertain to 

noncompetitive acquisition of an Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS) renewable 

energy lease. We are taking this action 

because the current regulations 

governing the noncompetitive 

acquisition of an OCS renewable energy 

lease initiated by BOEMRE and a 

request for a noncompetitive OCS 

renewable energy lease initiated by an 

unsolicited request are inconsistent. 

This rulemaking will make the two 

processes consistent with each other by 

eliminating a duplicative and 

unnecessary step in the noncompetitive 

leasing process, while continuing to 

provide for adequate public notice and 

review of leasing proposals as required 

by law. 

DATES: Comment Due Date: Submit 

comments on the proposed rule by 

March 18, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the rulemaking by any of the 

following methods. Please use the 

Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 

1010–AD71 as an identifier in your 

message. See also Public Availability of 

Comments under Procedural Matters. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. In the entry titled 

‘‘Enter Keyword or ID,’’ enter BOEM– 

2010–0045, then click search. Follow 

the instructions to submit public 

comments and view supporting and 

related materials available for this 

rulemaking. BOEMRE will post all 

comments. 

• Mail or hand-carry comments to the 

Department of the Interior; Bureau of 

Ocean Energy Management, Regulation 

and Enforcement; Attention: Regulations 

and Standards Branch (RSB); 381 Elden 

Street, MS–4024, Herndon, Virginia 

20170–4817. Please reference ‘‘Acquire a 

Lease Noncompetitively, 1010–AD71’’ 

in your comments and include your 

name and address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Timothy Redding at (703) 787–1219. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

BOEMRE originally published the 

proposed revision for comment as a 

direct final rule in the Federal Register 

on November 26, 2010. That document 

stated that if BOEMRE received a 

significant adverse comment concerning 

the rulemaking, it would withdraw the 

direct final rule and publish a notice of 

proposed rulemaking. BOEMRE did 

receive significant adverse comment on 

the direct final rulemaking and on 

January 25, 2011, published in the 

Federal Register a notice of withdrawal 

and statement of intent to reinitiate 

rulemaking by publishing this proposed 

rule. 

The regulations at 30 CFR part 285 

govern renewable energy leasing and 

alternate uses of existing facilities on 

the OCS. This proposed rule would 

revise the regulations at §§ 285.231 and 

285.232. The regulations at § 285.231 

address unsolicited requests for 

noncompetitive leases. The regulations 

at § 285.232 address the acquisition of 

noncompetitive leases in response to a 

Request for Interest (RFI) or a Call for 

Information and Nomination (Call). The 

process for awarding leases 

noncompetitively outlined in these two 

sections is currently inconsistent. 

As currently written, § 285.231 allows 

the award of a noncompetitive lease 

after BOEMRE receives an unsolicited 

request for a noncompetitive lease, 

provided that BOEMRE determines that 

there is no competitive interest after 

publishing a single notice of a request 

for interest relating to the unsolicited 

request for a noncompetitive lease. 

As currently written, § 285.232 

provides that, after BOEMRE publishes 

an RFI or Call, if a respondent indicates 

interest in leasing an area for which no 

other party has indicated interest, 

BOEMRE may offer a lease through a 

noncompetitive process. However, the 

regulations require the publication of a 

second RFI notice to confirm the 

absence of competition before 

proceeding with the noncompetitive 

process. We believe that this 

requirement for a second notice is 

redundant and is at odds with the 

noncompetitive process prescribed for 

cases in which a party submits an 

unsolicited request for an OCS 

renewable energy lease, where BOEMRE 

is required to publish only a single 

notice. Eliminating this discrepancy and 

requiring only one RFI notice would 

make BOEMRE’s leasing processes more 

streamlined and efficient while 

maintaining BOEMRE’s obligation to 


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