Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 15, 2002 / Rules and Regulations 1861

compliance with this AD, if any, may be

obtained from the International Branch,

ANM–116.

Special Flight Permit Prohibition

(c) Special flight permits may NOT be

issued in accordance with sections 21.197

and 21.199 of the Federal Aviation

Regulations (14 CFR 21.197 and 21.199) to

operate the airplane to a location where the

requirements of this AD can be

accomplished.

Note 5: The subject of this AD is addressed

in Israeli emergency airworthiness directive

25–01–12–17, dated December 18, 2001.

Effective Date

(d) This amendment becomes effective on

January 30, 2002.

Issued in Renton, Washington, on January

7, 2002.

Vi L. Lipski,

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate,

Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 02–799 Filed 1–14–02; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–U

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY

CORPORATION

29 CFR Parts 4022 and 4044

Benefits Payable in Terminated SingleEmployer Plans; Allocation of Assets

in Single-Employer Plans; Interest

Assumptions for Valuing and Paying

Benefits

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation’s regulations on Benefits

Payable in Terminated Single-Employer

Plans and Allocation of Assets in

Single-Employer Plans prescribe interest

assumptions for valuing and paying

benefits under terminating singleemployer plans. This final rule amends

the regulations to adopt interest

assumptions for plans with valuation

dates in February 2002. Interest

assumptions are also published on the

PBGC’s Web site (http://www.pbgc.gov).

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 1, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General

Counsel, Office of the General Counsel,

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation,

1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC

20005, 202–326–4024. (TTY/TDD users

may call the Federal relay service tollfree at 1–800–877–8339 and ask to be

connected to 202–326–4024.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

PBGC’s regulations prescribe actuarial

assumptions—including interest

assumptions—for valuing and paying

plan benefits of terminating singleemployer plans covered by title IV of

the Employee Retirement Income

Security Act of 1974. The interest

assumptions are intended to reflect

current conditions in the financial and

annuity markets.

Three sets of interest assumptions are

prescribed: (1) A set for the valuation of

benefits for allocation purposes under

section 4044 (found in Appendix B to

part 4044), (2) a set for the PBGC to use

to determine whether a benefit is

payable as a lump sum and to determine

lump-sum amounts to be paid by the

PBGC (found in Appendix B to part

4022), and (3) a set for private-sector

pension practitioners to refer to if they

wish to use lump-sum interest rates

determined using the PBGC’s historical

methodology (found in Appendix C to

part 4022).

Accordingly, this amendment (1) adds

to Appendix B to part 4044 the interest

assumptions for valuing benefits for

allocation purposes in plans with

valuation dates during February 2002,

(2) adds to Appendix B to part 4022 the

interest assumptions for the PBGC to

use for its own lump-sum payments in

plans with valuation dates during

February 2002, and (3) adds to

Appendix C to part 4022 the interest

assumptions for private-sector pension

practitioners to refer to if they wish to

use lump-sum interest rates determined

using the PBGC’s historical

methodology for valuation dates during

February 2002.

For valuation of benefits for allocation

purposes, the interest assumptions that

the PBGC will use (set forth in

Appendix B to part 4044) will be 5.80

percent for the first 25 years following

the valuation date and 4.25 percent

thereafter. These interest assumptions

are unchanged from those in effect for

January 2002.

The interest assumptions that the

PBGC will use for its own lump-sum

payments (set forth in Appendix B to

part 4022) will be 4.75 percent for the

period during which a benefit is in pay

status, and 4.00 percent during any

years preceding the benefit’s placement

in pay status. These interest

assumptions represent an increase (from

those in effect for January 2002) of 0.25

percent for the period during which a

benefit is in pay status and are

otherwise unchanged.

For private-sector payments, the

interest assumptions (set forth in

Appendix C to part 4022) will be the

same as those used by the PBGC for

determining and paying lump sums (set

forth in Appendix B to part 4022).

The PBGC has determined that notice

and public comment on this amendment

are impracticable and contrary to the

public interest. This finding is based on

the need to determine and issue new

interest assumptions promptly so that

the assumptions can reflect, as

accurately as possible, current market

conditions.

Because of the need to provide

immediate guidance for the valuation

and payment of benefits in plans with

valuation dates during February 2002,

the PBGC finds that good cause exists

for making the assumptions set forth in

this amendment effective less than 30

days after publication.

The PBGC has determined that this

action is not a ‘‘significant regulatory

action’’ under the criteria set forth in

Executive Order 12866.

Because no general notice of proposed

rulemaking is required for this

amendment, the Regulatory Flexibility

Act of 1980 does not apply. See 5 U.S.C.

601(2).

List of Subjects

29 CFR Part 4022

Employee benefit plans, Pension

insurance, Pensions, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

29 CFR Part 4044

Employee benefit plans, Pension

insurance, Pensions.

In consideration of the foregoing, 29

CFR parts 4022 and 4044 are amended

as follows:

PART 4022—BENEFITS PAYABLE IN

TERMINATED SINGLE-EMPLOYER

PLANS

1. The authority citation for part 4022

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1302, 1322, 1322b,

1341(c)(3)(D), and 1344.

2. In appendix B to part 4022, Rate Set

100, as set forth below, is added to the

table. (The introductory text of the table

is omitted.)

Appendix B to Part 4022—Lump Sum

Interest Rates For PBGC Payments

* * * * *

1862 Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 15, 2002 / Rules and Regulations

Rate set

For plans with a valuation

date Immediate

annuity rate

(percent)

Deferred annuities

(percent)

On or after Before i1 i2 i3 n1 n2

*******

100 .................................... 2–1–02 3–1–02 4.75 4.00 4.00 4.00 7 8

3. In appendix C to part 4022, Rate Set 100, as set forth below, is added to the table. (The introductory text

of the table is omitted.)

Appendix C to Part 4022—Lump Sum Interest Rates For Private-Sector Payments

* * * * *

Rate set

For plans with a valuation

date Immediate

annuity rate

(percent)

Deferred annuities

(percent)

On or after Before i1 i2 i3 n1 n2

*******

100 .................................... 2–1–02 3–1–02 4.75 4.00 4.00 4.00 7 8

PART 4044—ALLOCATION OF ASSETS IN SINGLE-EMPLOYER PLANS

4. The authority citation for part 4044 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1301(a), 1302(b)(3), 1341, 1344, 1362.

5. In appendix B to part 4044, a new entry, as set forth below, is added to the table. (The introductory text

of the table is omitted.)

Appendix B to Part 4044—Interest Rates Used to Value Benefits

* * * * *

For valuation dates occurring in the

month—

The values of it are:

it for t = it for t = it for t =

*******

February 2002 .......................................... .0580 1–25 .0425 >25 N/A N/A

Issued in Washington, DC, on this 10th day

of January, 2002.

Steven A. Kandarian,

Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 02–1136 Filed 1–14–02; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

30 CFR Part 203

RIN 1010–AC71

Relief or Reduction in Royalty Rates—

Deep Water Royalty Relief for OCS Oil

and Gas Leases Issued After 2000

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This rule revises regulations

on royalty relief for oil and gas

producers on the Outer Continental

Shelf (OCS). It provides for suspension

or reduction of royalty on a case-by-case

basis for certain additional categories of

OCS leases under part 203 of this title.

Also, it identifies circumstances when

we may consider royalty relief apart

from our end-of-life and deepwater

royalty relief (DWRR) programs.

DATES: This final rule is effective

February 14, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Marshall Rose, Economics Division, at

(703) 787–1536.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

November 16, 2000, we published a

proposed rule in the Federal Register

(65 FR 69259). For leases that lie in

water 200 meters or deeper in the Gulf

of Mexico (GOM) wholly west of 87

degrees, 30 minutes West longitude and

issued after November 2000, it provided

a process to apply for supplemental

royalty relief. Also, it proposed to

modify the relief qualification process.

Some proposed modifications apply

only to leases issued after November

2000 (newly issued leases) while others

apply both to leases issued before the

DWRR Act (pre-Act leases) and to newly

issued leases. These proposed

modifications sought to combine more

opportunity, certainty, and flexibility

for applicants with a royalty relief

determination process more focused on

future costs and benefits. We requested

comments on these proposed changes.

We also finalized in the Federal

Register on February 23, 2001 (66 FR

11512) regulations on the way we

implement OCS leasing incentives on

newly issued leases. The opportunity

for newly issued leases to qualify for

royalty relief that supplements leaseterm incentives when we issued them is

an important part of the change in these

incentives.

Several comments on the proposed

rulemaking addressed the changed

leasing incentives and the modifications

to the royalty relief qualification

process. This final rule makes changes

from the proposed rule in response to