20652 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 74 / Friday, April 16, 2004 / Notices 

of the workshop will focus on the MultiAgency Radiation Survey & Site 

Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) 

evolution into Geostatistical and 

Bayesian approaches to surficial and, in 

particular, volumetric contamination 

characterization and analysis. This 

information will be useful to the NRC in 

developing realistic guidance for 

implementations requiring sub-surface 

or volumetric knowledge. All interested 

licensees and members of the public are 

invited to attend this workshop. 

DATES: The workshop will be held on 

May 4th and 5th, 2004 from 8 a.m. to 

about 5 p.m. Registration is requested at 

http://www.tiem.utk.edu/-sada/ to help 

plan for security issues and determine 

how many CD copies of the Beta SADA 

software will have to be prepared for 

distribution. 

ADDRESSES: The public workshop will 

be held in the NRC auditorium at Two 

White Flint North, 11545 Rockville 

Pike, Rockville, Maryland. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Designated Federal Official: Cheryl A. 

Trottier (301) 415–6232. General 

Information: George E. Powers, Office of 

Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301) 

415–6212, fax (301) 415–5385, e-mail: 

GEP@NRC.GOV. The workshop program 

can be viewed at http:// 

www.tiem.utk.edu/-sada/. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

workshop is one of a series of 

interactions with the Agreement States, 

licensees, and the public to inform and 

gather suggestions and ideas for 

improving performance based protocols 

for conducting surveys that must 

consider volumetric geometries. 

Techniques that apply Bayesian and 

geostatistical methods are showing 

promise in reducing the resources 

required to evaluate volumetric 

contamination while increasing the 

accuracy and precision of the results. 

Therefore, the NRC staff is considering 

expanding and extending the 

performance guidance for conducting 

volumetric surveys by applying 

statistics such as Bayesian and 

geostatistical analysis that may be more 

appropriate for use in assessments. The 

workshop will include brief formal 

presentations by invited speakers from 

DOE national laboratories, EPA and 

other Federal Agencies. These 

presentations will address survey 

techniques that can be applied up to the 

initiation of volumetric sampling and 

analysis. Question and answer periods 

will be provided. 

Visitor parking around the NRC 

building is limited; however, the 

workshop site is located adjacent to the 

White Flint Station on the Metro Red 

Line. Seating for the public will be on 

a first-come, first-served basis. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 12th day 

of April, 2004. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Cheryl A. Trottier, 

Chief, Radiation Protection and Health Effects 

Branch, Division of Regulatory Applications, 

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. 

[FR Doc. 04–8634 Filed 4–15–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

Required Interest Rate Assumption for 

Determining Variable-Rate Premium for 

Premium Payment Years Beginning in 

January Through April 2004 

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Notice of interest rate 

assumptions. 

SUMMARY: This notice informs the public 

of the interest rate assumptions to be 

used for determining the variable-rate 

premium under part 4006 of the Pension 

Benefit Guaranty Corporation 

regulations for premium payment years 

beginning in January through April 

2004. These interest rate assumptions 

can be derived from rates published 

elsewhere, but are collected and 

published in this notice for the 

convenience of the public. Interest rates 

are also published on the PBGC’s Web 

site (http://www.pbgc.gov). 

The provisions of the Job Creation and 

Worker Assistance Act of 2002 that 

temporarily increased the required 

interest rate to be used to determine the 

PBGC’s variable-rate premium to 100 

percent (from 85 percent) of the annual 

yield on 30-year Treasury securities 

expired at the end of 2003. The Pension 

Funding Equity Act of 2004, which was 

signed into law by the President on 

April 10, 2004, changes the rules for 

determining the required interest rate 

for premium payment years beginning 

in 2004 or 2005. On April 15, 2004, the 

PBGC published a notice informing the 

public of interest rates and assumptions 

to be used under certain PBGC 

regulations. The April 15, 2004, notice 

stated that the PBGC intended shortly to 

publish a Federal Register notice 

reflecting the new required interest 

rates. The PBGC is now informing the 

public of those new required interest 

rates for premium payment years 

beginning in January through April 

2004. 

DATES: The required interest rate 

assumption for determining the 

variable-rate premium under part 4006 

applies to premium payment years 

beginning in January through April 

2004. 

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: 

Variable-Rate Premiums 

Section 4006(a)(3)(E)(iii)(II) of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA) and § 4006.4(b)(1) 

of the PBGC’s regulation on Premium 

Rates (29 CFR part 4006) prescribe use 

of an assumed interest rate (the 

‘‘required interest rate’’) in determining 

a single-employer plan’s variable-rate 

premium. The required interest rate is 

the ‘‘applicable percentage’’ (currently 

85 percent) of the annual yield on 30- 

year Treasury securities for the month 

preceding the beginning of the plan year 

for which premiums are being paid (the 

‘‘premium payment year’’). The 

provisions of the Job Creation and 

Worker Assistance Act of 2002 that 

temporarily increased the required 

interest rate to be used to determine the 

PBGC’s variable-rate premium to 100 

percent (from 85 percent) of the annual 

yield on 30-year Treasury securities 

expired at the end of 2003. 

The Pension Funding Equity Act of 

2004, which was signed into law by the 

President on April 10, 2004, changes the 

rules for determining the required 

interest rate for premium payment years 

beginning in 2004 or 2005. For premium 

payment years beginning in 2004 or 

2005, the required interest rate is the 

‘‘applicable percentage’’ (currently 85 

percent) of the annual rate of interest 

determined by the Secretary of the 

Treasury on amounts invested 

conservatively in long-term investment 

grade corporate bonds for the month 

preceding the beginning of the plan year 

for which premiums are being paid. On 

April 12, 2004, the Internal Revenue 

Service issued Notice 2004–34 

announcing the composite corporate 

bond rates needed to determine the 

required interest rates for premium 

payment years beginning in January 

through April 2004. (See Table 1 of IRS 

Notice 2004–34.) 

The required interest rate to be used 

in determining variable-rate premiums 

for premium payment years beginning 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 74 / Friday, April 16, 2004 / Notices 20653 

in January 2004 is 4.94 percent (i.e., 85 

percent of the 5.81 percent composite 

corporate bond rate announced in IRS 

Notice 2004–34 for December 2003). 

The required interest rate to be used 

in determining variable-rate premiums 

for premium payment years beginning 

in February 2004 is 4.83 percent (i.e., 85 

percent of the 5.68 percent composite 

corporate bond rate announced in IRS 

Notice 2004–34 for January 2004). 

The required interest rate to be used 

in determining variable-rate premiums 

for premium payment years beginning 

in March 2004 is 4.79 percent (i.e., 85 

percent of the 5.63 percent composite 

corporate bond rate announced in IRS 

Notice 2004–34 for February 2004). 

The required interest rate to be used 

in determining variable-rate premiums 

for premium payment years beginning 

in April 2004 is 4.62 percent (i.e., 85 

percent of the 5.44 percent composite 

corporate bond rate announced in IRS 

Notice 2004–34 for March 2004). 

The following table lists the required 

interest rates to be used in determining 

variable-rate premiums for premium 

payment years beginning between May 

2003 and April 2004. Note that the 

required interest rate for premium 

payment years beginning in May 

through December 2003 were 

determined under the Job Creation and 

Worker Assistance Act of 2002, and that 

the required interest rate for premium 

payment years beginning in January 

through April 2004 were determined 

under the Pension Funding Equity Act 

of 2004. 

For premium payment years 

beginning in: 

The required 

interest rate is: 

May 2003* ............................. 4.90 

June 2003* ............................ 4.53 

July 2003* ............................. 4.37 

August 2003* ........................ 4.93 

September 2003* .................. 5.31 

October 2003* ....................... 5.14 

November 2003* ................... 5.16 

December 2003* ................... 5.12 

January 2004** ...................... 4.94 

February 2004** .................... 4.83 

March 2004** ........................ 4.79 

April 2004** ........................... 4.62 

*The required interest rates for premium 

payment years beginning in May through December 2003 were determined under the Job 

Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002. **The required interest rates for premium 

payment years beginning in January through 

April 2004 were determined under the Pension 

Funding Equity Act of 2004. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on this 13th day 

of April, 2004. 

Joseph H. Grant, 

Deputy Executive Director and Chief 

Operating Officer, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 04–8733 Filed 4–15–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request for a New 

Information Collection: General 

Population Rental Equivalency Survey 

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13, 

May 22, 1995), the Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) has submitted to 

the Office of Management and Budget a 

request for a review of a new 

information collection. OPM plans to 

conduct a General Population Rental 

Equivalency Survey (GPRES) on a onetime basis to collect information on 

actual and estimated rents and rental 

characteristics from homeowners and 

renters in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto 

Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the 

Washington, DC, area. 

OPM will use this information to 

determine whether (1) differences 

between homeowner rent estimates and 

rental rates for comparable housing vary 

among the nonforeign cost-of-living 

allowance (COLA) areas and the 

Washington, DC, area; (2) rents vary 

among areas based on how long renters 

live in their rental units; and (3) rental 

data collected in GPRES differ on 

average from rental data that OPM 

collects in the COLA surveys. OPM 

regulations, adopted pursuant to the 

stipulation of settlement in Caraballo v. 

United States, No. 1997–0027 (D.V.I.), 

August 17, 2000, require the survey of 

rents and rental equivalence 

(homeowner estimates of the rental 

value of their homes). 

OPM will collect information from 

approximately 5,000 to 8,000 

respondents and estimates the total time 

per respondent will be 8 minutes, for a 

total burden of 670 to 1070 hours. 

For copies of this proposal, contact 

Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606–

8358, fax: (202) 418–3251, or e-mail: 

MaryBeth.Smith-Toomey@opm.gov. 

Please include a mailing address with 

your request. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before May 17, 2004. 

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments 

to: 

• Donald J. Winstead, Deputy 

Associate Director for Pay and 

Performance Policy, Office of Personnel 

Management, Room 7H31, 1900 E Street 

NW., Washington, DC 20415–8200; fax: 

(202) 606–4264; or e-mail: 

cola@opm.gov; and 

• Joseph F. Lackey, OPM Desk 

Officer, Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, NW., Room 

10235, Washington, DC 20503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Donald L. Paquin, (202) 606–2838. 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 

Kay Coles James, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 04–8662 Filed 4–15–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–39–M 

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

which provides opportunity for public 

comment on new or revised data 

collections, the Railroad Retirement 

Board (RRB) will publish periodic 

summaries of proposed data collections. 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed information collection is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information has practical 

utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB’s 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of the information; (c) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

ways to minimize the burden related to 

the collection of information on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Title and purpose of information 

collection: Public Service Pension 

Questionnaires; OMB 3220–0136. Public 

Law 95–216 amended the Social 

Security Act of 1977 by providing, in 

part, that spouse or survivor benefits 

may be reduced when the beneficiary is 

in receipt of a pension based on 

employment with a Federal, State, or 

local governmental unit. Initially, the 

reduction was equal to the full amount 

of the government pension. 

Public Law 98–21 changed the 

reduction to two-thirds of the amount of 

the government pension. 

Public Law 108–203, the Social 

Security Protection Act of 2004, was