2426 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 1998 / Notices

For further details with respect to the

proposed action, see the licensee’s letter

dated December 16, 1997, which is

available for public inspection at the

Commission’s Public Document Room,

which is located at The Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, and at the local public

document room located at the Brooks

Memorial Library, 224 Main Street,

Brattleboro, VT.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day

of January 1998.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Ronald B. Eaton,

Acting Director, Project Directorate I–3,

Division of Reactor Projects—I/II, Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 98–1045 Filed 1–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Regulatory Guides; Withdrawal

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission

is withdrawing several guides in its

Regulatory Guide Series. Regulatory

guides may be withdrawn when (1) they

are superseded by the Commission’s

regulations, (2) equivalent

recommendations have been

incorporated in approved codes or

standards, or (3) there have been

changes in methods, techniques, or the

need for specific guidance. Since the

methods discussed in these regulatory

guides fall into one of these categories,

the regulatory guides listed below are

being withdrawn. New applications for

licenses or amendments should address

current guidance. However, withdrawal

of these regulatory guides does not alter

any existing license conditions that

were based on these guides.

Applications that reference these

regulatory guides and are pending as of

the date of this notice do not need to be

withdrawn or amended.

Regulatory Guide 3.2, Efficiency Testing

of Air-Cleaning Systems Containing

Devices for Removal of Particles

(January 1973)

Regulatory Guide 3.9, Concrete

Radiation Shields (June 1973)

Regulatory Guide 3.33, Assumptions

Used for Evaluating the Potential

Radiological Consequences of

Accidental Nuclear Criticality in a

Fuel Reprocessing Plant (April 1977)

Regulatory Guide 3.34, Assumptions

Used for Evaluating the Potential

Radiological Consequences of

Accidental Nuclear Criticality in a

Uranium Fuel Fabrication Plant

(Revision 1, July 1979)

Regulatory Guide 3.35, Assumptions

Used for Evaluating the Potential

Radiological Consequences of

Accidental Nuclear Criticality in a

Plutonium Processing and Fuel

Fabrication Plant (Revision 1, July

1979)

Regulatory Guide 5.1, Serial Numbering

of Fuel Assemblies for Light-WaterCooled Nuclear Power Reactors

(December 1972)

Regulatory Guide 5.14, Use of

Observation (Visual Surveillance)

Techniques in Material Access Areas

(Revision 1, May 1980)

Regulatory Guide 5.24, Analysis and

Use of Process Data for the Protection

of Special Nuclear Material (June

1974)

Regulatory Guide 5.29, Nuclear Material

Control Systems for Nuclear Power

Plants (Revision 1, June 1975)

Regulatory Guide 5.30, Materials

Protection Contingency Measures for

Uranium and Plutonium Fuel

Manufacturing Plants (June 1974)

Regulatory Guide 5.45, Standard Format

and Content for the Special Nuclear

Material Control and Accounting

Section of a Special Nuclear Material

License Application (Including That

for a Uranium Enrichment Facility)

(December 1974)

Regulatory Guide 8.3, Film Badge

Performance Criteria (February 1973)

In addition, Draft Regulatory Guide

DG–0008, ‘‘Applications for the Use of

Sealed Sources in Portable Gauging

Devices’’ (May 1995), is being

withdrawn from consideration as a

regulatory guide. The NRC recently

published NUREG–1556, ‘‘Consolidated

Guidance About Materials Licenses:

Program-Specific Guidance About

Portable Gauge Licenses,’’ which

contains information on the same

subject.

Comments and suggestions in

connection with items for inclusion in

guides currently being developed or

improvements in all published guides

are encouraged at any time. Written

comments may be submitted to the

Rules and Directives Branch, Division of

Administrative Services, Office of

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555.

(5 U.S.C. 552(a))

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd

day of December 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Malcolm R. Knapp,

Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory

Research.

[FR Doc. 98–1047 Filed 1–15–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY

CORPORATION

Interest Assumption for Determining

Variable-Rate Premium; Interest on

Late Premium Payments; Interest on

Underpayments and Overpayments of

Single-Employer Plan Termination

Liability and Multiemployer Withdrawal

Liability; Interest Assumptions for

Multiemployer Plan Valuations

Following Mass Withdrawal

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of interest rates and

assumptions.

SUMMARY: This notice informs the public

to be used under certain Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation regulations. These

rates and assumptions are published

elsewhere (or are derivable 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 home

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

DATES: The interest rate for determining

the variable-rate premium under part

4006 applies to premium payment years

beginning in January 1998. The interest

assumptions for performing

multiemployer plan valuations

following mass withdrawal under part

4281 apply to valuation dates occurring

in February 1998. The interest rates for

late premium payments under part 4007

and for underpayments and

overpayments of single-employer plan

termination liability under part 4062

and multiemployer withdrawal liability

under part 4219 apply to interest

accruing during the first quarter

(January through March) of 1998.

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. (For TTY/TDD

users, 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 in

determining a single-employer plan’s

variable-rate premium. The rate is the

‘‘applicable percentage’’ (described in

the statute and the regulation) of the

annual yield on 30-year Treasury

securities for the month preceding the
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 1998 / Notices 2427

beginning of the plan year for which

premiums are being paid (the ‘‘premium

payment year’’). The yield figure is

reported in Federal Reserve Statistical

Releases G.13 and H.15.

For plan years beginning before July

1, 1997, the applicable percentage of the

30-year Treasury yield was 80 percent.

The Retirement Protection Act of 1994

(RPA) amended ERISA section

4006(a)(3)(E)(iii)(II) to change the

applicable percentage to 85 percent,

effective for plan years beginning on or

after July 1, 1997. (The amendment also

provides for a further increase in the

applicable percentage—to 100 percent—

when the Internal Revenue Service

adopts new mortality tables for

determining current liability.)

The assumed interest rate to be used

in determining variable-rate premiums

for premium payment years beginning

in January 1998 is 5.09 percent (i.e., 85

percent of the 5.99 percent yield figure

for December 1997).

(Under section 774(c) of the RPA, the

amendment to the applicable percentage

was deferred for certain regulated public

utility (RPU) plans for as long as six

months. The applicable percentage for

RPU plans has therefore remained 80

percent for plan years beginning before

January 1, 1998. For ‘‘partial’’ RPU

plans, the assumed interest rates to be

used in determining variable-rate

premiums can be computed by applying

the rules in § 4006.5(g) of the premium

rates regulation. The PBGC’s 1997

premium payment instruction booklet

also describes these rules and provides

a worksheet for computing the assumed

rate.)

The following table lists the assumed

interest rates to be used in determining

variable-rate premiums for premium

payment years beginning between

February 1997 and January 1998. The

rates for July through December 1997 in

the table (which reflect an applicable

percentage of 85 percent) apply only to

non-RPU plans. However, the rates for

months before July 1997 and after

December 1997 apply to RPU (and

‘‘partial’’ RPU) plans as well as to nonRPU plans.

For premium payment years

beginning in

The assumed interest rate

is

February 1997 .......................... 5.46

March 1997 ............................... 5.35

April 1997 .................................. 5.54

May 1997 .................................. 5.67

June 1997 ................................. 5.55

July 1997 .................................. 5.75

August 1997 .............................. 5.53

September 1997 ....................... 5.59

For premium payment years

beginning in

The assumed interest rate

is

October 1997 ............................ 5.53

November 1997 ........................ 5.38

December 1997 ........................ 5.19

January 1998 ............................ 5.09

Late Premium Payments;

Underpayments and Overpayments of

Single-Employer Plan Termination

Liability

Section 4007(b) of ERISA and

§ 4007.7(a) of the PBGC’s regulation on

Payment of Premiums (29 CFR part

4007) require the payment of interest on

late premium payments at the rate

established under section 6601 of the

Internal Revenue Code. Similarly,

§ 4062.7 of the PBGC’s regulation on

Liability for Termination of Singleemployer Plans (29 CFR part 4062)

requires that interest be charged or

credited at the section 6601 rate on

underpayments and overpayments of

employer liability under section 4062 of

ERISA. The section 6601 rate is

established periodically (currently

quarterly) by the Internal Revenue

Service. The rate applicable to the first

quarter (January through March) of

1998, as announced by the IRS, is 9

percent.

The following table lists the late

payment interest rates for premiums and

employer liability for the specified time

periods:

From Through Interest rate

(percent)

1/1/92 ................ 3/31/92 9

4/1/92 ................ 9/30/92 8

10/1/92 .............. 6/30/94 7

7/1/94 ................ 9/30/94 8

10/1/94 .............. 3/31/95 9

4/1/95 ................ 6/30/95 10

7/1/95 ................ 3/31/96 9

4/1/96 ................ 6/30/96 8

7/1/96 ................ 12/31/96 9

1/1/97 ................ 3/31/97 9

4/1/97 ................ 6/30/97 9

7/1/97 ................ 9/30/97 9

10/1/97 .............. 12/31/97 9

1/1/98 ................ 3/31/98 9

Underpayments and Overpayments of

Multiemployer Withdrawal Liability

Section 4219.32(b) of the PBGC’s

regulation on Notice, Collection, and

Redetermination of Withdrawal

Liability (29 CFR part 4219) specifies

the rate at which a multiemployer plan

is to charge or credit interest on

underpayments and overpayments of

withdrawal liability under section 4219

of ERISA unless an applicable plan

provision provides otherwise. For

interest accruing during any calendar

quarter, the specified rate is the average

quoted prime rate on short-term

commercial loans for the fifteenth day

(or the next business day if the fifteenth

day is not a business day) of the month

preceding the beginning of the quarter,

as reported by the Board of Governors

of the Federal Reserve System in

Statistical Release H.15 (‘‘Selected

Interest Rates’’). The rate for the first

quarter (January through March) of 1998

(i.e., the rate reported for December 15,

1997) is 8.50 percent.

The following table lists the

withdrawal liability underpayment and

overpayment interest rates for the

specified time periods:

From Through Rate

(percent)

1/1/92 ................ 3/31/92 7.50

4/1/92 ................ 9/30/92 6.50

10/1/92 .............. 6/30/94 6.00

7/1/94 ................ 9/30/94 7.25

10/1/94 .............. 12/31/94 7.75

1/1/95 ................ 3/31/95 8.50

4/1/95 ................ 9/30/95 9.00

10/1/95 .............. 3/31/96 8.75

4/1/96 ................ 12/31/96 8.25

1/1/97 ................ 3/31/97 8.25

4/1/97 ................ 6/30/97 8.25

7/1/97 ................ 9/30/97 8.50

10/1/97 .............. 12/31/97 8.50

1/1/98 ................ 3/31/98 8.50

Multiemployer Plan Valuations

Following Mass Withdrawal

The PBGC’s regulation on Duties of

Plan Sponsor Following Mass

Withdrawal (29 CFR part 4281)

prescribes the use of interest

assumptions under the PBGC’s

regulation on Allocation of Assets in

Single-employer Plans (29 CFR part

4044). The interest assumptions

applicable to valuation dates in

February 1998 under part 4044 are

contained in an amendment to part 4044

published elsewhere in today’s Federal

Register. Tables showing the

assumptions applicable to prior periods

are codified in appendix B to 29 CFR

part 4044.

Issued in Washington, DC, on this 9th day

of January 1998.

David M. Strauss,

Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 98–1062 Filed 1–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P