Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 217 / Wednesday, November 10, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 65067

1The Department of Labor computes the CPI–U 

using two different base time periods, 1967 and 

1982–1984, and the Act does not specify which of 

these base periods should be used to calculate the 

inflation adjustment. The OCC, consistent with the 

other Federal banking agencies, has used the CPI–

U with 1982–84 as the base period. 2The Act’s rounding rules require that an 

increase be rounded to the nearest multiple of: $10 

in the case of penalties less than or equal to $100; 

$100 in the case of penalties greater than $100 but 

less than or equal to $1,000; $1,000 in the case of 

penalties greater than $1,000 but less than or equal 

to $10,000; $5,000 in the case of penalties greater 

than $10,000 but less than or equal to $100,000; 

$10,000 in the case of penalties greater than 

$100,000 but less than or equal to $200,000; and 

$25,000 in the case of penalties greater than 

$200,000. See 28 U.S.C. 2461 note.

3See Riegle Community Development and 

Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (RDCRIA), 

Pub. L. 103–325, Title V, section 525, 108 Stat. 

2260.

(d) Each shipment must be inspected 

by the NPPO before export. For each 

shipment, the NPPO must issue a 

phytosanitary certificate with an 

additional declaration stating that the 

fruit in the shipment was found free 

from C. punctiferalis, E. ambiguella, S. 

pilleriana, S. auriferella, or M. 

fructigena, and Nippoptilia vitis. 

(Approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget under control 

number 0579–0236)

Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of 

November 2004. 

W. Ron DeHaven, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 04–25042 Filed 11–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

12 CFR Part 19 

[Docket No. 04–24] 

RIN 1557–AC82 

Rules of Practice and Procedure; Civil 

Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller 

of the Currency (OCC) is amending its 

rules of practice and procedure to adjust 

the maximum amount of each civil 

money penalty (CMP) within its 

jurisdiction to account for inflation. 

This action, including the amount of the 

adjustment, is required under the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by 

the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 

1996. The OCC is also making a 

technical correction to resolve an error 

in the numbering of sections in part 19.

DATES: Effective Date: December 10, 

2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean 

Campbell, Senior Attorney, Legislative 

and Regulatory Activities Division, 

(202) 874–5090, or Carolyn Amundson, 

Counsel, Enforcement and Compliance 

Division, (202) 874–4800, Office of the 

Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background 

The Inflation Adjustment Act (Act), 

28 U.S.C. 2461 note, requires the OCC, 

as well as other Federal agencies with 

CMP authority, to publish regulations to 

adjust each CMP authorized by a law 

that the agency has jurisdiction to 

administer. The purpose of these 

adjustments is to maintain the deterrent 

effect of CMPs and to promote 

compliance with the law. The Act 

requires adjustments to be made at least 

once every four years following the 

initial adjustment. The OCC’s prior 

adjustment to each CMP was published 

in the Federal Register on December 11, 

2000, 65 FR 77250, and became effective 

that same day. 

The Act requires that the adjustment 

reflect the percentage increase in the 

Consumer Price Index between June of 

the calendar year preceding the year in 

which the adjustment will be made and 

June of the calendar year in which the 

amount was last set or adjusted. The Act 

defines the Consumer Price Index as the 

Consumer Price Index for all urban 

consumers (CPI–U) published by the 

Department of Labor.1 See 28 

U.S.C. 2461 note. In addition, the Act 

provides rules for rounding off 

increases,2 and requires that any 

increase in a CMP apply only to 

violations that occur after the date of the 

adjustment. Finally, section 2 of the 

Debt Collection Improvement Act, 28 

U.S.C. 2461 note, limited the initial 

adjustment of a CMP pursuant to the 

Act to 10 percent of the amount set by 

statute.

Description of the Final Rule 

Inflation Adjustment 

This final rule adjusts the amount for 

each type of CMP that the OCC has 

jurisdiction to impose in accordance 

with the statutory requirements by 

revising the table contained in subpart 

O of 12 CFR part 19. The table identifies 

the statutes that provide the OCC with 

CMP authority, describes the different 

tiers of penalties provided in each 

statute (as applicable), and sets out the 

inflation-adjusted maximum penalty 

that the OCC may impose pursuant to 

each statutory provision. 

The Act requires that we compute the 

inflation adjustment by comparing the 

CPI–U for June of the year in which the 

CMPs were last set or adjusted with the 

CPI–U for June of the calendar year 

preceding the adjustment. 28 U.S.C. 

2461 note. For those CMPs that were 

adjusted in 2000, we compared the CPI–

U for June 2003 (183.7) with the CPI–

U for June 2000 (172.4). This resulted in 

an inflation adjustment of 6.6 percent. 

For those penalties that were last 

adjusted in 1997, we compared the CPI–

U for June 1997 (160.3) to the CPI–U for 

June 2003 (183.7). This resulted in an 

inflation increase of 14.6 percent. The 

penalty for failure to require flood 

insurance or notify the borrower of lack 

of coverage, 42 U.S.C. 4012a(f)(5), has 

never been adjusted for inflation 

because of application of the rounding 

rules. For that penalty, we compared the 

CPI–U for June of the year of enactment, 

1994 3 (148.0), with the CPI–U for June 

2003 (183.7). This resulted in an 

inflation increase of 24.1 percent.

We multiplied the amount of each 

CMP by the appropriate percentage 

inflation adjustment and added that 

amount to the current penalty. We 

rounded the resulting dollar amount up 

or down according to the rounding 

requirements of the Act. In some cases, 

rounding resulted in no adjustment to 

the CMP. In the case of the flood 

insurance penalty, the increase was 

capped at 10 percent because this is the 

initial adjustment. The following table 

shows both the present CMPs and the 

inflation adjusted CMPs. The table 

published in § 19.240(a) is shorter and 

shows only the adjusted CMPs, not the 

calculations. 

New § 19.240(b) states that the 

adjustments made in § 19.240(a) apply 

only to violations that occur after the 

effective date of this final rule. 

The OCC will readjust these amounts 

in 2008 and every four years thereafter, 

assuming there are no further changes to 

the mandate imposed by the Act.

65068 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 217 / Wednesday, November 10, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 

U.S. Code citation Description 

Maximum

penalty

(in dollars) 

Percentage

increase 

Amount of

increase

(in dollars) 

Amount of

increase—

rounded

(in dollars) 

Adjusted

maximum

penalty

(in dollars) 

12 U.S.C. 93(b), 504, 

1817(j)(16), 1818(i)(2), 

and 1972(2)(F).

Tier 1 .................................. 5,500 14.6 803 1,000 6,500 

Tier 2 .................................. 27,500 14.6 4,015 5,000 32,500 

Tier 3 .................................. 1,175,000 6.6 77,550 75,000 1,250,000 

12 U.S.C. 164 and 3110(c) Tier 1 .................................. 2,200 6.6 145 0 2,200 

Tier 2 .................................. 22,000 14.6 3,212 5,000 27,000 

Tier 3 .................................. 1,175,000 6.6 77,550 75,000 1,250,000 

12 U.S.C. 1832(c) and 

3909(d)(1).

............................................. 1,100 14.6 161 0 1,100 

12 U.S.C. 1884 ................... ............................................. 110 14.6 16 0 110 

12 U.S.C. 3110(a) ............... ............................................. 27,500 14.6 4,015 5,000 32,500 

15 U.S.C. 78u–2(b) ............. Tier 1 (natural person) ....... 5,500 14.6 803 1,000 6,500 

Tier 1 (other person) .......... 60,000 6.6 3,900 5,000 65,000 

Tier 2 (natural person) ....... 60,000 6.6 3,900 5,000 65,000 

Tier 2 (other person) .......... 300,000 6.6 19,800 25,000 325,000 

Tier 3 (natural person) ....... 120,000 6.6 7,920 10,000 130,000 

Tier 3 (other person) .......... 575,000 6.6 37,950 50,000 625,000 

42 U.S.C. 4012a(f)(5) ......... Per violation ....................... 350 24.1 84 35 385 

Per year .............................. 115,000 6.6 7,475 10,000 125,000 

Technical Correction 

The OCC also is amending 12 CFR 

19.240 to make a technical correction. 

When we issued subpart P (pertaining to 

the removal, suspension, and debarment 

of accountants from performing audit 

services) (68 FR 48265, Aug. 13, 2003), 

we inadvertently assigned a number—

§ 19.241—that already appears in 

Subpart O. To correct this numbering 

overlap, the final rule amends subpart O 

by combining §§ 19.240 (prescribing the 

inflation-adjusted CMP amounts) and 

19.241 (specifying when the inflationadjusted CMP amounts apply) into 

§ 19.240 and removes § 19.241 from 

subpart O. Revised § 19.240 is divided 

into paragraphs (a) and (b). Former 

§ 19.240 becomes paragraph (a) and 

former § 19.241 becomes paragraph (b). 

Section 19.241 in subpart P is 

unchanged. 

Procedural Issues 

1. Notice and Comment Procedure 

Under the Administrative Procedure 

Act (APA), an agency may dispense 

with public notice and an opportunity 

for comment if the agency finds, for 

good cause, that these procedural 

requirements are impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest. 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B). The Act 

provides the OCC no discretion in 

calculating the amount of the civil 

penalty adjustment. The OCC, 

accordingly, cannot vary the amount of 

the adjustment to reflect any views or 

suggestions provided by commenters. In 

addition, combining §§ 19.240 and 

19.241 is technical in nature. Therefore, 

notice and comment are unnecessary 

and delay in the form of notice and 

comment procedure is contrary to the 

public interest. Accordingly, good cause 

exists to dispense with this procedure. 

2. Delayed Effective Date

The RCDRIA requires that the 

effective date of new regulations and 

amendments to regulations that impose 

additional reporting, disclosures, or 

other new requirements on insured 

depository institutions shall be the first 

day of a calendar quarter that begins on 

or after the date the regulations are 

published in final form. See 12 U.S.C. 

4802(b)(1). The RCDRIA does not apply 

to this final rule because the rule merely 

increases the amount of CMPs that 

already exist and does not impose any 

additional reporting, disclosures, or 

other new requirements. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act applies 

only to rules for which an agency 

publishes a general notice of proposed 

rulemaking pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

See 5 U.S.C. 601(2). Because the OCC 

has determined for good cause that the 

APA does not require public notice and 

comment on this final rule, we are not 

publishing a general notice of proposed 

rulemaking. Thus, the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act does not apply to this 

final rule. 

Executive Order 12866 

The OCC has determined that this 

final rule is not a significant regulatory 

action under Executive Order 12866. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

The OCC has determined that this 

final rule will not result in expenditures 

by State, local, and tribal governments, 

or by the private sector, of $100 million 

or more in any one year. Accordingly, 

a budgetary impact statement is not 

required under section 202 of the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 19 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Crime, Equal access to 

justice, Investigations, National banks, 

Penalties, Securities.

Authority and Issuance

■ For the reasons set out in the preamble, 

part 19 of chapter I of title 12 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations is amended as 

follows:

PART 19—RULES OF PRACTICE AND 

PROCEDURE

■ 1. The authority citation for part 19 is 

revised to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 504, 554–557; 12 

U.S.C. 93(b), 93a, 164, 505, 1817, 1818, 1820, 

1831m, 1831o, 1972, 3102, 3108(a), 3909, and 

4717; 15 U.S.C. 78(h) and (i), 78o–4(c), 78o–

5, 78q–1, 78s, 78u, 78u–2, 78u–3, and 78w; 

28 U.S.C. 2461 note; 31 U.S.C. 330 and 5321; 

and 42 U.S.C. 4012a.

■ 2. Section 19.241 of subpart O is 

removed.

■ 3. Section 19.240 of subpart O is 

revised to read as follows:

§ 19.240 Inflation adjustments. 

(a) The maximum amount of each 

civil money penalty within the OCC’s 

jurisdiction is adjusted in accordance 

with the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 

U.S.C. 2461 note) as follows:

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 217 / Wednesday, November 10, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 65069

U.S. Code citation Description 

Maximum

penalty

(in Dollars) 

12 U.S.C. 93(b), 504, 1817(j)(16), 1818(i)(2), and 1972(2)(F) .................................... Tier 1 ......................................................... 6,500 

Tier 2 ......................................................... 32,500 

Tier 3 ......................................................... 1,250,000 

12 U.S.C. 164 and 3110(c) .......................................................................................... Tier 1 ......................................................... 2,200 

Tier 2 ......................................................... 27,000 

Tier 3 ......................................................... 1.250,000 

12 U.S.C. 1832(c) and 3909(d)(1) ............................................................................... ................................................................... 1,100 

12 U.S.C. 1884 ............................................................................................................. ................................................................... 110 

12 U.S.C. 3110(a) ........................................................................................................ ................................................................... 32,500 

15 U.S.C. 78u–2(b) ...................................................................................................... Tier 1 (natural person) .............................. 6,500 

Tier 1 (other person) ................................. 65,000 

Tier 2 (natural person) .............................. 65,000 

Tier 2 (other person) ................................. 325,000 

Tier 3 (natural person) .............................. 130,000 

Tier 3 (other person) ................................. 625,000 

42 U.S.C. 4012a(f)(5) ................................................................................................... Per violation .............................................. 385 

Per year .................................................... 125,000 

(b) The adjustments in § 19.240(a) 

apply to violations that occur after 

December 10, 2004.

Dated: November 3, 2004. 

Julie L. Williams, 

Acting Comptroller of the Currency.

[FR Doc. 04–24974 Filed 11–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–33–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA–2004–18821; Airspace 

Docket No. 04–ACE–47] 

Modification of Class E Airspace; St. 

Francis, KS

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Direct final rule; confirmation of 

effective date. 

SUMMARY: This document confirms the 

effective date of the direct final rule 

which revises Class E airspace at St. 

Francis, KS.

EFFECTIVE DATE: 0901 UTC, January 20, 

2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kathy Randolph, Air Traffic Division, 

Airspace Branch, ACE–520C, DOT 

Regional Headquarters Building, Federal 

Aviation Administration, 901 Locust, 

Kansas City, MO 64106; telephone: 

(816) 329–2525.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

published this direct final rule with a 

request for comments in the Federal 

Register on September 24, 2004 (69 FR 

57170). The Federal Register

subsequently published a correction to 

the direct final rule on October 4, 2004 

(69 FR 59303). The FAA uses the direct 

final rulemaking procedure for a noncontroversial rule where the FAA 

believes that there will be no adverse 

public comment. This direct final rule 

advised the public that no adverse 

comments were anticipated, and that 

unless a written adverse comment, or a 

written notice of intent to submit such 

an adverse comment, were received 

within the comment period, the 

regulation would become effective on 

January 20, 2005. No adverse comments 

were received, and thus this notice 

confirms that this direct final rule will 

become effective on that date.

Issued in Kansas City, MO on October 28, 

2004. 

Anthony D. Roetzel, 

Acting Area Director, Western Flight Services 

Operations.

[FR Doc. 04–24976 Filed 11–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA–2004–18820; Airspace 

Docket No. 04–ACE–46] 

Modification of Class E Airspace; 

Kennett, MO

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Direct final rule; confirmation of 

effective date. 

SUMMARY: This document confirms the 

effective date of the direct final rule 

which revises Class E airspace at 

Kennett, MO.

EFFECTIVE DATE: 0901 UTC, January 20, 

2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Brenda Mumper, Air Traffic Division, 

Airspace Branch, ACE–520A, DOT 

Regional Headquarters Building, Federal 

Aviation Administration, 901 Locust, 

Kansas City, MO 64106; telephone: 

(816) 329–2524.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

published this direct final rule with a 

request for comments in the Federal 

Register on September 28, 2004 (69 FR 

57839). The FAA uses the direct final 

rulemaking procedure for a noncontroversial rule where the FAA 

believes that there will be no adverse 

public comment. This direct final rule 

advised the public that no adverse 

comments were anticipated, and that 

unless a written adverse comment, or a 

written notice of intent to submit such 

an adverse comment, were received 

within the comment period, the 

regulation would become effective on 

January 20, 2005. No adverse comments 

were received, and thus this notice 

confirms that this direct final rule will 

become effective on that date.

Issued in Kansas City, MO on October 28, 

2004. 

Anthony D. Roetzel, 

Acting Area Director, Western Flight Services 

Operations.

[FR Doc. 04–24975 Filed 11–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 52 

[R05–OAR–2004–WI–0001; FRL–7829–4] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plan; Wisconsin

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA).