Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 56 / Tuesday, March 24, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 15517 

§ 721.4680 [Removed] 

■ 2. Remove § 721.4680. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06474 Filed 3–23–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

48 CFR Part 970 

RIN 1991–AC07 

Acquisition Regulation: Technical and 

Administrative Changes to Department 

of Energy Acquisition Regulation 

AGENCY: Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Final rule; technical 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE) is amending the Department of 

Energy Acquisition Regulation (DEAR) 

to make technical and administrative 

changes to the DEAR by changing the 

term ‘‘Work for Others’’ to ‘‘Strategic 

Partnership Projects’’ and ‘‘WFO’’ to 

‘‘SPP’’ in every instance where it 

appears in the DEAR. This final rule 

does not alter substantive rights or 

obligations under current law. 

DATES: Effective date: April 23, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lawrence Butler, (202) 287–1945 or 

lawrence.butler@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

II. Section-by-Section Analysis 

III. Procedural Requirements 

A. Review Under Executive Order 12866 

and 13563. 

B. Review Under Executive Order 12988. 

C. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act. 

D. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act. 

E. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act. 

F. Review Under Executive Order 13132. 

G. Review Under the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995. 

H. Review Under the Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 1999. 

I. Review Under Executive Order 13211. 

J. Review Under the Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 2001. 

K. Administrative Procedure Act 

L. Congressional Notification 

M. Approval by the Office of the Secretary 

of Energy. 

I. Background 

Since July 1991, DOE has officially 

used the term ‘‘Work for Others’’ to 

describe work performed by its national 

laboratories for non-DOE entities, 

including other Federal agencies, 

universities, and the private sector. 

Projects performed under the Work for 

Others program provide solutions to 

difficult technical challenges vital to 

maintaining strong national security and 

promoting economic competitiveness. 

To better convey the importance of 

projects that the laboratories perform for 

other entities, DOE has decided to 

change the term ‘‘Work for Others 

(WFO) to ‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects 

(SPP)’’. The national laboratories/

plants/sites and DOE programs assisted 

in determining the new name. This 

change will take place immediately and 

will be implemented throughout DOE 

and its contractor community in the 

coming months. None of these changes 

are substantive or of a nature to cause 

any significant expense for DOE or its 

contractors. 

II. Section-by-Section Analysis 

DOE amends the DEAR as follows: 

PART 970–DOE MANAGEMENT 

AND OPERATING CONTRACTS 

1. Section 970.1707, is revised to 

change the term ‘‘Work for Others’’ to 

‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’. 

2. Section 970.1707–1, is revised to 

change the term ‘‘Work for Others’’ to 

‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’ and 

change the title for DOE Order 481.1C. 

3. Section 970.1707–2, is revised to 

change the term ‘‘Work for Others’’ to 

‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’. 

4. Section 970.1707–3, is revised to 

change the term ‘‘work for others’’ to 

‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’ in both 

the title and paragraph (a). 

5. Section 970.1707–4, is revised to 

change the term ‘‘Work for Others’’ to 

‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’. 

6. Section 970.3270, paragraph (a)(6), 

is revised to change the term ‘‘Work for 

others’’ to ‘‘Strategic Partnership 

Projects’’. 

7. Section 970.3501–2, is revised to 

change the number and title for DOE 

Order 481.1. 

8. Section 970.5217–1, is revised to 

change the clause title and date, and 

change the term ‘‘Work for Others’’ to 

‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’ 

throughout the clause. 

9. Section 970.5227–1, paragraph 

(b)(ii), is revised to change the term 

‘‘Work for Others’’ to ‘‘Strategic 

Partnership Projects’’. 

10. Section 970.5227–2, paragraph 

(b)(1)(ii), is revised to change the term 

‘‘Work for Others’’ to ‘‘Strategic 

Partnership Projects’’. 

11. Section 970.5227–3, is revised to 

change the term ‘‘Work for Others’’ to 

‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’ and 

‘‘WFO’’ to ‘‘SPP’’ throughout the clause. 

12. Section 970.5227–11, paragraph 

(c)(2)(viii), is revised to change the term 

‘‘Work-for-Others’’ to ‘‘Strategic 

Partnership Projects’’. 

13. Section 970.5227–12, paragraph 

(c)(1)(viii), is revised to change the term 

‘‘Work-for-Others’’ to ‘‘Strategic 

Partnership Projects’’. 

14. Section 970.5232–6, is revised to 

change the term ‘‘Work for Others’’ to 

‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’. 

15. Section 970.5235–1, paragraph (c), 

is revised to change the term ‘‘Work for 

Others’’ to ‘‘Strategic Partnership 

Projects’’ and change the number and 

title for DOE Order 481.1 in paragraph 

(d). 

III. Procedural Requirements 

A. Review Under Executive Order 12866 

and 13563 

This regulatory action has been 

determined not to be a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under Executive 

Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory Planning and 

Review,’’ 58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993). 

Accordingly, this final rule is not 

subject to review under that Executive 

Order by the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB). 

DOE has also reviewed this regulation 

pursuant to Executive Order 13563, 

issued on January 18, 2011 (76 FR 3281 

(Jan. 21, 2011)). Executive Order 13563 

is supplemental to and explicitly 

reaffirms the principles, structures, and 

definitions governing regulatory review 

established in Executive Order 12866. 

To the extent permitted by law, agencies 

are required by Executive Order 13563 

to: (1) Propose or adopt a regulation 

only upon a reasoned determination 

that its benefits justify its costs 

(recognizing that some benefits and 

costs are difficult to quantify); (2) tailor 

regulations to impose the least burden 

on society, consistent with obtaining 

regulatory objectives, taking into 

account, among other things, and to the 

extent practicable, the costs of 

cumulative regulations; (3) select, in 

choosing among alternative regulatory 

approaches, those approaches that 

maximize net benefits (including 

potential economic, environmental, 

public health and safety, and other 

advantages; distributive impacts; and 

equity); (4) to the extent feasible, specify 

performance objectives, rather than 

specifying the behavior or manner of 

compliance that regulated entities must 

adopt; and (5) identify and assess 

available alternatives to direct 

regulation, including providing 

economic incentives to encourage the 

desired behavior, such as user fees or 

marketable permits, or providing 

information upon which choices can be 

made by the public. 

DOE emphasizes as well that 

Executive Order 13563 requires agencies 

to use the best available techniques to 

quantify anticipated present and future 


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15518 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 56 / Tuesday, March 24, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

benefits and costs as accurately as 

possible. In its guidance, the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs has 

emphasized that such techniques may 

include identifying changing future 

compliance costs that might result from 

technological innovation or anticipated 

behavioral changes. DOE believes that 

this final rule is consistent with these 

principles, including the requirement 

that, to the extent permitted by law, 

agencies adopt a regulation only upon a 

reasoned determination that its benefits 

justify its costs and, in choosing among 

alternative regulatory approaches, those 

approaches maximize net benefits. 

B. Review Under Executive Order 12988 

With respect to the review of existing 

regulations and the promulgation of 

new regulations, section 3(a) of 

Executive Order 12988, ‘‘Civil Justice 

Reform,’’ 61 FR 4729 (February 7, 1996), 

imposes on Executive agencies the 

general duty to adhere to the following 

requirements: (1) Eliminate drafting 

errors and ambiguity; (2) write 

regulations to minimize litigation; and 

(3) provide a clear legal standard for 

affected conduct rather than a general 

standard and promote simplification 

and burden reduction. 

With regard to the review required by 

section 3(a), section 3(b) of Executive 

Order 12988 specifically requires that 

Executive agencies make every 

reasonable effort to ensure that the 

regulation: (1) Clearly specifies the 

preemptive effect, if any; (2) clearly 

specifies any effect on existing Federal 

law or regulation; (3) provides a clear 

legal standard for affected conduct 

while promoting simplification and 

burden reduction; (4) specifies the 

retroactive effect, if any; (5) adequately 

defines key terms; and (6) addresses 

other important issues affecting clarity 

and general draftsmanship under any 

guidelines issued by the United States 

Attorney General. Section 3(c) of 

Executive Order 12988 requires 

Executive agencies to review regulations 

in light of applicable standards in 

section 3(a) and section 3(b) to 

determine whether they are met or if it 

is unreasonable to meet one or more of 

them. DOE has completed the required 

review and determined that, to the 

extent permitted by law, this final rule 

meets the relevant standards of 

Executive Order 12988. 

C. Review Under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires preparation 

of an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis for any rule that by law must 

be proposed for public comment, unless 

the agency certifies that the rule, if 

promulgated, will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. As required by 

Executive Order 13272, ‘‘Proper 

Consideration of Small Entities in 

Agency Rulemaking,’’ 67 FR 53461 

(August 16, 2002), DOE published 

procedures and policies on February 19, 

2003, to ensure that the potential 

impacts of its rules on small entities are 

properly considered during the 

rulemaking process (68 FR 7990). DOE 

has made its procedures and policies 

available on the Office of General 

Counsel’s Web site at http://

www.energy.gov/gc/office-generalcounsel. 

The regulatory amendments in this 

notice of final rulemaking to change the 

term ‘‘Work for Others (WFO)’’ to 

‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects (SPP)’’ 

relate solely to internal agency 

organization, management or personnel, 

and as such, are not subject to the 

requirement for a general notice of 

proposed rulemaking under the 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

553(a)(2)) (APA). There is no 

requirement under the APA or any other 

law that this rule be proposed for public 

comment. Consequently, this 

rulemaking is exempt from the 

requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

D. Review Under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act 

This final rule does not impose a 

collection of information requirement 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 

44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Existing burdens 

associated with the collection of certain 

contractor data under the DEAR have 

been cleared under OMB control 

number 1910–4100, with an expiration 

date of October 31, 2014. 

E. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act 

DOE has concluded that promulgation 

of this final rule falls into a class of 

actions which would not individually or 

cumulatively have significant impact on 

the human environment, as determined 

by DOE’s regulations (10 CFR part 1021, 

subpart D) implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

Specifically, this proposed rule is 

categorically excluded from NEPA 

review because the amendments to the 

DEAR are strictly procedural 

(categorical exclusion A6). Therefore, 

this rulemaking does not require an 

environmental impact statement or 

environmental assessment pursuant to 

NEPA. 

F. Review Under Executive Order 13132 

Executive Order 13132, 64 FR 43255 

(August 4, 1999), imposes certain 

requirements on agencies formulating 

and implementing policies or 

regulations that preempt State law or 

that have federalism implications. 

Agencies are required to examine the 

constitutional and statutory authority 

supporting any action that would limit 

the policymaking discretion of the 

States and carefully assess the necessity 

for such actions. The Executive Order 

requires agencies to have an 

accountability process to ensure 

meaningful and timely input by state 

and local officials in the development of 

regulatory policies that have federalism 

implications. 

On March 14, 2000, DOE published a 

statement of policy describing the 

intergovernmental consultation process 

it will follow in the development of 

such regulations (65 FR 13735). DOE 

has examined the final rule and has 

determined that it does not preempt 

State law and does not have a 

substantial direct effect on the States, on 

the relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. No further action 

is required by Executive Order 13132. 

G. Review Under the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4) generally 

requires a Federal agency to perform a 

written assessment of costs and benefits 

of any rule imposing a Federal mandate 

with costs to State, local or tribal 

governments, or to the private sector, of 

$100 million or more. This final rule 

does not impose a Federal mandate on 

State, local or tribal governments or on 

the private sector. 

H. Review Under the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 1999 

Section 654 of the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 1999 (Pub. L. 105–277), requires 

Federal agencies to issue a Family 

Policymaking Assessment for any 

rulemaking or policy that may affect 

family well-being. This final rule will 

have no impact on the autonomy or 

integrity of the family as an institution. 

Accordingly, DOE has concluded that it 

is not necessary to prepare a Family 

Policymaking Assessment. 

I. Review Under Executive Order 13211 

Executive Order 13211, Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 56 / Tuesday, March 24, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 15519 

Distribution, or Use, 66 FR 28355 (May 

22, 2001), requires Federal agencies to 

prepare and submit to Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(OIRA), of the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB), a Statement of 

Energy Effects for any significant energy 

action. A ‘‘significant energy action’’ is 

defined as any action by an agency that 

promulgates or is expected to lead to 

promulgation of a final rule, and that: 

(1) Is a significant regulatory action 

under Executive Order 12866, or any 

successor order; (2) is likely to have a 

significant adverse effect on the supply, 

distribution, or use of energy; or (3) is 

designated by the Administrator of 

OIRA as a significant energy action. For 

any significant energy action, the agency 

must give a detailed statement of any 

adverse effects on energy supply, 

distribution, or use should the proposal 

be implemented, and of reasonable 

alternatives to the action and their 

expected benefits on energy supply, 

distribution, and use. This final rule is 

not a significant energy action. 

Accordingly, DOE has not prepared a 

Statement of Energy Effects. 

J. Review Under the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 2001 

The Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 2001 

(44 U.S.C. 3516, note) provides for 

agencies to review most disseminations 

of information to the public under 

guidelines established by each agency 

pursuant to general guidelines issued by 

OMB. OMB’s guidelines were published 

at 67 FR 8452 (February 22, 2002), and 

DOE’s guidelines were published at 67 

FR 62446 (October 7, 2002). DOE has 

reviewed this final rule under the OMB 

and DOE guidelines and has concluded 

that it is consistent with applicable 

policies in those guidelines. 

K. Administrative Procedure Act. 

The regulatory amendments in this 

notice of final rulemaking to change the 

term ‘‘Work for Others (WFO) to 

‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects (SPP)’’ 

relate solely to internal agency 

organization, management or personnel, 

and as such, are not subject to the 

requirement for a general notice of 

proposed rulemaking under the 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

553(a)(2)) (APA). There is no 

requirement under the APA or any other 

law that this rule be proposed for public 

comment. 

L. Congressional Notification 

As required by 5 U.S.C. 801, DOE will 

submit to Congress a report regarding 

the issuance of this final rule prior to 

the effective date set forth at the outset 

of this rulemaking. The report will state 

that it has been determined that the rule 

is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 

U.S.C. 801(2). 

M. Approval by the Office of the 

Secretary of Energy 

Issuance of this final rule has been 

approved by the Office of the Secretary 

of Energy. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 970 

Government procurement. 

Issued in Washington, DC on March 12, 

2015. 

Paul Bosco, 

Director, Office of Acquisition and Project 

Management, Department of Energy. 

Joseph Waddell, 

Deputy Associate Administrator, Acquisition 

and Project Management, National Nuclear 

Security Administration. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, the Department of Energy 

amends chapter 9 of title 48 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations as set forth 

below. 

PART 970—DOE MANAGEMENT AND 

OPERATING CONTRACTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 970 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2201; 2282a; 2282b; 

2282c; 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.; 50 U.S.C. 2401 

et seq. 

■ 2. Section 970.1707 is amended by 

revising the section heading to read as 

follows: 

970.1707 Strategic Partnership Projects. 

* * * * * 

970.1707–1 [Amended] 

■ 3. Section 970.1707–1 is amended by: 

■ a. Removing the term ‘‘Work for 

Others’’ in two places and adding in 

their places ‘‘Strategic Partnership 

Projects’’; and 

■ b. Removing ‘‘DOE Order 481.1C, 

WORK FOR OTHERS (NONDEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FUNDED 

WORK)’’, and adding in its place ‘‘DOE 

Order 481.1C, Strategic Partnership 

Projects (Formerly Known as Work for 

Others (Non-Department of Energy 

Funded Work)), or successor version’’. 

970.1707–2 [Amended] 

■ 4. Section 970.1707–2 is amended by 

removing the term ‘‘Work for Others’’ in 

the introductory text and adding in its 

place ‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’. 

■ 5. Section 970.1707–3 is amended by: 

■ a. Revising the section heading; and 

■ b. In paragraph (a), removing the term 

‘‘work for others’’ and adding in its 

place ‘‘strategic partnership projects’’. 

The revision reads as follows: 

970.1707–3 Terms governing Strategic 

Partnership Projects. 

* * * * * 

970.1707–4 [Amended] 

■ 6. Section 970.1707–4 is amended by 

removing the term ‘‘Work for Others’’ 

wherever it appears and adding in its 

place ‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’. 

970.3270 [Amended] 

■ 7. Section 970.3270, paragraph (a)(6), 

is amended by removing the term 

‘‘Work for others’’ and adding in its 

place ‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’. 

970.3501–2 [Amended] 

■ 8. Section 970.3501–2 is amended by 

removing ‘‘DOE Order 481.1, Work for 

Others (Non-Department of Energy 

Funded Work)’’, and adding in its place 

‘‘DOE Order 481.1C, Strategic 

Partnership Projects (Formerly Known 

as Work for Others (Non-Department of 

Energy Funded Work)), or successor 

version’’. 

■ 9. Section 970.5217–1 is amended by: 

■ a. Revising the section heading and 

clause heading and date; and 

■ b. Removing the terms ‘‘work for 

others’’, ‘‘Work for Others’’, and ‘‘Work 

for others’’ wherever they appear and 

adding in their place ‘‘Strategic 

Partnership Projects’’; and 

The revisions read as follows: 

970.5217–1 Strategic Partnership Projects 

Program. 

* * * * * 

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP 

PROJECTS PROGRAM (NON-DOE 

FUNDED WORK) (April 23, 2015) 

* * * * * 

970.5227–1 [Amended] 

■ 10. Section 970.5227–1, paragraph 

(b)(1)(ii), is amended by removing the 

term ‘‘Work for Others’’ and adding in 

its place ‘‘Strategic Partnership 

Projects’’. 

970.5227–2 [Amended] 

■ 11. Section 970.5227–2, paragraph 

(b)(1)(ii), is amended by removing the 

term ‘‘Work for Others’’ and adding in 

its place ‘‘Strategic Partnership 

Projects’’. 

970.5227–3 [Amended] 

■ 12. Section 970.5227–3 is amended 

by: 

■ a. In paragraphs (a)(2), (c)(1), (n)(4), 

and (n)(4)(iii), removing the terms 

‘‘Work for Others’’ and ‘‘Work for 

others’’ wherever they appear and 

adding in their place ‘‘Strategic 

Partnership Projects’’; and 


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15520 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 56 / Tuesday, March 24, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

■ b. In paragraphs (a)(2), (d)(4), (d)(9), 

(n)(4) and (n)(4)(iii), removing the 

acronym ‘‘WFO’’ wherever it appears 

and adding in its place ‘‘SPP’’. 

970.5227–11 [Amended] 

■ 13. Section 970.5227–12, paragraph 

(c)(2)(viii), is amended by removing the 

term ‘‘Work-for-Others’’ and adding in 

its place ‘‘Strategic Partnership 

Projects’’. 

970.5227–12 [Amended] 

■ 14. Section 970.5227–12, paragraph 

(c)(1)(viii), is amended by removing the 

term ‘‘Work-for-Others’’ and adding in 

its place ‘‘Strategic Partnership 

Projects’’. 

■ 15. Section 970.5232–6 is amended 

by: 

■ a. Revising the section heading and 

clause heading and date; and 

■ b. Removing the term ‘‘Work for 

Others’’ and adding in its place 

‘‘Strategic Partnership Projects’’. 

The revisions read as follows: 

970.5232–6 Strategic Partnership Projects 

funding authorization. 

* * * * * 

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP PROJECT 

FUNDING AUTHORIZATION (April 

23, 2015) 

* * * * * 

970.5235–1 [Amended] 

■ 16. Section 970.5235–1 is amended 

by: 

■ a. In paragraph (c), removing ‘‘48 CFR 

970.5217–1, Work for Others Program’’ 

and adding in its place ‘‘48 CFR 

970.5217–1, Strategic Partnership 

Projects Program’’; and 

■ b. In paragraph (d), removing ‘‘DOE 

Order 481.1, Work for Others (NonDepartment of Energy Funded Work),’’ 

and adding in its place ‘‘DOE Order 

481.1C, Strategic Partnership Projects 

(Formerly Known as Work for Others 

(Non-Department of Energy Funded 

Work)), or successor version’’. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06572 Filed 3–23–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 


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