75722 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 233 / Monday, December 6, 2010 / Notices 

1The term government securities is defined at 15 

U.S.C. 78c(a)(42). 

2A government securities broker generally is ‘‘any 

person regularly engaged in the business of 

effecting transactions in government securities for 

the account of others,’’ with certain exclusions. 15 

U.S.C. 78c(a)(43). 

3A government securities dealer generally is ‘‘any 

person engaged in the business of buying and 

selling government securities for his own account, 

through a broker or otherwise,’’ with certain 

exclusions. 15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(44). 

seeking judicial review of the Federal 

agency actions on the highway project 

will be barred unless the claim is filed 

within 180 days of publication of this 

Federal Register notice. If the Federal 

law that authorizes judicial review of a 

claim provides a time period of less 

than 180 days for filing such claim, then 

that shorter time period still applies. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tracey McKenney, Major Projects 

Manager, Federal Highway 

Administration, 525 Junction Road, 

Suite 8000 Madison, Wisconsin 53717; 

telephone: 608–829- 7510; and e-mail: 

tracey.mckenney@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that FHWA has taken final 

agency actions by issuing approval for 

the following highway project: WIS 23 

Corridor Expansion Project. The 

purpose of the project is to improve 

safety and mobility along the WIS 23 

corridor between Fond du Lac and 

Plymouth, Wisconsin. The actions by 

FHWA on this project, and the laws 

under which such actions were taken, 

are described in the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) 

approved on June 3, 2010 [FHWA–WI– 

EIS–04–03–F], in the FHWA Record of 

Decision (ROD) issued September 27, 

2010, and in other documents in the 

FHWA administrative record for the 

project. The EIS, ROD, and other 

documents in the FHWA administrative 

record are available by contacting 

FHWA or the Wisconsin Department of 

Transportation, Northeast Region, Green 

Bay office at the addresses provided. 

The FEIS can be viewed and 

downloaded from the project Web site 

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/

d3/wis23/environ.htm. Copies are also 

available for review at the following 

locations: 

FHWA, Wisconsin Division Office, 

525 Junction Road, Suite 8000, 

Madison, Wisconsin 53717. 

Bureau of Equity and Environmental 

Services, Wisconsin Department of 

Transportation, 4802 Sheboygan 

Ave, Room 451, PO Box 7965, 

Madison, WI 53707–7965. 

Wisconsin Department of 

Transportation-NE Region. 944 

Vanderperren Way, Green Bay, WI 

54324–0080. 

This notice applies to all Federal 

agency decisions as of the issuance date 

of this notice and all laws under which 

such actions were taken, including but 

not limited to: 

1. General: National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) [42 U.S.C. 4321– 

4335]; Federal-Aid Highway Act [23 

U.S.C. 109]. 

2. Air: Clean Air Act, as amended [42 

U.S.C. 7401–7671(q)]. 

3. Land: Section 4(f) of the 

Department of Transportation Act of 

1966 [23 U.S.C. 138, 49 U.S.C. 303]; 

Farmland Protection Policy Act of 1980 

[7 U.S.C. 4201–4209], National Trails 

System Act [16 U.S.C. 1241–1249]. 

4. Wildlife: Endangered Species Act 

of 1973 [16 U.S.C. 1531–1543 and 

Section 1536]; Fish and Wildlife 

Coordination Act [16 U.S.C. 661– 

666(c)]; Migratory Bird Treaty Act [16 

U.S.C. 760c-760g]. 

5. Historic and Cultural Resources: 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act of 1966, as amended 

[16 U.S.C. 470(f) et. seq.]; Archeological 

Resources Protection Act of 1977 [16 

U.S.C. 470(aa)–470(ll)]; Archeological 

and Historic Preservation Act [16 U.S.C. 

469–469(c)]; Native American Grave 

Protection and Repatriation Act [25 

U.S.C. 3001 et. seq.]. 

6. Social and Economic: Civil Rights 

Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d) et. seq.]; 

American Indian Religious Freedom Act 

[42 U.S.C. 1996]; Americans with 

Disabilities Act [42 U.S.C. 12101]; 

Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real 

Property Acquisition Act of 1970 [42 

U.S.C. 4601 et seq. as amended by the 

Uniform Relocation Act Amendments of 

1987 [Pub. L. 100–17]. 

7. Wetlands and Water Resources: 

Clean Water Act (Section 404, Section 

401, Section 319) [33 U.S.C. 1251– 

1376]; Land and Water Conservation 

Fund [16 U.S.C. 460l–4 to 460l–11]; Safe 

Drinking Water Act [42 U.S.C. 300(f)– 

300(j)(6)]; TEA–21 Wetlands Mitigation 

[23 U.S.C. 103(b)(6)(m), 133(b)(11)]; 

Flood Disaster Protection Act, [42 U.S.C. 

4001–4128]; Emergency Wetlands 

Resources Act, [16 U.S.C. 3921, 3931]. 

8. Hazardous Materials: 

Comprehensive Environmental 

Response, Compensation, and Liability 

Act of 1980 (CERCLA) as amended [42 

U.S.C. 9601–9657]; Superfund 

Amendments and Reauthorization Act 

of 1986 [Pub. L. 99–499]; Resource 

Conservation and Recovery Act [42 

U.S.C. 6901 et. seq.]. 

9. Executive Orders: E.O. 11990 

Protection of Wetlands; E.O. 11988 

Floodplain Management as amended by 

E.O. 12148; E.O. 12898, Federal Actions 

to Address Environmental Justice in 

Minority Populations and Low Income 

Populations; E.O. 11593 Protection and 

Enhancement of Cultural Resources; 

E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 

13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 

Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribal Governments; E.O. 11514 

Protection and Enhancement of 

Environmental Quality; E.O. 13112 

Invasive Species. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(1)(1). 

Issued on: November 29, 2010. 

Tracey McKenney, 

Major Projects Manager (Team Lead), 

Madison Wisconsin. 

[FR Doc. 2010–30511 Filed 12–3–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Order Extending Temporary 

Exemptions From Certain Government 

Securities Act Provisions and 

Regulations in Connection With a 

Request From ICE Trust U.S. LLC 

Related to Central Clearing of Credit 

Default Swaps 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Financial Markets, 

Department of the Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of extension of 

temporary exemptions. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury (Treasury) is extending its 

temporary exemptions from certain 

Government Securities Act provisions 

and regulations regarding the central 

clearing of credit default swaps that 

reference government securities. The 

extension of these temporary 

exemptions was requested by ICE Trust 

U.S. LLC. 

DATES: Effective Date: Effective 

November 30, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori 

Santamorena, Lee Grandy, or Kevin 

Hawkins, Bureau of the Public Debt, 

Department of the Treasury, at 202– 

504–3632. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

following is Treasury’s order extending 

the temporary exemptions: 

I. Introduction 

Treasury regulations govern 

transactions in government securities 1

by government securities brokers 2 and 

government securities dealers 3 under 


jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 233 / Monday, December 6, 2010 / Notices 75723 

4A CDS is a bilateral contract between two 

parties, known as counterparties. The value of this 

financial contract is based on underlying 

obligations of a single entity (reference entity) or on 

a particular security or other debt obligation, or an 

index of several such entities, securities, or 

obligations. The obligation of a seller to make 

payments under a CDS contract is triggered by a 

default or other credit event as to such entity or 

entities or such security or securities. 

5 74 FR 10647, March 11, 2009 Order Granting 

Temporary Exemptions from Certain Provisions of 

the Government Securities Act and Treasury’s 

Government Securities Act Regulations in 

Connection with a Request on Behalf of ICE US 

Trust LLC Related to Central Clearing of Credit 

Default Swaps, and Request for Comments, 

available at: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/ 

statreg/gsareg/gsareq_treasexemptiveorder309.pdf. 

6ECPs are defined in Section 1a(12) of the 

Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq. The 

use of the term ECPs in this order refers to the 

definition of ECPs in effect on the date of this order, 

and excludes persons that are ECPs under Section 

1a(12)(C). The temporary exemption provided to 

ECPs in this order also applies to interdealer 

brokers that are ECPs. 

7 74 FR 64127, December 7, 2009 Order Extending 

Temporary Exemptions from Certain Government 

Securities Act Provisions and Regulations in 

Connection with a Request from ICE Trust U.S. LLC 

Related to Central Clearing of Credit Default Swaps, 

available at: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/ 

statreg/gsareg/FR_Treasury_Order_ICE_Extension_

(12-7-09).pdf. 

8 75 FR 4626, January 28, 2010 Order Granting a 

Temporary Exemption from Certain Government 

Securities Act Provisions and Regulations in 

Connection with a Request from ICE Trust U.S. LLC 

Related to Central Clearing of Credit Default Swaps, 

and Request for Comments, available at: http://

www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/statreg/gsareg/

TreasuryICEOrderFedRegisterJan282010.pdf. 

9 75 FR 11627, March 11, 2010 Order Granting 

Temporary Exemptions from Certain Government 

Securities Act Provisions and Regulations in 

Connection with a Request From ICE Trust U.S. 

LLC Related to Central Clearing of Credit Default 

Swaps, and Request for Comments, available at: 

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/statreg/gsareg/

TreasuryExemptive

OrderMarch112010FedRegister.pdf. 

10Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376. 

11Letter from Kevin R. McClear, General Counsel, 

ICE Trust to the Commissioner of the Public Debt, 

Van Zeck, November 26, 2010, available at: http://

www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/statreg/gsareg/ 

gsareg.htm. 

12 ICE Trust indicated that on November 12, 2010, 

it applied to the CFTC for registration as a 

derivatives clearing organization (DCO) in advance 

of the date Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act goes into 

effect in order to facilitate implementation of the 

Dodd-Frank Act requirements. As part of the 

transition to DCO status, ICE Trust expects to admit 

futures commission merchants registered with the 

CFTC (which may be registered as government 

securities brokers or government securities dealers) 

as clearing members for customer clearing and may 

introduce related changes to its rules. Treasury has 

not determined whether these developments would 

be material for purposes of this order. 

Section 15C of the Securities Exchange 

Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), as amended 

by the Government Securities Act of 

1986 (GSA). These regulations impose 

obligations concerning financial 

responsibility, protection of customer 

securities and balances, and 

recordkeeping and reporting. 

Treasury has previously issued orders 

providing temporary exemptions to 

permit ICE Trust U.S. LLC (ICE Trust) to 

clear and settle transactions in credit 

default swaps (CDS) 4 that reference 

government securities. 

Specifically, on March 6, 2009, 

Treasury granted a temporary 

exemption 5 from certain GSA 

provisions and regulations to ICE Trust, 

certain ICE Trust participants, and 

certain eligible contract participants 

(ECPs).6 In the same order Treasury also 

granted a limited temporary exemption 

from certain GSA regulatory 

requirements to government securities 

brokers and government securities 

dealers that are not financial 

institutions. On December 7, 2009, 

Treasury extended the expiration date of 

these temporary exemptions until 

March 7, 2010.7 On January 28, 2010, 

Treasury granted a temporary, 

conditional exemption until March 7, 

2010, to certain ICE Trust clearing 

members and certain ECPs to 

accommodate using ICE Trust to clear 

customer CDS transactions.8 On March 

7, 2010, Treasury granted a conditional, 

temporary exemption from certain GSA 

provisions and regulations to certain 

ICE Trust participants, and certain ECPs 

(the March 2010 order).9 In the same 

order Treasury also granted a temporary 

exemption from certain Treasury 

regulatory requirements for registered or 

noticed government securities brokers 

and government securities dealers that 

are not financial institutions. The 

temporary exemptions expire on 

November 30, 2010. Treasury has 

received no comments on its previous 

orders. 

Subsequent to the March 2010 order, 

the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank 

Act) was enacted on July 21, 2010.10

Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act 

establishes a comprehensive new 

regulatory framework for swaps and 

security-based swaps, and provides the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(SEC) and the Commodity Futures 

Trading Commission (CFTC) with the 

authority to regulate over-the-counter 

(OTC) derivatives. The SEC and CFTC 

are working together to address the 

regulation of CDS, in consultation with 

Treasury and other regulators. 

II. Discussion 

On November 26, 2010, Treasury 

received a letter (the request) 11 from ICE 

Trust asking that Treasury extend the 

temporary exemptions in the March 

2010 order. ICE Trust has stated in its 

request that the existing order has 

allowed the financial industry to 

advance the goal of central clearing of 

CDS, pending regulatory action to 

require such clearing. It also states that 

the order should be extended because 

allowing it to expire may jeopardize the 

ability of ICE Trust to continue its 

operations and that any regulatory 

uncertainty to the use of ICE Trust as a 

central counterparty (CCP) could create 

a significant barrier to Treasury’s goal of 

encouraging the use of CCPs in the 

clearing of CDS. ICE Trust also notes 

that the order provides regulatory 

agencies with adequate authority to 

monitor its activities, and that it is also 

comprehensively monitored and 

regulated by State and Federal banking 

supervisors. ICE Trust believes the 

extension is warranted to avoid creating 

regulatory uncertainty with respect to 

the significant amounts of current open 

interest. 

The request states that, to date, the 

products eligible for clearing at ICE 

Trust include CDS transactions 

involving certain indices and CDS 

contracts based on individual reference 

entities or securities (single-name CDS 

contracts) that meet ICE Trust’s risk 

management and other criteria. The 

request also states that since the date of 

the March 2009 order, ICE Trust has 

cleared approximately $7.3 trillion in 

notional amount of index-based CDS 

contracts and approximately $461.5 

billion in notional amount of singlename CDS contracts. We understand 

that, to date, ICE Trust has not cleared 

any CDS contracts that reference U.S. 

government securities. 

In its request for an extension of the 

temporary exemptions, ICE Trust 

represents that there have been no 

material changes to its operations or the 

representations made in its previous 

letters requesting the exemptive relief.12

Treasury believes that continuing to 

facilitate the central clearing of CDS 

transactions—including customer CDS 

transactions—through an extension of 

the temporary exemptions in this order 

will continue to provide important risk 

management and systemic benefits by 

avoiding an interruption in those CCP 

clearance and settlement services 

pending the effective date of Title VII of 

the Dodd-Frank Act. Any interruption 

in CCP clearance and settlement 

services for CDS transactions could 

eliminate the benefits ICE Trust 

provides. Treasury also believes that 

facilitating the central clearing of CDS 

transactions will continue to improve 

transparency, enhance counterparty risk 

management, and contribute generally 

to the goal of mitigating systemic risk. 

Treasury finds that the circumstances 

upon which it issued the previous order 


jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
75724 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 233 / Monday, December 6, 2010 / Notices 

13The definition of appropriate regulatory agency 

with respect to a government securities broker or a 

government securities dealer is set out at 15 U.S.C. 

78c(a)(34)(G). The definition includes the Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the 

Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation, the Director of Thrift 

Supervision, and in limited circumstances the SEC. 

14See the SEC’s Web site at http://www.sec.gov 

for the recent Order Extending and Modifying 

Temporary Exemptions Under the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 in Connection with Request 

of ICE Trust U.S. LLC Related to Central Clearing 

of Credit Default Swaps and Request for Comment. 

to ICE Trust still exist and, therefore, 

Treasury believes that extending the 

temporary exemptions is warranted and 

appropriate. Accordingly, consistent 

with our findings in the March 2010 

order, and, in particular, in light of the 

risk management and systemic benefits 

in continuing to accommodate clearing 

CDS that reference government 

securities by ICE Trust, the Secretary of 

the Treasury (Secretary) finds that it is 

consistent with the public interest, the 

protection of investors, and the 

purposes of the Exchange Act to extend 

the exemptive relief granted in the 

March 2010 order. The extension of the 

temporary exemptions will expire on 

July 16, 2011, unless revoked or 

modified by Treasury. In extending 

these temporary exemptions, Treasury 

has consulted with and considered the 

views of the staffs of the SEC, the CFTC, 

and the appropriate regulatory agencies 

for financial institutions.13 The 

extension of these temporary 

exemptions is consistent with 

temporary exemptions the SEC has 

granted to ICE Trust related to the 

central clearing of CDS.14

In providing the extension of these 

temporary exemptions from certain 

provisions of Section 15C of the 

Exchange Act, Treasury is not 

determining whether particular CDS are 

‘‘government securities’’ under 15 U.S.C. 

78c(a)(42). 

III. Conclusion 

It is hereby ordered, pursuant to 

Section 15C(a)(5) of the Exchange Act, 

that the order Treasury issued effective 

March 7, 2010 (75 FR 11627, March 11, 

2010) is amended by replacing the 

expiration date of November 30, 2010, 

with a new expiration date of July 16, 

2011, and in all other respects that order 

remains in effect. 

The temporary exemptions contained 

in this order are based on the facts and 

circumstances about ICE Trust’s current 

operations presented in the request. 

These temporary exemptions could 

become unavailable if the facts or 

circumstances change such that the 

representations in the request are no 

longer materially accurate. If the SEC 

were to withdraw its order or modify 

the terms of its order, Treasury may 

revoke or modify this order accordingly. 

The status of cleared CDS submitted to 

ICE Trust prior to such change would be 

unaffected. 

IV. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This order extends the March 2010 

order that included two requests that 

fall within the definition of 

‘‘information’’ under the regulations 

implementing the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA). 5 CFR 1320.3(h). One is the 

certification that ICE Trust clearing 

members must provide to ICE Trust 

under paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of the March 

2010 order concerning their reliance on 

Treasury’s temporary exemption. The 

second is the disclosures that certain 

ICE Trust clearing members must make 

if they receive or hold funds or 

securities for the purpose of purchasing, 

selling, clearing, settling, or holding 

cleared CDS positions for U.S. persons, 

under paragraph (a)(4)(ii) of that same 

order. 

However, Treasury continues to 

estimate that there will not be 10 or 

more ICE Trust clearing members that 

will be relying on this order to clear 

CDS that reference a government 

security. As a result, these requests do 

not constitute ‘‘collections of 

information’’ subject to the PRA. 5 CFR 

1320.3(c). Therefore, the PRA does not 

apply. 

Mary J. Miller, 

Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets. 

[FR Doc. 2010–30430 Filed 12–3–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–39–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request 

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency (OCC), Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to comment on a continuing 

information collection, as required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, 

and a respondent is not required to 

respond to, an information collection 

unless it displays a currently valid 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) control number. The OCC is 

soliciting comment concerning its 

information collection titled 

‘‘Assessment of Fees—12 CFR 8.’’ The 

OCC also gives notice that it has sent the 

collection to OMB for review. 

DATES: You should submit written 

comments by January 5, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Communications Division, 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency, Mail Stop 2–3, Attention 

1557–0223, 250 E Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20219. In addition, 

comments may be sent by fax to (202) 

874–5274, or by electronic mail to 

regs.comments@occ.treas.gov. You may 

personally inspect and photocopy 

comments at the OCC, 250 E Street, 

SW., Washington, DC 20219. For 

security reasons, the OCC requires that 

visitors make an appointment to inspect 

comments. You may do so by calling 

(202) 874–4700. Upon arrival, visitors 

will be required to present valid 

government-issued photo identification 

and to submit to security screening in 

order to inspect and photocopy 

comments. 

Additionally, please send a copy of 

your comments to OCC Desk Officer, 

1557–0223, by mail to U.S. Office of 

Management and Budget, 725 17th 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, or 

by fax to (202) 395–6974. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You 

can request additional information or a 

copy of the collection from Mary H. 

Gottlieb, OCC Clearance Officer, (202) 

874–5090, Legislative and Regulatory 

Activities Division, Office of the 

Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20219. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The OCC 

is proposing to extend OMB approval of 

the following information collection: 

Title: Assessment of Fees—12 CFR 8. 

OMB Control No.: 1557–0223. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit. 

Type of Review: Regular review. 

Abstract: The OCC is requesting 

comment on its proposed extension, 

without change, of the information 

collection titled, ‘‘Assessment of Fees— 

12 CFR 8.’’ The National Bank Act 

authorizes the OCC to collect 

assessments, fees, and other charges as 

necessary or appropriate to carry out the 

responsibilities of the OCC. The OCC 

requires independent credit card banks 

to pay an additional assessment based 

on receivables attributable to accounts 

owned by the bank. Independent credit 

card banks are national banks that 

primarily engage in credit card 

operations and are not affiliated with a 

full service national bank. The OCC will 

require independent credit card banks 

to provide the OCC with ‘‘receivables 


jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES