12584 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 51 / Friday, March 16, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

asking the public to consider their 

previous comments in light of these 

studies, particularly those related to the 

proposed work practice standards. EPA 

intends to consider these studies, and 

public comment received as a result of 

this document, in the development of 

the final Renovation, Repair, and 

Painting Program rule. In particular, 

EPA requests comment on the proposed 

methods of containment, cleaning, and 

cleaning verification in light of the 

information contained in these studies. 

In addition, the Agency is interested in 

comments on whether certain practices 

should require additional protective 

measures or should be prohibited based 

on the study findings. Comments should 

be submitted to the docket for the 

proposed rule (EPA–HQ–OPPT–2005–

0049) and must be received on or before 

April 16, 2007. 

List of Subjects 40 CFR Part 745 

Environmental protection, Infants and 

children, Health and safety, Housing 

renovation, Lead, Lead-based paint. 

Dated: March 12, 2007. 

James B. Gulliford, 

Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, 

Pesticides and Toxic Substances. 

[FR Doc. E7–4869 Filed 3–15–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–S 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Parts 28 and 52 

[FAR Case 2006–013; Docket 2007–0001; 

Sequence 3] 

RIN 9000–AK71 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR 

Case 2006–013, List of Approved 

Attorneys, Abstracters, and Title 

Companies 

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency 

Acquisition Council and the Defense 

Acquisition Regulations Council 

(Councils) are proposing to amend the 

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to 

update the procedures for the 

acceptance of a bond with a security 

interest in real property. 

DATES: Interested parties should submit 

written comments to the FAR 

Secretariat on or before May 15, 2007 to 

be considered in the formulation of a 

final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

identified by FAR case 2006–013 by any 

of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Search for any 

document by first selecting the proper 

document types and selecting ‘‘Federal 

Acquisition Regulation’’ as the agency 

of choice. At the ‘‘Keyword’’ prompt, 

type in the FAR case number (for 

example, FAR Case 2006–001) and click 

on the ‘‘Submit’’ button. Please include 

any personal and/or business 

information inside the document.You 

may also search for any document by 

clicking on the ‘‘Advanced search/ 

document search’’tab at the top of the 

screen, selecting from the agency field 

‘‘Federal Acquisition Regulation’’, and 

typing the FAR case number in the 

keyword field. Select the ‘‘Submit’’

button. 

• Fax: 202–501–4067. 

• Mail: General Services 

Administration, Regulatory Secretariat 

(VIR), 1800 F Street, NW, Room 4035, 

ATTN: Laurieann Duarte, Washington, 

DC 20405. 

Instructions: Please submit comments 

only and cite FAR case 2006–013 in all 

correspondence related to this case. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal and/or business confidential 

information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry 

Olson, Procurement Analyst, at (202) 

501–3221 for clarification of content. 

For information pertaining to status or 

publication schedules, contact the FAR 

Secretariat at (202) 501–4755. Please 

cite FAR case 2006–013. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

FAR Subpart 28.2, Sureties and other 

Security for Bonds, includes policies 

which require agencies to obtain 

adequate security for bonds when bonds 

are used with a contract for supplies or 

services (including construction). A 

corporate or individual surety is an 

acceptable form of security for a bond. 

Whenever a surety secures a bond with 

interest in real property, FAR 28.203–3 

requires that the surety provide 

evidence of title in the form of a 

certificate of title prepared by a title 

insurance company that has been 

approved by the Department of Justice 

(DOJ).DOJ maintained a list of the 

approved title companies that could 

prepare the certificate of title on the 

‘‘List of Approved Attorneys, 

Abstracters, and Title Companies.’’ DOJ 

has revised its procedures and no longer 

maintains a list of approved title 

insurance companies. Instead, DOJ has 

developed a guide for the preparation of 

evidence of title, Title Standards 2001 

(Standards). The Standards address the 

various types of title evidence that may 

be acceptable considering local practice, 

reliability, security, economy and other 

factors. The Standards also address the 

qualification requirements for preparers 

of title evidence. 

The FAR rule proposes to revise the 

types of acceptable title evidence and 

the qualification requirements for 

preparers of title evidence consistent 

with the Standards. The types of 

acceptable title evidence and the 

required qualifications are located in 

Section 2 of the Standards. 

In addition, FAR 28.203–3(d) requires 

sureties to execute a lien if a surety 

pledges real estate on Standard Form 28, 

Affidavit of Individual Surety. The lien 

must be recorded in the local recorder’s 

office. When multiple parties jointly 

own the real estate, the lien must be 

signed by each owner of the property to 

be valid. The FAR currently does not 

clearly specify that all owners of the 

property must sign the lien. The 

proposed rule clarifies that all property 

owners are required to sign the lien 

when a surety pledges real estate as 

collateral. 

This is not a significant regulatory 

action and, therefore, was not subject to 

review under Section 6(b) of Executive 

Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. This 

rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 

804. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Councils do not expect this 

proposed rule to have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities within the 

meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., because the 

incidence of use of bonds secured by 

interest in real property is very low. An 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

has, therefore, not been performed. We 

invite comments from small businesses 

and other interested parties. The 

Councils will consider comments from 

small entities concerning the affected 

FAR Parts 28 and 52 in accordance with 

5 U.S.C. 610. Interested parties must 

submit such comments separately and 

should cite 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq. (FAR 

case 2006–013), in correspondence. 


erjones on PRODPC74 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 51 / Friday, March 16, 2007 / Proposed Rules 12585 

C. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act does 

not apply because the proposed changes 

to the FAR do not impose information 

collection requirements that require the 

approval of the Office of Management 

and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et 

seq. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 28 and 

52 

Government procurement. 

Dated: March 7, 2007 

Ralph De Stefano 

Director, Contract Policy Division. 

Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA 

propose amending 48 CFR parts 28 and 

52 as set forth below: 

1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

parts 28 and 52 continues to read as 

follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. 

chapter 137; and 42 U.S.C. 2473(c). 

PART 28—BONDS AND INSURANCE 

2. Amend section 28.203-3 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(1) and paragraph (d) 

introductory text to read as follows: 

28.203–3 Acceptance of real property. 

(a) * * * 

(1) Evidence of title that is consistent 

with the requirements of Section 2 of 

the United States Department of Justice 

Title Standard 2001 at http:// 

www.fws.gov/realty/dojl2001.pdf. 

Depending on the value of the property, 

contracting officers should consider 

requesting assistance from the agencydesignated legal counsel to determine if 

the evidence of title is adequate. 

* * * * * 

(d) The following format, or any 

document substantially the same, shall 

be signed by all owners of the property 

and used by the surety and recorded in 

the local recorder‘s office when a surety 

pledges real estate on Standard Form 28, 

Affidavit of Individual Surety. 

* * * * * 

PART 52—SOLICITATION PROVISIONS 

AND CONTRACT CLAUSES 

3. Amend section 52.228–11 by 

revising the date of the clause and the 

first sentence in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of 

the clause to read as follows: 

52.228–11 Pledges of Assets. 

* * * * * 

PLEDGES OF ASSETS (DATE) 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(i) Evidence of title that is consistent with 

the requirements of Section 2 of the United 

States Department of Justice Title Standard 

2001 at http://www.fws.gov/realty/ 

dojl2001.pdf * * * . 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 07–1182 Filed 3–15–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

RIN 1018–AU75 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Designation of Critical 

Habitat for the Peck’s Cave Amphipod, 

Comal Springs Dryopid Beetle, and 

Comal Springs Riffle Beetle 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of 

comment period and notice of 

availability of draft economic analysis. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 

reopening of the comment period on the 

proposed designation of critical habitat 

for the Peck’s cave amphipod 

(Stygobromus pecki), Comal Springs 

dryopid beetle (Stygoparnus 

comalensis), and Comal Springs riffle 

beetle (Heterelmis comalensis) (Comal 

springs invertebrates, or CSI) under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act), and the availability of 

the draft economic analysis of the 

proposed designation of critical habitat. 

The draft economic analysis forecasts 

future impacts associated with 

conservation efforts in areas proposed as 

critical habitat to be $23.3 million over 

the next 20 years under scenario 1 

(scenario description described in 

Background), or $152 million under 

scenario 2 in undiscounted dollars 

(annualized dollars are estimated at $1.2 

million under scenario 1 and $7.6 

million under scenario 2). Future 

economic impacts associated with 

conservation efforts in areas proposed as 

critical habitat at a 3 percent discount 

rate are estimated to be $17.1 million 

over the next 20 years under Scenario 1, 

or $111.3 million under scenario 2 

(annualized dollars are estimated at $1.2 

million under scenario 1 and $7.5 

million under scenario 2). Future 

economic impacts associated with 

conservation efforts in areas proposed as 

critical habitat at a 7 percent discount 

rate are estimated to be $11.9 million 

over the next 20 years under scenario 1, 

or $77.3 million under scenario 2 

(annualized dollars are estimated at $1.2 

million under scenario 1 and $7.4 

million under scenario 2). It should be 

noted that the majority of economic 

impacts quantified in this draft EA are 

jointly caused by eight endangered 

species, including the three CSI. 

Because all of these species reside in the 

same habitat, separating future impacts 

of CSI from those of the other listed 

species in the aquifer is not possible. 

DATES: We will accept public comments 

until April 16, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment on 

the proposed rule or draft economic 

analysis, you may submit your 

comments and materials identified by 

RIN 1018–AU75, by any of the following 

methods: 

1. Mail or hand delivery/courier: You 

may submit written comments and 

information to Robert T. Pine, Field 

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200, 

Austin, TX 78758. 

2. Fax: You may fax your comments 

to (512) 490–0974. 

3. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

directions for submitting comments. In 

the event that our Internet connection is 

not functional, please submit your 

comments by one of the alternate 

methods mentioned above. 

4. E-mail: Please submit electronic 

comments in an ASCII file format to 

FW2Comal@fws.gov and avoid the use 

of special characters and encryption. 

Please include ’’Attn: RIN 1018–AU75’’

and your name and return address in 

your e-mail message. If you do not 

receive a confirmation from the system 

that we have received your e-mail 

message, please contact us directly by 

calling our Austin Ecological Services 

Field Office at (512) 490–0057. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert T. Pine, Supervisor, Austin 

Ecological Services Field Office, at the 

address listed in ADDRESSES (telephone: 

(512) 490–0057; facsimile: (512) 490–

0974). Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 800/877–8339, 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Comments Solicited 

We intend that any final action 

resulting from this proposal will be as 

accurate and as effective as possible. 

Therefore, we solicit comments on the 

original proposed critical habitat 

designation (71 FR 40588; July 17, 2006) 

and on our draft economic analysis of 

the proposed designation. Copies of the 

draft economic analysis and the 

proposed rule for critical habitat 

designation are available on the internet 

at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/ 


erjones on PRODPC74 with PROPOSALS