Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 197 / Thursday, October 11, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 51867

Other Multiemployer Deadlines

Under the PBGC’s regulations

governing multiemployer plans, various

persons (e.g., the plan sponsor) are

subject to deadlines for making filings

with the PBGC, issuing notices to

persons other than the PBGC, and taking

other actions. If the person responsible

for meeting the deadline is a Designated

Person, and the deadline falls on or after

September 11, 2001, and before

February 12, 2002, the PBGC will

neither assess a penalty under ERISA

section 4302 nor take any other

enforcement action with respect to any

failure to comply with the deadline

during the period ending on February

12, 2002.

The PBGC recognizes that persons

other than the PBGC may have rights to

enforce some of these deadlines. The

PBGC expects these persons to act

reasonably—fully taking into account

the effects of the recent disasters—in

deciding whether and to what extent to

exercise these rights.

The PBGC will grant other relief

where appropriate on a case-by-case

basis for deadlines relating to

multiemployer plans. See ‘‘Case-by-case

relief’’ above.

Issued in Washington, DC, this 5th day of

October 2001.

John Seal,

Acting Executive Director, Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation.

[FR Doc. 01–25638 Filed 10–10–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Fiscal Service

31 CFR Part 285

RIN 1510–AA87

Administrative Wage Garnishment

AGENCY: Financial Management Service,

Fiscal Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This rule makes technical

amendments to the regulations issued

by the Department of the Treasury

concerning implementation of the

administrative wage garnishment

provisions of the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996.

DATES: This rule is effective October 11,

2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gerry Isenberg, Financial Program

Specialist, Debt Management Services,

at (202) 874–6660, or Ronda Kent,

Senior Attorney, at (202) 874–6680,

Financial Management Service,

Department of the Treasury, 401 14th

Street SW, Washington, DC 20227. This

document is available for downloading

from the Financial Management Service

web site at the following address:

http://www.fms.treas.gov/debt.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On May 6, 1998, the Department of

the Treasury’s Financial Management

Service (FMS) issued a final rule (63 FR

25136) concerning implementation of

the administrative wage garnishment

provisions in section 31001(o) of the

Debt Collection Improvement Act of

1996 (DCIA), Pub. L. 104–134, 110 Stat.

1321–358 (Apr. 26, 1996), codified at 31

U.S.C. 3720D. FMS published a

technical amendment to the rule on

April 28, 1999 (64 FR 22905), which

deleted the requirement that Federal

agencies issue an administrative wage

garnishment order on agency letterhead.

The requirement to issue the order on a

form prescribed by the Secretary of the

Treasury remains unchanged. This rule

makes further technical amendments to

the regulations concerning

administrative wage garnishment,

which are codified at 31 CFR 285.11.

Technical Amendments

Section 285.11(b) Scope

In § 285.11(b)(3), the citation to the

Federal Claims Collection Standards

(FCCS) is updated to reflect the revised

FCCS published on November 22, 2000

(65 FR 70390). The revised FCCS are

found at 31 CFR parts 900–904.

Section 285.11(c) Definitions

In § 285.11(c), the term ‘‘certificate of

service’’ is replaced with the term

‘‘evidence of service.’’ Conforming

changes are made in §§ 285.11(e)(3) and

285.11(g)(3). Unlike a certificate of

service, evidence of service does not

need to be in the form of a document

signed by an agency official. The

purpose of evidence of service is the

same as that of the certificate of service,

that is, to retain evidence that a

document has been sent to the debtor or

employer for wage garnishment

purposes. Evidence of service may be

retained electronically or otherwise, so

long as the manner of retention is

sufficient for evidentiary purposes.

Section 285.11(g) Wage Garnishment

Order

Section 285.11(g)(1) is amended to

clarify the time frame within which an

agency is required to issue a wage

garnishment order after sending notice

to the debtor of the agency’s intent to do

so. While agencies are encouraged to

issue the wage garnishment order

within the 30 day time period

suggested, nothing in this rule is

intended to imply that any wage

garnishment order issued after such 30

day period is invalid.

Section 285.11(g)(2) is amended to

allow the wage garnishment order to

contain either the signature of, or the

image of the signature of, the agency

official authorized to issue the wage

garnishment order. For purposes of this

rule, the lack of an original signature on

the wage garnishment order does not

necessarily prove that the agency did

not authorize the wage garnishment

order. Evidence of such approval to

garnish a debtor’s wages may be

retained by the agency electronically or

otherwise, so long as the manner of

retention is sufficient for evidentiary

purposes. Employers must comply with

a wage garnishment order that contains

an original, or image of an original,

signature.

Regulatory Analysis

This rule is not a significant

regulatory action as defined in

Executive Order 12866. Because no

notice of proposed rulemaking is

required for this rule, the provisions of

the Regulatory Flexibility Act do not

apply.

Special Analysis

FMS is promulgating this final rule

without opportunity for prior public

comment and without a delayed

effective date pursuant to the

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C.

553 (the ‘‘APA’’). FMS has determined

that a comment period and a delayed

effective date are unnecessary because

nothing in this rule impacts the rights

or obligations of debtors or changes the

authorities under which Federal

agencies collect debt.

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 285

Administrative practice and

procedure, Claims, Debts, Garnishment

of wages, Hearing and appeal

procedures, Salaries, Wages.

Authority and Issuance

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 31 CFR 285.11 is amended as

follows:

PART 285—DEBT COLLECTION

AUTHORITIES UNDER THE DEBT

COLLECTION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF

1996

1. The authority citation for part 285

continues to read as follows:

51868 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 197 / Thursday, October 11, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

Authority: 26 U.S.C. 6402; 31 U.S.C. 321,

3701, 3711, 3716, 3720A, 3720B, 3720D; E.O.

13019; 3 CFR, 1996 Comp., p. 216.

2. Section 285.11 is amended by

revising paragraphs (b)(3), (c), (e)(3), and

(g) to read as follows:

285.11 Administrative wage garnishment.

* * * * *

(b) Scope.

* * * * *

(3) Nothing in this section precludes

the compromise of a debt or the

suspension or termination of collection

action in accordance with applicable

law. See, for example, the Federal

Claims Collection Standards (FCCS), 31

CFR parts 900–904.

* * * * *

(c) Definitions. As used in this section

the following definitions shall apply:

Agency means a department, agency,

court, court administrative office, or

instrumentality in the executive,

judicial, or legislative branch of the

Federal Government, including

government corporations. For purposes

of this section, agency means either the

agency that administers the program

that gave rise to the debt or the agency

that pursues recovery of the debt.

Business day means Monday through

Friday. For purposes of computation,

the last day of the period will be

included unless it is a Federal legal

holiday.

Day means calendar day. For

purposes of computation, the last day of

the period will be included unless it is

a Saturday, a Sunday, or a Federal legal

holiday.

Debt or claim means any amount of

money, funds or property that has been

determined by an appropriate official of

the Federal Government to be owed to

the United States by an individual,

including debt administered by a third

party as an agent for the Federal

Government.

Delinquent nontax debt means any

nontax debt that has not been paid by

the date specified in the agency’s initial

written demand for payment, or

applicable agreement, unless other

satisfactory payment arrangements have

been made. For purposes of this section,

the terms ‘‘debt’’ and ‘‘claim’’ are

synonymous and refer to delinquent

nontax debt.

Debtor means an individual who owes

a delinquent nontax debt to the United

States.

Disposable pay means that part of the

debtor’s compensation (including, but

not limited to, salary, bonuses,

commissions, and vacation pay) from an

employer remaining after the deduction

of health insurance premiums and any

amounts required by law to be withheld.

For purposes of this section, ‘‘amounts

required by law to be withheld’’ include

amounts for deductions such as social

security taxes and withholding taxes,

but do not include any amount withheld

pursuant to a court order.

Employer means a person or entity

that employs the services of others and

that pays their wages or salaries. The

term employer includes, but is not

limited to, State and local Governments,

but does not include an agency of the

Federal Government.

Evidence of service means

information retained by the agency

indicating the nature of the document to

which it pertains, the date of mailing of

the document, and to whom the

document is being sent. Evidence of

service may be retained electronically so

long as the manner of retention is

sufficient for evidentiary purposes.

Garnishment means the process of

withholding amounts from an

employee’s disposable pay and the

paying of those amounts to a creditor in

satisfaction of a withholding order.

Withholding order means any order

for withholding or garnishment of pay

issued by an agency, or judicial or

administrative body. For purposes of

this section, the terms ‘‘wage

garnishment order’’ and ‘‘garnishment

order’’ have the same meaning as

‘‘withholding order.’’

* * * * *

(e) Notice requirements.

* * * * *

(3) The agency will retain evidence of

service indicating the date of mailing of

the notice.

* * * * *

(g) Wage garnishment order. (1)

Unless the agency receives information

that the agency believes justifies a delay

or cancellation of the withholding order,

the agency should send, by first class

mail, a withholding order to the debtor’s

employer:

(i) Within 30 days after the debtor

fails to make a timely request for a

hearing (i.e., within 15 business days

after the mailing of the notice described

in paragraph (e)(1) of this section), or,

(ii) If a timely request for a hearing is

made by the debtor, within 30 days after

a final decision is made by the agency

to proceed with garnishment, or,

(iii) As soon as reasonably possible

thereafter.

(2) The withholding order sent to the

employer under paragraph (g)(1) of this

section shall be in a form prescribed by

the Secretary of the Treasury. The

withholding order shall contain the

signature of, or the image of the

signature of, the head of the agency or

his/her delegatee. The order shall

contain only the information necessary

for the employer to comply with the

withholding order. Such information

includes the debtor’s name, address,

and social security number, as well as

instructions for withholding and

information as to where payments

should be sent.

(3) The agency will retain evidence of

service indicating the date of mailing of

the order.

* * * * *

Dated: September 28, 2001.

Richard L. Gregg,

Commissioner.

[FR Doc. 01–25602 Filed 10–11–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810–35–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[PA–4140a; FRL–7079–5]

Approval and Promulgation of Air

Quality Implementation Plans;

Pennsylvania; VOC and NOX RACT

Determinations for Eight Individual

Sources Located in the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Trenton Area; Withdrawal

of Direct Final Rule

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Withdrawal of direct final rule.

SUMMARY: Due to receipt of a letter of

adverse comment, EPA is withdrawing

the direct final rule approving revisions

which establish reasonably available

control technology (RACT) requirements

for eight major sources of volatile

organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen

oxides ( NOX) located in the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton

ozone nonattainment area. In the direct

final rule published on August 31, 2001

(66 FR 45933), EPA stated that if it

received adverse comment by October 1,

2001, the rule would be withdrawn and

not take effect. EPA subsequently

received adverse comments from the

Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future

(PennFuture). EPA will address the

comments received in a subsequent

final action based upon the proposed

action also published on August 31,

2001 (66 FR 45954). EPA will not

institute a second comment period on

this action.

DATES: The direct final rule is

withdrawn as of October 11, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Harold A. Frankford at (215) 814–2108.