Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 219 / Wednesday, November 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 78225 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

5 CFR Part 532 

[Docket ID: OPM–2023–0018] 

RIN 3206–AO61 

Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition 

of the Northeastern Arizona and Utah 

Appropriated Fund Federal Wage 

System Wage Areas 

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) is issuing a final 

rule to redefine the geographic 

boundaries of the Northeastern Arizona 

and Utah appropriated fund Federal 

Wage System (FWS) wage areas for paysetting purposes. The final rule will 

redefine Washington County, UT, and 

several National Parks portions of 

Garfield, Grand, Iron, San Juan, and 

Wayne Counties, UT, to the 

Northeastern Arizona wage area. 

DATES: 

Effective date: This regulation is 

effective December 15, 2023. 

Applicability date: This change 

applies on the first day of the first 

applicable pay period beginning on or 

after December 15, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ana 

Paunoiu, by telephone at (202) 606– 

2858 or by email at pay-leave-policy@

opm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 

15, 2023, OPM issued a proposed rule 

(88 FR 55423) to redefine the geographic 

boundaries of the Northeastern Arizona 

and Utah appropriated fund FWS wage 

areas. The rulemaking proposed to 

redefine Washington County, UT; and 

the Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, and 

Canyonlands National Parks portions of 

Garfield County, UT; the Arches and 

Canyonlands National Parks portions of 

Grand County, UT; the Cedar Breaks 

National Monument and Zion National 

Park portions of Iron County, UT; the 

Canyonlands National Park portion of 

San Juan County, UT; and the Capitol 

Reef and Canyonlands National Parks 

portions of Wayne County from the 

Utah wage area to the Northeastern 

Arizona wage area. The Federal 

Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, 

the national labor-management 

committee responsible for advising 

OPM on matters concerning the pay of 

FWS employees, reviewed and 

recommended these changes by 

consensus. 

The 30-day comment period ended on 

September 15, 2023. OPM received one 

public comment expressing general 

concerns about economic growth 

around National Parks that is outside 

the scope of this rulemaking. Therefore, 

this final rule adopts the proposed rule 

at 88 FR 55423 without change. 

Expected Impact of This Rule 

Section 5343 of title 5, U.S. Code, 

provides OPM with the authority and 

responsibility to define the boundaries 

of FWS wage areas. Any changes in 

wage area boundaries can have the longterm effect of increasing pay for FWS 

employees in affected locations. OPM 

expects this rule to impact 

approximately 100 FWS employees. Of 

the changes this rule implements, the 

most significate change in terms of the 

number of impacted employees would 

be in Washington County, UT, where 

approximately 32 FWS employees 

would be affected. Considering the 

small number of employees affected, 

OPM does not anticipate this rule will 

have a substantial impact on the local 

economies or a large impact in the local 

labor markets. However, OPM will 

continue to study the implications of 

such impacts in this or future rules as 

needed, as this and future changes in 

wage area definitions may impact higher 

volumes of employees in geographical 

areas and could rise to the level of 

impacting local labor markets. 

Regulatory Review 

Executive Orders 13563, 12866, and 

14094 direct agencies to assess all costs 

and benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). This rule is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under the provisions 

of Executive Order 14094 and, therefore, 

was not reviewed by OMB. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Director of OPM certifies that this 

rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 

Federalism 

OPM has examined this rule in 

accordance with Executive Order 13132, 

Federalism, and have determined that 

this rule will not have any negative 

impact on the rights, roles and 

responsibilities of State, local, or tribal 

governments. 

Civil Justice Reform 

This rule meets the applicable 

standard set forth in Executive Order 

12988. 

Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995 

This rule will not result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

in any year and it will not significantly 

or uniquely affect small governments. 

Therefore, no actions were deemed 

necessary under the provisions of the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995. 

Congressional Review Act 

Subtitle E of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 (known as the Congressional 

Review Act or CRA) (5 U.S.C. 801 et 

seq.) requires most final rules to be 

submitted to Congress before taking 

effect. OPM will submit to Congress and 

the Comptroller General of the United 

States a report regarding the issuance of 

this rule before its effective date. The 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs in the Office of Management and 

Budget has determined that this rule is 

not a major rule as defined by the CRA 

(5 U.S.C. 804). 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This rule does not impose any 

reporting or record-keeping 

requirements subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 532 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Freedom of information, 

Government employees, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Wages. 

Office of Personnel Management. 

Kayyonne Marston, 

Federal Register Liaison. 

Accordingly, OPM amends 5 CFR part 

532 as follows: 

PART 532—PREVAILING RATE 

SYSTEMS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 532 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5343, 5346; § 532.707 

also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552. 

■ 2. In Appendix C to subpart B, amend 

the table by revising the wage area 

listings for the States of Arizona and 

Utah to read as follows: 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
78226 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 219 / Wednesday, November 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532— 

Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey 

Areas 

Definitions of Wage Areas and Wage Area 

Survey Areas 

* * * * * 

ARIZONA 

Northeastern Arizona 

Survey Area 

Arizona: 

Apache 

Coconino 

Navajo 

New Mexico: 

McKinley 

San Juan 

Area of Application. Survey area plus: 

Colorado: 

Dolores 

Gunnison (Only includes the Curecanti 

National Recreation Area portion) 

La Plata 

Montezuma 

Montrose 

Ouray 

San Juan 

San Miguel 

Utah: 

Garfield (Only includes the Bryce Canyon, 

Capitol Reef, and Canyonlands National 

Parks portions) 

Grand (Only includes the Arches and 

Canyonlands National Parks portions) 

Iron (Only includes the Cedar Breaks 

National Monument and Zion National 

Park portions) 

Kane 

San Juan 

Washington 

Wayne (Only includes the Capitol Reef and 

Canyonlands National Parks portions) 

Phoenix 

Survey Area 

Arizona: 

Gila 

Maricopa 

Area of Application. Survey area plus: 

Arizona: 

Pinal 

Yavapai 

Tucson 

Survey Area 

Arizona: 

Pima 

Area of Application. Survey area plus: 

Arizona: 

Cochise 

Graham 

Greenlee 

Santa Cruz 

* * * * * 

UTAH 

Utah 

Survey Area 

Utah: 

Box Elder 

Davis 

Salt Lake 

Tooele 

Utah 

Weber 

Area of Application. Survey area plus: 

Utah: 

Beaver 

Cache 

Carbon 

Daggett 

Duchesne 

Emery 

Garfield (Does not include the Bryce 

Canyon, Capitol Reef, and Canyonlands 

National Parks portions) 

Grand (Does not include the Arches and 

Canyonlands National Parks portions) 

Iron (Does not include the Cedar Breaks 

National Monument and Zion National 

Park portions) 

Juab 

Millard 

Morgan 

Piute 

Rich 

Sevier 

Sanpete 

Summit 

Uintah 

Wasatch 

Wayne (Does not include the Capitol Reef 

and Canyonlands National Parks 

portions) 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2023–25155 Filed 11–14–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–39–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation 

7 CFR Part 457 

[Docket ID FCIC–23–0007] 

RIN 0563–AC84 

Early Harvest Insurance Flexibility for 

Sugar Beets 

AGENCY: Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Final rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation (FCIC) is amending the 

Common Crop Insurance Regulations, 

Sugar Beet Crop Insurance Provisions. 

This rule makes the early harvest 

adjustment an option, providing 

producers with maximum flexibility to 

tailor their insurance policy to meet the 

unique risk management needs of their 

operation. This rule also incorporates 

comments to improve the early harvest 

adjustment that were received on a prior 

final rule amending the Sugar Beet Crop 

Insurance Provisions, published in the 

Federal Register on November 29, 2019. 

The changes will be effective for the 

2024 and succeeding crop years for 

counties with a contract change date on 

or after November 30, 2023, and for the 

2025 and succeeding crop years for 

counties with a contract change date 

prior to November 30, 2023. 

DATES: 

Effective date: November 30, 2023. 

Comment date: We will consider 

comments that we receive by the close 

of business January 16, 2024. FCIC will 

consider the comments received and 

may conduct additional rulemaking in 

the future based on the comments. 

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit 

comments on this rule. You may submit 

comments by going through the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal as follows: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID FCIC–23–0007. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

All comments will be posted without 

change and will be publicly available on 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Francie Tolle; telephone (816) 926– 

7829; or email francie.tolle@usda.gov. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication 

should contact the USDA Target Center 

at (202) 720–2600 (voice) or (844) 433– 

2774 (toll-free nationwide). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

FCIC serves America’s agricultural 

producers through effective, marketbased risk management tools to 

strengthen the economic stability of 

agricultural producers and rural 

communities. FCIC is committed to 

increasing the availability and 

effectiveness of Federal crop insurance 

as a risk management tool. Approved 

Insurance Providers (AIPs) sell and 

service Federal crop insurance policies 

in every state through a public-private 

partnership. FCIC reinsures the AIPs 

who share the risks associated with 

catastrophic losses due to major weather 

events. FCIC’s vision is to secure the 

future of agriculture by providing world 

class risk management tools to rural 

America. 

Federal crop insurance policies 

typically consist of the Basic Provisions, 

the Crop Provisions, the Special 

Provisions, the Commodity Exchange 

Price Provisions, if applicable, other 

applicable endorsements or options, the 

actuarial documents for the insured 

agricultural commodity, the 

Catastrophic Risk Protection 

Endorsement, if applicable, and the 

applicable regulations published in 7 


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