Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / Proposed Rules 80653 

• Estimated number of respondents 

per year: 1,684. 

• Estimated frequency of responses 

per year: This is a one-time collection. 

• Estimated average burden per 

response: 10 minutes. 

• Estimated total annual reporting 

and recordkeeping burden: VA 

estimates the total annual reporting and 

recordkeeping burden to be 280.6667 

hours (1,684 respondents × 10 minutes/ 

60 minutes). 

• Estimated cost to respondents per 

year: VA estimates the annual cost to 

respondents to be $8352.64. Using VA’s 

average annual number of 1,684 

respondents, VA estimates the total 

information collection burden cost to be 

$8352.64 per year (280.6667 burden 

hours (1,684 respondents × 10 minutes/ 

60 minutes) × $29.76 mean hourly 

wage). 

* To estimate the respondents’ total 

information collection burden cost, VA 

uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 

mean hourly wage for ‘‘All 

Occupations’’ of $29.76. This 

information is available at https://

www.bls.gov/oes/2022/may/oes_

nat.htm#00-0000. 

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 38 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Cemeteries, Claims, 

Veterans. 

Signing Authority 

Denis McDonough, Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs, signed and approved 

this document on November 13, 2023, 

and authorized the undersigned to sign 

and submit the document to the Office 

of the Federal Register for publication 

electronically as an official document of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Luvenia Potts, 

Regulation Development Coordinator Office 

of Regulation Policy & Management, Office 

of General Counsel, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 38 CFR part 38 is proposed to 

be amended as follows: 

PART 38—NATIONAL CEMETERIES 

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 38 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 107, 501, 512, 531, 

2306, 2400, 2402, 2403, 2404, 2407, 2408, 

2411, 7105. 

■ 2. Amend § 38.600 by revising the 

definition of Interment to read as 

follows: 

§ 38.600 Definitions. 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * 

Interment means the burial or 

entombment of casketed or cremated 

remains, including the placement of 

cremated remains in a columbarium 

niche. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Add § 38.634 to read as follows: 

§ 38.634 Commemorative urns and 

plaques. 

(a) General. (1) In lieu of furnishing a 

headstone, marker, or medallion under 

this part, the Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA) will furnish, when 

requested— 

(i) A commemorative urn; or 

(ii) A commemorative plaque. 

(2) Definitions. For the purposes of 

this section: 

(i) Commemorative urn means a 

container that signifies the deceased 

individual’s status as a veteran, in 

which the individual’s cremated 

remains may be placed at private 

expense. 

(ii) Commemorative plaque means a 

tablet that signifies the deceased 

individual’s status as a veteran. 

(3) If VA furnishes a commemorative 

plaque or a commemorative urn for an 

individual under this section, VA may 

not provide for such individual— 

(i) A headstone, marker, or medallion; 

or 

(ii) Any burial benefit under 38 U.S.C. 

2402. 

(4) Any commemorative plaque or 

commemorative urn furnished under 

this section shall be the personal 

property of the applicant. 

(5) The Federal Government shall not 

be liable for any damage to a 

commemorative plaque or urn furnished 

under this section that occurs after the 

date on which the commemorative 

plaque or urn is furnished. VA will not 

replace a commemorative plaque or urn 

unless it was damaged during shipping 

or contains a manufacturing deficiency 

or inscription error. 

(b) Eligible individuals to be 

commemorated. An eligible individual 

for purposes of this section is a 

deceased individual: 

(1) Who served in the Armed Forces 

on or after April 6, 1917; 

(2) Who is eligible for, but has not 

received, a headstone, marker, or 

medallion under 38 U.S.C. 2306(d) (or 

would be so eligible but for the date of 

the death of the individual); and 

(3) Whose remains were cremated and 

not interred (see § 38.600 for definition 

of interment). 

(c) Application process—(1) 

Applicant. An applicant for a 

commemorative plaque or urn must be 

a member of the veteran’s family, which 

includes the veteran’s spouse or 

individual who was in a legal union as 

defined in § 3.1702(b)(1)(ii) of this 

chapter with the veteran; a child, 

parent, or sibling of the veteran, 

whether biological, adopted, or step 

relation; and any lineal or collateral 

descendant of the veteran. 

(2) Application. An applicant must 

submit a completed VA Form 40– 

1330UP, Claim for Commemorative Urn 

or Commemorative Plaque for Veteran’s 

Cremains Not Interred in a Cemetery. 

The National Cemetery Administration 

will verify the decedent’s eligibility for 

a commemorative plaque or urn. 

Applicants must certify that they have 

read a statement about other benefits to 

which the veteran will lose benefit 

rights, that the decedent’s remains were 

cremated and are not interred at the 

time of application, that the applicant is 

a member of the decedent’s family 

authorized to make decisions about the 

disposition of the decedent’s remains, 

and that the applicant is in possession 

of the entirety of the cremains. Other 

required claim information will include 

documentation of the decedent’s 

eligibility and the applicant’s contact 

information and mailing address. VA’s 

duty to notify claimants of necessary 

information or evidence under 

§ 3.159(b) of this chapter and duty to 

assist claimants in obtaining evidence 

under § 3.159(c) of this chapter will 

apply. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25595 Filed 11–17–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

POSTAL SERVICE 

39 CFR Part 501 

Authorization To Manufacture and 

Distribute Postage Evidencing 

Systems 

AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Postal Service is 

amending its Postage Evidencing 

Systems regulations to ensure 

compliance for Automated 

Clearinghouse or ACH payment 

transactions and to clarify obligations 

related to all payments. These changes 

require the applicable resetting 

company (RC) and PC Postage provider 

to comply with the latest NACHA rules 

published by the North American 

Clearing House Association for ACH 

transactions. These responsibilities 

include providing a written statement 

signed by an executive officer of the 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
80654 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

company attesting to that compliance at 

least annually. These changes also 

require the applicable RC and PC 

Postage provider to obtain and store an 

agreement with each customer utilizing 

ACH debit as a payment method. 

Failure to comply may result in 

revocation of access to applicable Postal 

Service ACH programs. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 20, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Mail or deliver comments to 

the Banking Manager, United States 

Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, 

RM. 8134, Washington, DC 20260. You 

may inspect and photocopy all written 

comments at USPS® Headquarters 

Library, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, 11th 

Floor N, Washington, DC by 

appointment only between the hours of 

9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through 

Friday by calling 1–202–268–2906 in 

advance. Email comments, containing 

the name and address of the commenter, 

to: PCFederalRegister@usps.gov, with a 

subject line of ‘‘[Date], Authorization to 

Manufacture and Distribute Postage 

Evidencing Systems.’’ Faxed comments 

are not accepted. All submitted 

comments and attachments are part of 

the public record and subject to 

disclosure. Do not enclose any material 

in your comments that you consider to 

be confidential or inappropriate for 

public disclosure. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Graham, Banking Manager, 

United States Postal Service, 475 

L’Enfant Plaza SW, RM. 8134, 

Washington, DC 20260, (202) 268–2188. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with 39 U.S.C. 416(e)(2), the 

Postal Service invites public comment 

on the following proposed amendments 

to the Code of Federal Regulations. 

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 501 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Postal Service. 

PART 501—AUTHORIZATION TO 

MANUFACTURE AND DISTRIBUTE 

POSTAGE EVIDENCING SYSTEMS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 501 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 

401, 403, 404, 410, 2601, 2605; Inspector 

General Act of 1978, as amended (Pub. L. 95– 

452, as amended); 5 U.S.C. App. 3. 

■ 2. Amend § 501.15 by revising 

paragraph (g) to read as follows: 

§ 501.15 Computerized Meter Resetting 

System. 

* * * * * 

(g) The RC must reimburse the Postal 

Service for returned payments 

promptly, comply with NACHA rules, 

and maintain customer ACH debit 

agreements. 

(1) Financial responsibility for 

returned payments. The RC is required 

to reimburse the Postal Service upon 

request for any returned payments. The 

RC must, upon first becoming aware of 

a returned payment, immediately lock 

the customer’s CMRS account to prevent 

a meter reset until the RC receives 

confirmation of payment for the 

returned payment. If a fee, penalty or 

fine is assessed against the Postal 

Service for returned payments from an 

RC’s customer, the Postal Service may 

request reimbursement for such fee, 

penalty or fine from the RC. The RC is 

required to remit the amount of the 

returned payment to the Postal Service 

plus the reimbursement request, to the 

extent applicable, within ten (10) 

banking days. Invoices will be created 

monthly for returns and/or applicable 

penalties or fines incurred for the 

previous month. The ten (10) banking 

days will start once the invoice is 

mailed. The RC has discretion to decide 

whether to charge its customer for any 

such reimbursement costs (of fees, 

penalties, or fines) the RC pays to the 

Postal Service in connection with the 

customer’s returned payment. 

(2) Responsibility to comply with 

NACHA rules. The RC is required to 

comply with the latest NACHA rules 

published by the North American 

Clearing House Association. Each RC 

must provide a written statement signed 

by an executive officer of the company 

attesting to that compliance at least 

annually. If the RC cannot provide that 

written statement attesting to 

compliance due to identified areas of 

non-compliance, the RC must provide to 

the USPS within 30 days a written plan 

describing its prioritized approach, 

including milestone dates, toward 

achieving compliance within a mutually 

agreed period. USPS will provide 

specific written guidance separately if 

requested. Failure to comply may result 

in revocation of access to applicable 

USPS ACH programs. 

(3) Responsibility to maintain 

customer ACH agreements. The RC 

must obtain and store an agreement 

with each and every customer utilizing 

ACH debit as a payment method. The 

customer agreement must authorize the 

RC to debit the designated bank account 

identified to pay for postage through the 

USPS account of its choice. The 

agreement must have at least the 

following elements: Company Name (if 

applicable), Name and Title and 

Address of the person entering into the 

agreement, Contact Information (Phone 

Number, Fax Number and eMail 

Address as applicable), Date and 

Signature (or appropriate electronic 

signature evidence) of Agreement, 

Customer’s Bank Name and Address, 

Bank Routing Number, Account Number 

and Account Type (Checking or 

Savings, Business or Personal) being 

agreed to transact upon, an Attestation 

that the person submitting the form is 

authorized to act on behalf of the 

account, and Termination Date and 

Signature (or appropriate electronic 

signature evidence) of the Agreement (if 

applicable). The agreement must be 

stored for at least two years after 

termination of the agreement, must be 

easily reproducible, and must be 

provided electronically to the Postal 

Service within three business days of 

electronic written request by the Postal 

Service in a format that can be easily 

and readily used for all NACHA and 

ACH related purposes including, 

without limitation, audit and defense of 

claims. USPS will provide specific 

written guidance separately if requested. 

Failure to comply may result in 

revocation of access to applicable Postal 

Service ACH programs. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 501.16 by revising 

paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 501.16 PC postage payment 

methodology. 

* * * * * 

(d) The provider must reimburse the 

Postal Service for returned payments 

promptly, comply with NACHA rules, 

and maintain customer ACH 

agreements. 

(1) Financial responsibility for 

returned payments. The provider must 

reimburse the Postal Service upon 

request for any returned payments. The 

provider must, upon first becoming 

aware of a returned payment, 

immediately lock the customer account 

to prevent resetting the account until 

the provider receives confirmation of 

payment for the returned payment. If a 

fee, penalty or fine is assessed against 

the Postal Service for returned payments 

from a provider’s customer, the Postal 

Service may request reimbursement for 

such fee, penalty or fine from the 

provider. The provider is required to 

remit the amount of the returned 

payment plus the amount of the 

reimbursement request, to the extent 

applicable, to the Postal Service within 

ten (10) banking days. Invoices will be 

created monthly for returns and/or 

applicable penalties or fines incurred 

for the previous month. The ten (10) 

banking days will start once the invoice 

is mailed. The provider has discretion to 

decide whether to charge its customer 

for any such reimbursement costs (of 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / Proposed Rules 80655 

fees, penalties or fines) the provider 

pays to the Postal Service in connection 

with the customer’s returned payment. 

(2) Responsibility to comply with 

NACHA rules. The provider is required 

to comply with the latest NACHA rules 

published by the North American 

Clearing House Association. Each 

provider must provide a written 

statement signed by an executive officer 

of the company attesting to that 

compliance at least annually. If the 

provider cannot provide that written 

statement attesting to compliance due to 

identified areas of non-compliance, the 

PC provider must provide to the Postal 

Service within 30 days a written plan 

describing its prioritized approach, 

including milestone dates, toward 

achieving compliance within a mutually 

agreed period. The Postal Service will 

provide specific written guidance 

separately if requested. Failure to 

comply may result in revocation of 

access to applicable Postal Service ACH 

programs. 

(3) Responsibility to maintain 

customer ACH agreements. The 

provider must obtain and store an 

agreement with each and every 

customer utilizing ACH debit as a 

payment method. The customer 

agreement must authorize the provider 

to debit the designated bank account 

identified to pay for postage through the 

Postal Service account of its choice. The 

agreement must have at least the 

following elements: Company Name (if 

applicable), Name and Title and 

Address of the person entering into the 

agreement, Contact Information (Phone 

Number, Fax Number and eMail 

Address as applicable), Date and 

Signature (or appropriate electronic 

signature evidence) of Agreement, 

Customer’s Bank Name and Address, 

Bank Routing Number, Account Number 

and Account Type (Checking or 

Savings, Business or Personal) being 

agreed to transact upon, an Attestation 

that the person submitting the form is 

authorized to act on behalf of the 

account, and Termination Date and 

Signature (or appropriate electronic 

signature evidence) of the Agreement (if 

applicable). The agreement must be 

stored for at least two years after 

termination of the agreement, must be 

easily reproducible, and must be 

provided electronically to the Postal 

Service within three business days of 

electronic written request by the Postal 

Service in a format that can be easily 

and readily used for all NACHA and 

ACH related purposes including, 

without limitation, audit and defense of 

claims. The Postal Service will provide 

specific written guidance separately if 

requested. Failure to comply may result 

in revocation of access to applicable 

Postal Service ACH programs. 

(4) Credit cards. Unless otherwise 

established in a written agreement 

between the Postal Service and the 

provider, the provider is fully 

responsible for its own credit card 

compliance. 

* * * * * 

Sarah Sullivan, 

Attorney, Ethics & Legal Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25628 Filed 11–17–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–12–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R01–OAR–2023–0187; FRL–11554– 

03–R1] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; New 

Hampshire; Regional Haze State 

Implementation Plan for the Second 

Implementation Period 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve 

the Regional Haze State Implementation 

Plan (SIP) revision submitted by New 

Hampshire on May 5, 2022, as satisfying 

applicable requirements under the 

Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA’s 

Regional Haze Rule for the program’s 

second implementation period. New 

Hampshire’s SIP submission addresses 

the requirement that states must 

periodically revise their long-term 

strategies for making reasonable 

progress towards the national goal of 

preventing any future, and remedying 

any existing, anthropogenic impairment 

of visibility, including regional haze, in 

mandatory Class I Federal areas. The 

SIP submission also addresses other 

applicable requirements for the second 

implementation period of the regional 

haze program. The EPA is taking this 

action pursuant to sections 110 and 

169A of the Clean Air Act. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before December 20, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA- at 

https://www.regulations.gov. For 

comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 

follow the online instructions for 

submitting comments. Once submitted, 

comments cannot be edited or removed 

from Regulations.gov. For either manner 

of submission, the EPA may publish any 

comment received to its public docket. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

confidential business information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. The EPA will generally not 

consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

For the full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric 

Rackauskas, Air Quality Branch, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 

Region 1, 5 Post Office Square—Suite 

100, (Mail code 5–MI), Boston, MA 

02109–3912, tel. (617) 918–1628, email 

rackauskas.eric@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. What action is the EPA proposing? 

II. Background and Requirements for 

Regional Haze Plans 

A. Regional Haze Background 

B. Roles of Agencies in Addressing 

Regional Haze 

III. Requirements for Regional Haze Plans for 

the Second Implementation Period 

A. Identification of Class I Areas 

B. Calculations of Baseline, Current, and 

Natural Visibility Conditions; Progress to 

Date; and the Uniform Rate of Progress 

C. Long-Term Strategy for Regional Haze 

D. Reasonable Progress Goals 

E. Monitoring Strategy and Other State 

Implementation Plan Requirements 

F. Requirements for Periodic Reports 

Describing Progress Towards the 

Reasonable Progress Goals 

G. Requirements for State and Federal 

Land Manager Coordination 

IV. The EPA’s Evaluation of New 

Hampshire’s Regional Haze Submission 

for the Second Implementation Period 

A. Background on New Hampshire’s First 

Implementation Period SIP Submission 

B. New Hampshire’s Second 

Implementation Period SIP Submission 

and the EPA’s Evaluation 

C. Identification of Class I Areas 

D. Calculations of Baseline, Current, and 

Natural Visibility Conditions; Progress to 

Date; and the Uniform Rate of Progress 

E. Long-Term Strategy for Regional Haze 

a. New Hampshire’s Response to the Six 

MANE–VU Asks 


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