10086 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 44 / Wednesday, March 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

property whose expected useful life is 

two years or longer and whose 

acquisition value, as determined by the 

agency, warrants tracking in the 

agency’s property records, including 

capitalized and sensitive personal 

property. 

Accountability means the ability to 

account for personal property by 

providing a complete audit trail for 

property transactions from receipt to 

final disposition. 

Acquisition cost means the original 

purchase price of an item. 

Capitalized Personal Property 

includes property that is entered on the 

agency’s general ledger records as a 

major investment or asset. An agency 

must determine its capitalization 

thresholds as discussed in Financial 

Accounting Standard Advisory Board 

(FASAB) Statement of Federal Financial 

Accounting Standards No. 6 Accounting 

for Property, Plant and Equipment, 

Chapter 1, paragraph 13. 

Control means the ongoing function of 

maintaining physical oversight and 

surveillance of personal property 

throughout its complete life cycle using 

various property management tools and 

techniques taking into account the 

environment in which the property is 

located and its vulnerability to theft, 

waste, fraud, or abuse. 

Excess personal property (see § 102–

36.40 of this subchapter B). 

Exchange/sale (see § 102–39.20 of this 

subchapter B). 

Executive agency (see § 102–36.40 of 

this subchapter B). 

Federal agency (see § 102–36.40 of 

this subchapter B). 

Foreign gifts and decorations (for the 

definition of relevant terms, see § 102–

42.10 of this subchapter B). 

Forfeited property (see § 102–41.20 of 

this subchapter B). 

Inventory includes a formal listing of 

all accountable property items assigned 

to an agency, along with a formal 

process to verify the condition, location, 

and quantity of such items. This term 

may also be used as a verb to indicate 

the actions leading to the development 

of a listing. In this sense, an inventory 

must be conducted using an actual 

physical count, electronic means, and/ 

or statistical methods. 

National property management officer 

means an official, designated in 

accordance with § 102–36.45(b) of this 

subchapter B, who is responsible for 

ensuring effective acquisition, use, and 

disposal of excess property within your 

agency. 

Personal property (see § 102–36.40 of 

this subchapter B). 

Property management means the 

system of acquiring, maintaining, using 

and disposing of the personal property 

of an organization or entity. 

Seized property means personal 

property that has been confiscated by a 

Federal agency, and whose care and 

handling will be the responsibility of 

that agency until final ownership is 

determined by the judicial process. 

Sensitive Personal Property includes 

all items, regardless of value, that 

require special control and 

accountability due to unusual rates of 

loss, theft or misuse, or due to national 

security or export control 

considerations. Such property includes 

weapons, ammunition, explosives, 

information technology equipment with 

memory capability, cameras, and 

communications equipment. These 

classifications do not preclude agencies 

from specifying additional personal 

property classifications to effectively 

manage their programs. 

Surplus personal property (see § 102–

37.25 of this subchapter B). 

Utilization means the identification, 

reporting, and transfer of excess 

personal property among Federal 

agencies. 

§ 102–35.25 What management reports 

must we provide? 

(a) There are three reports that must 

be provided. The report summarizing 

the property provided to non-Federal 

recipients and the report summarizing 

exchange/sale transactions (see §§ 102–

36.295 and 102–39.75 respectively of 

this subchapter B) must be provided 

every year (negative reports are 

required). In addition, if you conduct 

negotiated sales of surplus personal 

property valued over $5,000 in any year, 

you must report this transaction in 

accordance with § 102–38.115 (negative 

reports are not required for this report). 

(b) The General Services 

Administration (GSA) may request other 

reports as authorized by 40 U.S.C. 

506(a)(1)(A). 

§ 102–35.30 What actions must I take or 

am I authorized to take regardless of the 

property disposition method? 

Regardless of the disposition method 

used: 

(a) You must maintain property in a 

safe, secure, and cost-effective manner 

until final disposition. 

(b) You have authority to use the 

abandonment/ destruction provisions at 

any stage of the disposal process (see 

§§ 102–36.305 through 102–36.330 and 

§ 102–38.70 of this subchapter B). 

(c) You must implement policies and 

procedures to remove sensitive or 

classified information from property 

prior to disposal. Agency-affixed 

markings should be removed, if at all 

possible, prior to personal property 

permanently leaving your agency’s 

control. 

(d) Government-owned personal 

property may only be used as 

authorized by your agency. Title to 

Government-owned personal property 

cannot be transferred to a non-Federal 

entity unless through official procedures 

specifically authorized by law. 

[FR Doc. E7–3958 Filed 3–6–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–14–S 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

49 CFR Part 211 

[Docket No. 2006–24141, Notice No. 2] 

RIN 2130–AB77 

Rules of Practice: Direct Final 

Rulemaking Procedures 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In October 2006, FRA 

proposed to amend its rules of practice 

by adopting direct final rulemaking 

procedures intended to expedite the 

publication of routine or 

noncontroversial changes. FRA received 

no comments to this proposal, and in 

this rule adopts its proposed direct final 

rulemaking procedures without change. 

DATES: This rule is effective on April 6, 

2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patricia V. Sun, Trial Attorney, Mail 

Stop 10, Federal Railroad 

Administration, 1120 Vermont Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20005 (telephone: 

(202) 493–6038). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On October 11, 2006, FRA proposed 

to amend its Rules of Practice (49 CFR 

Part 211) to adopt direct final 

rulemaking procedures which would 

expedite its rulemaking process for 

noncontroversial regulatory changes to 

which no adverse comment was 

anticipated (71 FR 59698). The 

proposed direct final rulemaking 

procedures, closely modeled upon those 

of the Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation (OST) (January 30, 2004, 

69 FR 4455), would allow FRA to 

reduce the time necessary to develop, 

review, clear and publish routine rules 

to which no adverse public comment 

was anticipated by eliminating the 

requirement to publish separate 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 44 / Wednesday, March 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 10087 

proposed and final rules. FRA received 

no comments to the proposal, and in 

this rule adopts its proposed direct final 

rulemaking procedures without change. 

Other agencies, such as the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, the Food and 

Drug Administration, the Environmental 

Protection Agency, the Department of 

Agriculture, and the Department of 

Energy (DOE) have adopted and 

successfully used direct final 

rulemaking procedures for routine 

changes. The DOE, for example, 

amended its test procedures for 

measuring the energy consumption of 

clothes washers through a direct final 

rule (October 31, 2003, 68 FR 62197). 

The Direct Final Rulemaking Process 

As mentioned above, proceeding 

through a direct final rulemaking 

enables FRA to eliminate an 

unnecessary second round of internal 

review and clearance, as well as public 

review, for noncontroversial proposed 

rules. As proposed, FRA may use direct 

final rulemaking for noncontroversial 

rules, including those that: 

(1) Affect internal procedures of the 

Federal Railroad Administration, such 

as filing requirements and rules 

governing inspection and copying of 

documents, 

(2) Are nonsubstantive clarifications 

or corrections to existing rules; 

(3) Update existing forms; and 

(4) Make minor changes in 

substantive rules regarding statistics and 

reporting requirements, such as a 

lessening of the reporting frequency (for 

example, from monthly to quarterly) or 

elimination of a type of data that FRA 

no longer needs to collect. 

FRA may also use direct final 

rulemaking process for a particular rule 

if similar rules had been previously 

proposed and published without 

adverse comment. 

If FRA determines that a rule is 

appropriate for direct final rulemaking, 

FRA will publish the rule in the final 

rule section of the Federal Register. In 

a direct final rule document, the 

‘‘action’’ will be captioned ‘‘direct final 

rule’’ and will include language in the 

summary and preamble informing 

interested parties of their right to 

comment and their right to request an 

oral hearing, if such opportunity is 

required. The direct final rule notice 

will advise the public that FRA 

anticipates no adverse comment to the 

rule and that the rule will become 

effective a specified number of days 

after the date of publication unless FRA 

receives written adverse comment or a 

request for an oral hearing (if such 

opportunity is required by statute) 

within the specified comment period. 

An ‘‘adverse’’ comment is one that is 

critical of the rule, suggests that the rule 

should not be adopted, or suggests that 

a change should be made in the rule. 

FRA will not consider a comment 

submitted in support of the rule, or a 

request for clarification of the rule, to be 

adverse. FRA will provide sufficient 

comment time to allow interested 

parties to determine whether they wish 

or need to submit adverse comments, 

and will answer any requests for 

clarification while the comment period 

is running. If FRA receives no written 

adverse comment or request for oral 

hearing within the comment period, 

FRA will publish another notice in the 

Federal Register indicating that no 

adverse comment has been received and 

confirming that the rule will become 

effective on the specified date. 

If, however, FRA receives the timely 

submission of an adverse comment or 

notice of intent to submit adverse 

comment, FRA will stop the direct final 

rulemaking process and withdraw the 

direct final rule by publishing a notice 

in the final rule section of the Federal 

Register. If FRA decides that the 

rulemaking remains necessary, FRA will 

recommence the rulemaking under its 

standard rulemaking procedures by 

publishing a notice proposing the rule 

in the proposed rules section of the 

Federal Register. The proposed rule 

will provide for a new public comment 

period. 

The additional time and effort 

required to withdraw the direct final 

rule and issue a Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking will be an incentive for 

FRA to act conservatively in evaluating 

whether to use the direct final 

rulemaking process for a particular rule. 

FRA will not use direct final rulemaking 

for complex or potentially controversial 

matters. 

Regulatory Analyses and Notices 

FRA has determined that this action 

is not a significant regulatory action 

under Executive Order 12866 or under 

the Department’s Regulatory Policies 

and Procedures. There are no costs 

associated with the proposed rule. 

There will be some cost savings in 

Federal Register publication costs and 

efficiencies for the public and FRA 

personnel in eliminating duplicative 

reviews. FRA certifies that this rule will 

not have a significant impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

FRA does not believe there are sufficient 

federalism implications to warrant the 

preparation of a federalism assessment. 

Because this rule does not have tribal 

implications and does not impose direct 

compliance costs, the funding and 

consultation requirements of Executive 

Order 13175 (‘‘Consultation and 

Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments’’) do not apply. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This rule contains no information 

collection requirements under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501–3520). 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

FRA has determined that the 

requirements of Title II of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 do not 

apply to this rulemaking. 

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 211 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Rules of practice. 

■ In consideration of the foregoing, FRA 

amends 49 CFR part 211 as follows: 

PART 211—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 211 

is amended to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 20103, 20107, 20114, 

20306, 20502–20504, and 49 CFR 1.49. 

■ 2. In part 211, subpart B—Rulemaking 

Procedures, is amended by adding a 

new section 211.33, Direct final 

rulemaking procedures, as follows: 

§ 211.33 Direct final rulemaking 

procedures. 

(a) Rules that the Administrator 

judges to be noncontroversial and 

unlikely to result in adverse public 

comment may be published in the final 

rule section of the Federal Register as 

direct final rules. These include 

noncontroversial rules that: 

(1) Affect internal procedures of the 

Federal Railroad Administration, such 

as filing requirements and rules 

governing inspection and copying of 

documents, 

(2) Are nonsubstantive clarifications 

or corrections to existing rules, 

(3) Update existing forms, and 

(4) Make minor changes in the 

substantive rules regarding statistics and 

reporting requirements. 

(b) The Federal Register document 

will state that any adverse comment or 

notice of intent to submit adverse 

comment must be received in writing by 

the Federal Railroad Administration 

within the specified time after the date 

of publication and that, if no written 

adverse comment or request for oral 

hearing (if such opportunity is required 

by statute) is received, the rule will 

become effective a specified number of 

days after the date of publication. 

(c) If no adverse comment or request 

for oral hearing is received by the 

Federal Railroad Administration within 


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10088 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 44 / Wednesday, March 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

the specified time of publication in the 

Federal Register, the Federal Railroad 

Administration will publish a notice in 

the Federal Register indicating that no 

adverse comment was received and 

confirming that the rule will become 

effective on the date that was indicated 

in the direct final rule. 

(d) If the Federal Railroad 

Administration receives any written 

adverse comment or request for oral 

hearing within the specified time of 

publication in the Federal Register, a 

notice withdrawing the direct final rule 

will be published in the final rule 

section of the Federal Register and, if 

the Federal Railroad Administration 

decides a rulemaking is warranted, a 

notice of proposed rulemaking will be 

published in the proposed rule section 

of the Federal Register. 

(e) An ‘‘adverse’’ comment for the 

purpose of this subpart means any 

comment that the Federal Railroad 

Administration determines is critical of 

the rule, suggests that the rule should 

not be adopted, or suggests a change 

that should be made in the rule. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 27, 

2007. 

Joseph H. Boardman, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E7–3923 Filed 3–6–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 060425111–6315–03;I.D. 

041906B] 

RIN 0648–AN09 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Vessel 

Monitoring Systems; Amendment 18A 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective 

date. 

SUMMARY: NMFS further delays the 

December 7, 2006, effective date of two 

sections of a final rule, published 

August 9, 2006, until May 6, 2007. The 

amendments to those sections will 

require owners/operators of vessels with 

Gulf reef fish commercial vessel permits 

to install a NMFS-approved vessel 

monitoring system (VMS) and will make 

installation of VMS a prerequisite for 

permit renewal or transfer. This delay of 

the effective date will provide 

additional time for resolution of an 

unanticipated technological problem 

with one of the approved VMS units 

purchased by significant portion of the 

fleet and will allow vendors additional 

time to meet the demand for purchase 

and installation of VMS units that are 

currently backlogged. 

DATES: The effective date of 

§§ 622.9(a)(2) and 622.4(m)(1) published 

August 9, 2006 (71 FR 45428), is 

delayed until May 6, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements referred to in this final 

rule may be submitted in writing to 

Jason Rueter, NMFS, Southeast Regional 

Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. 

Petersburg, FL 33701; telephone 727–

824–5305; fax 727–824–5308; email 

Jason.Rueter@noaa.gov and to David 

Rostker, Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB), by e-mail at 

DavidlRostker@omb.eop.gov, or by fax 

to 202–395–7285. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Peter Hood, telephone 727–824–5305, 

fax 727–824–5308, e-mail 

Peter.Hood@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The final rule to implement 

Amendment 18A to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico 

(Amendment 18A) (71 FR 45428, 

August 9, 2006) included a provision, 

§ 622.9(a)(2), requiring owners or 

operators of a vessel with a commercial 

vessel permit for Gulf reef fish, 

including charter/headboats with 

commercial reef fish vessel permits even 

when under charter, to be equipped 

with an operating VMS approved by 

NMFS for the Gulf of Mexico reef fish 

fishery. Additionally, § 622.4(m)(1) 

required proof of purchase, installation, 

activation, and operational status of an 

approved VMS for renewal or transfer of 

a commercial vessel permit for Gulf reef 

fish. 

Subsequent to the publication of the 

final rule, NMFS published a notice 

listing VMS approved by NMFS for use 

in the Gulf reef fish fishery (71 FR 

54472, September 15, 2006). On October 

31, 2006, NMFS published a notice (71 

FR 63753), announcing availability of 

grant funds to reimburse owners and 

operators of vessels subject to the VMS 

requirements of Amendment 18A for the 

equivalent cost of purchasing the least 

expensive VMS approved by NMFS for 

the Gulf reef fish fishery. On December 

6, 2006, because of concerns that fishers 

would not have sufficient time to 

comply with the VMS requirements, 

NMFS published a notice (71 FR 70680) 

to delay the effective date of 

§ 622.9(a)(2), the VMS requirement, and 

§ 622.4(m)(1), the provision requiring 

VMS as a condition of renewing or 

transferring a commercial vessel permit 

for Gulf reef fish. 

Further Delay of Effective Date 

NMFS is further delaying, until May 

6, 2007, the effective date of 

§ 622.9(a)(2), the VMS requirement, and 

§ 622.4(m)(1), the provision requiring 

VMS as a condition of renewing or 

transferring a commercial vessel permit 

for Gulf reef fish. NMFS recently 

learned, and has confirmed with the 

VMS vendor, that there is a 

technological problem with one of the 

approved VMS units that has been 

purchased by a significant portion of the 

commercial reef fish fleet. This VMS 

unit, as currently configured, has an 

excessive power draw. When the vessel 

is not under power or does not have 

access to an external power source for 

longer than about 48 hours, the power 

draw from this VMS unit can drain all 

battery power, resulting in failure of 

electronic equipment including such 

safety equipment as bilge pumps. The 

vendor is working with vessel owners to 

resolve this issue through a 

reconfiguration of the VMS installation. 

NMFS has determined that a 60-day 

delay in implementation of the VMS 

requirements should be sufficient to 

resolve this issue. NMFS has also 

confirmed that providers of approved 

VMS units have a substantial backlog of 

orders for approved VMS units. It would 

not be possible for all affected fishers to 

acquire, install, and activate the 

required VMS units prior to the current 

March 7, 2007 deadline. Therefore, for 

these reasons, NMFS is delaying the 

effective date of §§ 622.9(a)(2) and 

622.4(m)(1) until May 6, 2007. 

Classification 

The Administrator, Southeast Region, 

NMFS, (RA) has determined that 

delaying the effective date of VMS 

requirements for vessels with 

commercial vessel permits for Gulf reef 

fish is necessary for management of the 

fishery and to minimize adverse social 

and economic impacts. The RA has also 

determined that this rule is consistent 

with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act and 

other applicable laws. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 


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