This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

16730 

Vol. 72, No. 65 

Thursday, April 5, 2007 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Housing Service 

7 CFR Part 3560 

RIN 0575–AC66 

Reserve Account 

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: Through this action, the Rural 

Housing Service (RHS) is proposing to 

amend its regulation to change the 

requirements of the Reserve Account for 

the Sections 514/516 Farm Labor 

Housing program and the Section 515 

Rural Rental Housing (RRH) program. 

The intended effect of this action is to 

address reserve account requirements of 

new construction rental housing funded 

under Sections 514/516 and Section 515 

and does not affect reserve accounts for 

existing portfolios. 

DATES: Written or e-mail comments 

must be received on or before June 4, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

to this rule by any of the following 

methods: 

• Agency Web site: http://www. 

rurdev..usda.gov/regs. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the Web site. 

• e-mail: comments@one.usda.gov. 

Include the RIN number (0575–AC66) 

and the word ‘‘MFH’’ in the subject line 

of the message. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments via 

the U.S. Postal Service to the Branch 

Chief, Regulations and Paperwork 

Management Branch, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, STOP 0742, 1400 

Independence Ave. SW., Washington, 

DC 20250–0742. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Submit 

written comments via Federal Express 

Mail or another mail courier service 

requiring a street address to the Branch 

Chief, Regulations and Paperwork 

Management Branch, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, 300 7th Street, SW., 7th 

Floor, Suite 701, Washington DC 20024. 

All written comments will be 

available for public inspection during 

regular hours at the 300 7th Street, SW., 

address listed above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tammy S. Daniels, Senior Loan 

Specialist, Multi-Family Housing 

Processing Division, Rural Housing 

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

STOP 0781, 1400 Independence Ave., 

SW., Washington, DC 20250–0781. 

Telephone: 202–720–0021 (this is not a 

toll-free number); e-mail: 

tammy.daniels@wdc.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Classification 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant and 

was reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

Executive Order 12866. 

Civil Justice Reform 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under E. O. 12988, Civil Justice Reform. 

If this proposed rule is adopted: (1) 

Unless otherwise specifically provided, 

all state and local laws that are in 

conflict with this rule will be 

preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will 

be given to this rule except as 

specifically prescribed in the rule; and 

(3) administrative proceedings of the 

National Appeals Division of the 

Department of Agriculture (7 CFR part 

11) must be exhausted before bringing 

suit. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The proposed rule has been reviewed 

with regard to the requirements of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 

601–612). The undersigned has 

determined and certified by signature 

on this document that this rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

This rulemaking action does not involve 

a new or expanded program nor does it 

require any more action on the part of 

a small business than required of a large 

entity. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

There are no new reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements associated 

with this rule. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

RHS is committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act, by promoting the 

use of the Internet and other 

information technologies in order to 

provide increased opportunities for 

citizen access to Government 

information, services, and other 

purposes. 

Unfunded Mandate Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

This rule contains no Federal 

mandates (under the regulatory 

provisions of Title II of the UMRA) for 

state, local and tribal governments or 

the private sector. Therefore, this rule is 

not subject to the requirements of 

Sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA. 

Environmental Impact Statement 

This document has been reviewed in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 1940, 

subpart G, ‘‘Environmental Program.’’ 

RHS determined that the proposed 

action does not constitute a major 

Federal action significantly affecting the 

quality of the environment. Therefore in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Pub. 

L. 91–190, an Environmental Impact 

Statement is not required. 

Programs Affected 

The programs affected by this 

regulation are listed in the Catalog of 

Federal Domestic Assistance under 

numbers 10.405—Farm Labor Housing 

Loans and Grants; 10.415—Rural Rental 

Housing Loans; and 10.427—Rural 

Rental Assistance Payments. 

Federalism 

For the reasons discussed above, this 

proposed rule does not have significant 

Federalism implications that warrant 

the preparation of a Federalism 

assessment under Executive Order 

13132. 

Intergovernmental Consultation 

These loans are subject to the 

provisions of E.O. 12372 which require 

intergovernmental consultation with 

state and local officials. RHS conducts 

intergovernmental consultations for 

each loan in a manner delineated in 7 

CFR part 1940, subpart J (available in 

any Rural Development office and on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.rurdev.usda.gov). 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 65 / Thursday, April 5, 2007 / Proposed Rules 16731 

Background Information 

A life-cycle cost analysis that meets 

Rural Development approval will be 

prepared by the project architect. The 

life cycle cost analysis will be used to 

determine the expected usable life of a 

building component and furnishing and 

to determine which building 

components or furnishings are the most 

cost efficient over the life to the 

building. The reserve account deposit 

level will be maintained through steady 

deposits to meet the needs of the project 

as they become due. Adjustments may 

be made at five or ten year intervals, 

either through an updated 

Comprehensive Needs Assessment or a 

part of the original plan. The 

requirement for a life cycle cost analysis 

will be used for new construction rental 

housing funded under Sections 514/516 

and Section 515 of the Housing Act of 

1949. The new requirement is intended 

to assure quality construction as well as 

long term viability of complexes. 

Reserve levels will be based on life 

cycle costs in order to ensure necessary 

resources are available when needed to 

replace essential building components. 

Existing loan agreement forms will have 

an addendum that is properly executed 

by the borrower establishing the terms 

of the life cycle analysis and reserve 

requirement. The current interim final 

rule requires an annual minimum 

deposit of 1 percent of the total 

development cost be put in a reserve 

account. This regulatory change is 

proposed to assure that we have the 

reserve accounts properly sized to meet 

the capital needs anticipated at the time 

of construction. This change will only 

affect reserve account requirements of 

new construction rental housing funded 

under Sections 515 RRH or Sections 

514/516 Farm Labor Housing. Due to the 

recent increase in the use of third party 

money to leverage Rural Development 

funding, the Agency has found that the 

arbitrary nature of the existing reserve 

account funding formula sometimes 

causes the reserve account to be set 

artificially high. While the objective of 

the proposed change is to primarily 

produce an accurately measured reserve 

account funding requirement, the 

change may actually lead to reduced 

funding levels in MFH new construction 

projects that utilize leveraged financing. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR 3560 

Accounting, Accounting servicing, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Aged, Farm labor housing, Foreclosure, 

Grant programs—Housing and 

community development, Government 

acquired property, Government property 

management, Handicapped, Insurance, 

Loan programs—Agriculture, Loan 

programs—Housing and community 

development, Low and moderate 

income housing, Low and moderate 

income housing—Rental, Migrant labor, 

Mortgages, Nonprofit organizations, 

Public housing, Rent subsidies, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Rural areas, Rural 

housing, Sale of government acquired 

property, Surplus government property. 

Therefore, chapter XXXV, Title 7 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations, is 

proposed to be amended as follows: 

PART 3560—DIRECT MULTI-FAMILY 

HOUSING LOANS AND GRANTS 

1. The authority citation for Part 3560 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1480. 

Subpart B—Direct Loan and Grant 

Origination 

2. Section 3560.65 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 3560.65 Reserve account. 

To meet major capital expenses of a 

housing project, applicants must 

establish and fund a reserve account 

that meets requirements of § 3560.306. 

The applicant must agree to make 

monthly contributions to the reserve 

account pursuant to a reserve account 

analysis developed by Rural 

Development which sets forth how the 

reserve account funds will meet the 

capital needs of the property over a 20- 

year period. The reserve account 

analysis is based on either a capital 

needs assessment or life cycle cost 

analysis, provided to Rural 

Development by the applicant. 

Dated: March 27, 2007. 

Russell T. Davis, 

Administrator, Rural Housing Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6287 Filed 4–4–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 50 

RIN 3150–AH76 

Industry Codes and Standards; 

Amended Requirements 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is proposing to 

amend its regulations to incorporate by 

reference the 2004 Edition of Section III, 

Division 1 and Section XI, Division 1 of 

the American Society of Mechanical 

Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure 

Vessel Code (BPV Code) and the 2004 

Edition of the ASME Code for Operation 

and Maintenance of Nuclear Power 

Plants (OM Code) to provide updated 

rules for constructing and inspecting 

components and testing pumps, valves, 

and dynamic restraints (snubbers) in 

light-water nuclear power plants. NRC 

also proposes to require the use of 

ASME Code Cases N–722 and N–729–1, 

both with conditions, and to remove 

certain obsolete requirements specified 

in § 50.55a. This action is in accordance 

with the NRC’s policy to periodically 

update the regulations to incorporate 

new editions and addenda of the ASME 

Codes by reference and is intended to 

maintain the safety of nuclear reactors 

and make NRC activities more effective 

and efficient. 

DATES: Comments regarding the 

proposed amendment must be 

submitted by June 19, 2007. Comments 

received after this date will be 

considered if it is practical to do so, but 

the Commission is only able to ensure 

consideration of comments received on 

or before this date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any one of the following methods. 

Please include RIN 3150–AH76 in the 

subject line of your comments. 

Comments on rulemakings submitted in 

writing or in electronic form will be 

made available to the public in their 

entirety on the NRC rulemaking Web 

site. Personal information will not be 

removed from your comments. 

Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN: 

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. 

E-mail comments to: SECY@nrc.gov. If 

you do not receive a reply e-mail 

confirming that we have received your 

comments, contact us directly at (301) 

415–1966. You may also submit 

comments via the NRC’s rulemaking 

Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. 

Address questions about our rulemaking 

Web site to Carol Gallagher (301) 415–

5905; e-mail cag@nrc.gov. 

Hand deliver comments to: 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 

20852, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm 

Federal workdays. (Telephone (301) 

415–1966). 

Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 

415–1101. 

Publicly available documents related 

to this rulemaking may be viewed 

electronically on the public computers 

located at the NRC’s Public Document 

Room (PDR), O1–F21, One White Flint 


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