11350 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 41 / Tuesday, March 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

Secretary of the Board under delegated 

authority, February 26, 2015. 

Robert deV. Frierson, 

Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. 2015–04438 Filed 3–2–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Industry and Security 

15 CFR Part 702 

[Docket No. 140501396–4396–01] 

RIN 0694–AG17 

U.S. Industrial Base Surveys Pursuant 

to the Defense Production Act of 1950 

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and 

Security, Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would set 

forth the policies and procedures of the 

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) 

for conducting surveys to obtain 

information in order to perform industry 

studies assessing the U.S. industrial 

base to support the national defense 

pursuant to the Defense Production Act 

of 1950, as amended. Specifically, this 

proposed rule would provide a 

description of: BIS’s authority to issue 

surveys; the purpose for the surveys and 

the manner in which such surveys are 

developed; the confidential treatment of 

submitted information; and the 

penalties for non-compliance with 

surveys. This rule is intended to 

facilitate compliance with surveys, 

thereby resulting in stronger and more 

complete assessments of the U.S. 

industrial base. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than May 4, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jason Bolton, Trade and Industry 

Analyst, Office of Technology 

Evaluation, phone: 202–482–5936 

email: jason.bolton@bis.doc.gov or Brad 

Botwin, Director, Industrial Base 

Studies, Office of Technology 

Evaluation, phone: 202–482–4060 email: 

brad.botwin@bis.doc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Pursuant to authorities under § 705 of 

the Defense Production Act of 1950 as 

amended (DPA) (50 U.S.C. app. 2155) 

and § 104 of Executive Order 13603 of 

March 16, 2012 (National Defense 

Resources Preparedness, 77 FR 16651, 3 

CFR, 2012 Comp., p. 225), the Bureau of 

Industry and Security (BIS) conducts 

studies that assess the capabilities of the 

U.S. industrial base to support the 

national defense. To produce these 

studies, BIS may issue surveys to collect 

detailed information related to the 

health and competitiveness of the U.S. 

industrial base from government sources 

and private individuals or 

organizations. 

This proposed rule sets forth 

procedures intended to facilitate the 

accurate and timely completion of 

surveys issued by BIS to collect data for 

these studies. This rule sets forth in a 

single part of the Code of Federal 

Regulations the information about BIS’s 

authority to conduct the studies, the 

authority to issue surveys to gather data 

in support of the studies, the purpose of 

the surveys and the manner in which 

such surveys are developed, the 

confidential treatment of submitted 

information, and the penalties for noncompliance with surveys. 

Additionally, this rule explains BIS’s 

procedures for verifying that the scope 

and purpose of the surveys are well 

defined, and assures that the surveys do 

not solicit data that duplicates adequate 

and authoritative data that is available 

to BIS from any federal or other 

responsible agency. A survey may 

require the submission of information 

similar or identical to information 

possessed by another federal agency but 

that is not available to BIS. 

Based on requests it receives from 

U.S. Government agencies, BIS 

produces studies to develop findings 

and policy recommendations for the 

purpose of improving the 

competitiveness of specific domestic 

industries and technologies critical to 

meeting national defense and essential 

civilian requirements. These studies 

may require surveys to collect relevant 

data and assessments of that data and 

other information available to BIS. 

BIS, in cooperation with the 

requesting agency, selects the persons to 

be surveyed based on the likelihood that 

they will have information relevant to a 

study. That likelihood is related to the 

person’s association with the industry 

sector, material, product, service or 

technology that is the subject of the 

study. That association may be based on 

factors such as the person’s role in 

directly or indirectly providing, 

producing, distributing, utilizing, 

procuring, researching, developing, 

consulting or advising on, the industry 

sector, material, product, service or 

technology that is the subject of the 

study. 

Whether a person’s association with 

the industry sector, material, product, 

service or technology being assessed is 

proximate or remote does not determine 

whether that person’s association is 

sufficient for inclusion in the survey. 

For example, information about a 

supplier of raw materials or components 

that is several transactions removed 

from the production of the product that 

is the subject of a study may be relevant 

to assessing the capabilities of the U.S. 

industrial base to supply the product to 

support the national defense. In such a 

situation, the supplier would be 

included in the survey. The nature of 

the person from whom the information 

is sought also does not determine 

whether that person’s association with 

the industry sector, material, product, 

service or technology at issue is 

sufficient for inclusion in the survey. 

Surveys may require information from 

businesses organized for profit, nonprofit organizations, academic 

institutions and government agencies. 

To be useful, a study must be 

comprehensive, accurate and focused on 

the relevant industry sector, material, 

product, service or technology. 

Therefore, surveys may require 

information about employment, 

research and development, sources of 

supply, manufacturing processes, 

customers, business strategy, finances 

and other factors affecting the industry’s 

health and competitiveness. To properly 

focus the survey on the industry sector, 

material, product, service or technology 

being assessed, BIS may request 

information about a corporation as a 

whole or information about one or more 

specified units or individual activities 

of that corporation. The DPA provides 

both a civil remedy and criminal 

penalties that may be used when 

recipients of surveys do not supply the 

information sought. 

BIS deems the information supplied 

in response to survey requests to be 

confidential and is prohibited by law 

from publishing or disclosing such 

information unless the Under Secretary 

for Industry and Security determines 

that withholding the information is 

contrary to the interest of the national 

defense. The authority to make this 

determination, which § 705(d) of the 

DPA gives to the President, has been 

delegated to relevant agencies, 

including the Secretary of Commerce, 

by § 802 of Executive Order 13603. The 

Secretary of Commerce re-delegated this 

authority to the Under Secretary for 

Industry and Security. The DPA 

provides criminal penalties for any 

person who willfully violates its 

prohibition on publication or 

disclosure. 

Section by Section Description of the 

Proposed Rule 

This proposed rule would create a 

new part in Title 15, Chapter VII, 


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Subchapter A of the Code of Federal 

Regulations to be designated as 15 CFR 

part 702. This new part would be 

devoted exclusively to BIS’s collection 

of information under § 705 of the DPA 

(50 U.S.C. app. 2155). Placing the new 

part in Subchapter A would promote an 

orderly and logical regulatory structure 

because all other regulations 

implementing BIS authorities related to 

the DPA are contained in that 

subchapter. 

Section 702.1 

Section 702.1 would set forth a 

general description of BIS’ authority to 

collect information needed to complete 

the surveys. The survey responses assist 

BIS in determining the capabilities of 

the industrial base to support the 

national defense and to develop policy 

recommendations to improve both the 

international competitiveness of specific 

domestic industries and their ability to 

meet national defense needs. 

Section 702.2 

Section 702.2 would implement the 

requirement to publish regulations 

found in § 705 of the DPA (50 U.S.C. 

app. 2155(a)) by requiring BIS personnel 

of appropriate competence and 

authority to ensure that before a survey 

is sent to any person for completion; (1) 

the scope and purpose of a survey have 

been established, (2) the scope and 

purpose are consistent with BIS’s 

authorities under the DPA, and (3) the 

data requested by the survey does not 

duplicate adequate and authoritative 

data available to BIS from a federal or 

other authoritative source. A survey 

may require information that is similar 

or identical to information possessed by 

other federal agencies but not available 

to BIS. The section does not limit the 

factors that may be considered in 

deciding whether to conduct a survey 

nor does it modify or replace the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. In addition, all surveys 

are reviewed by BIS and by the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 

Act before they are distributed. The 

OMB review process provides 

additional assurance that surveys are 

designed to collect only information 

deemed necessary to meet the scope and 

purpose of a study. 

Section 702.3 

Section 702.3 would address the 

confidentiality requirements imposed 

by § 705(d) of the DPA (50 U.S.C. app. 

2155(d)) and, in accordance with that 

section, would provide two procedures 

by which the restrictions on disclosure 

in § 705(d) would be invoked. First, 

consistent with its current practice, BIS 

would deem all information submitted 

in response to a survey to be 

confidential. Second, a person 

submitting a response to a survey may 

request confidential treatment of the 

information submitted. Although the 

second procedure is likely to be 

redundant of the first, the statute 

prohibits disclosure if either the 

government deems the information to be 

confidential or if the person furnishing 

the information requests confidential 

treatment. BIS concludes that both 

procedures should be included in the 

regulations to be consistent with the 

statute. Additionally, § 702.3 would 

note that confidential information shall 

not be published or disclosed unless the 

Under Secretary for Industry and 

Security determines that withholding 

the information is contrary to the 

interest of the national defense. The 

statutory authority of the President to 

make this determination has been 

delegated to the Under Secretary for 

Industry and Security. This section also 

repeats the penalties that the statute 

authorizes for persons convicted of 

willfully violating the prohibition on 

disclosure. 

Section 702.4 

Section 702.4 would require timely, 

complete and adequate responses to 

surveys. Specifically, the section would 

require that survey responses be 

returned to BIS within the time frame 

stated on the initial distribution letter or 

other request for information. The 

section would treat a response as 

‘‘inadequate’’ if it provides information 

that is not responsive to the questions 

asked or if it provides aggregated 

information when specific information 

was requested. 

Section 702.4 would set forth the 

criteria by which BIS may grant either 

an exemption from complying with the 

survey requirement or an extension of 

time to comply. The grounds for 

granting an exemption or an extension 

are limited and generally result when 

BIS concludes that the survey recipient 

lacks information deemed relevant to 

the survey or when compliance with the 

requirement would be unduly 

burdensome. 

Section 702.4 would make clear that 

the deadline for complying with a 

survey is not suspended by submitting 

a request for an exemption or extension 

of time to comply. 

Finally, § 702.4 would provide that 

BIS may return responses that are 

incomplete or inadequate and specify a 

due date for a complete and adequate 

response. 

Section 702.5 

Section 702.5 would set forth the 

consequences of failure to comply with 

a survey or other request for 

information. These consequences are 

established by § 705(a) and (c) of the 

DPA (50 U.S.C. app. 2155(a) and (c)). If 

a person does not comply with a survey, 

BIS may serve a subpoena upon that 

person to compel compliance. If the 

person still does not comply, the 

government may apply to the U.S. 

district court in any district in which 

the person is found, resides or transacts 

business for an order requiring such 

person to comply. The district court has 

authority to punish any failure to 

comply with the order as contempt of 

court. Persons who are convicted of 

willfully failing to comply with a survey 

or other request for information may be 

fined not more than $10,000 or 

imprisoned for not more than one year, 

or both. 

Section 702.6 

Section 702.6 would define certain 

terms used in part 702. 

The word ‘‘confidential’’ would be 

defined in terms of § 705(d) of the DPA, 

thereby distinguishing its use in this 

rule from its use in connection with the 

classification of information for national 

security purposes as set forth in 

Executive Order 13526 of December 29, 

2009, Classified National Security 

Information (75 FR 707; 3 CFR, 2010 

Comp., p. 298). 

The definition of the term ‘‘person’’ 

would be based on the definition of 

‘‘person’’ in § 702 of the DPA (50 U.S.C. 

app. 2152) with some additions. The 

DPA definition reads: ‘‘The term 

‘person’ includes an individual, 

corporation, partnership, association, or 

any other organized group of persons, or 

legal successor or representative thereof, 

or any State or local government or 

agency thereof.’’ Use of the word 

‘‘includes’’ in the statutory definition 

implies that the list following that word 

is not exhaustive. BIS concludes that the 

use of ‘‘includes’’ indicates that 

Congress recognized that the agency 

implementing the DPA would need 

discretion to identify the types of 

entities that would likely possess 

information relevant to the subject of 

each industrial base assessment to 

ensure a comprehensive collection of 

information. 

This proposed rule would add ‘‘The 

Government of the United States, of the 

District of Columbia, of any 

commonwealth, territory or possession 

of the United States, or any department, 

agency or commission thereof.’’ BIS has 

concluded that inclusion of the 


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additional entities is within its authority 

under the DPA because the DPA 

definition prefaces the list of entities 

with the word ‘‘includes,’’ and because 

inclusion of the additional entities is 

necessary to achieve the purpose of the 

statute. 

Based on prior studies, BIS has 

observed that the U.S. Government 

makes a significant contribution to the 

industrial base, whether in research, 

technology development, testing, 

manufacturing, repair and overhaul, or 

trade development. As a result, the U.S. 

Government is a significant source of 

information regarding the industrial 

base. Similarly, it is plausible that the 

District of Columbia, commonwealths of 

the United States and other territories 

and agencies can be survey respondents, 

and therefore have been included to 

ensure the completeness of a survey 

sample and corresponding assessment. 

The regulatory definition also would 

make clear that the term ‘‘corporation, 

partnership, association, or any other 

organized group of persons’’ is not 

limited to commercial, for-profit 

enterprises or publicly traded 

corporations. 

The definitions of the terms ‘‘initial 

distribution letter’’ and ‘‘survey’’ each 

describe a document used in the data 

collection process. The definitions 

describe those documents based on the 

way they are used in current BIS 

practice. 

Supplement No. 1 to Part 702 

Supplement No. 1 to part 702 would 

provide information that BIS believes 

would be helpful to persons who 

receive a survey. This information 

includes both a description of the 

survey and a glossary of terms. 

Rulemaking Requirements 

1. Executive Orders 13563 and 12866 

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, 

and other advantages; effects, 

distributive impacts and equity). 

Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the 

importance of quantifying both costs 

and benefits, of reducing costs, of 

harmonizing rules, and of promoting 

flexibility. This rule has been 

designated a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action,’’ although not economically 

significant, as that term is defined in of 

Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, 

the rule has been reviewed by the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB). 

2. Notwithstanding any other 

provision of law, no person is required 

to respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with a collection of information subject 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.) unless that 

collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

This rule does not contain a collection 

of information that is subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. This rule sets 

forth procedures related to BIS’s 

administration of surveys pursuant to 

§ 705 of the DPA (50 U.S.C. app. 2155). 

Individual surveys that are subject to 

the Paperwork Reduction Act will 

display a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

3. This rule does not contain policies 

with Federalism implications as that 

term is defined in Executive Order 

13132. 

4. The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(RFA), as amended by the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 

601 et seq., generally requires an agency 

to prepare a regulatory flexibility 

analysis of any rule subject to the notice 

and comment rulemaking requirements 

under the Administrative Procedure Act 

(5 U.S.C. 553) or any other statute. 

However, under § 605(b) of the RFA, if 

the head of an agency certifies that a 

rule will not have a significant impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities, the RFA does not require the 

agency to prepare a regulatory flexibility 

analysis. Pursuant to § 605(b), the Chief 

Counsel for Regulation, Department of 

Commerce, submitted a memorandum 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, 

Small Business Administration, 

certifying that this proposed rule, if 

promulgated, will not have a significant 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The rationale for that 

certification is as follows. 

Impact 

This proposed rule would set forth, in 

a single part of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, the Department of 

Commerce’s authority under § 705 of the 

DPA ‘‘to obtain information in order to 

perform industry studies assessing the 

capabilities of the United States 

industrial base to support the national 

defense.’’ Since the mid-1980s, BIS and 

its predecessor organizations within the 

Department of Commerce have 

conducted such studies and required 

survey responses based on the statute. 

Section 705 of the DPA authorizes the 

collection of the information. The 

statute also authorizes the issuance of 

subpoenas for the information and 

authorizes the United States district 

courts to issue orders compelling 

compliance with such subpoenas. It also 

provides criminal penalties for failure to 

comply with the government’s requests 

for information. This proposed rule 

would not require any person to supply 

information that the person would not 

be required to provide pursuant to the 

statute. 

This proposed rule would require that 

surveys issued by BIS pursuant to § 705 

be responded to by the deadline set 

forth in the survey. The rule would 

publicly state BIS’s existing internal 

policies and standards for the granting 

of both an extension of time to comply 

with the requirement and exemptions 

from compliance. To the extent that 

publication of these policies and 

standards in the Code of Federal 

Regulations could be construed as a 

change in the burden on small entities 

or any other entities, the publication 

would have to be deemed as a reduction 

in burden because it facilitates access to 

the standards by all parties. 

This proposed rule also would set 

forth the statutory standards for treating 

information submitted in response to a 

survey as confidential. It would reiterate 

the statutory penalties for failure to 

comply with a survey and for 

unauthorized release of information that 

§ 705 requires to be treated as 

confidential. 

This proposed rule would adopt the 

statutory definition of ‘‘person’’ but also 

add ‘‘[t]he Government of the United 

States, of the District of Columbia, of 

any commonwealth, territory or 

possession of the United States, or any 

department, agency or commission 

thereof’’ to the definition. The term 

‘‘person’’ is used in the statute and in 

this proposed rule to represent those to 

whom the requirements of the statute 

and this proposed rule apply. BIS has 

historically interpreted the statute to 

apply to units of the U.S. Government 

(including the District of Columbia 

Government and the governments of the 

territories and possessions) and does not 

view this as a substantive change. For 

purposes of this certification, the 

addition is immaterial because the 

government bodies that would be added 

to the statutory definition by this 

proposed rule are not small entities 

under the definition provided in the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996. 

Number of Small Entities 

Surveys are one-time exercises used 

to assess the state and/or capabilities of 

a particular industry sector or 

technology. Entities are selected for 

participation based on their role in, or 

relationship to, the industry sector or 


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technology being assessed. Information 

obtained during the course of any one 

assessment may be relevant to 

determining whether the current entity 

supplying that information is a small 

entity. However, the composition of 

survey respondents varies dramatically 

between industry studies due to the 

complexity of each industry sector or 

technology being assessed. 

Consequently, BIS is unable to draw 

from existing data to estimate the 

number of small businesses 

participating in future collections. 

Accordingly, BIS is unable to determine 

the number of small entities that would 

be affected by this proposed rule. 

Conclusion 

Although BIS cannot predict the exact 

number of small entities that will be 

participating in any one survey, this 

rule would not impose a significant 

burden on any such small entities 

because it would not require any 

impacted entity to perform any action 

that it is not already required to perform 

pursuant to § 705 of the DPA. 

List of Subjects in Part 702 

Business and industry, Confidential 

business information, Employment, 

Penalties, National defense, Research, 

Science and technology. 

Accordingly, the National Security 

Industrial Base Regulations (15 CFR 

Chapter VII, Subchapter A) is proposed 

to be amended as follows. 

■ 1. Add Part 702 to read as follows: 

Subchapter A—National Security 

Industrial Base Regulations 

Part 702—INDUSTRIAL BASE 

SURVEYS—DATA COLLECTIONS 

Sec. 

702.1 Introduction. 

702.2 Scope and purpose of surveys— 

avoiding duplicative requests for 

information. 

702.3 Confidential information. 

702.4 Requirement to comply with surveys 

or other requests for information. 

702.5 Consequences of failure to comply. 

702.6 Definitions. 

Supplement No. 1 to Part 702—General 

Survey Information. 

Authority: 50 U.S.C. app. 2061 et seq., E.O. 

13603, 77 FR 16651, 3 CFR, 2012 Comp., p. 

225. 

§ 702.1 Introduction. 

In accordance with 50 U.S.C. app. 

2155, the Bureau of Industry and 

Security (BIS) may obtain such 

information from, require such reports 

and the keeping of such records by, 

make an inspection of the books, 

records, and other writings, premises or 

property of, take the sworn testimony of 

and administer oaths and affirmations 

to, any person as may be necessary or 

appropriate, in its discretion, to the 

enforcement or the administration of its 

authorities and responsibilities under 

the Defense Production Act of 1950 as 

amended (DPA) and any regulations or 

orders issued thereunder. BIS’s 

authorities under the DPA (50 U.S.C. 

app. 2061 et seq.) include authority to 

collect data via surveys to perform 

industry studies assessing the 

capabilities of the United States 

industrial base to support the national 

defense and develop policy 

recommendations to improve both the 

international competitiveness of specific 

domestic industries and their ability to 

meet national defense program needs. 

§ 702.2 Scope and purpose of surveys— 

avoiding duplicative requests for 

information. 

(a) BIS will not send any survey to 

any person for completion unless the 

scope and purpose of the survey have 

been established, that scope and 

purpose are consistent with BIS’s 

authorities under the DPA, and the data 

requested by the survey does not 

duplicate adequate and authoritative 

data already available to BIS from a 

Federal or other authoritative source. 

(b) BIS personnel of appropriate 

competence and authority will ensure 

that the requirements of paragraph (a) 

are met. 

(c) This section shall not be construed 

as limiting the criteria that BIS may 

consider in determining whether to 

proceed with a survey. This paragraph 

shall not be construed as replacing or in 

any way modifying the requirements of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq.). 

§ 702.3 Confidential information. 

This section implements § 705(d) of 

the DPA. 

(a) BIS deems all information 

submitted in response to a survey issued 

pursuant to this part to be confidential. 

(b) Any person submitting 

information in response to a survey 

issued pursuant to this part may request 

confidential treatment of that 

information. 

(c) The President’s authority under 

the DPA to protect confidential 

information has been delegated to the 

Under Secretary for Industry and 

Security. The information described in 

paragraphs (a) and (b) shall not be 

published or disclosed unless the Under 

Secretary for Industry and Security 

determines that the withholding thereof 

is contrary to the interest of the national 

defense. 

(d) Any person convicted of willfully 

violating the prohibition in paragraph 

(c) may be fined not more than $10,000 

or imprisoned for not more than one 

year, or both. 

§ 702.4 Requirement to comply with 

surveys or other requests for information. 

(a) Requirement to comply. Every 

person who receives a survey or other 

request for information issued pursuant 

to this part must submit a complete and 

adequate response to BIS within the 

time frame stated on the initial 

distribution letter or other request for 

information. Survey response 

information that does not adhere to the 

survey question criteria or that contains 

only aggregate information in place of 

specified information will be treated as 

inadequate and therefore noncompliant. 

BIS may exempt persons from this 

requirement for the reasons in 

paragraph (b) of this section, or grant 

extensions of time to comply as set forth 

in paragraph (c) of this section. 

Submitting a request to BIS for an 

exemption or an extension of time for 

completion does not suspend the initial 

deadline required by BIS (or any 

extended deadline subsequently granted 

by BIS). Thus, persons who request an 

exemption or extension of time are 

advised to proceed as if the response is 

required by the deadline until advised 

otherwise by BIS. 

(b) Grounds for exemption. (1) An 

exemption from the requirements of this 

section may be granted if the person 

receiving the survey or other request for 

information: 

(i) Has no physical presence in the 

United States of any kind; 

(ii) Does not provide, produce, 

distribute, utilize, procure, research, 

develop, consult or advise on, or have 

any other direct or indirect association 

with the materials, products, services or 

technology that are within the scope of 

the survey; 

(iii) Has ceased business operations 

more than 12 months prior to receipt of 

the survey; 

(iv) Has been in business for less than 

one year; or 

(v) BIS determines that extenuating 

circumstances exist that make 

responding impractical. 

(2) BIS may also grant an exemption 

if, based on the totality of the 

circumstances, it concludes that 

compliance would be impractical and/

or that requiring compliance would be 

unduly time intensive. 

(3) Existence of a pre-existing private 

non-disclosure agreement or 

information sharing agreement between 

a person and another party (e.g., 

customers, suppliers, etc.), does not 


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11354 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 41 / Tuesday, March 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

exempt a person from the obligation to 

comply with and complete a survey. 

The authority to conduct the survey and 

comply with the survey is derived from 

the DPA, and that statutory obligation to 

comply supersedes any private 

agreement. 

(c) Extensions of time to complete. A 

person who receives a survey or other 

request for information may request an 

extension of time to submit the 

complete response to BIS. BIS may grant 

such an extension of time, if, in its 

judgment, circumstances are such that 

additional time reasonably is needed, 

the extension would not jeopardize 

timely completion of BIS’s overall 

analysis, and the person is making 

reasonable progress towards completing 

the survey or response to the other 

request for information. Generally, 

extensions will be for no more than two 

weeks. A person who receives a survey 

or other request for information may 

request successive extensions if the 

person believes that it continues to have 

a legitimate need for additional time to 

complete the survey. BIS will not grant 

extensions that would jeopardize the 

performance and timely completion of 

its industrial base assessments. 

(d) Procedure for requesting 

exemptions or extensions of time. 

Requests for exemptions or extensions 

of time must be made to BIS at the 

telephone number, email address or BIS 

physical address provided in the initial 

distribution letter for a survey or in the 

other request for information. A request 

for an exemption must provide factual 

information and documentation that are 

adequate for BIS to determine that one 

or more of the criteria stated in 

paragraph (b) or (c) are met. 

(e) Responses that are incomplete or 

inadequate. BIS may return responses 

that are incomplete or inadequate to the 

person for prompt completion. BIS will 

specify the required period of time 

permitted for completion and 

submission of the revised survey. 

§ 702.5 Consequences of failure to 

comply. 

(a) Civil. If any person fails to comply 

with the requirements of § 702.4, BIS 

may issue a subpoena requiring that 

person to submit the information called 

for in the survey. In the case of 

contumacy or refusal to obey such a 

subpoena, the U.S. Government may 

apply for an order by the United States 

district court in a district where that 

person resides or transacts business that 

would compel the person to submit the 

completed survey. 

(b) Criminal. In accordance with 50 

U.S.C. app. 2155, any person who 

willfully fails to comply with § 702.4, 

may, upon conviction, be fined not 

more than $10,000 or imprisoned not 

more than one year, or both. 

§ 702.6 Definitions. 

The definitions in this section apply 

throughout this part. 

Confidential. A description of 

information that is subject to the 

disclosure prohibitions of the DPA (50 

U.S.C. app. 2155(d)). 

Initial distribution letter. A letter that 

BIS sends to a person that has been 

identified by the U.S. Government as a 

supplier or customer of materials, 

products or services used for activities 

of the industry that is the focus of a 

survey. The letter describes the survey’s 

primary objectives, how survey results 

will assist the U.S. Government, and the 

confidential treatment of the 

information submitted. The letter also 

provides BIS contact information. 

Person. The term ‘‘person’’ includes: 

(a) An individual, corporation, 

partnership, association, or any other 

organized group of persons, or legal 

successor or representative thereof; 

(b) Any State or local government or 

agency thereof; 

(c) The Government of the United 

States, of the District of Columbia, of 

any commonwealth, territory or 

possession of the United States, or any 

department, agency or commission 

thereof. 

Note to the definition of ‘‘person’’. 

Paragraph (a) of this definition is not 

limited to commercial or for-profit 

organizations. For example, the term 

‘‘any other organized group of persons’’ 

may encompass labor unions, academic 

institutions, charitable organizations or 

any group of persons who are organized 

in some manner. The term corporation 

is not limited to publicly traded 

corporations or corporations that exist 

for the purpose of making a profit. 

Survey. A questionnaire or other 

request for information that collects 

detailed information and data to support 

both the assessment of a particular 

industrial sector or technology and the 

development of a corresponding study. 

Supplement No. 1 to Part 702—General 

Survey Information 

This supplement provides general 

information about surveys and the content of 

the typical survey. The content of this 

supplement is purely in example of a typical 

survey, and in no way limits the content that 

may appear in a specific Bureau of Industry 

and Security (BIS)-issued survey. Procedures 

and content vary from survey to survey, and 

as such, there is no set template to follow. 

Nonetheless, BIS is offering this information 

as a basic guide to some elements of a survey. 

Survey Structure 

Most surveys include the following 

sections: Cover Page; Table of Contents; 

General Instructions; Glossary of Terms; 

Organizational Information, and sectorspecific sections. 

—The cover page typically includes the title 

of the survey, its scope, an explanation of 

the legal requirement to comply, the 

burden estimate for compliance with the 

survey, the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) control number, and the 

survey date of expiration. 

—The General Instructions section normally 

includes process steps necessary for a 

person’s survey submittal. These include 

but are not limited to instructions for 

survey completion, survey support staff 

point-of-contact information, the name and 

address of the presiding BIS official, and 

instructions for both survey certification 

and submittal. 

—The Glossary of Terms section explains 

terms contained in the survey. Terms 

contained in the survey may be unique to 

the subject matter of the industry 

assessment, and therefore may change in 

meaning from survey to survey. Therefore, 

it is important to follow the specific 

instructions and defined terms contained 

in the specific survey you receive, 

regardless of any previous survey you 

might have completed. 

—The Organization Information section 

requests information related to the person 

in receipt of the survey, including address 

information, the source level of response 

(e.g., facility, business unit, division, 

corporate consolidated, etc.), point of 

contact details, and other pertinent contact 

information. 

The survey is generally organized in a 

question and answer format and is presented 

on an electronic survey system. Each survey 

is specially tailored to collect the specific 

information requested. Therefore, specific 

detailed information is what should be 

submitted in response to a survey requesting 

such information. 

—For example, if we ask for a listing of your 

customers that order widget A, your 

response should not be a listing of your 

entire customer base. Only the information 

pertaining to customers’ ordering widget A 

is responsive to that kind of question. 

Also note that your reply to a survey request 

is compulsory, unless you meet the criteria 

for exemption set forth in the body of the 

regulation. Therefore, any non-disclosure 

agreements or similar agreements you may 

have with your customers or clients are not 

applicable to a survey’s request for 

information. Compliance with the survey is 

required by the DPA. Accordingly, 

compliance with that statutory requirement 

is paramount to any private agreement you 

have with your customers or other parties. 

In addition to the aforementioned sections, 

each survey contains sections tailored to the 

specific scope of the study, including but not 

limited to Facility Locations, Products and 

Services, Inventories, Suppliers and 

Customers, Challenges and Organizational 

Outlook, Employment, Operations, Financial 

Statements, Sales, Research and 

Development, and Capital Expenditures. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 41 / Tuesday, March 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 11355 

Examples of Survey Terms 

Certification: A section of the survey in 

which a person (an authorizing official) 

certifies that the information supplied in 

response to the survey is complete and 

correct, to the best of the person’s knowledge. 

Facility: A building or the minimum 

complex of buildings or parts of buildings in 

which a person operates to serve a particular 

function, producing revenue and incurring 

costs for the person. A facility may produce 

an item of tangible or intangible property or 

may perform a service. It may encompass a 

floor or group of floors within a building, a 

single building, or a group of buildings or 

structures. Often, a facility is a group of 

related locations at which employees work, 

together constituting a profit-and-loss center 

for the person, and it may be identified by 

a unique Dun and Bradstreet number. 

Sole source: An organization that is the 

only source for the supply of parts, 

components, materials, or services. No 

alternative U.S. or non-U.S. based supplier 

exists other than the current supplier. 

Survey template: The data collection 

instrument supplied by BIS to persons by 

which survey information is recorded and 

submitted to BIS. The survey is generally 

organized in a question and answer format 

and is presented on an electronic survey 

system. 

Supplier: An entity from which your 

organization obtains inputs. A supplier may 

be another firm with which you have a 

contractual relationship, or it may be another 

facility owned by the same parent 

organization. The inputs may be materials, 

products or services. 

Dated: February 24, 2015. 

Kevin J. Wolf, 

Assistant Secretary for Export 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2015–04299 Filed 3–2–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

Bureau 

27 CFR Part 9 

[Docket No. TTB–2015–0004; Notice No. 

148] 

RIN 1513–AC11 

Proposed Establishment of the Los 

Olivos District Viticultural Area 

AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau, Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax 

and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to 

establish the approximately 22,820-acre 

‘‘Los Olivos District’’ viticultural area in 

Santa Barbara County, California. The 

proposed viticultural area lies entirely 

within the Santa Ynez Valley 

viticultural area and the larger, 

multicounty Central Coast viticultural 

area. TTB designates viticultural areas 

to allow vintners to better describe the 

origin of their wines and to allow 

consumers to better identify wines they 

may purchase. TTB invites comments 

on this proposed addition to its 

regulations. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

May 4, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Please send your comments 

on this document to one of the 

following addresses: 

• Internet: http://www.regulations.gov 

(via the online comment form for this 

document as posted within Docket No. 

TTB–2015–0004 at ‘‘Regulations.gov,’’ 

the Federal e-rulemaking portal); 

• U.S. Mail: Director, Regulations and 

Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco 

Tax and Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street 

NW., Box 12, Washington, DC 20005; or 

• Hand delivery/courier in lieu of 

mail: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street NW., Suite 

200–E, Washington, DC 20005. 

See the Public Participation section of 

this document for specific instructions 

and requirements for submitting 

comments, and for information on how 

to request a public hearing or view or 

request copies of the petition and 

supporting materials. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen A. Thornton, Regulations and 

Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco 

Tax and Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street 

NW., Box 12, Washington, DC 20005; 

phone 202–453–1039, ext. 175. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background on Viticultural Areas 

TTB Authority 

Section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol 

Administration Act (FAA Act), 27 

U.S.C. 205(e), authorizes the Secretary 

of the Treasury to prescribe regulations 

for the labeling of wine, distilled spirits, 

and malt beverages. The FAA Act 

provides that these regulations should, 

among other things, prohibit consumer 

deception and the use of misleading 

statements on labels and ensure that 

labels provide the consumer with 

adequate information as to the identity 

and quality of the product. The Alcohol 

and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 

(TTB) administers the FAA Act 

pursuant to section 1111(d) of the 

Homeland Security Act of 2002, 

codified at 6 U.S.C. 531(d). The 

Secretary has delegated various 

authorities through Treasury 

Department Order 120–01 (Revised), 

dated December 10, 2013, to the TTB 

Administrator to perform the functions 

and duties in the administration and 

enforcement of this law. 

Part 4 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 

part 4) authorizes TTB to define 

viticultural areas and sets out 

requirements for the use of their names 

as appellations of origin on wine labels 

and in wine advertisements. Part 9 of 

the TTB regulations (27 CFR part 9) sets 

forth standards for the preparation and 

submission to TTB of petitions for the 

establishment or modification of 

American viticultural areas (AVAs) and 

lists the approved AVAs. 

Definition 

Section 4.25(e)(1)(i) of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR 4.25(e)(1)(i)) defines 

a viticultural area for American wine as 

a delimited grape-growing region having 

distinguishing features, as described in 

part 9 of the regulations, and a name 

and a delineated boundary, as 

established in part 9 of the regulations. 

These designations allow vintners and 

consumers to attribute a given quality, 

reputation, or other characteristic of a 

wine made from grapes grown in an area 

to the wine’s geographic origin. The 

establishment of AVAs allows vintners 

to describe more accurately the origin of 

their wines to consumers and helps 

consumers to identify wines they may 

purchase. Establishment of an AVA is 

neither an approval nor an endorsement 

by TTB of the wine produced in that 

area. 

Requirements 

Section 4.25(e)(2) of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR 4.25(e)(2)) outlines 

the procedure for proposing an AVA 

and provides that any interested party 

may petition TTB to establish a grapegrowing region as an AVA. Section 9.12 

of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 9.12) 

prescribes the standards for petitions 

requesting the establishment or 

modification of AVAs. Petitions to 

establish an AVA must include the 

following: 

• Evidence that the region within the 

proposed AVA boundary is nationally 

or locally known by the AVA name 

specified in the petition; 

• An explanation of the basis for 

defining the boundary of the proposed 

AVA; 

• A narrative description of the 

features of the proposed AVA affecting 

viticulture, such as climate, geology, 

soils, physical features, and elevation, 

that make the proposed AVA distinctive 

and distinguish it from adjacent areas 

outside the proposed viticultural AVA; 

• The appropriate United States 

Geological Survey (USGS) map(s) 

showing the location of the proposed 

AVA, with the boundary of the 


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