Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 28, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 66529 

1Treasury considered whether the three percent 

limitation applies at any time, but determined that 

Congress did not provide for such a requirement. 

Specifically, the Act was enacted as part of Moving 

Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP– 

21). MAP–21 contains non-RESTORE Act sections 

that include limitations that apply ‘‘at any time.’’ 

See MAP–21 § 100121. Treasury believes that if 

Congress had intended the three percent limitation 

on administrative expenses to apply ‘‘at any time,’’ 

Congress would have included those words in the 

RESTORE Act just as it did elsewhere in MAP–21. 

Moreover, such a requirement would undermine 

the RESTORE Act’s purpose of ensuring effective 

and long-term planning in the restoration of the 

Gulf Coast. 

2 80 FR 77239, 77241. 

II. Electronic Access 

Persons with access to the Internet 

may obtain the guidance at either http:// 

www.fda.gov/FoodGuidances or http://

www.regulations.gov. Use the FDA Web 

sites listed in the previous sentence to 

find the most current version of the 

guidance. 

Dated: September 23, 2016. 

Leslie Kux, 

Associate Commissioner for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2016–23367 Filed 9–27–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4164–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

31 CFR Part 34 

RIN 1505–AC52 

Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund 

AGENCY: Office of the Fiscal Assistant 

Secretary, Treasury. 

ACTION: Interim Final Rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury is issuing this Interim Final 

Rule to change when the statutory three 

percent cap on administrative expenses 

is applied to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem 

Restoration Council (Council) under the 

Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, 

Tourist Opportunities, and Revived 

Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act 

of 2012 (RESTORE Act or Act). 

DATES: Effective date for the Interim 

Final Rule: September 28, 2016. Written 

comments on the Interim Final Rule 

must be received on or before: 

November 14, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Treasury invites comments 

on the topic addressed in this Interim 

Final Rule. Comments may be submitted 

by any of the following methods: 

Electronic Submission of Comments: 

Interested persons may submit 

comments electronically through the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://

www.regulations.gov. Electronic 

submission of comments allows the 

commenter maximum time to prepare 

and submit a comment, ensures timely 

receipt, and enables the Department to 

make them available to the public. 

Comments submitted electronically 

through the http://www.regulations.gov 

Web site can be viewed by other 

commenters and interested members of 

the public. 

Mail: Send to Department of the 

Treasury, Attention Janet Vail, Office of 

Gulf Coast Restoration, Office of the 

Fiscal Assistant Secretary, Room 2112; 

1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20220. 

In general, Treasury will post all 

comments to http://www.regulations.gov 

without change, including any business 

or personal information provided, such 

as names, addresses, email addresses, or 

telephone numbers. Treasury also will 

make such comments available for 

public inspection and copying in 

Treasury’s Library, Department of the 

Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20220, on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 

All comments received, including 

attachments and other supporting 

materials, will be part of the public 

record and subject to public disclosure. 

You should submit only information 

that you wish to make publicly 

available. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Janet Vail, Office of Gulf Coast 

Restoration, restoreact@treasury.gov or 

202–622–6873. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Act makes funds available for the 

restoration and protection of the Gulf 

Coast region, and certain programs with 

respect to the Gulf of Mexico, through 

a trust fund in the Treasury of the 

United States known as the Gulf Coast 

Restoration Trust Fund (trust fund). The 

trust fund holds 80 percent of the 

administrative and civil penalties paid 

after July 6, 2012, under the Federal 

Water Pollution Control Act in 

connection with the Deepwater Horizon 

Oil Spill. The Act gives Treasury several 

roles in administering the trust fund. 

One role is to establish procedures, in 

consultation with the Departments of 

the Interior and Commerce, concerning 

the expenditure of amounts from the 

trust fund and compliance measures for 

the programs and activities carried out 

under the Act. On December 14, 2015, 

Treasury promulgated final regulations 

on the RESTORE Act, 80 FR 77239, 

which became effective on February 12, 

2016. 

The Act established an independent 

Federal entity, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem 

Restoration Council (Council), to 

administer certain components of the 

Act, including the Comprehensive Plan 

Component. The Council is comprised 

of members from six Federal agencies or 

departments and the five Gulf Coast 

States. One of the Federal members, 

currently the Secretary of Agriculture, 

serves as Chairperson of the Council. 

The authority for the Council terminates 

on the date all funds in the trust fund 

have been expended. 

The Council is responsible for 

developing and implementing a 

Comprehensive Plan to restore and 

protect the natural resources, 

ecosystems, fisheries, marine and 

wildlife habitats, beaches, and coastal 

wetlands of the Gulf Coast region. To 

carry out the Comprehensive Plan, the 

Act makes available to the Council, 30 

percent of penalties deposited into the 

trust fund plus one half of interest 

earned on trust fund investments. 

The Act provides that ‘‘[o]f the 

amounts received by the Council . . . , 

not more than 3 percent may be used for 

administrative expenses, including 

staff,’’ to carry out the Comprehensive 

Plan. 33 U.S.C. 1321(t)(2)(B)(iii). 

The Act does not specify when the 

statutory three percent cap on 

administrative expenses is applied to 

the Council.1 In its final regulations, 

Treasury specified that ‘‘the three 

percent limit is applied to the total 

amount of funds received by the 

Council, beginning with the first fiscal 

year the Council receives funds through 

the end of the fourth, or most recent 

fiscal year, whichever is later.’’ 31 CFR 

34.204(b). The final regulations 

recognized that as a new independent 

Federal entity, the Council’s startup 

administrative expenses would be 

greater in its initial years, and as a result 

the final regulations apply the three 

percent cap for administrative expenses 

at the end of the fourth fiscal year, and 

at the end of each fiscal year thereafter. 

However, in the Supplementary 

Information section of the final 

regulations, Treasury stated that it ‘‘will 

propose to cap the Council’s 

administrative expenses at three percent 

of amounts the Council receives under 

the Comprehensive Plan Component 

before the termination of the Trust 

Fund,’’ and open this proposal for a 45 

day comment period.2 Under this 

formulation, the application of the three 

percent limit to the Council’s 

administrative expenses would be 

extended from the end of the fourth 

fiscal year to the date that the trust fund 

terminates. Treasury expects that the 

trust fund will terminate after 2032. 

Treasury included this language because 

the Council expressed a need for more 

flexibility on when the statutory three 


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66530 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 28, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 

3The final regulations define the term 

‘‘administrative expenses.’’ 31 CFR 34.2. Note that 

the final regulations distinguish ‘‘administrative 

expenses’’ from ‘‘administrative costs,’’ also defined 

in 31 CFR 34.2. 

percent cap on administrative expenses 

will be applied. Specifically, Treasury 

understands that the Council 

anticipated its annual administrative 

expenses would remain relatively 

constant, while the amount of funds 

received and transferred by the Council 

for projects undertaken by its members 

may vary considerably from one year to 

the next, depending on the Council’s 

funded priorities list. The Council also 

anticipated that its members would seek 

to fund large-scale projects under the 

Comprehensive Plan Component, but 

anticipated that such large-scale projects 

would occur in later years after 

sufficient civil penalties had been 

deposited into the trust fund. Treasury 

supports the Council’s goal of restoring 

and protecting the Gulf Coast region 

under the Comprehensive Plan 

Component, and is amending section 

34.204(b), with a 45 day comment 

period. 

II. This Interim Rule 

For the reasons described above, 

Treasury is amending when the 

statutory three percent cap on 

administrative expenses is applied to 

the Council under 31 CFR 34.204(b). 

This Interim Final Rule provides that 

the Council’s three percent limit applies 

to the total amount the Council will 

receive under the Comprehensive Plan 

Component and ensures that the 

Council will not exceed the statutory 

three percent cap before the termination 

of the trust fund. Specifically, the 

Interim Final Rule provides that 

amounts used by the Council for 

administrative expenses may not at any 

time exceed three percent of the total of 

the amounts received by the Council 

from the trust fund and the amounts in 

the trust fund that are allocated to, but 

not yet received by, the Council. 

Treasury believes that this Interim Final 

Rule balances the Council’s need for 

greater flexibility with compliance with 

the statutory limitation. The Interim 

Final Rule amends only section 

34.204(b) pertaining to when the three 

percent cap on administrative expenses 

is measured. It does not amend the 

definition of ‘‘administrative expenses’’ 

found at section 34.2. Nor does it amend 

section 34.204(a) regarding limitations 

on administrative costs associated with 

grants from the Council under the 

Comprehensive Plan Component.3

Treasury requests public comment on 

the amendment to section 34.204(b). 

III. Procedural Requirements 

A. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Because no notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required, the provisions 

of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do not apply. 

B. Regulatory Planning and Review 

(Executive Orders 12866 and 13563) 

The amendment to the regulation is a 

significant regulatory action as defined 

in Executive Order 12866, as 

supplemented by Executive Order 

13563. Accordingly, it has been 

reviewed by the Office of Management 

and Budget. 

C. Administrative Procedure Act 

The Administrative Procedure Act (5 

U.S.C. 551 et seq.) (APA) provides that 

agencies issue regulations with prior 

notice and an opportunity for public 

comment and that rules should become 

effective 30 days after publication in the 

Federal Register. See 5 U.S.C. 553. The 

APA, however, allows agencies to 

dispense with these procedures when 

the agency finds that good cause exists. 

In this case, Treasury finds that good 

cause exists to dispense with prior 

notice and comment procedures and 

make this rule immediately effective. As 

discussed earlier in the preamble, the 

revision in this Interim Final Rule 

amends when the Council calculates the 

statutorily required three percent 

administrative expense limitation, and 

does not impose any new obligations on 

the Act’s eligible recipients. While 

Treasury had previously indicated it 

would issue a proposed rule, Treasury 

has determined that the revision will 

have minimal, and more than likely no, 

effect on the Act’s eligible recipients. 

Nor does the Interim Final Rule impact 

the receipt and deposit into the trust 

fund of the civil penalties which are 

generally fixed by consent decree. 

Finally, the revision will help ensure 

that the Council can continue to 

function effectively by supporting 

predictable, long term financial 

planning and operations. As a result, 

Treasury has determined that prior 

notice and comment and a delayed 

effective date are unnecessary and that 

good cause exists to make this Interim 

Final Rule effective immediately. 

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 34 

Coastal zone, Fisheries, Grant 

programs, Grants administration, 

Intergovernmental relations, Marine 

resources, Natural resources, Oil 

pollution, Research, Science and 

technology, Trusts, Wildlife. 

For the reasons set forth herein, the 

Department of the Treasury amends 31 

CFR part 34 to read as follows: 

PART 34—RESOURCES AND 

ECOSYSTEMS SUSTAINABILITY, 

TOURIST OPPORTUNITIES, AND 

REVIVED ECONOMIES OF THE GULF 

COAST STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 34 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 31 U.S.C. 301; 31 U.S.C. 321; 33 

U.S.C. 1251 et seq. 

■ 2. Revise paragraph (b) of § 34.204 to 

read as follows: 

§ 34.204 Limitations on administrative 

costs and administrative expenses. 

* * * * * 

(b) Of the amounts received by the 

Council under the Comprehensive Plan 

Component, not more than three percent 

may be used for administrative 

expenses. The three percent limit is 

applied to the amounts it receives under 

the Comprehensive Plan Component 

before termination of the Trust Fund. 

Amounts used for administrative 

expenses may not at any time exceed 

three percent of the total of the amounts 

received by the Council and the 

amounts in the Trust Fund that are 

allocated to, but not yet received by, the 

Council under § 34.103. 

David A. Lebryk, 

Fiscal Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2016–23348 Filed 9–27–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–25–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 165 

[Docket Number USCG–2016–0883] 

RIN 1625–AA00 

Safety Zone; Main Branch of the 

Chicago River, Chicago, IL 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Temporary final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is 

establishing a temporary safety zone on 

the Main Branch of the Chicago River, 

Chicago, IL. This action is necessary and 

intended to ensure safety of life on the 

navigable waters of the United States 

immediately prior to, during, and after 

the filming of a motion picture from a 

low flying helicopter. Entry of vessels or 

persons into this zone is prohibited 

unless specifically authorized by the 

Captain of the Port Lake Michigan. 


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