Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 68983 

provide the same safeguards as are 

provided by physical presence. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Revise § 850.201 to read as follows: 

§ 850.201 Applications for benefits. 

(a) Hardcopy applications and related 

submissions that are otherwise required 

to be made to an individual’s employing 

agency (other than by statute) may 

instead be submitted electronically in 

such form as the Director prescribes 

under § 850.104. 

(b) Data provided under subpart C of 

this part are the basis for adjudicating 

claims for CSRS and FERS retirement 

benefits, and will support the 

administration of FEGLI, FEHB and 

RFEHB coverage for annuitants, under 

this part. 

§ 850.202 [Amended] 

■ 7. Amend § 850.202 by removing the 

paragraph parenthetical designation 

‘‘(a)’’ and by removing paragraph (b). 

■ 8. Revise § 850.203 to read as follows: 

§ 850.203 Other elections. 

Any other election may be effected in 

such form as the Director prescribes 

under § 850.104. Such elections include 

but are not limited to elections of 

coverage under CSRS, FERS, FEGLI, 

FEHB, or RFEHB by individuals entitled 

to elect such coverage; applications for 

service credit and applications to make 

deposit; and elections regarding the 

withholding of State income tax from 

annuity payments. 

■ 9. Revise § 850.301 to read as follows: 

§ 850.301 Electronic records; other 

acceptable records. 

(a) Acceptable electronic records for 

retirement and insurance processing by 

OPM include— 

(1) Electronic employee data, 

including an eIRR or an ERR, submitted 

by an agency, agency payroll office, or 

Shared Service Center, or other entity 

and stored within the EHRI Retirement 

Data Repository, the eIRR records 

storage database, or other OPM 

database. 

(2) Electronic Official Personnel 

Folder (eOPF) data; and 

(3) Documents, including hardcopy 

versions of the Individual Retirement 

Record (SF 2806 or SF 3100), or data or 

images obtained from such documents, 

including images stored in EDMS, that 

are converted to an electronic or digital 

form by means of image scanning or 

other forms of electronic or digital 

conversion. 

(b) Documents that are not converted 

to an electronic or digital form will 

continue to be acceptable records for 

processing by the retirement and 

insurance processing system. 

■ 10. Revise § 850.401 to read as 

follows: 

§ 850.401 Electronic notice of coverage 

determination. 

An agency or other entity that submits 

electronic employee records directly or 

through a Shared Service Center must 

include in the notice of law enforcement 

officer, firefighter, or nuclear materials 

retirement coverage, required by 

§§ 831.811(a), 831.911(a), 842.808(a), or 

842.910(a) of this chapter, the position 

description number, or other unique 

alphanumeric identifier, in the notice 

for the position for which law 

enforcement officer, firefighter, or 

nuclear materials courier retirement 

coverage has been approved. Agencies 

or other entities must submit position 

descriptions to OPM in a PDF document 

to combox address: combox@opm.gov. 

[FR Doc. 2013–27534 Filed 11–15–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–38–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 27 

[AMS–CN–13–0043] 

RIN 0581–AD33 

Cotton Futures Classification: Optional 

Classification Procedure 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) is amending regulations 

to allow for the addition of an optional 

cotton futures classification procedure— 

identified and known as ‘‘registration’’ 

by the U.S. cotton industry and the 

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). In 

response to requests from the U.S. 

cotton industry and ICE, AMS will offer 

a futures classification option whereby 

cotton bales may be certificated for the 

purpose of an exchange’s cotton futures 

contract using Smith-Doxey data to 

verify that submitted bales meet more 

restrictive quality requirements and age 

parameters established by that 

exchange. AMS anticipates that the 

futures classification option will be 

available in time for the implementation 

of ICE’s Cotton Resolution No. 2, which 

is scheduled to commence with the 

March 2014 contract month. 

DATES: Effective Date: November 19, 

2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Darryl Earnest, Deputy Administrator, 

Cotton & Tobacco Program, AMS, 

USDA, 3275 Appling Road, Room 11, 

Memphis, TN 38133. Telephone (901) 

384–3060, facsimile (901) 384–3021, or 

email darryl.earnest@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

This rule has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866; and, therefore has not 

been reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). 

Executive Order 12988 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. It is not intended to have 

retroactive effect. There are no 

administrative procedures that must be 

exhausted prior to any judicial 

challenge to the provisions of this rule. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act and 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), AMS has considered 

the economic impact of this action on 

small entities and has determined that 

its implementation will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small businesses. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

businesses subject to such actions so 

that small businesses will not be 

disproportionately burdened. There are 

approximately 60 cotton merchant 

organizations of various sizes active in 

trading U.S. cotton. Cotton merchants 

voluntarily use the AMS cotton futures 

classification services under the Cotton 

Futures Act (Act) (7 U.S.C. 15b). Many 

of these cotton merchants are small 

businesses under the criteria established 

by the Small Business Administration 

(13 CFR § 121.201). Establishing the 

registration option for cotton futures 

classification will not significantly 

affect small businesses as defined in the 

RFA because: 

(1) The established user fee for cotton 

futures classification services is $3.50 

per bale (7 CFR § 27.80). Users choosing 

the registration option would incur no 

additional charges; 

(2) The established cotton futures 

classification fee represents a very small 

portion of the cost per-unit currently 

borne by those entities utilizing the 

service; 

(3) The average price paid to 

producers for cotton from the 2012 crop 

was 73.22 cents per pound, making a 

500 pound bale of cotton worth an 

average of $366.10. The current user fee 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES

68984 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

for futures classification services, $3.50 

per bale, is less than one percent of the 

average value of a bale of cotton; 

(4) The fee for this service will not 

affect competition in the marketplace; 

(5) The futures classification option is 

expected to streamline marketing and 

create logistical efficiencies for all 

entities utilizing this option; and 

(6) The use of futures classification 

services is voluntary. For fiscal year 

2013, there were 913,179 cotton futures 

samples (approximately 5.4 percent of 

the 16,942,409 Smith-Doxey 

classifications) voluntarily submitted for 

the futures classification service. 

In compliance with OMB regulations 

(5 CFR part 1320), which implement the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 

U.S.C. 3501), the information collection 

requirements associated with this rule 

have been previously approved by OMB 

and were assigned OMB control number 

0581–0008, Cotton Classing, Testing, 

And Standards. 

Background 

The Act requires USDA-verified 

quality measurements for each bale to 

be included in futures contracts for the 

purpose of verifying that each bale 

meets the minimum quality 

requirements for cotton futures trading. 

Furthermore, the Act authorizes the 

charging of user fees required to recover 

the cost associated with providing 

futures quality verification services. 

USDA was first directed to provide 

cotton classification services to 

producers of cotton under the SmithDoxey Act of April 13, 1937 (Pub. L. 75– 

28). Therefore, the original classification 

of a cotton bale’s sample and quality 

data which results from this 

classification is commonly referred to as 

the Smith-Doxey classification or SmithDoxey data. While cotton classification 

is not mandatory, practically every 

cotton bale grown in the United States 

today is classed by AMS under the 

authority of the Cotton Statistics and 

Estimates Act (7 U.S.C. 471–476) and 

the U.S. Cotton Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 

51–65) and under regulations found in 

7 CFR part 28—Cotton Classing, Testing, 

and Standards. The U.S. cotton industry 

uses Smith-Doxey data to assign qualityadjusted market values to U.S. cotton 

and market U.S. cotton both 

domestically and internationally. SmithDoxey data is commonly used by the 

cotton merchant community to indicate 

which bales may be tenderable against 

a cotton futures contract. 

Conventional procedures employed 

for verifying quality measurements for 

bales to be included in futures contracts 

consists of two futures classifications: 1) 

initial futures classification and 2) final 

futures classification. AMS, Cotton and 

Tobacco Program revised these 

procedures to incorporate Smith-Doxey 

data into the cotton futures 

classification process in March 2012 (77 

FR 5379). When verified by a futures 

classification, Smith-Doxey data serves 

as an initial futures classification with 

the verifying futures classification 

serving as a final futures classification. 

The use of Smith-Doxey data 

significantly reduced the number of 

futures classifications required for many 

of the bales that were submitted for 

certification. 

The successful incorporation of 

Smith-Doxey data into the futures 

classification procedures prompted the 

U.S. cotton industry and ICE to request 

that the AMS, Cotton and Tobacco 

Program use Smith-Doxey data to certify 

that bales submitted for quality 

verification meet more restrictive 

quality requirements and age parameters 

set by ICE for use in a cotton futures 

contract. The U.S. cotton industry and 

ICE refer to this optional procedure as 

the ‘‘registration option’’. 

The established user fee for cotton 

futures classification services is $3.50 

per bale (7 CFR 27.80). Customers 

choosing this cotton futures 

classification option will incur this 

charge. In the event that AMS 

determines that a bale submitted under 

this option fails to meet quality or age 

parameters set by the exchange 

inspection agency, the owner of the bale 

will be notified of the bale’s failure. 

AMS, Cotton and Tobacco Program is 

amending regulations in 7 CFR part 27 

to allow for the use of original SmithDoxey data to certify that bales 

submitted for quality verification meet 

quality and age parameters set by the 

applicable exchange inspection agency. 

Accordingly, the definition of 

‘‘Classification’’ in § 27.2, paragraph (n) 

is amended to allow the registration 

option for the futures classification 

services. Also in § 27.2, the term 

‘‘Smith-Doxey data’’ is defined in new 

paragraphs (p). 

Summary of Comments 

A proposed rule was published in the 

Federal Register on September 9, 2013, 

with a comment period of September 9, 

2013 through October 9, 2013 (78 FR 

54970). AMS received two comments: 

one from a national trade organization 

representing cotton merchant firms that 

handle over 80 percent of the U.S. 

cotton sold in domestic and foreign 

markets; and one from an American 

commodities exchange that operates 

regulated exchanges and clearing houses 

for energy, agricultural, credit, currency, 

emissions, and equity index products. 

Both comments expressed support for 

all provisions outlined in the proposed 

rule and the future classification 

services provided by the AMS Cotton 

and Tobacco Program. Comments may 

be viewed at www.regulations.gov. 

The U.S. cotton industry and ICE 

requested that AMS, Cotton and 

Tobacco Program make this option 

available in December 2013 to coincide 

with the implementation of ICE’s Cotton 

Resolution No. 2, which is scheduled to 

commence with the March 2014 

contract month. Accordingly, pursuant 

to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is found and 

determined that good cause exists for 

not postponing the effective date of this 

rule until 30 days after publication in 

the Federal Register. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 27 

Commodity futures, Cotton. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 27 is amended to 

read as follows: 

PART 27—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 27 is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 15b, 7 U.S.C. 473b, 7 

U.S.C. 1622(g). 

■ 2. In § 27.2, paragraph (n) is revised 

and new paragraph (p) is added to read 

as follows: 

§ 27.2 Terms defined. 

* * * * * 

(n) Classification. The classification of 

any cotton shall be determined by the 

quality of a sample in accordance with 

the Universal Cotton Standards (the 

official cotton standards of the United 

States) for cotton property 

measurements of American Upland 

cotton. High Volume Instruments will 

determine all cotton property 

measurements except extraneous matter. 

Cotton classers authorized by the Cotton 

and Tobacco Program will determine 

the presence of extraneous matter. 

Original Smith-Doxey data may serve as 

certification that bales submitted for 

quality verification meet quality and age 

parameters set by an applicable 

exchange inspection agency as a futures 

classification option. 

* * * * * 

(p) Smith-Doxey data. Data reflecting 

the original classification of a cotton 

bale provided to producers of cotton 

under the Smith-Doxey Act of April 13, 

1937 (Pub. L. 75–28). 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES

Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 68985 

Dated: November 5, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–27533 Filed 11–15–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2013–0958; Special 

Conditions No. 25–503–SC] 

Special Conditions: Boeing Model 777– 

200, –300, and –300ER Series 

Airplanes; Aircraft Electronic System 

Security Protection From Unauthorized 

Internal Access 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special conditions. 

SUMMARY: These special conditions are 

issued for the Boeing Model 777–200, 

–300, and –300ER series airplanes. 

These airplanes, as modified by the 

Boeing Company, will have novel or 

unusual design features associated with 

the architecture and connectivity of the 

passenger service computer network 

systems to the airplane critical systems 

and data networks. This onboard 

network system will be composed of a 

network file server, a network extension 

device, and additional interfaces 

configured by customer option. The 

applicable airworthiness regulations do 

not contain adequate or appropriate 

safety standards for this design feature. 

These special conditions contain the 

additional safety standards that the 

Administrator considers necessary to 

establish a level of safety equivalent to 

that established by the existing 

airworthiness standards. 

DATES: Effective Date: The effective date 

of these special conditions is November 

18, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Varun Khanna, FAA, Airplane and 

Flight Crew Interface Branch, ANM– 

111, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service, 1601 Lind 

Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 

98057–3356; telephone 425–227–1298; 

facsimile 425–227–1149. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On August 21, 2012, The Boeing 

Company applied for a change to Type 

Certificate No. T00001SE Rev. 30 dated 

June 6, 2012 for installation of an 

onboard network system, associated line 

replaceable units (LRUs) and additional 

software functionality in the Boeing 

Model 777–200, –300, and –300ER 

Series Airplanes. The Boeing Model 

777–200 airplanes are long-range, widebody, twin-engine jet airplanes with a 

maximum capacity of 440 passengers. 

The Boeing Model 777–300 and 777– 

300ER series airplanes have a maximum 

capacity of 550 passengers. The Model 

777–200, –300, and –300ER series 

airplanes have fly-by-wire controls, 

software-configurable avionics, and 

fiber-optic avionics networks. 

The proposed architecture is novel or 

unusual for commercial transport 

airplanes by enabling connection to 

previously isolated data networks 

connected to systems that perform 

functions required for the safe operation 

of the airplane. This proposed data 

network and design integration may 

result in security vulnerabilities from 

intentional or unintentional corruption 

of data and systems critical to the safety 

and maintenance of the airplane. The 

existing regulations and guidance 

material did not anticipate this type of 

system architecture or electronic access 

to aircraft systems. Furthermore, 

regulations and current system safety 

assessment policy and techniques do 

not address potential security 

vulnerabilities, which could be caused 

by unauthorized access to aircraft data 

buses and servers. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under Title 14, Code of Federal 

Regulations (14 CFR) 21.17, The Boeing 

Company must show that the Model 

777–200, –300, and –300ER series 

airplanes meet the applicable provisions 

of 14 CFR part 25, as amended by 

Amendments 25–1 through 25–128. 

If the Administrator finds that the 

applicable airworthiness regulations 

(i.e., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain 

adequate or appropriate safety standards 

for the Boeing Model 777–200, –300, 

and –300ER series airplanes because of 

a novel or unusual design feature, 

special conditions are prescribed under 

§ 21.16. 

Special conditions are initially 

applicable to the model for which they 

are issued. Should the type certificate 

for that model be amended later to 

include any other model that 

incorporates the same novel or unusual 

design feature, the proposed special 

conditions would also apply to the other 

model under § 21.101. 

In addition to the applicable 

airworthiness regulations and proposed 

special conditions, the Boeing Model 

777–200, –300, and –300ER series 

airplanes must comply with the fuel 

vent and exhaust emission requirements 

of 14 CFR part 34 and the noise 

certification requirements of 14 CFR 

part 36 and the FAA must issue a 

finding of regulatory adequacy under 

§ 611 of Public Law 92–574, the ‘‘Noise 

Control Act of 1972.’’ 

The FAA issues special conditions, as 

defined in 14 CFR 11.19, under § 11.38, 

and they become part of the typecertification basis under § 21.17(a)(2). 

Novel or Unusual Design Features 

The Boeing Model 777–200, –300, 

–300ER series airplanes will incorporate 

the following novel or unusual design 

features: An onboard computer network 

system, and a network extension device. 

The network extension device will 

improve domain separation between the 

airplane information services domain 

and the aircraft control domain. The 

proposed architecture and network 

configuration may be used for, or 

interfaced with, a diverse set of 

functions, including: 

1. Flight-safety related control and 

navigation systems, 

2. Operator business and 

administrative support (operator 

information services), 

3. Passenger information systems, 

and, 

4. Access by systems internal to the 

airplane. 

Discussion 

The integrated network configurations 

in the Boeing Model 777–200, –300, and 

–300ER series airplanes may enable 

increased connectivity with external 

network sources and will have more 

interconnected networks and systems, 

such as passenger entertainment and 

information services than previous 

airplane models. This may enable the 

exploitation of network security 

vulnerabilities and increased risks 

potentially resulting in unsafe 

conditions for the airplanes and 

occupants. This potential exploitation of 

security vulnerabilities may result in 

intentional or unintentional destruction, 

disruption, degradation, or exploitation 

of data and systems critical to the safety 

and maintenance of the airplane. The 

existing regulations and guidance 

material did not anticipate these types 

of system architectures. Furthermore, 14 

CFR regulations and current system 

safety assessment policy and techniques 

do not address potential security 

vulnerabilities which could be exploited 

by unauthorized access to airplane 

networks and servers. Therefore, these 

special conditions are being issued to 

ensure that the security (i.e., 

confidentiality, integrity, and 

availability) of airplane systems is not 

compromised by unauthorized wired or 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES