This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

3069 

Vol. 77, No. 14 

Monday, January 23, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Research Service 

7 CFR Part 505 

RIN 0518–AA04 

Modification of Interlibrary Loan Fee 

Schedule 

AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Research 

Service amends its regulations on the 

fee schedule for interlibrary loan from 

the collections of the National 

Agricultural Library (NAL). The revised 

fee schedule is based on the method of 

payment used (traditional invoicing 

through the National Technical 

Information Service (NTIS) or payment 

through the Online Computer Library 

Center (OCLC) network’s Interlibrary 

Fee Management program, a debit/credit 

program for interlibrary loan) and 

eliminates the current billing surcharge, 

which is instead incorporated into the 

revised flat fee. 

DATES: Effective January 23, 2012, and is 

applicable beginning January 1, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Address correspondence to 

Kay Derr, Information Services and 

Collections Branch, National 

Agricultural Library, 10301 Baltimore 

Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705–2351. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kay 

Derr, (301) 504–5879 or 

kay.derr@ars.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: This 

rule was published as a proposed rule 

for comment on September 16, 2011. 

See 76 FR 57681, September 16, 2011. 

The potential fee change and 

publication of the proposed rule were 

announced on the User Fees section of 

the NAL Web page and through NAL’s 

Twitter account. Current users of the 

service were also notified directly by 

mail and invited to comment. No 

comments were received. 

The previous fee schedule had not 

been updated since April 2000. This 

revision brings these fees up to date in 

order to support the current cost of 

providing the service. Elimination of the 

separate billing surcharge will enable 

customers to estimate charges more 

easily and distribute them more 

effectively within their own institutions. 

All of the current services will 

continue to be offered under the revised 

fee schedule. The lower fee for payment 

through the Interlibrary Loan Fee 

Management (IFM) program reflects the 

lower administrative cost of these 

transactions due to the fact that IFM 

payment is wholly electronic and no 

invoices have to be produced or mailed. 

The National Agricultural Library will 

continue to invoice and collect fees 

through the National Technical 

Information Service (NTIS) for libraries 

which do not pay through IFM. The fee 

for invoiced requests is higher in order 

to cover the fee charged by NTIS for 

producing and processing invoices. This 

change has been reviewed by the Office 

of Management and Budget and deemed 

‘‘not significant.’’ 

This action is not a ‘‘rule’’ as defined 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601, et seq.) and thus is exempt 

from provisions of that Act. 

This action is not likely to have an 

impact of $100 million or more on the 

U.S. economy and thus is not a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under 

Executive Order (‘‘E.O.’’) 12866. 

Therefore, this notice is not subject to 

formal Office of Management and 

Budget review. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 505 

Agricultural research, Agriculture, 

Libraries, Research, User fees. 

For reasons set forth in the preamble, 

the Agricultural Research Service 

revises 7 CFR part 505 to read as 

follows: 

PART 505—NATIONAL 

AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY FEES FOR 

LOANS AND COPYING 

Sec. 

505.1 Scope and purpose. 

505.2 Fees for loans, copying, and 

reproduction of materials in library 

collections. 

505.3–505.5 [Reserved] 

505.6 Payment of fees. 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 7 U.S.C. 3125a. 

§ 505.1 Scope and purpose. 

These regulations establish fees for 

loans, copying, or reproduction of 

materials in the collections of the 

National Agricultural Library (NAL) 

within the United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA). 

§ 505.2 Fees for loans, copying, and 

reproduction of materials in library 

collections. 

(a) NAL will provide interlibrary loan 

service (including loans of original 

materials from its collections and copies 

of portions of documents with copyright 

compliance) and charge fees for such 

service to other non-Federal and nonUSDA libraries and institutions. Loans 

will be provided within the United 

States and Canada only. Copies will be 

provided within the United States and 

internationally. 

(b) Interlibrary loan service will be 

provided at a flat fee of $18 per request 

for libraries paying electronically 

through the Online Computer Library 

Center’s (OCLC) Interlibrary Loan Fee 

Management (IFM) program and at a flat 

rate of $25 per request for libraries 

paying by other methods. 

(c) Cost for replacement of lost or 

damaged items will be the actual cost to 

purchase a replacement plus a $50.00 

processing fee; or if replacement cost 

cannot be determined, a flat rate of 

$75.00 for monographs or $150.00 for 

audiovisuals per item plus a $50.00 

processing fee. 

(d) Photographic services from NAL 

Special Collections will be charged at 

cost for reproduction of the photo 

product (slides, transparencies, etc.) 

plus a preparation fee of $25.00 per half 

hour or fraction thereof. 

§ 505.3–505.5 [Reserved] 

§ 505.6 Payment of fees. 

NAL charges for interlibrary loans 

through OCLC’s IFM Program (an 

electronic debit/credit payment program 

for libraries using OCLC’s resource 

sharing service) or by invoice through 

the National Technical Information 

Service (NTIS) of the United States 

Department of Commerce. Payment for 

invoiced services will be made by 

check, money order, or credit card in 

U.S. funds directly to NTIS upon receipt 

of invoice from NTIS. NAL encourages 

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3070 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 14 / Monday, January 23, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

users to establish deposit accounts with 

NTIS for payment of interlibrary loan 

fees. Subject to a reduction for the 

actual costs of performing the invoicing 

service by NTIS, all funds will be 

returned to NAL for credit to the 

appropriations account charged with the 

cost of processing the interlibrary loan 

request. 

Dated: January 13, 2012. 

Edward B. Knipling, 

Administrator, Agricultural Research Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–1251 Filed 1–20–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

7 CFR Parts 1724 and 1726 

RIN 0572–AC20 

Electric Engineering, Architectural 

Services, Design Policies and 

Construction Standards 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS) is amending the contract 

threshold amounts that require 

borrowers to use certain prescribed 

agency contract forms and the contract 

dollar amounts that require RUS review 

of contracts prior to the contract being 

effective. Also, RUS is raising the 

threshold amounts requiring RUS 

borrowers to use certain required 

procurement methods for materials, 

equipment and contract services that 

otherwise would require RUS prior 

approval. The changes in the threshold 

amounts will reduce the number of 

contracts reviewed by the RUS. 

DATES: This rule is effective February 

22, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Donald Junta, USDA–Rural Utilities 

Service, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW., Stop 1569, Washington, DC 20250– 

1569. Telephone (202) 720–3720 or 

email to donald.junta@wdc.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. 

Executive Order 12988 

This final rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. RUS has determined 

that this rule meets the applicable 

standards in § 3 of the Executive Order. 

In addition, all state and local laws and 

regulations that conflict with this final 

rule will be preempted; no retroactive 

effect will be given to the final rule; and 

in accordance with § 212(e) of the 

Department of Agriculture 

Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 

6912(e)), administrative appeal 

procedures, if any, must be exhausted 

before litigation against the Department 

or its agencies may be initiated. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

It has been determined that the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act is not 

applicable to this rule since the Agency 

is not required by 5 U.S.C. 551 et seq, 

or any other provision of law to publish 

a notice of proposed rulemaking with 

respect to the subject matter of this rule. 

Information Collection and 

Recordkeeping Requirements 

This rule contains no additional 

reporting or recordkeeping burdens 

under Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) control numbers 0572–0107 and 

0572–0118 that would require approval 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). 

Executive Order 13132 

This rule will not have any 

substantial direct effect on states, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the states, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Under Executive 

Order 13132, this rule does not have 

sufficient federalism implications 

requiring the preparation of a 

Federalism Assessment. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

The program described by this rule is 

listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Programs under number 

10.850, Rural Electrification Loans and 

Loan Guarantees. This catalog is 

available on the Internet and the 

General Services Administration’s 

(GSA) free CFDA Web site at http:// 

www.cfda.gov. 

Executive Order 12372 

This rule is not subject to the 

provisions of Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs,’’ as implemented under 

USDA’s regulations at 7 CFR part 3015. 

Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

Over the last year, the Agency has 

conducted extensive tribal consultations 

related to the implementation of the 

Substantially Underserved Trust Area 

(SUTA) provisions of the 2008 Farm 

Bill. During those consultations all RUS 

programs were discussed. A specific 

regulation on SUTA is being prepared. 

The policies contained in this rule do 

not impose substantial unreimbursed 

compliance costs on Indian Tribal 

governments or have tribal implications 

that preempt tribal law. 

Unfunded Mandates 

This rule contains no Federal 

mandates (under the regulatory 

provisions of Title II of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995) for State, 

local, and tribal governments for the 

private sector. Thus, this rule is not 

subject to the requirements of §§ 202 

and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Certification 

This rule has been examined under 

RUS environmental regulations at 7 CFR 

part 1794. The Administrator has 

determined that this rule is not a major 

Federal action significantly affecting the 

environment. Therefore, in accordance 

with the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an 

Environmental Impact Statement or 

Assessment is not required. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

RUS is committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act, to promote the 

use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

Background 

The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 

(7 U.S.C. 901–950b (REAct)), as 

amended, establishes the authority for 

RUS to provide loans and loan 

guarantees to eligible entities for 

furnishing electric service to rural areas. 

The standard loan agreement between 

RUS and its electric borrowers provides 

that, in accordance with applicable RUS 

regulations, the borrower shall use 

standard forms of contracts promulgated 

by RUS for construction, procurement, 

engineering services and architectural 

services for transactions above the 

established threshold dollar levels 

(‘‘threshold levels’’). 

Electric borrowers are also expected 

to obtain RUS approvals for procuring 

materials, equipment and contracting 

services for use in the electric systems 

where the contract amount exceeds 

specified threshold levels. 

Threshold levels that apply to 

contracts entered into by borrowers 

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