Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 65 / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 20291 

chemical, used in photocopying 

machines and laser printers, which is 

transferred onto paper to form the 

printed image. These inks are 

formulated to be used in printers with 

standard fusing mechanisms and print 

speeds of less than 25 ppm. 

(v) Inks (printer toner—≥25 ppm). 

Inks that are a powdered chemical, used 

in photocopying machines and laser 

printers, which is transferred onto paper 

to form the printed image. These inks 

are formulated to be used in printers 

with advanced fusing mechanisms and 

print speeds of 25 ppm or greater. 

(vi) Inks (news). Inks used primarily 

to print newspapers. 

(b) Minimum biobased content. The 

minimum biobased content for all inks 

shall be based on the amount of 

qualifying biobased carbon in the 

product as a percent of the weight 

(mass) of the total organic carbon in the 

finished product. The applicable 

minimum biobased contents for the 

Federal preferred procurement products 

are: 

(1) Specialty inks—66 percent. 

(2) Inks (sheetfed—color)—67 percent. 

(3) Inks (sheetfed—black)—49 

percent. 

(4) Inks (printer toner—<25 ppm)—34 

percent. 

(5) Inks (printer toner—≥25 ppm)—20 

percent. 

(6) Inks (news)—32 percent. 

(c) Preference compliance date. No 

later than April 4, 2013, procuring 

agencies, in accordance with this part, 

will give a procurement preference for 

qualifying biobased inks. By that date, 

Federal agencies that have the 

responsibility for drafting or reviewing 

specifications for products to be 

procured shall ensure that the relevant 

specifications require the use of 

biobased inks. 

§ 3201.85 Packing and insulating 

materials. 

(a) Definition. Pre-formed and molded 

materials that are used to hold package 

contents in place during shipping or for 

insulating and sound proofing 

applications. 

(b) Minimum biobased content. The 

Federal preferred procurement product 

must have a minimum biobased content 

of at least 74 percent, which shall be 

based on the amount of qualifying 

biobased carbon in the product as a 

percent of the weight (mass) of the total 

organic carbon in the finished product. 

(c) Preference compliance date. No 

later than April 4, 2013, procuring 

agencies, in accordance with this part, 

will give a procurement preference for 

qualifying biobased packing and 

insulating materials. By that date, 

Federal agencies that have the 

responsibility for drafting or reviewing 

specifications for products to be 

procured shall ensure that the relevant 

specifications require the use of 

biobased packing and insulating 

materials. 

§ 3201.86 Pneumatic equipment 

lubricants. 

(a) Definition. Lubricants designed 

specifically for pneumatic equipment, 

including air compressors, vacuum 

pumps, in-line lubricators, rock drills, 

jackhammers, etc. 

(b) Minimum biobased content. The 

Federal preferred procurement product 

must have a minimum biobased content 

of at least 67 percent, which shall be 

based on the amount of qualifying 

biobased carbon in the product as a 

percent of the weight (mass) of the total 

organic carbon in the finished product. 

(c) Preference compliance date. No 

later than April 4, 2013, procuring 

agencies, in accordance with this part, 

will give a procurement preference for 

qualifying biobased pneumatic 

equipment lubricants. By that date, 

Federal agencies that have the 

responsibility for drafting or reviewing 

specifications for products to be 

procured shall ensure that the relevant 

specifications require the use of 

biobased pneumatic equipment 

lubricants. 

(d) Determining overlap with an EPAdesignated recovered content product. 

Qualifying products within this item 

may overlap with the EPA-designated 

recovered content product: Vehicular 

Products—re-refined lubricating oils. 

USDA is requesting that manufacturers 

of these qualifying biobased products 

provide information on the USDA Web 

site of qualifying biobased products 

about the intended uses of the product, 

information on whether or not the 

product contains any recovered 

material, in addition to biobased 

ingredients, and performance standards 

against which the product has been 

tested. This information will assist 

Federal agencies in determining 

whether or not a qualifying biobased 

product overlaps with EPA-designated 

re-refined lubricating oil products and 

which product should be afforded the 

preference in purchasing. 

Note to paragraph (d): Biobased pneumatic 

equipment lubricants within this designated 

product category can compete with similar 

re-refined lubricating oil products with 

recycled content. Under the Resource 

Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, 

section 6002, the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency designated re-refined 

lubricating oil products containing recovered 

materials as products for which Federal 

agencies must give preference in their 

purchasing programs. The designation can be 

found in the Comprehensive Procurement 

Guideline, 40 CFR 247.17. 

§ 3201.87 Wood and concrete stains. 

(a) Definition. Products that are 

designed to be applied as a finish for 

concrete and wood surfaces and that 

contain dyes or pigments to change the 

color without concealing the grain 

pattern or surface texture. 

(b) Minimum biobased content. The 

Federal preferred procurement product 

must have a minimum biobased content 

of at least 39 percent, which shall be 

based on the amount of qualifying 

biobased carbon in the product as a 

percent of the weight (mass) of the total 

organic carbon in the finished product. 

(c) Preference compliance date. No 

later than April 4, 2013, procuring 

agencies, in accordance with this part, 

will give a procurement preference for 

qualifying biobased wood and concrete 

stains. By that date, Federal agencies 

that have the responsibility for drafting 

or reviewing specifications for products 

to be procured shall ensure that the 

relevant specifications require the use of 

biobased wood and concrete stains. 

Dated: March 28, 2012. 

Pearlie S. Reed, 

Assistant Secretary for Administration, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8068 Filed 4–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–93–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket Number EERE–2010–BT–TP–0021] 

RIN 1904–AC08 

Energy Conservation Program: Test 

Procedures for Residential Clothes 

Washers; Correction 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) is correcting a final rule 

establishing revised test procedures for 

residential clothes washers, published 

in the Federal Register on March 7, 

2012, and applicable as of April 6, 2012. 

DOE erroneously omitted regulatory 

language to remove the obsolete 

parenthetical note from the water factor 

calculation section of the currently 

applicable test procedure. 

DATES: Effective: April 6, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stephen L. Witkowski, U.S. Department 


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20292 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 65 / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, EE–2J, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–7463. Email: 

Stephen.Witkowski@ee.doe.gov. 

Elizabeth Kohl, Esq., U.S. Department 

of Energy, Office of General Counsel, 

GC–71, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–7796. Email: 

Elizabeth.Kohl@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE 

published new and amended test 

procedures for residential clothes 

washers on March 7, 2012 (hereafter, the 

‘‘March 2012 final rule’’). 77 FR 13888. 

The current test procedure is codified at 

appendix J1 in 10 CFR part 430 subpart 

B (hereafter, ‘‘appendix J1’’). The March 

2012 final rule amended certain 

provisions in appendix J1 and also 

established new clothes washer test 

procedures, codified in a new appendix 

J2. Residential clothes washer 

manufacturers must continue to use 

appendix J1 to determine compliance of 

their products with energy conservation 

standards until the compliance date of 

any amended standards. 

In the preamble to the March 2012 

final rule, DOE described its intention to 

remove an obsolete parenthetical note in 

section 4.2 of appendix J1, which states 

that the water factor calculations need 

not be performed to determine 

compliance with the energy 

conservation standards for clothes 

washers. The Energy Independence and 

Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) 

amended the Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6291, et 

seq.) by establishing a water factor 

standard for top-loading and frontloading standard-size residential clothes 

washers manufactured on or after 

January 1, 2011 (42 U.S.C. 

6295(g)(9)(A)(ii)); accordingly, this 

parenthetical note is now obsolete. The 

calculations in section 4.2 must be 

performed to determine compliance 

with energy conservation standards for 

these clothes washers. In the March 

2012 final rule, DOE erroneously 

omitted regulatory language to remove 

the obsolete parenthetical note from the 

water factor calculation section of 

appendix J1. This final rule corrects 

section 4.2 of appendix J1 to remove 

this obsolete note. 

In FR Doc. 2012–4819 appearing on 

page 13888 in the Federal Register of 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012, the 

following corrections are made: 

Appendix J1 [Corrected] 

■ 1. On page 13937, correct amendatory 

instruction 7.m. to read as follows: 

■ m. Revising section 4.2 introductory 

text; 

■ 2. On page 13938, third column, 

before 4.2.3, add the following text: 

■ 4.2 Water consumption of clothes 

washers. 

* * * * * 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 29, 

2012. 

Kathleen B. Hogan, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8073 Filed 4–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

13 CFR Part 107 

RIN 3245–AF56 

Small Business Investment 

Companies—Conflicts of Interest and 

Investment of Idle Funds 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business 

Administration is revising a rule which 

prohibits a small business investment 

company (SBIC) from providing 

financing to an Associate, as defined in 

the rules, unless it first obtains a 

conflict of interest exemption from SBA. 

The revision eliminates the requirement 

for an exemption in the case of a followon investment in a small business 

concern by an SBIC and an Associate 

investment fund, where both parties 

invested previously on the same terms 

and conditions and where the follow-on 

investment would also be on the same 

terms and conditions as well as in the 

same proportions. In addition, this rule 

implements two provisions of the Small 

Business Investment Act of 1958, as 

amended. First, it brings the public 

notice requirement for conflict of 

interest transactions into conformity 

with statutory requirements. Second, it 

expands the types of investments an 

SBIC is permitted to make with its ‘‘idle 

funds’’ (cash that is not immediately 

needed for fund operations or 

investments in small business 

concerns). Finally, the rule makes two 

technical corrections: Removing an 

outdated cross-reference; and 

eliminating a section that exactly 

duplicates a provision found elsewhere 

in part 107. 

DATES: This rule is effective May 4, 

2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carol Fendler, Office of Investment, 

(202) 205–7559 or sbic@sba.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

October 14, 2010, SBA published a 

proposed rule (75 FR 63110) to: (1) 

Remove the requirement for an SBIC to 

obtain a conflict of interest exemption 

from SBA for certain follow-on 

financings; (2) revise the public notice 

requirements for conflict of interest 

financings to conform with statutory 

requirements under the Small Business 

Investment Act of 1958, as amended 

(SBI Act); and (3) expand the types of 

investments an SBIC is permitted to 

make with its ‘‘idle funds’’, in 

conformity with the SBI Act. The rule 

also included two non-substantive 

technical corrections. 

SBA received no relevant comments 

on the proposed rule, which is being 

finalized without change. SBA’s sectionby-section explanation of the proposed 

regulatory changes, all of which have 

been implemented in this final rule, is 

repeated here as a convenience to the 

reader. 

Section 107.730—Financings which 

constitute conflicts of interest. The SBI 

Act authorizes SBA to adopt regulations 

to govern transactions that may 

constitute a conflict of interest and 

which may be detrimental to small 

business concerns, small business 

investment companies, their investors, 

or SBA. Accordingly, SBA promulgated 

13 CFR 107.730, which generally 

prohibits financing transactions that 

involve a conflict of interest, unless the 

SBIC obtains a prior written exemption 

from SBA. The most common type of 

transaction requiring an exemption is 

‘‘financing an Associate.’’ Associates of 

an SBIC, as defined in § 107.50, 

encompass a broad range of related 

parties based on business, economic and 

family ties, both direct and indirect. 

In addition to identifying transactions 

requiring a conflict of interest 

exemption, § 107.730 sets forth the 

circumstances under which an SBIC is 

permitted to co-invest with its 

Associates. The primary purpose of 

these provisions is to ensure that the 

terms of such co-investments are ‘‘fair 

and equitable’’ to the SBIC, i.e. that the 

SBIC is not being disadvantaged relative 

to an Associate. The co-investment rules 

include a number of ‘‘safe harbor’’ 

provisions under which the transaction 

is presumed to be fair and equitable to 

the SBIC; one of these safe harbors 

covers financings where the SBIC and 

its Associate invest at the same time and 

on the same terms and conditions. SBIC 

managers frequently seek to rely on this 

provision because they are involved in 


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