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

10351 

Vol. 77, No. 35 

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE 

AGENCY 

[No. 2012–N–01] 

12 CFR Chapter XII 

Regulatory Review Plan 

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance 

Agency. 

ACTION: Notice of final regulatory review 

plan. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance 

Agency (FHFA) is issuing a notice of the 

final FHFA regulatory review plan for 

review of existing regulations under 

Executive Order 13579, ‘‘Regulation and 

Independent Regulatory Agencies,’’ 

(July 11, 2011). 

DATES: The effective date of this 

document is April 23, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alfred M. Pollard, General Counsel, 

alfred.pollard@fhfa.gov, telephone (202) 

649–3050 (not a toll-free number), 

Federal Housing Finance Agency, 

Eighth Floor, 400 Seventh Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20024. The telephone 

number for the Telecommunications 

Device for the Deaf is (800) 877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Executive Order 13579 

Executive Order 13579, ‘‘Regulation 

and Independent Regulatory Agencies,’’ 

(July 11, 2011), requests that each 

independent regulatory agency, such as 

FHFA, analyze its existing regulations 

and modify, streamline, expand, or 

repeal them in accordance with the 

findings of the analysis. Executive Order 

13579 also requests each independent 

regulatory agency to make public a plan 

under which the agency will 

periodically review its existing 

significant regulations to make the 

agency’s regulatory program more 

effective or less burdensome in 

achieving regulatory objectives. 

Establishment of FHFA; Transfer and 

Review of Regulations 

The Housing and Economic Recovery 

Act of 2008 (HERA) established FHFA 

on July 30, 2008, as an independent 

regulatory agency to supervise and 

regulate the Federal National Mortgage 

Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal 

Home Loan Mortgage Corporation 

(Freddie Mac), and the Federal Home 

Loan Banks (collectively, regulated 

entities), and the Office of Finance of 

the Federal Home Loan Bank System. 

HERA transferred to the new agency the 

employees, functions, and regulations of 

the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise 

Oversight (OFHEO), the Federal 

Housing Finance Board (FHFB), and the 

Government-Sponsored Enterprise 

mission team within the U.S. 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD). 

HERA and, most recently, the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) 

mandate that FHFA issue new 

regulations on specific matters in 

connection with FHFA’s supervision 

and regulation of the regulated entities 

and the Office of Finance. Currently, in 

determining whether to revise, adopt 

without change, or repeal transferred 

OFHEO, FHFB, and certain HUD 

regulations, FHFA reviews such 

regulations to determine the appropriate 

action and publishes the regulations for 

comment. Public comments provide 

additional information to FHFA on how 

to make the regulations more effective 

and less burdensome. 

Regulatory Review Plan Under 

Executive Order 13579 

FHFA’s current review of OFHEO, 

FHFB, and certain HUD regulations is 

similar to the review it will conduct of 

existing regulations under Executive 

Order 13579. The regulatory review 

plan is set forth below. FHFA will 

conduct the review of its existing 

regulations under Executive Order 

13579 at least every five years. In light 

of the recent establishment of FHFA and 

ongoing regulatory activities mandated 

by HERA and the Dodd-Frank Act, the 

first review will begin no later than 

August 2013, five years after the 

establishment of FHFA. FHFA 

regulations published in Chapter XII of 

Title 12 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations and are also posted on the 

FHFA Internet Web site at http:// 

www.fhfa.gov. 

II. Notice of Regulatory Review Plan 

FHFA published a notice of its 

interim regulatory review plan and 

requested comments on the plan. 76 FR 

59066 (September 23, 2011). FHFA 

received no comments. FHFA is 

adopting as final the interim regulatory 

review plan without change. The final 

regulatory review plan follows. 

Plan for Review of Existing Regulations 

Under Executive Order 13579 

a. Scope and timing of regulatory 

reviews. At least every five years, FHFA 

will conduct a review of the regulations 

it has issued and that are in effect. The 

first regulatory review will begin no 

later than August 2013. 

b. Factors considered in the regulatory 

reviews. The regulatory reviews will 

take into consideration the following 

factors, as applicable: 

(1) Legal or regulatory developments, 

including new laws, executive orders, or 

judicial decisions that have been 

adopted since the promulgation of a 

regulation that make such regulation 

inefficient, obsolete, contrary to 

controlling legal precedent, or unduly 

burdensome; 

(2) Application by Fannie Mae, 

Freddie Mac, or a Federal Home Loan 

Bank (regulated entity) or the Office of 

Finance of the Federal Home Loan Bank 

System for revision of a regulation 

because of reasonably discernible 

regulatory burden or inefficiency; 

(3) Marketplace developments, 

technological evolution and related 

changes that may have rendered an 

existing regulation, in whole or in part, 

inefficient, outmoded, or outdated; 

(4) Such other occurrences or 

developments as determined by FHFA 

to be relevant to a review for 

inefficiency or unwarranted regulatory 

burden; 

(5) Whether the provisions of the 

regulation are written in plain language 

or otherwise need clarification; 

(6) Compelling evidence that a 

consolidation of two or more 

regulations, elimination of a duplicative 

regulation, or other revision to 

regulatory requirements would facilitate 

compliance by or supervision of a 

regulated entity or the Office of Finance; 

(7) A demonstration of a better 

alternative method to effect a regulatory 


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10352 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

purpose or requirement supported by 

compelling evidence of significantly 

less intrusive means or of a substantially 

more efficient method of accomplishing 

the same supervisory purpose; and 

(8) Such other factors as determined 

by FHFA to be relevant to determining 

and evaluating the need for and 

effectiveness of a particular regulation. 

c. Regulatory review process.—(1) The 

regulatory reviews will be conducted by 

the FHFA Office of General Counsel, 

under the direction of the General 

Counsel, and will include internal 

consultation with other FHFA offices 

and staff, guidance provided by the 

FHFA Director, as well as consideration 

of public comments. 

(2) A review and report of findings 

and recommendations will be provided 

to the FHFA Director on a timely basis. 

The report of findings and 

recommendations will be privileged and 

confidential. 

(3) After receiving the report of 

findings and recommendations, the 

FHFA Director will determine what 

steps may be necessary to relieve any 

unnecessary burden, including 

amendment to or repeal of existing 

regulations or issuance of less formal 

guidance. 

d. No right of action. The regulatory 

reviews are not formal or informal 

rulemaking proceedings under the 

Administrative Procedure Act and 

create no right of action against FHFA. 

Moreover, the determination of FHFA to 

conduct or not to conduct a review of 

a regulation and any determination, 

finding, or recommendation resulting 

from any review are not final agency 

actions and, as such, are not subject to 

judicial review. 

Dated: February 15, 2012. 

Edward J. DeMarco, 

Acting Director, Federal Housing Finance 

Agency. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4056 Filed 2–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8070–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2010–0956; Directorate 

Identifier 2010–NM–018–AD; Amendment 

39–16951; AD 74–08–09 R3] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Various 

Transport Category Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are revising an existing 

airworthiness directive (AD) for 

transport category airplanes that have 

one or more lavatories equipped with 

paper or linen waste receptacles. That 

AD currently requires installation of 

placards prohibiting smoking in the 

lavatory and disposal of cigarettes in the 

lavatory waste receptacles; 

establishment of a procedure to 

announce to airplane occupants that 

smoking is prohibited in the lavatories; 

installation of ashtrays at certain 

locations; and repetitive inspections to 

ensure that lavatory waste receptacle 

doors operate correctly. This new AD 

extends the time an airplane may be 

operated with certain missing ashtrays. 

This AD was prompted by the 

determination that certain compliance 

times required by the existing AD could 

be extended and still address fires 

occurring in lavatories caused by, 

among other things, the improper 

disposal of smoking materials in 

lavatory waste receptacles. We are 

issuing this AD to correct this unsafe 

condition on these products. 

DATES: This AD is effective March 28, 

2012. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or in person at the 

Docket Management Facility between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD 

docket contains this AD, the regulatory 

evaluation, any comments received, and 

other information. The address for the 

Docket Office (phone: 800–647–5527) is 

Document Management Facility, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alan Sinclair, Aerospace Engineer, 

Airframe/Cabin Safety Branch, ANM– 

115, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

FAA, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, 

Washington 98057–3356; phone: 425– 

227–2195; fax: 425–227–1232. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

We issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR 

part 39 to revise AD 74–08–09 R2, 

Amendment 39–9680 (61 FR 32318, 

June 24, 1996). That AD applies to the 

specified products. The NPRM 

published in the Federal Register on 

October 6, 2010 (75 FR 61657). That 

NPRM proposed to continue to require 

installation of placards prohibiting 

smoking in the lavatory and disposal of 

cigarettes in the lavatory waste 

receptacles; establishment of a 

procedure to announce to airplane 

occupants that smoking is prohibited in 

the lavatories; installation of ashtrays at 

certain locations; and repetitive 

inspections to ensure that lavatory 

waste receptacle doors operate correctly. 

That NPRM also proposed to extend the 

time an airplane may be operated with 

certain missing ashtrays. 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD. The 

following presents the comments 

received on the NPRM (75 FR 61657, 

October 6, 2010) proposal and the 

FAA’s response to each comment. 

Support for the NPRM 

Air Line Pilots Association, 

International (ALPA), Boeing, and Air 

Transport Association (ATA) supported 

the intent of the NPRM (75 FR 61657, 

October 6, 2010). 

Request to Credit MPD Task Cards 

MNG Airlines reported that some 

airplane manufacturers’ maintenance 

planning documents (MPDs) include the 

requirements of AD 74–08–09 R2, 

Amendment 39–9680 (61 FR 32318, 

June 24, 1996), in a task card, which the 

operators add to their own MPDs for 

their fleet. The commenter requested 

that we revise the NPRM (75 FR 61657, 

October 6, 2010) by indicating that, if a 

manufacturer’s and operator’s MPDs 

cover a task card, the AD requirements 

are automatically satisfied. 

We disagree with the request. 

Operators determine how to track the 

implementation and compliance of the 

AD requirements for their fleet. We do 

not consider it appropriate to include 

AD provisions that apply only to certain 

operators. It is not necessary to change 

the final rule to include this provision. 

Request To Clarify Relief Provisions 

ATA recommended that we simplify 

and clarify the proposed relief 

provisions for airplanes having multiple 

lavatory doors. For those airplanes, ATA 

recommended that we revise the NPRM 

(75 FR 61657, October 6, 2010) to 

provide MMEL (Master Minimum 

Equipment List) relief for up to—and 

including—50 percent of the ashtrays 

for 10 days. (The NPRM specified only 

‘‘up to’’ 50 percent of the ashtrays.) ATA 

noted that this recommendation would 

(1) Remove the proposed requirement to 

replace half of the missing ashtrays 

within 3 days; (2) provide a level of 

safety equal to or exceeding the level 

proposed for airplanes having only one 


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