15564 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

proceeding before a court or agency of 

the United States in which the United 

States is a party or has a direct and 

substantial interest, except on behalf of 

the United States or a party represented 

by the Department of Justice, without 

written approval of agency counsel. 

(2) Upon a showing by the requestor 

of exceptional need or unique 

circumstances, the General Counsel 

may, in writing, grant authorization for 

an employee, or former employee, to 

appear and testify. 

(3) Any expert or opinion testimony 

by a former employee of SIGAR shall be 

excepted from the restriction under 5 

CFR 2635.805 where the testimony 

involves only general expertise gained 

while employed at SIGAR. 

(g) Procedures when agency counsel 

directs an employee not to testify or 

provide documents. (1) If agency 

counsel determines that an employee or 

former employee should not comply 

with a subpoena or other request for 

testimony or the production of 

documents, agency counsel will so 

inform the employee and the requesting 

party who submitted the demand. 

(2) If, despite the determination of the 

agency counsel that testimony should 

not be given or documents not be 

produced, a court of competent 

jurisdiction or other tribunal orders the 

employee or former employee to testify 

and/or produce documents, the 

employee shall promptly notify the 

General Counsel of such Order. 

(i) If agency counsel determines that 

no further legal review of, appeal from, 

or challenge to, the Order will be 

sought, agency counsel shall promptly 

inform the employee or former 

employee of said determination. 

(ii) If SIGAR determines to challenge 

an Order directing testimony or the 

production of documents in litigation in 

which the United States is not a party, 

the employee should not comply with 

the Order. The employee should appear 

at the time and place as commanded in 

the order or subpoena. If legal counsel 

cannot appear on behalf of the 

employee, the employee should produce 

a copy of this section and respectfully 

inform the Court or other legal tribunal 

that he/she has been advised by the 

General Counsel not to provide the 

requested testimony or documents 

pursuant to the decision of the United 

States Supreme Court in United States 

ex rel. Touhy v. Ragen, 340 U.S. 462 

(1951), and this section. Agency counsel 

will coordinate with the DOJ to file such 

motions or other pleadings that may be 

deemed appropriate in the 

circumstances, such as, for example, a 

notice to remove the case from state 

court to Federal court, or a motion to 

quash or modify the subpoena, or a 

motion for a protective order. 

(h) Fees. In the event that a Touhy 

Request is granted, SIGAR may charge 

reasonable fees to parties seeking 

official information or records. Such 

fees are calculated to reimburse the 

Government for the expense of 

providing such information or records, 

and may include the costs of time 

expended by SIGAR employees to 

process and respond to the request; 

attorney time for reviewing the request 

and any responsive records and for 

related legal work in connection with 

the request; and reasonable expenses 

generated by materials and equipment 

used to search for, produce, and copy 

the responsive information or records. 

Dated: March 12, 2012. 

Steven J Trent, 

Acting Inspector General, Special Inspector 

General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6306 Filed 3–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–L9–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

7 CFR Part 1735 

RIN 0572–AC24 

Expansion of 911 Access Loans and 

Loan Guarantees 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as 

final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS) is adopting as a final rule, 

without change, an interim rule to 

implement the Expansion of 911 as 

authorized by Section 315 of the Rural 

Electrification Act of 1936 (RE Act) as 

provided for in Section 6107 of the 

Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 

2008 (2008 Farm Bill). The interim rule 

codified the Secretary’s authority to 

make loans in five areas of eligibility to 

expand or improve 911 access and 

integrated emergency communications 

systems in rural areas for the 

Telecommunications Loan Program. 

DATES: Effective on March 16, 2012, we 

are adopting as a final rule the interim 

rule published at 76 FR 56091–56094 on 

September 12, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Villano, Assistant Administrator, 

Telecommunications Program, USDA— 

Rural Utilities Service, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., STOP 1590, 

Room 5151–S, Washington, DC 20250– 

1590. Telephone number: (202) 720– 

9554, Facsimile: (202) 720–0810. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

A. Introduction 

The Agency improves the quality of 

life in rural America by providing 

investment capital for deployment of 

rural telecommunications infrastructure. 

Financial assistance is provided to rural 

utilities; municipalities; commercial 

corporations; limited liability 

companies; public utility districts; 

Indian tribes; and cooperative, 

nonprofit, limited-dividend, or mutual 

associations. In order to achieve the goal 

of increasing economic opportunity in 

rural America, the Agency finances 

infrastructure that enables access to a 

seamless, nationwide 

telecommunications network. With 

access to the same advanced 

telecommunications networks as its 

urban counterparts, especially 

broadband networks designed to 

accommodate distance learning, 

telework, and telemedicine, rural 

America will eventually see improving 

educational opportunities, health care, 

economies, safety and security, and 

ultimately higher employment. The 

Agency shares the assessment of 

Congress, State and local officials, 

industry representatives, and rural 

residents that broadband service is a 

critical component to the future of rural 

America and modern emergency 

communications capabilities are critical 

to the safety and security of all 

Americans. The Agency is committed to 

ensuring that rural America will have 

access to affordable, reliable, 

telecommunications and broadband 

services and to provide a healthy, safe, 

and prosperous place to live and work. 

B. Regulatory History 

Following the September 11, 2001, 

attacks on the United States, significant 

Congressional attention was placed on 

weaknesses in the nation’s emergency 

communications capabilities. The 

ability of rural communities, carriers 

and emergency responders to keep up 

with changing communications 

technologies was and continues to be a 

concern of emergency response 

professionals. Interoperability; or the 

ability of emergency responders from 

various agencies and jurisdictions to 

communicate with each other is also a 

pressing national need. 

In 2002, the Congress gave the RUS 

statutory authority to ‘‘to expand or 

improve 911 access and integrated 

emergency communications systems in 

rural areas’’ in section 315 of the RE Act 

(6102 of the 2002 Farm Security and 

Rural Investment Act of 2002). No 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 15565 

regulations were ever proposed to 

implement that section. 

In 2008, the Congress re-authorized 

section 315 of the RE Act and added 

language to further define eligible loan 

purposes. It also clarified that projects 

could be funded from appropriations 

made to the RUS telecommunications 

program. 

In 2011, the President launched a 

major initiative to use wireless 4G 

technology to create a nation-wide 

interoperable emergency 

communications network. The plan 

contemplates using dual-use 4G 

wireless technologies in rural areas to 

address public safety and private sector 

communications needs. 

Rural areas face significant challenges 

in deploying emergency 

communications systems. The 911 

Program Office housed within the 

National Transportation Safety 

Administration specifically noted that 

‘‘(r)ural and tribal 911 centers face 

special challenges. They typically serve 

areas that are large geographically but 

less-densely populated than urban 

areas. Because it may take first 

responders longer to reach the scene of 

an emergency, call-takers in public 

safety answering points (PSAPs) serving 

rural areas may be required to stay on 

the phone longer with callers or provide 

more extensive emergency instruction to 

callers until help arrives. And in 

medical emergencies, hospitals are often 

farther away which results in extended 

transport times, making the ambulance 

unavailable for other calls in its 

response area—in areas that may have 

very limited coverage to begin with. The 

limited responder resources typical of 

rural areas can be more quickly 

overwhelmed in disasters or large-scale 

incidents.’’ The program office went on 

to observe that ‘‘supporting rural PSAPs 

is vitally important, particularly because 

it may take longer for help to arrive in 

rural areas, and the call-taker may make 

an even bigger difference in the outcome 

of an emergency situation.’’ (see http:// 

www.911.gov/911-issues/challenges.

html). 

The sixty-minute period immediately 

following a traumatic injury, like an 

injury resulting from a car crash is 

known as the ‘‘golden hour.’’ The risks 

of death or permanent injury increase 

dramatically if medical attention is not 

given within that first hour. In rural 

America, distance and sparse 

population work against the quick 

discovery and treatment of injuries 

resulting from an individual or mass 

emergency. In rural areas the ability to 

reach a person in distress can be the 

difference between life and death or 

recovery and disability. 

Congress twice enacted section 315 to 

give the RUS flexible financial tools to 

help rural communities, service 

providers and governmental entities 

address their emergency 

communications needs. By giving clear 

loan authority to the agency, RUS would 

have the tools to leverage public and 

private resources to speed the rural 

deployment of a dual-use public safety/ 

commercial wireless network, address 

homeland security communications 

needs along America’s rural 

international borders; finance enhanced 

911 capabilities for carriers and 

communities to precisely locate a rural 

wireless call to 911 or to finance nextgen 911 upgrades which would allow 

citizens to contact 911 via text message 

or send to emergency responders cell 

phone photos or short videos of a crime 

scene or accident location. E911 

location accuracy requirements pose 

unique challenges for rural wireless 

carriers. The new authority would give 

the agency clear authority to finance 

wireless upgrades which relate to public 

safety and security, even if it does not 

finance the entire wireless 

communications systems. 

Without this authority, RUS would be 

very limited in its ability to make 

financing available to address specific 

rural emergency communications needs. 

Without this authority, the RUS 

telecommunications statute would 

generally prohibit the agency from 

financing municipal investments. 

As a loan program which must meet 

the rigorous financial and engineering 

feasibility requirements, the agency 

expects no impact on its subsidy rate. 

RUS has conducted extensive tribal 

consultations in 2010 and 2011 related 

to implementation of new authorities for 

substantially underserved trust areas. 

Through those consultations, the agency 

had discussions with tribal leaders on 

the entire portfolio of RUS programs. 

This authority could be useful in 

addressing some of the emergency 

communications needs raised by tribal 

leaders in some of those discussions. 

Tribal areas are among the regions of the 

United States with the least connectivity 

to 911 and other emergency 

communications systems. 

The regulation would simply codify 

the authority contained in section 315 of 

the RE Act. 

C. Rule Changes 

The amendment to 7 CFR part 1735 

implements Section 315 of the Rural 

Electrification Act of 1936 (RE Act) as 

provided in Section 6107 of the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

by clarifying that the expansion of 911 

access & integrated interoperable 

emergency communications systems are 

eligible purposes of the RE Act. 

Section 6107 of the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

added Section 315 of RE Act to clearly 

authorize the RUS to make loans for the 

following purposes: 

(1) 911 access; 

(2) Integrated interoperable 

emergency communications, including 

multiuse networks that provide 

commercial or transportation 

information services in addition to 

emergency communications services; 

(3) Homeland security 

communications; 

(4) Transportation safety 

communications; or 

(5) Location technologies used outside 

an urbanized area. 

The provision also clarified that the 

Agency could consider State or local 

911 fees to be security for a loan under 

this section and that loans may be made 

in certain circumstances to an 

emergency communication equipment 

provider to accomplish the purposes of 

this section where a State or 

municipality may be prohibited from 

incurring debt. 

Comments on the interim rule were 

required to be received on or before 

November 14, 2011. We received one 

comment supporting the amendments to 

7 CFR part 1735 by that date. Therefore, 

for the reasons given in the interim rule, 

we are adopting the interim rule as a 

final rule without change. 

This action also affirms information 

contained in the interim rule concerning 

Executive Order 12866 and the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, Executive 

Order 12988, and the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. Further, for this action, 

the Office of Management and Budget 

has waived its review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1735 

Loan programs—communications, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Rural areas, Telephone. 

PART 1735—GENERAL POLICIES, 

TYPES OF LOANS, LOAN 

REQUIREMENTS— 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM 

Accordingly, we are adopting as a 

final rule, without change, the interim 

rule that amended 7 CFR part 1735 and 

that was published at 76 FR 56091 on 

September 12, 2011. 

Dated: February 24, 2012. 

James R. Newby, 

Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6420 Filed 3–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 


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