21878 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 71 / Thursday, April 12, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

ii. Assume that, under the terms of a 

credit card account, a consumer is 

required to pay $125 in fees for the 

issuance or availability of credit during 

the first year after account opening. At 

account opening on January 1 of year 

one, the credit limit for the account is 

$500. Section 1026.52(a)(1) permits the 

card issuer to charge the $125 in fees to 

the account. However, § 1026.52(a)(1) 

prohibits the card issuer from requiring 

the consumer to make payments to the 

card issuer for additional non-exempt 

fees with respect to the account [prior 

to account opening or] during the first 

year after account opening. Section 

1026.52(a)(1) also prohibits the card 

issuer from requiring the consumer to 

open a separate credit account with the 

card issuer to fund the payment of 

additional non-exempt fees [prior to the 

opening of the credit card account or] 

during the first year after the credit card 

account is opened. 

[iii. Assume that, on January 1 of year 

one, a consumer is required to pay a 

$100 fee in order to apply for a credit 

card account. On January 5, the card 

issuer approves the consumer’s 

application, assigns the account a credit 

limit of $1,000, and provides the 

consumer with account-opening 

disclosures consistent with § 1026.6. 

The date on which the account may first 

be used by the consumer to engage in 

transactions is January 5. The consumer 

is required to pay $150 in fees for the 

issuance or availability of credit, which 

§ 1026.52(a)(1) permits the card issuer to 

charge to the account on January 5. 

However, because the $100 application 

fee is subject to the 25 percent limit in 

§ 1026.52(a)(1), the card issuer is 

prohibited from requiring the consumer 

to pay any additional non-exempt fees 

with respect to the account until 

January 5 of year two.] 

* * * * * 

3. Changes in credit limit during first 

year. 

i. Increases in credit limit. If a card 

issuer increases the credit limit during 

the first year after the account is 

opened, § 1026.52(a)(1) does not permit 

the card issuer to require the consumer 

to pay additional fees that would 

otherwise be prohibited (such as a fee 

for increasing the credit limit). For 

example, assume that, at account 

opening on January 1, the credit limit 

for a credit card account is $400 and the 

consumer is required to pay $100 in fees 

for the issuance or availability of credit. 

On July 1, the card issuer increases the 

credit limit for the account to $600. 

Section 1026.52(a)(1) does not permit 

the card issuer to require the consumer 

to pay additional fees based on the 

increased credit limit. 

ii. Decreases in credit limit. If a card 

issuer decreases the credit limit during 

the first year after the account is 

opened, § 1026.52(a)(1) requires the card 

issuer to waive or remove any fees 

charged to the account that exceed 25 

percent of the reduced credit limit or to 

credit the account for an amount equal 

to any fees the consumer was required 

to pay with respect to the account that 

exceed 25 percent of the reduced credit 

limit within a reasonable amount of 

time but no later than the end of the 

billing cycle following the billing cycle 

during which the credit limit was 

reduced. For example[:]fl,fi 

[A. Assume]fl assumefi that, at 

account opening on January 1, the credit 

limit for a credit card account is $1,000 

and the consumer is required to pay 

$250 in fees for the issuance or 

availability of credit. The billing cycles 

for the account begin on the first day of 

the month and end on the last day of the 

month. On July 30, the card issuer 

decreases the credit limit for the 

account to $500. Section 1026.52(a)(1) 

requires the card issuer to waive or 

remove $175 in fees from the account or 

to credit the account for an amount 

equal to $175 within a reasonable 

amount of time but no later than August 

31. 

[B. Assume that, on June 25 of year 

one, a consumer is required to pay a $75 

fee in order to apply for a credit card 

account. At account opening on July 1 

of year one, the credit limit for the 

account is $500 and the consumer is 

required to pay $50 in fees for the 

issuance or availability of credit. The 

billing cycles for the account begin on 

the first day of the month and end on 

the last day of the month. On February 

15 of year two, the card issuer decreases 

the credit limit for the account to $250. 

Section 1026.52(a)(1) requires the card 

issuer to waive or remove fees from the 

account or to credit the account for an 

amount equal to $62.50 within a 

reasonable amount of time but no later 

than March 31 of year two.] 

* * * * * 

52(a)(2) Fees not subject to 

limitations. 

1. Covered fees. Except as provided in 

§ 1026.52(a)(2), § 1026.52(a) applies to 

any fees or other charges that a card 

issuer will or may require the consumer 

to pay with respect to a credit card 

account [prior to account opening and] 

during the first year after account 

opening, other than charges attributable 

to periodic interest rates. For example, 

§ 1026.52(a) applies to: 

i. Fees that the consumer is required 

to pay for the issuance or availability of 

credit described in § 1026.60(b)(2), 

including any fee based on account 

activity or inactivity and any fee that a 

consumer is required to pay in order to 

receive a particular credit limit; 

ii. Fees for insurance described in 

§ 1026.4(b)(7) or debt cancellation or 

debt suspension coverage described in 

§ 1026.4(b)(10) written in connection 

with a credit transaction, if the 

insurance or debt cancellation or debt 

suspension coverage is required by the 

terms of the account; 

iii. Fees that the consumer is required 

to pay in order to engage in transactions 

using the account (such as cash advance 

fees, balance transfer fees, foreign 

transaction fees, and fees for using the 

account for purchases); 

iv. Fees that the consumer is required 

to pay for violating the terms of the 

account (except to the extent 

specifically excluded by 

§ 1026.52(a)(2)(i)); 

v. Fixed finance charges; and 

vi. Minimum charges imposed if a 

charge would otherwise have been 

determined by applying a periodic 

interest rate to a balance except for the 

fact that such charge is smaller than the 

minimum. 

* * * * * 

Dated: April 4, 2012. 

Richard Cordray, 

Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8534 Filed 4–11–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

15 CFR Part 922 

Revisions of Boundaries for the 

Thunder Bay National Marine 

Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve; 

Intent To Prepare Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement; Scoping Meetings 

AGENCY: Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean 

Service (NOS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Notice of intent to revise 

boundaries; intent to prepare 

environmental impact statement; 

scoping meetings. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with section 

304(e) of the National Marine 

Sanctuaries Act, as amended, (NMSA) 

(16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), the Office of 

National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) of 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 71 / Thursday, April 12, 2012 / Proposed Rules 21879 

Administration (NOAA) has initiated a 

review of the Thunder Bay National 

Marine Sanctuary and Underwater 

Preserve (TBNMS or sanctuary) 

boundaries, to evaluate the opportunity 

and effects of expanding the sanctuary’s 

boundary. The process required by 

NMSA will be conducted concurrently 

with a public process under the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). This 

notice also informs the public that 

NOAA will coordinate its 

responsibilities under section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act 

(NHPA, 16 U.S.C. 470) with its ongoing 

NEPA process, pursuant to 36 CFR 

800.8(a) including the use of NEPA 

documents and public and stakeholder 

meetings to also meet the requirements 

of section 106. NOAA anticipates 

completion of the final environmental 

impact statement and concomitant 

documents will require approximately 

twelve months from the date of 

publication of this notice of intent. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

May 25, 2012. Dates for scoping 

meetings are: 

1. April 17, 2012. 

2. April 18, 2012. 

3. April 19, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted by any one of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Submit electronic 

comments via the Federal eRulemaking 

Portal with Docket Number NOAA– 

NOS–2012–0077. 

• Mail: Jeff Gray, Sanctuary 

Superintendent, Thunder Bay National 

Marine Sanctuary, 500 West Fletcher 

Street, Alpena, MI 49707. 

Instructions 

All comments received are a part of 

the public record. All Personal 

Identifying Information (for example, 

name, address, etc.) voluntarily 

submitted by the commenter may be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. NOAA will accept 

anonymous comments (enter N/A in the 

required fields to remain anonymous). 

Attachments to electronic comments 

will be accepted in Microsoft Word, 

Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 

formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ellen Brody, Great Lakes Regional 

Coordinator, Telephone: (734) 741– 

2270. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background Information 

In 2000, NOAA designated the 448- 

square-mile Thunder Bay National 

Marine Sanctuary (TBNMS or 

sanctuary), which is jointly managed by 

NOAA and the State of Michigan (65 FR 

39041). The sanctuary’s mission is to 

preserve nationally significant 

shipwrecks and other maritime heritage 

resources through resource protection, 

education, and research. Well-preserved 

by Lake Huron’s cold, fresh water, these 

shipwrecks span a century and a half of 

Great Lakes maritime history and 

include virtually all types of vessels 

used on the Great Lakes. Within the 

existing sanctuary boundary are 

approximately one hundred shipwrecks. 

NOAA has received a number of 

comments expressing interest in 

expanding the sanctuary’s boundary to 

include the waters adjacent to Alcona 

and Presque Isle Counties since the 

scoping process in 2006 for the 

sanctuary’s management plan review. 

Several local government and nongovernmental organizations passed 

resolutions or submitted written letters 

of support for boundary expansion (see 

www.thunderbay.noaa.gov/ 

management/mpr/boundexp for copies 

of those documents). In 2007, the 

Thunder Bay Sanctuary Advisory 

Council adopted a resolution to increase 

the boundary to include Alcona, 

Alpena, and Presque Isle Counties to the 

international border with Canada to 

provide protection for those known 

maritime heritage resources and those 

yet to be discovered. The expanded 

sanctuary could include all or part of a 

study area proposed by the Thunder Bay 

Sanctuary Advisory Council. The study 

area for possible expansion contains 

approximately one hundred shipwrecks. 

Among them are a number of 

historically, archaeologically, and 

recreationally significant shipwrecks 

not currently included in the sanctuary. 

The sanctuary’s final management 

plan (2009) included the following 

strategy: ‘‘Evaluate and assess a 

proposed expansion of the sanctuary to 

a 3,662-square-mile area from Alcona 

County to Presque Isle County, east to 

the international border with Canada to 

protect, manage, and interpret 

additional shipwrecks and other 

potential maritime heritage resources.’’ 

In accordance with Section 304(e) of 

the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, as 

amended (NMSA), 16 U.S.C. 1431 et 

seq., the Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries (ONMS) of the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) is initiating a 

review of the Thunder Bay National 

Marine Sanctuary boundaries to 

‘‘evaluate and assess a proposed 

expansion’’ for the sanctuary. 

Expanding the sanctuary boundary to 

include some of the best preserved 

shipwrecks in the Great Lakes would 

provide protection to maritime heritage 

resources under the NMSA. Designation 

as a sanctuary draws public attention to 

the fact that these cultural resources 

have national significance and inclusion 

in the national marine sanctuary system 

could provide additional opportunities 

for tourism and economic growth. 

Review Process 

The review process is composed of 

four primary stages: 

1. Information collection and 

characterization, including public 

scoping meetings; 

2. Preparation and release of a draft 

environmental impact statement (DEIS) 

as required by Section 304(a) of the 

NMSA that identifies boundary 

expansion alternatives, as well as a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

to amend the sanctuary regulations to 

reflect any new boundary if proposed. 

3. Public review and comment on the 

DEIS and NPRM; and 

4. Preparation and release of a final 

environmental impact statement, 

including a response to public 

comments, with a final rule if 

appropriate. 

NOAA anticipates that the completion 

of the final environmental impact 

statement and concomitant documents 

will require approximately twelve 

months. 

At this time, NOAA is opening a 

public comment period to: 

1. Gather information and public 

comments from individuals, 

organizations, and government agencies 

on whether TBNMS should expand its 

boundary, suggestions for the extent of 

an expanded boundary, and the 

potential effects of a boundary 

expansion; 

2. Help determine the scope of issues 

to be addressed in the preparation of an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

pursuant to the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) (43 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), if warranted; and 

3. Conduct a series of public scoping 

meetings to collect public comment. 

The public scoping meeting schedule is 

presented below. 

Public Scoping Meetings: The public 

scoping meetings will be held on the 

following dates and at the following 

locations beginning at 5:30 p.m. unless 

otherwise noted: 

1. Alpena, MI 

Date: April 17, 2012. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

21880 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 71 / Thursday, April 12, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

Location: Michigan Great Lakes 

Maritime Heritage Center. 

Address: 500 W. Fletcher Street, 

Alpena, MI 49707. 

2. Rogers City, MI 

Date: April 18, 2012. 

Location: Presque Isle District Library. 

Address: 181 East Erie Street, Roger 

City, MI 49779. 

3. Harrisville, MI 

Date: April 19, 2012. 

Location: Alcona County EMS 

Building. 

Address: 2600 E. M–72, Harrisville, 

MI 48740. 

Consultation Under National Historic 

Preservation Act 

This notice confirms that NOAA will 

fulfill its responsibility under section 

106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act (NHPA, 16 U.S.C. 470) 

through the ongoing NEPA process, 

pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(a) including 

the use of NEPA documents and public 

and stakeholder meetings to meet the 

section 106 requirements. The NHPA 

specifically applies to any agency 

undertaking that may affect historic 

properties. Pursuant to 36 CFR 

800.16(1)(1), historic properties 

includes: ‘‘Any prehistoric or historic 

district, site, building, structure or 

object included in, or eligible for 

inclusion in, the National Register of 

Historic Places maintained by the 

Secretary of the Interior. The term 

includes artifacts, records, and remains 

that are related to and located within 

such properties. The term includes 

properties of traditional religious and 

cultural importance to an Indian tribe or 

Native Hawaiian organization and that 

meet the National Register criteria.’’ 

In fulfilling its responsibility under 

the NHPA and NEPA, NOAA intends to 

identify consulting parties; identify 

historic properties and assess the effects 

of the undertaking on such properties; 

initiate formal consultation with the 

State Historic Preservation Officer, the 

Advisory Council of Historic 

Preservation, and other consulting 

parties; involve the public in 

accordance with NOAA’s NEPA 

procedures, and develop in consultation 

with identified consulting parties 

alternatives and proposed measures that 

might avoid, minimize or mitigate any 

adverse effects on historic properties 

and describe them in any environmental 

assessment or draft environmental 

impact statement. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.; 16 

U.S.C. 470. 

Dated: April 3, 2012. 

Daniel J. Basta, 

Director for the Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8831 Filed 4–11–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

24 CFR Part 200 

[Docket No. FR–5444–P–01] 

RIN 2502–AJ09 

Federal Housing Administration (FHA): 

Multifamily Accelerated Processing— 

Enhancing and Strengthening 

Multifamily Accelerated Processing 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Housing—Federal Housing 

Commissioner, HUD. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: Multifamily Accelerated 

Processing (MAP) is a processing system 

introduced in 2000 as a pilot program to 

facilitate the accelerated processing of 

loan applications for FHA multifamily 

mortgage insurance, which generally 

involve the refinance, purchase, new 

construction, or rehabilitation of 

multifamily properties. These 

transactions are costly, complicated, 

and time-consuming to process. Prior to 

MAP, HUD field offices were 

encouraged to develop and test 

individual fast-track processing systems 

for use by qualified FHA-approved 

lenders that were experienced in 

processing loan applications for 

multifamily mortgages. The intent was 

to considerably reduce the processing 

time of applications. These test 

procedures included providing qualified 

lenders with the option of preparing 

FHA forms and undertaking preliminary 

underwriting for certain types of loan 

applications. Fast-track processing 

procedures developed by individual 

HUD offices that facilitated processing 

applications without sacrificing quality 

or increasing risk were consolidated 

into a national test of fast-track style 

processing of multifamily mortgage 

insurance applications under the name 

‘‘MAP.’’ MAP has been administered to 

date through direct instructions to FHAapproved lenders under a MAP Guide. 

Given its experience to date with MAP, 

HUD believes the MAP accelerated 

processing procedures have been 

successful. To ensure the continued 

quality and efficiency of MAP 

procedures, HUD is codifying in 

regulations key provisions of MAP and 

introducing new provisions to 

strengthen MAP, to assure the integrity 

and competency of FHA-approved 

lenders as directed by the Helping 

Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. 

DATES: Comment Due Date: June 11, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit comments regarding 

this proposed rule to the Regulations 

Division, Office of General Counsel, 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 

10276, Washington, DC 20410–0500. 

Communications must refer to the above 

docket number and title. There are two 

methods for submitting public 

comments. All submissions must refer 

to the above docket number and title. 

1. Submission of Comments by Mail. 

Comments may be submitted by mail to 

the Regulations Division, Office of 

General Counsel, Department of 

Housing and Urban Development, 451 

7th Street SW., Room 10276, 

Washington, DC 20410–0500. 

2. Electronic Submission of 

Comments. Interested persons may 

submit comments electronically through 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly 

encourages commenters to submit 

comments electronically. Electronic 

submission of comments allows the 

commenter maximum time to prepare 

and submit a comment, ensures timely 

receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to 

make them immediately available to the 

public. Comments submitted 

electronically through the 

www.regulations.gov Web site can be 

viewed by other commenters and 

interested members of the public. 

Commenters should follow the 

instructions provided on that site to 

submit comments electronically. 

Note: To receive consideration as public 

comments, comments must be submitted 

through one of the two methods specified 

above. Again, all submissions must refer to 

the docket number and title of the rule. 

No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile 

(FAX) comments are not acceptable. 

Public Inspection of Public 

Comments. All properly submitted 

comments and communications 

submitted to HUD will be available for 

public inspection and copying between 

8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above 

address. Due to security measures at the 

HUD Headquarters building, an 

appointment to review the public 

comments must be scheduled in 

advance by calling the Regulations 

Division at 202–708–3055 (this is not a 

toll-free number). Individuals with 

speech or hearing impairments may 

access this number via TTY by calling 

the Federal Relay Service at 800–877– 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS