Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 214 / Friday, November 3, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 66175

5 63 FR 35783 (June 30, 1998).

it was necessary for us to convert the

payment values of the TINTs to ‘‘adjust

values,’’ which could be maintained and

transferred ‘‘to the penny.’’ At that time,

we stated that we would ‘‘consider at a

later date the desirability of making

changes to the minimum and multiple

requirements for fixed-principal TINTs,

* * * and permitting fixed-principal

TINTs to be held in amounts to the

penny.’’ 5

On November 1, 2000, we announced

that, effective March 1, 2001, we will be

changing the minimum and multiple

requirements for stripping Treasury

fixed-principal securities. We have

decided to make these changes because

elimination of the $1,000 minimum and

multiple requirements will make

stripping easier. Market participants

will no longer be required to deliver

fully constituted securities in widely

different amounts depending on the

interest rate of the underlying security.

By simplifying the requirements for

STRIPS, our goal is to enhance the

liquidity and efficiency of the STRIPS

market.

Increasing the Number of Strippable

Securities

Enhancing the liquidity of the STRIPS

market is also our objective in

modifying the STRIPS rules to permit us

to designate a note or bond as strippable

even if the note or bond was not

originally designated as strippable by its

offering announcement. When the

STRIPS program was first implemented

in 1985, only Treasury notes and bonds

with maturities of 10 years or longer

were eligible for stripping. At that time

there was little market interest in

stripping securities with maturities less

than 10 years.

By 1997, however, interest in

stripping shorter-term Treasury notes

had developed. Consequently, on

September 17, 1997, we announced that

all Treasury notes issued on or after

September 30, 1997, were eligible for

STRIPS.

Because Treasury securities currently

can be made eligible for STRIPS only by

being designated as such in their

offering announcements, we have not

been able to make eligible for stripping

outstanding shorter-term (five-year)

notes that were issued prior to

September 30, 1997. This amendment to

the uniform offering circular will allow

us to do so. As a result, we plan to

announce that we are making eligible

for stripping five-year notes issued prior

to September 30, 1997, thereby allowing

for an increase in the supply of TINTs

that mature in the next two years.

Amendments, Revisions, and Deletions

Accordingly, we are amending the

uniform offering circular’s general

paragraph on STRIPS, 356.31(a), so that

we may designate Treasury notes and

bonds as being eligible for stripping at

a later date if they were not designated

as being eligible in their offering

announcement. We are also amending

paragraph 356.31(b)(1), which provides

the minimum par amount and multiple

requirements for stripping Treasury

fixed-principal securities, so that they

may be stripped to the penny. We are

also amending 31 CFR 306.128 in order

to allow outstanding Treasury notes and

bonds that we issued prior to the

effective date of the uniform offering

circular, March 1, 1993, to also be

stripped to the penny. As a result of

these amendments, we are removing

Exhibit C to the uniform offering

circular because this table is no longer

necessary.

We are issuing this amendment in

final form rather than proposed form in

order to more quickly simplify and

expand the STRIPS market. In addition,

there is no negative impact on the

holders of the issues of the securities

affected. This change provides an

additional feature that should enhance

the marketability of these issues.

Procedural Requirements

This final rule is not a ‘‘significant

regulatory action’’ under Executive

Order 12866. The notice and public

procedures and delayed effective date

requirements of the Administrative

Procedure Act also do not apply, under

5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2).

Since no notice of proposed

rulemaking is required, the provisions

of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5

U.S.C. 601, et seq.) do not apply.

List of Subjects

Bonds, Federal Reserve System,

Government securities, Securities.

For the reasons stated in the

preamble, we amend 31 CFR Chapter II,

Subchapter B, as follows:

PART 306—GENERAL REGULATIONS

GOVERNING U.S. SECURITIES

1. The authority citation for part 306

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 31 U.S.C. Chapter 31; 5 U.S.C.

301; 12 U.S.C. 391.

2. Revise § 306.128 to read as follows:

§ 306.128 Supplements, amendments or

revisions.

The Secretary of the Treasury may at

any time, or from time to time, prescribe

additional supplemental, amendatory or

revised regulations with respect to U.S.

securities. The Secretary also may lower

the minimum and multiple

requirements for stripping marketable

Treasury notes and bonds issued prior

to March 1, 1993, through an

announcement as provided in § 356.31

of this title.

PART 356—SALE AND ISSUE OF

MARKETABLE BOOK-ENTRY

TREASURY BILLS, NOTES, AND

BONDS (DEPARTMENT OF THE

TREASURY CIRCULAR, PUBLIC DEBT

SERIES NO. 1–93)

3. The authority citation for part 356

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 31 U.S.C. 3102, et

seq.; 12 U.S.C. 391.

4. Amend § 356.31 as set forth below:

a. Revise the first sentence in

paragraph (a), and

b. Revise paragraph (b)(1) to read as

follows:

§ 356.31 STRIPS.

(a) General. A note or bond may be

designated in the offering

announcement, or later by

announcement by Treasury, as eligible

for the STRIPS program. * * *

(b) Treasury fixed-principal

securities—(1) Minimum par amounts

required for STRIPS. The minimum par

amount of a fixed-principal security that

may be stripped into the components

described in paragraph (a) of this

section is $1,000. Any par amount to be

stripped above $1,000 must be in a

multiple of $1,000.

* * * * *

Exhibit C to Part 356 [Removed]

5. Remove Exhibit C to Part 356.

Dated: October 31, 2000.

Donald V. Hammond,

Fiscal Assistant Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–28280 Filed 11–1–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810–39–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 241–0244a; FRL–6893–1]

Revisions to the California State

Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley

Air Pollution Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final

action to approve revisions to the

Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control

66176 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 214 / Friday, November 3, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

1The Antelope Valley region of Los Angeles

County is contained within the Federal area known

as the southeast Desert Modified Air Quality

Management Area and the region identified by the

State of California as the Mojave Desert Air Basin.

District portion of the California State

Implementation Plan (SIP). These

revisions concern the recission of rules

and associated negative declarations for

one volatile organic compound (VOC)

source category and one oxides of

nitrogen ( NOX) source category for the

Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control

District (AVAPCD). We are approving

these local rule recissions and negative

declarations under the Clean Air Act as

amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

DATES: This rule is effective on January

2, 2001, without further notice, unless

EPA receives adverse comments by

December 4, 2000. If we receive such

comment, we will publish a timely

withdrawal in the Federal Register to

notify the public that this rule will not

take effect.

ADDRESSES: Mail comments to Andy

Steckel, Rulemaking Office Chief (AIR–

4), U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne

Street, San Francisco, CA 94105–3901.

You can inspect copies of the

submitted SIP revisions and EPA’s

technical support documents (TSDs) at

our Region IX office during normal

business hours. You may also see copies

of the submitted SIP revisions at the

following locations:

Environmental Protection Agency, Air

Docket (6102), Ariel Rios Building,

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,

Washington DC 20460.

California Air Resources Board,

Stationary Source Division, Rule

Evaluation Section, 2020 ‘‘L’’ Street,

Sacramento, CA 95812.

Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control

District, 43301 Division Street, Suite

206, Lancaster, CA 93539–4409

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie

A. Rose, Rulemaking Office (AIR–4),

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

Region IX, (415) 744–1184.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’

and ‘‘our’’ refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. The State’s Submittal

A. What rules did the State submit?

B. Are there other versions of these rules?

C. What is the purpose of the submitted

rules?

II. EPA’s Evaluation and Action

A. How is EPA evaluating the rule recissions?

B. Do the rules meet the evaluation

criteria?

C. Public comment and final action

III. Background information

Why were these rules submitted initially?

IV. Administrative Requirements

I. The State’s Submittal

A. What Rules Did the State Submit?

Table 1 lists the rule recissions and

negative declarations we are approving

with the dates that they were adopted

by the local air agency and submitted by

the California Air Resources Board

(CARB).

TABLE 1.—SUBMITTED RULE RECISSIONS AND NEGATIVE DECLARATIONS

Local agency Rule No. Rule title Adopted Submitted

AVAPCD ........... 1103 & Negative Declaration ............................ Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetic Manufacturing

Operations.

01–18–00 03–28–00

AVAPCD ........... 1159 & Negative Declaration ............................ Nitric Acid Units—Oxides of Nitrogen ............... 01–18–00 03–28–00

On May 19, 2000, these rule

submittals were found to meet the

completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51,

appendix V, which must be met before

formal EPA review.

B. Are There Other Versions of These

Rules?

The current versions of Rules 1103

and 1159 were approved in the SIP for

the South Coast Air Quality

Management District (SCAQMD) on July

2, 1982 and July 12, 1990, respectively.

At that time, these rules applied in all

of SCAQMD, including the Antelope

Valley region of Los Angeles County. 1

The AVAPCD was created pursuant to

California Health and Safety Code

(CHSC) section 40106 and assumed all

air pollution control responsibilities of

the SCAQMD in the Antelope Valley

region effective July 1, 1997, including

responsibility for implementing Rules

1103 and 1159.

C. What Is the Purpose of the Submitted

Rules?

Rule 1103 establishes limits for VOC

emissions produced by Pharmaceuticals

and Cosmetics Manufacturing

Operations. Rule 1159 establishes limits

for oxides of nitrogen ( NOX) emissions

produced by Nitric Acid Plants. The

recissions and associated negative

declarations were submitted because

there are no applicable manufacturing

or nitric acid facilities within AVAPCD

jurisdiction.

II. EPA’s Evaluation and Action

A. How Is EPA Evaluating the Rule

Recissions?

These SIP revisions must be

consistent with Clean Air Act applicable

manufacturing or nitric acid facilites

within AVAPCD jurisdiction.

II. EPA’s Evaluation and Action

A. How Is EPA Evaluating the Rule

Recissions?

These SIP revisions must be

consistent with Clean Air Act

requirements for RACT (see sections

182(a)(A) and 182(F)) and SIP

relaxations (see sections 110(l) and 193.)

To do so, the submittal should provide

reasonable assurance that no sources

subject to Rules 1103 or 1159 currently

exist or are planned for the AVAPCD.

B. Do the Rules Meet the Evaluation

Criteria?

We believe these rule recissions and

associated negative declarations are

consistent with the relevant policy and

guidance regarding RACT and SIP

relaxations. The TSD has more

information on our evaluation.

C. Public Comment and Final Action

As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of

the Act, EPA is fully approving the

submitted rule recissions because we

believe they fulfill all relevant

requirements. We do not think anyone

will object to this, so we are finalizing

the approval without proposing it in

advance. However, in the Proposed

Rules section of this Federal Register,

we are simultaneously proposing

approval of the same submitted rule

recissions. If we receive timely adverse

comments, the direct final approval will

be effective without further notice on

January 2, 2001. This will incorporate

these rule recissions into the federally

enforceable SIP.

III. Background Information

Why Were These Rules Submitted

Initially?

VOCs and NOX help produce groundlevel ozone and smog, which harm

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 214 / Friday, November 3, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 66177

human health and the environment.

Section 110(a) of the CAA requires

states to submit regulations that control

VOC and NOX emissions. Table 2 lists

some of the national milestones leading

to the submittal of these local agency

VOC and NOX rules.

TABLE 2.—OZONE NONATTAINMENT

MILESTONES

Date Event

March 3, 1978 EPA promulgated a list of

ozone nonattainment

areas under the Clean Air

Act as amended in 1977.

43 FR 8964; 40 CFR

81.305.

May 26, 1988 EPA notified Governors that

parts of their SIPs were inadequate to attain and

maintain the ozone standard and requested that

they correct the deficiencies (EPA’s SIP-Call).

See section 110(a)(2)(H)

of the pre-amended Act.

November 15,

1990.

Clean Air Act Amendments

of 1990 were enacted.

Public Law 101–549, 104

Stat. 2399, codified at 42

U.S.C. 7401–7671q.

May 15, 1991 Section 182(a)(2)(A) requires

that ozone nonattainment

areas correct deficient

RACT rules by this date.

IV. Administrative Requirements

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR

51735, October 4, 1993), this action is

not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ and

therefore is not subject to review by the

Office of Management and Budget. This

action merely approves state law as

meeting federal requirements and

imposes no additional requirements

beyond those imposed by state law.

Accordingly, the Administrator certifies

that this rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities under the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601

et seq.). Because this rule approves preexisting requirements under state law

and does not impose any additional

enforceable duty beyond that required

by state law, it does not contain any

unfunded mandate or significantly or

uniquely affect small governments, as

described in the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–4).

For the same reason, this rule also does

not significantly or uniquely affect the

communities of tribal governments, as

specified by Executive Order 13084 (63

FR 27655, May 10, 1998). This rule will

not have substantial direct effects on the

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, as specified in

Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255,

August 10, 1999), because it merely

approves a state rule implementing a

federal standard, and does not alter the

relationship or the distribution of power

and responsibilities established in the

Clean Air Act. This rule also is not

subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR

19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not

economically significant.

In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA’s

role is to approve state choices,

provided that they meet the criteria of

the Clean Air Act. In this context, in the

absence of a prior existing requirement

for the State to use voluntary consensus

standards (VCS), EPA has no authority

to disapprove a SIP submission for

failure to use VCS. It would thus be

inconsistent with applicable law for

EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission,

to use VCS in place of a SIP submission

that otherwise satisfies the provisions of

the Clean Air Act. Thus, the

requirements of section 12(d) of the

National Technology Transfer and

Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C.

272 note) do not apply. As required by

section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61

FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing

this rule, EPA has taken the necessary

steps to eliminate drafting errors and

ambiguity, minimize potential litigation,

and provide a clear legal standard for

affected conduct. EPA has complied

with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR

8859, March 15, 1988) by examining the

takings implications of the rule in

accordance with the ‘‘Attorney

General’s Supplemental Guidelines for

the Evaluation of Risk and Avoidance of

Unanticipated Takings’’ issued under

the executive order. This rule does not

impose an information collection

burden under the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

The Congressional Review Act, 5

U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small

Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides

that before a rule may take effect, the

agency promulgating the rule must

submit a rule report, which includes a

copy of the rule, to each House of the

Congress and to the Comptroller General

of the United States. EPA will submit a

report containing this rule and other

required information to the U.S. Senate,

the U.S. House of Representatives, and

the Comptroller General of the United

States prior to publication of the rule in

the Federal Register. A major rule

cannot take effect until 60 days after it

is published in the Federal Register.

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

defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean

Air Act, petitions for judicial review of

this action must be filed in the United

States Court of Appeals for the

appropriate circuit by January 2, 2001.

Filing a petition for reconsideration by

the Administrator of this final rule does

not affect the finality of this rule for the

purposes of judicial review nor does it

extend the time within which a petition

for judicial review may be filed, and

shall not postpone the effectiveness of

such rule or action. This action may not

be challenged later in proceedings to

enforce its requirements. (See section

307(b)(2).).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Hydrocarbons,

Intergovernmental relations, Oxides of

nitrogen, Ozone, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Volatile

organic compounds.

Dated: October 4, 2000.

Felicia Marcus,

Regional Administrator, Region IX.

Part 52, Chapter I, Title 40 of the Code

of Federal Regulations is amended as

follows:

PART 52—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for Part 52

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart F—California

2. Section 52.220 is amended by

adding paragraphs (c)(69)(v) and

(c)(168)(i)(H)(3) to read as follows:

§ 52.220 Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(69) * * *

(v) Previously approved on July 8,

1982 in paragraph (c)(69)(iii) of this

section and now deleted without

replacement for implementation in the

Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control

District Rule 1103.

* * * * *

(168) * * *

(i) * * *

(H) * * *

(3) Previously approved on July 12,

1990 in paragraph (i)(H)(1) of this

section and now deleted without

replacement for implementation in the

Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control

District Rule 1159.

* * * * *

3. Section 52.222 is amended by

adding paragraphs (a)(6)(iv) and

(b)(4)(iii) to read as follows:

66178 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 214 / Friday, November 3, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

§ 52.222 Negative declarations.

(a) * * *

(6) * * *

(iv) Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetic

Manufacturing Operations submitted on

March 28, 2000 and adopted on January

18, 2000.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(4) * * *

(iii) Nitric Acid Units submitted on

March 28, 2000 and adopted on January

18, 2000.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00–27659 Filed 11–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 180

[OPP–301043; FRL–6740–9]

RIN 2070–AB78

Sodium o-nitophenolate, sodium pnitrophenolate, sodium 5-

nitroguaiacolate, and the End–Use

Product Atonik Exemption From the

Requirement of a Tolerance and

Temporary Exemption From the

Requirement of a Tolerance

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This regulation establishes an

exemption from the requirement of a

tolerance for residues of the active

ingredients (a.i.) sodium onitophenolate, sodium p-nitrophenolate,

sodium 5-nitroguaiacolate, on all food

commodities when used as Plant

Growth Regulators on growing crops.

These three a.i. comprise the end–use

product ATONIK, ASAHI

Manufacturing Company, Ltd., c/o

Chemical Consultants International,

Inc., West 98th Terrace, Suite 100,

Overland Park, KS, 66212, submitted a

petition to EPA under the Federal Food,

Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as

amended by the Food Quality Protection

Act (FQPA) of 1996, requesting an

exemption from the requirement of a

tolerance. This regulation eliminates the

need to establish a maximum

permissible level for residues of sodium

o-nitophenolate, sodium pnitrophenolate, and sodium 5-

nitroguaiacolate and reassess the three

existing tolerances for those three a.i..

DATES: This regulation is effective

November 3, 2000. Objections and

requests for hearings, identified by

docket control number OPP–301043,

must be received by EPA on or before

January 2, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written objections and

hearing requests may be submitted by

mail, in person, or by courier. Please

follow the detailed instructions for each

method as provided in Unit VIII. of the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. To ensure

proper receipt by EPA, your objections

and hearing requests must identify

docket control number OPP–301043 in

the subject line on the first page of your

response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By

mail: Richard King, c/o Product

Manager (PM) 90, Biopesticides and

Pollution Prevention Division (7511C),

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington,

DC 20460; telephone number: (703)

308–8052; e-mail address:

king.richard@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

You may be affected by this action if

you are an agricultural producer, food

manufacturer, or pesticide

manufacturer. Potentially affected

categories and entities may include, but

are not limited to:

CategoriesNAICS

codes

Examples of potentially affected entities

Industry 111 Crop production

112 Animal production

311 Food manufacturing

32532 Pesticide manufacturing

This listing is not intended to be

exhaustive, but rather provides a guide

for readers regarding entities likely to be

affected by this action. Other types of

entities not listed in the table could also

be affected. The North American

Industrial Classification System

(NAICS) codes have been provided to

assist you and others in determining

whether or not this action might apply

to certain entities. If you have questions

regarding the applicability of this action

to a particular entity, consult the person

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT.

B. How Can I Get Additional

Information, Including Copies of this

Document and Other Related

Documents?

1. Electronically. You may obtain

electronic copies of this document, and

certain other related documents that

might be available electronically, from

the EPA Internet Home Page at http://

www.epa.gov/. To access this

document, on the Home Page select

‘‘Laws and Regulations,’’ ‘‘Regulations

and Proposed Rules,’’ and then look up

the entry for this document under the

‘‘Federal Register—Environmental

Documents.’’ You can also go directly to

the Federal Register listings at http://

www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.

2. In person. The Agency has

established an official record for this

action under docket control number

OPP–301043. The official record

consists of the documents specifically

referenced in this action, and other

information related to this action,

including any information claimed as

Confidential Business Information (CBI).

This official record includes the

documents that are physically located in

the docket, as well as the documents

that are referenced in those documents.

The public version of the official record

does not include any information

claimed as CBI. The public version of

the official record, which includes

printed, paper versions of any electronic

comments submitted during an

applicable comment period is available

for inspection in the Public Information

and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB),

Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson

Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA, from 8:30

a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday,

excluding legal holidays. The PIRIB

telephone number is (703) 305–5805.

II. Background and Statutory Findings

In the Federal Register of July 8, 1998

(63 FR 36901) (FRL–5791–6), EPA

issued a notice pursuant to section 408

of the FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. 346a(e), as

amended by the FQPA (Public Law 104–

170) announcing the filing of a pesticide

tolerance petition by ASAHI

Manufacturing Company, Ltd., c/o

Chemical Consultants International,

Inc., West 98th Terrace, Suite 100,

Overland Park, KS, 66212. This notice

included a summary of the petition

prepared by the petitioner ASAHI

Manufacturing Company, Ltd. There

were no comments received in response

to the notice of filing.

New section 408(c)(2)(A)(i) of the

FFDCA allows EPA to establish an

exemption from the requirement for a

tolerance (the legal limit for a pesticide

chemical residue in or on a food) only

if EPA determines that the exemption is

‘‘safe.’’ Section 408(c)(2)(A)(ii) defines

‘‘safe ’’ to mean that ‘‘there is a

reasonable certainty that no harm will

result from aggregate exposure to the

pesticide chemical residue, including

all anticipated dietary exposures and all

other exposures for which there is

reliable information.’’ This includes

exposure through drinking water and in