74162 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 177 / Thursday, September 12, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

Commission Proceedings, Order No. 

635. The Commission will issue a future 

notice with further details. 

DATES: Comments due: 5 p.m. Eastern 

Time on November 4, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The Commission strongly 

encourages electronic submission of 

comments in lieu of paper using the 

‘‘eFiling’’ link at https://www.ferc.gov. 

Persons unable to file electronically may 

submit a paper copy. Submissions sent 

via the U.S. Postal Service must be 

addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Acting Secretary, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street 

NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. 

Submissions sent via any other carrier 

must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. 

Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins 

Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 

In addition to publishing the full text 

of this document in the Federal 

Register, the Commission provides all 

interested persons an opportunity to 

view and/or print the contents of this 

document via the internet through the 

Commission’s Home Page (https://

www.ferc.gov) using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. 

Enter the docket number excluding the 

last three digits in the docket number 

field to access the document. For 

assistance, contact FERC at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call 

toll-free, (886) 208–3676 or TYY, (202) 

502–8659. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael G. Henry (Technical 

Information), Office of Energy Policy 

and Innovation, 202–502–8583, 

Michael.Henry@ferc.gov 

Lewis Taylor (Legal Information), Office 

of General Counsel, 202–502–8624, 

Lewis.Taylor@ferc.gov 

Elizabeth Molloy (Tribal Liaison), Office 

of General Counsel, 202–502–8771, 

Elizabeth.Molloy@ferc.gov 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Any 

person that wishes to comment in this 

proceeding must file comments in 

accordance with Rule 211 of the 

Commission’s Rules of Practice and 

Procedure, 18 CFR 385.211. Comments 

will be considered by the Commission 

in determining the appropriate action to 

be taken. Comments must be filed on or 

before the comment date. 

The Commission’s Office of Public 

Participation (OPP) supports meaningful 

public engagement and participation in 

Commission proceedings. OPP can help 

members of the public, including 

landowners, environmental justice 

communities, tribal members and 

others, access publicly available 

information and navigate Commission 

processes. For public inquiries and 

assistance with making filings, 

comments, or requests for rehearing, the 

public is encouraged to contact OPP at 

(202) 502–6595 or OPP@ferc.gov. 

Dated: September 3, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20312 Filed 9–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Part 4 

RIN 2900–AQ72 

Schedule for Rating Disabilities—Ear, 

Nose, Throat, and Audiology 

Disabilities; Special Provisions 

Regarding Evaluation of Respiratory 

Conditions; Schedule for Rating 

Disabilities—Respiratory System 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Supplemental notice of 

proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA) is issuing a supplemental 

notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) 

that proposes to add a diagnostic code 

(DC) for constrictive bronchiolitis (or 

obliterative bronchiolitis) (CB) to the 

regulations that govern the respiratory 

system. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 15, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Comments must be 

submitted through www.regulations.gov. 

Except as provided below, comments 

received before the close of the 

comment period will be available at 

www.regulations.gov for public viewing, 

inspection, or copying, including any 

personally identifiable or confidential 

business information that is included in 

a comment. We post the comments 

received before the close of the 

comment period on 

www.regulations.gov as soon as possible 

after they have been received. VA will 

not post on Regulations.gov public 

comments that make threats to 

individuals or institutions or suggest 

that the commenter will take actions to 

harm an individual. VA encourages 

individuals not to submit duplicative 

comments; however, we will post 

comments from multiple unique 

commenters even if the content is 

identical or nearly identical to other 

comments. Any public comment 

received after the comment period’s 

closing date is considered late and will 

not be considered in the final 

rulemaking. In accordance with the 

Providing Accountability Through 

Transparency Act of 2023, a plain 

language summary (not more than 100 

words in length) of this SNPRM is 

available at www.regulations.gov, under 

RIN 2900–AQ72. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rodney Grimm and Terence Koontzy, 

Regulations Analysts, VASRD 

Regulations Staff (218A), Compensation 

Service (21C), Department of Veterans 

Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, 

Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461–9700. 

(This is not a toll-free telephone 

number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

February 15, 2022, VA published a 

proposed rulemaking in the Federal 

Register (See 87 FR 8474) that proposes 

to amend its regulations that govern the 

ear, nose, throat, audiology, and 

respiratory systems. Within this 

rulemaking, VA proposed to add a 

General Rating Formula for Respiratory 

Conditions to evaluate several 

respiratory conditions currently 

contained within 38 CFR 4.97, Schedule 

of ratings—respiratory system. VA will 

address all the public comments 

received on the proposed rule and any 

public comments VA receives on this 

SNPRM in the final rulemaking. 

I. A Diagnostic Code (DC) for 

Constrictive Bronchiolitis (CB) 

On August 10, 2022, the Sergeant 

First Class Heath Robinson Honoring 

our Promise to Address Comprehensive 

Toxics (PACT) Act, Public Law 117– 

168, was signed into law to improve 

access to VA benefits and health care for 

Veterans who were exposed to toxic 

substances during their military service. 

This action occurred after VA published 

its proposed rule to update § 4.97. 

Section 406 of the PACT Act added 38 

U.S.C 1120 to establish presumptive 

service connection for diseases related 

to exposure to burn pit and other toxins. 

Among the respiratory conditions 

included within section 406, CB is the 

only condition without its own DC 

within the VA Schedule for Rating 

Disabilities (VASRD). Therefore, VA is 

proposing in this SNPRM to add DC 

6605 for CB. The CB addition is the only 

proposal of this SNPRM, and VA is 

seeking public comment on this issue 

only. 

At present, VA does not have a 

specific DC for CB. When VA 

encounters disabilities not listed in the 

VASRD, VA rates them analogously to a 

listed condition that is closely related 

(similar anatomical location, impacted 

functionality, and/or symptomology) in 

accordance with 38 CFR 4.20. Thus, VA 

currently evaluates CB under one of the 

closely related respiratory conditions 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 177 / Thursday, September 12, 2024 / Proposed Rules 74163 

found under § 4.97. Although § 4.20 

allows VA to appropriately evaluate CB, 

the addition of a unique DC will enable 

VA to easily track claims and decision 

outcomes for this condition. 

II. Rating CB 

VA currently uses pulmonary 

function test (PFTs) as the primary 

evaluative criteria for many of the 

respiratory conditions found under 

§ 4.97 because medical researchers 

suggest that ‘‘[PFTs] are the cornerstone 

for evaluating respiratory impairment.’’ 

See Sood, A. (2014). Performing a lung 

disability evaluation: How, when, and 

why?. Journal of Occupational and 

Environmental Medicine, 56 Suppl 10(0 

10), S23–S29. Doi: 10.1097/ 

JOM.0000000000000282. The proposed 

rule published on February 15, 2022, set 

forth a General Rating Formula for 

Respiratory Conditions to evaluate 

respiratory conditions based on PFT 

findings, maximum oxygen 

consumption, or metabolic equivalents. 

See 87 FR 8476. VA proposes to rate CB 

using that General Rating Formula. 

To be clear, this SNPRM does not 

change VA’s proposal for the General 

Rating Formula; it simply adds for CB 

a DC that would use the General Rating 

Formula. To reiterate, VA is seeking 

comments on the CB issue only, to 

include whether the proposed General 

Rating Formula for Respiratory 

Conditions is appropriate for evaluating 

CB. 

Executive Orders 12866, 13563 and 

14094 

Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory 

Planning and Review) directs agencies 

to assess the costs and benefits of 

available regulatory alternatives and, 

when regulation is necessary, to select 

regulatory approaches that maximize 

net benefits (including potential 

economic, environmental, public health 

and safety effects, and other advantages; 

distributive impacts; and equity). 

Executive Order 13563 (Improving 

Regulation and Regulatory Review) 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, 

reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and 

promoting flexibility. Executive Order 

14094 (Executive Order on Modernizing 

Regulatory Review) supplements and 

reaffirms the principles, structures, and 

definitions governing contemporary 

regulatory review established in 

Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 

1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review), 

and Executive Order 13563 of January 

18, 2011 (Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review). The Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs has 

determined that this rulemaking is a 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866, as amended by 

Executive Order 14094. The Regulatory 

Impact Analysis associated with this 

rulemaking can be found as a 

supporting document at 

www.regulations.gov. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The added DC contained in this 

SNPRM would not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities because only 

VA officials process and assign DCs for 

Veterans. On this basis, the Secretary 

hereby certifies that this SNPRM would 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small entities 

as they are defined in the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601–612). 

Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), 

the initial and final regulatory flexibility 

analysis requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 

and 604 do not apply. 

Unfunded Mandates 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C. 1532, that 

agencies prepare an assessment of 

anticipated costs and benefits before 

issuing any rule that may result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

(adjusted annually for inflation) in any 

one year. This SNPRM would have no 

such effect on State, local, and tribal 

governments, or on the private sector. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This SNPRM contains no provisions 

constituting a collection of information 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3521). 

Assistance Listing 

The Assistance Listing numbers and 

titles for this proposed rule are 64.104, 

Pension for Non-Service-Connected 

Disability for Veterans; 64.109, Veterans 

Compensation for Service-Connected 

Disability; and 64.110, Veterans 

Dependency and Indemnity 

Compensation for Service-Connected 

Death. 

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 4 

Disability benefits, Pensions, 

Veterans. 

Signing Authority 

Denis McDonough, Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs, approved and signed 

this document on September 5, 2024, 

and authorized the undersigned to sign 

and submit the document to the Office 

of the Federal Register for publication 

electronically as an official document of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Luvenia Potts, 

Regulation Development Coordinator, Office 

of Regulation Policy & Management, Office 

of General Counsel, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, VA proposes to amend 38 

CFR part 4 as set forth below: 

PART 4—SCHEDULE FOR RATING 

DISABILITIES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 4, 

subpart B continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1155, unless 

otherwise noted. 

Subpart B—Disability Ratings 

■ 2. Revise § 4.96 by revising paragraph 

(c) to read as follows: 

§ 4.96 Special provisions regarding 

evaluation of respiratory conditions. 

* * * * * 

(c) Special provisions for the 

application of evaluation criteria for 

diagnostic codes 6600 through 6605, 

6731, 6820, 6825 through 6833, 6840 

through 6846, and 6848. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 4.97 by adding, in 

numerical order, an entry for diagnostic 

code 6605 to read as follows: 

§ 4.97 Schedule of ratings-respiratory 

system. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
74164 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 177 / Thursday, September 12, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

Rating 

*******

INTRINSIC LUNG DISEASES 

Airway Disorders (Trachea, Bronchi) 

*******

6605 Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis.

*******

■ 4. Amend appendix A to part 4 by 

adding, in numerical order, an entry for 

diagnostic code 6605 to read as follows: 

Appendix A to Part 4—Table of 

Amendments and Effective Dates Since 

1946 

Sec. Diagnostic code No. 

*******

6605 Added [Effective date of the Final Rule]. 

*******

■ 5. Amend appendix B to part 4 by 

adding, in numerical order, an entry for 

diagnostic code 6605 to read as follows: 

Appendix B to Part 4—Numerical Index 

of Disabilities 

Diagnostic code No. 

*******

THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM 

Airway Disorders (Trachea, Bronchi) 

*******

6605 ........................... Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative broncholitis. 

*******

■ 6. Amend appendix C to part 4 by 

adding, in numerical order, an entry for 

diagnostic code 6605 to read as follows: 

Appendix C to Part 4—Alphabetical 

Index of Disabilities 

Diagnostic code No. 

*******

Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis ............................................................................................................... 6605 

* * * * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–20542 Filed 9–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1