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

76915

Vol. 65, No. 237

Friday, December 8, 2000

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

7 CFR Part 1792

RIN 0572–AB47

Seismic Safety

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Services

(RUS) is amending its regulation to

update and simplify the requirements of

the agency. This final rule provides RUS

borrowers, grant recipients, Rural

Telephone Bank (RTB) borrowers and

the public with updated rules for

compliance with seismic safety

requirements for new building

construction using RUS or RTB loan,

grant or guaranteed funds or funds

provided through lien accommodations

or subordinations approved by RUS or

RTB. These revisions will identify

model codes and standards found to

provide a required level of seismic

safety.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 8, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Donald Heald, Structural Engineer,

Transmission Branch, Electric Staff

Division, Rural Utilities Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW., STOP

1569, Washington, DC 20250–1569.

Telephone: (202) 720–9102. Fax: (202)

720–7491.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This rule has been determined to be

not significant for purposes of Executive

Order 12866 and, therefore, has not

been reviewed by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB).

Executive Order 12372

This rule is excluded from the scope

of Executive Order 12372,

Intergovernmental Consultation, which

may require consultation with state and

local offices. See the final rule related

notice entitled ‘‘Department Programs

and Activities Excluded from Executive

Order 12372’’ (50 FR 47034).

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed in

accordance with Executive Order 12988,

Civil Justice Reform. RUS has

determined that this rule meets the

applicable standards provided in

section 3 of the Executive Order. In

addition, all State and local laws and

regulations that are in conflict with this

rule will be preempted; no retroactive

effect will be given to this rule; and, in

accordance with § 212(e) of the

Department of Agriculture

Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C.

6912(e)) administrative appeals

procedure, if any are required, must be

exhausted prior to initiating litigation

against the Department or its agencies.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

The Administrator of RUS has

determined that this rule will not have

significant impact on a substantial

number of small entities defined in the

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

et seq.). The RUS and RTB loan

programs provide borrowers with loans

at interest rates and terms that are more

favorable than those generally available

from the private sector. Borrowers, as a

result of obtaining federal financing,

receive economic benefits that exceed

any direct cost associated with RUS

regulations and requirements.

Information Collection and

Recordkeeping Requirements

The reporting and recordkeeping

requirements contained in this rule has

been approved by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) under

OMB Control No. 0572–0099, pursuant

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Send questions or comments

regarding this burden or any other

aspect of these collections of

information, including suggestions for

reducing the burden, to F. Lamont

Heppe, Jr., Director, Program

Development and Regulatory Analysis,

Rural Utilities Service, USDA, 1400

Independence Ave., SW., Stop 1522,

Washington, DC 20250–1522.

National Environmental Policy Act

Certification

The Administrator of RUS has

determined that this rule will not

significantly affect the quality of the

human environment as defined by the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Therefore,

this action does not require an

environmental impact statement or

assessment.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

The programs covered by this rule are

listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance programs under numbers

10.850, Rural Electrification Loans and

Loan Guarantees; 10.851, Rural

Telephone Loans and Loan Guarantees;

10.852, Rural Telephone Bank Loans;

10.760, Water and Waste Disposal

System for Rural Communities; 10.764,

Resource Conservation Development

Loans, and 10.765, Watershed

Protection and Flood Prevention Loans.

This catalog is available on a

subscription basis from the

Superintendent of Documents, U.S.

Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC 20402–9325.

Telephone: (202) 512–1800.

Unfunded Mandates

This rule contains no Federal

mandates (under the regulatory

provision of Title II of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act) for State, local,

and tribal governments or the private

sector. Thus, this rule is not subject to

the requirements of sections 202 and

205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform

Act.

Background

RUS requires borrowers and grant

recipients to meet applicable

requirements mandated by Federal

statutes and regulations to obtain RUS

financing. One such requirement is

compliance with building safety

provisions of the Earthquake Hazards

Reduction Act of 1977, (42 U.S.C. 7701

et seq.) as implemented pursuant to

Executive Order 12699, Seismic Safety

of Federal and Federally Assisted or

Regulated New Building Construction (3

CFR, 1990 Comp., pg. 269).

Subpart C of this part codifies the

policies and requirements that RUS and

RTB borrowers and grant recipients

must meet for new building

construction when using funds

76916 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 237 / Friday, December 8, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

provided or guaranteed by RUS or RTB

(or when obtained through a lien

accommodation or subordination

approved by RUS or RTB).

The Executive Order requires all

Federal agencies to ensure that any new

building which is leased for federal

users or purchased or constructed with

federal assistance is designed and

constructed in accordance with

appropriate seismic design standards.

Those standards must be equivalent to

or exceed the seismic safety levels in the

National Earthquake Hazards Reduction

Program (NEHRP) recommended

provisions for the development of

seismic regulations for new buildings.

The Executive Order charges the

Interagency Committee on Seismic

Safety in Construction (ICSSC) with

recommending appropriate and costeffective seismic design, construction

standards and practices.

The ICSSC has identified several

model codes and standards that provide

an acceptable level of seismic safety.

The existing regulation in this subpart is

revised to identify new model codes or

standards which are equivalent to the

1994 NEHRP Recommended Provisions

for the Development of Seismic

Regulations for New Buildings.

A proposed rule was published May

26, 2000, at 65 FR 34125, with the

comment period ending July 25, 2000.

No comments were received in response

to the proposed rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1792

Buildings and facilities, Electric

power, Grant programs, Loan programs,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Rural area, Seismic safety,

Telephone.

For reasons contained in the

preamble, chapter XVII of title 7 of the

Code of Federal Regulations is amended

to read as follows:

PART 1792—COMPLIANCE WITH

OTHER FEDERAL STATUTES,

REGULATIONS, AND EXECUTIVE

ORDERS

1. The authority citation for this part

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 901 et seq., 1921 et

seq., 6941 et seq., and 42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.

Subpart C—Seismic Safety

2. Section 1792.101 is amended by

revising paragraph (b) and removing

paragraphs (c), (d), and (e), to read as

follows:

§ 1792.101 General.

* * * * *

(b) This subpart identifies acceptable

seismic standards which must be

employed in new building construction

funded by loans, grants, or guarantees

made by the Rural Utilities Service

(RUS) or the Rural Telephone Bank

(RTB) (or through lien accommodations

or subordinations approved by RUS or

RTB).

3. Section 1792.102 is amended by

revising the definitions for ‘‘RUS’’ and

‘‘Seismic,’’ removing ‘‘REA,’’ and

adding the definition of ‘‘Model Code’’

to read as follows:

§ 1792.102 Definitions.

* * * * *

Model Code—A building code

developed for the adoption of local or

state authorities or to be used as the

basis of a local or state building code.

* * * * *

RUS—Rural Utilities Service, and for

the purposes of this subpart, shall

include the Rural Telephone Bank. For

the purposes of RTB borrowers, as used

in this subpart, RUS means RTB and

Administrator means Governor.

Seismic—Related to or caused by

earthquakes.

* * * * *

4. Sections 1792.103 and 1792.104 are

revised to read as follows:

§ 1792.103 Seismic design and

construction standards for new buildings.

(a) In the design and construction of

federally assisted buildings, the

borrowers and grant recipients must

utilize the seismic provisions of the

most recent edition of those standards

and practices that are substantially

equivalent to or exceed the seismic

safety level in the most recent or

immediately preceding edition of the

NEHRP Recommended Provisions for

the Development of Seismic Regulation

for New Buildings.

(b) Each of the following model codes

or standards has been found to provide

a level of seismic safety substantially

equivalent to that provided by the use

of the 1994 NEHRP Recommended

Provisions and appropriate for federally

assisted new building construction:

(1) 1997 International Conference of

Building Officials (ICBO) Uniform

Building Code. Copies are available

from ICBO, Austin Regional Office, 9300

Jollyville Road, Suite 101, Austin, Texas

78759–7455.

(2) 1995 American Society of Civil

Engineers (ASCE) 7, Minimum Design

Loads for Buildings and Other

Structures. Copies are available from

ASCE, 345 East 47th Street, New York,

New York 10017–2398.

(c) The NEHRP Recommended

Provisions for the Development of

Seismic Regulations for New Buildings

is available from the Office of

Earthquakes and Natural Hazards,

Federal Emergency Management

Agency, 500 C Street, SW., Washington,

DC 20472.

§ 1792.104 Seismic acknowledgments.

For each applicable building,

borrowers and grant recipients must

provide RUS a written acknowledgment

from a registered architect or engineer

responsible for the design stating that

seismic provisions pursuant to

§ 1792.103(b) will be used in the design

of the building. This acknowledgement

will include the identification and date

of the model code or standard that is

used for the seismic design of the

seismic design of the building project

and the seismic factor for the building

location.

Dated: December 1, 2000.

Jill Long Thompson,

Under Secretary, Rural Development.

[FR Doc. 00–31296 Filed 12–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

18 CFR Part 11

[Docket No. RM86–2–000]

Update of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission’s Fees

Schedule for Annual Charges for the

Use of Government Lands

November 28, 2000.

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; update of Federal

land use fees.

SUMMARY: On May 8, 1987, the

Commission issued its final rule

amending Part 11 of its regulations

(Order No. 469, 52 FR 18201( May 14,

1987)). The final rule revised the billing

procedures for annual charges for

administering Part I of the Federal

Power Act, the billing procedures for

charges for Federal dam and land use,

and the methodology for assessing

Federal land use charges.

In accordance with the Commission’s

regulations, the Commission by its

designee, the Executive Director, is

updating its schedule of fees for the use

of government lands. The yearly update

is based on the most recent schedule of

fees for the use of linear rights-of-way

prepared by the United States Forest

Service. Since the next fiscal year will

cover the period from October 1, 2000,

through September 30, 2001, the fees in