12564 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 46 / Tuesday, March 10, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• Does not have Federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• Is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• Is not subject to requirements of 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act; 

and 

• Does not provide EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, the SIP is not approved 

to apply on any Indian reservation land 

or in any other area where EPA or an 

Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 

tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 

Indian country, the rule does not have 

tribal implications and will not impose 

substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 

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 action 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 May 11, 2015. 

Filing a petition for reconsideration by 

the Administrator of this final rule does 

not affect the finality of this action 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. Parties with 

objections to this direct final rule are 

encouraged to file a comment in 

response to the parallel notice of 

proposed rulemaking for this action 

published in the proposed rules section 

of today’s Federal Register, rather than 

file an immediate petition for judicial 

review of this direct final rule, so that 

EPA can withdraw this direct final rule 

and address the comment in the 

proposed rulemaking. 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, Carbon monoxide, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Lead, 

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 

matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Dated: February 4, 2015. 

H. Curtis Spalding, 

Regional Administrator, EPA New England. 

Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations is amended 

as follows: 

PART 52—APPROVAL AND 

PROMULGATION OF 

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

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

Subpart OO—Rhode Island 

■ 2. In § 52.2070 the table in paragraph 

(c) is amended by adding a new entry 

entitled ‘‘Air Pollution Control 

Regulation 49’’ after the entry for ‘‘Air 

Pollution Control Regulation 45’’ to read 

as follows: 

§ 52.2070 Identification of plan. 

* * * * * 

(c) EPA Approved regulations. 

EPA-APPROVED RHODE ISLAND REGULATIONS

State citation Title/subject State effective 

date EPA approval date Explanations 

*******

Air Pollution Control Regulation 

49. 

Transportation Conformity ............ 10/20/2011 3/10/2015 [Insert Federal Register citation].

* * * * * * * 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–05260 Filed 3–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

48 CFR Part 819 

RIN 2900–AM92 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

Acquisition Regulation: ServiceDisabled Veteran-Owned and VeteranOwned Small Business Status Protests 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This document adopts as a 

final rule, without change, the interim 

final rule published in the Federal 

Register on September 30, 2013. This 

document implements a portion of the 

Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and 

Information Technology Act of 2006, 

which requires the Department of 

Veterans Affairs (VA) to verify 

ownership and control of Veteranowned small businesses (VOSBs), 

including service-disabled Veteranowned small businesses (SDVOSBs), in 

order for these firms to participate in 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 46 / Tuesday, March 10, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 12565 

VA acquisitions set asides for SDVOSB/ 

VOSBs. Specifically, VA amends its 

adjudication procedures for SDVOSB 

and VOSB status protests, to provide 

that VA’s Director, Center for 

Verification and Evaluation (CVE), shall 

initially adjudicate SDVOSB and VOSB 

status protests, and to provide that 

protested businesses, if they are denied 

status, may appeal to VA’s Executive 

Director, Office of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU). SDVOSB/VOSB status 

protests occur when during a particular 

SDVOSB/VOSB set aside acquisition, a 

competing vendor in acquisition 

challenges the status of the putative 

awardee as an actual SDVOSB or VOSB, 

as applicable. Additionally, VA amends 

the title of CVE from the Center for 

Veterans Enterprise to the Center for 

Verification and Evaluation, to more 

appropriately represent the function of 

this office. 

DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is 

effective March 10, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cheryl Duckett-Moody, Senior 

Procurement Analysis (003A2A), 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 425 I 

ST. NW., Washington, DC 20001, (202) 

632–5319. (This is not a toll free 

number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

September 30, 2013, VA published in 

the Federal Register (78 FR 59861) an 

interim final rule that revised the 

interim adjudication procedures for 

SDVOSB and VOSB status protests to 

provide that VA’s Director of CVE shall 

initially adjudicate SDVOSB and VOSB 

status protests and to provide that either 

the protesting party or the protested 

business may appeal the Director of 

CVE’s decision to the Executive Director 

of OSDBU. In addition, the interim final 

rule described procedures used by both 

VA’s Director of CVE and the Executive 

Director of OSDBU to use in status 

protest and appeals of status protests. 

As noted in the preamble to the interim 

final rule, VA has concluded that it will 

not utilize the U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA) to consider and 

decide VA SDVOSB and VOSB status 

protests on behalf of VA because this 

program is founded in Title 38 of the 

U.S. Code, solely applicable to VA 

acquisitions, and VA has developed 

appropriate internal expertise in 

adjudicating SDVOSB/VOSB status 

protests. 

We provided a 60-day comment 

period that ended on November 29, 

2013. We received one comment. The 

commenter discussed the SBA’s view 

expressed in the Government 

Accountability Office (GAO) bid protest 

case Latvian Connection LLC, (GAO 

Case Number B–408633) that under 15 

U.S.C. 644(j)(1) and 13 CFR 125.2(f)(1) 

there is an automatic small business setaside requirement imposed even where 

the competition takes place outside of 

the United States. This comment 

addressed an issue that is beyond the 

scope of the request for comments. 

Therefore, we make no changes based 

on this comment. Based on the rationale 

set forth in the interim final rule, we 

adopt the interim final rule as a final 

rule without change. 

Administrative Procedure Act 

This document affirms the 

amendments in the interim final rule 

that is already in effect. In accordance 

with 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and (d)(3), the 

Secretary of VA concluded that there 

was good cause to dispense with 

advance public notice and the 

opportunity to comment on this rule, 

and also good cause to publish this rule 

with an immediate effective date. VA 

provided that the Executive Director, 

OSDBU, shall consider and decide 

SDVOSB and VOSB status protests until 

VA and SBA executed an interagency 

agreement for SBA to consider and 

decide SDVOSB and VOSB status 

protests. For the reasons stated in 78 FR 

59861, that VA has developed the 

necessary expertise to administer a 

SDVOSB/VOSB set aside program, 

including associated status protests, 

enacted in statute solely applicable to 

VA, we have determined that 

adjudication of SDVOSB and VOSB 

status protests shall remain within VA. 

Therefore, we are adopting as final the 

interim provision to provide that the 

Director, CVE, shall initially adjudicate 

SDVOSB and VOSB status protests and 

to provide that either the protester or 

the protested business may appeal the 

Director, CVE, decision to the Executive 

Director, OSDBU. Thus, the final rule 

continues to authorize an administrative 

appeal at the agency level, where the 

lack thereof had been criticized in Miles 

Construction, LLC v. United States, 108 

Fed. Cl. 792 (2013), as not providing a 

party adequate due process and the 

opportunity to be heard at a meaningful 

time in a meaningful manner. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Secretary hereby certifies that 

this final rule will 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. The final arbiter 

of VA SDVOSB and VOSB status 

protests remains the Executive Director, 

OSDBU, as previously promulgated. The 

main change is that the Secretary has 

determined that SBA should not be 

involved in VA SDVOSB or VOSB status 

protests because these status protests are 

solely associated with title 38 SDVOSB 

and VOSB set-aside acquisitions where 

SDVOSB or VOSB status is to be 

determined by the Secretary pursuant to 

38 U.S.C. 8127(f). On this basis, the 

Secretary certifies that the adoption of 

this final rule will 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, under 

5 U.S.C. 605(b), this rulemaking is 

exempt from the initial and final 

regulatory flexibility analysis 

requirements of sections 603 and 604. 

Unfunded Mandates 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

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

agencies prepare an assessment of 

anticipated costs and benefits before 

issuing any rule that may result in an 

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 final rule will have no 

such effect on State, local, and tribal 

governments, or on the private sector. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This final rule contains no collections 

of information under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501– 

3521). 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

direct 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 

12866 (Regulatory Planning and 

Review) defines a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ requiring review by 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), unless OMB waives such 

review, as ‘‘any regulatory action that is 

likely to result in a rule that may: (1) 

Have an annual effect on the economy 

of $100 million or more or adversely 

affect in a material way the economy, a 

sector of the economy, productivity, 

competition, jobs, the environment, 

public health or safety, or State, local, 

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12566 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 46 / Tuesday, March 10, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

or tribal governments or communities; 

(2) Create a serious inconsistency or 

otherwise interfere with an action taken 

or planned by another agency; (3) 

Materially alter the budgetary impact of 

entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan 

programs or the rights and obligations of 

recipients thereof; or (4) Raise novel 

legal or policy issues arising out of legal 

mandates, the President’s priorities, or 

the principles set forth in this Executive 

Order.’’ 

The economic, interagency, 

budgetary, legal, and policy 

implications of this regulatory action 

have been examined, and it has been 

determined not to be a significant 

regulatory action under Executive Order 

12866. VA’s impact analysis can be 

found as a supporting document at 

http://www.regulations.gov, usually 

within 48 hours after the rulemaking 

document is published. Additionally, a 

copy of the rulemaking and its impact 

analysis are available on VA’s Web site 

at http://www.va.gov/orpm/, by 

following the link for VA Regulations 

Published from FY 2004 to FYTD. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

There is no Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance number or title for 

this program. 

Signing Authority 

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or 

designee, approved this document 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. Jose 

D. Riojas, Chief of Staff, Department of 

Veterans Affairs, approved this 

document on March 2, 2015, for 

publication. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 819 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Government procurement, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Small businesses, 

Veterans. 

Dated: March 5, 2015. 

Michael P. Shores, 

Chief, Impact Analyst, Office of Regulation 

Policy & Management, Office of the General 

Counsel, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Accordingly, VA adopts the interim 

final rule amending 48 CFR part 819, 

which was published in the Federal 

Register at 78 FR 59861 on September 

30, 2013, as a final rule without change. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05505 Filed 3–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–HQ–ES–2015–0007; 

4500030113] 

RIN 1018–BA73 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Taxonomy of the Hawaiian 

Monk Seal 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), are amending 

the List of Endangered and Threatened 

Wildlife to reflect the scientifically 

accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of 

the Hawaiian monk seal (Neomonachus 

schauinslandi (=Monachus 

schauinslandi)). This amendment is 

based on a previously published 

determination by the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, Department of 

Commerce, which has jurisdiction for 

this species. 

DATES: This rule is effective March 10, 

2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean 

Higgins, NMFS, Pacific Islands Regional 

Office, (808) 725–5151; or Marta 

Nammack, NMFS, Office of Protected 

Resources, (301) 427–8469. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and Reorganization 

Plan No. 4 of 1970 (35 FR 15627; 

October 6, 1970), NMFS has jurisdiction 

over the Hawaiian monk seal. 

On November 17, 2014, NMFS 

published a direct final rule (79 FR 

68371) to announce the revised 

taxonomy of the Hawaiian monk seal. 

Because NMFS did not receive any 

adverse comments during the first 30 

days of the direct final rule’s comment 

period, that direct final rule’s effective 

date is January 16, 2015. Please refer to 

that rule for information on the 

taxonomy of the Hawaiian monk seal. 

While NMFS has jurisdiction over the 

Hawaiian monk seal, we are responsible 

for updating the List of Endangered and 

Threatened Wildlife (List) in title 50 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 

50 CFR 17.11(h). This final rule is an 

administrative action to adopt the 

change already published by NMFS. 

This action ensures that the List shows 

the Hawaiian monk seal’s most recently 

accepted scientific name in accordance 

with 50 CFR 17.11(b). 

Administrative Procedure Act 

Because NMFS provided a public 

comment period on the direct final rule 

to update the taxonomy and 

nomenclature of the Hawaiian monk 

seal, and because this action of the 

Service to amend the List in accordance 

with the determination by NMFS is 

nondiscretionary, the Service finds good 

cause that the notice and public 

comment procedures of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) 

are unnecessary for this action. We also 

find good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) 

to make this rule effective immediately. 

This rule is an administrative action to 

reflect the scientifically accepted 

taxonomy and nomenclature of the 

Hawaiian monk seal in the List of 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife at 

50 CFR 17.11(h). The public would not 

be served by delaying the effective date 

of this rulemaking action. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17 

Endangered and threatened species, 

Exports, Imports, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, 

Transportation. 

Regulation Promulgation 

Accordingly, we amend part 17, 

subchapter B of chapter I, title 50 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth 

below: 

PART 17—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 17 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361–1407; 1531– 

1544; 4201–4245, unless otherwise noted. 

■ 2. Amend § 17.11(h) by revising the 

entry for ‘‘Seal, Hawaiian monk’’ under 

MAMMALS in the List of Endangered 

and Threatened Wildlife to read as 

follows: 

§ 17.11 Endangered and threatened 

wildlife. 

* * * * * 

(h) * * * 

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