This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

14030 

Vol. 80, No. 52 

Wednesday, March 18, 2015 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation 

7 CFR Part 400 

[Docket No. FCIC–14–0001] 

RIN 0563–AC45 

General Administrative Regulations; 

Subpart X—Interpretations of Statutory 

Provisions, Policy Provisions, and 

Procedures 

AGENCY: Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation (FCIC) proposes to revise 

the General and Administrative 

Regulation Subpart X—Interpretations 

of Statutory and Regulatory Provisions, 

to incorporate interpretations of 

procedures previously issued and 

administered in accordance with 

Manager’s Bulletin MGR–05–018 and to 

provide a mechanism for interpretations 

of policy provisions that are not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations. The intended effect of this 

action is to provide requestors with 

information on how to request a final 

agency determination or an 

interpretation of FCIC procedures 

within one administrative regulation, 

bring consistency and clarity to the 

processes used, and to clarify existing 

provisions. 

DATES: Written comments and opinions 

on this proposed rule will be accepted 

until close of business April 17, 2015 

and will be considered when the rule is 

to be made final. 

ADDRESSES: FCIC prefers that comments 

be submitted electronically through the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal. You may 

submit comments, identified by Docket 

ID No. FCIC–14–0001, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Director, Product 

Administration and Standards Division, 

Risk Management Agency, United States 

Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 

419205, Kansas City, MO 64133–6205. 

All comments received, including 

those received by mail, will be posted 

without change to http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, and can 

be accessed by the public. All comments 

must include the agency name and 

docket number or Regulatory 

Information Number (RIN) for this rule. 

For detailed instructions on submitting 

comments and additional information, 

see http://www.regulations.gov. If you 

are submitting comments electronically 

through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 

and want to attach a document, we ask 

that it be in a text-based format. If you 

want to attach a document that is a 

scanned Adobe PDF file, it must be 

scanned as text and not as an image, 

thus allowing FCIC to search and copy 

certain portions of your submissions. 

For questions regarding attaching a 

document that is a scanned Adobe PDF 

file, please contact the RMA Web 

Content Team at (816) 823–4694 or by 

email at rmaweb.content@rma.usda.gov. 

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search 

the electronic form of all comments 

received for any dockets by the name of 

the person submitting the comment (or 

signing the comment, if submitted on 

behalf of an association, business, labor 

union, etc.). You may review the 

complete User Notice and Privacy 

Notice for Regulations.gov at http://

www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Product Management, Product 

Administration and Standards Division, 

Risk Management Agency, United States 

Department of Agriculture, Beacon 

Facility, Stop 0812, Room 421, PO Box 

419205, Kansas City, MO 64141–6205, 

telephone (816) 926– 7730. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

This rule has been determined to be 

not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, it 

has not been reviewed by the OMB. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

Pursuant to the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. chapter 35), the collections of 

information in this rule have been 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under control 

number 0563–0055. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

FCIC is committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act of 2002, to 

promote the use of the Internet and 

other information technologies to 

provide increased opportunities for 

citizen access to Government 

information and services, and for other 

purposes. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public 

Law 104–4, establishes requirements for 

Federal agencies to assess the effects of 

their regulatory actions on State, local, 

and tribal governments and the private 

sector. This rule contains no Federal 

mandates (under the regulatory 

provisions of title II of the UMRA) for 

State, local, and tribal governments or 

the private sector. Therefore, this rule is 

not subject to the requirements of 

sections 202 and 205 of UMRA. 

Executive Order 13132 

It has been determined under section 

1(a) of Executive Order 13132, 

Federalism, that this rule does not have 

sufficient implications to warrant 

consultation with the States. The 

provisions contained in this rule will 

not have a substantial direct effect on 

States, or on the relationship between 

the national government and the States, 

or on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

Executive Order 13175 

This rule has been reviewed in 

accordance with the requirements of 

Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments. The review reveals that 

this regulation will not have substantial 

and direct effects on Tribal governments 

and will not have significant Tribal 

implications. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

FCIC certifies that this regulation will 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. The regulation does not require 

any more action on the part of the small 

entities than is required on the part of 

large entities. A Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis has not been prepared since 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 18, 2015 / Proposed Rules 14031 

this regulation does not have an impact 

on small entities, and, therefore, this 

regulation is exempt from the provisions 

of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 605). 

Federal Assistance Program 

This program is listed in the Catalog 

of Federal Domestic Assistance under 

No. 10.450. 

Executive Order 12372 

This program is not subject to the 

provisions of Executive Order 12372, 

which require intergovernmental 

consultation with State and local 

officials. See the Notice related to 7 CFR 

part 3015, subpart V, published at 48 FR 

29115, June 24, 1983. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

in accordance with Executive Order 

12988 on civil justice reform. The 

provisions of this rule will not have a 

retroactive effect. The provisions of this 

rule will preempt State and local laws 

to the extent such State and local laws 

are inconsistent herewith. 

Interpretations of statutory and 

regulatory provisions are matters of 

general applicability and, therefore, no 

administrative appeals process is 

available and judicial review may only 

be brought to challenge the 

interpretation after seeking a 

determination of appealability by the 

Director of the National Appeals 

Division in accordance with 7 CFR part 

11. Interpretations of procedure or 

policy provisions not codified in the 

Code of Federal Regulations are 

administratively appealable and the 

appeal provisions published at 7 CFR 

part 11 must be exhausted before any 

action for judicial review may be 

brought against FCIC. 

Environmental Evaluation 

This action is not expected to have a 

significant economic impact on the 

quality of the human environment, 

health, or safety. Therefore, neither an 

Environmental Assessment nor an 

Environmental Impact Statement is 

needed. 

Background 

FCIC proposes to revise the General 

and Administrative Regulations Subpart 

X—Interpretations of Statutory and 

Regulatory Provisions to provide 

requestors with information on how to 

request a final agency determination 

and an interpretation of procedures or 

policy provisions not codified in the 

Code of Federal Regulations within one 

administrative regulation. There are 

provisions in policies not codified in 

the Code of Federal Regulations that are 

identical to those in the Common Crop 

Insurance Basic Provisions (Basic 

Provisions) or Crop Provisions codified 

in the Code of Federal Regulations. In 

such instances, the requestor sought an 

interpretation of the applicable 

provision in the Basic Provisions and 

that interpretation was applicable to all 

policies that contained an identical 

provision. Nothing in this rule changes 

this process. However, there are 

numerous policies with provisions that 

are not codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations in any policy. For these 

policy provisions, this rule provides a 

mechanism to obtain an interpretation 

of such provision. 

The rule will also clarify existing 

provisions, eliminate redundancies, 

remove or update obsolete references, 

simplify the regulation to address final 

agency determinations and 

interpretations of procedures or policy 

provisions not codified in the Code of 

Federal Regulations in the same 

regulation, simplify program 

administration, and improve clarity of 

the requestor and FCIC obligations. The 

proposed rule also incorporates the 

information formerly contained in 

Manager’s Bulletin MGR–05–018 into 

subpart X for efficiency and ease of use. 

Manager’s Bulletin MGR–05–018 

currently provides criteria for requesting 

an interpretation of procedures when a 

requestor seeks an interpretation of the 

meaning or applicability of procedure 

used in administering the Federal crop 

insurance program. Accordingly, 

Manager’s Bulletin MGR–05–018 will 

no longer be used upon issuance of the 

final rule to this proposed rule. 

The proposed rule amends the 

language to be consistent where possible 

and revises the regulation in plain 

language for ease of readability by the 

requestor. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 400 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, crop insurance, reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

Proposed Rule 

Accordingly, as set forth in the 

preamble, the Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation proposes to amend 7 CFR 

part 400 as follows: 

PART 400—GENERAL 

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 400 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1506(1), 1506(o). 

■ 2. Revise § Subpart X as follows: 

Subpart X—Interpretations of Statutory 

Provisions, Policy Provisions, and 

Procedures 

Sec. 

400.765 Definitions. 

400.766 Basis and Applicability. 

400.767 Requestor Obligations. 

400.768 FCIC Obligations. 

§ 400.765 Definitions. 

Act. The Federal Crop Insurance Act, 

7 U.S.C. 1501–1524. 

FCIC. The Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation, a wholly owned 

government corporation within the 

United States Department of 

Agriculture. 

Final Agency Determination. An 

interpretation of provisions of the Act, 

regulations, or any policy provision that 

is codified in the Federal Register. 

Participant. Any applicant for Federal 

crop insurance, an insured, or a private 

insurance company with a reinsurance 

agreement with FCIC or their agent, loss 

adjuster, employee or contractor. 

Policy. The agreement to insure an 

agricultural commodity reinsured by 

FCIC under the provisions of the 

Federal Crop Insurance Act which 

consists of the accepted application, the 

applicable Basic Provisions, the Crop 

Provisions, the Special Provisions, the 

Commodity Exchange Price Provisions, 

if applicable, other amendments, 

endorsements, or options, the actuarial 

documents for the insured agricultural 

commodity, the Catastrophic Risk 

Protection Endorsement, if applicable, 

and the applicable regulations 

published in 7 CFR chapter IV. 

Procedure. All FCIC issued 

handbooks, manuals, memoranda, and 

bulletins for any crop insurance policy 

reinsured by FCIC. 

RMA. The Risk Management Agency, 

an agency of the United States 

Department of Agriculture. 

You. The requestor of a final agency 

determination or interpretation of 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations. 

§ 400.766 Basis and Applicability. 

(a) The regulations contained in this 

subpart prescribe the rules and criteria 

for obtaining a final agency 

determination or an interpretation of a 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations. 

(1) FCIC will provide a final agency 

determination or an interpretation of 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations, as applicable, for policy 

provisions or procedures that were in 

effect during the four most recent 


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14032 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 18, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

calendar years from the calendar year in 

which your request was submitted. For 

example, for a request received in the 

2014 calendar year, FCIC will consider 

requests for the 2014, 2013, 2012, and 

2011. 

(2) If FCIC determines a request is 

outside the scope of crop years 

authorized in paragraph (a)(1) of this 

section, you will be notified within 30 

days of the date of receipt by FCIC. 

(3) If the policy provisions or 

procedures have changed for the time 

period you seek an interpretation you 

must submit a separate request for each 

policy provision or procedure by year. 

For example, if you seek an 

interpretation of section 6(b) of the 

Small Grains Crop Provisions for the 

2012 through 2015 crop years but the 

policy provisions were revised starting 

with the 2014 crop year. You must 

submit two requests, one for the 2012 

and 2013 crop years and another for the 

2014 and 2015 crop years. 

(b) With respect to a Final Agency 

Determination: 

(1) All final agency determinations 

issued by FCIC are binding on all 

participants in the Federal crop 

insurance program for the crop years the 

policy provisions are in effect. Unless 

appealed in accordance with paragraph 

(2), failure of the National Appeals 

Division, arbitrator, or mediator to 

adhere to the final agency determination 

provided under this subpart will result 

in the nullification of any award or 

agreement in arbitration or mediation. 

(2) All final agency determinations are 

considered matters of generally 

applicable and are not appealable to the 

National Appeals Division. 

(i) Before obtaining judicial review of 

any final agency determination, you 

must obtain an administrative final 

determination from the Director of the 

National Appeals Division on the issue 

of whether the final agency 

determination is a matter of general 

applicability. 

(ii) Any appeal of a final agency 

determination must be in accordance 

with 7 CFR 400.766(c)(4). 

(c) With respect to an interpretation of 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations: 

(1) If either you or any other does not 

agree with the written interpretation of 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations provided by FCIC, a request 

for administrative review may be filed 

in accordance with 7 CFR, part 400, 

subpart J. If you seek an administrative 

review from FCIC, such request must be 

submitted in in accordance with 

§ 400.767(a). 

(2) FCIC will not accept requests for 

administrative review from the National 

Appeals Division, a mediator or 

arbitrator. 

(3) The RMA Office of the Deputy 

Administrator for Product Management 

will make a determination on the 

request for administrative review not 

later than 30 days after receipt of the 

request. 

(4) Regardless of whether you have 

sought administrative review, you may 

appeal an interpretation of procedure 

made by FCIC to the National Appeals 

Division in accordance with 7 CFR part 

11. 

§ 400.767 Requestor Obligations. 

(a) All requests for a final agency 

determination or an interpretation of 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations submitted under this 

subpart must: 

(1) Be submitted to the Deputy 

Administrator using the format 

provided on RMA’s Web site at http:// 

www.rma.usda.gov/regs/533/

section533.html through one of the 

following methods: 

(i) In writing by certified mail or 

overnight delivery, to the Deputy 

Administrator, Risk Management 

Agency, United States Department of 

Agriculture, Beacon Facility, Stop 0801, 

Room 421, P.O. Box 419205, Kansas 

City, MO 64141–6205; 

(ii) By facsimile at (816) 926–1803; or 

(iii) By electronic mail at subpartx@

rma.usda.gov; 

(2) State whether you are seeking a 

final agency determination or an 

interpretation of procedure or policy 

provision not codified in the Code of 

Federal Regulations; 

(3) Identify and quote the specific 

provision in the Act, regulations, 

procedure, or policy provision for 

which you are requesting a final agency 

determination or an interpretation of 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations; 

(4) Contain no more than one request 

for an interpretation (You must make 

separate requests for each provision if 

more than one provision is at issue. For 

example, if there is a dispute with the 

interpretation of section 3 of the Loss 

Adjustment Manual, then one request 

for an interpretation is required. If there 

is a dispute with the interpretation of 

section 3 of the Loss Adjustment 

Manual and section 2 of the Macadamia 

Nut Loss Adjustment Standards 

Handbook, then two separate requests 

for an interpretation are required); 

(5) State the crop, crop year(s), and 

plan of insurance applicable to the 

request; 

(6) State the name, address, and 

telephone number of a contact person 

for the request; and 

(7) Contain your detailed 

interpretation of the specific provision 

of the Act, regulations, procedure, or 

policy provision for which the request 

for interpretation is being requested. 

(b) You may request a final agency 

determination or an interpretation of 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations, as applicable, only if you 

have legally filed or formally initiated a 

judicial review, mediation, or 

arbitration. 

(1) You must identify the type of 

proceeding (e.g. mediation, arbitration, 

or litigation) in which the interpretation 

will be used, and the date the 

proceeding is scheduled to begin, or the 

earliest possible date the proceeding 

would likely begin if a specific date has 

not been established; 

(2) The name, address, telephone 

number, and if applicable, fax number, 

or email address of a contact person for 

both parties to the proceeding; 

(3) Requests must be submitted not 

later than 90 days before the date the 

mediation, arbitration or litigation 

proceeding in which the interpretation 

will be used is scheduled to begin. 

(i) If the rules of the court, mediation, 

or arbitration require the interpretation 

prior to the date the proceeding begins, 

add 90 days to the number of days 

required prior to the proceeding. For 

example, if a court requires the 

interpretation 20 days prior to the date 

the proceeding begins, you must submit 

the request 110 days before the 

proceeding is scheduled to begin. 

(ii) Failure to timely submit a request 

for a final agency determination may 

result in: 

(A) FCIC issuing a determination that 

no interpretation could be made because 

the request was not timely submitted; 

and 

(B) Nullification of any agreement or 

award in accordance with the applicable 

Basic Provisions. 

(iii) If during the mediation, 

arbitration, or litigation proceeding, an 

issue arises that requires a final agency 

determination or an interpretation of 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations, the mediator, arbitrator, 

judge, or magistrate must promptly 

request a final agency determination or 

an interpretation of procedure or policy 

provision not codified in the Code of 

Federal Regulations in accordance with 

§ 400.767(a). 


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(4) FCIC at its sole discretion may 

authorize personnel to provide an oral 

or written interpretation, as appropriate; 

and 

(5) Any decision or settlement 

resulting from such mediation, 

arbitration, or litigation proceeding 

before FCIC provides its interpretation 

may not be binding on the parties. 

(c) If multiple parties are involved 

and have opposing interpretations a 

joint request for a final agency 

determination or an interpretation of 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations including both requestor 

interpretations in one request is 

encouraged. If multiple insured persons 

are parties to the proceedings, and the 

request for a final agency determination 

or an interpretation of procedure or 

policy provision not codified in the 

Code of Federal Regulations applies to 

all parties, one request may be 

submitted for all insured persons 

instead of separate requests for each 

person. In this case, the information 

required in this section must be 

provided for each person. 

§ 400.768 FCIC Obligations. 

(a) FCIC reserves the right to not 

provide a final agency determination or 

an interpretation of procedure or policy 

provision not codified in the Code of 

Federal Regulations for any request 

regarding, or that contains specific 

factual information to situations or 

cases, such as acts or failures to act of 

any participant under the terms of a 

policy, procedure, or any reinsurance 

agreement. 

(1) Regardless of whether or not FCIC 

accepts a request, FCIC will not 

consider specific factual information to 

situations or cases in any final agency 

determination. 

(2) FCIC will not consider any 

examples provided in your 

interpretation because those are fact 

specific and could be construed as a 

finding of fact by FCIC. If an example 

is required to illustrate an 

interpretation, FCIC will provide the 

example in the interpretation. 

(b) If, in the sole judgment of FCIC, 

the request is unclear, ambiguous, or 

incomplete, FCIC will not provide a 

final agency determination or an 

interpretation of procedure or policy 

provision not codified in the Code of 

Federal Regulations but notify you 

within 30 days of the date of receipt by 

FCIC that the request is unclear, 

ambiguous, or incomplete. 

(c) If FCIC notifies you that a request 

is unclear, ambiguous or incomplete 

under § 400.768(b), the 90 day time 

period for FCIC to provide a response is 

stopped on the date FCIC notifies you. 

On the date FCIC receives a clear, 

complete, and unambiguous request, 

FCIC has the balance of the days 

remaining in the 90 day period to 

provide a response to you. For example, 

FCIC receives a request for a final 

agency determination on January 10. On 

February 10, FCIC notifies you the 

request is unclear. On March 10, FCIC 

receives a clarified request that meets all 

requirements for FCIC to provide a final 

agency determination. FCIC has sixty 

days from March 10, the balance of the 

90 day period, to provide a response. 

(d) FCIC reserves the right to modify 

the request for a final agency 

determination into an interpretation of 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations as needed if the request 

pertains to procedures or uncodified 

policy provisions and contains the 

information required in § 400.767. 

(e) FCIC will provide you a written 

final agency determination or an 

interpretation of procedure or policy 

provision not codified in the Code of 

Federal Regulations within 90 days of 

the date of receipt for a request that 

meets all requirements in § 400.767. 

(f) If FCIC does not provide a response 

within 90 days of receipt of a request, 

you may assume your interpretation is 

correct for the applicable crop year. 

However, your interpretation shall not 

be considered generally applicable and 

shall not be binding on any other 

program participants. Additionally, in 

the case of a joint request for a final 

agency determination or an 

interpretation of procedure or policy 

provision not codified in the Code of 

Federal Regulations, if FCIC does not 

provide a response within 90 days, 

neither party may assume their 

interpretations are correct. 

(g) FCIC will publish all final agency 

determinations as specially numbered 

documents on the RMA Web site 

because they are generally applicable to 

all program participants. 

(h) FCIC will not publish any 

interpretation of procedure or policy 

provision not codified in the Code of 

Federal Regulations because they are 

only applicable to the parties in the 

dispute. You are responsible for 

providing copies of the interpretation of 

procedure or policy provision not 

codified in the Code of Federal 

Regulations to all other parties involved 

in the proceeding. 

(i) When issuing an interpretation, 

FCIC will not evaluate the insured, 

approved insurance provider, agent or 

loss adjuster as it relates to the 

performance of following FCIC policy 

provisions or procedures. 

Interpretations will not include any 

analysis of whether the insured, 

approved insurance provider, agent, or 

loss adjuster was in compliance with 

the policy provision or procedure in 

question. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on March 5, 

2015. 

Brandon Willis, 

Manager, Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06224 Filed 3–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–08–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 20 

[NRC–2009–0279] 

RIN 3150–AJ29 

Radiation Protection 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking; extension of comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: On July 25, 2014, the U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 

published for comment an advance 

notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) 

to obtain input from members of the 

public on the development of a draft 

regulatory basis. The draft regulatory 

basis would identify potential changes 

to the NRC’s current radiation 

protection regulations. The potential 

changes, if implemented, would achieve 

a closer alignment between the NRC’s 

radiation protection regulations and the 

recommendations of the International 

Commission on Radiological Protection 

(ICRP) contained in ICRP Publication 

103 (2007). The NRC is extending the 

comment period for the ANPR to 

provide additional time for members of 

the public to develop and submit their 

comments. 

DATES: The comment period has been 

extended and expires on June 22, 2015. 

Comments received after this date will 

be considered if it is practical to do so, 

but the NRC is able to ensure 

consideration only for comments 

received on or before this date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods (unless 

this document describes a different 

method for submitting comments on a 

specific subject): 

• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2009–0279. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Carol 


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