Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 72 / Wednesday, April 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 20167 

II. Public Comments 

EPA received no comments on the 

proposed action during the comment 

period. 

III. Final Action 

EPA is determining that the Southeast 

Desert nonattainment area has attained 

the 1-hour ozone National Ambient Air 

Quality Standard, based on complete, 

quality-assured and certified ambient air 

quality monitoring data for the 2011 to 

2013 monitoring period. Preliminary 

data available for 2014, from January 

through December, are consistent with 

continued attainment. 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

This action makes a determination 

based on air quality data and does not 

impose additional requirements beyond 

those imposed by state law. For that 

reason, this proposed action: 

• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ subject to review by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993); 

• Does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

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

• Is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• Does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

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 CAA; 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, this rule does not have 

tribal implications as specified by 

Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 

November 9, 2000), because it will not 

impose substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law. 

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 June 15, 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. 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, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Oxides of nitrogen, Ozone, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Dated: April 6, 2015. 

Jared Blumenfeld, 

Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

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 F—California 

■ 2. Section 52.282 is amended by 

adding paragraph (g) to read as follows: 

§ 52.282 Control strategy and regulations: 

Ozone. 

* * * * * 

(g) Determination of attainment. EPA 

has determined that, as of May 15, 2015, 

the Southeast Desert 1-hour ozone 

nonattainment area has attained the 1- 

hour ozone standard, based upon 

complete, quality-assured and certified 

ambient air quality monitoring data for 

2011–2013. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08582 Filed 4–14–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

48 CFR Parts 1515 and 1552 

[EPA–HQ–OARM–2015–0182; FRL 9923–85– 

OARM] 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Acquisition Regulation (EPAAR); 

Source Selection and Payments 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) amends the EPA 

Acquisition Regulation (EPAAR) to 

remove source selection guidance and 

clauses that are not consistent with 

current EPA internal operating 

procedures for source selections. 

Additionally, EPA is deleting a clause 

for Payments—Fixed Rate Services 

Contracts because it is inconsistent with 

sections in the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR). EPA does not 

anticipate any adverse comments. 

DATES: This rule is effective on June 15, 

2015 without further notice, unless 

adverse comment is received May 15, 

2015. If adverse comment is received, 

the EPA will publish a timely 

withdrawal of the rule in the Federal 

Register. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OARM–2015–0182 by one of the 

following methods: 

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Email: docket.oei@epa.gov 

• Fax: (202) 566–1753 

• Mail: EPA–HQ–OARM–2015–0182, 

OEI Docket, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. 

NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please 

include a total of three (3) copies. 

• Hand Delivery: EPA Docket 

Center—Attention OEI Docket, EPA 

West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution 

Ave. NW., Washington DC 20004. Such 

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20168 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 72 / Wednesday, April 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

deliveries are only accepted during the 

Docket’s normal hours of operation, and 

special arrangements should be made 

for deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OARM–2015– 

0182. EPA’s policy is that all comments 

received will be included in the public 

docket without change and may be 

made available online at http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless 

the comment includes information 

claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Do not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through http://

www.regulations.gov or email. The 

http://www.regulations.gov Web site is 

an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

If you send an email comment directly 

to EPA without going through http://

www.regulations.gov your email address 

will be automatically captured and 

included as part of the comment that is 

placed in the public docket and made 

available on the Internet. If you submit 

an electronic comment, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at http://

www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the http://

www.regulations.gov index. Although 

listed in the index, some information is 

not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

will be publicly available only in hard 

copy. Publicly available docket 

materials are available either 

electronically in http://

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the Government Property—Contract 

Property Administration Docket, EPA/

DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 

Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC. The Public Reading Room is open 

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. The telephone number for the 

Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1744 

and the telephone number for the EPA 

Docket Center is (202) 566–1752. This 

Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. 

to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 

excluding legal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Staci Ramrakha, Policy, Training, and 

Oversight Division, Acquisition Policy 

and Training Service Center (3802R), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20460; telephone number: 202–564– 

2017; email address: ramrakha.staci@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

General Information 

1. Do not submit Classified Business 

Information (CBI) to EPA Web site 

http://www.regulations.gov or email. 

Clearly mark the part or all of the 

information that you claim to be CBI. 

For CBI information in a disk or CD– 

ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the 

outside of the disk or CD–ROM as CBI, 

and then identify electronically within 

the disk or CD–ROM the specific 

information that is claimed as CBI. In 

addition to one complete version of the 

comment that includes information 

claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment 

that does not contain the information 

claimed as CBI must be submitted for 

inclusion in the public docket. 

Information so marked will not be 

disclosed except in accordance with 

procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. 

2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. 

When submitting comments, remember 

to: 

• Identify the rulemaking by docket 

number and other identifying 

information (subject heading, Federal 

Register date and page number). 

• Follow directions—The Agency 

may ask you to respond to specific 

questions or organize comments by 

referencing a Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) Part or section 

number. 

• Explain why you agree or disagree, 

suggest alternatives, and substitute 

language for your requested changes. 

• Describe any assumptions and 

provide any technical information and/ 

or data that you used. 

• If you estimate potential costs or 

burdens, explain how you arrived at 

your estimate in sufficient detail to 

allow for it to be reproduced. 

• Provide specific examples to 

illustrate your concerns, and suggest 

alternatives. 

• Explain your views as clearly as 

possible, avoiding the use of profanity 

or personal threats. 

3. Make sure to submit your 

comments by the comment period 

deadline identified. 

Background 

The EPA has recently issued new 

internal guidance for conducting source 

selections in accordance with Federal 

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15. 

As a result of the new guidance, existing 

EPAAR subsection 1515.3, Source 

Selection, is no longer pertinent. The 

new source selection guidance does not 

have a significant effect beyond the 

internal operating procedures of the 

agency or have a significant cost or 

administrative impact on contractors or 

offerors. Therefore, this subpart and its 

related clauses are being removed in 

their entirety. Additionally, the EPA is 

removing EPAAR 1552.232–73, 

Payments—Fixed Rate Services 

Contracts, because it is inconsistent 

with FAR 52.232–7. 

Final Rule 

This final rule makes the following 

changes: 

1. Amend EPAAR 1515.209 to delete 

source selection clauses that are no 

longer applicable to EPA source 

selections. 

2. Remove EPAAR Subpart 15.3, 

Source Selection, in its entirety. 

3. Remove EPAAR 1552.215–70, EPA 

Source Evaluation and Selection 

Procedures—Negotiated Procurements, 

in its entirety. 

4. Remove EPAAR 1552.215–71, 

Evaluation Factors for Award, in its 

entirety. 

5. Remove EPAAR 1552.232–73, 

Payments—Fixed Rate Services 

Contracts, in its entirety. 

6. Amend EPAAR 1552.215– 

72(b)(1)(iii) to delete reference to 

EPAAR 1552.232–73 which has been 

removed from the EPAAR. 

Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under the terms of 

Executive Order (EO) 12866 (58 FR 

51735, October 4, 1993) and is therefore 

not subject to review under the EO 

12866 and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 

21, 2011). 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This action does not impose an 

information collection burden under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Burden is 

defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b). 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 72 / Wednesday, April 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 20169 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as 

amended by the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. 

The RFA generally requires an agency 

to prepare a regulatory flexibility 

analysis of any rule subject to notice 

and comment rulemaking requirements 

under the Administrative Procedure Act 

or any other statute; unless the agency 

certifies that the rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

Small entities include small businesses, 

small organizations, and small 

governmental jurisdictions. For 

purposes of assessing the impact of 

today’s final rule on small entities, 

‘‘small entity’’ is defined as: (1) A small 

business that meets the definition of a 

small business found in the Small 

Business Act and codified at 13 CFR 

121.201; (2) a small governmental 

jurisdiction that is a government of a 

city, county, town, school district or 

special district with a population of less 

than 50,000; or (3) a small organization 

that is any not-for-profit enterprise 

which is independently owned and 

operated and is not dominant in its 

field. After considering the economic 

impacts of this rule on small entities, I 

certify that this action will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. In 

determining whether a rule has a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, the 

impact of concern is any significant 

adverse economic impact on small 

entities, because the primary purpose of 

the regulatory flexibility analyses is to 

identify and address regulatory 

alternatives ‘‘which minimize any 

significant economic impact of the 

proposed rule on small entities’’ 5 

U.S.C. 503 and 604. Thus, an agency 

may certify that a rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities if 

the rule relieves regulatory burden, or 

otherwise has a positive economic effect 

on all of the small entities subject to the 

rule. This action revises current EPAAR 

clauses and will not have a significant 

economic impact on substantial number 

of small entities. We continue to be 

interested in the potential impacts of the 

proposed rule on small entities and 

welcome comments on issues related to 

such impacts. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

This action contains no federal 

mandates under the provisions of Title 

II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 

Act of 1995 (UMRA), 2 U.S.C. 1531– 

1538 for State, local, and tribal 

governments or the private sector. The 

action imposes no enforceable duty on 

any State, local or tribal governments or 

the private sector. Therefore, this action 

is not subject to the requirements of 

Sections 202 or 205 of the UMRA. This 

action is also not subject to the 

requirements of section 203 of UMRA 

because it contains no regulatory 

requirements that might significantly or 

uniquely affect small governments. 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have federalism 

implications. It 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. Thus, Executive 

Order 13132 does not apply to this 

action. In the spirit of Executive Order 

13132, and consistent with EPA policy 

to promote communications between 

EPA and State and local governments, 

EPA specifically solicits comment on 

this action from State and local officials. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications, as specified in Executive 

Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 

2000). Thus, Executive Order 13175 

does not apply to this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

and Safety Risks 

Executive Order 13045, entitled 

‘‘Protection of Children from 

Environmental Health and Safety Risks’’ 

(62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), applies 

to any rule that: (1) Is determined to be 

economically significant as defined 

under EO 12886, and (2) concerns an 

environmental health or safety risk that 

may have a proportionate effect on 

children. This rule is not subject to EO 

13045 because it is not an economically 

significant rule as defined by EO 12866, 

and because it does not have a 

proportionate effect on children. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not subject to Executive 

Order 13211 (66 FR 28335 May 22, 

2001) because it is not a significant 

regulatory action under Executive Order 

12866. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act of 1995 (NTTAA) 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (‘‘NTTAA’’), Public Law 

104–113, 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note) 

directs EPA to use voluntary consensus 

standards in its regulatory activities 

unless to do so would be inconsistent 

with applicable law or otherwise 

impractical. Voluntary consensus 

standards are technical standards (e.g., 

materials specifications, test methods, 

sampling procedures and business 

practices) that are developed or adopted 

by voluntary consensus standards 

bodies. NTTAA directs EPA to provide 

Congress, through OMB, explanations 

when the Agency decides not to use 

available and applicable voluntary 

consensus standards. This action does 

not involve technical standards. 

Therefore, EPA is not considering the 

use of any voluntary consensus 

standards. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629 

(Feb. 16, 1994) establishes federal 

executive policy on environmental 

justice. Its main provision directs 

federal agencies, to the greatest extent 

practicable and permitted by law, to 

make environmental justice part of their 

mission by identifying and addressing, 

as appropriate, disproportionately high 

and adverse human health or 

environmental effects of their programs, 

policies, and activities on minority 

populations and low-income 

populations in the United States. EPA 

has determined that this final rule will 

not have disproportionately high and 

adverse human health or environmental 

effects on minority or low-income 

populations because it does not affect 

the level of protection provided to 

human health or the environment in the 

general public. 

K. Congressional Review Act 

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. Section 804 

exempts from section 801 the following 

types of rules (1) rules of particular 

applicability; (2) rules relating to agency 

management or personnel; and (3) rules 

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20170 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 72 / Wednesday, April 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

of Agency organization, procedure, or 

practice that do not substantially affect 

the rights or obligations of non-agency 

parties. 5 U.S.C. 804(3). EPA is not 

required to submit a rule report 

regarding today’s action under section 

801 because this is a rule of agency 

organization, procedure, or practice that 

does not substantially affect the rights or 

obligations of non-agency parties. 

List of Subjects 

48 CFR Part 1515 

Environmental protection, 

Government procurement. 

48 CFR Part 1552 

Environmental protection, 

Government procurement, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: April 2, 2015. 

John R. Bashista, 

Director, Office of Acquisition Management. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, EPA amends 48 CFR Chapter 

15, parts 1515 and 1552 as set forth 

below: 

PART 1515—CONTRACTING BY 

NEGOTATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1515 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; Sec. 205(c), 63 

Stat. 390, as amended, 40 U.S.C. 486(c); and 

41 U.S.C. 418b. 

■ 2. Revise 1515.209 to read as follows: 

1515.209 Solicitation provisions and 

contract clauses. 

The contracting officer shall insert the 

clause at 1552.215–75, Past Performance 

Information, or a clause substantially 

the same as 1552.215–75, in all 

competitively negotiated acquisitions 

with an estimated value in excess of the 

simplified acquisition threshold. 

Subpart 1515.3 [Removed] 

■ 3. Remove subpart 1515.3. 

PART 1552—SOLICITATION 

PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT 

CLAUSES 

■ 4. The authority citation for part 1552 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; Sec. 205(c), 63 

Stat. 390, as amended, 40 U.S.C. 486(c); and 

41 U.S.C. 418b. 

1552.215–70 and 1552.215–71 [Removed] 

■ 5. Remove 1552.215–70 and 

1552.215–71. 

■ 6. Amend 1552.215–72 by revising 

paragraph (b)(1)(iii) to read as follows: 

1552.215–72 Instructions for the 

Preparation of Proposals. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iii) If the contract includes the clause 

at FAR 52.232–7, ‘‘Payments Under 

Time and Materials and Labor-Hour 

Contracts,’’ include in the cost proposal 

the estimated costs and burden rate to 

be applied to materials, other direct 

costs, or subcontracts. The Government 

will include these costs as part of its 

cost proposal evaluation. 

* * * * * 

1552.232–73 [Removed] 

■ 7. Remove 1552.232–73. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08665 Filed 4–14–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

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