21654 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 75 / Monday, April 20, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

272 note) do not apply. As required by 

section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61 

FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing 

this rule, EPA has taken the necessary 

steps to eliminate drafting errors and 

ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, 

and provide a clear legal standard for 

affected conduct. EPA has complied 

with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 

8859, March 15, 1988) by examining the 

takings implications of the rule in 

accordance with the ‘‘Attorney 

General’s Supplemental Guidelines for 

the Evaluation of Risk and Avoidance of 

Unanticipated Takings’’ issued under 

the executive order. This rule does not 

impose an information collection 

burden under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

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

Because this rule authorizes pre-existing 

State rules which are at least equivalent 

to, and no less stringent than existing 

federal requirements, and imposes no 

additional requirements beyond those 

imposed by State law, and there are no 

anticipated significant adverse human 

health or environmental effects, the rule 

is not subject to Executive Order 12898. 

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 document 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 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). This 

action nevertheless will be effective 60 

days after it is published, because it is 

a direct final rule. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 271 

Environmental protection, Hazardous 

waste. 

Authority: This action is issued under the 

authority of sections 2002(a), 3006 and 

7004(b) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act as 

amended 42 U.S.C. 6912(a), 6926, 6974(b). 

Dated: March 24, 2015. 

H. Curtis Spalding, 

Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08997 Filed 4–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION 

45 CFR Part 1640 

Application of Federal Law to LSC 

Recipients 

AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule updates the 

Legal Services Corporation (LSC or 

Corporation) regulation on the 

application of Federal law to LSC 

recipients. The FY 1996 appropriations 

act (incorporated in LSC’s 

appropriations by reference annually 

thereafter) subjects LSC recipients and 

its employees and board members to 

Federal law relating to the proper use of 

Federal funds. This final rule provides 

recipients with notice of the applicable 

Federal laws each recipient and its 

employees and board members must 

agree to be subject to under this rule, the 

consequences of a violation of an 

applicable Federal law, and where LSC 

will maintain the list of applicable laws. 

DATES: This final rule will be effective 

on May 20, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stefanie K. Davis, Assistant General 

Counsel, Legal Services Corporation, 

3333 K Street NW., Washington, DC 

20007; (202) 295–1563 (phone), (202) 

337–6519 (fax), or sdavis@lsc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. History of This Rulemaking 

Section 504(a)(19) of LSC’s FY 1996 

appropriations act required LSC 

recipients to enter into a contract that 

subjected them to ‘‘all provisions of 

Federal law relating to the proper use of 

Federal funds.’’ Sec. 504(a)(19), Public 

Law.= 104–134, title V; 110 Stat. 1321. 

By its terms, a violation of Sec. 

504(a)(19) renders any LSC grant or 

contract null and void. The provision 

has been incorporated by reference into 

each of LSC’s annual appropriations act 

since. Accordingly, the preamble and 

text of this final rule continue to refer 

to the relevant section number of the FY 

1996 appropriations act. 

The Corporation first issued 45 CFR 

part 1640 as an interim rule in 1996 to 

implement Sec. 504(a)(19). 61 FR 45760, 

Aug. 29, 1996. The interim rule was put 

in place to provide immediate guidance 

to LSC recipients on legislation that was 

already in effect and carried significant 

penalties for noncompliance. Id. In the 

preamble to the interim rule, LSC 

announced that it was interpreting the 

statutory phrase ‘‘all provisions of 

Federal law relating to the proper use of 

Federal funds’’ to mean ‘‘with respect to 

[a recipient’s] LSC funds, all programs 

should be subject to Federal laws which 

address issues of waste, fraud and abuse 

of Federal funds.’’ Id. LSC based its 

interpretation on legislative history that 

appeared to limit the applicable laws to 

those dealing with fraud, waste, and 

abuse of Federal funds. 

In particular, LSC relied on two 

congressional documents to support its 

interpretation. First, the Corporation 

cited to the House Report for H.R. 2076, 

which was a prior effort to enact a 

provision similar to section 504(a)(19). 

The relevant language in that report 

stated: 

[S]ection 504(20) requires all programs 

receiving Federal funds to comply with 

Federal statutes and regulations governing 

waste, fraud, and abuse of Federal funds. 

H. Rep. No. 104–196, 104th Cong., 1st 

Sess. 116 (July 1995) (emphasis added). 

Second, LSC cited section 5 of H.R. 

1806, the Legal Services Reform Act of 

1995, which was an unsuccessful 

attempt to revise the LSC Act. As an 

extension of his remarks introducing 

H.R. 1806, Rep. McCollum submitted a 

partial summary of the bill, including a 

discussion of section 5 entitled 

‘‘Application of waste, fraud, and abuse 

laws.’’ 141 Cong. Rec. E1220–21 (daily 

ed. June 9, 1995). Section 5 itself was 

titled ‘‘Protection Against Theft and 

Fraud,’’ and expressly included 

provisions of Title 18 of the U.S. Code 

pertaining to criminal offenses 

involving the misuse of Federal funds, 

as well as provisions of the False Claims 

Act. H.R. 1806, 104th Cong., § 5 (1995). 

LSC adopted the list of statutes in 

section 5, with one exception. Through 

negotiation with LSC’s Office of 

Inspector General (OIG), LSC 

determined that two other criminal 

statutes should be included in the list. 

61 FR 45760, Aug. 29, 1996. These 

statutes prohibit bribery of public 

officials and witnesses and conspiracy 

to defraud the United States. Id. at 

45761. 

Minor changes to the interim rule, not 

affecting this list, were made before the 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 75 / Monday, April 20, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 21655 

final rule was published in 1997. 62 FR 

19424–19427, Apr. 21, 1997. LSC has 

not revised Part 1640 since the 

publication of the final rule. 

Since the final rule was published, 

Congress has amended or passed other 

Federal laws relating to the proper use 

of Federal funds. In 2014, OIG raised 

concerns that the § 1640.2(a)(1) list of 

applicable Federal laws is now underinclusive. As an example, OIG noted the 

omission of 18 U.S.C. 666, which 

prohibits theft or bribery concerning 

programs receiving Federal funds and 

has been the basis for OIG’s referrals to 

the Department of Justice for 

prosecution. Subsequently, LSC staff 

researched other Federal laws 

applicable to fraud, waste, and abuse of 

Federal funds. The search revealed at 

least two other Federal laws relating to 

the proper use of Federal funds 

currently missing from the § 1640.2(a)(1) 

list: 18 U.S.C. 285—Taking or using 

papers relating to claims, and 18 U.S.C. 

1031—Major fraud against the United 

States. 

As required by the LSC Rulemaking 

Protocol, LSC staff prepared an 

explanatory rulemaking options paper, 

accompanied by a proposed rule 

amending Part 1640. On January 22, 

2015, the Operations and Regulations 

Committee (Committee) voted to 

authorize LSC to initiate rulemaking 

and to recommend that the LSC Board 

of Directors (Board) approve publishing 

the proposed rule. On January 24, 2015, 

the Board approved the proposed rule 

for publication in the Federal Register 

for notice and comment. LSC published 

the notice of the proposed rulemaking 

(the NPRM) in the Federal Register on 

February 3, 2015. 80 FR 5016, Feb. 3, 

2015. The comment period remained 

open for thirty days and closed on 

March 5, 2015. 

On April 12, 2015, the Committee 

considered the draft final rule for 

publication and voted to recommend its 

publication to the Board, subject to one 

amendment. The Committee voted to 

amend the language in § 1640.2(a) to 

explicitly state that the Board would 

vote at a public meeting on any 

proposed changes to the list of Federal 

laws relating to the proper use of 

Federal funds. The Committee made 

this amendment in response to a 

comment made during the meeting by 

the National Legal Aid and Defender 

Association (NLADA) expressing its 

position that proposed changes to the 

list should be subject to public comment 

prior to adoption by the Board. On April 

14, 2015, the Board voted to adopt and 

publish the final rule as amended. 

Material regarding this rulemaking is 

available in the open rulemaking section 

of LSC’s Web site at http://www.lsc.gov/ 

about/regulations-rules/openrulemaking. After the effective date of 

the rule, those materials will appear in 

the closed rulemaking section at 

http://www.lsc.gov/about/regulationsrules/closed-rulemaking. 

II. Section-by-Section Discussion of 

Comments and Regulatory Provisions 

LSC received two comments during 

the public comment period. One 

comment was submitted by an LSCfunded recipient, Colorado Legal 

Services (CLS). The other comment was 

submitted by the non-LSC-funded nonprofit NLADA through its Civil Policy 

Group and its Regulations and Policy 

Committee. Both commenters were 

generally supportive of the changes LSC 

proposed to Part 1640. 

Proposed § 1640.1—Purpose 

LSC proposed revising this section to 

reflect the changes to Part 1640, 

specifically removing the language 

stating that the applicable Federal laws 

were identified in Part 1640. LSC 

received no comments on this proposal. 

Proposed § 1640.2—Applicable Federal 

Laws 

LSC proposed deleting the existing 

§ 1640.2(a)(1) list of applicable Federal 

laws. The contracts between the 

Corporation and its recipients, currently 

referred to as the LSC Grant Assurances, 

will be modified to provide recipients 

with a weblink to the updated list. LSC 

proposed a new § 1640.2(a), which 

states that the Corporation will maintain 

a public list of applicable Federal law 

on the Corporation’s Web site. LSC 

stated in the preamble of the NPRM that 

the list would be exhaustive but did not 

specifically use that term in the 

proposed rule text. 

Comment 1: NLADA and CLS both 

expressed concern that LSC’s decision 

to move the list of applicable Federal 

laws from the rule to LSC’s Web site 

would decrease stakeholders’ ability to 

comment on proposed changes to the 

list. NLADA noted that this was the 

second proposal by LSC in the past year 

to remove a section of a regulation from 

the usual rulemaking process. NLADA 

stated: ‘‘While we understand and 

support LSC’s desire in this instance to 

avoid an unnecessary, time-consuming 

regulatory process, we want to confirm 

NLADA’s very strong support’’ for LSC’s 

commitment, expressed in the 2002 

rulemaking protocol, to ‘‘conduct its 

rulemaking activities in a spirit of 

cooperative dialog with [] recipients and 

other interested parties.’’ CLS similarly 

asserted that ‘‘[a]s LSC is a program 

uniquely committed to protecting due 

process rights and protections, it should 

adhere to them strictly itself and 

provide an opportunity for comment 

before the list of Federal laws relating to 

the proper use of Federal funds by LSC 

recipients is modified or changed.’’ 

Response: LSC views updating the list 

of applicable Federal laws to be an 

administrative task that does not affect 

the underlying substance of the rule. 

Updating the list does not materially 

change the Part 1640 requirement that 

recipients, and its employees and board 

members, comply with Federal laws 

relating to the proper use of Federal 

funds. 

Although the regulation does not 

require notice and an opportunity for 

comment before submitting 

modifications of the list to the Board for 

approval, LSC remains committed to 

providing recipients with notice of any 

proposed modifications before a Board 

meeting. Recipients will have an 

opportunity to comment on the 

proposed modifications prior to and at 

the meeting where the modifications 

will be discussed. 

Comment 2: CLS and NLADA 

supported LSC’s decision to make the 

list of applicable Federal laws 

exhaustive. In its comment, NLADA 

recommended that LSC include 

language in the text of the rule stating 

that the list is exhaustive. 

Response: LSC will adopt NLADA’s 

recommendation. LSC will revise the 

first sentence of § 1640.2(a) to read: 

‘‘LSC will maintain an exhaustive list of 

applicable Federal laws relating to the 

proper use of Federal funds on its Web 

site and provide recipients with a link 

to the list in the contractual agreement.’’ 

LSC proposed renumbering 

§ 1640.2(a)(2) as § 1640.2(b) and revising 

the language for clarity and readability. 

No substantive changes were made to 

this subsection. LSC received no 

comments on this proposal. LSC 

proposed redesignating existing 

§ 1640.2(b)(1) and (2) as § 1640.4(a) and 

(c) respectively. 

Proposed § 1640.3—Contractual 

Agreement 

LSC proposed revising existing 

§ 1640.3 for clarity and readability. No 

substantive changes were made to this 

subsection. LSC received no comments 

on this proposal. 

Proposed § 1640.4—Violation of 

Agreement 

LSC proposed redesignating existing 

§ 1640.2(b)(1) and (2) as § 1640.4(a) and 

(c) respectively. The proposed move 

groups each definition in existing 

§ 1640.2(b) with each definition’s 

consequence for violating the agreement 

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21656 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 75 / Monday, April 20, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

in existing § 1640.4. No substantive 

changes were made, but the text has 

been revised for clarity and readability 

throughout the section. LSC received no 

comments on this proposal. 

List of Subjects in 45 CFR part 1640 

Fraud; Grant programs—law; Legal 

services. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Legal Services 

Corporation revises 45 CFR part 1640 to 

read as follows: 

PART 1640—APPLICATION OF 

FEDERAL LAW TO LSC RECIPIENTS 

Sec. 

1640.1 Purpose. 

1640.2 Applicable Federal laws. 

1640.3 Contractual agreement. 

1640.4 Violation of agreement. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2996e(g). 

§ 1640.1 Purpose. 

The purpose of this part is to ensure 

that recipients use their LSC funds in 

accordance with Federal law related to 

the proper use of Federal funds. This 

part also provides notice to recipients of 

the consequences of a violation of such 

Federal laws by a recipient, its 

employees or board members. 

§ 1640.2 Applicable federal laws. 

(a) LSC will maintain an exhaustive 

list of applicable Federal laws relating 

to the proper use of Federal funds on its 

Web site and provide recipients with a 

link to the list in the contractual 

agreement. The list may be modified 

with the approval of the Corporation’s 

Board of Directors at a public meeting. 

LSC will provide recipients with notice 

when the list is modified. 

(b) For the purposes of this part and 

the laws referenced in paragraph (a) of 

this section, LSC is considered a Federal 

agency and a recipient’s LSC funds are 

considered Federal funds provided by 

grant or contract. 

§ 1640.3 Contractual agreement. 

As a condition of receiving LSC 

funds, a recipient must enter into a 

written agreement with the Corporation 

that, with respect to its LSC funds, will 

subject the recipient to the applicable 

Federal laws relating to the proper use 

of Federal funds. The agreement must 

include a statement that all of the 

recipient’s employees and board 

members have been informed of such 

Federal law and of the consequences of 

a violation of such law, both to the 

recipient and to themselves as 

individuals. 

§ 1640.4 Violation of agreement. 

(a) LSC will determine that a recipient 

has violated the agreement described in 

§ 1640.3 when the recipient has been 

convicted of, or judgment has been 

entered against the recipient for, a 

violation of an applicable Federal law 

relating to the proper use of Federal 

funds with respect to its LSC grant or 

contract, by the court having 

jurisdiction of the matter, and any 

appeals of the conviction or judgment 

have been exhausted or the time for 

appeal has expired. 

(b) A violation of the agreement by a 

recipient based on recipient conduct 

will result in the Corporation 

terminating the recipient’s LSC grant or 

contract without need for a termination 

hearing. While an appeal of a conviction 

or judgment is pending, the Corporation 

may take any necessary steps to 

safeguard its funds. 

(c) LSC will determine that the 

recipient has violated the agreement 

described in § 1640.3 when an employee 

or board member of the recipient has 

been convicted of, or judgment has been 

entered against the employee or board 

member for, a violation of an applicable 

Federal law relating to the proper use of 

Federal funds with respect to the 

recipient’s grant or contract with LSC, 

by the court having jurisdiction of the 

matter, and any appeals of the 

conviction or judgment have been 

exhausted or the time for appeal has 

expired, and the Corporation finds that 

the recipient has knowingly or through 

gross negligence allowed the employee 

or board member to engage in such 

activities. 

(d) A violation of the agreement by 

the recipient based on employee or 

board member conduct will result in the 

Corporation terminating the recipient’s 

LSC grant or contract. Prior to 

termination, the Corporation will 

provide notice and an opportunity to be 

heard for the sole purpose of 

determining whether the recipient 

knowingly or through gross negligence 

allowed the employee or board member 

to engage in the activities leading to the 

conviction or judgment. While an 

appeal of a conviction or judgment or a 

hearing is pending, the Corporation may 

take any necessary steps to safeguard its 

funds. 

Dated: April 15, 2015. 

Stefanie K. Davis, 

Assistant General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08974 Filed 4–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7050–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Defense Acquisition Regulations 

System 

[Docket Number DARS–2015–0018] 

48 CFR Parts 205, 206, 208, 210, 213, 

215, and 216 

Defense Federal Acquisition 

Regulation Supplement; Technical 

Amendments 

AGENCY: Defense Acquisition 

Regulations System, Department of 

Defense (DoD). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: DoD is making technical 

amendments to the Defense Federal 

Acquisition Regulation Supplement 

(DFARS) to provide needed editorial 

changes. 

DATES: Effective April 20, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Manuel Quinones, Defense Acquisition 

Regulations System, 

OUSD(AT&L)DPAP(DARS), Room 

3B941, 3060 Defense Pentagon, 

Washington, DC 20301–3060. 

Telephone 571–372–6088; facsimile 

571–372–6094. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final 

rule amends the DFARS as follows: 

1. Directs contracting officers to 

additional procedures and guidance by 

adding references at— 

• DFARS 205.205.205–71 to DFARS 

Procedures, Guidance and Information 

(PGI) 206.302–1(d); 

• DFARS 206.000 to PGI 206.000; 

• DFARS 206.302–1(d) to PGI 

206.302–1(d); 

• DFARS 206.303–2 to PGI 206.303– 

2(b)(i); 

• DFARS 206.304(a)(S–70) to PGI 

206.304(a)(S–70); 

• DFARS 208.405–6 to PGI 208.405– 

6; 

• DFARS 210.002 to PGI 

210.002(e)(ii); 

• DFARS 213.104 to PGI 213.104; 

• DFARS 213.500–70 to PGI 215.371– 

2; 

• DFARS 213.501 to PGI 

206.304(a)(S–70); 

• DFARS 215.371–2 to PGI 215.371– 

2; and 

• DFARS 216.505(b)(2) to PGI 

216.505(b)(2). 

2. Revises paragraph structure of 

sections 210.002 and 215.371–2. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 205, 

206, 208, 210, 213, 215, and 216 

Government procurement. 

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