2340 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

1Under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, a penalty is a civil 

monetary penalty if (among other things) it is for 

a specific monetary amount or has a maximum 

amount specified by Federal law. Title IV also 

provides (in section 4007) for penalties for late 

payment of premiums, but those penalties are 

neither in a specified amount nor subject to a 

specified maximum amount. 

2Sec. 701, Public Law 114–74, 129 Stat. 599–601 

(Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015). 

Agency Law Name description CFR citation 

2021 2022 

Min penalty 

(rounded to 

nearest dollar) 

Max penalty 

(rounded to 

nearest dollar) 

Min penalty 

(rounded to 

nearest dollar) 

Max penalty 

(rounded to 

nearest dollar) 

OWCP ... Longshore and 

Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.

Failure to file first report of injury or filing 

a false statement or misrepresentation 

in first report.

20 CFR 702.204 ..... ........................ $24,730 ......... ........................ $26,269. 

OWCP ... Longshore and 

Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.

Failure to report termination of payments 20 CFR 702.236 ..... ........................ $301 .............. ........................ $320. 

OWCP ... Longshore and 

Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.

Discrimination against employees who 

claim compensation or testify in a 

LHWCA proceeding.

20 CFR 

702.271(a)(2).

2,473 $12,363 ......... 2,627 $13,132. 

OWCP ... Black Lung Benefits Act.Failure to report termination of payments 20 CFR 725.621(d) ........................ $1,506 ........... ........................ $1,600. 

OWCP ... Black Lung Benefits Act.Failure to secure payment of benefits for 

mines with fewer than 25 employees.

20 CFR 

726.302(c)(2)(i).

148 ....................... 157 

OWCP ... Black Lung Benefits Act.Failure to secure payment of benefits for 

mines with 25–50 employees.

20 CFR 

726.302(c)(2)(i).

293 ....................... 311 

OWCP ... Black Lung Benefits Act.Failure to secure payment of benefits for 

mines with 51–100 employees.

20 CFR 

726.302(c)(2)(i).

441 ....................... 468 

OWCP ... Black Lung Benefits Act.Failure to secure payment of benefits for 

mines with more than 100 employees.

20 CFR 

726.302(c)(2)(i).

586 ....................... 622 

OWCP ... Black Lung Benefits Act.Failure to secure payment of benefits 

after 10th day of notice.

20 CFR 

726.302(c)(4).

148 ....................... 157 

OWCP ... Black Lung Benefits Act.Failure to secure payment of benefits for 

repeat offenders.

20 CFR 

726.302(c)(5).

441 ....................... 468 

OWCP ... Black Lung Benefits Act.Failure to secure payment of benefits ...... 20 CFR 

726.302(c)(5).

........................ $3,011 ........... ........................ $3,198. 

[FR Doc. 2022–00144 Filed 1–13–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–HL–P 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

29 CFR Parts 4071 and 4302 

RIN 1212–AB45 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties for 

Inflation 

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation is required to amend its 

regulations annually to adjust for 

inflation the maximum civil penalty for 

failure to provide certain notices or 

other material information and for 

failure to provide certain multiemployer 

plan notices. 

DATES: 

Effective date: This rule is effective on 

January 14, 2022. 

Applicability date: The increases in 

the civil monetary penalties under 

sections 4071 and 4302 of the Employee 

Retirement Income Security Act 

provided for in this rule apply to such 

penalties assessed after January 14, 

2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gregory Katz (katz.gregory@pbgc.gov), 

Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, 

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 

1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 

20005–4026; 202–229–3829. (TTY users 

may call the Federal relay service tollfree at 800–877–8339 and ask to be 

connected to 202–229–3829.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary 

Purpose of the Regulatory Action 

This rule is needed to carry out the 

requirements of the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of 

Management and Budget guidance M– 

22–07. The rule adjusts, as required for 

2022, the maximum civil penalties 

under 29 CFR 4071 and 29 CFR 4302 

that the Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation (PBGC) may assess for 

failure to provide certain notices or 

other material information and certain 

multiemployer plan notices. 

PBGC’s legal authority for this action 

comes from the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as 

amended by the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 

Act of 2015 and from sections 

4002(b)(3), 4071, and 4302 of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA). 

Major Provisions of the Regulatory 

Action 

This rule adjusts as required by law 

the maximum civil penalties that PBGC 

may assess under sections 4071 and 

4302 of ERISA. The new maximum 

amounts are $2,400 for section 4071 

penalties and $320 for section 4302 

penalties. 

Background 

PBGC administers title IV of ERISA. 

Title IV has two provisions that 

authorize PBGC to assess civil monetary 

penalties.1 Section 4302, added to 

ERISA by the Multiemployer Pension 

Plan Amendments Act of 1980, 

authorizes PBGC to assess a civil 

penalty of up to $100 a day for failure 

to provide a notice under subtitle E of 

title IV of ERISA (dealing with 

multiemployer plans). Section 4071, 

added to ERISA by the Omnibus Budget 

Reconciliation Act of 1987, authorizes 

PBGC to assess a civil penalty of up to 

$1,000 a day for failure to provide a 

notice or other material information 

under subtitles A, B, and C of title IV 

and sections 303(k)(4) and 306(g)(4) of 

title I of ERISA. 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties 

On November 2, 2015, the President 

signed into law the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015,2 which 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 2341 

3See M–22–07, Implementation of Penalty 

Inflation Adjustments for 2022, Pursuant to the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015, https://

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/ 

M-22-07.pdf. 

requires agencies to adjust civil 

monetary penalties for inflation and to 

publish the adjustments in the Federal 

Register. An initial adjustment was 

required to be made by interim final 

rule published by July 1, 2016, and 

effective by August 1, 2016. Subsequent 

adjustments must be published by 

January 15 each year after 2016. 

On December 15, 2021, the Office of 

Management and Budget issued 

memorandum M–22–07 on 

implementation of the 2022 annual 

inflation adjustment pursuant to the 

2015 act.3 The memorandum provides 

agencies with the cost-of-living 

adjustment multiplier for 2022, which is 

based on the Consumer Price Index 

(CPI–U) for the month of October 2021, 

not seasonally adjusted. The multiplier 

for 2022 is 1.06222. The adjusted 

maximum amounts are $2,400 for 

section 4071 penalties and $320 for 

section 4302 penalties. 

Compliance With Regulatory 

Requirements 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has determined that this rule is not a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under 

Executive Order 12866 and therefore not 

subject to its review. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

also has determined that notice and 

public comment on this final rule are 

unnecessary because the adjustment of 

civil penalties implemented in the rule 

is required by law. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

Because no general notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required for this rule, the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 does 

not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 601(2). 

List of Subjects 

29 CFR Part 4071 

Penalties. 

29 CFR Part 4302 

Penalties. 

In consideration of the foregoing, 

PBGC amends 29 CFR parts 4071 and 

4302 as follows: 

PART 4071—PENALTIES FOR 

FAILURE TO PROVIDE CERTAIN 

NOTICES OR OTHER MATERIAL 

INFORMATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 4071 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as 

amended by sec. 701, Pub. L. 114–74, 129 

Stat. 599–601; 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1371. 

§ 4071.3 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 4071.3, remove the number 

‘‘$2,259’’ and add in its place the 

number ‘‘$2,400’’. 

PART 4302—PENALTIES FOR 

FAILURE TO PROVIDE CERTAIN 

MULTIEMPLOYER PLAN NOTICES 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 4302 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as 

amended by sec. 701, Pub. L. 114–74, 129 

Stat. 599–601; 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1452. 

§ 4302.3 [Amended] 

■ 4. In § 4302.3, remove the number 

‘‘$301’’ and add its place the number 

‘‘$320’’. 

Issued in Washington, DC, by 

Gordon Hartogensis, 

Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2022–00778 Filed 1–13–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7709–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

30 CFR Parts 870 and 872 

[Docket ID: OSM 2021–0008; S1D1S 

SS08011000 SX064A000 221S180110; 

S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 

22XS501520] 

RIN 1029–AC83 

Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation 

Fee 

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. 

ACTION: Interim final rule, request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface 

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 

(OSMRE), are revising our regulations 

for the Abandoned Mine Reclamation 

Fund (AML Fund). This rule revises our 

regulations to be consistent with the 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 

(IIJA), which was signed into law on 

November 15, 2021, and which 

included the Abandoned Mine Land 

Reclamation Amendments of 2021 (the 

2021 amendments). The rule reflects the 

extension of our statutory authority to 

collect reclamation fees for an 

additional thirteen years and to reduce 

the fee rates. In addition, we are revising 

our rule provisions to reflect the 

statutory extension of the dates when 

moneys derived from these fees will be 

available to eligible States and Tribes for 

grant distributions. 

DATES: Effective January 14, 2022. 

Comments will be accepted until 

February 14, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by one of the following methods: 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments to 

Docket No. OSM–2021–0008. Please 

note that if you are using the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal, the deadline for 

submitting electronic comments is 11:59 

p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the 

comment due date. 

Mail: Address comment to Public 

Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 

OSM–2021–0008; Office of Surface 

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 

1849 C Street NW, Mail Stop 4558, 

Washington, DC 20240. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Harry Payne, Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, 1849 C 

Street NW, Mail Stop 4558, Washington, 

DC 20240; Telephone (202) 208–5683. 

Email: hpayne@osmre.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

A. How did the reclamation fee work 

before the 2021 amendments? 

B. How did the 2021 amendments change 

the reclamation fee and the annual AML 

grant distributions? 

II. Administrative Procedure Act 

A. Why is the rule being published on an 

interim final basis? 

B. How does the rule operate? 

III. Procedural Matters 

A. Congressional Review Act 

B. Regulatory Planning and Review 

(Executive Orders 12866 and 13563) 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

D. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

F. Takings (Executive Order 12630) 

G. Federalism (Executive Order 13132) 

H. Civil Justice Reform (Executive Order 

12988) 

I. Consultation With Indian Tribes 

(Executive Order 13175 and 

Departmental Policy) 

J. Paperwork Reduction Act 

K. National Environmental Policy Act 

L. Effects on Energy Supply, Distribution, 

and Use (Executive Order 13211) 

M. Clarity of This Regulation 

N. Data Quality Act 

O. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

P. Protection of Children From 

Environmental Health Risks and Safety 

Risks (Executive Order 13045) 

I. Background 

A. How did the reclamation fee work 

before the 2021 amendments? 

Title IV of the Surface Mining Control 

and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) 


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