Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 22 / Wednesday, February 2, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 5693 

original final rule was issued without 

notice and comment. This rule is also 

exempt from the requirement in 5 U.S.C. 

553(d) that the effective date of a 

regulation must be at least 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register. 

Executive Order 12866 

This final rule rescinds internal rules 

of agency procedure only. OMB has 

determined that the rule is not a 

significant regulatory action within the 

meaning of Executive Order 12866. 

Congressional Review Act 

This final rule is not a major rule 

within the meaning of the Congressional 

Review Act. See 5 U.S.C. 801, et seq. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

requires Federal agencies to analyze 

regulatory options that may assist in 

minimizing any significant impact of a 

rule on small businesses and small 

governmental jurisdictions. See 5 U.S.C. 

604, 605(b). Because this final rule 

relates solely to the recission of agency 

internal procedures and, moreover, is 

not subject to notice-and-comment 

rulemaking, the RFA is inapplicable. 

Federalism (Executive Order 13132) 

The Access Board has analyzed this 

direct final rule in accordance with the 

principles and criteria set forth in 

Executive Order 13132. The Board has 

determined that this action will not 

have a substantial direct effect on the 

States, or the relationship between the 

Federal Government and the States, or 

on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government, and, therefore, 

does not have Federalism implications. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This final rule does not specify any 

new collections of information or 

recordkeeping requirements that require 

OMB approval under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. See 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 

seq. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (codified at 2 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.) (‘‘UMRA’’) generally requires that 

Federal agencies assess the effects of 

their discretionary regulatory actions 

that may result in the expenditure of 

$100 million (adjusted for inflation) or 

more in any one year by the private 

sector, or by State, local, and tribal 

governments in the aggregate. Because 

this direct final rule is being issued 

under the good cause exception in the 

Administrative Procedure Act section 

553(b)(B), UMRA’s analytical 

requirements are inapplicable. See 2 

U.S.C. 1532(a). 

List of Subjects in 36 CFR Part 1155 

Administrative practice and 

procedure. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, and under the authority of 29 

U.S.C. 792, the Access Board amends 36 

CFR chapter XI as follows: 

PART 1155—[REMOVE AND 

RESERVE] 

■ 1. Remove and reserve part 1155. 

Sachin Pavithran, 

Executive Director. 

[FR Doc. 2022–02132 Filed 2–1–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8150–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Part 1 

RIN 2900–AR20 

Threshold for Reporting VA Debts to 

Consumer Reporting Agencies 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA) amends its regulations 

around the conditions by which VA 

benefits debts or medical debts are 

reported to consumer reporting agencies 

(CRA). The Johnny Isakson and David P. 

Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and 

Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 

provides the Secretary authority to 

prescribe regulations that establish the 

minimum amount of a benefits or 

medical debt that the Secretary will 

report to the CRA. This change will 

establish the methodology for 

determining a minimum threshold for 

debts reported to CRA. 

DATES: This rule is effective March 4, 

2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jason Hoge, Director of Operations, Debt 

Management Center, Office of 

Management, 189, 1 Federal Drive, Suite 

4500, Fort Snelling, MN 55111, (612) 

725–4337. (This is not a toll-free 

telephone number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 

23, 2021 (86 FR 38958), VA published 

a proposed rule in the Federal Register 

that would significantly reduce the 

amount of VA debts referred to the CRA. 

VA provided a 60-day comment period, 

which ended on September 21, 2021. 

VA received nine comments on the 

proposed rule. 

Summary of Regulatory Changes 

This final rule amends VA’s 

regulation that governs reporting of 

delinquent debts to CRA. This 

rulemaking would update the regulation 

to comply with section 2007 of Public 

Law 116–315, the Johnny Isakson and 

David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care 

and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020. 

Section 2007 amends chapter 53 of title 

38, United States Code by adding 

section 5320 as follows: ‘‘The Secretary 

shall prescribe regulations that establish 

the minimum amount of a claim or debt, 

arising from a benefit administered by 

the Under Secretary for Benefits or 

Under Secretary for Health, that the 

Secretary will report to a consumer 

reporting agency under section 3711 of 

title 31.’’ 

This amendment will establish the 

methodology for determining the 

minimum threshold for reporting 

certain VA debts to CRA. It will also 

exclude from the minimum threshold 

those debts in which there is an 

indication of fraud, misrepresentation, 

or bad faith on the part of the debtor. 

Background on Governing Statutes 

The Debt Collection Improvement Act 

of 1996 (DCIA), in part, mandated 

agencies to report delinquent debts to 

CRA. 31 U.S.C. 3711(e); Sec. 31001(k), 

Public Law 104–134, 110 Stat. 1321. 

The purpose of the DCIA includes 

maximizing collection of delinquent 

debts by ensuring quick action to 

recover debts, use of appropriate 

collection tools, and minimizing the 

costs of debt collection. Sec. 31001(b), 

Public Law 104–134. 

Section 5320 of title 38, United States 

Code, authorizes VA to ‘‘establish the 

minimum amount of a claim or debt, 

arising from a benefit administered by 

the Under Secretary for Benefits or 

Under Secretary for Health, that the 

Secretary will report to a consumer 

reporting agency under section 3711 of 

title 31.’’ The intent of section 5320 is 

to lessen negative impact of CRA reports 

on Veterans. 

Introduction to Regulatory Changes 

As explained in more detail below, 

we amend 38 CFR 1.916 to comply with 

38 U.S.C. 5320, to establish a minimum 

threshold for reporting debts to CRA. 

In accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3711(e), 

the VA Debt Management Center (DMC) 

is responsible for reporting delinquent 

debts to CRA. Prior to January 5, 2021, 

DMC reported an average of 5,000 

delinquent Veteran accounts monthly. 

DMC regularly receives complaints from 

Veterans whose accounts have been 

reported to CRA. Common complaints 


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5694 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 22 / Wednesday, February 2, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

from Veterans include loss of security 

clearance, inability to obtain approval 

for home loans or home refinancing, and 

difficulty securing rental housing. This 

amendment recognizes that the debts 

described in 38 U.S.C. 5320 are 

fundamentally different from consumer 

debt. Debts arising from a benefit 

administered by the Under Secretary for 

Benefits or the Under Secretary for 

Health may result from a variety of 

scenarios, including overpayments that 

are not the fault of the Veteran. 

Section 5320 authorizes the Secretary 

to establish a minimum threshold that 

will ultimately reduce the number of 

debts that will be reported to CRA. This 

will, in turn, decrease the number of 

Veterans negatively impacted by these 

reports. The VA’s mission is to ‘‘fulfill 

President Lincoln’s promise ‘To care for 

him who shall have borne the battle, 

and for his widow, and his orphan’ by 

serving and honoring the men and 

women who are America’s Veterans.’’ 

Negative credit reports may cause 

housing insecurity or job loss, and this 

result is inconsistent with VA’s mission. 

38 CFR 1.916 Disclosure of Debt 

Information to Consumer Reporting 

Agencies (CRA) 

We amend 38 CFR 1.916, which sets 

forth the requirements for reporting 

delinquent debts to CRA, by inserting 

paragraphs (c)(1) through (3) to provide 

the methodology used by the Secretary 

to establish the minimum threshold. 

This section would also clarify that the 

minimum threshold applies only to a 

debt of an individual that arises from a 

benefit administered by the Under 

Secretary for Benefits or Under 

Secretary for Health. 

We add paragraphs (c)(1) through (3) 

to provide that: 

• The Secretary has established a 

minimum threshold for a debt, arising 

from a benefit administered by the 

Under Secretary for Benefits or Under 

Secretary for Health, that the Secretary 

will report to a consumer reporting 

agency under section 3711 of title 31. 

• VA will only report those debts that 

meet the following standards: 

Æ The debt is classified as currently 

not collectible. For purposes of this 

paragraph, the debt is currently not 

collectible if VA has exhausted available 

collection efforts, including, as 

appropriate, referrals for administrative 

offset and enforced collection; 

Æ The debt is not owed by an 

individual who is determined by VA to 

be catastrophically disabled or has 

reported to VA a gross household 

income below the applicable 

geographically adjusted income limits 

that would entitle a VA beneficiary to 

cost-free health care, medications and/ 

or beneficiary travel; and 

Æ The outstanding debt amount is 

over $25, or such higher amount VA 

may from time to time prescribe, in 

accordance with § 1.921 of the part. 

• The minimum threshold set forth in 

the paragraph will not apply if there is 

an indication of fraud, 

misrepresentation, or bad faith on the 

part of the individual in connection 

with the debt. 

Positive Comments 

Most commenters were in support of 

the proposed rule. One commenter 

stated that the rule will make life easier 

for Veterans, particularly those who 

have experienced conditions that 

require them to receive financial 

assistance from VA. Another commenter 

stated the rule demonstrates that VA 

recognizes these debts are not like 

consumer debts and result from many 

sources, including some that are of no 

fault of the Veteran. The commenter 

added the proposed rule makes it clear 

that VA understands that fraudulent and 

misrepresented claims should not be 

tolerated, and these are exempt from the 

proposed rule, as they should be. An 

additional commenter similarly 

mentioned that these debts should be 

recognized differently from consumer 

debts as many times it is not the fault 

of the Veteran, and we should be 

protecting those who serve us. 

VA thanks the commenters for their 

support of the rule. We are not making 

any changes based on these comments. 

Comments on Referral of Medical Debts 

One commenter stated there should 

never be a time Veteran medical debts 

should be reported to a credit reporting 

agency. The commenter added that 

reporting Veterans for non-payment or 

delinquent status of a medical debt can 

further add to the mental and emotional 

turmoil most are already dealing with. 

Another commenter suggested 

expanding reporting restrictions to 

Veterans in priority groups one through 

seven. The commenter states the 

proposed criteria would effectively 

exclude Veterans in VA health care 

priority groups four and five but leave 

several categories of Veterans 

unprotected. The commenter added 

Veterans should be as insulated as 

possible from the negative consequences 

of having medical debt included in their 

credit reports and urged the VA to 

exclude all delinquent debts held by 

Veterans in priority groups one through 

seven. 

VA acknowledges and understands 

the concern with reporting medical 

debts to CRA. However, the proposed 

rule states VA will only report debts 

that are considered currently not 

collectible, the debt is not owed by an 

individual who is determined 

catastrophically disabled or has a gross 

household income below the applicable 

geographically adjusted income limit, 

and the outstanding debt amount is over 

$25. When considering VA medical 

debts that fall under these conditions, 

VA is obligated by the Debt Collection 

Improvement Act (DCIA) to report 

delinquent debts to the CRA. Through 

VA’s analysis and determination of the 

referral conditions, the current rule is 

projected to result in a significant 

reduction in referred debts while 

continuing to comply with DCIA. 

Therefore, VA is not making changes 

based on these comments. 

Comment on Minimum Threshold 

Amount 

Several commenters voiced concern 

over the $25 minimum threshold 

amount. One commenter suggested the 

$25 threshold be increased to $1,000 

since this would more likely represent 

a common loan borrowed on the regular 

marketplace. The commenter also stated 

a significant amount of Veterans face 

housing and job insecurity, even with 

benefits extended to them, so the 

proposed threshold requirement should 

be higher. 

Another commenter stated by setting 

a low monetary threshold of $25, it is 

hard to imagine there will be a 

significant reduction in debt reporting. 

The same commenter suggested the VA 

set the minimum threshold at the 10 

percent rating monthly rate. 

One commenter suggested to 

substantially increase the proposed 

dollar amount from $25 to a higher 

threshold that would follow various 

characteristics about Veterans’ 

delinquent debt, such as the median 

medical collections tradeline provided 

by Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau (CFPB). The commenter further 

explains the CFPB reports that the 

addition of any paid or unpaid 

collections tradeline can significantly 

reduce a credit score and may even 

preclude individuals from accessing the 

credit market altogether. 

VA considered several different 

threshold amounts and after thorough 

analysis came to the threshold as 

proposed in the rule which includes 

four criteria: (1) The debt is classified as 

currently not collectible; (2) The debt is 

not owed by an individual who is 

determined by VA to be catastrophically 

disabled or has reported to VA a gross 

household income below the applicable 

geographically adjusted income limits; 

(3) The outstanding debt amount is over 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 22 / Wednesday, February 2, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 5695 

$25.00; and (4) There is no indication of 

fraud, misrepresentation, or bad faith on 

the part of the individual in connection 

with the debt. Based on the 

comprehensive impact of the criteria in 

addition to the dollar amount, VA is not 

making changes based on these 

comments. 

Comments on Definition of 

Catastrophically Disabled Veteran 

One commenter suggested expanding 

its exemptions to all totally and 

permanently disabled Veterans as an 

additional way to lessen the impact of 

CRA reporting. Another commenter 

stated VA should align the 

‘‘catastrophically disabled’’ rule to meet 

the Department of Education’s Total and 

Permanent Disability Discharge 

program. The commenter states VA’s 

use of ‘‘catastrophically disabled’’ in the 

proposed rule places a significantly 

higher standard even though a rating of 

100% or a finding of total disability 

makes it just as unreasonable to expect 

the Veteran to be able to repay the debt. 

One commenter made a similar 

suggestion that VA should consider 

expanding its exemptions to all totally 

and permanently disabled Veterans as 

an additional way to lessen the impact 

of CRA reporting. 

As stated in the proposed rule, VA 

will only report debts to CRA if the debt 

is not owed by an individual who is 

determined to be catastrophically 

disabled or has reported to VA a gross 

household income below the applicable 

geographically adjusted income limits. 

Due to the requirements of the DCIA 

and the Johnny Isakson and David P. 

Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and 

Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, VA 

is not making changes based on these 

comments. 

Comments on Veteran Benefits 

One commenter stated benefits or 

entitlements for Veterans should not 

end once they are no longer in the 

service due to medical issues or 

disabilities caused by their time in the 

military. It was also suggested that all 

Veterans should have a counselor of 

some sort to inform them of their 

financial responsibilities in connection 

with receiving services. Another 

commenter stated Veterans need more 

support and access to benefits than what 

is currently available, and the benefits 

that are available should not be allowed 

to negatively impact Veterans on the 

housing and job market. 

VA acknowledges the concerns 

addressed in these comments; however, 

the comments do not directly correlate 

with the proposed rulemaking so VA 

will not be making any changes based 

on these comments. 

Comment on Referral of Education 

Debts 

One commenter stated the proposed 

rule should be revised to exempt, or at 

a minimum, specifically restrict the 

reporting of educational overpayment 

debts to a CRA since most of these debts 

are caused by error or delay by VA or 

an institution. 

Effective January 5, 2021, Public Law 

116–315 section 1019 was enacted, 

making the school, instead of the 

student, financially liable for payments 

such as tuition, fees, and Yellow Ribbon 

paid directly to a school. Therefore, any 

educational overpayment debt owed to 

the VA would be a books and supplies 

or housing debt. Students currently 

enrolled in school would have their 

debts offset by their VA benefits so there 

should be very few debts classified as 

currently not collectible in this category. 

Due to the fact that reporting 

educational overpayment debts to CRA 

is a rare occurrence, VA is not making 

changes based on this comment. 

Comment on Referral of Debts Under 

Dispute by a Veteran 

One commenter suggested the VA 

should prohibit reporting of any debt to 

a CRA that is being disputed until an 

individual’s dispute or appeal is 

resolved. The commenter states if the 

dispute is found in favor of the Veteran, 

the inaccurate negative credit report 

may have caused irreversible financial 

harm, such as the loss of a security 

clearance, inability to obtain credit for 

the purchase of a home or vehicle, and 

inability to secure rental housing. 

When an individual timely disputes 

or appeals his or her VA debt, VA 

pauses collection on the debt, and the 

debt would not be referred to CRA until 

the dispute or appeal has been resolved. 

The determination of currently not 

collectible would come well after any 

resolution of a dispute. VA is not 

making changes based on this comment. 

Based on the rationale set forth in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION to the 

proposed rule and in this final rule, VA 

is adopting the proposed rule with no 

changes. 

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. The Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs has 

determined that this rule is not a 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866. The Regulatory 

Impact Analysis associated with this 

rulemaking can be found as a 

supporting document at 

www.regulations.gov. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Secretary hereby certifies that 

this 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 regulations 

established by this rulemaking do not 

impose burdens or otherwise regulate 

the activities of any small entities 

outside of VA. Therefore, pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 605(b), the initial and final 

regulatory flexibility analysis 

requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604 do 

not apply. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This rule contains no provisions 

constituting a collection of information 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3521). 

Unfunded Mandates 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

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

agencies prepare an assessment of 

anticipated costs and benefits before 

issuing any rule that may result in the 

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. 

Congressional Review Act 

Pursuant to Subtitle E of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (known as the 

Congressional Review Act) (5 U.S.C. 801 

et seq.), the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs designated this rule 

as not a major rule, as defined by 5 

U.S.C. 804(2). 

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 1 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Archives and records, 

Cemeteries, Claims, Courts, Crime, 

Flags, Freedom of information, 

Government contracts, Government 

employees, Government property, 


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5696 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 22 / Wednesday, February 2, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

Infants and children, Inventions and 

patents, Parking, Penalties, Postal 

Service, Privacy, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Seals and 

insignia, Security measures, Wages. 

Signing Authority 

Denis McDonough, Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs, approved this 

document on December 2, 2021, 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. 

Jeffrey M. Martin, 

Assistant Director, Office of Regulation Policy 

& Management, Office of General Counsel, 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Department of Veterans 

Affairs amends 38 CFR part 1 as set 

forth below: 

PART 1—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1 is 

revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 31 U.S.C. 3711(e); 38 U.S.C. 

501, 5701(g) and (i); 38 U.S.C. 5320. 

■ 2. Amend § 1.916 by revising 

paragraph (c) to read as follows: 

§ 1.916 Disclosure of debt information to 

consumer reporting agencies (CRA). 

* * * * * 

(c) Subject to the conditions set forth 

in this paragraph (c) and paragraph (d) 

of this section, information concerning 

individuals may be disclosed to 

consumer reporting agencies for 

inclusion in consumer reports 

pertaining to the individual, or for the 

purpose of locating the individual. 

Disclosure of the fact of indebtedness 

will be made if the individual fails to 

respond in accordance with written 

demands for repayment, or refuses to 

repay a debt to the United States. In 

making any disclosure under this 

section, VA will provide consumer 

reporting agencies with sufficient 

information to identify the individual, 

including the individual’s name, 

address, if known, date of birth, VA file 

number, and Social Security number. 

(1) The Secretary has established a 

minimum threshold for a debt, arising 

from a benefit administered by the 

Under Secretary for Benefits or Under 

Secretary for Health, that the Secretary 

will report to a consumer reporting 

agency under 31 U.S.C. 3711. 

(2) VA will only report those debts 

that meet the following standards: 

(i) The debt is classified as currently 

not collectible. For purposes of this 

paragraph (c)(2)(i), the debt is currently 

not collectible if VA has exhausted 

available collection efforts, including, as 

appropriate, referrals for administrative 

offset and enforced collection; 

(ii) The debt is not owed by an 

individual who is determined by VA to 

be catastrophically disabled or has 

reported to VA a gross household 

income below the applicable 

geographically adjusted income limits 

that would entitle a VA beneficiary to 

cost-free health care, medications and/ 

or beneficiary travel; and 

(iii) The outstanding debt amount is 

over $25, or such higher amount VA 

may from time to time prescribe, in 

accordance with § 1.921. 

(3) The minimum threshold set forth 

in this paragraph (c) will not apply if 

there is an indication of fraud, 

misrepresentation, or bad faith on the 

part of the individual in connection 

with the debt. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–01496 Filed 2–1–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 80 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0793; FRL–8521.1– 

01–OAR] 

RIN 2060–AV57 

Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) 

Program: Extension of Compliance 

and Attest Engagement Reporting 

Deadlines 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is finalizing 

modifications of certain compliance 

dates under the Renewable Fuel 

Standard (RFS) program. First, EPA is 

extending the RFS compliance reporting 

deadline and the associated attest 

engagement reporting deadline for the 

2019 compliance year for small 

refineries only. Second, EPA is 

extending the RFS compliance reporting 

deadline and the associated attest 

engagement reporting deadline for the 

2020, 2021, and 2022 compliance years 

for all obligated parties. Finally, EPA is 

changing the way in which future RFS 

compliance and attest engagement 

reporting deadlines are determined. 

DATES:

Effective date: The amendatory 

instructions in this final rule are 

effective on January 31, 2022. 

Operational dates: For operational 

purposes under the Clean Air Act 

(CAA), this final rule is effective as of 

January 27, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0793. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the https://www.regulations.gov 

website. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., confidential business 

information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material is not available 

on the internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available electronically through https:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions regarding this action, contact 

Karen Nelson, Office of Transportation 

and Air Quality, Compliance Division, 

Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 

Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 

48105; telephone number: (734) 214– 

4657; email address: nelson.karen@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Dates 

Section 553(d) of the Administrative 

Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. chapter 

5, generally provides that rules may not 

take effect until 30 days after they are 

published in the Federal Register. EPA 

is issuing this final rule under CAA 

section 307(d), which states, ‘‘The 

provisions of section 553 through 557 

. . . of Title 5 shall not, except as 

expressly provided in this section, 

apply to actions to which this 

subsection applies.’’ Thus, section 

553(d) of the APA does not apply to this 

rule. EPA is nevertheless acting 

consistently with the policies 

underlying APA section 553(d) in 

making this final rule effective upon 

signature. The purpose of this APA 

provision is to ‘‘give affected parties a 

reasonable time to adjust their behavior 

before the final rule takes effect.’’ 

Omnipoint Corp. v. Fed. Commc’n 

Comm’n, 78 F.3d 620, 630 (D.C. Cir. 

1996); see also United States v. 

Gavrilovic, 551 F.2d 1099, 1104 (8th Cir. 

1977) (quoting legislative history). 

However, when an agency grants or 

recognizes an exemption or relieves a 

restriction, affected parties do not need 

a reasonable time to adjust because the 

effect is not adverse. Thus, APA section 

553(d) allows an effective date less than 

30 days after publication for any rule 

that ‘‘grants or recognizes an exemption 

or relieves a restriction’’ (see 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(1)). An accelerated effective date 


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