10308 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 37 / Thursday, February 24, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

rights-of-way, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, and Sulfur. 

Laura Daniel-Davis, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land 

and Minerals Management. 

For the reasons given in the preamble, 

the BSEE amends Title 30, Chapter II, 

Subchapter B, part 250 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations as follows. 

PART 250—OIL AND GAS AND 

SULFUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER 

CONTINENTAL SHELF 

■ 1. The authority citation for 30 CFR 

part 250 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1751, 31 U.S.C. 9701, 

33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(1)(C), 43 U.S.C. 1334. 

■ 2. Revise § 250.1403 to read as 

follows: 

§ 250.1403 What is the maximum civil 

penalty? 

The maximum civil penalty is 

$48,862 per day per violation. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03750 Filed 2–23–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–VH–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

31 CFR Part 16 

Program Fraud Civil Remedies 

AGENCY: Departmental Offices, Treasury. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule updates the 

definition of ‘‘investigating official’’ in 

the Department’s Program Fraud 

regulations. The definition is revised to 

include inspectors general that have 

been established since the Program 

Fraud regulations were implemented. 

This final rule adopts a November 23, 

2021 proposed rule without change. 

DATES: Effective March 28, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian Sonfield, Assistant General 

Counsel for General Law, Ethics & 

Regulation at (202) 622–9804. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background and Proposed Rule 

The Department promulgated 

implementing regulations for the 

Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 

1986 (Act) (31 U.S.C. 3801 through 

3812) on September 17, 1987 (52 FR 

35071). The Act generally provides that 

any person who knowingly submits a 

false claim or statement to the Federal 

Government may be liable for an 

administrative civil penalty for each 

false claim or statement, and, in certain 

cases, to an assessment equal to double 

the amount falsely claimed. 

The Act vests authority to investigate 

allegations of liability under its 

provisions in an agency’s investigating 

official. Based upon the results of an 

investigation, the agency reviewing 

official determines, with the 

concurrence of the Attorney General, 

whether to refer the matter to a 

presiding officer for an administrative 

hearing. Any penalty or assessment 

imposed under the Act may be collected 

by the Attorney General, through the 

filing of a civil action, or by offsetting 

amounts other than tax refunds, owed 

the particular party by the federal 

government. 

The Act grants agency investigating 

officials authority to require by 

subpoena the production of 

documentary evidence which is ‘‘not 

otherwise reasonably available.’’ If the 

case proceeds to hearing, the presiding 

officer may require the attendance and 

testimony of witnesses as well as the 

production of documentary evidence. 

The Department of the Treasury 

adopted implementing regulations at 31 

CFR part 16, which designated the 

Department’s Assistant Secretary for 

Management as the authority head, 

designated the Department’s Inspector 

General as the investigating official, and 

assigned the role of reviewing official to 

the General Counsel or designee. 

On November 23, 2021 (86 FR 66497), 

the Department issued a proposed rule 

that would revise the definition of 

investigating official in § 16.2. Since the 

regulations were promulgated in 1987, 

three inspectors general have been 

established including the Treasury 

Inspector General for Tax 

Administration (See Internal Revenue 

Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 

1998, Pub. L. 105–206, 112 Stat. 685), 

the Special Inspector General for the 

Troubled Asset Relief Program (See 

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act 

of 2008, Pub. L. 110–343, 122 Stat. 

3765), and the Special Inspector General 

for Pandemic Recovery (See 

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 

Security Act, Pub. L. 116–136, 134 Stat. 

281). The proposed revision would 

define investigating official as any 

Inspector General, including any 

Special Inspector General, with 

investigatory authority over programs of 

the Department of the Treasury. 

This Final Rule 

The public comment period on the 

proposed rule closed on January 6, 

2022. One comment was received that 

supported the proposal. The Department 

appreciates the commenter’s input. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

proposed rule and this preamble, the 

Department adopts the proposed rule 

without change. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 

5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., requires agencies to 

prepare an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis (IRFA) to determine the 

economic impact of the rule on small 

entities. A small entity is defined as 

either a small business, a small 

organization, or a small governmental 

jurisdiction; an individual is not a small 

entity. Section 605(b) of the RFA allows 

an agency to prepare a certification in 

lieu of an IRFA if the rule will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), it is hereby 

certified that this regulation will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The rule is limited to updating the 

definition of investigating official for 

program fraud investigations in order to 

reflect current law. Accordingly, this 

rule will have no direct impacts on 

small entities. 

Regulatory Planning and Review 

Executive Orders 13563 and 12866 

direct agencies to assess costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 

and of promoting flexibility. This rule is 

not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ 

under Executive Order 12866. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

Section 202 of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 requires 

that agencies assess anticipated costs 

and benefits and take certain other 

actions before issuing a rule that 

includes any federal mandate that may 

result in expenditures in any one year 

by a state, local, or tribal government, in 

the aggregate, or by the private sector, of 

$100 million in 1995 dollars, updated 

annually for inflation. This regulation 

does not include any federal mandate 

that may result in expenditures by state, 

local, or tribal governments, or by the 

private sector in excess of that 

threshold. 

Federalism 

Executive Order 13132 (titled 

Federalism) prohibits an agency from 

publishing any rule that has federalism 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 37 / Thursday, February 24, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 10309 

implications if the rule either imposes 

substantial, direct compliance costs on 

state and local governments, and is not 

required by statute, or preempts state 

law, unless the agency meets the 

consultation and funding requirements 

of section 6 of the Executive order. This 

rule does not have federalism 

implications and does not impose 

substantial direct compliance costs on 

state and local governments or preempt 

state law, within the meaning of the 

Executive order. 

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 16 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Fraud, Investigations, 

Organizations and functions 

(Government agencies), Penalties. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Department of the 

Treasury amends 31 CFR part 16 as 

follows: 

PART 16—REGULATIONS 

IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM 

FRAUD CIVIL REMEDIES ACT OF 1986 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 16 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 31 U.S.C. 3801–3812. 

■ 2. In § 16.2, revise the definition of 

‘‘Investigating official’’ to read as 

follows: 

§ 16.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Investigating official means any 

Inspector General, including any 

Special Inspector General, with 

investigatory authority over programs of 

the Department of the Treasury, as 

applicable. 

* * * * * 

Laurie Schaffer, 

Acting General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03608 Filed 2–23–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AK–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 117 

[Docket No. USCG–2021–0778] 

RIN 1625–AA09 

Drawbridge Operation Regulation; 

Willamette River, Portland, OR 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS). 

ACTION: Temporary final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is 

temporarily modifying the operating 

schedule that governs the Morrison 

Bridge across the Willamette River, mile 

12.8, at Portland, OR. Multnomah 

County, Oregon, the bridge owner, is 

requesting to change the current 

regulation to allow painting and 

preservation of the Morrison Bridge 

including the double bascule span. The 

modified rule would change normal 

bridge operations from a full span 

opening to a single leaf, or half span 

opening. 

DATES: This rule is effective from 7 p.m. 

on April 1, 2022, through 7 p.m. on May 

31, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: To view documents 

mentioned in this preamble as being 

available in the docket, go to https://

www.regulations.gov. Type USCG– 

2021–0778 in the ‘‘SEARCH’’ box and 

click ‘‘SEARCH.’’ In the Document Type 

column, select ‘‘Supporting & Related 

Material.’’. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions on this temporary 

final rule, call or email Steven M. 

Fischer, Bridge Administrator, 

Thirteenth Coast Guard District Bridge 

Program Office, telephone 206–220– 

7282; email d13-smb-d13-bridges@

uscg.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Table of Abbreviations 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

FR Federal Register 

TFR Temporary Final Rule 

NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking 

Pub. L. Public Law 

§ Section 

U.S.C. United States Code 

County Multnomah County, Oregon Bridge 

Owner 

II. Background Information and 

Regulatory History 

On November 24, 2021, the Coast 

Guard published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking entitled ‘‘Drawbridge 

Operation Regulation; Willamette River, 

Portland, OR’’ in the Federal Register 

(86 FR 66988). There we stated why we 

issued the NPRM, and invited 

comments on our proposed regulatory 

action related to this temporary rule 

modification. During the comment 

period that ended December 27, 2021, 

we received no comments for this final 

rule. 

III. Legal Authority and Need for Rule 

The Coast Guard is issuing this rule 

under authority in 33 U.S.C. 499. The 

Morrison Bridge across the Willamette 

River, mile 12.8, at Portland, OR, is a 

double bascule draw bridge. The subject 

bridge provides a vertical clearance of 

69 feet, at center, and 48 feet on the 

sides in the closed-to-navigation 

position. The vertical clearance is 

unlimited when the draw is in the opento-navigation position. All clearances 

are based on the Columbia River Datum 

0.0. Marine traffic on this section of the 

Willamette River consists of vessels 

ranging from small pleasure craft up to 

large commercial vessels and barges. 

The Morrison Bridge operates in 

accordance with 33 CFR 

117.897(c)(3)(iv). The county will be 

painting and preserving the Morrison 

Bridge including the double bascule 

span. The modified rule will change 

bridge operations from a full span 

opening to a single leaf, or half span 

opening. The purpose of this rule is to 

ensure safety of vessels and the 

navigable waters below the bridge. 

IV. Discussion of Comments, Changes 

and the Rule 

The Coast Guard provided a comment 

period of 30 days due to the fact the 

County had also performed an outreach 

to the waterway stakeholders before 

contacting the Coast Guard for this 

temporary rule request. As noted above, 

we received no comments on our NPRM 

published November 24, 2021. There are 

no changes in the regulatory text of this 

rule form the proposed rule in the 

NPRM. 

This rule establishes a temporary 

change to 33 CFR 117.897(c)(3)(iv) to be 

in effect from 7 p.m. on April 1, 2022, 

through 7 p.m. on May 31, 2023. This 

rule temporarily suspends the current 

regulatory cite regarding the Morrison 

Bridge, and adds a temporary 33 CFR 

117.897(c)(3)(vi) which amends the 

operating schedule of the Morrison 

Bridge by requiring a two-hour notice, 

or four-hour notice with tug assist, for 

all drawbridge vessel openings. By 

operating in single leaf opening mode 

the horizontal clearance of the bridge 

draw will be reduced by half that of a 

double leaf opening (dimensions are 

described below). The temporary rule is 

necessary to accommodate preservation 

and painting of the Morrison Bridge. 

This bridge provides a vertical 

clearance approximately 69 feet, at the 

center, above Columbia River Datum 0.0 

when in the closed-to-navigation 

position. One half of the bascule bridge 

will have a containment system 

installed on the non-opening half of the 

span, which will reduce the vertical 

clearance by 5 feet to 64 feet center and 

43 feet on the sides. A tug will be 

available for assists to mariners as 

needed when a request is given with a 

notice of four hours for an opening. The 

horizontal clearance with a full opening 

is 185 feet, therefore, in single leaf 


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