14826 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 60 / Friday, March 28, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

Training

Monthly rate

No

dependents

One

dependent

Two

dependents

Additional

for each

additional

dependent

Remaining pursuit of program .......................................................................................... 161.65 167.43 172.68 2.45

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3015(e), (f), (g))

(3) The monthly rate payable to a

veteran who is pursuing a cooperative

course is the rate stated in the following

table.

Training period

Monthly rate

No

dependents

One

dependent

Two

dependents

Additional

for each

additional

dependent

Oct. 1, 1996–Oct. 8, 1996 ................................................................................................ $463.90 $484.30 $503.90 $9.20

On or after Oct. 9, 1996 ................................................................................................... 579.87 605.37 629.87 11.50

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3015)

* * * * *

(d) * * *

(1) For individuals, other than those

pursuing cooperative training before

October 9, 1996, or apprenticeship or

other on-job training, it may not exceed:

* * * * *

(3) For individuals pursuing

cooperative training, it may not exceed

$320 per month for training received

before October 9, 1996.

(Authority: Sec. 108(a)(2), Pub. L. 100–689,

102 Stat. 4170; sec. 5(a), Pub. L. 102–83, 105

Stat. 406)

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–7832 Filed 3–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

POSTAL SERVICE

39 CFR Part 111

Domestic Mail Manual: Availability and

Publication

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule revises and

updates references to organizational

names of Postal Service administrative

units in title 39, Code of Federal

Regulations, part 111, that relate to the

Domestic Mail Manual. The Postal

Service publishes its rules and

procedures for domestic mail

preparation, mail classification, postage

rates and fees, and other mailing

requirements in the Domestic Mail

Manual, which is incorporated by

reference in 39 CFR part 111.

This rule also sets the publishing

procedures for announcing all changes

to the Domestic Mail Manual and

identifies the two documents used to

record those changes, both as interim

and final regulations published in the

Federal Register and as minor changes

published in the Postal Bulletin outside

the rulemaking process. In addition,

references to subscription and frequency

of issuance of the Domestic Mail

Manual are revised.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 28, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Neil

Berger, (202) 268–2859.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To make

the Domestic Mail Manual more

accessible and more usable for postal

customers, the Postal Service redesigned

the layout and reorganized the content

of the document after many months of

consultation with postal customers and

postal employees. The result of this

work was Domestic Mail Manual Issue

46, released on July 1, 1993. Subsequent

issues of the Domestic Mail Manual

have continued the general design and

editorial style of Issue 46, with further

refinements such as a series of reference

guides and a separate 10-panel rate table

identified as Notice 123, Ratefold.

The current Domestic Mail Manual,

now printed in a looseleaf format with

tab dividers, evolved from a bound

document printed and distributed

quarterly in March, June, September,

and December each year. Other than

changes to postal rates and fees based

on filings with the Postal Rate

Commission, the implementation date

for most changes to mailing standards

was generally the issue date of the

quarterly publication of that former

style of the Domestic Mail Manual.

Summaries of these changes were

announced in the Postal Bulletin

describing which standards were to be

revised before the printing and

distribution of the Domestic Mail

Manual.

Although this process appeared to

give mailers and employees adequate

time for preparation, training, and

implementation of the changes, the

publication of only summaries and not

the complete implementing text was

inadequate for mailers who used

computerized methods to sort their

mail. Those mailers, as well as software

developers, needed to review and

interpret the complete text and

incorporate the changes into their

software and mailing operations before

the effective date of the next issue of the

Domestic Mail Manual. As a

consequence, the Postal Service in 1991

began publishing the full text to all

Domestic Mail Manual changes.

Many changes in mail preparation

standards that began in the mid-1980s,

and have continued to the present time,

came from the transition from manual

and mechanized sorting methods to

largely automated methods that relied

on optical character recognition and

other forms of computerized technology.

As technology for mail processing

improved, the rate of change to mail

preparation standards and the expected

consequences from those changes

eroded the quarterly cycle of

announcement followed by publication

of the Domestic Mail Manual. For most

mailers, the value and significance of

changes for better service outweighed

maintaining a schedule of changes tied

to a rigid publication cycle.

After the major shift to automation

rates in 1991, the Postal Service began

to implement changes at an even faster

pace than envisioned in the 1980s.

Some changes came about to upgrade

operational networks and match
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 60 / Friday, March 28, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 14827

processes to machines that were

installed. Other changes occurred to

meet a wider range of mailer

requirements for enhanced services and

for new products.

Now that mail preparation and mail

processing have reached the point of

near dependence on computercontrolled technology, the Postal

Service recognizes the need to ensure

proper, efficient, and widespread

announcement of all significant changes

to mail preparation standards. Part of

this process is to establish a central

place where all changes are published,

codified, stored, and made available to

the greatest number of mailers while

allowing flexibility in implementation.

The Federal Register, as appropriate,

issued each workday by the Office of the

Federal Register, and the Postal

Bulletin, issued every 2 weeks by the

Postal Service, will serve as the two

official places to announce changes to

the Domestic Mail Manual.

As the Postal Service amends or

revises rules and procedures in the

Domestic Mail Manual, it generally

publishes notices in the Federal

Register for public comment on

proposed rules for changes to rates,

classification, and certain significant

mailing requirements. These proposed

rules are then followed by notices of the

final rules and responses to comments

from the public. From time to time, the

Postal Service publishes final rules in

the Federal Register without initially

soliciting public comment.

Typographical corrections,

nonsubstantive changes, and minor

amendments to mail preparation

standards are officially published and

recorded in the Postal Bulletin, the

biweekly document issued by the Postal

Service to announce changes to policies

and procedures in all six of its policy

manuals: Administrative Support

Manual, Domestic Mail Manual,

Employee and Labor Relations Manual,

Finance Management Manual,

International Mail Manual, and Postal

Operations Manual. As an immediate

reference for readers and mailers who

do not receive or subscribe to the

Federal Register, the mail preparation

standards contained in the final rules

published in the Federal Register that

amend the Domestic Mail Manual are

also published in the Postal Bulletin.

After an official announcement is

published in the Federal Register or in

the Postal Bulletin to amend or revise

the Domestic Mail Manual, other

printed and electronic means supported

by the Postal Service may also be used

to broadcast these changes and support

customer requirements between issues

of the Domestic Mail Manual. The

following final rule revising title 39,

Code of Federal Regulations, part 111,

provides the basis for the Postal Service

to administer that process.

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111

Postal Service.

In consideration of the foregoing, 39

CFR part 111 is amended as set forth

below:

PART 111—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for 39 CFR

part 111 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C 101,

401, 403, 404, 3001–3011, 3201–3219, 3403–

3406, 3621, 3626, 5001.

2. Section 111.1 is revised to read as

follows:

§ 111.1 Domestic Mail Manual;

incorporated by reference of regulations

governing domestic mail services.

Section 552(a) of title 5, U.S.C.,

relating to the public information

requirements of the Administrative

Procedure Act, provides in pertinent

part that ‘‘* * * matter reasonably

available to the class of persons affected

thereby is deemed published in the

Federal Register when incorporated by

reference therein with the approval of

the Director of the Federal Register.’’ In

conformity with that provision, and

with 39 U.S.C. section 410(b)(1), and as

provided in this part, the U.S. Postal

Service hereby incorporates by reference

in this part, the Domestic Mail Manual,

a looseleaf document published twice

each year in January and July, unless

otherwise determined by the Postal

Service.

3. Section 111.2 is revised to read as

follows:

§ 111.2 Availability of the Domestic Mail

Manual.

(a) Copies of the Domestic Mail

Manual, both current and previous

issues, are available during regular

business hours for reference and public

inspection at the U.S. Postal Service

Library, National Headquarters in

Washington, DC. Copies of only the

current issue are available during

regular business hours for public

inspection at area and district offices of

the Postal Service and at all post offices,

classified stations, and classified

branches.

(b) A copy of the current Domestic

Mail Manual is on file with the Director,

Office of the Federal Register, National

Archives and Records Administration,

800 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 700,

Washington, DC.

(c) A 1-year subscription to the

Domestic Mail Manual for two

consecutive issues can be purchased by

the public from the Superintendent of

Documents, Washington, DC 20402–

9375.

4. Section 111.3 is amended by

revising paragraphs (a) through (d), by

redesignating paragraph (e) as paragraph

(f) by revising the introductory text of

newly redesignated paragraph (f) and

entries 44 through 51 in the table in the

newly redesignated paragraph (f) and

adding a new paragraph (e) to read as

follows:

§ 111.3 Amendments to the Domestic Mail

Manual.

(a) Except for interim or final

regulations published as provided in

paragraph (b) of this section, only

notices rather than complete text of

changes made to the Domestic Mail

Manual are published in the Federal

Register. These notices are published in

the form of one summary transmittal

letter for each issue of the Domestic

Mail Manual. A complete issue of the

Domestic Mail Manual, including the

text of all changes published to date,

will be filed with the Director, Office of

the Federal Register. Subscribers to the

Domestic Mail Manual receive the latest

issue of the Domestic Mail Manual from

the Government Printing Office.

(b) When the Postal Service invites

comments from the public on a

proposed change to the Domestic Mail

Manual, the proposed change and, if

adopted, the full text of the interim or

the final regulation is published in the

Federal Register.

(c) The Postal Bulletin contains the

full text of all interim and final

regulations published as provided in

paragraph (b) of this section, and the

full text of all other changes to the

Domestic Mail Manual that are

summarized in the notices published

under paragraph (a) of this section,

except for nonsubstantive changes and

corrections of typographical errors. The

Postal Bulletin is a biweekly document

issued by the Postal Service to amend

and revise policies and procedures. A 1-

year subscription to the Postal Bulletin

and certain back copies can be

purchased by the public from the

Superintendent of Documents,

Washington, DC 20402–9371.

(d) Interim regulations published in

full text or referenced as provided in

paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, are

published, as appropriate, in the

Domestic Mail Manual in full text or

referenced at the place where they

would appear if they become final

regulations.

(e) Announcements of changes to the

Domestic Mail Manual not published in

the Federal Register as provided in
14828 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 60 / Friday, March 28, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section

and not published in the Postal Bulletin

as provided in paragraph (c) are not

deemed final under the provisions of

this part 111.

(f) For references to amendments to

the Domestic Mail Manual adopted

under paragraph (b) of this section after

issuance of the most recent transmittal

letter (termed Summary of Changes in

the Domestic Mail Manual) listed below,

see § 111.3 in the List of CFR Sections

affected at the end of this volume.

* * * * *

Transmittal

letter for

issue

Dated

FEDERAL

REGISTER

publication

* * * * *

44 ................ September 20,

1992.

61 FR 67218

45 ................ December 20,

1992.

61 FR 67218

46 ................ July 1, 1993 .. 61 FR 67218

47 ................ April 10, 1994 61 FR 67218

48 ................ January 1,

1995.

61 FR 67218

49 ................ September 1,

1995.

61 FR 67218

50 ................ July 1, 1996 .. 61 FR 60190

51 ................ January 1,

1997.

61 FR 64618

* * * * *

Stanley F. Mires,

Chief Counsel, Legislative.

[FR Doc. 97–7862 Filed 3–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7710–12–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

46 CFR Part 32

[CGD 90–071]

RIN 2115–AD69

Tank Level or Pressure Monitoring

Devices

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Temporary rule.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard establishes

minimum performance standards for

tank level or pressure monitoring

devices for single-hull tank vessels that

carry oil in bulk as cargo. The purpose

of these devices is to reduce the size and

impact of an oil spill by alerting the

tank vessel operator that a level or

pressure change has occurred in a cargo

tank. The Coast Guard will evaluate the

performance and cost effectiveness of

any device which meets the standards

set in this rule, if that device is

submitted to the Coast Guard during the

effective period of this rule.

DATES: This rule is effective on April 28,

1997 and expires on April 28, 1999.

ADDRESSES: The Executive Secretary,

Marine Safety Council (G–LRA/3406)

[CGD 90–071], U.S. Coast Guard

Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW.,

Washington, DC 20593–0001, maintains

the public docket for this rulemaking.

The telephone number is (202) 267–

1477. The public docket is available for

inspection or copying at room 3406,

U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, between

9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Laura L. Hamman, Project Manager,

Office of Design and Engineering

Standards (G–MSE), (202) 267–2206.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory History

On May 7, 1991, the Coast Guard

published an advanced notice of

proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to

solicit comments on minimum

standards for leak detection devices and

their use (56 FR 21116). The Coast

Guard received 20 comments to the

ANPRM.

On December 9, 1994, a public

meeting was held. This meeting gave the

public an opportunity to provide further

input into the development of proposed

regulations. As a result of the public

meeting nine comments were received.

On August 21, 1995, the Coast Guard

published a notice of proposed

rulemaking (NPRM) entitled ‘‘Tank

Level or Pressure Monitoring Devices’’

(60 FR 43427). The NPRM proposed

performance standards of 0.5 percent of

tank volume or 1,000 gallons, whichever

is less. As a result of the NPRM, 10

comments were received.

This temporary rule addresses

comments to the NPRM, and presents

the Coast Guard’s temporary rule on

Tank Level or Pressure Monitoring

Devices.

Background and Purpose

Section 4110 of the Oil Pollution Act

of 1990 (OPA 90) (Pub. L. 101–380)

requires the Secretary of Transportation

to set, by regulation, minimum

standards for tank level or pressure

monitoring devices. Tank level or

pressure monitoring devices detect

changes in the level of oil in a cargo

tank or changes in the pressure within

a cargo tank. Section 4110 of OPA 90

applies to the carriage of oil in bulk as

cargo aboard tank vessels. Section 4110

also requires issuance of regulations

requiring the use of tank level or

pressure monitoring devices. The

purpose of the devices is to inform the

person in charge of a tank vessel that

there is a change in tank level or

pressure so that, if required, the Coast

Guard can be notified as required by 33

CFR 153.203 and appropriate response

actions can be initiated.

Two specific incidents highlighted

the possible need for the development

of tank level or pressure monitoring

devices. The first incident was the loss

of cargo aboard Tank Barge 565. While

under tow in August 1988, this 37-yearold barge started losing cargo during the

night. The loss was not discovered until

the morning light reflected off the oil

sheen on the water. The barge spilled

4,000 barrels of petroleum into the

Chesapeake Bay. The lack of appropriate

devices to indicate the loss of cargo

during the night prompted Congress to

add section 4110 to OPA 90.

The second was in September 1988,

when a tankship carrying cargo of

carbon black feedstock oil struck a

submerged object and lost over 4,000

metric tons of cargo. The loss was not

discovered until an estimated 30

minutes passed. During this time, the

vessel developed a port list which

continued to worsen until it reached 8

degrees. At this point, the master

ordered the cargo tanks sounded, and

the loss of cargo was discovered. Again,

cargo was lost without anyone on board

being aware of the loss.

Technical Feasibility Study

The Coast Guard commissioned a

technical feasibility study entitled

‘‘Tank Level Detection Devices for the

Carriage of Oil,’’ which was made

available to the public on February 5,

1993 (58 FR 7292).

The study found that a wide variety

of liquid level sensing systems exist for

both marine and shore-side

applications. Several of these systems

include the following components:

hydrostatic gauges, radar gauging

devices, resistance tapes, floats,

ultrasonic systems, fiber optics,

capacitance-actuated devices, and the

electromagnetic level indication (EMLI)

system. The study concluded that the

performance of these sensing systems is

affected by the severity of their

operating environment. Operating

environment factors include cargo

sloshing, foaming, and expansion and

contraction of the cargo due to

temperature changes.

In addition to discussing the wide

variety of available liquid level

detectors, the study evaluated the

performance of these sensors using both

ideal conditions and simulated

conditions (e.g., environmental noise,

ship motion, etc.). The effects of these

conditions varied depending on the

system used. In some circumstances,