This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

18362

Vol. 63, No. 72

Wednesday, April 15, 1998

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

Proposed Posting of Stockyards

The Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration, United

States Department of Agriculture, has

information that the livestock markets

named below are stockyards as defined

in Section 302 of the Packers and

Stockyards Act (7 U.S.C. 202), and

should be made subject to the

provisions of the Packers and

Stockyards Act, 1921, as amended (7

U.S.C. 181 et seq.).

MO–281 St. James Horse Sales Company,

St. James, Missouri

NJ–108 Camelot Auction Company,

Cranbury, New Jersey

NC–173 Burgin Auction & Real Estate,

Marion, North Carolina

SC–156 Greer Horse & Pony Auction, Greer,

South Carolina

Pursuant to the authority under

Section 302 of the Packers and

Stockyards Act, notice is hereby given

that it is proposed to designate the

stockyards named above as posted

stockyards subject to the provisions of

said Act.

Any person who wishes to submit

written data, views or arguments

concerning the proposed designation

may do so by filing them with the

Director, Livestock Marketing Division,

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration, Room 3408-

South Building, U. S. Department of

Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250, by

April 30, 1998.

All written submissions made

pursuant to this notice will be made

available for public inspection in the

office of the Director of the Livestock

Marketing Division during normal

business hours.

Done at Washington, DC, this 7th day of

April 1998.

Daniel L. Van Ackeren,

Director, Livestock Marketing Division,

Packers and Stockyards Programs.

[FR Doc. 98–9975 Filed 4–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

Dissemination of Information

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Request for public comment.

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service

(RUS) seeks comments on agency

policies for releasing and publishing

information about electric and

telecommunications borrowers. RUS

makes and guarantees loans to electric

and telecommunications systems

serving rural areas. These loans are

generally repaid over a period of 35

years and are secured by the borrower’s

assets. RUS has a responsibility to

protect the security of multimillion

dollar loans, to monitor compliance

with debt covenants, and to ensure that

loan funds are used for purposes

authorized by law. As part of this

oversight, RUS requires that borrowers

submit certain information to RUS

periodically. Currently a great deal of

this information is easily available to

the public.

Both the electric and the

telecommunications industries are

moving from a regulated utility model to

a more competitive model. In a

regulated utility model, information

about market participants is available to

the public. In contrast, under a

competitive model, a great deal of

information is competitively sensitive.

Release of this information could cause

competitive harm to individual

respondents and to the overall working

of the market.

RUS is seeking comments on whether

the current policy of providing

information to the public should be

changed to reflect this new industry

environment, and whether certain

information should, in the future, be

released only in an aggregated form that

does not associate data with specific

borrowers.

DATES: Written comments must be

received by RUS or bear a postmark or

equivalent not later than May 15, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue

Arnold, Office of the Assistant

Administrator, Electric Program, Rural

Utilities Service, United States

Department of Agriculture, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW, Stop 1560,

Room 4024–S, Washington, DC. 20250–

1560. RUS requires, in hard copy, a

signed original and 3 copies of all

comments. Comments will be available

for public inspection during normal

business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue

Arnold, Office of the Assistant

Administrator, Electric Program, Rural

Utilities Service, United States

Department of Agriculture, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW, Stop 1560,

Room 4024–S, Washington, DC. 20250–

1560. Phone: 202–690–1078. Fax: 202–

690–0717. E-mail:

sarnold@rus.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Rural

Utilities Service (RUS) makes and

guarantees loans to electric and

telecommunications systems serving

rural areas pursuant to the Rural

Electrification Act of 1936, as amended,

(7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) (RE Act). Most

loans are repaid over a period of 35

years and are secured by the borrower’s

assets. As a creditor, RUS has a

fiduciary responsibility to protect the

security of multimillion dollar loans, to

monitor compliance with debt

covenants, and to ensure that loan funds

are used for purposes authorized by law.

As part of this oversight, RUS requires

that borrowers submit certain

information to RUS. This information

includes Financial and Statistical

Reports. Electric distribution borrowers

submit this information in RUS Form 7.

Power supply borrowers, also known as

‘‘generation and transmission

borrowers’’ or ‘‘G&T’s,’’ submit RUS

Form 12. Telecommunications

borrowers report this information on

RUS Form 479.

The environment of both the electric

and telecommunications industries is in

a state of flux. Until very recently, most

Americans received virtually all

electricity and most

telecommunications services from

utilities that are regulated monopolies.

Both industries are rapidly moving

away from the regulated monopoly
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 72 /Wednesday, April 15, 1998 / Notices 18363

model toward a more competitive model

that relies heavily on market forces.

The electric industry is now

characterized by a mix of utilities and

nonutilities, and the distinction

between activities performed by utilities

and activities performed by nonutilities

is becoming increasingly blurred. Both

utilities and nonutilities, for example,

generate electric power, and nonutility

power marketers, brokers, aggregators,

and similar entities now compete

directly in business activities that were

once the exclusive domain of utilities.

In fact, electric power may pass through

multiple utility and nonutility entities

before reaching ultimate consumers.

The telecommunications industry is

in the midst of the deregulation brought

about by the Telecommunications Act of

1996 (1996 Act). The service now being

deregulated is local telephone service—

long distance service was deregulated in

the early 1980’s. Prior to the 1996 Act,

most customers bought local service

from a provider that was a utility with

an exclusive franchise to serve an area.

Today the Federal Communications

Commission is implementing the 1996

Act by opening local markets to

competition. The distinction between

providers of long distance and local

telephone services is evaporating, and

cable TV companies, internet providers,

and others are beginning to explore

entering markets that were once the

exclusive domain of a traditional

telephone company.

In a regulated monopoly model, a

great deal of information about utilities

is traditionally available to the public.

In a competitive environment, in

contrast, a great deal of information

about market participants could be

competitively sensitive. Release of this

information could cause substantial

competitive harm and impede the

workings of a free market.

RUS borrowers are utilities, and RUS

currently releases data about individual

borrowers on a routine basis. For

example, the Statistical Report, Electric

Borrowers (RUS Information Publication

201–1) is RUS’s annual compilation of

data submitted by electric borrowers on

RUS Forms 7 and 12. Information about

telecommunications borrowers based on

RUS Form 479 is compiled in the

Statistical Report, Rural

Telecommunications Borrowers (RUS

Informational Publication 300–4). These

reports may be purchased at nominal

cost from the U.S. Government Printing

Office (GPO). On the other hand,

comparable information about

nonutilities that compete, or may wish

to compete, against RUS borrowers is

not easily available.

Because of the changes in the electric

and telecommunications industries, and

the current imbalance of information

available about different industry

participants, RUS is seeking public

comments to help determine whether

some information now routinely

published should, in the future, be

treated with more confidentiality.

Specifically, RUS requests comments

on the following:

1. Should RUS change its current

practice of making borrower specific

information available in the annual RUS

Statistical Reports, and in responses to

specific requests from individuals?

2. How do various members of the

public use information about specific

borrowers that RUS now makes

available on a routine basis?

3. Specifically, what information, if

any, should be withheld from

publication by RUS, and released only

in an aggregated form that does not

allow information to be matched with

specific borrowers? RUS requests that

respondents discuss the exact types of

information that they believe could be

harmful if released.

4. What information should RUS

continue to release and/or publish at the

borrower level, and why is release or

publication of this information in the

public interest?

5. How could release of certain

business data relating to borrowers

cause harm to RUS borrowers, RUS as

a secured creditor, rural consumers,

and/or the RUS goal of ensuring that

rural consumers continue to have access

to high quality, reliable electric and

telecommunications service at

reasonable cost?

Dated: April 9, 1998.

Christopher A. McLean,

Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.

[FR Doc. 98–10029 Filed 4–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 19–98]

Foreign-Trade Zone 32—Miami,

Florida, Application for Subzone

Komatsu Latin-America Corporation

(Distribution of Construction and

Mining Equipment Parts) Miami, FL

An application has been submitted to

the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the

Board) by the Greater Miami ForeignTrade Zone, Inc., grantee of FTZ 32,

requesting special-purpose subzone

status for the construction and mining

equipment parts distribution facility of

Komatsu Latin-America Corporation,

located in Miami, Florida. The

application was submitted pursuant to

the provisions of the Foreign-Trade

Zones Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 81a81u), and the regulations of the Board

(15 CFR part 400). It was formally filed

on April 6, 1998.

The Komatsu facility (204,382 sq. ft.

on 4.72 acres)is located at 7600 N.W.

50th Street, Miami, Florida. The facility

(61 employees)is used for storage,

inspection, packaging and distribution

of a wide variety of parts and

components for construction and

mining equipment, such as engine parts,

equipment, vehicle parts, electrical/

electronic components and instruments.

The products are distributed throughout

the U.S. and Latin America. About half

of the parts are sourced from abroad and

over 90 percent are exported. Plant

activity also includes the occasional

packaging or assembly of parts into

subassemblies, but no authority is being

sought for activity conducted under FTZ

procedures that would result in a

change in tariff classification.

Zone procedures would exempt

Komatsu from Customs duty payments

on foreign parts that are reexported. On

its domestic sales, the company would

be able to defer duty payments until

merchandise is shipped from the plant.

The application indicates that the

savings from zone procedures would

help improve the plant’s international

competitiveness.

In accordance with the Board’s

regulations, a member of the FTZ staff

has been appointed examiner to

investigate the application and report to

the Board.

Public comment is invited from

interested parties. Submissions (original

and 3 copies) shall be addressed to the

Board’s Executive Secretary at the

address below. The closing period for

their receipt is June 15, 1998.

Rebuttal comments in response to

material submitted during the foregoing

period may be submitted during the

subsequent 15-day period (to June 29,

1998).

A copy of the application and

accompanying exhibits will be available

for public inspection at each of the

following locations:

U.S. Department of Commerce Export

Assistance Center, P.O. Box 590570,

Miami, Florida 33159

Office of the Executive Secretary,

Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Room

3716, U.S. Department of Commerce,

14th & Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20230