26716 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 93 /Thursday, May 14, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

Harness Kit, part number 101–3208–1, as

referenced in Raytheon Mandatory Service

Bulletin No. 2701, Issued: May, 1997. This

incorporation by reference was approved by

the Director of the Federal Register in

accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR

part 51. Copies may be obtained from

Raytheon Aircraft Company, P.O. Box 85,

Wichita, Kansas 67201–0085. Copies may be

inspected at the FAA, Central Region, Office

of the Regional Counsel, Room 1558, 601 E.

12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri, or at the

Office of the Federal Register, 800 North

Capitol Street, NW, suite 700, Washington,

DC.

(e) This amendment becomes effective on

June 27, 1998.

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on April

30, 1998.

Michael Gallagher,

Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft

Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 98–12507 Filed 5–13–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

15 CFR Part 921

[Docket #980427108–8108–01]

RIN 0694–AL16

National Estuarine Research Reserve

System Regulations

AGENCY: Office of Ocean and Coastal

Resource Management, National Ocean

Service, National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration,

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is

making a correction to its regulations

concerning the National Estuarine

Research Reserve System (NERRS) to

clarify that certain types of financial

assistance awards are not subject to

specified limits on amounts. The

Coastal Zone Protection Act of 1996

amended the Coastal Zone Management

Act (CZMA) by, among other things,

eliminating the state match requirement

in cases where financial assistance was

coming from proceeds of a natural

resource damage action. In 1997, NOAA

issued a rule to amend the NERRS

regulations to conform to the statutory

amendments. That rule specified that

the state match requirement was

eliminated in cases where natural

resource damage proceeds were being

used to fund NERRS activities.

However, the rule did not address what

the effects of other limits on financial

assistance (caps on funding, rather than

state match) would be in these cases.

This final rule clarifies that, in cases

where financial assistance is coming

from natural resource damage funds, the

caps on financial assistance to not

apply.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 14, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary O’Brien, Attorney-Adviser, Office

of General Counsel, 1305 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland

20910. Telephone: 301–713–2967.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Authority

This final rule is issued under the

authority of the Coastal Zone

Management Act, CZMA, 16 U.S.C.

1451 et seq., as amended.

II. Background

Section 315 of the CZMA authorizes

grants to states for the selection,

designation, management, and use of

National Estuarine Research Reserves.

However, section 315 of the CZMA

limits, in most cases, the proportion of

federal financial assistance that may be

provided to states for program activities.

The 1996 amendments to the CZMA

provided that notwithstanding these

statutory limits, financial assistance

provided from amounts recovered as a

result of damage to natural resources

located in the coastal zone may be used

to pay 100 percent of the costs of

activities carried out with the

assistance. In 1997, NOAA issued a rule,

the intent of which was to bring the

program regulations into conformity

with the statutory change.

Following NOAA’s 1997 rule,

questions arose as to the effects of the

amendment on certain statutory and

regulatory limits on amounts. While it

was clear the amendments eliminated

the match requirement in cases where

financial assistance is coming from

natural resource damage funds,

questions remained as to the

appropriate interpretation, in these

cases, of provisions limiting the amount

of financial assistance that may be

granted to any one reserve for certain

activities. Specifically, the statute

provides a $5,000,000 cap on federal

financial assistance for acquisition

activities at any one reserve. The

regulations contain not only that cap,

but also a $100,000 cap on federal

financial assistance for certain predesignation activities (site selection,

draft management plan and

environmental impact statement

preparation, and basic characterization

studies).

The NERRS was established by

Congress to provide for a system of

representative estuarine ecosystems,

with each site contributing to the

biogeographical and typological balance

of the system. It was envisioned that the

completed system would ultimately

contain 25–35 sites. Throughout the

course of the program, there has been a

need to ensure that limited

appropriations are distributed equitably

among reserve sites. Hence, the statute

and the regulations provided caps to

restrict the amount of funds that could

be granted to any one site.

In the case of reserve activities being

funded with amounts recovered as a

result of natural resource damages, the

concern that gave rise to the

establishment of the caps does not exist.

Natural resource damage funds do not

come out of the NERRS appropriation.

When such funds are used to establish

a reserve or pay for reserve activities,

there is no reduction in the

appropriation and thus no effect,

financial speaking, on other reserves in

the system or on states wishing to

advance reserve proposals. For this

reason, it is not appropriate to apply the

NERRS limits on federal financial

assistance when activities are being

funded from natural resource damage

proceeds.

Congress recognized as much in the

1996 amendments to the CZMA. New

section 315(e)(3)(C) explicitly stated that

notwithstanding the 50 percent/

$5,000,000 cap, financial assistance

provided from natural resource damage

funds could be used to pay 100 percent

of the costs of such activities. Congress

did not address the $100,000 predesignation cap, because that cap was

established by regulation rather than by

statute.

III. Discussion of Change

The purpose of this rule is to amend

the regulations to clarify that, consistent

with the changes made to the CZMA in

1996, the $5,000,000 and $100,000

limits on federal financial assistance for

certain activities are not applicable with

the funding for these activities is being

provided from amounts recovered as a

result of damage to natural resources.

IV. Rulemaking Requirements

A. This rule was determined to be

‘‘not significant’’ for purposes of

Executive Order 12866.

B. This rule relates to public property,

loans, grants, benefits, and contracts,

and therefore, it is exempt from every

requirement of section 553 of the

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C.

553, including notice and comment and

delayed effective date.

C. Because a notice of proposed

rulemaking is not required by 5 U.S.C.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 93 /Thursday, May 14, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 26717

553, or by any other law, a Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis under the

Regulatory Flexibility Act is not

required and was not prepared.

D. This rule involves collections of

information subject to the Paperwork

Reduction Act and cleared by the Office

of Management and Budget under

control number 0648–0119. The

estimated response times for these

requirements are 480 hours for

management program approval and 8

hours for program amendment and

routine program changes. The response

estimates shown include the time for

reviewing instructions, searching

existing data sources, gathering and

maintaining needed data, and

completing and reviewing the collection

of information. Notwithstanding any

other provision of the law, no person is

required to respond to, nor shall any

person be subject to penalty for failure

to comply with, a collection of

information, subject to the requirements

of the PRA, unless that collection of

information displays a currently valid

OMB control number.

E. NOAA has concluded that this

regulatory action does not constitute a

major federal action significantly

affecting the quality of the environment.

Therefore, an environmental impact

statement under the National

Environmental Policy Act, 43 U.S.C.

4321 et seq. is not required.

F. This rule contains no mandates,

under the provisions of Title II of the

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

(UMRA), Public Law 104–4, for state,

local, or tribal governments or the

private sector. Thus, this rule is not

subject to the requirements of sections

202 and 205 of the UMRA.

G. NOAA has concluded that this

regulatory action does not have

sufficient federalism implications to

warrant the preparation of a Federalism

Assessment under Executive Order

12612.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 921

Administrative practice and

procedure, Coastal zone, Grant

programs—Natural resources, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: May 11, 1998.

Nancy Foster,

Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services

and Coastal Zone Management.

For the reasons set forth in the

Preamble, 15 CFR part 921 is amended

as follows:

PART 921—NATIONAL ESTUARINE

RESEARCH RESERVE SYSTEM

REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 921

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Section 315 of the Coastal Zone

Management Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.

1461).

2. Paragraph (f) of § 921.1 is amended

by revising the fourth sentence to read

as follows:

§ 921.1 Mission, goals and general

provisions.

* * * * *

(f) * * * Notwithstanding any

financial assistance limits established

by this Part, when financial assistance is

provided from amounts recovered as a

result of damage to natural resources

located in the coastal zone, such

assistance may be used to pay 100

percent of all actual costs of activities

carrier out with this assistance, as long

as such funds are available. * * *

* * * * *

3. Paragraph (a) of § 921.10 is

amended by adding a new sentence,

after the third sentence, to read as

follows:

§ 921.10 General.

(a) * * * Notwithstanding the above,

when financial assistance is provided

from amounts recovered as a result of

damage to natural resources located in

the coastal zone, such assistance may be

used to pay 100 percent of all actual

costs of activities carried out with this

assistance, as long as such funds are

available. * * *

4. Paragraph (b) of § 921.10 is

amended by adding a new sentence,

after the last sentence, to read as

follows:

§ 921.10 General.

(b) * * * Notwithstanding the above,

when financial assistance is provided

from amounts recovered as a result of

damage to natural resources located in

the coastal zone, such assistance may be

used to pay 100 percent of all actual

costs of activities carrier out with this

assistance, as long as such funds are

available.

5. Section 921.20 is amended by

revising the last sentence to read as

follows:

§ 921.20 General

* * * In any case, the amount of

Federal financial assistance provided to

a coastal state with respect to the

acquisition of lands and waters, or

interests therein, for any one National

Estuarine Research Reserve may not

exceed an amount equal to 50 percent

of the costs of the lands, waters, and

interests therein or $5,000,000,

whichever amount is less, except when

the financial assistance is provided from

amounts recovered as a result of damage

to natural resources located in the

coastal zone, in which case the

assistance may be used to pay 100

percent of all actual costs of activities

carrier out with this assistance, as long

as such funds are available.

6. Section 921.31 is amended by

revising the fourth sentence to read as

follows:

§ 921.31 Supplemental acquisition and

development awards.

* * * Acquisition awards for the

acquisition of lands or waters, or

interests therein, for any one reserve

may not exceed an amount equal to 50

percent of the costs of the lands, waters,

and interests therein of $5,000,000,

whichever amount is less, except when

the financial assistance is provided from

amounts recovered as result of damage

to natural resources located in the

coastal zone, in which case the

assistance may be used to pay 100

percent of all actual costs of activities

carrier out with this assistance, as long

as such funds are available. * * *

[FR Doc. 98–12880 Filed 5–13–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–08–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

21 CFR Part 101

[Docket No. 98N–0274]

Food Labeling; Petitions for Nutrient

Content and Health Claims, General

Provisions

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration,

HHS.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) is amending its

regulations to define the conditions

under which certain petitions for

nutrient content and health claims shall

be deemed to be denied and to codify

the statutory timeframe within which

the agency will complete rulemakings

on such petitions. FDA is taking this

action in response to the Food and Drug

Administration Modernization Act of

1997 (FDAMA).

DATES: This regulation is effective May

14, 1998. Submit written comments by

June 15, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

to the Dockets Management Branch