This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

20759

Vol. 66, No. 80

Wednesday, April 25, 2001

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

7 CFR Part 1710

RIN 0572–AB65

Demand Side Management and

Renewable Energy Systems

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service

(RUS) is proposing to amend its

regulations by removing subpart H of

part 1710 in its entirety. The existing

subpart H details separate policies and

requirements for loans for renewable

energy systems and demand side

management. Many of these

requirements overlap provisions found

elsewhere in part 1710. Others do not

seem well suited for the smaller scale

projects of this type that are becoming

increasingly common in the industry.

RUS believes that it is more appropriate

to consider such small scale projects in

this rapidly developing segment of the

energy industry by proceeding on a

case-by-case basis. By contrast, the

balance of part 1710 affords a useful

framework for considering utility-scale

energy projects without regard to

whether they are for demand side

management or renewable resources.

DATES: Written comments must be

received by RUS on or before May 25,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to F. Lamont Heppe, Jr.,

Director, Program Development and

Regulatory Analysis, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service,

Room 4026 South Building, Stop 1522,

14th & Independence Ave., SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–1522. RUS

requests a signed original and three

copies of all comments (7 CFR 1700.4).

Comments will be available for public

inspection during regular business

hours (7 CFR 1.27(b)).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Georg A. Shultz, Chief, Energy

Forecasting Branch, Electric Staff

Division, Rural Utilities Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Stop 1569,

1400 Independence Ave., SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–1569.

Telephone: (202) 720–1921. FAX: (202)

720–7491. E-mail:

gshultz@rus.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This rule has been determined to be

not significant for the purposes of

Executive Order 12866 and, therefore,

has not been reviewed by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB).

Executive Order 12372

This rule is excluded from the scope

of Executive Order 12372,

Intergovernmental Consultation, which

may require consultation with State and

local officials. See the final rule related

notice entitled ‘‘Department Programs

and Activities Excluded from Executive

Order 12372,’’ (50 FR 47034) advising

that RUS loans and loan guarantees

were not covered by Executive Order

12372.

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice

Reform. RUS has determined that this

rule meets the applicable standards

provided in section 3 of the Executive

Order. In addition, all state and local

laws and regulations that are in conflict

with this rule will be preempted; no

retroactive effect will be given to this

rule; and, in accordance with section

212(e) of the Department of Agriculture

Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C.

6912(e)) administrative appeal

procedures, if any are required, must be

exhausted before an action against the

Department or its agencies.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

In accordance with the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the

Administrator of RUS has determined

that this rule will not have significant

impact on a substantial number of small

entities. The RUS electric loan program

provides loans and loan guarantees to

borrowers at interest rates and terms

that are more favorable than those

generally available from the private

sector. Small entities are not subjected

to any requirements, which are not

applied equally to large entities. RUS

borrowers, as a result of obtaining

federal financing, receive economic

benefits that exceed any direct cost

associated with RUS regulations and

requirements.

National Environmental Policy Act

Certification

The Administrator of RUS has

determined that this rule will not

significantly affect the quality of the

human environment as defined by the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Therefore,

this action does not require an

environmental impact statement or

assessment.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

The program described by this rule is

listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance programs under No. 10.850,

Rural Electrification Loans and Loan

Guarantees. This catalog is available on

a subscription basis from the

Superintendent of Documents, the

United States Government Printing

Office, Washington, DC 20402–9325,

telephone number (202) 512–1800.

Information Collection and

Recordkeeping Requirements

This rule contains no information

collection or recordkeeping

requirements under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.

Chapter 35).

Unfunded Mandates

This rule contains no Federal

mandates (under the regulatory

provision of title II of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act) for State, local,

and tribal governments or the private

sector. Thus, this rule is not subject to

the requirements of sections 202 and

205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform

Act.

Background

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is

proposing to remove from part 1710 of

its regulations entitled ‘‘General and

Pre-Loan Policies and Procedures’’

subpart H thereof, which separately

treats demand side management and

renewable energy systems. Subpart H

has seldom been used. Since it was first

promulgated in 1994, RUS has averaged

less than one of these loans a year. More

recently, changes in the energy industry

and technological advances have

produced increased interest in utilizing

20760 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 25, 2001 / Proposed Rules

these approaches for smaller scaled

projects and projects employing

innovative technologies. However,

subpart H with its requirements for such

things are integrated resource plans

(IRP’s) and demand side management

plans present formidable barriers for the

development of smaller projects.

Furthermore, the usefulness of such

traditional analytical devices in today’s

radically changed energy industry has

become questionable. In addition,

projects of this sort often possess unique

attributes that make the application of

detailed regulations impractical and

sometimes even counterproductive. For

example, subpart H precludes the use of

innovative technologies. See 7 CFR

1710.351(a) and 1710.353. For all of

these reasons, RUS believes that subpart

H has become unjustified and

unnecessary as a result of changed

circumstances and should be removed

or substantially revised.

After considering the low volume of

loan requests RUS receives annually for

these loans, the disparate nature of the

projects that can be characterized as

demand side management or renewable

energy systems, and the rapidly

evolving nature of this industry, RUS

has determined that the removal of

subpart H is the better alternative.

Accordingly, RUS is proposing to

proceed case-by-case in considering

requests for demand side management

and renewable energy system loans.

RUS expects that utility scale projects

will continue to confirm to the

remaining provisions of part 1710

establishing its general and pre-loan

policies and procedures. RUS

recognizes that the particular

circumstances of an individual project

may necessitate adjustments in the

application or interpretation of its

general policies and procedures to

specific demand side management or

renewable energy systems loans

regardless of scale. The Administrator

may, of course, waive or reduce any

requirement imposed by part 1710 by

resorting to the exception authority

contained in the rule itself. See 7 CFR

1710.4. In light of their rarity so far,

RUS anticipates that it may be necessary

to interpret the application of part 1710

to utility scale demand side

management and renewable energy

system loans on a somewhat frequent

basis at first. RUS will treat small-scale

projects as pilot projects for which the

remainder of part 1710 will serve

merely as guidance. As used in this rule,

‘‘small scale project’’ refers to projects

requesting loans less than $5 million or

generating less than 10 MW (nameplate

rating). ‘‘Utility scale project’’ refers to

everything else.

As RUS acquires greater experience

with loans for demand side management

and renewable energy systems, it may

reissue regulations on this subject in the

event that the volume of loans requests

or the number of recurring issues raised

warrant it. Accordingly, subpart H is

being reserved.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1710

Electric power, Electric utilities, Loan

programs-energy, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Rural

areas.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, RUS proposes to amend 7

CFR chapter XVII by revising part 1710

to read as follows:

PART 1710—GENERAL AND

PRELOAN POLICIES AND

PROCEDURES COMMON TO INSURED

AND GUARANTEED ELECTRIC LOANS

1. The authority citation for part 1710

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 901 et seq., 1921 et

seq., and 6941 et seq.

Subpart H—Demand Side Management

and Renewable Energy Systems

2. Remove and reserve subpart H:

§§ 1710.350–1710.363 [Removed and

Reserved]

Dated: February 13, 2001.

Blaine D. Stockton,

Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.

[FR Doc. 01–10262 Filed 4–24–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 2000–NM–145–AD]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Lockheed

Model L–1011 Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking

(NPRM).

SUMMARY: This document proposes the

supersedure of an existing airworthiness

directive (AD), applicable to all

Lockheed Model L–1011 series

airplanes that currently requires the

implementation of a corrosion

prevention and control program either

by accomplishing specific tasks or by

revising the maintenance inspection

program to include such a program.

This action would require

accomplishment of new specific tasks

and visual inspections to detect

corrosion of certain structural areas and

repair, or revision of the maintenance

inspection program. This proposal

relates to the recommendations of the

Airworthiness Assurance Task Force

assigned to review Model L–1011 series

airplanes, which indicate that, to assure

long term continued operational safety,

various structural inspections should be

accomplished.

DATES: Comments must be received by

June 11, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in

triplicate to the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), Transport

Airplane Directorate, ANM–114,

Attention: Rules Docket No. 2000–NM–

145–AD, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW.,

Renton, Washington 98055–4056.

Comments may be inspected at this

location between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, except Federal

holidays. Comments may be submitted

via fax to (425) 227–1232. Comments

may also be sent via the Internet using

the following address: 9-anmnprmcomment@faa.gov. Comments sent

via fax or the Internet must contain

‘‘Docket No. 2000–NM–145–AD’’ in the

subject line and need not be submitted

in triplicate. Comments sent via the

Internet as attached electronic files must

be formatted in Microsoft Word 97 for

Windows or ASCII text.

The service information referenced in

the proposed rule may be obtained from

Lockheed Martin & Logistics Centers,

120 Orion Street, Greenville, South

Carolina 29605. This information may

be examined at the FAA, Transport

Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind

Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington; or at

the FAA, Atlanta Aircraft Certification

Office, One Crown Center, 1895 Phoenix

Boulevard, suite 450, Atlanta, Georgia.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom

Peters, Program Manager, Program

Management and Services Branch,

ACE–118A, FAA, Atlanta Aircraft

Certification Office, One Crown Center,

1895 Phoenix Boulevard, suite 450,

Atlanta, Georgia 30349; telephone (770)

703–6063; fax (770) 703–6097.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

Interested persons are invited to

participate in the making of the

proposed rule by submitting such

written data, views, or arguments as

they may desire. Communications shall

identify the Rules Docket number and

be submitted in triplicate to the address

specified above. All communications

received on or before the closing date