Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 81 / Thursday, April 26, 2001 / Notices 20991

request is made on behalf of an

organization or other entity, the

signature of a responsible official of the

organization or other entity.

ADDRESSES: All documents relating to

this determination are available for

inspection between the hours of 8 a.m.

and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

at the following offices:

• South Carolina Department of

Health and Environmental Control,

Bureau of Water, 2600 Bull Street,

Columbia, South Carolina 29201.

• Environmental Protection Agency,

Region 4, Drinking Water Section, 61

Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia

30303.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janine Morris, EPA Region 4, Drinking

Water Section at the Atlanta address

given above (telephone 404–562–9480).

Authority: (Section 1401 and Section 1413

of the Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended

(1996), and 40 CFR Part 142).

Dated: March 28, 2001.

A. Stanley Meiburg,

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region

4.

[FR Doc. 01–10430 Filed 4–25–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG

CONTROL POLICY

Meeting of the Advisory Commission

on Drug Free Communities

AGENCY: Office of National Drug Control

Policy.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the DrugFree Communities Act, a meeting of the

Advisory Commission on Drug Free

Communities will be held on May 15–

16, 2001 at the Office of National Drug

Control Policy in the 5th Floor

Conference Room, 750 17th Street NW.,

7th Floor, Washington, DC. The meeting

will commence at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday,

May 15, 2001 and adjourn for the

evening at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will

resume at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May

16, 2001 conclude at 12:00 noon. The

agenda will include: remarks by ONDCP

Acting Director, Edward H. Jurith, a

report by the Office of Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention regarding

the Drug Free Communities grant

selection process; and discussion of

reauthorization of the Drug Free

Communities Act. There will be an

opportunity for public comment from

11:00 a.m. until 11:30 on Wednesday,

May 16, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Linda V. Priebe, (202) 395–6622.

Dated: April 19, 2001.

Linda V. Priebe,

Assistant General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 01–10423 Filed 4–25–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3180–02–U

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

Sunshine Act Meeting

DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, May 1, 2001 at

10 a.m.

PLACE: 999 E Street, NW., Washington,

DC.

STATUS: This meeting will be closed to

the public.

ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED: Compliance

matters pursuant to 2 U.S.C. § 437g.

Audits conducted pursuant to 2

U.S.C. § 437g, § 438(b), and Title 26,

U.S.C.

Matters concerning participation in

civil actions or proceedings or

arbitration.

Internal personnel rules and

procedures of matters affecting a

particular employee.

DATE AND TIME: Thursday, May 3, 2001

at 10 a.m.

PLACE: 999 E Street, NW., Washington,

DC (Ninth Floor)

STATUS: This meeting will be opened to

the public.

ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED: Correction and

Approval of Minutes.

Advisory Opinion 2001–06: Maryland

Green Party by Erik Michelsen,

Treasurer.

Revised Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking on Independent

Expenditure Reporting.

New Rules on General Public Political

Communications Coordinated with

Candidates and Party Committees, and

Independent Expenditures:

Announcement of Effective Date.

Administrative Matters.

PERSON TO CONTACT FOR INFORMATION:

Mr. Ron Harris, Press Officer,

Telephone: (202) 694–1220.

Mary W. Dove,

Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 01–10494 Filed 4–24–01; 11:22 am]

BILLING CODE 6715–01–M

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD

[No. 2001–N–9]

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance

Board.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

requirements of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal

Housing Finance Board (Finance Board)

hereby gives notice that it has submitted

the information collection entitled

‘‘Monthly Survey of Rates and Terms on

Conventional, 1-Family, Nonfarm

Loans,’’ commonly known as the

Monthly Interest Rate Survey or MIRS,

to the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for review and approval of a

three-year extension of the OMB control

number, which is due to expire on April

30, 2001.

DATES: Interested persons may submit

comments on or before May 29, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to the

Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Office of Management and

Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the

Federal Housing Finance Board,

Washington, DC 20503. Address

requests for copies of the information

collection and supporting

documentation to Elaine L. Baker,

Secretary to the Board, 202/408–2837,

bakere@fhfb.gov, Federal Housing

Finance Board, 1777 F Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Timothy D. Forsberg, Financial Analyst,

Market Research and Systems Analysis

Division, Office of Policy, Research and

Analysis, 202/408–2968,

forsbergt@fhfb.gov, Federal Housing

Finance Board, 1777 F Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Need For and Use of Information

Collection

The Finance Board’s predecessor, the

former Federal Home Loan Bank Board

(FHLBB), first provided data concerning

a survey of mortgage interest rates in

1963. No statutory or regulatory

provision explicitly required the FHLBB

to conduct the MIRS although

references to the MIRS did appear in

several federal and state statutes.

Responsibility for conducting the MIRS

was transferred to the Finance Board

upon dissolution of the FHLBB in 1989.

See Financial Institutions Reform,

Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989

(FIRREA), Pub. L. 101–73, tit. IV, sec.

402(e)(3)–4), 103 Stat. 183, codified at

12 U.S.C. 1437 note, and tit. VII, sec.

731(f)(1) and (f)(2)(B), 103 Stat. 433

(Aug. 9, 1989). In 1993, the Finance

Board promulgated a final rule

describing the method by which it

conducts the MIRS. See 58 FR 19195

(Apr. 13, 1993), codified at 12 CFR

906.3. Since its inception, the MIRS has

provided the only consistent source of

information on mortgage interest rates

20992 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 81 / Thursday, April 26, 2001 / Notices

and terms and house prices for areas

smaller than the entire country.

Statutory references to the MIRS

include the following:

• Pursuant to their respective organic

statutes, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

use the MIRS results as the basis for the

annual adjustments to the maximum

dollar limits for their purchase of

conventional mortgages. See 12 U.S.C.

1454(a)(2) and 1717(b)(2). The Fannie

Mae and Freddie Mac limits were first

tied to the MIRS by the Housing and

Community Development Act of 1980.

See Pub. L. 96–399, tit. III, sec. 313(a)–

(b), 94 Stat. 1644–1645 (Oct. 8, 1980). At

that time, the nearly identical statutes

required Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

to base the dollar limit adjustments on

‘‘the national average one-family house

price in the monthly survey of all major

lenders conducted by the [FHLBB].’’ See

12 U.S.C. 1454(a)(2) and 1717(b)(2)

(1989). When Congress abolished the

FHLBB in 1989, it replaced the

reference to the FHLBB in the Fannie

Mae and Freddie Mac statutes with a

reference to the Finance Board. See

FIRREA, tit. VII, sec. 731(f)(1) and

(f)(2)(B), 103 Stat. 433.

• Also in 1989, Congress required the

Chairperson of the Finance Board to

take necessary actions to ensure that

indices used to calculate the interest

rate on adjustable rate mortgages

(ARMs) remain available. See FIRREA,

tit. IV, sec. 402(e)(3)–(4), 103 Stat. 183,

codified at 12 U.S.C. 1437 note. At least

one ARM index, known as the National

Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the

Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes

by Combined Lenders, is derived from

the MIRS data. The statute permits the

Finance Board to substitute a

substantially similar ARM index after

notice and comment only if the new

ARM index is based upon data

substantially similar to that of the

original ARM index and substitution of

the new ARM index will result in an

interest rate substantially similar to the

rate in effect at the time the new ARM

index replaces the existing ARM index.

See 12 U.S.C. 1437 note.

• Congress indirectly connected the

high cost area limits for mortgages

insured by the Federal Housing

Administration (FHA) of the

Department of Housing and Urban

Development to the MIRS in 1994 when

it statutorily linked these FHA

insurance limits to the purchase price

limitations for Fannie Mae. See Pub. L.

103–327, 108 Stat. 2314 (Sept. 28, 1994),

codified at 12 U.S.C. 1709(b)(2)(A)(ii).

• The Internal Revenue Service uses

the MIRS data in establishing ‘‘safeharbor’’ limitations for mortgages

purchased with the proceeds of

mortgage revenue bond issues. See 26

CFR 6a.103A–2(f)(5).

• Statutes in several states and U.S.

territories, including California,

Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey,

Wisconsin and the Virgin Islands, refer

to, or rely upon, the MIRS. See, e.g., Cal.

Rev. & Tax Code 439.2 (value of owneroccupied single family dwellings for tax

purposes); Cal. Civ. Code 1916.7 and

1916.8 (mortgage rates); Mich. Comp.

Laws 445.1621(d) (mortgage index

rates); Minn. Stat. 92.06 (payments for

state land sales); N.J. Rev. Stat. 31:1–1

(interest rates); Wis. Stat. 138.056

(variable loan rates); V.I. Code Ann. tit.

11, sec. 951 (legal rate of interest).

The Finance Board uses the

information collection to produce the

MIRS and for general statistical

purposes and program evaluation.

Economic policy makers use the MIRS

data to determine trends in the mortgage

markets, including interest rates, down

payments, terms to maturity, terms on

ARMs and initial fees and charges on

mortgage loans. Other federal banking

agencies use the MIRS results for

research purposes. Information

concerning the MIRS is published

regularly on the Finance Board’s

website (http://fhfb.gov/mirs) and in

press releases, in the popular trade

press, and in publications of other

federal agencies.

The likely respondents include a

sample of 307 savings associations,

mortgage companies, commercial banks

and savings banks. The information

collection requires each respondent to

complete FHFB Form 10–91 on a

monthly basis.

The OMB number for the information

collection is 3069–0001. The OMB

clearance for the information collection

expires on April 30, 2001.

B. Burden Estimate

The Finance Board estimates the total

annual average number of respondents

at 307, with 12 responses per

respondent. The estimate for the average

hours per response is 1.0 hour. The

estimate for the total annual hour

burden is 3,684 hours (307 respondents

× 12 responses/respondent ×

approximately 1.0 hour).

C. Comment Request

In accordance with the requirements

of 5 CFR 1320.8(d), the Finance Board

published a request for public

comments regarding this information

collection in the Federal Register on

January 10, 2001. See 66 FR 1989 (Jan.

10, 2001). The 60-day comment period

closed on March 12, 2001. The Finance

Board received one public comment

encouraging collection of the data in

order to continue publication of the

index. Written comments are requested

on: (1) Whether the collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of Finance Board

functions, including whether the

information has practical utility; (2) the

accuracy of the Finance Board’s

estimates of the burdens of the

collection of information; (3) ways to

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity

of the information collected; and (4)

ways to minimize the burden of the

collection of information on

respondents, including through the use

of automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

Comments may be submitted to OMB in

writing at the address listed above.

By the Federal Housing Finance Board.

Dated: April 19, 2001.

James L. Bothwell,

Managing Director.

[FR Doc. 01–10406 Filed 4–25–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6725–01–P

FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION

Notice of Agreement(s) Filed

The Commission hereby gives notice

of the filing of the following

agreement(s) under the Shipping Act of

1984. Interested parties can review or

obtain copies of agreements at the

Washington, DC offices of the

Commission, 800 North Capitol Street,

NW., Room 940. Interested parties may

submit comments on an agreement to

the Secretary, Federal Maritime

Commission, Washington, DC 20573,

within 10 days of the date this notice

appears in the Federal Register.

Agreement No.: 011138–001

Title: Greater Bali Hai Service

Parties:

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.

Nippon Yusen Kaisha

China Navigation Company Limited

Kyowa Shipping Co., Ltd.

Synopsis: The proposed agreement

modification adds Kyowa Shipping as a

party to the joint service and updates

the agreement language to eliminate

unnecessary or obsolete language.

Agreement No.: 011527–006

Title: Independent Carriers Alliance

Parties:

CMA–CGM, S.A.

Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd.

Montemar Maritima S.A.

Senator Lines GmbH

Zim Israel Navigation Company Ltd.

Synopsis: The proposed modification

(1) deletes DiGregorio Navagacao Ltda.

as a party; (2) adds CMA–CGM as a

party; (3) deletes reference to DSR in