29342 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2001 / Notices

[FR Doc. 01–13485 Filed 5–29–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR–4687–N–01]

RIN 2577–AC08

Public Housing Assessment System

(PHAS); Revised Timetable for

Issuance of Management Operations

Official Scores and PHAS Advisory

Scores; and Notice of Intent To

Commence Informal Meetings on

PHAS

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Public and Indian

Housing, and Office of the Director of

the Real Estate Assessment Center,

HUD.

ACTION: Notice of revised timetable for

issuance of management operations

official scores and PHAS advisory

scores and intent to commence informal

meetings on PHAS.

SUMMARY: This document advises that

the Management Operations indicator

under the Public Housing Assessment

System (PHAS) will continue to be the

official assessment for public housing

agencies (PHAs) with fiscal years ending

on June 30, 2000, through June 30, 2001.

Accordingly, HUD will issue these

management scores and PHAS advisory

scores as provided in the

Supplementary Information section of

this document. Further, this document

notifies the public of the intent of the

Department to conduct informal

consultations with PHAs, public

housing residents, representatives of

PHAs and residents, housing advocacy

representatives, governmental

representatives, and such other groups

that HUD may identify regarding ways

to improve HUD’s on-going procedures

for assessing the performance of public

housing agencies. It is expected that

these informal consultations will

commence within the near future and

occur periodically through November,

2001, and thereafter as necessary on

dates and at locations provided by the

Department.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

further information contact the Office of

Public and Indian Housing, Office of

Troubled Agency Recovery Attention:

Judy Wojciechowski, Director of PHAS

Operations, U. S. Department of

Housing and Urban Development, 451

Seventh Street, SW, Room 4112,

Washington, D.C. 20410 or the Real

Estate Assessment Center (REAC),

Attention: Wanda Funk, U. S.

Department of Housing and Urban

Development, 1280 Maryland Avenue,

SW, Suite 800, Washington DC, 20024;

telephone Customer Service Center at

(888)-245–4860 (this is a toll free

number). Persons with hearing or

speech impairments may access that

number via TTY by calling the Federal

Information Relay Service at (800) 877–

8339. Additional information is

available from the REAC Internet Site,

http://www.hud.gov/reac.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HUD’s

rule implementing the PHAS was

published on September 1, 1998 (64 FR

46596), and became effective October 1,

1998. Although the PHAS regulation

became effective October 1, 1998, the

final rule provided a one year delayed

implementation date.

On January 11, 2000 (65 FR 1712),

HUD issued an amended PHAS rule.

The amendments were prompted by

both statutory and administrative

changes to the PHAS and comments

from interested parties. The amended

rule deferred full implementation of

PHAS for PHAs with fiscal year end

dates of September 30, 1999, and

December 31, 1999. The January 11,

2000 rule provided that these PHAs

would receive an assessment score

based only on the Management

Operations indicator (MASS).

On June 6, 2000 (65 FR 36042), HUD

issued a technical correction to the

January 11, 2000, final rule and one of

the corrections further deferred full

implementation of PHAS for PHAs with

fiscal years ending on and after June 30,

2000.

The Conference Report 106–988 for

the Department’s Fiscal Year 2001

Appropriations Act (Pub L. 106–377,

approved October 27, 2000), directed

the Department to, among other things,

continue to assess the accuracy and

effectiveness of the PHAS system,

perform a statistically valid test of

PHAS, conduct a thorough analysis of

the results, and have the methodology

and results reviewed by an independent

expert before taking any adverse action

against a PHA based solely on its PHAS

score. A report addressing these issues

was provided to HUD’s Committee on

Appropriations on March 1, 2001.

Consistent with the direction of the

conferees, HUD issued a PIH notice

(Notice PIH 2001–5), issued January 19,

2001, that provided prior to March 1,

2001, HUD would not take adverse

action against PHAs solely on the basis

of the PHAS scores. ‘‘Adverse action’’

was defined as troubled designations

based upon the official PHAS composite

score. In accordance with the PIH

notice, all official troubled/substandard

designations (with the exception of

substandard management operations

indicator designations), beginning with

PHAs with June 30, 2000, fiscal year

end dates, were held in abeyance prior

to HUD’s March 1, 2001, submission

date.

Given these recent events, HUD has

determined that full implementation of

PHAS should be further deferred until

after June 30, 2001. Accordingly, PHAs

with fiscal years ending June 30, 2000,

through June 30, 2001, will receive an

assessment solely on the basis of HUD’s

assessment of the PHA’s management

operations in accordance with 24 CFR

part 902, subpart D of the PHAS

regulations (PHAS Indicator #3,

Management Operations), as amended

by the January 11, 2000, final rule, and

corrected by the June 6, 2000, PHAS

Technical Correction.

Further, it is the Department’s intent

to meet with public housing

stakeholders (such as PHAs,

representatives of PHAs, public housing

residents, representatives of PHAs and

residents, housing advocacy

representatives, governmental

representatives and other groups HUD

may identify) and seek their input to

identify any necessary modifications to

the rule and to publish, if appropriate,

a new amended PHAS rule to address

changes. Through these meetings, HUD

is not seeking consensus advice, but

only feedback on experiences with the

PHAS, identification of problems and

recommendations for modifications. In

the interim, modified PHAS scores, as

established by appropriate procedures

and notification, may be issued to PHAs

with fiscal years ending on September

30, 2001, December 31, 2001, March 31,

2002, and June 30, 2002. The following

sets out the timetable for issuance of

PHAS advisory scores and official

MASS scores.

Revised Timetable

PHAs With Fiscal Years Ending 6/30/00,

9/30/00, 12/31/00, 3/31/01 and 6/30/01

For PHAs with fiscal years ending

June 30, 2000, September 30, 2000,

December 31, 2000, March 31, 2001, and

June 30, 2001, HUD will not issue PHAS

scores for the fiscal years ending on

these dates. For these PHAs, in lieu of

a PHAS score, HUD will issue the

following:

Management Assessment Score. PHAs

with a fiscal year ending June 30, 2000,

September 30, 2000, December 31, 2000,

March 31, 2001, or June 30, 2001, will

receive an official assessment score on

the basis of HUD’s assessment of the

PHA’s management operations in

accordance with 24 CFR part 902,

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2001 / Notices 29343

subpart D of the PHAS regulation

(PHAS Indicator #3, Management

Operations).

1. A PHA may be designated troubled

(substandard management) as a result of

the management operations assessment

score.

2. A PHA may appeal its management

operations score in accordance with 24

CFR 902.69.

PHAS Advisory Score. PHAs with a

fiscal year ending June 30, 2000,

September 30, 2000, December 31, 2000,

March 31, 2001, or June 30, 2001, will

be issued a PHAS advisory score. The

PHA must comply with the

requirements of 24 CFR part 902 (the

PHAS regulation) so that HUD may

issue the advisory score.

1. Physical inspections will continue

to be performed by HUD, as part of the

PHAS advisory score process, using

HUD’s Uniform Physical Condition

Standards inspection protocol.

However, PHAs with an overall score in

the PHAS Physical Condition indicator

of at least 80 percent of the 30 available

points (or 24 points) will not be

inspected this fiscal year. The physical

inspection scores from last year will be

utilized to calculate the PHAS advisory

scores for these PHAs.

2. All PHAs are required to document

the correction or abatement of exigent

health and safety hazards in accordance

with PHAS requirements and should

provide Field Offices with certification

of such action(s).

3. PHAs must comply with the

reporting requirements of PHAS, and be

assessed by HUD under the PHAS on an

advisory basis.

4. PHAs may not appeal advisory

scores, but are encouraged to take

advantage of the technical review

process for the Physical Condition

indicator and the Resident Service and

Satisfaction indicator (24 CFR part

902.68). Also available under the

Physical Condition indicator is the

database adjustment (24 CFR part

902.25).

5. Notwithstanding the automatic

designations generated by the

Department’s technological systems, all

designations other than MASS troubled

(substandard management) will be held

in abeyance, as well as any incentives

that are awarded for such designations.

PHAs With Fiscal Years Ending After

6/30/01

Since it is the intent of the

Department to conduct informal

consultations with PHAs, residents, and

others interested in public housing, on

ways to improve HUD’s on-going

methodology and procedures for

assessing the performance of public

housing agencies, and these informal

consultations are expected to commence

within the near future and continue

periodically throughNovember 2001;

PHAs with fiscal years ending after June

30, 2001 through June 30, 2002, may be

issued modified PHAS scores as

established by appropriate procedures

and notification.

Dated: May 22, 2001.

Gloria Cousar,

Acting General Deputy Assistant Secretary

for Public and Indian Housing.

Barbara Burkhalter,

Deputy Director, Real Estate Assessment

Center.

[FR Doc. 01–13487 Filed 5–29–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210–33–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA–0680–7123–MA–6763]

Prohibition of Use of Firewood

Containing Nails, Screws, and Other

Metal Hardware Within the Boundaries

of the El Mirage Cooperative

Management Area; and Rasor,

Johnson Valley, Stoddard Valley, and

the Dumont Dunes OHV Recreation

Areas, San Bernardino County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

(BLM) Interior.

ACTION: Notice of the implementation of

a supplementary rule banning the use of

firewood containing nails, screws, and

other metal hardware upon the public

lands within the El Mirage Cooperative

Management Area; and Rasor, Johnson

Valley, Stoddard Valley, and the

Dumont Dunes OHV Recreation Areas,

San Bernardino County, California.

SUMMARY: Order: A supplementary rule

will take effect that will ban the use of

firewood containing nails, screws, and

other metal hardware in the El Mirage

Cooperative Management Area; and

Rasor, Johnson Valley, Stoddard Valley,

and the Dumont Dunes OHV Recreation

Areas. The supplementary rule will be

cited under 43 CFR 8365.1–6, Visitors

Services, Rules of Conduct,

Supplementary Rules. The text of these

rules follows:

1. Ban on Firewood Containing Nails,

Screws, and Other Metal Hardware

Within the El Mirage Cooperative

Management Area; and Rasor, Johnson

Valley, Stoddard Valley, and the

Dumont Dunes OHV Recreation Areas.

(a) Due to an ongoing problem with

nails, screws, and other metal hardware

from pallets and construction lumber

causing damage to vehicle tires and a

safety problem for the visitors to the El

Mirage Cooperative Management Area;

and Rasor, Johnson Valley, Stoddard

Valley, and the Dumont Dunes OHV

Recreation Areas, there is a

demonstrated need for the removal of

firewood containing nails, screws, and

other metal hardware and elimination of

their use within the management areas.

(b) Upon the Public Lands within the

established boundaries of the El Mirage

Cooperative Management Area; and

Rasor, Johnson Valley, Stoddard Valley,

and the Dumont Dunes OHV Recreation

Areas, no person shall bring in, dispose

of or possess any firewood containing

nails, screws, and other metal hardware.

Background: The purpose of this

supplementary rule is to protect visitors

to the El Mirage Cooperative

Management Area; and Rasor, Johnson

Valley, Stoddard Valley, and the

Dumont Dunes OHV Recreation Areas

from serious injury to themselves as

well as damage to their vehicle’s tires as

a result of discarded nails, screws, and

other metal hardware from firewood.

At this time, nails, screws, and other

metal hardware are evident in areas of

concentrated use and around high traffic

areas. This regularly results in tire

damage to visitor’s vehicles and to

Bureau patrol vehicles. Falling or

stepping on nails, screws, or other metal

hardware continues to be a hazard to

campers who prefer to utilize well used

camping areas.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will take effect

on the date of June 1, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Barry Nelson, Chief Ranger, Bureau of

Land Management, 2601 Barstow Road,

Barstow, California 92311; or call (760)

252–6070.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Area

maps, Management Area brochures, and

copies of the Management Plans are

available by contacting the above

personnel.

Authority for this supplemental rule

is found in 43 CFR 8365.1–6. Violation

of this rule is punishable by a fine not

to exceed $100,000/or imprisonment not

to exceed 12 months.

Dated: May 9, 2001.

Mike Pool,

California State Director.

[FR Doc. 01–13557 Filed 5–29–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–40–P