Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 106 / Friday, June 1, 2001 / Proposed Rules 29739

Done in Washington, DC, this 25th day of

May 2001.

Bobby R. Acord,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 01–13758 Filed 5–31–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service

7 CFR Part 1944

RIN 0575–AC25

Farm Labor Housing Technical

Assistance

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service

(RHS) proposes to amend its regulations

for the Farm Labor Housing (FLH)

program. The Housing Act of 1949

authorizes the RHS to provide financial

assistance to private and public

nonprofit agencies to encourage the

development of domestic and migrant

farm labor housing projects. The

nonprofit agencies that receive this

financial assistance, in turn, provide

‘‘technical assistance’’ to other

organizations to assist them in obtaining

loans and grants for the construction of

farm labor housing. The RHS has

provided this assistance in prior years

by awarding technical assistance

contracts. In fiscal year 2000 a Request

for Proposals was published in the

Federal Register requesting grant

proposals from private and public

nonprofit agencies. The intended effect

of this action is to amend the

regulations to establish the eligibility

requirements that nonprofit agencies

must meet to receive technical

assistance grants and how the financial

assistance will be made available by the

RHS.

DATES: Written or E-mail comments

must be received on or before July 31,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be

submitted, in duplicate, to the Branch

Chief, Regulations and Paperwork

Management Branch, Rural

Development, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Stop 0742, 1400

Independence Avenue SW, Washington,

DC 20250–0742. Comments may be

submitted via the Internet by addressing

them to comments@rus.usda.gov and

must contain ‘‘Technical’’ in the subject.

All written comments will be available

for public inspection at 300 E Street SW,

Washington, DC 20546, during normal

working hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Douglas MacDowell, Senior Loan

Specialist, Multi-Family Housing

Processing Division, Rural Housing

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

STOP 0781, 1400 Independence Avenue

SW., Washington, DC 20250–0781,

Telephone (202) 720–1604.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Classification

This rule has been determined to be

not significant for purposes of Executive

Order 12886 and therefore has not been

reviewed by the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB).

Paperwork Reduction Act

The information collection

requirements contained in this

regulation have been previously

approved by OMB under the provisions

of 44 U.S.C. chapter 35 and this

regulation has been assigned OMB

control number 0575–0181, in

accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995. This rule does

not impose any new information

collection requirements from those

approved by OMB.

Civil Justice Reform

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice

Reform. In accordance with this rule: (1)

All state and local laws and regulations

that are in conflict with this rule will be

preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will

be given to this rule; and (3)

administrative proceedings in

accordance with 7 CFR part 11 must be

exhausted before bringing suit in court

challenging action taken under this rule.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Pub. L.

104–4, establishes requirements for

Federal agencies to assess the effects of

their regulatory actions on State, local,

and tribal governments and the private

sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA,

RHS generally must prepare a written

statement, including a cost-benefit

analysis, for proposed and final rules

with ‘‘Federal mandates’’ that may

result in expenditures to State, local, or

tribal governments, in the aggregate, or

to the private sector, of $100 million or

more in any one year. When such a

statement is needed for a rule, section

205 of the UMRA generally requires

RHS to identify and consider a

reasonable number of regulatory

alternatives and adopt the least costly,

more cost-effective or least burdensome

alternative that achieves the objectives

of the rule.

This rule contains no Federal

mandates (under the regulatory

provisions of Title II of the UMRA) for

State, local, and tribal governments or

the private sector. Therefore, this rule is

not subject to the requirements of

section 202 and 205 of the UMRA.

Executive Order 13132, Federalism

The policies contained in this rule do

not have any substantial direct effect on

states, on the relationship between the

national government and the states, or

on the distribution of power and

responsibilities among the various

levels of government. Nor does this rule

impose substantial direct compliance

costs on state and local governments.

Therefore, consultation with the states

is not required.

Programs Affected

The affected program is listed in the

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

under Number 10.405, Farm Labor

Housing Loans and Grants.

Intergovernmental Consultation

For the reasons contained in the Final

Rule related Notice to 7 CFR part 3015,

subpart V, this program is subject to

Executive Order 12372 which requires

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials. RHS has

conducted intergovernmental

consultation in the manner delineated

in RD Instruction 1940–J.

Environmental Impact Statement

This document has been reviewed in

accordance with 7 CFR part 1940,

subpart G, ‘‘Environmental Program.’’ It

is the determination of RHS that this

action does not constitute a major

Federal action significantly affecting the

quality of the human environment and

in accordance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Pub.

L. 91–190, an Environmental Impact

Statement is not required.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

This proposed rule has been reviewed

with regard to the requirements of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

601–612). The undersigned has

determined and certified by signature of

this document that this rule will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

since this rulemaking action does not

involve a new or expanded program nor

does it require any more action on the

part of a small business than required of

a large entity.

Background

Farmworkers are among the lowest

paid workers in the United States and

29740 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 106 / Friday, June 1, 2001 / Proposed Rules

often lack decent, safe, sanitary, and

affordable housing. RHS’s FLH program

provides loans and grants for

farmworker housing and related

facilities.

The FLH program is authorized by

title V of the Housing Act of 1949 under

section 514 (42 U.S.C. 1484) for loans

and section 516 (42 U.S.C. 1486) for

grants. Section 516 also authorizes the

RHS to provide financial assistance (not

more than 10 percent of the section 516

funds) to encourage the development of

domestic and migrant farm labor

housing projects.

RHS’s FLH program provides funding

for both ‘‘on-farm’’ and ‘‘off-farm’’

housing. The housing may also be for

either seasonal or year-round

occupancy. Off-farm housing, typically

apartment complexes, is open to

farmworkers who work at any farming

operation. On-farm housing provides

housing for the workers of only one

farm and is typically designed as single

family dwellings. Occupancy of both

types of housing is restricted to United

States citizens or permanent resident

aliens.

Off-farm migrant housing serves

farmworkers who perform agricultural

work at one or more locations away

from their home base throughout the

year for periods ranging from a few

weeks to several months. Rental

assistance is available to many tenants

of off-farm housing to make rents

affordable. Off-farm housing is financed

with section 514 loans and section 516

grants to nonprofit organizations and

public agencies such as local housing

authorities, and with section 514 loans

to limited partnerships in which the

general partner is a nonprofit entity.

On-farm housing loans are made to

farmers or farm entities to provide

housing for farmworker families

employed by the farm. On-farm housing

is financed with section 514 loans and

is not eligible for 516 grants. The

tenants (farmworkers) who live in onfarm housing are not eligible for rental

assistance.

RHS also provides financial assistance

to private and public nonprofit agencies

to encourage the development of

domestic and migrant farm labor

housing projects. The services that are

provided by these non-profit agencies is

commonly referred to as ‘‘technical

assistance’’.

Most section 514 and section 516

funds are leveraged with funds from

other sources. Likewise, RHS has taken

steps to ensure that technical assistance

funds are effectively used.

Prior to Fiscal Year 2000, RHS

awarded technical assistance

‘‘contracts’’. These contracts were

awarded for one year periods with four

option periods that could be exercised

at the discretion of the Government. In

FY 2000, RHS changed the way that

FLH technical assistance funds were

awarded. During FY 2000, RHS awarded

technical assistance ‘‘grants’’ rather than

‘‘contracts’’.

On June 21, 2000, a Request for

Proposals (RFP) was published in the

Federal Register requesting ‘‘grant’’

proposals from private and public

nonprofit agencies. The RFP outlined

the application requirements and the

criteria that would be used to select

proposals for funding. The RFP also

established three FLH technical

assistance grant regions (the Eastern,

Central, and Western grant regions) and

contained the terms of the grants.

On September 27, 2000, three

technical assistance grants were

awarded. Two of the grants were

awarded for the Western grant region

and the other was awarded for the

Central grant region. No grant proposals

were received for the Eastern grant

region. Each of the grants has a three

year grant period.

When the RFP was published,

comments and suggestions were

received from interested parties. Some

suggested that more than one FY’s

funding should be made available

during the three year grant period.

Another issue was that the Central grant

region received less funding than the

Eastern and Western grant regions.

Lastly, one commented it was unfair to

consider an applicant’s experience if

such experience was gained outside of

the grant region, or to give equal weight

to an applicant’s experience in

developing non-farmworker multifamily

housing to an applicant’s experience in

developing farmworker housing.

In the future, RHS intends to

periodically publish RFPs that are

similar to the one that was published on

June 21, 2000. When published, RHS

will have the opportunity to make

changes to the way funds are

distributed, to the minimum

performance requirements that must be

met, or to other terms of the grants. RHS

will at that time consider the

suggestions that have been made.

However, this revision to the regulation

only implements the statutory authority

for awarding grants. It does not establish

the application requirements, the

selection criteria, the performance

standards that must be met, or how

funds will be distributed when grants

are awarded.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1944

Farm labor housing, Grant programs—

Housing and community development,

Loan programs—Housing and

community development, Migrant labor,

Nonprofit organizations, Public housing,

Rent subsidies, Rural housing.

Therefore, chapter XVIII, title 7, Code

of Federal Regulations is amended to

read as follows:

PART 1944—HOUSING

1. The authority citation for part 1944

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 42 U.S.C. 1480.

Subpart D—Farm Labor Housing Loan

and Grant Policies, Procedures, and

Authorizations

2. Section 1944.151 is revised to read

as follows:

§ 1944.151 Purpose.

This subpart contains the policies and

procedures and delegates authority for

making initial and subsequent insured

loans under section 514 and grants

under section 516 of the Housing Act of

1949, to provide housing and related

facilities for domestic farm labor. This

subpart also contains the policies and

procedures for making grants under

section 516 to encourage the

development of farm labor housing. Any

processing or servicing activity

conducted pursuant to this subpart

involving authorized assistance to Rural

Housing Service (RHS) employees,

members of their families, known close

relatives, or business or close personal

associates, is subject to the provisions of

subpart D of part 1900 of this chapter.

Applicants for this assistance are

required to identify any known

relationship or association with an RHS

employee.

3. Section 1944.157 is amended by

redesignating paragraph (c) as (d) and by

adding a new paragraph (c) to read as

follows:

§ 1944.157 Eligibility Requirements.

* * * * *

(c) Eligibility of applicant for an LH

technical assistance grant. To be eligible

for an LH technical assistance grant the

applicant must:

(1) Be a private or public nonprofit

agency;

(2) Have the knowledge, ability,

technical expertise, or practical

experience necessary to develop and

package loan and grant applications for

LH under the section 514 and 516

programs; and,

(3) Possess the ability to exercise

leadership, organize work, and

prioritize assignments to meet work

demands in a timely and cost efficient

manner. The grantee may arrange for

other nonprofit agencies to provide

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 106 / Friday, June 1, 2001 / Proposed Rules 29741

services on its behalf; however, RHS

will expect the grantee to provide the

overall management necessary to ensure

the objectives of the grant are met.

Nonprofit agencies acting on behalf of

the grantee must also meet the above

stated eligibility requirements.

* * * * *

4. Section 1944.158 is amended by

adding a new paragraph (o) to read as

follows:

§ 1944.158 Loan and grant purposes.

* * * * *

(o) Encourage the development of

farm labor housing. RHS may award

‘‘technical assistance’’ grants to eligible

private and public nonprofit agencies.

These grant recipients will, in turn,

assist other organizations obtain loans

and grants for the construction of farm

labor housing. Technical assistance

services may not be funded under both

this paragraph and paragraph (i) of this

section. In addition, technical assistance

may not be funded by RHS when an

identity of interest exists between the

technical assistance provider and the

loan or grant applicant. Requests for

Proposals (RFP) may be periodically

published in the Federal Register by

RHS inviting eligible nonprofit

organizations to submit LH technical

assistance grant proposals. RFPs will

contain the amount of available funding,

the method of allocating or distributing

funds, where to submit proposals,

proposal requirements, the deadline for

the submission of proposals, the

selection criteria, and the grant

agreement to be entered into between

RHS and the grantee.

Dated: May 22, 2001.

Dawn Riley,

Acting Deputy Under Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–13801 Filed 5–31–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–U

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 2

[Docket No. PRM–2–12]

Michael Stein; Withdrawal of Petition

for Rulemaking

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking;

withdrawal.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) is withdrawing, at

the petitioner’s request, a petition for

rulemaking (PRM–2–12) (64 FR 59669;

November 3, 1999) filed by Michael

Stein. In PRM–2–12, the petitioner

requested that the Commission amend

its regulations pertaining to deliberate

misconduct and employee protection to

ensure that all individuals are afforded

the right to respond to an NRC

determination that the individual has

violated these regulations.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the petitioner’s

email submittal, dated May 15, 2001,

requesting the withdrawal of the

petition is available for public

inspection, or copying for a fee, at the

NRC’s Public Document Room, One

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike

(first floor), Rockville, Maryland.

Single copies of the petitioner’s email

submission may be obtained free of

charge by writing to the Division of

Administrative Services, Office of

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555.

Documents created or received at the

NRC after November 1, 1999, are also

available electronically at the NRC’s

Public Electronic Reading Room on the

Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/

ADAMS/index.html. For the petitioner’s

email, the accession number is

ML011360325. From this site, the public

can gain entry into the NRC’s Agency

wide Document Access and

Management System (ADAMS) that

provides text and image files of NRC’s

public documents. For more

information, contact the NRC Public

Document Room (PDR) Reference staff

at 1–800–397–4209, (301) 415–4737, or

by email to pdr@nrc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rules and

Directives Branch, Division of

Administrative Services, Office of

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555,

Telephone: 301–415–7163 or Toll Free:

800–368–5642.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 25th day

of May, 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Andrew L. Bates,

Acting, Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 01–13739 Filed 5–31–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 926

[SPATS No. MT–003–FOR]

Montana Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening and

extension of public comment period and

opportunity for public hearing on

proposed amendment.

SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is

announcing receipt of revisions and

additional explanatory information

pertaining to a previously proposed

amendment to the Montana regulatory

program (hereinafter, the ‘‘Montana

program’’) under the Surface Mining

Control and Reclamation Act of 1977

(SMCRA). Montana proposes revisions

to Title 26, Chapter 4, of the

Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM)

and additional explanatory information

about surface water baseline monitoring

requirements, conditions of the permit,

temporary waste impoundments, dam

spillway specifications, and alternate

underdrain systems. Montana intends to

revise its program to be consistent with

the corresponding Federal regulations,

incorporate the additional flexibility

afforded by the revised Federal

regulations, clarify ambiguities, and

improve operational efficiency.

DATES: We will accept written

comments on this amendment until 4

p.m., m.d.t. July 2, 2001. If requested,

we will hold a public hearing on the

amendment on June 26, 2001. We will

accept requests to speak until 4 p.m.,

m.d.t. on June 18, 2001.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand

deliver written comments and requests

to speak at the hearing to Guy Padgett

at the address listed below. You may

review copies of the Montana program,

this amendment, a listing of any

scheduled public hearings, and all

written comments received in response

to this document at the addresses listed

below during normal business hours,

Monday through Friday, excluding

holidays. You may receive one free copy

of the amendments by contacting OSM’s

Casper Field Office.

Guy Padgett, Director, Casper Field

Office, Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement, 100

East B Street, Room 2128, Casper, WY

82601–1918, Telephone: (307) 261–

6550

Neil Harrington, Acting Chief, Industrial

and Energy Minerals Bureau, Montana

Department of Environmental Quality,

1520 E. Sixth Ave., P.O. Box 200901,

Helena, MT 59620–0901, Telephone:

(307) 444–4973

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy

Padgett, Telephone: (307) 261–6550,

Internet address: gpadgett@osmre.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Montana Program

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment