This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

7695 

Vol. 81, No. 30 

Tuesday, February 16, 2016 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

2 CFR Parts 400, 415, 416, 418, and 422 

Office of the Chief Financial Officer 

7 CFR Parts 3015, 3016, 3018, 3019, 

3022, and 3052 

Farm Service Agency 

7 CFR Parts 761 and 785 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

7 CFR Parts 1407 and 1485 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture 

7 CFR Parts 3400, 3401, 3402, 3403, 

3405, 3406, 3407, 3415, 3430, and 3431 

Rural Utilities Service 

7 CFR Parts 1703, 1709, 1710, 1717, 

1724, 1726, 1737, 1738, 1739, 1740, 

1773, 1774, 1775, 1776, 1778, 1779, 

1780, 1782, and 1783 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

Rural Housing Service 

Rural Utilities Service 

Farm Service Agency 

7 CFR Parts 1942, 1944, 1951, and 1980 

Rural Housing Service 

7 CFR Parts 3570 and 3575 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

Rural Utilities Service 

7 CFR Parts 4274, 4279, 4280, 4284, 

4285 and 4290 

RIN 0505–AA15 

Uniform Administrative Requirements, 

Cost Principles, and Audit 

Requirements for Federal Awards 

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Financial 

Officer, Farm Service Agency, 

Commodity Credit Corporation, 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service, 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 

Rural Housing Service, Department of 

Agriculture. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Office of the Chief 

Financial Officer, Farm Service Agency, 

Commodity Credit Corporation, 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service, 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service and 

Rural Housing Service finalize their 

portion of the uniform federal assistance 

rule and amend specific regulations to 

reference the conforming changes 

published by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) in the Federal 

Register on December 19, 2014. 

DATES: This rule is effective February 

16, 2016. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tyson Whitney, Office of the Chief 

Financial Officer, Director, 

Transparency and Accountability 

Reporting Division, United States 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–9011, 202–720– 

8978, tyson.whitney@cfo.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB is 

streamlining the Federal government’s 

guidance on Administrative 

Requirements, Cost Principles, and 

Audit Requirements for Federal awards. 

In a final rule published in the Federal 

Register on December 26, 2013, (78 FR 

78590) OMB adopted final guidance, 

Uniform Administrative Requirements, 

Cost Principles, and Audit 

Requirements for Federal Awards 

(Uniform Guidance), that supersedes 

and streamlines requirements from 

OMB Circulars A–21, A–87, A–110, and 

A–122 (which were located previously 

in title 2 of the Code of Federal 

Regulation (CFR)); Circulars A–89, A– 

102, and A–133; and the guidance in 

Circular A–50 on Single Audit Act 

follow-up. The final guidance is located 

in title 2 part 200. 

On December 19, 2014, OMB 

published a joint interim final rule in 

the Federal Register, (79 FR 75871). 

OMB made technical corrections to the 

Uniform Guidance, and Federal 

awarding agencies, including the 

Department of Agriculture, Office of the 

Chief Financial Officer, Farm Service 

Agency, Commodity Credit Corporation, 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service, 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service and 

Rural Housing Service, implemented the 

guidance in their respective chapters 

and titles in the CFR. 

OMB’s joint interim final rule 

requested additional comments on the 

rule. USDA received 13 comments. Of 

the 13 comments, one comment was 

directly related to USDA, Rural Housing 

Service (RHS). RHS will address this 

comment below as part of the preamble 

to 7 CFR 1944.422 of this final rule. The 

remaining comments were applicable to 

OMB and other Federal agencies. 

Notification was sent to OMB for 

resolution. 

As part of the December 2014 

rulemaking, the Office of the Chief 

Financial Officer adopted 2 CFR part 

200, along with an agency-specific 

addendum in a new 2 CFR part 400. The 

Department of Agriculture added 2 CFR 

parts 415, 416, 418 and 422. In addition, 

the Office of the Chief Financial Officer 

removed parts 3015, 3016, 3018, 3019, 

3022 and 3052 from title 7 of the CFR, 

as they became obsolete with the 

publication of the interim final rule. See 

79 FR 75981, December 19, 2014. Title 

2 of the CFR parts 400, 415, 416, 418 

and 422 as described in the interim final 

rule are adopted with no changes. 

The Farm Service Agency 7 CFR parts 

761 and 785, and Commodity Credit 

Corporation 7 CFR parts 1407 and 1485 

as described in the interim final rule are 

adopted with no changes. 

The National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture 7 CFR parts 3400, 3401, 

3402, 3403, 3405, 3406, 3407, 3415, 

3430, and 3431 as described in the 

interim final rule are adopted with no 

changes. 

The Rural Utilities Service 7 CFR 

parts 1703, 1709, 1710, 1717, 1724, 

1726, 1737, 1738, 1739, 1740, 1773, 

1779, and 1782 as described in the 

interim final rule are adopted with no 

changes. The changes to 7 CFR parts 

1774, 1775, 1776, 1778, 1780, and 1783 

as described in the interim final rule are 

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7696 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 16, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 

adopted with technical changes to 

address the following issues. First, there 

were specific new regulations 

(including 2 CFR parts 200, 400, or 

other 400 series regulations) that should 

have had been referenced in the 

conforming changes published in the 

December 19, 2014, rule, but which 

were inadvertently not included. An 

example is that the Emergency and 

Imminent Community Water Assistance 

Grants regulations (7 CFR part 1778) 

should have had a conforming change 

reference to 2 CFR parts 200 and 400. 

Second, there were some streamlining 

measures implemented by OMB that 

might be interpreted by some as not 

applicable to 7 CFR part 1780 without 

the technical corrections. Examples 

include the change from $100,000 to 

$150,000 for the Simplified Acquisition 

Threshold for small purchase 

procedures, an increase in the 

associated threshold for the use of 

construction surety bonds, the addition 

of micro-purchases, and changes to 

contract clauses. Current language at 7 

CFR 1780.72(a) states that small 

purchase procedures are applicable to 

procurement under $100,000 rather than 

referencing the Simplified Acquisition 

Threshold. The technical corrections 

would enable the use of the OMB 

streamlining measures. A standard 

contract clause that had been in 7 CFR 

3016.36 requiring compliance with state 

energy plans was removed by OMB and 

should also be removed from 7 CFR 

1780.75. 

The Rural Housing Service, Rural 

Business-Cooperatives Service, Rural 

Utilities Service and Farm Service 

Agency 7 CFR parts 1942, 1951, and 

1980 as described in the interim final 

rule are adopted with no changes. The 

regulation in 7 CFR part 1944 as 

described in the interim final rule is 

adopted with a technical change to 7 

CFR 1944.422 in response to the 

following comment: 

Comment: It appears that the USDA 

Rural Development requirement for an 

audit to be submitted within 90 days of 

the end of the grantee’s fiscal year 

(§ 1944.422) has not been brought in 

line with the overall deadline for audits 

contained in § 200.512(a)(1). It is almost 

impossible for USDA funded affordable 

housing NFE’s to complete the audit 

process and have even a draft Single 

Audit report within 90 days of the end 

of their fiscal year. Many of these 

organizations have related LLC’s for 

which they are general partners and 

they must wait for the completion of 

those related entities’ audit before 

completing the overall organization’s 

audit. Why was this unreasonable audit 

deadline not reviewed or revised with 

the publication of the interim rule? 

Response: USDA Rural Development 

agrees the regulation must be clear and 

consistent. The omission of language in 

7 CFR 1944.422 was an oversight. We 

amended 7 CFR 1944.422 to address the 

oversight. 

The Rural Housing Service 7 CFR 

parts 3570 and 3575 as described in the 

interim final rule are adopted with no 

changes. 

The Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service and Rural Utilities Service 7 

CFR parts 4274, 4279, 4280, 4284, 4285, 

and 4290 as described in the interim 

final rule are adopted with no changes. 

Because the changes identified in the 

preamble are merely technical, advance 

notice and public comment are 

unnecessary and we find good cause to 

make these necessary changes effective 

immediately upon publication. 

Regulatory Analysis 

For the regulatory analysis regarding 

this rulemaking, please refer to the 

analysis prepared by OMB in the 

interim final rule, which is incorporated 

herein. See 79 FR 75876, December 19, 

2014. 

Executive Order 12866 Determination 

Pursuant to Executive Order 12866, 

OMB has determined this final rule to 

be not significant. OMB has not 

reviewed this rule. 

List of Subjects in 2 CFR Parts 400, 415, 

416, 418, and 422; 7 CFR Parts 761, 785, 

1407, 1485, 1703, 1709, 1710, 1717, 

1724, 1726, 1737, 1738, 1739, 1740, 

1773, 1774, 1775, 1776, 1778, 1779, 

1780, 1782, 1783, 1942, 1944, 1951, 

1980, 3015, 3016, 3018, 3019, 3022, 

3052, 3400, 3401, 3402, 3403, 3405, 

3406, 3407, 3415, 3430, 3431, 3570, 

3575, 4274, 4279, 4280, 4284, 4285, and 

4290 

Accounting, Administrative practice 

and procedure, Agriculture, Auditing, 

Business and industry, Colleges and 

universities, Community development, 

Cost principles, Economic development, 

Government Contracts, Grants 

administration, Grant programs, Grant 

programs housing and community 

development, Hospitals, Indians, Loan 

programs—agriculture, Nonprofit 

organizations, State and local 

governments, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Research 

misconduct, Rural areas. 

For the reasons discussed above, the 

interim rule adding 2 CFR parts 400, 

415, 416, 418, and 422, removing 7 CFR 

parts 3015, 3016, 3018, 3019, 3022, and 

3052, and amending 7 CFR parts 761, 

785, 1407, 1485, 1703, 1709, 1710, 1717, 

1724, 1726, 1737, 1738, 1739, 1740, 

1773, 1774, 1775, 1776, 1778, 1779, 

1780, 1782, 1783, 1942, 1944, 1951, 

1980, 3400, 3401, 3402, 3403, 3405, 

3406, 3407, 3415, 3430, 3431, 3570, 

3575, 4274, 4279, 4280, 4284, 4285, and 

4290, which was published at 79 FR 

75871 on December 19, 2014, is adopted 

as a final rule with the following 

changes: 

Title 7—Agriculture 

PART 1774—SPECIAL EVALUATION 

ASSISTANCE FOR RURAL 

COMMUNITIES AND HOUSEHOLDS 

PROGRAM (SEARCH) 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1774 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(2)(C). 

Subpart A—General Provisions 

■ 2. Amend § 1774.8 by revising 

paragraphs (g) through (j) and adding 

paragraph (k) to read as follows: 

§ 1774.8 Other Federal Statutes. 

* * * * * 

(g) 2 CFR part 415—General Program 

Administrative Requirements. 

(h) 2 CFR part 180, as adopted by 

USDA through 2 CFR part 417, 

Nonprocurement Debarment and 

Suspension, implementation of 

Executive Order 12549 on debarment 

and suspension. 

(i) 2 CFR part 418, New Restrictions 

on Lobbying, prohibiting the use of 

appropriated funds to influence 

Congress or a Federal agency in 

connection with the making of any 

Federal grant and other Federal 

contracting and financial transactions. 

(j) 2 CFR part 421, Requirements for 

Drug-Free Workplace (Financial 

Assistance), implementing the DrugFree Workplace Act of 1988 (41 U.S.C 

8102). 

(k) 7 CFR part 15b, USDA 

implementation of section 504 of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

794), as amended, prohibiting 

discrimination on the basis of physical 

or mental handicap in Federally assisted 

programs. 

PART 1775—TECHNICAL 

ASSISTANCE GRANTS 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 1775 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 7 U.S.C. 1989; 16 

U.S.C. 1005. 

Subpart A—General Provisions 

■ 4. Amend § 1775.8 by adding 

paragraphs (g) and (k) to read as follows: 

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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 16, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 7697 

§ 1775.8 Other Federal statutes. 

* * * * * 

(g) 2 CFR part 415—General Program 

Administrative Requirements. 

* * * * * 

(k) 2 CFR part 200, subpart F—Audit 

Requirements. 

* * * * * 

PART 1776—HOUSEHOLD WATER 

WELL SYSTEM GRANT PROGRAM 

■ 5. The authority citation for part 1776 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1926e. 

Subpart A—General 

■ 6. Revise § 1776.2 to read as follows: 

§ 1776.2 Uniform Federal Assistance 

Provisions. 

(a) This program is subject to the 

general provisions that apply to all 

grants made by USDA and that are set 

forth in 2 CFR part 200, Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost 

Principles, and Audit Requirements for 

Federal Awards, as adopted by USDA 

through 2 CFR part 400, as well as the 

following: 

(1) 2 CFR part 415—General Program 

Administrative Requirements. 

(2) 2 CFR part 180, as adopted by 

USDA through 2 CFR part 417, 

Nonprocurement Debarment and 

Suspension, implementing Executive 

Order 12549 on debarment and 

suspension. 

(3) 2 CFR part 418, New Restrictions 

on Lobbying, prohibiting the use of 

appropriated funds to influence 

Congress or a Federal agency in 

connection with the making of any 

Federal grant and other Federal 

contracting and financial transactions. 

(4) 2 CFR part 421, Requirements for 

Drug-Free Workplace (Financial 

Assistance), implementing the DrugFree Workplace Act of 1988 (41 U.S.C 

8102). 

(b) [Reserved] 

PART 1778—EMERGENCY AND 

IMMINENT COMMUNITY WATER 

ASSISTANCE GRANTS 

■ 7. The authority citation for part 1778 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 7 U.S.C. 1989; 16 

U.S.C. 1005. 

■ 8. Amend § 1778.14 by revising 

paragraph (e) and adding paragraphs (g) 

through (i) to read as follows: 

§ 1778.14 Other considerations. 

* * * * * 

(e) Governmentwide debarment and 

suspension (nonprocurement). All 

projects must comply with the 

requirements of 2 CFR part 180, as 

adopted by USDA through 2 CFR part 

417, Nonprocurement Debarment and 

Suspension, implementing Executive 

Order 12549 on debarment and 

suspension. 

* * * * * 

(g) Uniform administrative 

requirements. All projects funded under 

this part are subject to 2 CFR part 200, 

as adopted by USDA through 2 CFR part 

400, Uniform Administrative 

Requirements, Cost Principles, and 

Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, 

and 2 CFR part 415, General Program 

Administrative Requirements. 

(h) Restrictions on lobbying. All 

projects funded under this part are 

subject to 2 CFR part 418, New 

Restrictions on Lobbying. 

(i) Requirements for drug-free 

workplace. This program is subject to 2 

CFR part 421, Requirements for DrugFree Workplace (Financial Assistance). 

PART 1780—WATER AND WASTE 

LOANS AND GRANTS 

■ 9. The authority citation for part 1780 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 7 U.S.C. 1989; 16 

U.S.C. 1005. 

Subpart A—General Policies and 

Requirements 

■ 10. Amend § 1780.1 as follows: 

■ a. Revise paragraph (l)(3); 

■ b. Remove paragraphs (l)(4) and (5); 

and 

■ c. Revise paragraph (m). 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 1780.1 General. 

* * * * * 

(l) * * * 

(3) 2 CFR part 421-Requirements for 

Drug-Free Workplace (Financial 

Assistance). 

* * * * * 

(m) Applicants for loan or grant 

assistance will be required to comply 

with the following requirements as 

applicable: 

(1) 2 CFR part 200, subpart F, ‘‘Audit 

Requirements.’’ 

(2) 2 CFR part 180, as adopted by 

USDA through 2 CFR part 417, 

Nonprocurement Debarment and 

Suspension, implementation of 

Executive Order 12549 and Executive 

Order 12689 on debarment and 

suspension. 

(3) 2 CFR part 418, New Restrictions 

on Lobbying. 

■ 11. Amend § 1780.3 by adding, in 

alphabetical order, the definition for 

‘‘Simplified acquisition threshold’’ to 

read as follows: 

§ 1780.3 Definitions and grammatical rules 

of construction. 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * 

Simplified acquisition threshold 

means the dollar amount below which 

an applicant or owner may purchase 

property or services using small 

purchase methods as defined further at 

2 CFR 200.88. 

* * * * * 

Subpart C—Planning, Designing, 

Bidding, Contracting, Constructing 

and Inspections 

■ 12. Amend § 1780.72 by revising the 

introducty text to read as follows: 

§ 1780.72 Procurement methods. 

Procurement shall be made by one of 

the following methods and in 

accordance with requirements of 2 CFR 

200.320: Micro-purchases, procurement 

by small purchase procedures, 

procurement by sealed bids (formal 

advertising), procurement by 

competitive proposals, or procurement 

by noncompetitive proposals. The 

sealed bid method is the preferred 

method for procuring construction. 

* * * * * 

■ 13. Amend § 1780.75 as follows: 

■ a. In paragraph (a), remove ‘‘Contracts 

other than small purchases’’ and add 

‘‘Contracts for more than the Simplified 

Acquisition Threshold’’ in its place; 

■ b. In paragraph (c), remove 

‘‘exceeding $100,000,’’ and add 

‘‘exceeding the Simplified Acquisition 

Threshold,’’ in its place; 

■ c. Remove and reserve paragraphs (f) 

and (g); 

■ d. Revise paragraph (k); and 

■ e. Add paragraphs (l) through (o). 

The revision and additions reads as 

follows: 

§ 1780.75 Contract provisions. 

* * * * * 

(k) Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401– 

7671q) and the Federal Water Pollution 

Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251–1388). 

Contracts and subgrants of amounts in 

excess of $150,000 must contain a 

provision that requires the contractor to 

agree to comply with all applicable 

standards, orders or regulations issued 

pursuant to the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

7401–7671q) and the Federal Water 

Pollution Control Act as amended (33 

U.S.C. 1251–1387). Violations must be 

reported to the Federal awarding agency 

and the Regional Office of the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA). 

(l) Contract Work Hours and Safety 

Standards Act (40 U.S.C. 3701–3708). 

Where applicable, all contracts awarded 

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7698 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 16, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 

by the non-Federal entity in excess of 

$100,000 that involve the employment 

of mechanics or laborers must include a 

provision for compliance with 40 U.S.C. 

3702 and 3704, as supplemented by 

Department of Labor regulations (29 

CFR part 5). Under 40 U.S.C. 3702, each 

contractor must be required to compute 

the wages of every mechanic and laborer 

on the basis of a standard work week of 

40 hours. Work in excess of the standard 

work week is permissible provided that 

the worker is compensated at a rate of 

not less than one and a half times the 

basic rate of pay for all hours worked in 

excess of 40 hours in the work week. 

The requirements of 40 U.S.C. 3704 are 

applicable to construction work and 

provide that no laborer or mechanic 

must be required to work in 

surroundings or under working 

conditions which are unsanitary, 

hazardous or dangerous. These 

requirements do not apply to the 

purchases of supplies or materials or 

articles ordinarily available on the open 

market. 

(m) Debarment and suspension. A 

contract award (see 2 CFR 180.220) 

must not be made to parties listed on 

the governmentwide exclusions in the 

System for Award Management (SAM), 

in accordance with the OMB guidelines 

at 2 CFR part 180, as supplemented by 

2 CFR part 417, ‘‘Debarment and 

Suspension.’’ SAM exclusion records 

contain the names of parties debarred, 

suspended, or otherwise excluded by 

agencies, as well as parties declared 

ineligible under statutory or regulatory 

authority other than Executive Order 

12549. 

(n) Byrd anti-lobbying amendment (31 

U.S.C. 1352). Contractors that apply or 

bid for an award exceeding $100,000 

must file the required certification. Each 

tier certifies to the tier above that it will 

not and has not used Federal 

appropriated funds to pay any person or 

organization for influencing or 

attempting to influence an officer or 

employee of any agency, a member of 

Congress, officer or employee of 

Congress, or an employee of a member 

of Congress in connection with 

obtaining any Federal contract, grant or 

any other award covered by 31 U.S.C. 

1352. Each tier must also disclose any 

lobbying with non-Federal funds that 

takes place in connection with obtaining 

any Federal award. Such disclosures are 

forwarded from tier to tier up to the 

non-Federal award. 

(o) Procurement of recovered 

materials. A public body, such as a state 

government, state agency, municipality, 

county, district, authority, or other 

political subdivision of a state, territory 

or commonwealth, must ensure its 

contracts include provisions requiring 

compliance with section 6002 of the 

Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended 

by the Resource Conservation and 

Recovery Act. The requirements of 

Section 6002 include procuring only 

items designated in guidelines of the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

at 40 CFR part 247 that contain the 

highest percentage of recovered 

materials practicable, consistent with 

maintaining a satisfactory level of 

competition, where the purchase price 

of the item exceeds $10,000 or the value 

of the quantity acquired during the 

preceding fiscal year exceeded $10,000; 

procuring solid waste management 

services in a manner that maximizes 

energy and resource recovery; and 

establishing an affirmative procurement 

program for procurement of recovered 

materials identified in the EPA 

guidelines. 

PART 1783—REVOLVING FUNDS FOR 

FUNDING WATER AND WASTEWATER 

PROJECTS (REVOLVING FUND 

PROGRAM) 

■ 14. The authority citation for part 

1783 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1926 (a)(2)(B). 

Subpart A—General 

■ 15. Amend § 1783.2 by adding 

paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) to read as 

follows: 

§ 1783.2 What Uniform Federal Assistance 

Provisions apply to the Revolving Fund 

Program? 

* * * * * 

(c) 2 CFR part 180, as adopted by 

USDA through 2 CFR part 417, 

Nonprocurement Debarment and 

Suspension, implementing Executive 

Order 12549 and Executive Order 12689 

on debarment and suspension. 

(d) This program is subject to 2 CFR 

part 418, New Restrictions on Lobbying, 

prohibiting the use of appropriated 

funds to influence Congress or a Federal 

agency in connection with the making 

of any Federal grant and other Federal 

contracting and financial transactions. 

(e) This program is subject to 2 CFR 

part 421, Requirements for Drug-Free 

Workplace (Financial Assistance), 

implementing the Drug-Free Workplace 

Act of 1988 (41 U.S.C. 8102). 

PART 1944—HOUSING 

■ 16. The authority for part 1944 

continues to read as follows: 

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

Subpart I—Self-Help Technical 

Assistance Grants 

§ 1944.422 [Amended] 

■ 17. Amend § 1944.422 in the 

introductory text by removing ‘‘within 

90 days of the end of the grantee’s fiscal 

year, grant period, or termination of the 

grant.’’ and adding ‘‘the earlier of 30 

calendar days after receipt of the 

auditor’s report or nine months after the 

end of the grantee’s audit period.’’ in its 

place. 

Jon M. Holladay, 

Chief Financial Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2016–02473 Filed 2–12–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–KS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No.: FAA–2014–0001; Amdt. No. 

25–141] 

RIN 2120–AK29 

Harmonization of Airworthiness 

Standards—Fire Extinguishers and 

Class B and F Cargo Compartments 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is amending certain 

airworthiness regulations for transport 

category airplanes by upgrading fire 

safety standards for Class B cargo 

compartments; establishing fire safety 

standards for a new type of cargo 

compartment, Class F; and updating 

related standards for fire extinguishers. 

This amendment is based on 

recommendations from the Aviation 

Rulemaking Advisory Committee 

(ARAC) and the National Transportation 

Safety Board (NTSB), and the changes 

address designs for which airworthiness 

directives (ADs) have been issued by 

both the FAA and the French civil 

aviation authority, Direction Ge ́ne ́rale 

de l’Aviation Civile (DGAC). 

This amendment eliminates certain 

regulatory differences between the 

airworthiness standards of the FAA and 

the European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), without affecting current 

industry design practices. These 

changes ensure an acceptable level of 

safety for these types of cargo 

compartments by standardizing certain 

requirements and procedures. 

DATES: Effective April 18, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: For information on where to 

obtain copies of rulemaking documents 

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