456 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 1995 / Notices

Dated: December 23, 1994.

Conrad S. Simon,

Acting Deputy Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95–84 Filed 1–3–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

[FRL–5133–3]

Proposed Settlement Under Section

122(h) of the Comprehensive

Environmental Response,

Compensation and Liability Act

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of proposed

administrative settlement and

opportunity for public comment.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to

enter into an administrative settlement

to resolve claims under the

Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation, and Liability

Act of 1980, (CERCLA), as amended.

Notice is being published to inform the

public of the proposed settlement and of

the opportunity to comment. This

settlement is intended to resolve

liabilities of one party for costs incurred

by EPA at the Chemical Control Site.

DATES: Comments must be provided by

February 3, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Office of Regional

Counsel, New Jersey Superfund Branch,

room 309, 26 Federal Plaza, New York,

New York 10278 and should refer to: In

the Matter of the Chemical Control Site:

Union Carbide Corporation, U.S. EPA

Index No. II CERCLA–94–0111.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Office of Regional Counsel, New Jersey

Superfund Branch, room 309, 26

Federal Plaza, New York, New York

10278, (212) 264–6159, Attention:

Kristine Leopold.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

accordance with Section 122(i)(1) of

CERCLA, notice is hereby given of a

proposed administrative settlement

concerning the Chemical Control Site

which is located in Elizabeth, New

Jersey. Section 122(h) of CERCLA

provides EPA with authority to

consider, compromise, and settle certain

claims for costs incurred by the United

States.

Union Carbide Corporation will pay a

total of $90,000 under this agreement to

reimburse EPA for response costs

incurred at the Chemical Control Site.

A copy of the proposed administrative

settlement agreement, as well as

background information relating to the

settlement, may be obtained in person

or by mail from EPA’s Region II Office

of Regional Counsel, New Jersey

Superfund Branch, room 309, 26

Federal Plaza, New York, New York

10278.

Dated: December 23, 1994.

Conrad S. Simon,

Acting Deputy Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95–85 Filed 1–3–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND

BUDGET

Office of Federal Procurement Policy

Small Disadvantaged and WomenOwned Businesses

AGENCY: Executive Office of the

President, Office of Management and

Budget (OMB), Office of Federal

Procurement Policy (OFPP).

ACTION: OFPP is requesting comments

on its plans to comply with the review

requirements of small disadvantaged

and women-owned businesses in

accordance with the Federal Acquisition

Streamlining Act of 1994.

BACKGROUND: The Federal Acquisition

Streamlining Act of 1994, Public Law

103–355, provides, in section 7107, that

the Administrator for Federal

Procurement Policy shall conduct a

comprehensive review of Federal laws,

in effect on November 1, 1994, to

identify and catalogue all of the

provisions in such laws that define (or

describe for definitional purposes) the

following small business concerns: (1)

Concerns owned and controlled by

socially and economically

disadvantaged individuals; (2) minorityowned concerns; (3) concerns owned

and controlled by women; and, (4)

woman-owned concerns. (In this notice,

these 4 categories will also be referred

to as disadvantaged and women-owned

businesses.) The definitions of concern

are those which authorize the

participation of such small business

concerns as prime contractors or

subcontractors in (1) contracts awarded

directly by the Federal Government or

subcontracts awarded under such

contracts, and (2) contracts and

subcontracts funded, in whole or in

part, by Federal financial assistance

under grants, cooperative agreements, or

other forms of Federal assistance.

In conducting this review, the

Administrator shall provide for the

participation in the review by

representatives of (1) the Small Business

Administration (SBA) (including the

Office of the Chief Counsel for

Advocacy); (2) the Minority Business

Development Agency (MBDA) of the

Department of Commerce; (3) the

Department of Transportation (DOT); (4)

the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA); and (5) such other executive

departments and agencies as the

Administrator considers appropriate.

The Administrator must also consult

with representatives of organizations

representing (1) minority-owned

business enterprises; (2) women-owned

business enterprises; and (3) other

organizations that the Administrator

considers appropriate.

On the basis of the results of the

review, the Administrator is to develop

(1) uniform definitions for

disadvantaged and women-owned

business concerns; (2) uniform agency

certification standards and procedures

for (A) determinations of whether a

small business concern qualifies as a

disadvantaged or women-owned

business concern under an applicable

standard for purposes of the types of

contracts and subcontracts referred to

above, and (B) reciprocal recognition by

an agency of a decision of another

agency regarding whether a small

business concern qualifies as a

disadvantaged or women-owned

business concern; and (3) such other

related recommendations as the

Administrator determines appropriate,

consistent with the review results.

Section 7107 requires the

Administrator, not later than 60 days

after the date of the enactment of the

Act, to publish in the Federal Register

a notice which (1) lists the provisions of

law identified in the review carried out

during the first 60 days; (2) describes

the matters to be developed on the basis

of the results of the review; (3) solicits

public comment regarding the matters

described in the notice for a period of

not less than 60 days; and (4) addresses

such other matters as the Administrator

considers appropriate in order to ensure

the comprehensiveness of the review.

Finally, section 7107 requires that not

later than May 1, 1966, the

Administrator for Federal Procurement

Policy shall submit to the Committees

on Small Business of the Senate and the

House of Representatives a report on the

results of the review. The report shall

include a discussion of the results of the

review, a description of the

consultations conducted and public

comments received, and the

Administrator’s recommendations.

PERFORMANCE OF REVIEW: In response to

this direction, the Administrator for

Federal Procurement Policy, through the

Office of Federal Procurement Policy

(OFPP), has conducted a review of the
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 1995 / Notices 457

various laws defining the business

concerns listed in section 7107, and has

formed an informal task force with

representatives of the SBA (including its

Office of Chief Counsel for Advocacy),

the MBDA, the DOT, the EPA, the

Department of Defense, the Department

of Energy, and the General Services

Administration. Additionally, the

Administrator has held meetings with

representatives of 21 organizations or

companies representing minorityowned, women-owned, and other

appropriate business enterprises to

discuss the review. During these

meetings, OFPP has discussed the need

for uniform definitions and the

desirability of uniform certification

standards and procedures.

This review has indicated that there

are divergent definitions of the terms

section 7107 covers. The primary

problem appears to be that while the

Small Business Act contains

comprehensive definitions of socially

and economically disadvantaged small

businesses and women-owned small

businesses, other statutes contain either

differing definitions or similar terms

with no definitions. Consequently, to

further their program implementation

responsibilities, agencies have, in some

instances, adopted through the

regulatory process definitions which

differ from those of the Small Business

Act. This tends to cause confusion and

inefficiency within the government and

within the small business community.

Statutory definitions: It is not always

clear from the relevant statutes as to

which of the four terms in section 7107

the statutes would apply. However, after

reviewing the laws and discussing the

issues with representatives of Federal

Government agencies and of minority

and women-owned businesses, the

Administrator has determined that the

following provisions of law are relevant

to defining (a) concerns owned and

controlled by socially and economically

disadvantaged individuals; (b) minorityowned concerns; (c) concerns owned

and controlled by women; and, (d)

woman-owned concerns:

1. Concerns Owned and Controlled by

Socially and Economically

Disadvantaged Individuals and

Minority-owned Concerns:

10 U.S.C. § 2323(a) (Armed Forces)

15 U.S.C. § 637(a)(4) (Small Business

Act)

15 U.S.C. § 637(a)(5) (Small Business

Act)

15 U.S.C. § 637(a)(6) (Small Business

Act)

15 U.S.C. § 637(a)(13) (Small Business

Act)

15 U.S.C. § 637(a)(14) (Small Business

Act)

15 U.S.C. § 637(a)(15) (Small Business

Act)

15 U.S.C. § 637(a)(17) (Small Business

Act)

15 U.S.C. § 637(d)(3)(C) (Small Business

Act)

49 U.S.C. § 332 (Transportation)

49 U.S.C. § 47113(a) (Transportation)

Public Law 101–165, Department of

Defense Appropriations Act, 1990,

Section 9004

2. Concerns Owned and Controlled by

Women and Woman-owned Concerns:

15 U.S.C. § 632(n) (Small Business Act)

15 U.S.C. § 637(d)(3)(D) (Small Business

Act)

49 U.S.C. § 332 (Transportation)

49 U.S.C. § 47113(a) (Transportation)

Public Law 102–377, Section 304 (a)&(b)

Energy and Water Development

Appropriations Act, 1993

Public Law 102–486, the Energy Policy

Act of 1992, Section 3021

Public Law 102–240, Intermodel Surface

Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991,

Section 1003(b)

Example of Statutory Discrepancy:

The Small Business Act, at 15 U.S.C.

§ 637(d)(3)(D), provides as follows: ‘‘The

term ‘small business concern owned

and controlled by women’ shall mean a

small business concern—(i) which is at

least 51 per centum owned by one or

more women; or, in the case of any

publicly owned business, at least 51 per

centum of the stock of which is owned

by one or more women; and (ii) whose

management and daily business

operations are controlled by one or more

women.’’ Section 1003(b)(2)(B) of the

Intermodel Surface Transportation

Efficiency Act of 1991 provides as

follows: ‘‘Socially and Economically

Disadvantaged Individuals.—The term

‘‘socially and economically

disadvantaged individuals’’ has the

meaning such term has under section

8(d) of the Small Business Act (15

U.S.C. § 737(d)) and relevant

subcontracting regulations promulgated

pursuant thereto; except that women

shall be presumed to be socially and

economically disadvantaged individuals

for purposes of this subsection.’’ For

their respective programs, these two

statutes provide differing coverage for

women-owned businesses. One

provides a separate definition; the other

includes women within the definition of

socially and economically

disadvantaged individuals.

Regulatory definitions: In addition,

the following provisions of federal

regulations, which represent the

implementing guidance of the various

federal departments and agencies, are

relevant to the interpretation of the

statutes cited above:

48 CFR Part 19 (Federal Acquisition

Regulation System)

7 CFR Part 3403 (Agriculture)

10 CFR Part 470 (Energy)

13 CFR Part 124 (Business Credit and

Assistance) (Small Business

Administration)

48 CFR Part 219 (Federal Acquisition

Regulation System) (Defense)

49 CFR Part 23 (Transportation)

49 CFR Part 265 (Transportation)

Review of statutory definitions: OFPP

has reviewed the above listed statutes

and regulations. OFPP interprets the

provisions of section 7107 as directing

the Administrator to recommend a

single, uniform definition for socially

and economically disadvantaged and

minority owned small businesses. It

makes the same interpretation regarding

small businesses owned and controlled

by women and woman-owned small

businesses. Consequently, the

Administrator does not intend to

recommend substantive changes in the

definitions of these terms, other than

those necessary to arrive at a uniform

definition. The Administrator does

intend to recommend adoption of a

single, uniform definition for small

disadvantaged businesses and for

women-owned small businesses,

respectively. Furthermore, the

Administrator currently intends to

recommend statutory provisions which

would provide that the definitions of

these terms contained in the Small

Business Act, as it would be amended,

would supersede all other similar

definitions of these terms contained in

various other laws.

Certifications: Certification of firms as

eligible participants in a program for

small disadvantaged or small womenowned businesses is one of the most

important features of such a program. A

reliable certification program ensures

that only eligible firms participate,

while preventing ineligible firms from

taking advantage of the program. A

certification program that meets this

objective may range from the simple to

the complex and may, depending on the

nature of the program adopted, impose

significant administrative and financial

burdens on agencies and small

businesses. Several issues have been

raised regarding possible changes to

certification standards and procedures.

The preliminary discussions held to

date indicate a wide variety of views as

to the most desirable method of

performing certifications of small

businesses as socially and economically

disadvantaged and as women-owned.

The possible methods of accomplishing

this include the following:

a. Creation of a uniform federal

government-wide certification program.
458 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 1995 / Notices

Such a program could be administered

by one agency or by several agencies of

the government. In any case, once a

certification was granted to a business

concern, that certification would be

good for all other federal departments

and agencies for the period of time set

for the certification. Potential problems

that would have to be addressed include

availability of resources to administer

the program and availability of local

information on applicants.

b. Adoption of certifications by nonfederal agencies, possibly state and local

governments or private organizations.

Such governments or organizations

would have to first qualify as applying

standards compatible with those of the

federal government. After such

qualification, they would act in the

place of the federal government for

purposes of granting certifications or on

behalf of the federal government. This

might be accomplished either by

creating a program granting them the

necessary authority or by contracting

with them to perform the service for the

federal government. Certification by

such organizations would be good for all

federal departments and agencies for the

period of time set for the certification.

c. In addition to the issues of who

might grant certifications or how, the

question of auditing was also raised.

Currently, under the Small Business Act

8(d) program (for subcontractors) and

certain Department of Defense

programs, businesses can self-certify. If

a self-certification program of this type

were extended to other federal

programs, local certifying authorities, if

they were adopted, could engage in an

auditing program, whether universal or

random in nature. Potential problems

that would have to be addressed include

utility of the program in preventing

‘‘fronts’’ from exploiting the program

and availability of resources to

administer the auditing program.

Various aspects of these approaches

could also be combined.

MATTERS TO BE DEVELOPED: The

Administrator intends to develop

recommendations for uniform

definitions relating to small

disadvantaged businesses and to

women-owned small businesses. These

definitions will be applicable to all

federal departments and agencies in

their contracting, grants, and

cooperative agreements actions. In

addition, the Administrator intends to

develop recommendations for a single,

uniform system of standards and

procedures for federal certification of

small disadvantaged and small womenowned businesses. The Administrator

also intends to consider whether the

term ‘‘socially and economically

disadvantaged business’’ should be

changed to some other appropriate term.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: The Administrator

solicits the comments of interested

agencies and parties regarding their

views of the matters to be developed.

These comments may include references

to additional statutes that the

commentor believes relevant, to

proposals regarding terms to be used in

the uniform definitions, to proposals for

ways and means of creating a uniform

system of certifications, and suggestions

as to what form it should take.

Additionally, commentors may address

the goals to be achieved by creating

uniform definitions and uniform

standards and procedures, differences in

procurements under contracts, grants,

and cooperative agreements, and means

of avoiding unnecessary disruption of

existing programs.

DATES: Comments in response to this

notice should be received at OFPP by

close of business on February 20, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

submitted to the OFPP, New Executive

Office Building, Room 9001, 725 17th

Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503,

Attention: Ms. Linda Mesaros.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Linda Mesaros at 202-395-4821.

Steven Kelman,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95–7 Filed 1–3–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3110–01–M

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

City National Bancshares, Inc., et al.;

Acquisitions of Companies Engaged in

Permissible Nonbanking Activities

The organizations listed in this notice

have applied under § 225.23(a)(2) or (f)

of the Board’s Regulation Y (12 CFR

225.23(a)(2) or (f)) for the Board’s

approval under section 4(c)(8) of the

Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C.

1843(c)(8)) and § 225.21(a) of Regulation

Y (12 CFR 225.21(a)) to acquire or

control voting securities or assets of a

company engaged in a nonbanking

activity that is listed in § 225.25 of

Regulation Y as closely related to

banking and permissible for bank

holding companies. Unless otherwise

noted, such activities will be conducted

throughout the United States.

Each application is available for

immediate inspection at the Federal

Reserve Bank indicated. Once the

application has been accepted for

processing, it will also be available for

inspection at the offices of the Board of

Governors. Interested persons may

express their views in writing on the

question whether consummation of the

proposal can ‘‘reasonably be expected to

produce benefits to the public, such as

greater convenience, increased

competition, or gains in efficiency, that

outweigh possible adverse effects, such

as undue concentration of resources,

decreased or unfair competition,

conflicts of interests, or unsound

banking practices.’’ Any request for a

hearing on this question must be

accompanied by a statement of the

reasons a written presentation would

not suffice in lieu of a hearing,

identifying specifically any questions of

fact that are in dispute, summarizing the

evidence that would be presented at a

hearing, and indicating how the party

commenting would be aggrieved by

approval of the proposal.

Unless otherwise noted, comments

regarding each of these applications

must be received at the Reserve Bank

indicated for the application or the

offices of the Board of Governors not

later than January 17, 1995.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

(Zane R. Kelley, Vice President) 104

Marietta Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia

30303:

1. City National Bancshares, Inc.,

Miami, Florida; to acquire 20.6 percent

of the outstanding shares of Turnberry

Savings & Loan Association, North

Miami Beach, Florida, and thereby

engage in operating a savings

association, pursuant to § 225.25(b)(9)

of the Board’s Regulation Y.

B. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

(Randall C. Sumner, Vice President) 411

Locust Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63166:

1. BancorpSouth, Inc., Tupelo,

Mississippi; to acquire LF Bancorp, Inc.,

Laurel, Mississippi, and indirectly

acquire Laurel Federal Savings and

Loan Association, Laurel, Mississippi,

and thereby engage in operating a

savings association, pursuant to §

225.25(b)(9) of the Board’s Regulation Y.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, December 28, 1994.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 95–87 Filed 1–3–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–F

Michael J. Corliss; Change in Bank

Control Notice

Acquisition of Shares of Banks or

Bank Holding Companies

The notificant listed below has

applied under the Change in Bank

Control Act (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)) and §

225.41 of the Board’s Regulation Y (12

CFR 225.41) to acquire a bank or bank