Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 105 / Thursday, June 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 29685 

13Management Directive 3.17, ‘‘Information 

Quality Program,’’ ensures that peer review is 

conducted on all influential scientific information 

and highly influential scientific assessment that the 

agency intends to disseminate. 1 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. 

while balancing goals, scale, timeline, 

feasibility, and available resources. 

Additionally, the NRC’s Information 

Quality Program 13 ensures that all 

information relied on by the NRC is 

subject to rigorous quality standards. 2. Relevance and Utility—The NRC 

ensures that evidence-building activities 

are relevant and provide useful findings 

to inform agency activities, actions, and 

stakeholders. 

The NRC performs evidence-building 

activities to examine questions of 

importance and serve the information 

needs of stakeholders. The NRC 

presents findings that are clear, concise, 

actionable, and available within a 

timeline that is appropriate to the 

questions under consideration. The 

NRC’s evidence-building priorities 

consider legislative requirements; the 

NRC’s strategic goals, objectives, and 

strategies; and the interests and views of 

stakeholders. 

3. Transparency—The NRC is 

committed to conducting evidencebuilding activities in an open and 

transparent manner, which keeps 

stakeholders informed. 

The NRC’s evidence-building 

activities are conducted openly and the 

public must be informed about and have 

an opportunity to participate in the 

NRC’s regulatory process. As a 

regulator, the NRC listens to, respects, 

and analyzes different views from its 

stakeholders. The NRC ensures open 

channels of communication are 

maintained between internal and 

external stakeholders, including 

Congress, other government agencies, 

licensees, nongovernmental 

organizations, individual members of 

the public, and international and 

domestic nuclear communities. The 

NRC takes reasonable measures to make 

all information, including information 

about the NRC’s evidence-building 

activities (including their purpose, 

objectives, design, findings, and 

methods), broadly available and 

accessible. The NRC releases public 

evidence-building findings in a timely 

manner and archives the data for 

secondary use by stakeholders, as 

appropriate. 4. Collaboration—The NRC is 

committed to working collaboratively 

when conducting evidence-building 

activities and draws on the expertise of 

subject matter experts to ensure 

diversity in perspectives. The NRC fosters a collaborative work 

environment that encourages diverse 

views, alternative approaches, critical 

thinking, creative problem solving, 

unbiased findings, and honest feedback. 

The NRC emphasizes trust, respect, and 

open communication to promote a 

positive work environment that 

maximizes the potential of all 

individuals, which improves evidence 

building and evaluation activities. A 

collaborative environment leverages 

expertise from subject matter experts 

and enables peer reviews to ensure 

rigorous evidence-building. The NRC 

conducts research and collaborates with 

organizations that develop consensus 

standards to improve data and methods 

used in risk analysis. The NRC 

collaborates with national laboratories, 

Agreement States, other Federal 

agencies, universities, and international 

organizations. 

5. Independence and Objectivity—As 

an independent Federal agency, the 

NRC is committed to conducting 

evidence-building activities that are 

independent and based on objective 

assessments and analysis of all relevant 

information. 

The NRC was established as an 

independent agency to regulate civilian 

uses of radioactive material. The NRC’s 

evidence-building activities are 

independent and objective to maintain 

credibility and integrity. The 

implementation of evidence-building 

activities, including the selection and 

assignment of the staff, should be 

appropriately insulated from factors that 

may affect objectivity, impartiality, and 

professional judgment. Evidencebuilding is inclusive and the NRC seeks 

input from a broad range of stakeholders 

in setting priorities, identifying 

questions, and assessing the 

implications of findings. The NRC 

strives for objectivity in the planning 

and conduct of evidence-building 

activities. 

6. Ethics—The NRC is committed to 

conducting evidence-building activities 

that adhere to Government-wide ethics 

standards to protect the public and 

maintain public trust. 

The NRC’s evidence-building 

activities comply with relevant legal 

requirements and are conducted in a 

manner that is free from conflicts of 

interest, undue influence, the 

appearance of bias, and safeguards the 

dignity, rights, safety, and privacy of 

participants. The NRC complies with 

Governmentwide ethics standards 

contained in Federal statutes and 

regulations, which are intended to 

ensure that every citizen can have 

confidence in the integrity of the 

Federal Government. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11637 Filed 6–2–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

12 CFR Part 1026 

[Docket No. CFPB–2020–0023] 

RIN 3170–AA83 

Higher-Priced Mortgage Loan Escrow 

Exemption (Regulation Z); Correcting 

Amendments 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Final rule; official 

interpretations; correcting amendments. 

SUMMARY: This document corrects the 

Official Interpretations (Commentary) to 

Regulation Z. Specifically, the Bureau of 

Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) 

is adding a comment to its Commentary 

that it included in a recent higherpriced mortgage loan escrow exemption 

final rule but that was not incorporated 

into the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR) due to an omission in an 

amendatory instruction. The Bureau is 

also revising a comment that it included 

in the same recent final rule, but that 

inadvertently did not appear in a 

subsequently effective final rule. 

DATES: The corrections are effective on 

June 3, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joseph Devlin, Senior Counsel, Office of 

Regulations, at 202–435–7700 or https:// 

reginquiries.consumerfinance.gov/. If 

you require this document in an 

alternative electronic format, please 

contact CFPB_Accessibility@cfpb.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Bureau is issuing this document 

to correct two comments in the Bureau’s 

Commentary to Regulation Z, which 

implements the Truth in Lending Act.1

In the final rule titled ‘‘Higher-Priced 

Mortgage Loan Escrow Exemption 

(Regulation Z)’’ (Escrow Exemption 

Final Rule), published in the Federal 

Register on February 17, 2021 (86 FR 

9840), the Bureau included Paragraph 

35(b)(2)(vi)(B) in its commentary text for 

the rule, but omitted the related 

amendatory instruction to add that 

specific paragraph to the Commentary. 

This omission was a scrivener’s error. 

The Bureau is therefore issuing this 

correction to ensure that Paragraph 

35(b)(2)(vi)(B) is incorporated into the 

Commentary published in the CFR. 

Additionally, the Bureau is amending 

the CFR to revise a comment that the 

Bureau amended in the Escrow 

Exemption Rule but that inadvertently 


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29686 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 105 / Thursday, June 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

2When amending commentary, the Office of the 

Federal Register requires reprinting of certain 

subsections being amended in their entirety rather 

than providing more targeted amendatory 

instructions and related text. 

3 5 U.S.C. 603(a) and 604(a). 

4 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 

did not appear in a subsequently 

effective final rule. In the Escrow 

Exemption Rule, the Bureau amended 

preexisting Paragraph 43(f)(1)(vi). This 

amended comment was incorporated 

into the CFR on the February 17, 2021 

effective date of the Escrow Exemption 

Rule; however, an unamended version 

of the preexisting comment was 

included in the Bureau’s final rule titled 

‘‘Qualified Mortgage Definition Under 

the Truth in Lending Act (General QM 

Loan Definition)’’ (General QM Rule) 

(85 FR 86308). The General QM Rule 

was published in the Federal Register 

on December 29, 2020, but it did not 

take effect until March 1, 2021.2 The 

unamended version of the preexisting 

comment therefore inadvertently 

replaced the amended version when the 

General QM Rule was incorporated into 

the CFR. The Bureau is therefore issuing 

this correction to ensure that the CFR 

contains the intended version of this 

comment that the Bureau amended in 

the Escrow Exemption Final Rule. 

Regulatory Requirements: The Bureau 

finds that public comment on this 

correction is unnecessary because the 

Bureau is correcting inadvertent, 

technical errors, about which there is 

minimal, if any, basis for substantive 

disagreement. Because no notice of 

proposed rulemaking is required, the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act does not 

require an initial or final regulatory 

flexibility analysis.3 The Bureau has 

determined that these corrections do not 

impose any new or revise any existing 

recordkeeping, reporting, or disclosure 

requirements on covered entities or 

members of the public that would be 

collections of information requiring 

OMB approval under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act.4

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 1026 

Advertising, Banks, banking, 

Consumer protection, Credit, Credit 

unions, Mortgages, National Banks, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Savings associations, 

Truth-in-lending. 

Authority and Issuance 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Bureau amends 

Regulation Z, 12 CFR part 1026, as set 

forth below: 

PART 1026—TRUTH IN LENDING 

(REGULATION Z) 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1026 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 2601, 2603–2605, 

2607, 2609, 2617, 3353, 5511, 5512, 5532, 

5581; 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. 

■ 2. Amend supplement I to part 1026— 

Official Interpretations by: 

■ a. Adding Paragraph 35(b)(2)(vi)(B); 

and 

■ b. Revising Paragraph 43(f)(1)(vi). 

The addition and revision read as 

follows: 

Supplement I to Part 1026—Official 

Interpretations 

* * * * * 

Section 1026.35—Requirements for 

Higher-Priced Mortgage Loans 

* * * * * 

35(b) Escrow Accounts 

* * * * * 

35(b)(2) Exemptions 

* * * * * 

Paragraph 35(b)(2)(vi)(B). 

1. The transaction threshold in 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(vi)(B) differs from the 

transaction threshold in 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(iii)(B) in two ways. First, 

the threshold in § 1026.35(b)(2)(vi)(B) is 

1,000 loans secured by first liens on a 

principal dwelling, while the threshold 

in § 1026.35(b)(2)(iii)(B) is 2,000 loans 

secured by first liens on a dwelling. 

Second, all loans made by the creditor 

and its affiliates secured by a first lien 

on a principal dwelling count toward 

the 1,000-loan threshold in 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(vi)(B), whether or not 

such loans are held in portfolio. By 

contrast, under § 1026.35(b)(2)(iii)(B), 

only loans secured by first liens on a 

dwelling that were sold, assigned, or 

otherwise transferred to another person, 

or that were subject at the time of 

consummation to a commitment to be 

acquired by another person, are counted 

toward the 2,000-loan threshold. 

* * * * * 

Section 1026.43—Minimum Standards 

for Transactions Secured by a Dwelling 

* * * * * 

43(f) Balloon-Payment Qualified 

Mortgages Made by Certain Creditors 

43(f)(1) Exemption 

* * * * * 

Paragraph 43(f)(1)(vi). 

1. Creditor qualifications. Under 

§ 1026.43(f)(1)(vi), to make a qualified 

mortgage that provides for a balloon 

payment, the creditor must satisfy three 

criteria that are also required under 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(iii)(A), (B) and (C), 

which require: 

i. During the preceding calendar year 

or during either of the two preceding 

calendar years if the application for the 

transaction was received before April 1 

of the current calendar year, the creditor 

extended a first-lien covered 

transaction, as defined in 

§ 1026.43(b)(1), on a property that is 

located in an area that is designated 

either ‘‘rural’’ or ‘‘underserved,’’ as 

defined in § 1026.35(b)(2)(iv), to satisfy 

the requirement of § 1026.35(b)(2)(iii)(A) 

(the rural-or-underserved test). Pursuant 

to § 1026.35(b)(2)(iv), an area is 

considered to be rural if it is: A county 

that is neither in a metropolitan 

statistical area, nor a micropolitan 

statistical area adjacent to a 

metropolitan statistical area, as those 

terms are defined by the U.S. Office of 

Management and Budget; or a census 

block that is not in an urban area, as 

defined by the U.S. Census Bureau 

using the latest decennial census of the 

United States. An area is considered to 

be underserved during a calendar year 

if, according to HMDA data for the 

preceding calendar year, it is a county 

in which no more than two creditors 

extended covered transactions secured 

by first liens on properties in the county 

five or more times. 

A. The Bureau determines annually 

which counties in the United States are 

rural or underserved as defined by 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(iv)(A)(1) or 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(iv)(B) and publishes on 

its public website lists of those counties 

to assist creditors in determining 

whether they meet the criterion at 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(iii)(A). Creditors may 

also use an automated tool provided on 

the Bureau’s public website to 

determine whether specific properties 

are located in areas that qualify as 

‘‘rural’’ or ‘‘underserved’’ according to 

the definitions in § 1026.35(b)(2)(iv) for 

a particular calendar year. In addition, 

the U.S. Census Bureau may also 

provide on its public website an 

automated address search tool that 

specifically indicates if a property 

address is located in an urban area for 

purposes of the Census Bureau’s most 

recent delineation of urban areas. For 

any calendar year that begins after the 

date on which the Census Bureau 

announced its most recent delineation 

of urban areas, a property is located in 

an area that qualifies as ‘‘rural’’ 

according to the definitions in 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(iv) if the search results 

provided for the property by any such 

automated address search tool available 

on the Census Bureau’s public website 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 105 / Thursday, June 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 29687 

do not identify the property as being in 

an urban area. 

B. For example, if a creditor extended 

during 2017 a first-lien covered 

transaction that is secured by a property 

that is located in an area that meets the 

definition of rural or underserved under 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(iv), the creditor meets 

this element of the exception for any 

transaction consummated during 2018. 

C. Alternatively, if the creditor did 

not extend in 2017 a transaction that 

meets the definition of rural or 

underserved test under 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(iv), the creditor satisfies 

this criterion for any transaction 

consummated during 2018 for which it 

received the application before April 1, 

2018, if it extended during 2016 a firstlien covered transaction that is secured 

by a property that is located in an area 

that meets the definition of rural or 

underserved under § 1026.35(b)(2)(iv). 

ii. During the preceding calendar year, 

or, if the application for the transaction 

was received before April 1 of the 

current calendar year, during either of 

the two preceding calendar years, the 

creditor together with its affiliates 

extended no more than 2,000 covered 

transactions, as defined by 

§ 1026.43(b)(1), secured by first liens, 

that were sold, assigned, or otherwise 

transferred to another person, or that 

were subject at the time of 

consummation to a commitment to be 

acquired by another person, to satisfy 

the requirement of 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(iii)(B). 

iii. As of the preceding December 

31st, or, if the application for the 

transaction was received before April 1 

of the current calendar year, as of either 

of the two preceding December 31sts, 

the creditor and its affiliates that 

regularly extended covered transactions 

secured by first liens, together, had total 

assets that do not exceed the applicable 

asset threshold established by the 

Bureau, to satisfy the requirement of 

§ 1026.35(b)(2)(iii)(C). The Bureau 

publishes notice of the asset threshold 

each year by amending comment 

35(b)(2)(iii)–1.iii. 

* * * * * 

Dated: May 26, 2021. 

David Uejio, 

Acting Director, Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11571 Filed 6–2–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 73 

[Docket No. FAA–2021–0483; Airspace 

Docket No. 19–ANM–84] 

RIN 2120–AA66 

Amendment of Restricted Area R– 

6413; Green River, UT 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule; technical 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: This action changes the using 

agency of restricted area R–6413, Green 

River, UT. The FAA is taking this 

administrative action in response to the 

requested change from the United States 

Air Force to the United States Army as 

the using agency. There are no changes 

to the boundaries; designated altitudes; 

or activities conducted within the 

affected restricted area. 

DATES: Effective date 0901 UTC, August 

12, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher McMullin, Rules and 

Regulations Group, Office of Policy, 

Federal Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267–8783. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority for This Rulemaking 

The FAA’s authority to issue rules 

regarding aviation safety is found in 

Title 49 of the United States Code. 

Subtitle I, Section 106 describes the 

authority of the FAA Administrator. 

Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs, 

describes in more detail the scope of the 

agency’s authority. 

This rulemaking is promulgated 

under the authority described in 

Subtitle VII, Part A, Subpart I, Section 

40103. Under that section, the FAA is 

charged with prescribing regulations to 

assign the use of the airspace necessary 

to ensure the safety of aircraft and the 

efficient use of airspace. This regulation 

is within the scope of that authority as 

it administratively amends the using 

agency for restricted area R–6413, Green 

River, UT. 

History 

The FAA evaluates utilization of 

special use airspace annually. For the 

past several years the utilization of 

restricted area R–6413 has declined 

steadily. The FAA in coordination with 

the United States Air Force and the 

United States Army, has concluded the 

restricted area is still needed, and the 

using agency should be transferred. 

Therefore, the using agency has changed 

from Deputy for Air Force, White Sands 

Missile Range, NM 88002 to 

Commanding General, White Sands 

Missile Range, NM, due to emerging 

Army requirements and their planned 

use of the restricted area R–6413. 

The Rule 

This action amends 14 CFR part 73 by 

revising the using agency listed for 

restricted area R–6413, Green River, UT. 

The using agency for R–6413 is changed 

from ‘‘Deputy for Air Force, White 

Sands Missile Range, NM 88002’’ to 

‘‘Commanding General, White Sands 

Missile Range, NM’’. These are 

administrative changes and do not affect 

the boundaries, designated altitudes, or 

activities conducted within the 

restricted area; therefore, notice and 

public procedures under 5 U.S.C. 553(b) 

are unnecessary. 

Regulatory Notices and Analyses 

The FAA has determined that this 

regulation only involves an established 

body of technical regulations for which 

frequent and routine amendments are 

necessary to keep them operationally 

current. It, therefore: (1) Is not a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under 

Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a 

‘‘significant rule’’ under Department of 

Transportation (DOT) Regulatory 

Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034; 

February 26, 1979); and (3) does not 

warrant preparation of a regulatory 

evaluation as the anticipated impact is 

so minimal. Since this is a routine 

matter that only affects air traffic 

procedures and air navigation, it is 

certified that this rule, when 

promulgated, does not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities under the 

criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 

Environmental Review 

The FAA has determined that this 

action of changing the using agency 

from the US Air Force to the US Army 

for restricted area R–6413; Green River, 

UT, qualifies for categorical exclusion 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 

in accordance with FAA Order 1050.1F, 

Environmental Impacts: Policies and 

Procedures, paragraph 5–6.5.d, 

‘‘Modification of the technical 

description of special use airspace 

(SUA) that does not alter the 

dimensions, altitudes, or times of 

designation of the airspace (such as 

changes in designation of the 

controlling or using agency, or 

correction of typographical errors).’’ 

This airspace action is an administrative 


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