31432 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 112 / Monday, June 14, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 1—Continued 

[Datum NAD 1983] 

Event Location Event date 

(9) Munising Fourth of July Celebration Fireworks; Munising, MI.All U.S. navigable waters of South Bay within an approximate 800- 

foot radius from the fireworks launch site at the end of the 

Munising City Dock, centered in position: 46°24′50.08′′ N, 

086°39′08.52′′ W.

On July 4, 2021 from 7 p.m. to 

12:30 a.m. 

(10) Sault Sainte Marie Fourth of 

July Celebration Fireworks; Sault 

Sainte Marie, MI.

All U.S. navigable waters of the St. Marys River within an approximate 1,000-foot radius around the eastern portion of the U.S. Army 

Corp of Engineers Soo Locks North East Pier, centered in position: 

46°30′19.66′′ N, 084°20′31.61′′ W.

On July 4, 2021 from 9:30 p.m. to 

11 p.m. 

Rain date: July 5, 2021 from 9:30 

p.m. to 11 p.m. 

(11) Mackinac Island Fourth of July 

Celebration Fireworks; Mackinac 

Island, MI.

All U.S. navigable waters of Lake Huron within an approximate 750- 

foot radius of the fireworks launch site, centered approximately 

1000 yards west of Round Island Passage Light, at position 

45°50′30′′ N, 084°36′30′′ W.

On July 4, 2021 from 9:45 p.m. to 

11 p.m. 

(12) Harbor Springs Fourth of July 

Celebration Fireworks; Harbor 

Springs, MI.

All U.S. navigable waters of Lake Michigan and Harbor Springs Harbor within the arc of a circle with an approximate 1,200-foot radius 

from the fireworks launch site located on a barge in position 

45°25′30′′ N, 084°59′06′′ W.

On July 4, 2021 from 10:15 p.m. 

to 10:45 p.m. 

(13) Bay Harbor Yacht Club Fourth 

of July Celebration Fireworks; 

Petoskey, MI.

All U.S. navigable waters of Lake Michigan and Bay Harbor Lake 

within the arc of a circle with an approximate 750-foot radius from 

the fireworks launch site located on a barge in position 45°21′50′′ 

N, 085°01′37′′ W.

On July 4, 2021 from 10:15 p.m. 

to 10:45 p.m. 

(14) Petoskey Fourth of July Celebration Fireworks; Petoskey, MI.All U.S. navigable waters of Lake Michigan and Petoskey Harbor, in 

the vicinity of Bay Front Park, within the arc of a circle with an approximate 1,200-foot radius from the fireworks launch site located 

in position 45°22′40′′ N, 084°57′30′′ W.

On July 4, 2021 from 10 p.m. to 

11 p.m. 

(15) Boyne City Fourth of July 

Celebration Fireworks; Boyne 

City, MI.

All U.S. navigable waters of Lake Charlevoix, in the vicinity of Veterans Park, within the arc of a circle with an approximate 1,400- 

foot radius from the fireworks launch site located in position 

45°13′30′′ N, 085°01′40′′ W.

On July 4, 2021 from 6 p.m. to 11 

p.m. 

(16) Alpena Fourth of July Celebration Fireworks; Alpena, MI.All U.S. navigable waters of Lake Huron within an approximate 

1,000-foot radius of the fireworks launch site located near the end 

of Mason Street, South of State Avenue, at position 45°02′42′′ N, 

083°26′48′′ W.

On July 4, 2021 from 9 p.m. to 11 

p.m. 

(17) Traverse City Fourth of July 

Celebration Fireworks; Traverse 

City, MI.

All U.S. navigable waters of the West Arm of Grand Traverse Bay 

within the arc of a circle with an approximate 1,200-foot radius 

from the fireworks launch site located on a barge in position 

44°46′12′′ N, 085°37′06′′ W.

On July 4, 2021 from 10 p.m. to 

10:30 p.m. 

Rain date: July 5, 2021 from 10 

p.m. to 10:30 p.m. 

(18) Charlevoix Venetian Festival 

Friday Night Fireworks; 

Charlevoix, MI.

All U.S. navigable waters of Lake Charlevoix, in the vicinity of Depot 

Beach, within the arc of a circle with an approximate 1,200-foot radius from the fireworks launch site located on a barge in position 

45°19′08′′ N, 085°14′18′′ W.

On July 23, 2021 from 10 p.m. to 

11p.m. 

(19) Charlevoix Venetian Saturday 

Night Fireworks; Charlevoix, MI.

All U.S. navigable waters of Round Lake within the arc of a circle 

with an approximate 500-foot radius from the fireworks launch site 

located on a barge in position 45°19′03′′ N, 085°15′18′′ W.

On July 24, 2021 from 10 p.m. to 

11 p.m. 

This action is being taken to provide 

for the safety of life on navigable 

waterways during the fireworks 

displays. The regulations for safety 

zones within the Captain of the Port 

Sault Sainte Marie Zone, § 165.918, 

apply for these fireworks displays. 

This notice of enforcement is issued 

under authority of 33 CFR 165.918 and 

5 U.S.C. 552(a). In addition to this 

notice of enforcement in the Federal 

Register, the Coast Guard will provide 

the maritime community with advance 

notification of this enforcement period 

via Broadcast Notice to Mariners or 

Local Notice to Mariners. If the Captain 

of the Port Sault Sainte Marie 

determines that the safety zone need not 

be enforced for the full duration stated 

in this notice he or she may use a 

Broadcast Notice to Mariners to grant 

general permission to enter the 

respective safety zone. 

Dated: June 8, 2021. 

A.R. Jones, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port Sault Sainte Marie. 

[FR Doc. 2021–12410 Filed 6–11–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

34 CFR Part 685 

RIN 1840–AD60 

Repeal of the William D. Ford Federal 

Direct Loan Program Subsidized 

Usage Limit Restriction 

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary 

Education, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Final regulations. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary removes and 

amends regulations to conform with 

changes made by the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021. Specifically, 

the Secretary removes the subsidized 

usage loan limit restriction (SULA) for 

any borrower who receives a Federal 

Direct Stafford Subsidized Loan first 

disbursed on or after July 1, 2021, 

regardless of the award year associated 

with the loan. In addition, all subsidy 

benefits will be reinstated retroactively 

to the date on which the loss of subsidy 

was applied for all Federal Direct 

Stafford Subsidized Loans with an 

outstanding balance on July 1, 2021, and 

for all award years since the 2013–2014 

award year. The Secretary also removes 

regulations related to the subsidized 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 112 / Monday, June 14, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 31433 

usage loan limit restriction and makes 

other technical changes. 

DATES: Effective date: August 13, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tamy Abernathy, 400 Maryland Avenue 

SW, Room 2C–129, Washington, DC 

20202. Telephone: (202) 453–5970. 

Email: Tamy.Abernathy@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 705(b) of the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021 authorizes the 

Secretary to implement the repeal of 

section 455(q) of the Higher Education 

Act of 1965, as amended, before, but not 

later than, July 1, 2023. The Act further 

provides that the Secretary shall specify 

on what date and for which award years 

the implementation of such repeal will 

be effective prior to July 1, 2023. The 

Secretary specifies that the 

implementation of the repeal will be 

effective as of July 1, 2021 and will 

apply beginning with the 2013–2014 

award year. 

Through this regulatory action, the 

Secretary removes 34 CFR 

685.200(a)(2)(i)(A) and (B) and (f) and 

685.304(a)(6)(xvi) and (b)(4)(xii) to 

reflect changes to section 455(q) of the 

Higher Education Act of 1965, as 

amended (HEA), which established the 

subsidized usage loan limit. The 

subsidized usage loan limit was 

repealed by section 705(a) of the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. 

Under these regulations, the 

subsidized usage loan limit will not 

apply to any borrower that receives a 

Federal Direct Stafford Subsidized Loan 

first disbursed on or after July 1, 2021, 

regardless of the award year associated 

with the loan. In addition, in the case 

of a borrower who has a Federal Direct 

Subsidized Stafford Loan which is 

outstanding as of July 1, 2021 and on 

which the borrower has been 

responsible for interest because the 

borrower exceeded the subsidized usage 

loan limit, the Department of Education 

(Department) will adjust the borrower’s 

account to remove the interest that 

accrued and reapply the borrower’s 

payments accordingly. Any borrower 

who has subsidized loan eligibility may 

receive additional subsidized loans and 

will not be subject to the subsidized 

usage limit. 

Summary of the Major Provisions of 

This Regulatory Action 

In these final regulations we remove 

34 CFR 685.200(a)(2)(i)(A) and (B) and 

(f) and 685.304(a)(6)(xvi) and (b)(4)(xii) 

to reflect the repeal of section 455(q) of 

the HEA. In addition, we amend 

§ 685.200(a)(2)(i) introductory text and 

redesignate § 685.304(b)(4)(xiii) and 

(xiv). 

Borrower Eligibility (§ 685.200) 

We remove a reference to eligibility 

requirements for first-time borrowers 

from § 685.200(a)(2)(i)(A) and (B). 

Provisions specifying the limitations on 

a borrower’s eligibility for Direct 

Subsidized Loans and the borrower’s 

responsibility for accruing interest in 

§ 685.200(f) are removed. 

Entrance Counseling 

(§ 685.304(a)(6)(xvi)) 

We remove the requirement that 

entrance counseling include 

information on the limitation on 

eligibility of Federal Direct Stafford 

Subsidized Loans based on the 

borrower’s subsidized usage period. 

Exit Counseling (§ 685.304(b)(4)(xii)) 

We remove the requirement that exit 

counseling include the following 

information on the limitation on 

eligibility for Federal Direct Subsidized 

Loans based on the borrower’s 

subsidized period: 

(a) How the borrower’s maximum 

eligibility period, remaining eligibility 

period, and subsidized usage period are 

determined; 

(b) The sum of the borrower’s 

subsidized usage periods at the time of 

the exit counseling; 

(c) The consequences of continued 

borrowing or enrollment; 

(d) The impact of the borrower 

becoming responsible for accruing 

interest on total student debt; 

(e) That the Secretary will inform the 

student borrower of whether he or she 

is responsible for accruing interest on 

his or her Direct Subsidized Loans; and 

(f) That the borrower can access the 

National Student Loan Data System 

(NSLDS) to determine whether he or she 

is responsible for accruing interest on 

any Direct Subsidized Loans. 

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking 

Under the Administrative Procedure 

Act (5 U.S.C. 553) (APA), the 

Department generally offers interested 

parties the opportunity to comment on 

proposed regulations. However, the 

APA provides that an agency is not 

required to conduct notice-andcomment rulemaking when the agency, 

for good cause, finds that the 

requirement is impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and (d)(3)). 

There is good cause to waive 

rulemaking in this case because this 

final regulatory action removes 

regulations for which the statutory 

authority has been repealed. This 

regulatory action adopts no new 

regulations and does not establish or 

affect substantive policy. Furthermore, 

section 705(b) of the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021 authorizes the 

Secretary to implement the repeal of 

section 455(q) of the HEA before, but 

not later than, July 1, 2023. The statute 

further provides that the Secretary shall 

specify in a designation on what date 

and for which award years the 

implementation of such repeal will be 

effective prior to July 1, 2023. The 

repeal of section 455(q) of the HEA 

under section 705 of the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021 reverses the 

impact of SULA for affected borrowers 

and acknowledges that SULA was first 

authorized to be a temporary and costsaving measure to the Federal 

Government. To fully implement the 

repeal, the Secretary has specified that 

the implementation of the repeal will be 

effective beginning with the 2013–2014 

award year, which was the first year that 

SULA was implemented. Implementing 

otherwise would allow for the 

regulations to continue to apply to 

current students. Accordingly, we are 

rescinding regulations that are not valid 

because we no longer have statutory 

authority to implement and doing so in 

the manner that fully effectuates the 

repeal (i.e., the repeal will be effective 

beginning with the 2013–2014 award 

year). Notice-and-comment rulemaking 

is unnecessary in that the Department 

does not have discretion to retain these 

regulatory provisions or implement in a 

different manner, regardless of public 

opinion and input. 

While we do have discretion as to the 

effective date of the rule (as opposed to 

the award year)—as long as it is before 

July 1, 2023—there is no significant 

substantive impact of the effective date 

of the rule, as, regardless of the effective 

date provided, the rule would have to 

apply to all award years since SULA 

was implemented to fully effectuate the 

statute. Thus, with regard to all 

substantive aspects of the rule, we do 

not have discretion to implement in an 

alternative manner based on public 

input. Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(B), the Secretary has determined 

that proposed regulations are 

unnecessary, and, thus, waives noticeand-comment rulemaking. 

In addition, under section 492 of the 

HEA (20 U.S.C. 1098a), all regulations 


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31434 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 112 / Monday, June 14, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

proposed by the Department for 

programs authorized under title IV of 

the HEA are subject to negotiated 

rulemaking requirements. Section 

492(b)(2) of the HEA provides that 

negotiated rulemaking may be waived 

for good cause when its use would be 

‘‘impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

to the public interest.’’ Section 492(b)(2) 

of the HEA also requires the Secretary 

to publish the basis for waiving 

negotiations in the Federal Register at 

the same time as the regulations in 

question are first published. There is 

good cause to waive the negotiated 

rulemaking requirement in this case, 

since, as explained above, notice and 

comment rulemaking is unnecessary in 

this case. 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Regulatory Impact Analysis 

Under Executive Order 12866, the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) determines whether this 

regulatory action is ‘‘significant’’ and, 

therefore, subject to the requirements of 

the Executive order and subject to 

review by OMB. Section 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866 defines a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ as an 

action likely to result in a rule that 

may— 

(1) Have an annual effect on the 

economy of $100 million or more, or 

adversely affect a sector of the economy, 

productivity, competition, jobs, the 

environment, public health or safety, or 

State, local, or Tribal governments or 

communities in a material way (also 

referred to as an ‘‘economically 

significant’’ rule); 

(2) Create serious inconsistency or 

otherwise interfere with an action taken 

or planned by another agency; 

(3) Materially alter the budgetary 

impacts of entitlement grants, user fees, 

or loan programs or the rights and 

obligations of recipients thereof; or 

(4) Raise novel legal or policy issues 

arising out of legal mandates, the 

President’s priorities, or the principles 

stated in the Executive order. 

OMB has determined that this rule is 

an economically significant action and 

would have an annual effect on the 

economy of more than $100 million. 

This rule restores subsidy benefits for 

borrowers holding approximately $2.4 

billion in outstanding loans and allows 

current and future borrowers to borrow 

additional subsidized loans. Given the 

scale of Federal student aid amounts 

disbursed yearly, the addition of even 

small percentage changes could result in 

transfers between the Federal 

Government and students of more than 

$100 million on an annualized basis. 

Pursuant to Subtitle E of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (also known as the 

Congressional Review Act) (5 U.S.C. 801 

et seq.), the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) designated 

this rule as a ‘‘major rule,’’ as defined 

by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

We have also reviewed this regulatory 

action under Executive Order 13563, 

which supplements and explicitly 

reaffirms the principles, structures, and 

definitions governing regulatory review 

established in Executive Order 12866. 

To the extent permitted by law, 

Executive Order 13563 requires that an 

agency— 

(1) Propose or adopt regulations only 

upon a reasoned determination that 

their benefits justify their costs 

(recognizing that some benefits and 

costs are difficult to quantify); 

(2) Tailor its regulations to impose the 

least burden on society, consistent with 

obtaining regulatory objectives and 

taking into account—among other things 

and to the extent practicable—the costs 

of cumulative regulations; 

(3) In choosing among alternative 

regulatory approaches, select those 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety, 

and other advantages; distributive 

impacts; and equity); 

(4) To the extent feasible, specify 

performance objectives, rather than the 

behavior or manner of compliance a 

regulated entity must adopt; and 

(5) Identify and assess available 

alternatives to direct regulation, 

including economic incentives—such as 

user fees or marketable permits—to 

encourage the desired behavior, or 

provide information that enables the 

public to make choices. 

Executive Order 13563 also requires 

an agency ‘‘to use the best available 

techniques to quantify anticipated 

present and future benefits and costs as 

accurately as possible.’’ OIRA has 

emphasized that these techniques may 

include ‘‘identifying changing future 

compliance costs that might result from 

technological innovation or anticipated 

behavioral changes.’’ 

As required by Executive Order 

13563, the Department has assessed the 

potential costs and benefits, both 

quantitative and qualitative, of this 

regulatory action, and we are issuing 

these regulations only on a reasoned 

determination that their benefits would 

justify their costs. In choosing among 

alternative regulatory approaches, we 

selected those approaches that 

maximize net benefits. Based on the 

analysis that follows, the Department 

believes that the regulations are 

consistent with the principles in 

Executive Order 13563. 

We also have determined that this 

regulatory action would not unduly 

interfere with State, local, or Tribal 

governments in the exercise of their 

governmental functions. 

In accordance with the Executive 

orders, the Department has assessed, 

both quantitatively and qualitatively, 

the potential costs and benefits of this 

regulatory action. 

In this regulatory impact analysis, we 

discuss the need for regulatory action, 

the potential costs and benefits, net 

budget impacts, and regulatory 

alternatives we considered. 

Elsewhere in this section, under 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we 

identify and explain burdens 

specifically associated with information 

collection requirements. 

Need for Regulatory Action 

As discussed in the preamble, the 

final regulations implement statutory 

changes made by section 705 of the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. 

These regulations remove regulations 

that implemented section 455(q) of the 

HEA, which limited the amount of 

Federal Direct Stafford Loans a borrower 

could receive based on their subsidized 

usage. As allowed by section 705(b) of 

the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2021 the Secretary is making this 

change effective for all Federal Direct 

Stafford Subsidized Loans first 

disbursed on or after July 1, 2021, 

regardless of the award year associated 

with the loan. In addition, in the case 

of a borrower who has a Federal Direct 

Subsidized Stafford Loan which is 

outstanding as of July 1, 2021, and on 

which the borrower has been 

responsible for interest because the 

borrower exceeded the subsidized usage 

loan limit, the Department will adjust 

the borrower’s account to remove the 

interest that accrued and reapply the 

borrower’s payments accordingly. 

Since the subsidized loan limit based 

on the borrower’s subsidized usage have 

been repealed, the regulations requiring 

that the borrower be given information 

on those limits during entrance and exit 

counseling are also being removed. 

Costs, Benefits, and Transfers 

The primary beneficiaries of these 

regulations are affected borrowers who 

will either be eligible for subsidized 

loans without being subject to the 

subsidized usage limit when they obtain 

loans on or after July 1, 2021, or who 

will have their subsidized interest 

benefits restored for existing loans that 

previously lost the subsidy due to the 

subsidized usage limit. Affected 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 112 / Monday, June 14, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 31435 

1Students’ hourly rate estimated using national 

median hourly wage for all occupations. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, May 2020 Occupational 

Employment Statistics Data. Available at 

www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00–0000. 

Last accessed March 31, 2021. 

2Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational 

Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2020 

National Occupational Employment and Wage 

Estimates Management Occupations— 

Postsecondary Administrators, 2020 median hourly 

wage. Available at www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_

nat.htm#11–0000. 

borrowers will face a reduced financial 

burden associated with their student 

loans as they will be able to obtain 

additional subsidized loans or have 

their interest benefits restored. This 

difference may allow students to afford 

additional courses they need to 

complete an educational program. The 

Department estimates that 

approximately 354,000 loans with a 

total of $1.2 billion in disbursements 

were subject to the subsidized usage 

limitation, as shown in Table 1. Of 

these, approximately 316,350 loans with 

an outstanding balance of $1.1 billion 

are eligible for reinstatement of subsidy 

benefits. 

Note: Asterisk refers to split by balance 

status being suppressed due to small cell 

sizes. 

The benefit of restoring subsidized 

loan interest benefits to individual 

students will depend on the outstanding 

balances and interest rates on the 

affected loans. For example, on a $5,500 

Direct Subsidized Loan with a 2.75% 

interest rate, the amount of interest that 

accrues per day is $0.41. If a borrower 

is in a deferment for 1 year and does not 

pay off the interest as it accrues, the 

loan would accrue interest totaling 

$149.64. At the end of the deferment 

period, the interest would capitalize and 

then the amount of interest that accrues 

per day would be $0.42. Across multiple 

loans and years, the amount can be 

significant. 

Future students will also benefit from 

not having to consider the potential loss 

of subsidized interest benefits when 

making decisions about course choices 

or the timing for completing their 

programs, simplifying their decision 

making. Restoring the interest rate 

subsidy may help with completion, 

which is a key factor in achieving the 

economic benefits associated with 

postsecondary education. As noted in 

the Paperwork Reduction Act section of 

this preamble, these students will also 

have a reduced burden from the 

elimination of entrance and exit 

counseling material associated with the 

subsidized loan usage limit. This is 

estimated to save students 175,175 

hours annually for a savings of $3.5 

million at an assumed wage rate of 

$20.17 1 for students’ time. 

Institutions will also be affected by 

the removal of the subsidized loan usage 

limitation. The ability of some 

borrowers to obtain additional 

subsidized loans may lead them to 

enroll in extra courses or to complete 

programs, which may provide some 

additional revenue to institutions. As 

indicated in the Paperwork Reduction 

Act section of this preamble, 

institutions will no longer have to 

include information about subsidized 

loan limits in entrance and exit 

counseling for affected borrowers. This 

is estimated to reduce paperwork 

burden by 12,904 hours for estimated 

savings of $1.2 million at a wage rate of 

$$93.74, representing the $46.87 median 

hourly wage for postsecondary 

administrators doubled to capture 

benefits and overhead.2

The Federal Government will be 

making increased transfers to subsidized 

loan borrowers as noted in the Net 

Budget Impact section. This change will 

also require the Department to pay for 

system changes to implement the repeal 


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Table 1: Swnmary of Subsidized Loans Subject to Loss 

of Subsidy 

Program 

Length School Control Balance Status Loan Count Total Disbursed Total Balance 

2-year Public No Balance 9,266 22,999,441 

Positive Balance 107,545 327,171,269 347,774,140 

Private, Non-profit No Balance 1,145 2,406,114 

Positive Balance 6,924 19,569,896 20,717,606 

Proprietary No Balance 5,849 12,254,723 

Positive Balance 37,602 102,503,049 108,210,763 

2-year Total No Balance 16,260 37,660,278 

Positive Balance 152,071 449,244,214 476,702,509 

4-year Foreign * 189 707,948 704,415 

Public No Balance 18,056 51,257,358 

Positive Balance 175,554 596,184,854 623,642,932 

Private, Non-profit No Balance 11,025 31,910,596 

Positive Balance 83,184 286,680,366 299,756,647 

Proprietary No Balance 7,999 16,309,764 

Positive Balance 57,613 169,756,237 180,970,825 

4-year Total No Balance 37,080 99,477,718 

Positive Balance 316,351 1,052,621,457 1,104,370,404 

Overall (includes Foreign) 353,620 1,152,807,123 1,105,074,819 
31436 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 112 / Monday, June 14, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

of the subsidized usage limit. The 

Department estimates that the SULA 

Repeal Phases 1 and 2 will cost 

$454,025. Phase 1 consists of modifying 

existing triggers in the reporting of 

origination and disbursement data to the 

Common Origination and Disbursement 

(COD) system and the reporting of 

enrollment data to the National Student 

Loan Data System (NSLDS) with an 

estimated cost of $279,025. Phase 2 

involves evaluating and implementing 

the impacts of SULA repeal to the Office 

of Partner Participation and Oversight 

(PPO)/FSA Partner Connect, DCC/ 

Digital Platform (StudentAid.gov, 

myStudentAid app), Customer Care 

Platform, Marketing and 

Communications Platform as well as 

other interfaces and reports that include 

SULA data and is expected to cost 

approximately $175,000. 

Net Budget Impact 

The total net budget impact of the 

regulations is $1,888 million in outlays 

over 10 years. We estimate that these 

regulations will have a net Federal 

budget impact for Federal student loan 

cohorts between 2021–2030 of $635 

million as well as an effect on past 

cohorts of $180.1 million for the 

restoration of interest benefits. We also 

estimate a potential shift from 

unsubsidized loans to subsidized loans 

after July 1, 2021, with a two percent 

shift costing approximately $1,073 

million in additional outlays for the 

Federal student loan cohorts between 

2021–2030. A cohort reflects all loans 

originated in a given fiscal year. 

Consistent with the requirements of the 

Credit Reform Act of 1990, budget cost 

estimates for the student loan programs 

reflect the estimated net present value of 

all future non-administrative Federal 

costs associated with a cohort of loans. 

The Net Budget Impact is compared to 

a modified version of the 2020 

President’s Budget baseline (PB2021) 

that adjusts for the Coronavirus Aid, 

Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) 

Act and extension of coronavirusrelated student loan provisions and 

other recent regulations. 

The net budget impact of the 

increased transfers associated with the 

removal of the subsidized loan usage 

limitation come from the restoration of 

subsidized loan interest benefits to 

existing borrowers and additional 

subsidized loan volume, as future 

borrowers are no longer subject to the 

limitation. The loss of subsidized loan 

benefits was previously modeled by 

applying interest to subsidized loans 

assumed to be affected by the limitation. 

Reversing this added interest for 

existing cohorts is estimated to cost 

$180 million and $635 million for 

cohorts from 2021 to 2030. 

The potential increase in subsidized 

loan volume, either from those who did 

not borrow because of the limit or who 

took out unsubsidized loans instead, is 

challenging to predict. While borrowers 

with $1.6 billion in disbursements were 

affected by the limit, it is likely that 

others managed their subsidized loan 

usage, with the help of their 

institutions, to not trigger the loss of 

subsidized benefits. Future borrowers 

will not face the same constraint, so 

some borrowers who would not be 

identified as being affected by the 

subsidized loan usage limit will also 

take additional subsidized loans. The 

peak year for disbursements affected by 

the subsidized usage limitation was 

2016, with approximately $356.5 

million in subsidized loans. This 

represents around 2 percent of the 

$22.95 billion in subsidized loans 

disbursed in AY 2015–2016. Table 2 

demonstrates the cost of shifting loan 

volume from unsubsidized to 

subsidized with the 2 percent shift 

within the range evaluated. 

TABLE 2—COST OF SHIFTING FROM

UNSUBSIDIZED TO SUBSIDIZED

LOANS FOR COHORTS 2021–2030 

[Millions] 

Volume shift Estimated 

cost 

1 percent ..................................... $852 

2 percent ..................................... 1,073 

5 percent ..................................... 1,739 

Accounting Statement 

As required by OMB Circular A–4 

(available at www.whitehouse.gov/sites/ 

default/files/omb/assets/omb/circulars/ 

a004/a-4.pdf), in the following table we 

have prepared an accounting statement 

showing the classification of the 

expenditures associated with the 

provisions of these final regulations. 

This table provides our best estimate of 

the changes in annual monetized 

transfers as a result of this rule. 

Expenditures are classified as transfers 

from the Federal Government to affected 

student loan borrowers. 

TABLE 3—ACCOUNTING STATEMENT: CLASSIFICATION OF ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES

[In millions] 

Category 

Benefits 

7% 3% 

Reduction in paperwork burden on students and institutions from elimination of subsidized usage limit information in entrance and exit counseling requirements .............................................................................................. 4.8 4.8 

Category Costs 

7% 3% 

Costs to modify Government systems for administering student loans to implement repeal of SULA .................. $.06 $.05 

Category Transfers 

7% 3% 

Increased transfers of subsidized loans to eligible students .................................................................................. $96.2 $98.7 

Restoration of subsidized loan benefits to affected borrowers ............................................................................... $85.4 $82.7 

Alternatives Considered 

While the statute could have been 

implemented prospectively without 

consideration to borrowers with 

outstanding balances on unsubsidized 

loans because of SULA, the Department 

interprets this repeal by Congress to 

reverse the impact of SULA, which was 

instituted initially as a cost-saving 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 112 / Monday, June 14, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 31437 

3 Individual costs, $20.17, are based on Students’ 

hourly rate estimated using national median hourly 

wage for all occupations. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

May 2020 Occupational Employment Statistics 

Data. Available at www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_

nat.htm#00–0000. Last accessed on March 31, 2021. 

Institutional costs are based on the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage 

Statistics, as listed in the May 2020 National 

Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates 

Management Occupations—Postsecondary 

Administrators, 2020 median hourly wage which is 

available at www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_

nat.htm#11–0000. The institutional rate, $93.74, is 

representing the $46.87 median hourly wage for 

postsecondary administrators doubled to capture 

benefits and overhead. 

measure to the Department. The 

Department views section 705 of the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, 

as it does other provisions in the Act, to 

streamline the student aid process and 

to provide additional support for 

students. Solely lifting the restriction for 

borrowers on a going-forward basis 

would not provide relief for those 

borrowers who have been subject to 

SULA to date, most notably during a 

time of unprecedented financial strain 

due to COVID–19. The Department 

believes that the only equitable 

approach to implementing this repeal is 

to apply it to the 2013–2014 award year, 

or the first year SULA was 

implemented, as permitted by the 

statute. Therefore, no other alternatives 

were considered for the revisions to the 

regulations included in this document 

because these changes implement 

changes to the HEA enacted by 

Congress, and the Department did not 

exercise discretion in developing these 

amendments which remove the SULA 

restriction as mandated by the statute. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act does 

not apply to this rulemaking because 

there is good cause to waive notice and 

comment under 5 U.S.C. 553. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

As part of its continuing effort to 

reduce paperwork and respondent 

burden, the Department provides the 

general public and Federal agencies 

with an opportunity to comment on the 

discontinuance of collections of 

information in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) 

(44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This helps 

ensure that: The public understands the 

Department’s collection instructions, 

respondents can provide the requested 

data in the desired format, reporting 

burden (time and financial resources) is 

minimized, collection instruments are 

clearly understood, and the Department 

can properly assess the impact of 

collection requirements on respondents. 

Respondents also have the opportunity 

to comment on the Department’s burden 

reduction estimates. A Federal agency 

may not conduct or sponsor a collection 

of information unless OMB approves the 

collection under the PRA and the 

corresponding information collection 

instrument displays a currently valid 

OMB control number. Notwithstanding 

any other provision of law, no person is 

required to comply with, or is subject to 

penalty for failure to comply with, a 

collection of information if the 

collection instrument does not display a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

These final regulations do not create 

any new information collection 

requirements. The final regulations 

remove requirements related to the 

subsidized loan usage limit that was 

repealed by section 705(a) of the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. 

That action will eliminate the burden 

assessed to the applicable regulations in 

the following previously approved 

information collection. The appropriate 

information collection filings will be 

made to coincide with the effective date 

of these regulations to discontinue a 

portion of the currently approved 

information collection, as noted below, 

and to transfer part of this collection to 

another approved information 

collection. We are removing OMB 

control number 1845–0116 from the 

regulations because the collection is no 

longer necessary. 

We are removing 

§§ 685.200(a)(2)(i)(A) and (B) and (f) and 

685.304(a)(6)(xvi) and (b)(4)(xii) from 

the regulations as discussed above. With 

this action, the burden assessed for the 

regulations in § 685.304 under OMB 

Control Number 1845–0116, ‘‘William 

D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program— 

150% Limitation’’ is being 

discontinued. Other reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements in these 

regulatory sections are not affected by 

this discontinuation and burden 

continues to be assessed under 1845– 

0021. 

1845—0116 BURDEN TO BE DISCONTINUED FROM COUNSELING REQUIREMENTS

Respondent type Responses Hours Cost 3

Individual ...................................................................................................................................... ¥4,950,095 ¥175,175 $¥3,533,280 

Public Institution ........................................................................................................................... ¥3,630 ¥4,538 ¥425,392 

Private Institution ......................................................................................................................... ¥3,262 ¥4,078 ¥382,272 

Proprietary Institution ................................................................................................................... ¥3,430 ¥4,288 ¥401,957 

Total discontinued for 1845–0116 ........................................................................................ ¥4,960,417 ¥188,079 ¥4,742,901 

However, the specific reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements in 

§§ 685.301(c) and 685.309(b) of these 

regulatory sections are not affected by 

this discontinuation and burden in this 

collection related to those sections will 

be transferred from 1845–0116 to 1845– 

0021. 

Respondent type Responses Hours 

Public Institution ....................................................................................................................................................... 1,241,812 28,570 

Private Institution ..................................................................................................................................................... 532,524 13,736 

Proprietary Institution ............................................................................................................................................... 367,979 10,439 

Subtotal ............................................................................................................................................................. 2,142,315 52,745 

New Total for 1845–0021 .......................................................................................................................... 11,184,455 792,491 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
31438 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 112 / Monday, June 14, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

1The https://www.regulations.gov platform is in 

the process of being upgraded. Users may be 

automatically redirected to https://

beta.regulations.gov. Both website addresses 

contain the same information. 

Intergovernmental Review 

The William D. Ford Federal Direct 

Loan Program is not subject to Executive 

Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 

CFR part 79. 

Assessment of Educational Impact 

Based on our own review, we have 

determined that the final regulations do 

not require transmission of information 

that any other agency or authority of the 

United States gathers or makes 

available. 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

program contact person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document in an accessible format. 

The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Portable Document Format 

(PDF). To use PDF, you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at: www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

You may also view this document in 

text or PDF at the following site: 

www.ifap.ed.gov/. 

(Assistance Listing Number: 84.268 

Federal Direct Student Loans.) 

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 685 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Colleges and universities, 

Loan programs—Education, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, 

Student aid, Vocational education. 

Michelle Asha Cooper, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 

Education. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Secretary amends part 

685 of title 34 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations as follows: 

PART 685—WILLIAM D. FORD 

FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 685 

continues to read in part as follows: 

Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070g, 1087a, et seq., 

unless otherwise noted. 

* * * * * 

§ 685.200 [Amended] 

■ 2. Section 685.200 is amended by: 

■ a. In paragraph (a)(2)(i) introductory 

text, removing ‘‘must—’’ and adding in 

its place ‘‘must demonstrate financial 

need in accordance with title IV, part F 

of the Act.’’. 

■ b. Removing paragraphs (a)(2)(i)(A) 

and (B) and (f). 

■ c. Removing the parenthetical 

authority citation at the end of the 

section. 

§ 685.304 [Amended] 

■ 3. Section 685.304 is amended by: 

■ a. In paragraph (a)(6)(xiv), adding 

‘‘and’’ after the semicolon. 

■ b. In paragraph (a)(6)(xv), removing ‘‘; 

and’’ and adding a period in its place. 

■ c. Removing paragraphs (a)(6)(xvi) 

and (b)(4)(xii). 

■ d. Redesignating paragraphs 

(b)(4)(xiii) and (xiv) as paragraphs 

(b)(4)(xii) and (xiii), respectively. 

[FR Doc. 2021–12384 Filed 6–11–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 81 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2017–0548; FRL–10019–90– 

OAR] 

RIN 2060–AV06 

Revised Air Quality Designations for 

the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final action revises or 

affirms the initial air quality 

designations for 14 counties associated 

with seven nonattainment areas for the 

2015 primary and secondary National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS) for ozone. In a July 10, 2020, 

decision, the District of Columbia 

Circuit Court remanded to the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 

or Agency), but did not vacate, the April 

30, 2018, designations for 16 counties 

associated with nine nonattainment 

areas located in seven states. In 

response, the EPA has re-evaluated the 

designations for the remanded counties 

by applying a uniform, nationwide 

analytical approach and interpretation 

of the designation provisions of the 

Clean Air Act (CAA) in considering the 

specific facts and circumstances of the 

areas using only data and information 

available at the time of the original 

designations. In this final action, the 

EPA is revising the designations and/or 

boundaries of 13 counties associated 

with six nonattainment areas in four 

states (Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and 

Wisconsin) and is affirming the April 

30, 2018, designation of one county 

associated with a nonattainment area in 

Michigan. The EPA is addressing the 

two additional remanded counties 

associated with two nonattainment 

areas in a separate Federal Register 

document. 

DATES: The effective date of this rule is 

July 14, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

public docket for these ozone 

designations at https://

www.regulations.gov under Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2017–0548.1

Although listed in the docket index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., Confidential Business 

Information or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Out of an abundance of caution for 

members of the public and our staff, the 

EPA Docket Center and Reading Room 

are currently closed to the public, with 

limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of 

transmitting COVID–19. The Docket 

Center staff will continue to provide 

remote customer service via email, 

phone, and webform. For further 

information on EPA Docket Center 

services and the current status, please 

visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/ 

dockets. 

In addition, the EPA has established 

a website for the designations for the 

2015 ozone NAAQS at https://

www.epa.gov/ozone-designations. The 

website includes the EPA’s final revised 

designations action, technical support 

documents, revised responses to 

comments and other related 

information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general questions concerning this 

action, contact Carla Oldham, Office of 

Air Quality Planning and Standards, 


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