This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

24466

Vol. 61, No. 95

Wednesday, May 15, 1996

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

30 CFR Part 256

RIN 1010–AC18

Leasing of Sulphur or Oil and Gas in

the Outer Continental Shelf

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: MMS proposes to modify

regulations to allow the authorized

officer to extend the time period within

which we must accept or reject the high

bids received on tracts offered for sale.

Currently, the authorized officer must

accept or reject high bids on most tracts

within 90 days after the date on which

the bids are opened.

DATES: MMS will consider all comments

received by June 14, 1996. We will

begin reviewing comments at that time

and may not fully consider comments

we receive after June 14, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-carry

comments to the Department of the

Interior; Minerals Management Service;

381 Elden Street; Mail Stop 4700;

Herndon, Virginia 22070–4817;

Attention: Chief, Engineering and

Standards Branch.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. Marshall Rose, Chief, Economic

Evaluation Branch, telephone (703)

787–1536.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We

limited the comment period to 30 days

to provide us with timely comments in

the event that we need to extend the bid

evaluation period for the lease sale held

on April 24, 1996.

The time to accept or reject high bids

for tracts offered at an Outer Continental

Shelf (OCS) lease sale is established

under the regulations at 30 CFR 256.47.

The authorized officer must accept or

reject the high bids within 90 days after

the bid opening, except for tracts

identified by the Secretary of the

Interior as subject to:

(1) Another nation’s claims of

jurisdiction and control which conflict

with the claims of the United States, or,

(2) Defense-related activities that may

be incompatible with mineral

exploration and/or development

activities.

Any bid not accepted within that period

is deemed rejected.

The 90-day period was established in

1982. Since then, we have held several

sales, mainly areawide. The Outer

Continental Shelf Deep Water Royalty

Relief Act (Pub. L. 104–58, November

28, 1995) amended the Outer

Continental Shelf Lands Act to define a

new bidding system which provides for

royalty suspensions. The deepwater

incentive law did not amend the

requirement that we obtain fair market

value for tracts that are leased. Any

lease sale held before November 28,

2000, must use the new bidding system

for all tracts located in water depths of

200 meters or more in the Gulf of

Mexico west of 87 degrees, 30 minutes

west longitude. We believe that the

increased workload resulting from

compliance with the new statutory

requirements and the potential for a

large number of tracts to receive bids

may exceed our ability to complete the

bid review process for all tracts bid

upon within 90 days as required by 30

CFR 256.47(e)(2).

We propose to remedy the situation

by giving the authorized officer

authority to extend the time period for

30 days or longer when circumstances

warrant. Recent examples include

floods and furloughs; however, other

circumstances such as excessive

workload may arise which could

warrant a longer time for bid evaluation.

This rule addresses a housekeeping

issue and will enable us to adjust the

bid acceptance/rejection time period to

meet changing conditions in the OCS

lease market. Continuation of the 90-day

review period would result in the

rejection of the high bids which we fail

to evaluate within 90 days. This would

result in fewer leases being issued

because of a failure to complete the bid

review process within time and resource

constraints. The Government may

receive less bonus and rental monies.

Today, without authority to extend

the bid review period, the 1982 90-day

rule allows insufficient time and is

arbitrarily rigid.

Comments to the 1982 rule objected to

the proposal to extend the bid review

process from 60 to 120 days because of

economic losses to the bidders whose

high bids were later rejected. (High

bidders received no interest payments

on bonus monies returned by the

Government.) Today, regulations

provide for the payment of interest on

the bonus monies submitted with the

high bids which are ultimately rejected.

Thus, bidders will not suffer economic

loss because of an extended time period

to complete the evaluation process.

In Central Gulf of Mexico Sale 157,

held April 24, 1996, we received 1,381

bids on 924 tracts—many in water

depths of 200 or more. It is in the public

interest to assure that adequate time is

available to give all high bids a full and

appropriate review, to ensure the receipt

of fair market value, and ultimately to

increase natural gas and oil supplies.

Author: This document was prepared by

Mary Vavrina, Offshore Resource Evaluation

Division, MMS.

Executive Order (E.O.) 12866

The proposed rule does not meet the

criteria for a significant rule requiring

review by the Office of Management and

Budget under E.O. 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Department of the Interior has

determined that the proposed rule will

not have a significant effect on a

substantial number of small entities. In

general, the entities that engage in

offshore activities are not, by definition,

small due to the technical complexities

and financial resources and experience

necessary to safely conduct such

activities. The indirect effect of this

rulemaking on small entities that

provide support for offshore activities

has also been determined to be small.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The proposed rule contains no new

reporting and information collection

requirements.

Takings Implication Assessment

The DOI certifies that the proposed

rule does not represent a governmental

action capable of interference with

constitutionally protected property

rights. A Takings Implication

Assessment prepared under E.O. 12630,

Government Action and Interference

with Constitutionally Protected Property

Rights, is not required.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 15, 1996 / Proposed Rules 24467

E.O. 12988

The DOI has certified to the Office of

Management and Budget that the

proposed rule meets the applicable

reform standards provided in Section

3(b)(2) of E.O. 12988.

National Environmental Policy Act

The DOI has determined that the

proposed rule does not constitute a

major Federal action significantly

affecting the quality of the human

environment; therefore, an

environmental impact statement is not

required.

Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995

This rule does not contain any

unfunded mandates to State, local, or

tribal governments or the private sector.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 256

Administrative practices and

procedures, Continental shelf,

Government contracts, Incorporation by

reference, Oil and gas exploration,

Public lands—mineral resources,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Surety bonds.

Dated: May 2, 1996.

Sylvia V. Baca,

Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals

Management.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, we propose to amend 30 CFR

part 256 as follows:

PART 256—LEASING OF SULPHUR OR

OIL AND GAS IN THE OUTER

CONTINENTAL SHELF

1. The Authority citation for part 256

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.

2. Section 256.47(e)(2) is revised to

read as follows:

§ 256.47 Award of leases.

* * * * *

(e) * * *

(2) The authorized officer must accept

or reject the bid within 90 days. The

authorized officer may extend the time

period for acceptance or rejection of a

bid for 30 days or longer, if

circumstances warrant. Any bid not

accepted within the prescribed time

period, including any extension thereof,

shall be deemed rejected.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 96–12167 Filed 5–14–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[OH16–3–7264b; FRL–5439–5]

Approval and Promulgation of

Implementation Plans; Ohio

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The United States

Environmental Protection Agency

(USEPA) proposes to approve a State

revision to the Ohio sulfur dioxide State

Implementation Plan (SO2 SIP),

submitted on October 16, 1991, and

supplemented on March 17, 1993. This

revision revises the SO2 emission

limitations applicable to Hamilton

County. The SIP revision was

conditionally approved on August 23,

1994 (59 FR 43287), and the condition

has been satisfied.

In the final rules section of this

Federal Register, the USEPA is

publishing a full approval of the State’s

SIP revision request as a direct final rule

without prior proposal, because USEPA

views this action as a noncontroversial

revision and anticipates no adverse

comments. A detailed rationale for the

approval is set forth in the direct final

rule. If no adverse comments are

received in response to these actions, no

further activity is contemplated in

relation to this proposed rule.

If USEPA receives timely comments

adverse to or critical of the approval,

which have not been addressed by the

State or USEPA, the direct final rule

will be withdrawn and all public

comments received will be addressed in

a subsequent final rule based on this

proposed rule. Any parties interested in

commenting on this action should do so

at this time.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule

must be received on or before June 14,

1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be mailed to: J. Elmer Bortzer, Chief,

Regulation Development Section, Air

Programs Branch (AR–18J), United

States Environmental Protection

Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson

Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.

Copies of the State submittal and

USEPA’s analysis of it are available for

inspection at: Air and Radiation

Division, Air Programs Branch, United

States Environmental Protection

Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson

Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary Onischak, Environmental

Engineer, Air Programs Branch, (AR–

18J), United States Environmental

Protection Agency, Region 5, Chicago,

Illinois 60604, (312) 353–5954.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For

additional information, see the direct

final rule published in the rules section

of this Federal Register.

Dated: February 14, 1996.

David A. Ullrich,

Acting Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96–12120 Filed 5–14–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and

Families

45 CFR Part 1311

RIN 0970–AB56

Head Start Program

AGENCY: Administration on Children,

Youth and Families (ACYF),

Administration for Children and

Families (ACF), Department of Health

and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Administration on

Children, Youth and Families is issuing

this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to

implement a new statutory provision

authorizing the Secretary to create a

Head Start Fellows Program for staff in

local Head Start programs or other

individuals working in the field of child

development, child care, early

childhood education, health, and family

services.

DATES: In order to be considered,

comments on this proposed rule must

be received on or before July 15, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Please address comments to

the Associate Commissioner, Head Start

Bureau, Administration on Children,

Youth and Families, P.O. Box 1182,

Washington, D.C. 20013. Beginning 14

days after close of the comment period,

comments will be available for public

inspection in Room 2222, 330 C Street,

S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, Monday

through Friday between the hours of

9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Comments that concern information

collection requirements must be sent to

the Office of Management and Budget at

the address listed in the Paperwork

Reduction Act section of this preamble.

A copy of these comments may also be

sent to the Department cited above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dennis Gray, Head Start Bureau,