Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 6 / Wednesday, January 9, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 1495 

PART 27—WHISTLEBLOWER 

PROTECTION FOR FEDERAL BUREAU 

OF INVESTIGATION EMPLOYEES 

■ 3. The authority for citation for part 27 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 3151; 28 U.S.C. 

509, 510, 515–519; 5 U.S.C. 2303; President’s 

Memorandum to the Attorney General, 

Delegation of Responsibilities Concerning 

FBI Employees Under the Civil Service 

Reform Act of 1978, 3 CFR p. 284 (1997). 

■ 4. Revise § 27.1 to read as follows: 

§ 27.1 Making a protected disclosure. 

(a) When an employee of, or applicant 

for employment with, the Federal 

Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (FBI 

employee) makes a disclosure of 

information to the Department of 

Justice’s (Department’s) Office of 

Professional Responsibility (OPR), the 

Department’s Office of Inspector 

General (OIG), the FBI Office of 

Professional Responsibility (FBI OPR), 

the FBI Inspection Division (FBI–INSD) 

Internal Investigations Section 

(collectively, Receiving Offices), the 

Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney 

General, the Director of the FBI, the 

Deputy Director of the FBI, or to the 

highest ranking official in any FBI field 

office, the disclosure will be a 

‘‘protected disclosure’’ if the person 

making it reasonably believes that it 

evidences: 

(1) A violation of any law, rule or 

regulation; or 

(2) Mismanagement, a gross waste of 

funds, an abuse of authority, or a 

substantial and specific danger to public 

health or safety. 

(b) Any office or official (other than 

the OIG or OPR) receiving a protected 

disclosure shall promptly report such 

disclosure to the OIG or OPR for 

investigation. The OIG and OPR shall 

proceed in accordance with procedures 

establishing their respective 

jurisdiction. The OIG or OPR may refer 

such allegations to FBI–INSD Internal 

Investigations Section for investigation 

unless the Deputy Attorney General 

determines that such referral shall not 

be made. 

■ 5. Revise paragraph (e)(1) of § 27.4 to 

read as follows: 

§ 27.4 Corrective action and other relief; 

Director, Office of Attorney Recruitment and 

Management. 

* * * * * 

(e)(1) The Director shall determine, 

based upon all the evidence, whether a 

protected disclosure was a contributing 

factor in a personnel action taken or to 

be taken. Subject to paragraph (e)(2) of 

this section, if the Director determines 

that a protected disclosure was a 

contributing factor in a personnel action 

taken or to be taken, the Director shall 

order corrective action as the Director 

deems appropriate. The Director may 

conclude that the disclosure was a 

contributing factor in the personnel 

action based upon circumstantial 

evidence, such as evidence that the 

employee taking the personnel action 

knew of the disclosure and that the 

personnel action occurred within a 

period of time such that a reasonable 

person could conclude that the 

disclosure was a contributing factor in 

the personnel action. 

* * * * * 

Dated: December 28, 2007. 

Michael B. Mukasey, 

Attorney General. 

[FR Doc. 08–7 Filed 1–8–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–PB–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 117 

[Docket No. CGD07–07–107] 

RIN 1625–AA09 

Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Gulf 

Intracoastal Waterway, Mile 131.8, 

Clearwater, FL 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is changing 

the operating regulations governing the 

Belleair Beach Bridge, Gulf Intracoastal 

Waterway, mile 131.8, Clearwater, 

Florida. This rule will allow the bridge 

to open on signal, except that from 7 

a.m. to 7 p.m. this bridge will open on 

the hour and half-hour. This action is 

necessary for workers’ safety and will 

assist in expediting the construction of 

the new bridge. 

DATES: This rule is effective February 8, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: Comments and material 

received from the public, as well as 

documents indicated in this preamble as 

being available in the docket, are part of 

docket [Docket No. CGD07–07–107] and 

are available for inspection or copying 

at Commander (dpb), Seventh Coast 

Guard District, 909 S.E. 1st Avenue, 

Room 432, Miami, Florida 33131–3028, 

between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Michael Lieberum, Seventh Coast Guard 

District, Bridge Administration Branch, 

telephone number 305–415–6744. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulatory Information 

On June 18, 2007, we published a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

entitled Drawbridge Operation 

Regulations; Gulf Intracoastal 

Waterway, mile 131.8, Clearwater, FL in 

the Federal Register, 72 FR 33423–

33425. We received no comments on the 

proposed rule. No public meeting was 

requested, and none was held. 

Background and Purpose 

The existing regulation of the draw 

requires that the Belleair Beach Bridge, 

mile 131.8, Clearwater, FL shall open on 

signal; except that, from 12 noon to 6 

p.m., on Saturdays, Sundays, and 

holidays, the draw need open only on 

the hour, quarter hour, half hour, and 

three-quarter hour. 

Due to the construction of the new 

Belleair Beach high level fixed bridge, 

ECDriver, representing the owner of the 

bridge, requested that the Coast Guard 

change the current operation of the 

Belleair Beach Bridge. The bridge will 

be required to open twice an hour from 

7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In addition, the 

waterway may be restricted or closed for 

short periods to allow for construction 

of the new bridge. Exact times and dates 

of any waterway restrictions and 

closures and bridge restrictions will be 

published in the Local Notice to 

Mariners and Broadcast Notice to 

Mariners. In cases of emergency, the 

bridge will be opened as soon as 

possible. This regulation is necessary for 

workers safety and will assist in 

expediting construction of the new 

bridge. Once the new Belleair Beach 

high level fixed bridge is near 

completion, we will propose to remove 

the regulation for the old drawbridge, as 

it will no longer be necessary. 

Discussion of Comments and Changes 

The Coast Guard received no 

comments in response to the notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NPRM). For this 

reason no changes were made to the 

proposed regulation. 

Regulatory Evaluation 

This rule is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under section 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory 

Planning and Review, and does not 

require an assessment of potential costs 

and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of that 

Order. The Office of Management and 

Budget has not reviewed it under that 

Order. 

Small Entities 

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(5 U.S.C. 601–612), we have considered 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
1496 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 6 / Wednesday, January 9, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

whether this rule would have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The term ‘‘small entities’’ comprises 

small businesses, not-for-profit 

organizations that are independently 

owned and operated and are not 

dominant in their fields, and 

governmental jurisdictions with 

populations of less than 50,000. 

The Coast Guard certifies under 5 

U.S.C. 605(b) that this rule will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

This rule would affect the following 

entities, some of which may be small 

entities: The owners or operators of 

vessels needing to transit the Gulf 

Intracoastal Waterway in the vicinity of 

the Belleair Beach Bridge, persons 

intending to drive over the bridge, and 

nearby business owners. The revision to 

the openings schedule would not have 

a significant impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. Although 

bridge openings will be restricted, 

vessel traffic will still be able to transit 

the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway pursuant 

to the revised opening schedule. 

Assistance for Small Entities 

Under section 213(a) of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–121), 

we offered to assist small entities in 

understanding the rule so that they 

could better evaluate its effects on them 

and participate in the rulemaking 

process. 

Small businesses may send comments 

on the actions of Federal employees 

who enforce, or otherwise determine 

compliance with, Federal regulations to 

the Small Business and Agriculture 

Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman 

and the Regional Small Business 

Regulatory Fairness Boards. The 

Ombudsman evaluates these actions 

annually and rates each agency’s 

responsiveness to small business. If you 

wish to comment on actions by 

employees of the Coast Guard, call 1–

888–REG–FAIR (1–888–734–3247). The 

Coast Guard will not retaliate against 

small entities that question or complain 

about this rule or any policy or action 

of the Coast Guard. 

Collection of Information 

This rule calls for no new collection 

of information under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–

3520). 

Federalism 

A rule has implications for federalism 

under Executive Order 13132, 

Federalism, if it has a substantial direct 

effect on State or local governments and 

would either preempt State law or 

impose a substantial direct cost of 

compliance on them. We have analyzed 

this rule under that Order and have 

determined that it does not have 

implications for federalism. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531–1538) requires 

Federal agencies to assess the effects of 

their discretionary regulatory actions. In 

particular, the Act addresses actions 

that may result in the expenditure by a 

State, local, or tribal government, in the 

aggregate, or by the private sector of 

$100,000,000 or more in any one year. 

Though this rule will not result in such 

an expenditure, we do discuss the 

effects of this rule elsewhere in this 

preamble. 

Taking of Private Property 

This rule will not affect a taking of 

private property or otherwise have 

taking implications under Executive 

Order 12630, Governmental Actions and 

Interference with Constitutionally 

Protected Property Rights. 

Civil Justice Reform 

This rule meets applicable standards 

in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive 

Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to 

minimize litigation, eliminate 

ambiguity, and reduce burden. 

Protection of Children 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Executive Order 13045, Protection of 

Children from Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks. This rule is not 

an economically significant rule and 

would not create an environmental risk 

to health or risk to safety that might 

disproportionately affect children. 

Indian Tribal Governments 

This rule does not have tribal 

implications under Executive Order 

13175, Consultation and Coordination 

with Indian Tribal Governments, 

because it does not have a substantial 

direct effect on one or more Indian 

tribes, on the relationship between the 

Federal Government and Indian tribes, 

or on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes. 

Energy Effects 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Executive Order 13211, Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use. We have 

determined that it is not a ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ under that order because 

it is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’

under Executive Order 12866 and is not 

likely to have a significant adverse effect 

on the supply, distribution, or use of 

energy. The Administrator of the Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

has not designated it as a significant 

energy action. Therefore, it does not 

require a Statement of Energy Effects 

under Executive Order 13211. 

Technical Standards 

The National Technology Transfer 

and Advancement Act (NTTAA) (15 

U.S.C. 272 note) directs agencies to use 

voluntary consensus standards in their 

regulatory activities unless the agency 

provides Congress, through the Office of 

Management and Budget, with an 

explanation of why using these 

standards would be inconsistent with 

applicable law or otherwise impractical. 

Voluntary consensus standards are 

technical standards (e.g., specifications 

of materials, performance, design, or 

operation; test methods; sampling 

procedures; and related management 

systems practices) that are developed or 

adopted by voluntary consensus 

standards bodies. 

This rule does not use technical 

standards. Therefore, we did not 

consider the use of voluntary consensus 

standards. 

Environment 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Commandant Instruction M16475.lD, 

which guides the Coast Guard in 

complying with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321–4370f), and 

have concluded that there are no factors 

in this case that would limit the use of 

a categorical exclusion under section 

2.B.2 of the Instruction. Therefore, this 

rule is categorically excluded, under 

figure 2–1, paragraph (32)(e), of the 

Instruction, from further environmental 

documentation. 

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 117 

Bridges. 

■ For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 

CFR part 117 as follows: 

PART 117—DRAWBRIDGE 

OPERATION REGULATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 117 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 33 CFR 1.05–1(g); 

Department of Homeland Security Delegation 

No. 0170.1. 

■ 2. Revise § 117.287(i) to read as 

follows: 

§ 117.287 Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. 

* * * * * 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 6 / Wednesday, January 9, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 1497 

(i) The draw of the Belleair Beach 

Drawbridge, mile 131.8, Clearwater, FL 

shall open on signal, except that from 7 

a.m. to 7 p.m., the bridge shall open on 

the hour and half-hour. 

* * * * * 

Dated: December 10, 2007. 

William D. Lee, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting 

Commander, Seventh Coast Guard. 

[FR Doc. E8–191 Filed 1–8–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 50 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2001–0017; FRL–8502–3] 

RIN 2060–AO59 

Interpretation of the National Ambient 

Air Quality Standards for PM2.5—

Correcting and Simplifying 

Amendment 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The EPA recently finalized 

changes to the data handling 

conventions and computations 

necessary for determining when the 

annual and 24-hour national ambient air 

quality standards (NAAQS) for fine 

particles (generally referring to particles 

less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers 

(μm) in diameter, PM2.5) are met. These 

changes were made in support of 

revisions to the NAAQS for particulate 

matter (PM) that were finalized in the 

same rulemaking. After publication, 

EPA discovered an inadvertent omission 

in the rule text explaining the 

procedures for calculating the key 

statistic (98th percentile) involved with 

determining compliance with the 24- 

hour PM2.5 standard in locations where 

extra samples of PM2.5 in ambient air 

were taken above the specified sampling 

frequency. If the error in the regulatory 

text is left unchanged, the resulting 

statistic for calculating compliance with 

the 24-hour PM2.5 standard would be 

biased low at some samplers, leading to 

potentially incorrect determinations that 

an area was attaining the NAAQS. In 

this direct final action, EPA is correcting 

this error. The correction involves the 

replacement of the currently used 

statistical formula and instructions with 

a simpler look-up table approach which 

is easier for readers to understand and 

which retains the intended numerical 

consistency with EPA’s historic 

practice. 

DATES: This rule is effective on April 8, 

2008 without further notice, unless EPA 

receives adverse comment by February 

8, 2008. If EPA receives adverse 

comment, EPA will publish a timely 

withdrawal in the Federal Register 

informing the public that this direct 

final rule will not take effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–

OAR–2001–0017 by one of the following 

methods: 

• www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• E-mail: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov. 

• Fax: (202) 566–9744. 

• Mail: Review of the National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS) for Particul0ate Matter (PM), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. 

Please include a total of two copies. 

• Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, 

1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., EPA 

Headquarters Library, Room 3334, EPA 

West Building, Washington, DC 20460. 

Such deliveries are only accepted 

during the Docket’s normal hours of 

operation, and special arrangements 

should be made for deliveries of boxed 

information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2001–

0017. The EPA’s policy is that all 

comments received will be included in 

the public docket without change and 

may be made available online at: 

http://www.regulations.gov including 

any personal information provided, 

unless the comment includes 

information claimed to be Confidential 

Business Information (CBI) or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Do not submit 

information that you consider to be CBI 

or otherwise protected through 

www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The 

www.regulations.gov Web site is an 

‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

If you send an e-mail comment directly 

to EPA without going through 

www.regulations.gov, your e-mail 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made available on the internet. If you 

submit an electronic comment, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket, visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at http:// 

www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the www.regulations.gov 

index. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., CBI or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, will be publicly 

available only in hard copy. Publicly 

available docket materials are available 

either electronically in 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the Review of the National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 

Particulate Matter (PM) Docket, EPA/ 

DC, EPA West Building, EPA 

Headquarters Library, Room 3334, 

Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC. The Public Reading Room is open 

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. The telephone number for the 

Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1744, 

and the telephone number for the Air 

Docket is (202) 566–1742. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general questions, please contact Mr. 

Lewis Weinstock, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality 

Planning and Standards, Air Quality 

Assessment Division, Ambient Air 

Monitoring Group (C304–06), Research 

Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711; 

telephone number: (919) 541–3661; fax 

number: (919) 541–1903; e-mail address: 

weinstock.lewis@epa.gov. For technical 

questions, please contact Mr. Mark 

Schmidt, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning 

and Standards, Air Quality Assessment 

Division, Air Quality Analysis Group 

(C304–04), Research Triangle Park, 

North Carolina 27711; telephone 

number: (919) 541–2416; fax number: 

(919) 541–1903; e-mail address: 

schmidt.mark@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Why Is EPA Using a Direct Final Rule? 

II. Does This Action Apply to Me? 

III. Authority 

IV. Judicial Review 

V. Overview of the October 17, 2006 NAAQS 

Rule Changes 

VI. This Action 

VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES