Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 194 / Thursday, October 7, 2010 / Proposed Rules 62069 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 

97.022, ‘‘Flood Insurance.’’) 

Dated: September 21, 2010. 

Edward L. Connor, 

Acting Federal Insurance and Mitigation 

Administrator, Department of Homeland 

Security, Federal Emergency Management 

Agency. 

[FR Doc. 2010–25340 Filed 10–6–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–12–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Part 25 

[FAR Case 2009–041; Docket 2010–0105, 

Sequence 1] 

RIN 9000–AL65 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; Sudan 

Waiver Process 

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency 

Acquisition Council and the Defense 

Acquisition Regulations Council (the 

Councils) are proposing to amend the 

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to 

revise section 25.702, Prohibition on 

contracting with entities that conduct 

restricted business operations in Sudan, 

to add specific criteria that an agency 

must address in a waiver request and a 

waiver consultation process regarding 

foreign policy aspects of the waiver 

request for consultations. This 

information will be provided, in a 

waiver request, to the President or his 

appointed designee for consideration on 

whether the prohibition on awarding a 

contract to a contractor that conducts 

business in Sudan should be waived. 

DATES: Interested parties should submit 

written comments to the Regulatory 

Secretariat on or before December 6, 

2010 to be considered in the 

formulation of a final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

identified by FAR Case 2009–041 by any 

of the following methods: 

• Regulations.gov: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Submit comments via the Federal 

eRulemaking portal by inputting ‘‘FAR 

Case 2009–041’’ under the heading 

‘‘Enter Keyword or ID’’ and selecting 

‘‘Search.’’ Select the link ‘‘Submit a 

Comment’’ that corresponds with ‘‘FAR 

Case 2009–041.’’ Follow the instructions 

provided at the ‘‘Submit a Comment’’ 

screen. Please include your name, 

company name (if any), and ‘‘FAR Case 

2009–041’’ on your attached document. 

• Fax: 202–501–4067. 

• Mail: General Services 

Administration, Regulatory Secretariat 

(MVCB), 1800 F Street, NW., Room 

4041, ATTN: Hada Flowers, 

Washington, DC 20405. 

Instructions: Please submit comments 

only and cite FAR Case 2009–041, in all 

correspondence related to this case. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal and/or business confidential 

information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

clarification of content, contact Mr. 

Ernest Woodson, Procurement Analyst, 

at (202) 501–3775. For information 

pertaining to status or publication 

schedules, contact the Regulatory 

Secretariat at (202) 501–4755. Please 

cite FAR Case 2009–041. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

The Civilian Agency Acquisition 

Council and the Defense Acquisition 

Regulations Council (Councils) 

published a final rule, FAR Case 2008– 

004, Prohibition on Restricted Business 

Operations in Sudan and Imports from 

Burma, in the Federal Register at 74 FR 

40463 on August 11, 2009, amending 

the FAR to implement section 6 of the 

Sudan Accountability and Divestment 

Act of 2007, Public Law 110–174. 

Section 6 requires certification in each 

contract entered into by an Executive 

Agency that the contractor does not 

conduct certain business operations in 

Sudan as described in the act. 

Additionally, section 6 establishes the 

President’s authority to waive this 

requirement, on a case-by-case basis, if 

the President determines and certifies in 

writing to the appropriate congressional 

committees that it is in the national 

interest to do so. 

Section 6 of the Sudan Accountability 

and Divestment Act of 2007 was 

implemented in the FAR but did not 

include a waiver consultation process 

and specific criteria for the waiver 

request. With the addition of these 

changes, the FAR will provide 

consistent guidance on specific criteria 

that must be included in the waiver 

request for consideration; and establish 

a consultation process to ensure all 

waiver request are reviewed by the 

appropriate agency experts. 

The Councils propose to amend FAR 

25.702–4 to add (1) waiver criteria that 

agencies must address when requesting 

a waiver to enter into a contract with a 

firm that conducts restricted business 

operations in Sudan that will include 

specific criteria for the waiver request; 

and (2) a waiver consultation process 

that will require all requests to be 

submitted through the Office of Federal 

Procurement Policy (OFPP) to the 

President or his appointed designee for 

consideration. OFPP will be required to 

consult with the President’s National 

Security Council, Office of African 

Affairs and the Department of State 

Sudan Office and Sanctions Office on 

foreign policy matters relevant to the 

waiver request and include this 

information in the recommendation to 

the President. All waiver requests must 

clearly explain why the product or 

service must be procured from the 

offeror for which the waiver is requested 

and why it is in the national interest to 

waive the statutory prohibition against 

contracting with an offeror that 

conducts prohibited business operations 

in Sudan. In addition, the waiver 

request must address any humanitarian 

efforts engaged in by the offeror, the 

human rights impact of doing business 

with that offeror, and the extent of the 

offeror’s business operations in Sudan. 

All of the information required to be 

included in the waiver request will be 

considered in determining whether to 

recommend that the President waive the 

prohibition. 

Additionally, individual and class 

waiver requests will be considered for a 

specific contract or class of contracts, as 

long as the waiver request has been 

reviewed and cleared by the agency 

head prior to submitting it to OFPP and 

the request includes the appropriate 

waiver information specified at FAR 

25.702–4(c)(3). However, a waiver will 

not be issued for an indefinite period of 

time, and may be cancelled, if 

warranted. 

In accordance with section 6 of the 

Sudan Accountability and Divestment 

Act of 2007, the Administrator of 

Federal Procurement Policy is required 

to submit semiannual reports, on April 

15th and October 15th, to Congress, on 

waivers approved by the President. 

OFPP has submitted two reports to 

Congress since the publication of the 

first rule, FAR Case 2008–004, 

Prohibition on Restricted Business 

Operations in Sudan and Imports from 

Burma, but is proposing to include this 

reporting requirement in the FAR to 

emphasize this waiver process and 

reporting requirement. 

This is a significant regulatory action 

and, therefore, was subject to review 

under section 6 of Executive Order 

12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, 


jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
62070 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 194 / Thursday, October 7, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

dated September 30, 1993. This rule is 

not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Councils do not expect this 

proposed rule to have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities within the 

meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., because the 

rule does not impose any additional 

requirements on small businesses. An 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

has, therefore, not been performed. The 

Councils invite comments from small 

business concerns and other interested 

parties on the expected impact of this 

rule on small entities. 

The Councils will also consider 

comments from small entities 

concerning the existing regulations in 

parts affected by this rule in accordance 

with 5 U.S.C. 610. Interested parties 

must submit such comments separately 

and should cite 5 U.S.C. 610 (FAR Case 

2000–041) in all correspondence. 

C. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act does 

not apply because the proposed changes 

to the FAR do not impose information 

collection requirements that require the 

approval of the Office of Management 

and Budget under 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, 

et seq. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 25 

Government procurement. 

Dated: September 28, 2010. 

Edward Loeb, 

Director, Acquisition Policy Division. 

Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA 

propose amending 48 CFR part 25 as set 

forth below: 

PART 25—FOREIGN ACQUISITION 

1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

part 25 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. 

chapter 137; and 42 U.S.C. 2473(c). 

2. Amend section 25.702–4 by 

revising paragraph (b), and adding 

paragraphs (c) and (d) to read as follows: 

25.702–4 Waiver. 

* * * * * 

(b) An agency seeking waiver of the 

requirement shall submit the request 

through the Administrator of the Office 

of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), 

allowing sufficient time for review and 

approval. Upon receipt of the waiver 

request, OFPP shall consult with the 

President’s National Security Council, 

Office of African Affairs, and the 

Department of State Sudan Office and 

Sanctions Office to assess foreign policy 

aspects of making a national interest 

recommendation. 

(c) Agencies may request a waiver on 

an individual or class basis; however, 

waivers are not indefinite and can be 

cancelled if warranted. 

(1) A class waiver may be requested 

only when the class of supplies is not 

available from any other source and it 

is in the national interest. 

(2) Prior to submitting the waiver 

request, the request must be reviewed 

and cleared by the agency head. 

(3) All waiver requests must include 

the following information: 

(i) Agency name, complete mailing 

address, and point of contact name, 

telephone number, and e-mail address. 

(ii) Offeror’s name, complete mailing 

address, and point of contact name, 

telephone number, and e-mail address. 

(iii) Description/nature of product or 

service. 

(iv) The total cost and length of the 

contract. 

(v) Justification, with market research 

demonstrating that no other offeror can 

provide the product or service and 

stating why the product or service must 

be procured from this offeror, as well as 

why it is in the national interest for the 

President to waive the prohibition on 

contracting with this offeror that 

conducts restricted business operations 

in Sudan, including consideration of 

foreign policy aspects identified in 

consultation(s) pursuant to 25.702–4(b). 

(vi) Documentation regarding the 

offeror’s past performance and integrity 

(see the Past Performance Information 

Retrieval System (including the Federal 

Awardee Performance Information and 

Integrity System at http:// 

www.ppirs.gov) and any other relevant 

information). 

(vii) Information regarding the 

offeror’s relationship or connection with 

other firms that conduct prohibited 

business operations in Sudan. 

(viii) Any humanitarian efforts 

engaged in by the offeror, the human 

rights impact of doing business with the 

offeror for which the waiver is 

requested, and the extent of the offeror’s 

business operations in Sudan. 

(d) The consultation in 25.702–4(b) 

and the information in 25.702–4(c)(3) 

will be considered in determining 

whether to recommend that the 

President waive the requirement of 

subsection 25.702–2. In accordance with 

section 6(c) of the Sudan Accountability 

and Divestment Act of 2007, OFPP will 

submit a report to Congress, 

semiannually on April 15th and October 

15th, on the waivers granted. 

[FR Doc. 2010–25266 Filed 10–6–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2010-0013] 

[MO 92210-0-0008-B2] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; 12–month Finding on a 

Petition to list the Sacramento Splittail 

as Endangered or Threatened 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of 12–month petition 

finding. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, announce a 12–month 

finding on a petition to list the 

Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys 

macrolepidotus) as endangered or 

threatened under the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended. After 

review of all available scientific and 

commercial information, we find that 

listing the Sacramento splittail is not 

warranted at this time. However, we ask 

the public to submit to us any new 

information that becomes available 

concerning the threats to the 

Sacramento splittail or its habitat at any 

time. 

DATES: The finding announced in this 

document was made on October 7, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: This finding is available on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov at Docket Number 

FWS-R8-ES-2010-0013. Supporting 

documentation we used in preparing 

this finding is available for public 

inspection, by appointment, during 

normal business hours at the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, San Francisco Bay 

Delta Fish and Wildlife Office, 650 

Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA 95814. 

Please submit any new information, 

materials, comments, or questions 

concerning this finding to the above 

street address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan 

Castelberry, San Francisco Bay Delta 

Fish and Wildlife Office (see 

ADDRESSES); by telephone at 916-930- 

5632; or by facsimile at 916-930-5654. If 

you use a telecommunications device 

for the deaf (TDD), please call the 

Federal Information Relay Service 

(FIRS) at 800-877-8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) 

(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that, 

for any petition to revise the Federal 

Lists of Endangered and Threatened 


jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with PROPOSALS-1