Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 230 / Monday, December 1, 2014 / Notices 71141 

3 In 2006, the Commission created the position of 

Deputy Executive Director for Materials, Waste, 

Research, State, Tribal and Compliance Programs 

(SECY–06–0125, ‘‘Proposed Reorganization of the 

Offices of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards 

and State and Tribal Programs’’ (ADAMS Accession 

No. ML061950452)). The position includes different 

responsibilities, including that of the Commission’s 

designated official for Tribal consultations. 

good faith throughout the agency 

decision-making process and develop 

and maintain effective communication, 

coordination, and cooperation with 

Indian Tribes. The NRC representative 

for consultations with Tribal officials or 

representatives will be of an appropriate 

rank of NRC representatives and level of 

interaction commensurate with the 

circumstances. The appropriate level of 

interaction will be determined by past 

and current practices, continuing 

dialogue between NRC and Tribal 

governments, and program office 

consultation procedures. 

5. The NRC Will Coordinate With Other 

Federal Agencies 

When the Commission’s action 

involves other Federal agencies, the 

NRC will perform its Tribal consultation 

jointly with other Federal agencies, as 

appropriate. 

6. The NRC Will Encourage 

Participation by State-Recognized 

Tribes 

The NRC recognizes the distinction 

between Indian Tribes who are 

Federally recognized and those who are 

not. The NRC will outreach to States to 

identify the appropriate Staterecognized Tribes to invite to participate 

in its regulatory process, including 

opportunities related to rulemaking, 

hearings, licensing, decommissioning, 

and enforcement. 

Designated Official and Tribal Liaisons 

The Deputy Executive Director for 

Materials, Waste, Research, State, Tribal 

and Compliance Programs serves as the 

NRC’s designated official for Tribal 

consultations.3 The designated official 

shall ensure that agency program 

personnel have considered the Tribal 

implications related to their 

responsibilities within the NRC’s scope 

of jurisdiction and shall facilitate 

meaningful and timely consultation and 

coordination concerning the 

development, administration, and 

enforcement of NRC’s regulatory actions 

that have substantial direct effects on 

one or more Indian Tribes. 

The designated official shall be 

supported by staff who have functional 

responsibility to serve as 

intergovernmental liaisons to Indian 

Tribes, under NRC Management 

Directive 5.1. These NRC Tribal liaisons 

will facilitate government-togovernment consultation by serving as 

the agency’s primary points of contact 

for Indian Tribes, coordinating with the 

appropriate office or personnel 

regarding programmatic inquiries, and 

facilitating the appropriate level of 

communication and exchange of 

information between Tribal officials and 

NRC staff. The Tribal liaisons shall also 

educate NRC staff about Tribal issues 

including cultural sensitivity and the 

Federal Trust Relationship. The 

designated official shall have the 

authority to delegate tasks to NRC Tribal 

liaisons as he/she deems fit. 

VI. Procedural Requirements 

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement 

This Policy Statement does not 

contain new or amended information 

collection requirements and, therefore, 

is not subject to the Paperwork 

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

et seq.). 

Public Protection Notification 

The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, 

and a person is not required to respond 

to, a request protocol for information or 

an information collection requirement 

unless the requesting document 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day 

of November, 2014. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Rochelle C. Bavol, 

Acting, Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27325 Filed 11–28–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND 

TECHNOLOGY POLICY 

Microsatellite Technologies for Civil 

Earth Observations 

ACTION: Notice of Request for 

Information (RFI). 

SUMMARY: The purpose of this Request 

for Information (RFI) is to solicit input 

from interested parties on: (1) The 

current and near-term state of 

microsatellite technologies, and (2) 

whether microsatellite systems will be 

capable of meeting current and future 

civil Earth-observing needs. 

Public input provided in response to 

this RFI will inform the Office of 

Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) 

as to the state of technologies associated 

with microsatellites to meet the Nation’s 

civil Earth observational requirements. 

DATES: Responses must be received by 

30 days from publication date to be 

considered. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Downloadable form/email: To aid 

in information collection and analysis, 

OSTP encourages responders to fill out 

the downloadable form located at 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/

default/files/microsites/ostp/microsat_

rfi_final.pdf and email that form, as an 

attachment, to EarthObsStudy@

OSTP.gov. Please include 

‘‘Microsatellite Technologies for Civil 

Earth Observations’’ in the subject line 

of the message. 

• Fax: (202) 456–6071. 

• Mail: Office of Science and 

Technology Policy, 1650 Pennsylvania 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20504. 

Information submitted by postal mail 

should allow ample time for processing. 

Response to this RFI is voluntary. 

Respondents need not respond to each 

section of the RFI; however, they should 

clearly identify those sections to which 

they are responding by listing the 

corresponding number for each point 

listed below. Respondents must mark 

their responses as ‘‘Business 

Confidential’’ if responses contain 

information that is business proprietary, 

or commercial confidential information. 

OSTP will protect such information 

consistent with applicable law. 

Please note that the U.S. Government 

will not pay for response preparation, or 

for the use of any information contained 

in the response. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Timothy Stryker, 202–419–3471, 

tstryker@ostp.eop.gov, OSTP. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

In recent decades, the United States’ 

Earth-observing capacity has grown in 

scale and complexity, with multiple 

Federal agencies collecting information 

about the state of the Earth system. 

Earth observation systems consist of 

sensing elements that directly or 

indirectly collect observations of the 

Earth, measure environmental 

parameters, or survey biological or other 

Earth resources (such as land surface, 

biosphere, solid Earth, atmosphere, and 

oceans). The platforms carrying these 

sensing elements may be mobile or 

fixed, and are space-based, airborne, 

terrestrial, freshwater, or marine-based. 

Space-based observation systems have 

been used for decades to collect critical 

information used by the civil Earth 

observation community. The high 

vantage point afforded by Earth orbit 

provides the opportunity to conduct 


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71142 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 230 / Monday, December 1, 2014 / Notices 

observations covering broad areas, over 

long periods with frequent revisit rates. 

Satellite platforms can be costly, and 

technology improvements are 

implemented on lengthy timeframes. As 

microsatellite technology improves, the 

cost of collecting sustained and 

scientific observations from space may 

decrease, not only reducing costs for 

current observations, but potentially 

enabling additional missions. 

In 2013, the National Science and 

Technology Council (NSTC) released a 

National Strategy for Civil Earth 

Observations (http://

www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/

microsites/ostp/nstc_2013_

earthobsstrategy.pdf) outlining a policy 

framework organized by Societal Benefit 

Areas (SBAs) to enable stable, 

continuous, and coordinated global 

Earth-observation capabilities for the 

benefit of society. Societal benefits 

accrue from Earth observations that 

inform scientific research, policy, and 

decision-making. SBAs are 

interconnected at local, regional, 

national, and international scales, and 

include scientific research, economic 

activities, and environmental and social 

domains. 

Many SBAs involve critical 

government functions, such as the 

continuity of national government and 

the protection of life and property. The 

NSTC framework enabled the 

development of a National Plan for Civil 

Earth Observations informed by a 

government-wide assessment of the 

impact of more than 350 Earth 

observation systems. 

The National Plan for Civil Earth 

Observations (http://

www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/

microsites/ostp/NSTC/2014_national_

plan_for_civil_earth_observations.pdf) 

published in July 2014, lists the highest 

priority measurement groups for 

observations as: 

• Weather and seasonal climate 

monitoring and prediction, which 

characterize phenomena such as 

precipitation, storms, wind, floods, sea 

state, drought, wildfires, ice, air quality 

(including ozone), and weather risks to 

human health and transportation. 

• Dynamic land-surface monitoring 

and characterization to support food 

and water security, water availability 

and quality, fire detection and 

suppression, human health, forestry, 

soil characterization (including soil 

moisture), hazards mapping and 

response, and natural-resource 

management. 

• Elevation and geo-location to 

support food and water security, hazard 

and risk mapping, and natural-resource 

management. 

• Water level and flow to support 

coastal inundation and inland flooding, 

water availability, hydropower 

management, transportation, human 

health, water equivalent of snow, and 

tsunami hazard preparedness. 

In addition to these highest priority 

measurement areas, the National Plan 

(http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/

default/files/microsites/ostp/NSTC/

2014_national_plan_for_civil_earth_

observations.pdf) specifies additional 

categories of measurement areas that are 

also important for sustained 

observations for public services. These 

categories include: 

• Ecosystem and biodiversity 

resource surveys for terrestrial, 

freshwater, and marine ecosystems, 

including fisheries and wildlife 

management; 

• Environmental-quality monitoring, 

specifically disease-vector surveillance, 

water quality, and air quality associated 

with changes in atmospheric 

composition, including particulate 

matter and short-lived climate 

pollutants; 

• Geo-hazard monitoring for 

Earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, 

regional and local subsidence (e.g., 

sinkholes), inundation, and tsunamis; 

and 

• Space-weather monitoring of 

geomagnetic storms, sunspots, solar 

flares, associated x-ray and ultraviolet 

emissions, solar wind (including 

coronal mass ejection), solar energetic 

particles, traveling ionosphere 

disturbances, and associated changes of 

the Earth’s geomagnetic field and 

ionosphere for their impact on human 

activities. 

The National Plan also describes the 

following measurement categories as 

essential to the Federal government’s 

research objectives: 

• Atmospheric state, including 

measurements of temperature, pressure, 

humidity, wind, and ozone at the 

accuracy required for long-term climate 

research, and, as appropriate, to 

improve short and medium-range 

weather forecasting; 

• Cryosphere, including 

measurements of ice sheets, glaciers, 

permafrost, snow, and sea ice extent and 

thickness; 

• Earth’s energy budget, including 

total solar irradiance and Earth’s 

radiation budget, and the reflectance 

and scattering properties of clouds, 

aerosols, and greenhouse gases, 

specifically for understanding Earth’s 

sensitivity to climate change; 

• Extremes, including specific and 

routine observations for the study of 

extreme temperatures, drought, 

precipitation, and wind; 

• Geo-hazard research, including 

monitoring land-surface deformation to 

better understand regional and local 

disaster potential and effects, and the 

monitoring of phenomena that precede 

natural disasters (such as seismic, stress, 

strain, geochemical, and temperature 

changes); 

• Greenhouse gas emissions and 

concentrations, including 

understanding sources and sinks of 

greenhouse gases, as well as changes in 

long-lived greenhouse gas and shortlived climate pollutant concentrations 

over time; 

• Integrated geophysical and 

biosphere characterization (terrestrial, 

freshwater, and marine), including longterm dynamics to understand ecosystem 

change and biogeochemical processes 

(particularly the carbon cycle); 

• Ocean state, including observations 

of sea levels, temperature, salinity, pH, 

alkalinity, currents and characteristics 

of marine ecosystems; 

• Space weather, including long-term 

understanding of the Earth-Sun 

relationship, solar dynamics, and the 

drivers of space-weather impacts at the 

Earth’s surface (such as coupling 

between space weather and geomagnetic 

storms); and 

• Water cycle, including the analysis 

of droughts, floods, and water 

availability (precipitation, soil moisture, 

snow-water equivalent, 

evapotranspiration, groundwater, 

surface water, and runoff). 

Societal Benefit Areas 

(http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/

default/files/microsites/ostp/nstc_2013_

earthobsstrategy.pdf) 

• Agriculture and Forestry: 

Supporting sustainable agriculture and 

forestry. 

• Biodiversity: Understanding and 

conserving biodiversity. 

• Climate: Understanding, assessing, 

predicting, mitigating, and adapting to 

climate variability and related global 

change. 

• Disasters: Reducing loss of life, 

property, and ecosystem damage from 

natural and human-induced disasters. 

• Ecosystems (Terrestrial and 

Freshwater): Improving the management 

and protection of terrestrial and 

freshwater ecosystems. 

• Energy and Mineral Resources: 

Improving the identification and 

management of energy and mineral 

resources. 

• Human Health: Understanding 

environmental factors affecting human 

health and well-being. 

• Ocean and Coastal Resources and 

Ecosystems: Understanding and 

protecting ocean, coastal, and Great 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 230 / Monday, December 1, 2014 / Notices 71143 

1The applicant also requests that the order apply 

to an Issuer’s future appointment of any other entity 

controlling, controlled by, or under common 

control (as defined in Section 2(a)(9) of the Act) 

with the applicant as a trustee in connection with 

an Issuer’s ABS. The applicant represents that any 

other entity intending to rely on this relief will 

comply with the terms and conditions of the 

application. Any existing entity currently intending 

to rely on the requested order has been named as 

an applicant. 

Lakes populations and resources 

(including fisheries, aquaculture, and 

marine ecosystems). 

• Space Weather: Understanding, 

assessing, predicting, and mitigating the 

effects of space weather on 

technological systems (including 

satellites, power grids, communications, 

and navigation). 

• Transportation: Improving the 

safety and efficiency of all modes of 

transportation (including air, highway, 

railway, and marine). 

• Water Resources: Improving water 

resource management through better 

understanding and monitoring of the 

water cycle. 

• Weather: Improving weather 

information, forecasting, and warning. 

• Reference Measurements: 

Improving reference measurements—the 

underpinnings of all the SBAs—and the 

fundamental measurement systems and 

standards supporting them (such as 

geodesy, bathymetry, topography, and 

geolocation). 

OSTP invites you to submit public 

comments (limit 5 pages) on the 

technical feasibility of developing 

microsatellites that can be deployed at 

equal or lower cost compared to current 

satellites to meet the sustained missions 

of the civil Earth observation 

community. For the purposes of this 

study, OSTP considers microsatellites as 

having a mass of less than 100 kg. In 

your written response, please identify 

the number of each topic as you address 

it. 

OSTP welcomes public input on the 

following topics: 

1. Identify the measurement 

categories highlighted in the National 

Plan for Civil Earth Observations 

relevant to your mission; 

2. Technical near-term (1–5 years) 

capabilities of microsatellite system(s) 

related to Earth observations capabilities 

as defined above; 

3. Reliability, system lifetime, and 

maintainability; 

4. Launch requirements including 

planned launch options (rideshare, 

microsatellite launch companies, etc.), if 

they exist; 

5. Current technical limitations on 

microsatellites for operational Earth 

observing missions; and 

6. Broad estimates of development, 

launch and operational costs of specific 

systems. 

Ted Wackler, 

Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Director. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28178 Filed 11–28–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3270–F5–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Investment Company Act Release No. 

31347; File No. 812–14331] 

MUFG Union Bank, N.A.; Notice of 

Application 

November 24, 2014. 

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’). 

ACTION: Notice of an application under 

Section 6(c) of the Investment Company 

Act of 1940 (‘‘Act’’) for an exemption 

from certain requirements of Rule 3a– 

7(a)(4)(i) under the Act. 

SUMMARY: Summary of Application: 

Applicant requests an order that would 

permit an issuer of asset-backed 

securities (‘‘ABS’’) that is not registered 

as an investment company under the 

Act in reliance on Rule 3a–7 under the 

Act (an ‘‘Issuer’’) to appoint the 

applicant as a trustee in connection 

with the Issuer’s ABS when the 

applicant is affiliated with an 

underwriter for the Issuer’s ABS. 

Applicant: MUFG Union Bank, N.A. 

DATES: Filing Dates: The application was 

filed on July 11, 2014 and amended on 

October 3, 2014 and October 10, 2014. 

Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An 

order granting the application will be 

issued unless the Commission orders a 

hearing. Interested persons may request 

a hearing by writing to the 

Commission’s Secretary and serving 

applicant with a copy of the request, 

personally or by mail. Hearing requests 

should be received by the Commission 

by 5:30 p.m. on December 19, 2014 and 

should be accompanied by proof of 

service on the applicant, in the form of 

an affidavit or, for lawyers, a certificate 

of service. Pursuant to Rule 0–5 under 

the Act, hearing requests should state 

the nature of the writer’s interest, any 

facts bearing upon the desirability of a 

hearing on the matter, the reason for the 

request, and the issues contested. 

Persons who wish to be notified of a 

hearing may request notification by 

writing to the Commission’s Secretary. 

ADDRESSES: The Commission: Brent J. 

Fields, Secretary, U.S. Securities and 

Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

Applicant: MUFG Union Bank, N.A., 

445 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 1203, Los 

Angeles, CA 90071. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rochelle Kauffman Plesset, Senior 

Counsel, at (202) 551–6840, or Nadya 

Roytblat, Assistant Chief Counsel at 

(202) 551–0825 (Division of Investment 

Management, Chief Counsel’s Office). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

following is a summary of the 

application. The complete application 

may be obtained via the Commission’s 

Web site by searching for the file 

number, or for an applicant using the 

Company name box, at http://

www.sec.gov/search/search.htm or by 

calling (202) 551–8090. 

Applicant’s Representations 

1. The applicant is a wholly-owned 

indirect subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ 

Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG).1 MUFG 

is a global financial services 

organization that offers a broad range of 

banking, trust, and securities services to 

individuals and entities around the 

world. The applicant is frequently 

selected to act as trustee in connection 

with ABS issued by Issuers. 

2. An ABS transaction typically 

involves the transfer of assets by a 

seller, usually by a ‘‘sponsor,’’ to a 

bankruptcy remote special purpose 

corporate or trust entity that is 

established for the sole purpose of 

holding the assets and issuing ABS to 

investors (an ‘‘ABS Transaction’’). 

Payments of interest and principle on 

the ABS depend primarily on the cash 

flow generated by the pool of assets 

owned by the Issuer. 

3. The parties to an ABS Transaction 

enter into several transaction 

agreements that provide for the holding 

of the assets by the Issuer and define the 

rights and responsibilities of the parties 

to the transaction (‘‘Transaction 

Documents’’). The operative Transaction 

Document governing the trustee is 

referred to herein as the ‘‘Agreement.’’ 

4. The sponsor of an ABS Transaction 

assembles the pool of assets by 

purchasing or funding them, describes 

them in the offering materials, and 

retains the underwriter to sell interests 

in the assets to investors. The sponsor 

determines the structure, drafts the 

documents, and prices the ABS 

Transaction. The sponsor selects the 

other parties to the ABS Transaction, 

including the underwriter, the servicer, 

and the trustee. 

5. The servicer, either directly or 

through subservicers, manages the 

assets held by the Issuer. The servicer 

typically collects the income from the 

assets and remits the income to the 


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