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

72997 

Vol. 79, No. 236 

Tuesday, December 9, 2014 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

5 CFR Part 532 

RIN 3206–AN11 

Prevailing Rate Systems; Abolishment 

of the Portland, ME, Appropriated Fund 

Federal Wage System Wage Area 

AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) is issuing a 

proposed rule that would abolish the 

Portland, ME, appropriated fund 

Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area 

and redefine Androscoggin, 

Cumberland, and Sagadahoc Counties, 

ME, to the Portsmouth, NH survey area 

and Franklin and Oxford Counties, ME, 

and Coos County, NH, to the 

Portsmouth area of application. These 

changes are necessary because the 

closure of the Naval Air Station (NAS) 

Brunswick left the Portland wage area 

without an activity having the capability 

to conduct a local wage survey. 

DATES: We must receive comments on or 

before January 8, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by ‘‘RIN 3206–AN11,’’ using 

any of the following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Mail: Brenda L. Roberts, Deputy 

Associate Director for Pay and Leave, 

Employee Services, U.S. Office of 

Personnel Management, Room 7H31, 

1900 E Street NW., Washington, DC 

20415–8200. 

Email: pay-leave-policy@opm.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Madeline Gonzalez, by telephone at 

(202) 606–2838 or by email at pay-leavepolicy@opm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Portland, ME, FWS wage area’s host 

installation, NAS Brunswick, closed in 

May 2011. This closure left the lead 

agency, the Department of Defense 

(DOD), without an installation capable 

of hosting annual local wage surveys. 

Because of the closure of NAS 

Brunswick, DOD has requested that 

OPM abolish the Portland wage area and 

redefine its constituent counties to a 

neighboring wage area. 

The Portland wage area is presently 

composed of three survey counties 

(Androscoggin, Cumberland, and 

Sagadahoc Counties, ME) and three area 

of application counties (Franklin and 

Oxford Counties, ME, and Coos County, 

NH). The next full-scale wage schedule 

is scheduled to begin in the Portland 

wage area in May 2015. 

Under section 5343 of title 5, United 

States Code, OPM is responsible for 

defining wage areas following the 

regulatory criteria under section 532.211 

of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations. 

Under the regulatory criteria, OPM 

considers the following factors when 

defining FWS wage area boundaries: 

(i) Distance, transportation facilities, 

and geographic features; 

(ii) Commuting patterns; and 

(iii) Similarities in overall population, 

employment, and the kinds and sizes of 

private industrial establishments. 

In addition, OPM regulations at 5 CFR 

532.211 do not permit splitting 

Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) 

for the purpose of defining a wage area, 

except in very unusual circumstances. 

Cumberland, Sagadahoc, and York 

Counties, ME, comprise the PortlandSouth Portland, ME MSA. The PortlandSouth Portland MSA is split between 

the Portland and Portsmouth wage 

areas. Cumberland and Sagadahoc 

Counties are part of the Portland survey 

area and York County is part of the 

Portsmouth survey area. 

Based on an analysis of the regulatory 

criteria for York County, the core county 

in the Portland-South Portland MSA, 

the entire Portland-South Portland MSA 

would be defined to the Portsmouth 

wage area. When measuring to cities 

and host installations, the distance 

criterion favors the Portsmouth wage 

area. The commuting patterns criterion 

favors the Portsmouth wage area. The 

overall population and employment and 

the kinds and sizes of private industrial 

establishments criterion does not favor 

one wage area more than another. 

Based on this analysis, we believe 

York County is appropriately defined to 

the Portsmouth wage area. OPM 

regulations at 5 CFR 532.211 permit 

splitting MSAs only in very unusual 

circumstances. There appear to be no 

unusual circumstances that would 

permit splitting the Portland-South 

Portland MSA. To comply with OPM 

regulations not to split MSAs, 

Cumberland and Sagadahoc Counties 

would be redefined to the Portsmouth 

wage area. 

In selecting a wage area to which the 

remaining counties should be redefined, 

the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory 

Committee (FPRAC), the statutory 

national labor-management committee 

responsible for advising OPM on 

matters affecting the pay of FWS 

employees, made a majority 

recommendation to define the entire 

wage area to the Portsmouth wage area. 

These changes would be effective on 

the first day of the first applicable pay 

period beginning on or after 30 days 

following publication of the final 

regulations. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

I certify that these proposed 

regulations would not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities because they 

would affect only Federal agencies and 

employees. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 532 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Freedom of information, 

Government employees, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Wages. 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 

Katherine Archuleta, 

Director. 

Accordingly, OPM is proposing to 

amend 5 CFR part 532 as follows: 

PART 532—PREVAILING RATE 

SYSTEMS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 532 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5343, 5346; § 532.707 

also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552. 

Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532— 

Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey 

Areas 

■ 2. Appendix A to subpart B of part 

532 is amended for the State of Maine 

by removing the entry for Portland. 

■ 3. Appendix C to subpart B is 

amended by removing the wage area 


rmajette on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
72998 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 236 / Tuesday, December 9, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

listing for Portland, ME, and revising 

the wage area listings for Portsmouth, 

NH, wage areas to read as follows: 

* * * * * 

NEW HAMPSHIRE 

Portsmouth 

Survey Area 

Maine: 

Androscoggin 

Cumberland 

Sagadahoc 

York 

Massachusetts: 

The following cities and towns in: 

Essex County 

Amesbury 

Georgetown 

Groveland 

Haverhill 

Merrimac 

Newbury 

Newburyport 

North Andover 

Salisbury 

South Byfield 

West Newbury 

New Hampshire: 

Rockingham (except the following 

cities and towns: Newton, Plaistow, 

Salem, and Westville) 

Strafford 

Area of Application. Survey area plus: 

Maine: 

Franklin 

Oxford 

New Hampshire: 

Coos 

The following cities and towns in: 

Rockingham County 

Newton 

Plaistow 

Salem 

Westville 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2014–28619 Filed 12–8–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–39–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71 

Docket No. FAA–2014–0902; Airspace 

Docket No. 14–ASW–8 

Proposed Establishment of Class E 

Airspace; Tucumcari, NM 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: This action proposes to 

establish Class E airspace at the 

Tucumcari VHF Omni-Directional Radio 

Range Tactical Air Navigation Aid 

(VORTAC), Tucumcari, NM, to facilitate 

vectoring of Instrument Flight Rules 

(IFR) aircraft under control of 

Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control 

Center (ARTCC). The FAA is proposing 

this action to enhance the safety and 

efficiency of aircraft operations within 

the National Airspace System (NAS). 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before January 23, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this 

proposal to the U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. You must 

identify the docket number FAA–2014– 

0902/Airspace Docket No. 14–ASW–8, 

at the beginning of your comments. You 

may also submit comments through the 

Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. 

You may review the public docket 

containing the proposal, any comments 

received, and any final disposition in 

person in the Dockets Office between 

9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

The Docket Office (telephone 1–800– 

647–5527), is on the ground floor of the 

building at the above address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raul 

Garza, Jr., Central Service Center, 

Operations Support Group, Federal 

Aviation Administration, Northwest 

Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort 

Worth, TX 76137; telephone: 817–222– 

4075/817–321–7654. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in this proposed rulemaking 

by submitting such written data, views, 

or arguments, as they may desire. 

Comments that provide the factual basis 

supporting the views and suggestions 

presented are particularly helpful in 

developing reasoned regulatory 

decisions on the proposal. Comments 

are specifically invited on the overall 

regulatory, aeronautical, economic, 

environmental, and energy-related 

aspects of the proposal. 

Communications should identify both 

docket numbers and be submitted in 

triplicate to the address listed above. 

Commenters wishing the FAA to 

acknowledge receipt of their comments 

on this notice must submit with those 

comments a self-addressed, stamped 

postcard on which the following 

statement is made: ‘‘Comments to 

Docket No. FAA–2014–0902/Airspace 

Docket No. 14–ASW–8.’’ The postcard 

will be date/time stamped and returned 

to the commenter. 

Availability of NPRMs 

An electronic copy of this document 

may be downloaded through the 

Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. 

Recently published rulemaking 

documents can also be accessed through 

the FAA’s Web page at http://

www.faa.gov/airports_airtraffic/air_

traffic/publications/airspace_

amendments/. 

You may review the public docket 

containing the proposal, any comments 

received and any final disposition in 

person in the Dockets Office (see 

ADDRESSES section for address and 

phone number) between 9:00 a.m. and 

5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. An informal 

docket may also be examined during 

normal business hours at the office of 

the Central Service Center, 2601 

Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76137. 

Persons interested in being placed on 

a mailing list for future NPRMs should 

contact the FAA’s Office of Rulemaking 

(202) 267–9677, to request a copy of 

Advisory Circular No. 11–2A, Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking Distribution 

System, which describes the application 

procedure. 

The Proposal 

This action proposes to amend Title 

14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 

CFR), Part 71 by amending Class E 

airspace extending upward from 1,200 

feet above the surface at the Tucumcari 

VORTAC navigation aid, Tucumcari, 

NM. This action would contain aircraft 

while in IFR conditions under control of 

Albuquerque ARTCC by safely vectoring 

aircraft from en route airspace to 

terminal areas. 

Class E airspace areas are published 

in Paragraph 6006 of FAA Order 

7400.9Y, dated August 6, 2014, and 

effective September 15, 2014, which is 

incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 

71.1. The Class E airspace designation 

listed in this document would be 

published subsequently in the Order. 

The FAA has determined that this 

proposed regulation only involves an 

established body of technical 

regulations for which frequent and 

routine amendments are necessary to 

keep them operationally current. It, 

therefore, (1) is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under Executive 

Order 12866; (2) is not a ‘‘significant 

rule’’ under DOT Regulatory Policies 

and Procedures (44 FR 11034; February 

26, 1979); and (3) does not warrant 

preparation of a Regulatory Evaluation 

as the anticipated impact is so minimal. 

Since this is a routine matter that will 

only affect air traffic procedures and air 

navigation, it is certified that this rule, 


rmajette on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS