This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

27423 

Vol. 74, No. 110 

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 301 

[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0036] 

Karnal Bunt; Regulated Areas 

Correction 

In rule document E9–13051 beginning 

on page 26774 in the issue of Thursday, 

June 4, 2009, make the following 

correction: 

§ 301.89–3 [Corrected] 

On page 26776, in §301.890–3(g), in 

the third column, in the tenth line from 

the bottom of the page, ‘‘–1114.687198’’ 

should read ‘‘–114.687198’’ 

[FR Doc. Z9–13051 Filed 6–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1505–01–D 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 72 

RIN 3150–AI62 

[NRC–2009–0162] 

List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage 

Casks: Standardized NUHOMS®

System Revision 10 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is amending its 

spent fuel storage regulations by 

revising the Transnuclear, Inc. (TN), 

Standardized NUHOMS® System listing 

within the ‘‘List of Approved Spent Fuel 

Storage Casks’’ to include Amendment 

No. 10 to Certificate of Compliance 

(CoC) Number 1004. Amendment No. 10 

will modify the cask design to add a dry 

shielded canister (DSC) designated the 

NUHOMS®¥61BTH DSC, add a dry 

shielded canister designated the 

NUHOMS®¥32PTH1 DSC, add an 

alternate high-seismic option of the 

horizontal storage module (HSM) for 

storing the 32PTH1 DSC, allow storage 

of Westinghouse 15X15 Partial Length 

Shield Assemblies in the 

NUHOMS®¥24PTH DSC, allow storage 

of control components in the 

NUHOMS®¥32PT DSC, and add a new 

Technical Specification, which applies 

to Independent Spent Fuel Storage 

Installation sites located in a coastal 

marine environment, that any load 

bearing carbon steel component which 

is part of the HSM must contain at least 

0.20 percent copper as an alloy 

addition. 

DATES: The final rule is effective August 

24, 2009, unless significant adverse 

comments are received by July 10, 2009. 

A significant adverse comment is a 

comment where the commenter 

explains why the rule would be 

inappropriate, including challenges to 

the rule’s underlying premise or 

approach, or would be ineffective or 

unacceptable without a change. If the 

rule is withdrawn, timely notice will be 

published in the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: You can access publicly 

available documents related to this 

document using the following methods: 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for documents filed under Docket ID 

[NRC–2009–0162]. Address questions 

about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher 

301–492–3668; e-mail 

Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 

NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR): 

The public may examine and have 

copied for a fee publicly available 

documents at the NRC’s PDR, Public 

File Area O–1F21, One White Flint 

North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 

Maryland. 

NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access 

and Management System (ADAMS): 

Publicly available documents created or 

received at the NRC are available 

electronically at the NRC’s Electronic 

Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/ 

reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, 

the public can gain entry into ADAMS, 

which provides text and image files of 

NRC’s public documents. If you do not 

have access to ADAMS or if there are 

problems in accessing the documents 

located in ADAMS, contact the NRC’s 

PDR Reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 

301–415–4737, or by e-mail to 

pdr.resource@nrc.gov. An electronic 

copy of the CoC, technical specifications 

(TS), and preliminary safety evaluation 

report (SER) can be found under 

ADAMS Package Number 

ML090400180. 

CoC No. 1004, the TS, the preliminary 

SER, and the environmental assessment 

are available for inspection at the NRC 

PDR, Public File Area O–1F21, One 

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 

Pike, Rockville, MD. Single copies of 

these documents may be obtained from 

Jayne M. McCausland, Office of Federal 

and State Materials and Environmental 

Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001, telephone (301) 415– 

6219, e-mail 

Jayne.McCausland@nrc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jayne M. McCausland, Office of Federal 

and State Materials and Environmental 

Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001, telephone (301) 415– 

6219, e-mail 

Jayne.McCausland@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste 

Policy Act of 1982, as amended 

(NWPA), requires that ‘‘[t]he Secretary 

[of the Department of Energy (DOE)] 

shall establish a demonstration program, 

in cooperation with the private sector, 

for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel 

at civilian nuclear power reactor sites, 

with the objective of establishing one or 

more technologies that the [Nuclear 

Regulatory] Commission may, by rule, 

approve for use at the sites of civilian 

nuclear power reactors without, to the 

maximum extent practicable, the need 

for additional site-specific approvals by 

the Commission.’’ Section 133 of the 

NWPA states, in part, that ‘‘[t]he 

Commission shall, by rule, establish 

procedures for the licensing of any 

technology approved by the 

Commission under Section 218(a) for 

use at the site of any civilian nuclear 

power reactor.’’ 

To implement this mandate, the NRC 

approved dry storage of spent nuclear 

fuel in NRC-approved casks under a 

general license by publishing a final 

rule in 10 CFR Part 72, which added a 

new Subpart K within 10 CFR Part 72, 

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27424 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 10, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

entitled ‘‘General License for Storage of 

Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites’’ (55 

FR 29181; July 18, 1990). This rule also 

established a new Subpart L within 10 

CFR Part 72, entitled ‘‘Approval of 

Spent Fuel Storage Casks,’’ which 

contains procedures and criteria for 

obtaining NRC approval of spent fuel 

storage cask designs. The NRC 

subsequently issued a final rule on 

December 22, 1994 (59 FR 65898), that 

approved the Standardized NUHOMS®

System cask design and added it to the 

list of NRC-approved cask designs in 10 

CFR 72.214 as CoC No. 1004. 

Discussion 

On January 12, 2007, and as 

supplemented on February 21, March 

15, July 3, and November 7, 2007; 

January 18, May 23, June 25, July 28, 

and October 8, 2008, the certificate 

holder (TN) submitted an application to 

the NRC that requested an amendment 

to CoC No. 1004. Specifically, TN 

requested modifications to the cask 

design to add a DSC designated the 

NUHOMS®–61BTH DSC, add a dry 

shielded canister designated the 

NUHOMS®–32PTH1 DSC, add an 

alternate high-seismic option of the 

HSM for storing the 32PTH1 DSC, allow 

storage of Westinghouse 15X15 Partial 

Length Shield Assemblies in the 

NUHOMS®–24PTH DSC, allow storage 

of control components in the 

NUHOMS®–32PT DSC, and add a new 

TS, which applies to Independent Spent 

Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) sites 

located in a coastal marine 

environment, that any load bearing 

carbon steel component which is part of 

the HSM must contain at least 0.20 

percent copper as an alloy addition. As 

documented in the SER, the NRC staff 

performed a detailed safety evaluation 

of the proposed CoC amendment request 

and found that an acceptable safety 

margin is maintained. In addition, the 

NRC staff has determined that there 

continues to be reasonable assurance 

that public health and safety and the 

environment will be adequately 

protected. 

This direct final rule revises the 

Standardized NUHOMS® System listing 

in 10 CFR 72.214 by adding 

Amendment No. 10 to CoC No. 1004. 

The amendment consists of the changes 

described above, as set forth in the 

revised CoC and TS. The particular TS 

which are changed are identified in the 

SER. 

The amended Standardized 

NUHOMS® System cask design, when 

used under the conditions specified in 

the CoC, the TS, and NRC regulations, 

will meet the requirements of Part 72; 

thus, adequate protection of public 

health and safety will continue to be 

ensured. When this direct final rule 

becomes effective, persons who hold a 

general license under 10 CFR 72.210 

may load spent nuclear fuel into 

Standardized NUHOMS® System casks 

that meet the criteria of Amendment No. 

10 to CoC No. 1004 under 10 CFR 

72.212. 

Discussion of Amendments by Section 

Section 72.214. List of approved spent 

fuel storage casks. 

Certificate of Compliance No. 1004 is 

revised by adding the effective date of 

Amendment No. 10. 

Procedural Background 

This rule is limited to the changes 

contained in Amendment No. 10 to CoC 

No. 1004 and does not include other 

aspects of the Standardized 

NUHOMSsup® System. The NRC is 

using the ‘‘direct final rule procedure’’ 

to issue this amendment because it 

represents a limited and routine change 

to an existing CoC that is expected to be 

noncontroversial. Adequate protection 

of public health and safety continues to 

be ensured. The amendment to the rule 

will become effective on August 24, 

2009. However, if the NRC receives any 

significant adverse comments on this 

direct final rule by July 10, 2009, then 

the NRC will publish a document that 

withdraws this action and will 

subsequently address any comment 

received in a final rule as a response to 

the companion proposed rule published 

elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 

Register. Absent significant 

modifications to the proposed revisions 

requiring republication, the NRC will 

not initiate a second comment period on 

this action. 

A significant adverse comment is a 

comment where the commenter 

explains why the rule would be 

inappropriate, including challenges to 

the rule’s underlying premise or 

approach, or would be ineffective or 

unacceptable without a change. A 

comment is adverse and significant if: 

(1) The comment opposes the rule and 

provides a reason sufficient to require a 

substantive response in a notice-andcomment process. For example, a 

substantive response is required when: 

(a) The comment causes the NRC staff 

to reevaluate (or reconsider) its position 

or conduct additional analysis; 

(b) The comment raises an issue 

serious enough to warrant a substantive 

response to clarify or complete the 

record; or 

(c) The comment raises a relevant 

issue that was not previously addressed 

or considered by the NRC staff. 

(2) The comment proposes a change 

or an addition to the rule, and it is 

apparent that the rule would be 

ineffective or unacceptable without 

incorporation of the change or addition. 

(3) The comment causes the NRC staff 

to make a change (other than editorial) 

to the rule, CoC, or TS. 

Voluntary Consensus Standards 

The National Technology Transfer 

and Advancement Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 

104–113) requires that Federal agencies 

use technical standards that are 

developed or adopted by voluntary 

consensus standards bodies unless the 

use of such a standard is inconsistent 

with applicable law or otherwise 

impractical. In this direct final rule, the 

NRC will revise the Standardized 

NUHOMS® System cask design listed in 

§ 72.214 (List of NRC-approved spent 

fuel storage cask designs). This action 

does not constitute the establishment of 

a standard that contains generally 

applicable requirements. 

Agreement State Compatibility 

Under the ‘‘Policy Statement on 

Adequacy and Compatibility of 

Agreement State Programs’’ approved by 

the Commission on June 30, 1997, and 

published in the Federal Register on 

September 3, 1997 (62 FR 46517), this 

rule is classified as Compatibility 

Category ‘‘NRC.’’ Compatibility is not 

required for Category ‘‘NRC’’ 

regulations. The NRC program elements 

in this category are those that relate 

directly to areas of regulation reserved 

to the NRC by the Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended (AEA), or the 

provisions of Title 10 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations. Although an 

Agreement State may not adopt program 

elements reserved to NRC, it may wish 

to inform its licensees of certain 

requirements via a mechanism that is 

consistent with the particular State’s 

administrative procedure laws but does 

not confer regulatory authority on the 

State. 

Plain Language 

The Presidential Memorandum, 

‘‘Plain Language in Government 

Writing,’’ published June 10, 1998 (63 

FR 31883), directed that the 

Government’s documents be in clear 

and accessible language. The NRC 

requests comments on this direct final 

rule specifically with respect to the 

clarity and effectiveness of the language 

used. Comments should be sent to the 

address listed under the heading 

ADDRESSES, above. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 10, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 27425 

Finding of No Significant 

Environmental Impact: Availability 

Under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the 

NRC regulations in Subpart A of 10 CFR 

Part 51, the NRC has determined that 

this rule, if adopted, would not be a 

major Federal action significantly 

affecting the quality of the human 

environment and therefore, an 

environmental impact statement is not 

required. The NRC has prepared an 

environmental assessment and, on the 

basis of this environmental assessment, 

has made a finding of no significant 

impact. This rule will amend the CoC 

for the Standardized NUHOMS® System 

cask design within the list of approved 

spent fuel storage casks that power 

reactor licensees can use to store spent 

fuel at reactor sites under a general 

license. 

The amendment will add a dry 

shielded canister designated the 

NUHOMS®–61BTH DSC, add a dry 

shielded canister designated the 

NUHOMS®–32PTH1 DSC, add an 

alternate high-seismic option of the 

HSM for storing the 32PTH1 DSC, allow 

storage of Westinghouse 15X15 Partial 

Length Shield Assemblies in the 

NUHOMS®–24PTH DSC, allow storage 

of control components in the 

NUHOMS®–32PT DSC, and add a new 

TS, which applies to ISFSI sites located 

in a coastal marine environment, that 

any load bearing carbon steel 

component which is part of the HSM 

must contain at least 0.20 percent 

copper as an alloy addition. 

The environmental assessment and 

finding of no significant impact on 

which this determination is based are 

available for inspection at the NRC 

Public Document Room, Public File 

Area O–1F21, One White Flint North, 

11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. 

Single copies of the environmental 

assessment and finding of no significant 

impact are available from Jayne M. 

McCausland, Office of Federal and State 

Materials and Environmental 

Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001, telephone (301) 415– 

6219, e-mail 

Jayne.McCausland@nrc.gov. 

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement 

This direct final rule does not contain 

a new or amended information 

collection requirement subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing 

requirements were approved by the 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Approval Number 3150–0132. 

Public Protection Notification 

The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, 

and a person is not required to respond 

to, a request for information or an 

information collection requirement 

unless the requesting document 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

Regulatory Analysis 

On July 18, 1990 (55 FR 29181), the 

NRC issued an amendment to 10 CFR 

Part 72 to provide for the storage of 

spent nuclear fuel under a general 

license in cask designs approved by the 

NRC. Any nuclear power reactor 

licensee can use NRC-approved cask 

designs to store spent nuclear fuel if it 

notifies the NRC in advance, the spent 

fuel is stored under the conditions 

specified in the cask’s CoC, and the 

conditions of the general license are 

met. A list of NRC-approved cask 

designs is contained in 10 CFR 72.214. 

On December 22, 1994 (59 FR 65898), 

the NRC issued an amendment to Part 

72 that approved the Standardized 

NUHOMS® System cask design by 

adding it to the list of NRC-approved 

cask designs in 10 CFR 72.214. On 

January 12, 2007, and as supplemented 

on February 21, March 15, July 3, and 

November 7, 2007; January 18, May 23, 

June 25, July 28, and October 8, 2008, 

the certificate holder (TN) submitted an 

application to the NRC to amend CoC 

No. 1004 to add a dry shielded canister 

designated the NUHOMS®-61BTH DSC, 

add a dry shielded canister designated 

the NUHOMS®-32PTH1 DSC, add an 

alternate high-seismic option of the 

HSM for storing the 32PTH1 DSC, allow 

storage of Westinghouse 15X15 Partial 

Length Shield Assemblies in the 

NUHOMS®-24PTH DSC, allow storage 

of control components in the 

NUHOMS®-32PT DSC, and add a new 

TS, which applies to ISFSI sites located 

in a coastal marine environment, that 

any load bearing carbon steel 

component which is part of the HSM 

must contain at least 0.20 percent 

copper as an alloy addition. 

The alternative to this action is to 

withhold approval of Amendment No. 

10 and to require any Part 72 general 

licensee, seeking to load fuel into 

Standardized NUHOMS® System casks 

under the changes described in 

Amendment No. 10, to request an 

exemption from the requirements of 10 

CFR 72.212 and 72.214. Under this 

alternative, each interested Part 72 

licensee would have to prepare, and the 

NRC would have to review, a separate 

exemption request, thereby increasing 

the administrative burden upon the 

NRC and the costs to each licensee. 

Approval of the direct final rule is 

consistent with previous NRC actions. 

Further, as documented in the SER and 

the environmental assessment, the 

direct final rule will have no adverse 

effect on public health and safety. This 

direct final rule has no significant 

identifiable impact or benefit on other 

Government agencies. Based on this 

regulatory analysis, the NRC concludes 

that the requirements of the direct final 

rule are commensurate with the NRC’s 

responsibilities for public health and 

safety and the common defense and 

security. No other available alternative 

is believed to be as satisfactory, and 

thus, this action is recommended. 

Regulatory Flexibility Certification 

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), the NRC 

certifies that this rule will not, if issued, 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

This direct final rule affects only 

nuclear power plant licensees and TN. 

These entities do not fall within the 

scope of the definition of ‘‘small 

entities’’ set forth in the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act or the size standards 

established by the NRC (10 CFR 2.810). 

Backfit Analysis 

The NRC has determined that the 

backfit rule (10 CFR 72.62) does not 

apply to this direct final rule because 

this amendment does not involve any 

provisions that would impose backfits 

as defined in 10 CFR Chapter I. 

Therefore, a backfit analysis is not 

required. 

Congressional Review Act 

Under the Congressional Review Act 

of 1996, the NRC has determined that 

this action is not a major rule and has 

verified this determination with the 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Office of Management and 

Budget. 

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 72 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Hazardous Waste, Nuclear 

materials, Occupational safety and 

health, Radiation protection, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, 

Security measures, Spent fuel, 

Whistleblowing. 

■ For the reasons set out in the 

preamble and under the authority of the 

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; 

the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, 

as amended; the Nuclear Waste Policy 

Act of 1982, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 

552 and 553; the NRC is adopting the 

following amendments to 10 CFR Part 

72. 

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27426 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 10, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

PART 72—LICENSING 

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE 

INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF SPENT 

NUCLEAR FUEL, HIGH-LEVEL 

RADIOACTIVE WASTE, AND 

REACTOR-RELATED GREATER THAN 

CLASS C WASTE 

■ 1. The authority citation for Part 72 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 51, 53, 57, 62, 63, 65, 69, 

81, 161, 182, 183, 184, 186, 187, 189, 68 Stat. 

929, 930, 932, 933, 934, 935, 948, 953, 954, 

955, as amended, sec. 234, 83 Stat. 444, as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 2071, 2073, 2077, 2092, 

2093, 2095, 2099, 2111, 2201, 2232, 2233, 

2234, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2282); sec. 274, Pub. 

L. 86–373, 73 Stat. 688, as amended (42 

U.S.C. 2021); sec. 201, as amended, 202, 206, 

88 Stat. 1242, as amended, 1244, 1246 (42 

U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846); Pub. L. 95–601, sec. 

10, 92 Stat. 2951 as amended by Pub. L. 102– 

486, sec. 7902, 106 Stat. 3123 (42 U.S.C. 

5851); sec. 102, Pub. L. 91–190, 83 Stat. 853 

(42 U.S.C. 4332); secs. 131, 132, 133, 135, 

137, 141, Pub. L. 97–425, 96 Stat. 2229, 2230, 

2232, 2241, sec. 148, Pub. L. 100–203, 101 

Stat. 1330–235 (42 U.S.C. 10151, 10152, 

10153, 10155, 10157, 10161, 10168); sec. 

1704, 112 Stat. 2750 (44 U.S.C. 3504 note); 

sec. 651(e), Pub. L. 109–58, 119 Stat. 806–10 

(42 U.S.C. 2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111). 

Section 72.44(g) also issued under secs. 

142(b) and 148(c), (d), Pub. L. 100–203, 101 

Stat. 1330–232, 1330–236 (42 U.S.C. 

10162(b), 10168(c), (d)). Section 72.46 also 

issued under sec. 189, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 

2239); sec. 134, Pub. L. 97–425, 96 Stat. 2230 

(42 U.S.C. 10154). Section 72.96(d) also 

issued under sec. 145(g), Pub. L. 100–203, 

101 Stat. 1330–235 (42 U.S.C. 10165(g)). 

Subpart J also issued under secs. 2(2), 2(15), 

2(19), 117(a), 141(h), Pub. L. 97–425, 96 Stat. 

2202, 2203, 2204, 2222, 2244 (42 U.S.C. 

10101, 10137(a), 10161(h)). Subparts K and L 

are also issued under sec. 133, 98 Stat. 2230 

(42 U.S.C. 10153) and sec. 218(a), 96 Stat. 

2252 (42 U.S.C. 10198). 

■ 2. In § 72.214, Certificate of 

Compliance 1004 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 72.214 List of approved spent fuel 

storage casks. 

* * * * * 

Certificate Number: 1004. 

Initial Certificate Effective Date: 

January 23, 1995. 

Amendment Number 1 Effective Date: 

April 27, 2000. 

Amendment Number 2 Effective Date: 

September 5, 2000. 

Amendment Number 3 Effective Date: 

September 12, 2001. 

Amendment Number 4 Effective Date: 

February 12, 2002. 

Amendment Number 5 Effective Date: 

January 7, 2004. 

Amendment Number 6 Effective Date: 

December 22, 2003. 

Amendment Number 7 Effective Date: 

March 2, 2004. 

Amendment Number 8 Effective Date: 

December 5, 2005. 

Amendment Number 9 Effective Date: 

April 17, 2007. 

Amendment Number 10 Effective 

Date: August 24, 2009. 

SAR Submitted by: Transnuclear, Inc. 

SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis 

Report for the Standardized NUHOMS®

Horizontal Modular Storage System for 

Irradiated Nuclear Fuel. 

Docket Number: 72–1004. 

Certificate Expiration Date: January 

23, 2015. 

Model Number: NUHOMS®–24P, 

–24PHB, –24PTH, –32PT, –32PTH1, 

–52B, –61BT, and –61BTH. 

* * * * * 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day 

of May, 2009. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

R.W. Borchardt, 

Executive Director for Operations. 

[FR Doc. E9–13579 Filed 6–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

13 CFR Part 120 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act: America’s Recovery Capital 

(Business Stabilization) Loan Program 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Notice of ARC loan program 

interest rate. 

SUMMARY: SBA has published an interim 

final rule implementing section 506 of 

the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009. The rule 

establishes a temporary program to 

guarantee loans to viable small business 

concerns that have a qualifying small 

business loan, and are experiencing 

immediate financial hardship. Loans 

made under this program, referred to as 

‘‘America’s Recovery Capital Loan 

Program’’ (ARC Loan Program) can be 

used to make principal and interest 

payments on existing qualifying small 

business loans. ARC Loans are interest 

free to the borrower with SBA making 

the interest payment on the loan to the 

lender. As part of the interim final rule, 

SBA provided that the interest rate 

would be published in the Federal 

Register. This notice establishes the 

initial interest rate for ARC Loans at 

prime plus two percentage points. 

DATES: The interest rate is effective as of 

June 10, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Janet A. Tasker, Office of Capital 

Access, Small Business Administration, 

409 Third Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20410 or via e-mail at 

ARCloanprogram@sba.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background Information 

The American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery 

Act), Public Law 111–5, 123 Stat. 115, 

was enacted on February 17, 2009, to, 

among other things, promote economic 

recovery by preserving and creating 

jobs, and assisting those most impacted 

by the severe economic conditions 

facing the nation. SBA is one of several 

agencies that will play a role in 

achieving these goals. SBA received 

funding and authority through the 

Recovery Act for several actions to help 

small business lending, including 

authority to establish a new temporary 

loan program to help troubled 

businesses. 

SBA has published in the Federal 

Register an interim final rule 

establishing a temporary program to 

guarantee loans to viable small business 

concerns that have a qualifying small 

business loan, and are experiencing 

immediate financial hardship. Loans 

made under this program, referred to as 

‘‘America’s Recovery Capital Loan 

Program’’ (ARC Loan Program) can be 

used to make principal and interest 

payments on existing qualifying small 

business loans. ARC Loans are interest 

free to the borrower with SBA making 

the interest payment on the loan to the 

lender. As part of the interim final rule, 

SBA provided that the interest rate for 

ARC Loans would be published in the 

Federal Register. 

This notice establishes the interest 

rate for ARC Loans. SBA will pay SBA 

lenders a variable rate of interest on 

ARC Loans. The interest rate SBA will 

pay on an ARC Loan is the prime rate 

in effect on the first business day of the 

month, as printed in a national financial 

newspaper published each business 

day, plus two (2) percentage points. 

The initial interest rate for ARC Loans 

will be based on the prime rate that was 

in effect as of the first business day of 

the month in which SBA received the 

loan application. The interest rate will 

be adjusted on the first business day of 

each month thereafter, using the prime 

rate in effect on such date. 

Any future change to interest rates 

paid by SBA on ARC Loans will be 

published in the Federal Register. 

Eric Zarnikow, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Capital 

Access. 

[FR Doc. E9–13687 Filed 6–8–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P 

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