43670 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 19, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

Dated: September 11, 2017. 

Bruce Summers, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19554 Filed 9–18–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

7 CFR Part 1780 

RIN 0572–AC36 

Water and Waste Loans and Grants 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS), a Rural Development agency of 

the United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), is revising the 

regulation used to process water and 

waste disposal loans and grants to 

remove the reference to the 11–GO Bond 

Buyer Index. This change will allow the 

Agency to respond to changes in indices 

and potentially reduce the budget 

authority necessary to fund the program. 

DATES: This rule is effective October 19, 

2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Woolard, Community Programs 

Specialist, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, STOP 1570, 

1400 Independence Ave. SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0787, telephone: 

(202) 720–9631. Email contact 

susan.woolard@wdc.usda.gov. 

Additional Information about Rural 

Development and its programs is 

available on the Internet at https://

www.rd.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

This final rule has been determined to 

be non-significant for purposes of 

Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 and 

therefore has not been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

The affected programs are listed in the 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Program under 10.760, Water 

and Waste Disposal Systems for Rural 

Communities. This catalog is available 

electronically through the free CFDA 

Web site on the Internet at https://

www.cfda.gov/. The print edition may 

be purchased by calling the 

Superintendent of Documents at (202) 

512–1800 or toll free at (866) 512–1800, 

or by ordering online at https://

bookstore.gpo.gov/. 

Executive Order 12372, 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs 

This program is subject to the 

provisions of Executive Order 12372, 

which requires intergovernmental 

consultation with State and local 

officials. RUS conducts 

intergovernmental consultations for 

each loan in the manner delineated in 

2 CFR part 200 and 400. 

Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

The Agency has determined that this 

final rule does not have a substantial 

direct effect on one or more Indian 

tribe(s) or on either the relationship or 

the distribution of powers and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes. Thus, 

this final rule is not subject to the 

requirements of Executive Order 13175. 

Consequently, the Agency will not 

conduct tribal consultation sessions. 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform 

This final rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. In accordance with this 

final rule: (1) All State and local laws 

and regulations that are in conflict with 

this rule will be preempted; (2) No 

retroactive effect will be given to this 

rule; and (3) Administrative proceedings 

of the National Appeals Division (7 CFR 

part 11) must be exhausted before 

bringing suit in court challenging action 

taken under this rule. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Certification 

The final rule has been reviewed in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 1970, 

Environmental Policies and Procedures. 

The Agency has determined that this 

action does not constitute a major 

Federal action significantly affecting the 

quality of the human environment and, 

in accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., an 

Environmental Impact Statement is not 

required. Loan and grant applications 

will be reviewed individually to 

determine compliance with Agency 

environmental regulations and with 

NEPA. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public 

Law 104–4, establishes requirements for 

Federal agencies to assess the effects of 

their regulatory actions on State, local, 

and tribal governments and the private 

sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, 

RUS generally must prepare a written 

statement, including a cost-benefit 

analysis, for proposed and final rules 

with Federal mandates that may result 

in expenditures to State, local, or tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or to the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

in any one year. When such a statement 

is needed for a rule, section 205 of the 

UMRA generally requires RUS to 

identify and consider a reasonable 

number of regulatory alternatives and 

adopt the least costly, most costeffective, or least burdensome 

alternative that achieves the objectives 

of the rule. 

This final rule contains no Federal 

mandates (under the regulatory 

provisions of title II of the UMRA) for 

State, local, and tribal governments or 

the private sector. Therefore, this final 

rule is not subject to the requirements 

of sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601–602) (RFA) generally 

requires an agency to prepare a 

regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule 

subject to notice and comment 

rulemaking requirements under the 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA) or 

any other statute. This final rule; 

however, is not subject to the APA 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2) and 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(3)(A) nor any other statute. 

Executive Order 13132, Federalism 

It has been determined, under E.O. 

13132, Federalism, that the policies 

contained in this final rule do not have 

any substantial direct effect on states, on 

the relationship between the national 

government and the states, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Nor does this final 

rule impose substantial direct 

compliance costs on state and local 

governments. Therefore, consultation 

with the states is not required. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

The Agency is committed to 

complying with the E-Government Act, 

which requires Government agencies in 

general to provide the public the option 

of submitting information or transacting 

business electronically to the maximum 

extent possible and to promote the use 

of the Internet and other information 

technologies to provide increased 

opportunities for citizen access to 

Government information and services, 

and for other purposes. 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 19, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 43671 

Information Collection and 

Recordkeeping Requirements 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the paperwork 

burden associated with this final rule 

has been approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

the currently approved OMB Control 

Number 0572–0121. The Agency has 

determined that the changes in the rule 

do not substantially change current data 

collection. 

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement 

In accordance with Federal civil 

rights law and U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) civil rights 

regulations and policies, the USDA, its 

Agencies, offices, and employees, and 

institutions participating in or 

administering USDA programs are 

prohibited from discriminating based on 

race, color, national origin, religion, sex, 

gender identity (including gender 

expression), sexual orientation, 

disability, age, marital status, family/ 

parental status, income derived from a 

public assistance program, political 

beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior 

civil rights in any program or activity 

conducted or funded by the Department. 

(Not all prohibited basis will apply to 

all programs and/or employment 

activities.) Remedies and complaint 

filing deadlines vary by program or 

incident. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means of communication for 

program information (e.g., Braille, large 

print, audiotape, American Sign 

Language, etc.) should contact the 

responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET 

center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and 

TTY) or contact USDA through the 

Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339. 

Additionally, program information may 

be made available in languages other 

than English. To file a program 

discrimination complaint, complete the 

USDA Program Discrimination 

Complaint Form (PDF), found online at 

http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_

filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, 

or write a letter addressed to USDA and 

provide in the letter all of the 

information requested in the form. 

To request a copy of the complaint 

form, call (866) 632–9992 to request the 

form. Submit your completed complaint 

form or letter to USDA by: 

(1) Mail at U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Office of Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–9410, by Fax 

(202) 690–7442 or Email at 

program.intake@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender. 

Background and Discussion of the Rule 

The Rural Utilities Service’s (RUS) 

water and waste program is 

administered by Water and 

Environmental Programs (WEP). The 

water and waste loan and grant 

programs are authorized by various 

sections of the Consolidated Farm and 

Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926 

et seq.), as amended to provide loan and 

grant funds to rural areas (populations 

of 10,000 or less) to construct, enlarge, 

extend, or otherwise improve rural 

water, sanitary sewage, solid waste 

disposal, and storm wastewater disposal 

facilities. 

Agency regulations provide for a 

three-tier interest rate structure for its 

direct water and waste disposal loans. 

The tiers are market, intermediate, and 

poverty. Currently, market rate is set 

using as guidance the average of the 

Bond Buyer (11–GO Bond) Index for the 

four weeks prior to the first Friday of 

the last month before the beginning of 

the quarter, with intermediate and 

poverty rates set as percentages of the 

market rate at 80 percent and 60 percent 

respectively. In addition to providing 

the interest rate for Agency direct loans, 

these rates play an integral part in the 

modeling of the subsidy rate for the 

program. 

In order to more effectively manage 

the subsidy rate and reduce the need for 

appropriations, beginning in fiscal year 

2018, the Agency is issuing a final rule 

to use the 20–GO Bond Index to set the 

market rate. In order for the Agency to 

respond more quickly to indices 

changes, the Agency is issuing a final 

rule to change the current reference 

from a specific bond index to reflect that 

the Agency is using as guidance the 

average of the Bond Buyer Index 

(available in any Agency office or the 

program’s Web site) for the four weeks 

prior to the first Friday of the last month 

before the beginning of the quarter. 

To implement this change the Agency 

will publish this as a final rule. The 

Administrative Procedure Act exempts 

from prior notice rules, ‘‘relating to 

agency management or personnel or to 

public property, loans, grants, benefits, 

or contracts’’ (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A)). 

Summary of Changes to Rule 

Rates and Terms (§ 1780.13) 

This section outlines how rates are set 

for Agency loans, qualifications for each 

interest rate, and, repayment terms. The 

Agency revises § 1780.13(e) to remove 

the reference to the 11–GO Bond index 

in order to allow greater flexibility to 

respond to changes in bond indices. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1780 

Community development, Credit, 

Loan programs, Rural areas, Waste 

treatment and disposal, Water supply 

and treatment. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, under the authority at 5 

U.S.C. 301, 7 U.S.C. 1989, and 16 U.S.C. 

1005, RUS amends Chapter XVII, Title 

7, of the Code of Federal Regulations, as 

follows: 

PART 1780—WATER AND WASTE 

LOANS AND GRANTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1780 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 7 U.S.C. 1989; 16 

U.S.C. 1005. 

■ 2. Amend § 1780.13 by revising 

paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 1780.13 Rates and terms. 

* * * * * 

(d) Market rate. The market interest 

rate will be set using as guidance the 

average of the Bond Buyer Index 

(available in any Agency office or the 

program’s Web site) for the four weeks 

prior to the first Friday of the last month 

before the beginning of the quarter. The 

market rate will apply to all loans that 

do not qualify for a different rate under 

paragraph (b) or (c) of this section. 

* * * * * 

Dated: August 29, 2017. 

Christopher A. Mclean, 

Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19839 Filed 9–18–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2017–0339; Product 

Identifier 2016–NM–078–AD; Amendment 

39–19042; AD 2017–19–12] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are superseding 

Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2014–13– 

17, which applied to all Airbus Model 

A300 series airplanes; Airbus Model 

A300 B4–600, B4–600R, and F4–600R 

series airplanes, and Model A300 C4– 

605R Variant F airplanes (collectively 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with RULES