65452 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

Dated: November 29, 2001.

Peter Caulkins,

Acting Director, Registration Division, Office

of Pesticide Programs.

Therefore, 40 CFR part 180 is

corrected as follows:

PART 180—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 180

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 321(q), 346a, 371.

2. In § 180.412, the table in paragraph

(b) the entry for ‘‘sheep, mbyp’’ is

corrected to read as follows:

§ 180.412 Sethoxydim; tolerances for

residues.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

Commodity Parts per million Expiration/revocation date

*****

Sheep, mbyp ................................................................................................................................................ 1.0 12/31/03

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 01–30917 Filed 12–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–S

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Veterans’ Employment and Training

Service

41 CFR Part 61–250

RIN 1293–AA07

Annual Report From Federal

Contractors

AGENCY: Veterans’ Employment and

Training Service, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Interim final rule; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Veterans’ Employment

and Training Service (VETS) is

amending its regulations implementing

the VETS–100 reporting requirement.

This amendment revises the final rule

that was published on October 11, 2001

(66 FR 51998), and that went into effect

on November 13, 2001, to withdraw

from the rule the specification for how

Federal contractors filing the report

were to calculate the maximum and

minimum number of employees. The

basic requirement to report the

maximum and minimum number of

employees remains.

DATES: Effective Date: This regulation is

effective December 19, 2001.

Comment Period: Comments must be

received on or before January 18, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

Norman Lance, Chief, Investigations and

Compliance Division, VETS, by regular

mail at the U.S. Department of Labor,

Veterans’ Employment and Training

Service, Federal Contractor Program

FRN-Comments—Interim Final Rule,

Federal Contractor Program Office, 6101

Stevenson Avenue, Alexandria, VA

22304, or by e-mail at LanceNorman@dol.gov. Written comments

limited to 10 pages or fewer also may be

transmitted by facsimile (FAX) at (202)

693–4755. Receipt of submissions,

whether by U.S. mail, e-mail or FAX

transmittal, will not be acknowledged;

however, the sender may request

confirmation that a submission has been

received, by telephoning VETS at (202)

693–4731(VOICE)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Norm Lance, Chief, Investigations and

Compliance Division, VETS, at (202)

693–4731 or by e-mail at LanceNorman@dol.gov. Individuals with

hearing impairments may call (800)

670–7008 (TTY/TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Veterans Employment

Opportunities Act (VEOA) was signed

into law in October 1998. The statute

extended the affirmative action and

reporting responsibilities of Federal

contractors and subcontractors. Among

other changes, the VEOA added the

requirement that contractors and

subcontractors report the maximum

number and the minimum number of

persons they employed during the

reporting period to the Secretary of

Labor.

On October 5, 2000, VETS published

a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (65 FR

59684) to implement the provisions of

the VEOA, including the requirement

for reporting the minimum and

maximum number of employees. The

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking did not

contain guidance on how covered

contractors were to determine the

minimum and maximum number of

employees. One commenter asked for

clarification about how to determine the

minimum and maximum number of

employees. The commenter asserted

that there could be continuous changes

in employment levels at a company and

that it was unclear exactly when the

minimum and maximum number of

employees had to be determined. To

respond to the concerns of the

commenter, VETS clarified the

regulation language by adding the

following language to the final rule:

The minimum and maximum number of

employees reportable at each hiring location

during the period covered by the report must

be determined as follows: Contractors must

review payroll records for each of the pay

periods included in the report. The minimum

number of employees is the total number of

employees paid in the payroll period in

which the contractor had the fewest number

of employees. The maximum number of

employees is the total number of employees

paid in the payroll period in which the

contractor had the greatest number of

employees.

This new language was inserted in

section 61–250.10(a)(3), and also in

section 61–250.11 under the paragraph

entitled ‘‘Maximum and minimum

number of employees.’’ (66 FR 52004–

52005, October 11, 2001).

It has been brought to the attention of

VETS that the revised language might

have inadvertently increased the record

keeping burden on some contractors.

VETS has learned that it might be

difficult to match up payroll periods,

employees, and physical VETS–100

reporting locations in the way

contemplated by the final rule. For

example, some companies use separate

payrolls and pay dates for nonexempt

and exempt employees within a single

establishment. Other companies

maintain separate payrolls and pay

dates for bargaining unit employees and

nonbargaining unit employees. Some

companies temporarily remove

employees who are on short-term leaves

of absence from their payrolls. These

absent employees, however, still may be

considered ‘‘active’’ employees for

purposes of the VETS–100 report.

To permit contractors flexibility in

how they determine the maximum and

minimum number of employees, VETS

is making two amendments to part 61–

250. In each place in which the

instructions quoted above were placed

in the rule, the instructions now are

being withdrawn. Accordingly,

contractors will be required to report the

maximum and minimum number of

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 65453

employees, but the method by which

the count must be conducted will not be

mandated.

However, VETS expressly requests

comments on the methods contractors

intend to use to calculate the minimum

and maximum number of employees.

VETS plans on publishing this

information, either in regulatory format

or as guidance to contractors, for future

reporting cycles.

II. Revised Sections

Section 250.10 What Reporting

Requirements Apply to Federal

Contractors and Subcontractors, and

What Specific Wording Must the

Reporting Requirements Contract Clause

Contain?

Section 61–250.10(a)(3). The language

quoted above that specified how

contractors were to determine the

maximum number and minimum

number of employees is withdrawn.

Contractors are still obligated to provide

a count of the maximum and minimum

number of employees. However,

contractors may use any reasonable

method for calculating and determining

the maximum number and minimum

number of employees during the

reporting period.

Section 61–250.11 On What Form

Must the Data Required by This Part Be

Submitted?

The language quoted above, which

appears as a paragraph entitled

‘‘Maximum and minimum number of

employees’’ under section 250.11, is

withdrawn. All other instructions in

this section on how to prepare the

VETS–100 report remain intact.

III. Regulatory Procedures

Executive Order 12866

The Department of Labor has

determined that this Interim Final Rule

is not economically significant as

defined in the Regulatory Flexibility

Act. However, this rule has been

reviewed by the Office of Management

and Budget under Executive Order

12866. This rule will not: (1) Have an

annual effect on the economy of $100

million or more, or adversely affect in

a material way the economy, a sector of

the economy, productivity, competition,

jobs, the environment, public health or

safety, or State, local, or tribal

governments or communities; (2) create

a serious inconsistency, or otherwise

interfere, with an action taken or

planned by another agency; (3)

materially alter the budgetary impact of

entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan

programs, or the rights and obligations

of recipients thereof; or (4) raise novel

legal or policy issues arising out of legal

mandates, the President’s priorities, or

the principles set forth in Executive

Order 12866. Therefore, a regulatory

impact analysis is unnecessary.

Congressional Review Act

This Interim Final Rule is not a major

rule for purposes of the Congressional

Review Act.

Unfunded Mandates

Executive Order 12875—This Interim

Final Rule does not create an unfunded

Federal Mandate upon any State, local,

or tribal government.

Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of

1995—This Interim Final Rule does not

include any Federal mandate that may

result in increased expenditures by

State, local and tribal governments in

the aggregate of $100 million or more,

or increased expenditures by the private

sector of $100 million or more.

Executive Order 13132

These regulations have been reviewed

in accordance with Executive Order

13132 regarding Federalism. This rule

will not have substantial direct effects

on the 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. Therefore,

the requirements of section 6 of

Executive Order 13132 do not apply to

this rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

This Interim Final Rule does not

substantially change the existing

obligations of Federal contractors or

subcontractors. The Department of

Labor certifies that the rule will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small business

entities. Therefore, no regulatory

flexibility analysis is required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The inclusion of guidelines in the

October 11, 2001, final rule on how to

determine the minimum and maximum

number of employees may have

inadvertently resulted in greater burden

than that reflected in the rule. By

removing the portion of the rule that

specified how the minimum and

maximum number of employees was to

be computed, this Interim Final Rule

restores the burden to that reflected in

the final rule.

Absence of Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking/Effective Date of This

Interim Rule

The Department of Labor has

determined that it is unnecessary and

contrary to the public interest to publish

a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

(NPRM) regarding this amendment. This

Interim Final Rule will prevent covered

contractors from having to comply with

a possibly significant and inadvertent

increase in their recordkeeping burdens.

The portion of the October 11 rule that

is being removed simply provided

information on how the maximum and

minimum number of employees was to

be computed; removing that information

nevertheless retains unchanged the

fundamental statutory requirement that

contractors report their maximum and

minimum employment.

For the above-listed reasons, the

Department of Labor finds that

publishing an NPRM, and providing a

period for notice and comment, before

implementing this Interim Final Rule is

unnecessary and contrary to the public

interest, and therefore pursuant to 5

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) good cause exists for

publishing these regulations as an

Interim Final Rule. Furthermore, the

Department finds that the above-listed

reasons also constitute good cause

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) for waiving the

customary requirement to delay the

effective date of a regulation for 30 days

following its publication. Therefore, this

Interim Final Rule is effective

immediately upon publication.

List of Subjects in 41 CFR Part 61–250

Government contracts, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Veterans.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 13th day of

December 2001.

Frederico Juarbe, Jr.,

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’

Employment and Training Service.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 41 CFR part 61–250 is

amended as set forth below:

PART 61–250—ANNUAL REPORT

FROM FEDERAL CONTRACTORS

1. The authority citation for part 61–

250 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 4212(d).

§ 250.10 [Amended]

2. Section 250.10 is amended in the

contract clause by removing all of

paragraph (a)(3) except for the first

sentence.

§ 250.11 [Amended]

3. Section 250.11 is amended in the

contract clause by removing the

paragraph entitled ‘‘Maximum and

minimum number of employees:’’ which

appears under the heading entitled

65454 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

‘‘Information on Employees (Veterans

and non-veterans).’’

[FR Doc. 01–31188 Filed 12–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–79–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 950616159–1292–06; I.D.

022601D]

RIN 0648–ZA16

Northeast Multispecies Fishery;

Fishing Capacity Reduction Program

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Interim final rule;

announcement of a fishing capacity

reduction program and solicitation for

bids from participants.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this interim

final rule to establish a voluntary fishing

capacity reduction program (FCRP) for

the Northeast multispecies fishery that

permanently removes multispecies

limited access fishing permits. Permit

holders who would like to participate

may submit bids, which will be ranked

based on the amount of the bid and an

estimate of the fishing capacity

represented by the permit. The intent of

this program is to obtain the maximum

sustained reduction in fishing capacity

at the least cost. As this is a limited

access fishery, the capacity removed by

the program cannot be replaced. It is

being implemented by an interim final

rule to allow public comments, in

particular on its related Environmental

Assessment and on the determination

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act that

this action will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities.

DATES: Effective January 18, 2002.

NMFS will accept bids through

February 19, 2002. Comments must be

received on or before January 18, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to National Marine Fisheries

Service, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester,

MA 01930, Attn: Jack Terrill. Comments

involving the reporting burden

estimates or any other aspects of the

collection-of-information requirements

contained in this interim final rule

should be sent to both Jack Terrill and

to the Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget (OMB),

Washington, D.C. 20503 (ATTN: NOAA

Desk Officer). Copies of the

Environmental Assessment may be

obtained from Jack Terrill, Fishery

Administrator, National Marine

Fisheries Service, 1 Blackburn Drive,

Gloucester, MA 01930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack

Terrill, Fishery Administrator,

(Jack.Terrill@noaa.gov) 978–281–9136

or Daniel Morris, Special Projects

Officer, (Daniel.Morris@noaa.gov) 978–

281–9237. This Federal Register

document is also accessible via the

Internet at the Office of the Federal

Register website at http://

www.access.gpo.gov/su—docs/aces/aces

140.tml.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

On July 13, 2000, the President signed

the Military Construction

Appropriations Act for FY 2001 (Act)

(Pub.L. 106–246), which authorized a

$10 million emergency supplemental

appropriation for disaster assistance for

the Northeast multispecies fishery. The

funds are intended to compensate

industry permittees who choose to

participate in a program aimed at

reducing the permitted fishing capacity

in the multispecies fishery. NMFS

published a notice of the proposed

program, solicited comments on the

proposal, and announced nine public

meetings throughout New England at 66

FR 17668, April 3, 2001. NMFS received

21 written comments, one of which was

signed by 88 people. The nine public

meetings were attended by

approximately 130 people; NMFS

responds to the comments below.

Further background for this program is

provided in the April 3, 2001, Federal

Register notice and is not repeated here.

II. Summary of Comments and

Responses

In general, commenters expressed

support for the proposed program,

which would compensate holders of

limited access multispecies permits for

the voluntary surrender of their permits.

Separate from this FCRP, capacity

reduction in the multispecies fishery is

under consideration by the New

England Fishery Management Council

(Council) and is closely related to many

other initiatives, including gear and

time/area restrictions, aimed at

promoting the recovery of depressed

groundfish stocks. During the public

meetings related to the FCRP, NMFS

received many comments regarding

measures under consideration by the

Council. These comments have been

shared with Council staff. Except where

the comments are relevant to this FCRP,

issues related to the Council’s activities

are not addressed in the following

paragraphs.

Relation of the FCRP to Amendment

13. Among its many goals, Amendment

13 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery

Management Plan (FMP), which has

been under development by the Council

for about 2 years, aims to address issues

related to over-capacity in the fishery.

The Council developed an ad hoc

Capacity Committee to develop

management alternatives to reduce the

number of excess days-at-sea (DAS)

allocated in the fishery. Many

commenters expressed concern about

the timing of the FCRP with respect to

Amendment 13. Some suggested that

the FCRP should come after the

Council’s actions. They argued that

Amendment 13 could devalue and/or

invalidate latent permits, and if so, then

the FCRP could remove even more of

the permits or, as others suggested, the

FCRP would be irrelevant. Some

commenters insisted that the FCRP

should come before the implementation

of Amendment 13, suggesting that the

Council’s capacity reduction proposals

could be inappropriate or even rendered

moot, if the FCRP is very successful. In

either case, the uncertainty of the

ultimate proposed measures of

Amendment 13 and the timing of those

measures are confounding factors for

fishers who must decide whether or not

to participate in the FCRP.

The statutory language establishing

the FCRP requires that NMFS

implement the program in a timely

manner, and NMFS has attempted to do

that. NMFS acknowledges that the

uncertainty regarding the capacity

reduction measures in Amendment 13

and the timing thereof may make it

difficult for some permittees to

determine whether or not to participate

in the FCRP and at what level to set

their bids.

Tax implications. Several commenters

asked about the tax implications of

participating in the program, suggested

that the funds should be tax exempt, or

recommended that the payout be spread

across several years to reduce the tax

burden in any 1 year. Others claimed

that taxes could be deferred if the funds

are put in the Fishing Vessel Capital

Construction Fund (CCF)(46 U.S.C.

1177).

Funds received through participation

in the FCRP may be considered taxable

income. The type of income and the tax

rate would be determined by the

participant’s tax situation, and it would

be the responsibility of the program

participant to seek appropriate tax