Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2001 / Proposed Rules 1069

retire from Division C. In 2000, X amends its

health plan to provide coverage for

employees who retire from Division B as a

result of a plant shutdown, but only for the

2-year period coinciding with their severance

pay. Also in 2000, X amends the health plan

to provide that employees who retire from

Division A as a result of a plant shutdown

receive health coverage only for the 2-year

period coinciding with their severance pay.

A plant shutdown that affects Division A and

Division B employees occurs in 2000. The

number of individuals receiving coverage for

applicable health benefits as of the last day

of 2001 is 200. In 2002, Employer X makes

a qualified transfer under section 420. As of

the last day of 2002, applicable health

benefits are provided to 170 individuals,

because the 2-year period of benefits ends for

10 employees who retired from Division A

and 20 employees who retired from Division

B as a result of the plant shutdown that

occurred in 2000.

(ii) There is no significant reduction in

retiree health coverage in 2002. Coverage for

the 10 retirees from Division A who lose

coverage as a result of the end of the 2-year

period is treated as having ended by reason

of employer action, because coverage for

those Division A retirees ended by reason of

a plan amendment made after December 17,

1999. However, the terms of the health plan

that limit coverage for employees who retired

from Division B as a result of the 2000 plant

shutdown (to the 2-year period) were

adopted contemporaneously with the

provision under which those employees

became eligible for retiree coverage under the

health plan. Accordingly, under the rule

provided in paragraph (b)(4)(ii) of this

section, coverage for those 20 retirees from

Division B is not treated as having ended by

reason of employer action. Thus, the number

of individuals whose health benefits ended

by reason of employer action in 2002 is 10.

Since the number of individuals receiving

coverage for applicable health benefits as of

the last day of 2001 is 200, the employerinitiated reduction percentage for 2002 is 5%

(10/200), which is less than the 10% annual

limit.

(e) Effective date. This section is

applicable December 18, 1999, for

qualified transfers occurring on or after

that date.

Robert E. Wenzel,

Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue.

[FR Doc. 01–249 Filed 1–4–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

36 CFR Part 7

RIN 1024–AC82

Special Regulations, Areas of the

National Park System

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The National Park Service

(NPS) is proposing to amend regulations

specific to Rocky Mountain National

Park that designate snowmobile routes

inside the park. The routes currently

designated are inconsistent with the

protection of the resources and values of

this park, management objectives, with

the requirements of two executive

orders, and NPS general regulations that

govern snowmobile use in the National

Park System. This amendment would

eliminate three of the four routes

currently designated for snowmobile

use and bring the remaining route into

compliance with the general

regulations.

DATES: Written comments will be

accepted through March 6, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to: National Park Service,

Ranger Activities Division, 1849 C

Street, NW., Room 7408, Washington,

DC 20240. Fax (202) 208–6756. Email:

WASOlRegulations@nps.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kym

Hall, Regulations Program Manager,

National Park Service, 1849 C Street,

N.W., Room 7413, Washington, DC

20240. Telephone: (202) 208–4206; Fax:

(202) 208–6756; Email:

KymlHall@nps.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In January 1999, the NPS received a

petition for rulemaking from the

Bluewater Network, representing some

60 conservation organizations,

requesting that we begin immediate

rulemaking to prohibit snowmobile use

within units of the National Park

System. To gather information on how

to respond, NPS conducted a survey of

those parks in which snowmobile use is

currently allowed. The survey gathered

information from each relevant park on

such matters as the basis on which a

decision was originally made to allow

snowmobile use in that park; how

extensive that use is; what is known

about the impacts of that use on park

resources and values, including the

enjoyment of other visitors; and what

monitoring, if any, is conducted to

determine those impacts. Additionally,

the NPS held a two-day snowmobile

‘‘summit’’ in January 2000 at which

officials from the Department of the

Interior (including the Office of the

Solicitor) and the National Park Service

(including all but one affected park)

reviewed the snowmobile use now

occurring in the National Park System.

We learned through the survey and the

snowmobile ‘‘summit’’ that much of the

snowmobile use that occurs in the

National Park System is not consistent

with management objectives or the

protection of park resources and value,

and is not in compliance with the

requirements of the two executive

orders and the NPS general regulations

on snowmobile use.

In April 2000, the Department and

NPS publicly announced an intention to

propose changes in the snowmobile use

allowed in parks, to protect park

resources and values, to meet

management objectives and to come into

compliance with the legal requirements

applying to that use. Consistent with

that announcement, this is a proposed

regulatory action to make those changes

in the park-specific regulations

governing snowmobile use in Rocky

Mountain National Park, by repealing

the current designation of three routes

in the park as open to snowmobiles.

Only one of those routes is currently

open to snowmobile use. For the other

two, this proposal would amend the

park-specific regulations to conform to

previous decisions by the park

management to close the routes to

snowmobile use. This proposed rule

will leave one route in the park, the

North Supply Creek Snowmobile Access

Trail, designated for snowmobile use.

An environmental analysis and a draft

economic analysis have been prepared.

Existing Regulations

Executive Order 11644, issued by

President Nixon in 1972, provides,

among other things, that snowmobile

use may be allowed in the National Park

System only on areas and trails

designated by NPS for that purpose, and

only if NPS determines that the

snowmobile use on those areas and

trails will not adversely affect the park’s

natural, aesthetic, or scenic values. It

requires NPS to monitor the effects of

authorized snowmobile use in parks. It

also requires NPS, on the basis of the

information gathered through that

monitoring, to amend or rescind

designations of those areas and trails

open to snowmobile use as necessary to

avoid adverse effects on the park’s

natural, aesthetic, or scenic values.

Executive Order 11989, issued by

President Carter in 1977, requires NPS,

whenever it determines that the use of

snowmobiles will cause or is causing

considerable adverse effects on the

natural resources of a park, to take steps

to prevent those effects, including

immediately halting that use.

NPS general regulations on

snowmobile use, 36 CFR 2.18(c), state

that:

The use of snowmobiles is prohibited,

except on designated routes and water

surfaces that are used by motor vehicles or

1070 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2001 / Proposed Rules

motorboats during other seasons. Routes and

waters surfaces designated for snowmobile

use shall be promulgated as special

regulations. Snowmobiles are prohibited

except where designated and only when their

use is consistent with the park’s natural,

cultural, scenic and aesthetic values, safety

considerations, park management objectives,

and will not disturb wildlife or damage park

resources.

Rocky Mountain National Park

currently has four routes where

snowmobile use has been designated via

a special regulation: the Summerland

Park Snowmobile Trail; the North

Supply Creek Access Snowmobile Trail

(identified in the regulation as the

Supply Creek Snowmobile Access

Trail); sixteen miles of Trail Ridge Road,

including both a plowed stretch from

the Kawuneeche Visitor Center to the

Timber Lake Trailhead (ten miles) that

is also open to other motor vehicles and

an unplowed stretch (six miles) from the

Timber Lake Trailhead to Milner Pass

(these stretches are identified as

separate routes in the current special

regulation for the park); and the Bowen

Gulch Access Route. All of these routes

are in the Colorado River District, or

western portion, of the park.

Two of these routes, the Bowen Gulch

Access Route and the Summerland Park

Snowmobile Trail, are not now open to

snowmobile use, since they have been

closed by prior park action reflected in

the Superintendent’s compendium.

On the two designated trails that are

open to snowmobile use, 28,417

snowmobiles entered the park in the

winter of 1999–2000, making Rocky

Mountain one of the parks with the

highest levels of snowmobile use in the

national park system. By contrast, 88

snowmobiles entered the park in 1967,

the first year for which use figures are

available. Approximately 85 percent of

the current use occurs on the North

Supply Creek Snowmobile Access Trail,

a route of approximately two miles in

length that provides snowmobile access

to adjacent national forest lands. The

remainder of the use occurs on Trail

Ridge Road, which provides

snowmobile access into the interior of

the park.

This proposed rule would repeal the

designations of all designated

snowmobile routes in Rocky Mountain

other than the North Supply Creek

Access Trail.

Explanation of Rule

Repealing the designations of all

routes except the North Supply Creek

Access Trail is necessary to comply

with the requirements of the applicable

Executive Orders and NPS’s general

regulation on snowmobile use, 36 CFR

2.18, to protect park resources and

values, and to meet park management

objectives.

Repealing the designations of the

Bowen Gulch Access Trail and the

Summerland Park Snowmobile Trail is

justified for the same reasons that

snowmobile use has not been allowed

on those routes since 1981 and 1997,

respectively. The Bowen Gulch Access

Route historically provided snowmobile

access to adjacent national forest lands

that were open to snowmobile use, but

that adjacent use ended in 1980 when

Congress designated the national forest

lands as part of the Never Summer

Wilderness. The Summerland Park

Snowmobile Trail was closed in 1997,

because its inaccessibility made the area

difficult for park rangers to patrol and

monitor; its use led to off-road

snowmobile use in violation of NPS

regulations; and its use led to incidents

of trespass onto adjacent private lands.

Ending snowmobile use on Trail

Ridge Road will reduce the adverse

impacts of snowmobile noise on the

natural soundscape of the park, on

wildlife, and on other visitors to the

park. Natural quiet will be restored to

the area that extends from the Timber

Lake Trailhead parking lot to Milner

Pass. The long-term integrity of

wilderness values in the Kawuneeche

Valley in the vicinity of Trail Ridge

Road will be protected and enhanced.

The restored natural quiet will allow

wildlife to exist in a more natural

setting. Bighorn sheep that may have

been avoiding Milner Pass during the

winter because of noisy snowmobiles

may return. The many visitors who

come to Rocky Mountain in the winter

seeking solitude, serenity, and

tranquility (as documented by visitor

use surveys) will have their enjoyment

of the park enhanced.

Eliminating snowmobile use on Trail

Ridge Road will also reduce air

pollution in the interior of the park,

eliminate any possible impacts to soils

or vegetation from snowmobile use

along this route, and eliminate

emissions that settle onto the snow and

get carried into the park’s streams and

lakes by snowmelt.

In addition, the dual use of the lower,

plowed stretch of Trail Ridge Road by

snowmobiles and other motor vehicles,

on the same road surface, also presents

safety concerns. The State of Colorado

prohibits dual use by snowmobiles and

other motor vehicles of the same road

surface, on roads under state

jurisdiction. On the lower stretch of

Trail Ridge Road, the NPS has been

allowing such dual use. Closing this

stretch of road to snowmobile use is

consistent with the state policy, and

will improve public safety. In December

1999, there was a collision between a

snowmobile and a minivan, with the

snowmobile sliding on the ice and

striking the van.

Continuing to allow snowmobile use

on the North Supply Creek Access Trail

is consistent with applicable Executive

Orders, the NPS’s general snowmobile

regulation, the protection of park

resources and values, and park

management considerations.

The North Supply Creek Access Trail

is a two-mile trail that provides access

to adjacent national forest lands that are

heavily used by snowmobiles. The first

0.87 mile of the trail within the park

follows a utility corridor right of way,

which is open to NPS, county, and

public utility vehicles, and which is

maintained as a fire access road. The

remaining 1.13 miles follows the Sun

Valley Road, which is a county road.

This snowmobile trail provides the only

safe and reasonable access between the

town of Grand Lake and national forest

lands west of the park that contain 17

named snowmobile routes with a total

length of 92.3 miles. Limiting

snowmobile use in the park to the North

Supply Access Trail will limit any

impacts of that use (primarily any

impacts from noise) to this small

portion of the park (where noise is

already audible from snowmobiles in

use on adjacent national forest lands).

When final, this rule would become

effective for the winter use season of

2002–2003. In a consolidated

appropriations bill given final

Congressional approval on December

15, 2000, Congress has provided that, in

promulgating any new rules to reduce

snowmobile use in units of the national

park system, the NPS may not establish

an effective date for the reductions any

earlier than the winter season of 2002–

2003.

Compliance With Other Laws

Regulatory Planning and Review (E.O.

12866)

This document is a significant rule

and has been reviewed by the Office of

Management and Budget under

Executive Order 12866.

(1) This rule will not have an effect of

$100 million or more on the economy.

It will not adversely affect in a material

way the economy, productivity,

competition, jobs, the environment,

public health or safety, or State, local or

tribal governments or communities.

Nonetheless, the NPS has prepared a

draft study on the economic effects of

this proposal on, among others, small

businesses. ‘‘Proposed Restrictions on

Snowmobile Riding in Rocky Mountain

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2001 / Proposed Rules 1071

National Park: Draft Report’’ (LawGibb

Group, Arcadis JSA, and Research

Triangle Institute, November 2000).

This draft report indicates that the

proposed regulation is expected to lead

to a reduction in the number of visitor

days spent by snowmobilers in Rocky

Mountain in the winter, as they would

no longer be able to use Trail Ridge

Road. There may or may not be a

reduction in visitation to the gateway

community of Grand Lake, Colorado,

depending on (1) how many people who

used to snowmobile on Trail Ridge Road

will continue to come to the area to

snowmobile on other routes, and (2)

whether there is an increase in other

winter visitors to the park who will

have a more enjoyable winter

experience there without snowmobile

use on Trail Ridge Road.

Examining a likely range of possible

reductions in winter visitation to Grand

Lake, the report indicates that the total

impact on businesses in Grand Lake

could range from an annual decrease of

$265,800 to $728,200 in business

revenues. Approximately two-thirds of

any impact will be on snowmobile

rental businesses, followed by lodging

(17.5 percent), restaurants and bars (9.2

percent), gas and oil, souvenirs and

other retail trade, and grocery

businesses.

You may obtain a copy of the draft

economic report by one of several ways:

—Internet: http://www.nps.gov/romo/

—By mail: Bruce Peacock, National Park

Service, 1849 C Street, NW., Room

2749, Washington, DC 20240.

—By email: Bruce_Peacock@nps.gov

Public comments regarding the

economic report may be submitted to

Bruce Peacock at one of the addresses

above.

(2) This rule will not create a serious

inconsistency or otherwise interfere

with an action taken or planned by

another agency.

This rule deals specifically with

Rocky Mountain National Park, which is

administered solely by the NPS, and any

rules regarding snowmobile use there

would affect only the NPS and not other

agencies.

(3) This rule does not alter the

budgetary effects or entitlements, grants,

user fees, or loan programs or the rights

or obligations of their recipients.

There are no budgetary constraints or

funding issues associated with this

rulemaking at all. This rule pertains

only to the recreational uses of areas

within the park.

(4) This rule may raise novel legal or

policy issues.

Though this rule is but a portion of

the total snowmobile use within the

NPS system, the specific issue of

snowmobile restrictions in any of the

NPS areas has raised concerns from the

public regarding policies. Generally the

effect of this rulemaking would be a

small percentage of change in use

patterns within the park.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Department of the Interior

certifies that this document will not

have a significant economic effect on a

substantial number of small entities

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5

U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

Nonetheless, the NPS has prepared a

draft study on the economic effects of

this proposal on, among others, small

entities. ‘‘Proposed Restrictions on

Snowmobile Riding in Rocky Mountain

National Park: Draft Report’’ (LawGibb

Group, Arcadis JSA, and Research

Triangle Institute, November 2000).

Small entities potentially affected will

be all six snowmobile rental shops in

the Grand Lake area, and all

governmental jurisdictions in the area.

For snowmobile rental shops, the

proposed regulation could lead to a loss

of annual revenue ranging from

$159,554 to $398,885. This represents

nine to 22 percent of their estimated

total winter revenue. However, there

appears to be excess demand for

snowmobile rentals in Grand Lake, with

the rental businesses typically renting

all available machines on weekends,

weather permitting, and during holiday

weeks. This could mean that the effects

on the rental shops could be less than

the ranges estimated.

The town of Grand Lake does not

collect a sales and use tax on

snowmobile rentals. The range in

reductions in winter visitation

examined in the study would lead to a

decline in the town’s sales and use tax

receipts from retail sales ranging

between $2,479 and $8,430.

The NPS solicits comments on any

alternative approach to the proposed

regulation—such as a limitation on the

number of snowmobiles that may use

Trail Ridge Road, a limitation on the

hours of use of such snowmobiles, a

restriction on use of snowmobiles to a

smaller portion of Trail Ridge Road,

technical or mechanical changes to

snowmobiles that could be required to

reduce air and noise emissions from

snowmobiles so as to enable their use

on Trail Ridge Road, use fees or other

market-based regulatory mechanisms, or

a delay in the effective date of the

regulations—that could both accomplish

the objectives and fulfill the

requirements of the laws, executive

orders, and regulations applying to

snowmobile use in the park and

minimize any possible adverse

economic impact of the proposed

regulation on small businesses.

Additionally, we solicit comments on

the potential impacts that this rule may

have on small entities. We welcome

comments with information regarding

the number and types of entities

impacted, the specific costs that may be

imposed by this rule on small entities,

and whether and why these impacts

may be considered significant.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act (SBREFA)

This rule is not a major rule under 5

U.S.C. 804(2), the Small Business

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act.

This rule:

a. Does not have an annual effect on

the economy of $100 million or more.

This rule has been estimated to have

a potential impact on small businesses

(six rental shops) from approximately

$160,000 to $400,000 annually.

b. Will not cause a major increase in

costs or prices for consumers,

individual industries, Federal, State, or

local government agencies, or

geographic regions.

There are not likely to be cost

increases associated with this

rulemaking. The potential economic

effect would be a minimal loss of

revenue to small businesses and tax

revenue to local governments.

c. Does not have significant adverse

effects on competition, employment,

investment, productivity, innovation, or

the ability of U.S-based enterprises to

compete with foreign-based enterprises.

This rule only pertains to recreational

uses within a park unit and does not

have effects on production between the

United States and foreign entities.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

This rule does not impose an

unfunded mandate on State, local, or

tribal governments or the private sector

of more than $100 million per year. The

rule does not have a significant or

unique effect on State, local or tribal

governments or the private sector.

This rule poses regulatory

requirements only on those visitors that

choose to operate a snowmobile within

Rocky Mountain National Park, and it

does not require any additional

expenditures of money by them.

Potential impacts to local government

could be in the loss of tax revenue

estimated between $2000 and $8000

annually.

Takings (E.O. 12630)

In accordance with 12630, the rule

does not have significant takings

implications.

1072 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2001 / Proposed Rules

This rulemaking affects only those

areas within Rocky Mountain National

Park and has no effects on external

ownership of lands outside the park

boundary.

Federalism (E.O. 13132)

In accordance with Executive Order

13132, the rule does not have sufficient

federalism implications to warrant the

preparation of a Federalism Assessment.

This rulemaking only affects users

who choose to operate snowmobiles

within the park. There are no obvious

effects on the State of Colorado.

Civil Justice Reform (E.O. 12988)

In accordance with Executive Order

12988, the Office of the Solicitor has

determined that this rule does not

unduly burden the judicial system and

meets the requirements of sections 3(a)

and 3(b)(2) of the Order.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This regulation does not require an

information collection from 10 or more

parties and a submission under the

Paperwork Reduction Act is not

required. An OMB form 83–I is not

required.

National Environmental Policy Act

This rule does not constitute a major

federal action significantly affecting the

quality of the human environment. A

draft Environmental Assessment has

been completed. Copies of that

assessment may be obtained through

one of several methods.

—Internet: http://www.nps.gov/romo/

—By email:

romo_superintendent@nps.gov

—By mail: Superintendent, Rocky

Mountain National Park, 1000 U.S.

Highway 36, Estes Park, Colorado

80517.

Public comments regarding the

Environmental Assessment may be

submitted to Rocky Mountain National

Park at one of the addresses above.

Public comments will be accepted at the

park through January 13, 2001.

Government-to-Government

Relationship with Tribes

In accordance with the president’s

memorandum of April 29, 1994,

‘‘Government -to-Government Relations

with Native American Tribal

Governments’’ (59 FR 22951) and 512

DM 2, we have evaluated potential

effects on federally recognized Indian

tribes and have determined that there

are no potential effects.

This rulemaking would not involve

any lands or resources administered by

Native American Tribes. This rule only

addresses routes inside the boundaries

of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Clarity of This Regulation

Executive Order 12866 requires each

agency to write regulations that are easy

to understand. We invite your

comments on how to make this rule

easier to understand, including answers

to questions such as the following: (1)

Are the requirements in the rule clearly

stated? (2) Does the rule contain

technical language or jargon that

interferes with its clarity? (3) Does the

format of the rule (grouping and order

of sections, use of headings,

paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce its

clarity? (4) Would the rule be easier to

understand if it were divided into more

(but shorter) sections? A ‘‘section’’

appears in body type and is preceded by

the symbol ‘‘§ ’’ and a numbered

heading; for example, § 7.7 [amended].

(5) Is the description of the rule in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of

the preamble helpful in understanding

the proposed rule? What else could we

do to make the rule easier to

understand?

Send a copy of any comments that

concern how we could make this rule

easier to understand to: Office of

Regulatory Affairs, Department of the

Interior, Room 7229, 1849 C Street NW,

Washington, DC 20240. You may also email the comments to this address:

Exsec@ios.doi.gov

Public Participation: If you wish to

comment, you may submit your

comments by any one of several

methods. You may mail comments to

the National Park Service, Ranger

Activities Division, 1849 C Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20240. You may also

comment via the Internet to

WASO;_Regulations@nps.gov. Please

submit Internet comments as an ASCII

file avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption.

Please also include ‘‘Attn: 1024–AC82’’

in the subject line and your name and

return address in the body of your

Internet message. Finally, you may hand

deliver comments to Kym Hall,

Regulations Program Manager, National

Park Service, 1849 C Street, N.W., Room

7413, Washington DC. Our practice is to

make comments, including names and

addresses of respondents, available for

public review during regular business

hours. Individual respondents may

request that we withhold their home

address for the rulemaking record,

which we will honor to the extent

allowable by law. If you wish us to

withhold your name and/or address,

you must state this prominently at the

beginning of your comment. However,

we will not consider anonymous

comments. We will make all

submissions from organizations or

businesses and from individuals

identifying themselves as

representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, available

for public inspection in their entirety.

List of Subjects in 36 CFR Part 7

District of Columbia, National parks,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements

Accordingly, we propose to amend

Part 7 of 36 CFR as set forth below:

PART 7—SPECIAL REGULATIONS;

AREAS OF THE NATIONAL PARK

SYSTEM

1. The authority for Part 7 continues

to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1, 3, 9a, 460(q),

462(k); Sec. 7.96 also issued under D.C. Code

8–137 (1981) and D.C. Code 40–721 (1981).

§ 7.7 [Amended]

2. Revise § 7.7(e) to read as follows:

* * * * *

(e) Snowmobiles—(1) On what route

may I operate a snowmobile?

Snowmobiles may be operated on the

North Supply Creek Snowmobile Access

Trail solely for the purpose of gaining

access between national forest lands on

the west side of the park and the town

of Grand Lake. Use of this trail for other

purposes is not permitted. This trail will

be marked by signs, snow poles or other

appropriate means.

(2) When may I operate a snowmobile

on the North Supply Creek Snowmobile

Access Trail? The Superintendent shall

determine the opening and closing dates

for use of the North Supply Creek

Snowmobile Access Trail each year,

taking into consideration the location of

wintering wildlife, appropriate snow

cover, and other factors that may relate

to public safety. The Superintendent

will notify the public of such dates

through normal news media channels.

Temporary closure of this route will be

initiated through the posting of

appropriate signs and/or barriers. This

route will be open to snowmobile travel

when it is considered to be safe for

travel but not necessarily free of safety

hazards. Snowmobilers may travel this

route with the permission of the

Superintendent, but at their own risk.

Dated: December 22, 2000.

Stephen C. Saunders,

Acting Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife

and Parks.

[FR Doc. 01–377 Filed 1–4–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P