11242 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2001 / Proposed Rules

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

questions on viewing, or submitting

material to, the docket, call Ms. Dorothy

Beard, Chief, Dockets, Department of

Transportation, telephone 202–366–

9329. For information on the SNPRM

provisions contact (for fire suppression)

Mr. Randall Eberly, P.E., Project

Manager, Office of Design and

Engineering Standards (G–MSE),

telephone 202–267–1861, or contact (for

voyage planning) Mr. Robert S. Spears,

Project Manager, Office of Standards

Evaluation and Development (G–MSR),

telephone 202–267–1099.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

The Coast Guard encourages you to

submit written data, views, or

arguments. If you submit comments,

you should include your name and

address, identify the SNPRM [USCG–

2000–6931; published in the Federal

Register on November 8, 2000 (65 FR

66941)] and the specific section or

question in the document to which your

comments apply, and give the reason for

each comment. Please submit one copy

of all comments and attachments in an

unbound format, no larger than 81⁄2 by

11 inches, suitable for copying and

electronic filing to the DOT Docket

Management Facility at the address

under ADDRESSES. If you want us to

acknowledge receiving your comments,

please enclose a stamped, self-addressed

postcard or envelope.

The Coast Guard will consider all

comments received during the comment

period. It may change the proposed

rules in view of the comments.

Dated: February 15, 2001.

Joseph J. Angelo,

Director of Standards.

[FR Doc. 01–4549 Filed 2–22–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P

POSTAL RATE COMMISSION

39 CFR Part 3000

[Docket No. RM2001–1; Order No. 1303]

Proposed Revision to Standards of

Conduct

AGENCY: Postal Rate Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Commission proposes

eliminating an ethics provision on

procedures for reviewing employees’

security holdings for conflicts of

interest. These procedures have been

overtaken by government-wide ethical

standards and new screening

procedures. Eliminating this provision

will prevent confusion in the

administration of the Commission’s

ethics program.

DATES: Submit comments on or before

March 26, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Margaret

P. Crenshaw, Secretary, Postal Rate

Commission, 1333 H Street NW., Suite

300, Washington, DC 20268–0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen L. Sharfman, 202–789–6820.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Currently,

the Commission’s standards of conduct

[39 CFR part 3000] contain a de minimis

rule. The de minimis rule provides that

security interests held by a Commission

employee that are valued below a

certain amount will receive a different

level of scrutiny for conflicts of interest

than security interests valued above the

specified amount. The Commission

invites the public to comment on its

proposal to delete its de minimis rule.

Rationale for the Proposed Change

Currently, rule 103(b) of the

Commission’s standards of conduct [39

CFR 3000.735–103(b)] requires the

chairman of the Commission to

determine an appropriate maximum

limit on the value of an interest that a

Commission employee may have in

stocks, bonds, or other form of securities

in any one entity. It authorizes the

chairman to specifically approve

maintaining a security interest above the

maximum limit, if he determines that

the interest is not so substantial as to be

likely to affect the integrity of the

service that the employee provides to

the Commission.

The Commission finds that this

procedure for screening security

holdings for potential conflicts of

interest has become redundant under

the Commission’s current screening

procedures. Furthermore, 5 CFR part

2640 contains de minimis exemptions

from the conflict of interest rules that

are intended to govern federal agencies

generally. This regulation was

promulgated by the Office of

Government Ethics (OGE) subsequent to

the Commission’s adoption of rule

103(b). The OGE has advised the

Commission that its generally

applicable de minimis exemptions

supercede rule 103(b).

Original Purpose of the De Minimis

Rule

The Commission’s standards of

conduct prohibit its employees from

having a financial interest in companies

‘‘whose interests may be significantly

affected by rates of postage, fees for

postal services, the classification of

mail, or the operation of the Postal

Service.’’ Conversely, they allow

Commission employees to have a

financial interest in companies ‘‘whose

use of the mail is merely an incidental

or minor factor in the general conduct

of its business.’’ See 39 CFR 3000.735–

103(a).

More than 25 years ago, the

Commission’s general counsel set up

internal guidelines for applying rule 103

that used a three-part test to analyze

financial conflicts of interest. Some

interests were categorized as conflicts

per se, others were categorized as nonconflicts per se, and those that remained

required specific approval by the

chairman. See memo of general counsel

Crutchfield to the Commission staff

dated December 26, 1973.

The rigorous financial reporting

required by the OGE since 1989, as a

practical matter, supercedes this threepart test involving per se categories. The

OGE’s rules now require that every

agency individually analyze every asset

held by a policy-making employee that

is worth over $1,000 for potential

conflicts with that employee’s official

duties. For that reason, grouping assets

into those that are regarded as conflicts

per se, those that are regarded as nonconflicts per se, and those that require

individual analysis, no longer simplifies

the evaluation of financial conflicts that

the Commission must perform.

In ethics practice, assuming that

financial interests do not present a

potentially significant conflict if they

are below a certain market value is

known as a de minimis rule. Under

current rule 103(b), the chairman must

select the market value of financial

interests that are to be considered de

minimis for purposes of conflicts

analysis.

The original rationale for the de

minimis rule was that most companies

are affected to some degree by postal

services. Therefore, even where the

Commission had already determined

that postal activity is a minor part of a

particular company’s business, the

Commission feared that a conflict could

arise if an employee were to concentrate

investments in a few such companies.

See memo to the Commission from

David Ruderman, dated July 13, 1993, at

3. Because the Commission now screens

all investments worth more than $1,000

for per se conflicts, it has routinely

approved the holding of security

interests that are above the de minimis

amount. Accordingly, the screening

procedure required by rule 103(b) has

become redundant.

Because the conflicts analysis that

current rule 103(b) requires has become

redundant, and because it has been

superceded by the de minimis rules of

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2001 / Proposed Rules 11243

5 CFR part 2640 that apply to federal

agencies generally, the Commission

proposes that current rule 103(b) be

deleted.

Public Comment

Any public comment directed toward

this proposal should be submitted

within 30 days of the publication of this

notice in the Federal Register.

Ordering Paragraphs

1. Public comment on the

Commission’s proposal to delete

paragraph (b) from current rule 103 of

its standards of conduct should be

submitted within 30 days of the

publication of this notice in the Federal

Register.

2. The Secretary is directed to cause

this notice of proposed rulemaking to

appear in the Federal Register.

Dated: February 16, 2001.

Margaret P. Crenshaw,

Secretary.

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 3000

Administrative practice and

procedure, Postal Service.

For the reasons stated in the

preamble, the Postal Rate Commission

proposes to amend 39 CFR part 3000 as

follows:

PART 3000—STANDARDS OF

CONDUCT

1. The authority citation for part 3000

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 39 U.S.C. 3603; E.O. 12674, 54

FR 15159, 3 CFR, 1989 Comp., p. 215, as

modified by E.O. 12731, 56 FR 42547, 3 CFR,

1990 Comp., p. 306; 5 CFR parts 2634 and

2636.

2. Revise § 3000.735–103 to read as

follows:

§ 3000.735–103 Financial interests.

An employee shall not, either directly

or indirectly, have any financial interest

(whether by ownership of any stock,

bond, security, or otherwise) in any

entity or person whose interests may be

significantly affected by rates of postage,

fees for postal services, the classification

of mail, or the operation of the Postal

Service. This paragraph does not

proscribe interests in an entity or person

whose use of the mail is merely an

incidental or a minor factor in the

general conduct of its business.

[FR Doc. 01–4432 Filed 2–22–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 721

[OPPTS–50639B; FRL–6771–4]

RIN 2070–AD43

Perfluorooctyl Sulfonates (PFOS);

Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public

meeting.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) will conduct a public

meeting on the proposed significant

new use rule (SNUR) on PFOS

published in the Federal Register issue

of October 18, 2000. At this meeting,

persons who filed written comments on

the proposed SNUR will have the

opportunity to clarify and expand on

their comments, and all interested

persons will be able to identify issues of

concern.

DATES: The public meeting will be held

from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 27, 2001.

Interested parties are requested to

contact the technical person on or

before Friday, March 16, 2001, to

schedule presentations at the meeting.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel, 1800

Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

general information contact: Barbara

Cunningham, Acting Director,

Environmental Assistance Division,

Office of Pollution Prevention and

Toxics (7408), Environmental Protection

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,

Washington, DC 20460; telephone

number: (202) 554–1404; e-mail address:

TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.

For technical information contact:

Annette Washington, Chemical Control

Division (7405), Office of Pollution

Prevention and Toxics, 1200

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington,

DC 20460; telephone number: (202)

260–5315; e-mail address:

washington.annette@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

This action is directed to the public

in general. This action may be of

particular interest to anyone who filed

written comments on the proposed

SNUR for PFOS (65 FR 62319, October

18, 2000) (FRL–6745–5), or who uses

products containing any of the 90 PFOS

chemicals identified in the proposed

SNUR. If you have any questions

regarding the applicability of this action

to a particular entity, consult the

technical person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. How Can I Get Additional

Information, Including Copies of this

Document or Other Related Documents?

1. Electronically. You may obtain

electronic copies of this document, and

certain other related documents that

might be available electronically, from

the EPA Internet Home Page at http://

www.epa.gov/. To access this

document, on the Home Page select

‘‘Laws and Regulations’’, ‘‘Regulations

and Proposed Rules,’’ and then look up

the entry for this document under the

‘‘Federal Register—Environmental

Documents.’’ You can also go directly to

the Federal Register listings at http://

www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.

2. In person. The Agency has

established an official record for this

action under docket control number

OPPTS–50639B. The official record

consists of the documents specifically

referenced in this action, any public

comments received during an applicable

comment period, and other information

related to this action, including any

information claimed as Confidential

Business Information (CBI). This official

record includes the documents that are

physically located in the docket, as well

as the documents that are referenced in

those documents. The public version of

the official record does not include any

information claimed as CBI. The public

version of the official record, which

includes printed, paper versions of any

electronic comments submitted during

an applicable comment period, is

available for inspection in the TSCA

Nonconfidential Information Center,

North East Mall Rm. B–607, Waterside

Mall, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC.

The Center is open from noon to 4 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, excluding legal

holidays. The telephone number of the

Center is (202) 260–7099.

II. Meeting Procedures

For additional information on the

scheduled meeting, including the

meeting agenda, contact the technical

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT.

The meeting on the proposed PFOS

SNUR will be open to the public.

Interested parties are requested to

contact the technical person on or

before Friday, March 16, 2001, to

schedule presentations at the meeting.

Since seating for outside observers may

be limited, those wishing to attend the

meeting as observers are also

encouraged to contact the technical

person at the earliest possible date to