14030
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
Vol. 80, No. 52
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains notices to the public of the proposed
issuance of rules and regulations. The
purpose of these notices is to give interested
persons an opportunity to participate in the
rule making prior to the adoption of the final
rules.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Federal Crop Insurance Corporation
7 CFR Part 400
[Docket No. FCIC140001]
RIN 0563AC45
General Administrative Regulations;
Subpart XInterpretations of Statutory
Provisions, Policy Provisions, and
Procedures
Federal Crop Insurance
Corporation, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Federal Crop Insurance
Corporation (FCIC) proposes to revise
the General and Administrative
Regulation Subpart XInterpretations
of Statutory and Regulatory Provisions,
to incorporate interpretations of
procedures previously issued and
administered in accordance with
Managers Bulletin MGR05018 and to
provide a mechanism for interpretations
of policy provisions that are not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations. The intended effect of this
action is to provide requestors with
information on how to request a final
agency determination or an
interpretation of FCIC procedures
within one administrative regulation,
bring consistency and clarity to the
processes used, and to clarify existing
provisions.
DATES: Written comments and opinions
on this proposed rule will be accepted
until close of business April 17, 2015
and will be considered when the rule is
to be made final.
ADDRESSES: FCIC prefers that comments
be submitted electronically through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. You may
submit comments, identified by Docket
ID No. FCIC140001, by any of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
[Link]. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Director, Product
Administration and Standards Division,
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SUMMARY:
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Risk Management Agency, United States
Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box
419205, Kansas City, MO 641336205.
All comments received, including
those received by mail, will be posted
without change to http://
[Link], including any
personal information provided, and can
be accessed by the public. All comments
must include the agency name and
docket number or Regulatory
Information Number (RIN) for this rule.
For detailed instructions on submitting
comments and additional information,
see [Link] If you
are submitting comments electronically
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
and want to attach a document, we ask
that it be in a text-based format. If you
want to attach a document that is a
scanned Adobe PDF file, it must be
scanned as text and not as an image,
thus allowing FCIC to search and copy
certain portions of your submissions.
For questions regarding attaching a
document that is a scanned Adobe PDF
file, please contact the RMA Web
Content Team at (816) 8234694 or by
email at [Link]@[Link].
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search
the electronic form of all comments
received for any dockets by the name of
the person submitting the comment (or
signing the comment, if submitted on
behalf of an association, business, labor
union, etc.). You may review the
complete User Notice and Privacy
Notice for [Link] at http://
[Link]/#!privacyNotice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Product Management, Product
Administration and Standards Division,
Risk Management Agency, United States
Department of Agriculture, Beacon
Facility, Stop 0812, Room 421, PO Box
419205, Kansas City, MO 641416205,
telephone (816) 926 7730.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Order 12866
This rule has been determined to be
not significant for the purposes of
Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, it
has not been reviewed by the OMB.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
Pursuant to the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. chapter 35), the collections of
information in this rule have been
approved by the Office of Management
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and Budget (OMB) under control
number 05630055.
E-Government Act Compliance
FCIC is committed to complying with
the E-Government Act of 2002, 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.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of
1995
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public
Law 1044, establishes requirements for
Federal agencies to assess the effects of
their regulatory actions on State, local,
and tribal governments and the private
sector. This 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 rule is
not subject to the requirements of
sections 202 and 205 of UMRA.
Executive Order 13132
It has been determined under section
1(a) of Executive Order 13132,
Federalism, that this rule does not have
sufficient implications to warrant
consultation with the States. The
provisions contained in this rule will
not have a substantial direct effect on
States, or on the relationship between
the national government and the States,
or on the distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government.
Executive Order 13175
This rule has been reviewed in
accordance with the requirements of
Executive Order 13175, Consultation
and Coordination with Indian Tribal
Governments. The review reveals that
this regulation will not have substantial
and direct effects on Tribal governments
and will not have significant Tribal
implications.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
FCIC certifies that this regulation will
not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small
entities. The regulation does not require
any more action on the part of the small
entities than is required on the part of
large entities. A Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis has not been prepared since
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 18, 2015 / Proposed Rules
this regulation does not have an impact
on small entities, and, therefore, this
regulation is exempt from the provisions
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 605).
Federal Assistance Program
This program is listed in the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance under
No. 10.450.
Executive Order 12372
This program is not subject to the
provisions of Executive Order 12372,
which require intergovernmental
consultation with State and local
officials. See the Notice related to 7 CFR
part 3015, subpart V, published at 48 FR
29115, June 24, 1983.
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule has been reviewed
in accordance with Executive Order
12988 on civil justice reform. The
provisions of this rule will not have a
retroactive effect. The provisions of this
rule will preempt State and local laws
to the extent such State and local laws
are inconsistent herewith.
Interpretations of statutory and
regulatory provisions are matters of
general applicability and, therefore, no
administrative appeals process is
available and judicial review may only
be brought to challenge the
interpretation after seeking a
determination of appealability by the
Director of the National Appeals
Division in accordance with 7 CFR part
11. Interpretations of procedure or
policy provisions not codified in the
Code of Federal Regulations are
administratively appealable and the
appeal provisions published at 7 CFR
part 11 must be exhausted before any
action for judicial review may be
brought against FCIC.
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Environmental Evaluation
This action is not expected to have a
significant economic impact on the
quality of the human environment,
health, or safety. Therefore, neither an
Environmental Assessment nor an
Environmental Impact Statement is
needed.
Background
FCIC proposes to revise the General
and Administrative Regulations Subpart
XInterpretations of Statutory and
Regulatory Provisions to provide
requestors with information on how to
request a final agency determination
and an interpretation of procedures or
policy provisions not codified in the
Code of Federal Regulations within one
administrative regulation. There are
provisions in policies not codified in
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the Code of Federal Regulations that are
identical to those in the Common Crop
Insurance Basic Provisions (Basic
Provisions) or Crop Provisions codified
in the Code of Federal Regulations. In
such instances, the requestor sought an
interpretation of the applicable
provision in the Basic Provisions and
that interpretation was applicable to all
policies that contained an identical
provision. Nothing in this rule changes
this process. However, there are
numerous policies with provisions that
are not codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations in any policy. For these
policy provisions, this rule provides a
mechanism to obtain an interpretation
of such provision.
The rule will also clarify existing
provisions, eliminate redundancies,
remove or update obsolete references,
simplify the regulation to address final
agency determinations and
interpretations of procedures or policy
provisions not codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations in the same
regulation, simplify program
administration, and improve clarity of
the requestor and FCIC obligations. The
proposed rule also incorporates the
information formerly contained in
Managers Bulletin MGR05018 into
subpart X for efficiency and ease of use.
Managers Bulletin MGR05018
currently provides criteria for requesting
an interpretation of procedures when a
requestor seeks an interpretation of the
meaning or applicability of procedure
used in administering the Federal crop
insurance program. Accordingly,
Managers Bulletin MGR05018 will
no longer be used upon issuance of the
final rule to this proposed rule.
The proposed rule amends the
language to be consistent where possible
and revises the regulation in plain
language for ease of readability by the
requestor.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 400
Administrative practice and
procedure, crop insurance, reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
Proposed Rule
Accordingly, as set forth in the
preamble, the Federal Crop Insurance
Corporation proposes to amend 7 CFR
part 400 as follows:
PART 400GENERAL
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR
part 400 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1506(1), 1506(o).
2. Revise Subpart X as follows:
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14031
Subpart XInterpretations of Statutory
Provisions, Policy Provisions, and
Procedures
Sec.
400.765
400.766
400.767
400.768
400.765
Definitions.
Basis and Applicability.
Requestor Obligations.
FCIC Obligations.
Definitions.
Act. The Federal Crop Insurance Act,
7 U.S.C. 15011524.
FCIC. The Federal Crop Insurance
Corporation, a wholly owned
government corporation within the
United States Department of
Agriculture.
Final Agency Determination. An
interpretation of provisions of the Act,
regulations, or any policy provision that
is codified in the Federal Register.
Participant. Any applicant for Federal
crop insurance, an insured, or a private
insurance company with a reinsurance
agreement with FCIC or their agent, loss
adjuster, employee or contractor.
Policy. The agreement to insure an
agricultural commodity reinsured by
FCIC under the provisions of the
Federal Crop Insurance Act which
consists of the accepted application, the
applicable Basic Provisions, the Crop
Provisions, the Special Provisions, the
Commodity Exchange Price Provisions,
if applicable, other amendments,
endorsements, or options, the actuarial
documents for the insured agricultural
commodity, the Catastrophic Risk
Protection Endorsement, if applicable,
and the applicable regulations
published in 7 CFR chapter IV.
Procedure. All FCIC issued
handbooks, manuals, memoranda, and
bulletins for any crop insurance policy
reinsured by FCIC.
RMA. The Risk Management Agency,
an agency of the United States
Department of Agriculture.
You. The requestor of a final agency
determination or interpretation of
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
400.766
Basis and Applicability.
(a) The regulations contained in this
subpart prescribe the rules and criteria
for obtaining a final agency
determination or an interpretation of a
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
(1) FCIC will provide a final agency
determination or an interpretation of
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations, as applicable, for policy
provisions or procedures that were in
effect during the four most recent
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 18, 2015 / Proposed Rules
calendar years from the calendar year in
which your request was submitted. For
example, for a request received in the
2014 calendar year, FCIC will consider
requests for the 2014, 2013, 2012, and
2011.
(2) If FCIC determines a request is
outside the scope of crop years
authorized in paragraph (a)(1) of this
section, you will be notified within 30
days of the date of receipt by FCIC.
(3) If the policy provisions or
procedures have changed for the time
period you seek an interpretation you
must submit a separate request for each
policy provision or procedure by year.
For example, if you seek an
interpretation of section 6(b) of the
Small Grains Crop Provisions for the
2012 through 2015 crop years but the
policy provisions were revised starting
with the 2014 crop year. You must
submit two requests, one for the 2012
and 2013 crop years and another for the
2014 and 2015 crop years.
(b) With respect to a Final Agency
Determination:
(1) All final agency determinations
issued by FCIC are binding on all
participants in the Federal crop
insurance program for the crop years the
policy provisions are in effect. Unless
appealed in accordance with paragraph
(2), failure of the National Appeals
Division, arbitrator, or mediator to
adhere to the final agency determination
provided under this subpart will result
in the nullification of any award or
agreement in arbitration or mediation.
(2) All final agency determinations are
considered matters of generally
applicable and are not appealable to the
National Appeals Division.
(i) Before obtaining judicial review of
any final agency determination, you
must obtain an administrative final
determination from the Director of the
National Appeals Division on the issue
of whether the final agency
determination is a matter of general
applicability.
(ii) Any appeal of a final agency
determination must be in accordance
with 7 CFR 400.766(c)(4).
(c) With respect to an interpretation of
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations:
(1) If either you or any other does not
agree with the written interpretation of
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations provided by FCIC, a request
for administrative review may be filed
in accordance with 7 CFR, part 400,
subpart J. If you seek an administrative
review from FCIC, such request must be
submitted in in accordance with
400.767(a).
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(2) FCIC will not accept requests for
administrative review from the National
Appeals Division, a mediator or
arbitrator.
(3) The RMA Office of the Deputy
Administrator for Product Management
will make a determination on the
request for administrative review not
later than 30 days after receipt of the
request.
(4) Regardless of whether you have
sought administrative review, you may
appeal an interpretation of procedure
made by FCIC to the National Appeals
Division in accordance with 7 CFR part
11.
400.767
Requestor Obligations.
(a) All requests for a final agency
determination or an interpretation of
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations submitted under this
subpart must:
(1) Be submitted to the Deputy
Administrator using the format
provided on RMAs Web site at http://
[Link]/regs/533/
[Link] through one of the
following methods:
(i) In writing by certified mail or
overnight delivery, to the Deputy
Administrator, Risk Management
Agency, United States Department of
Agriculture, Beacon Facility, Stop 0801,
Room 421, P.O. Box 419205, Kansas
City, MO 641416205;
(ii) By facsimile at (816) 9261803; or
(iii) By electronic mail at subpartx@
[Link];
(2) State whether you are seeking a
final agency determination or an
interpretation of procedure or policy
provision not codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations;
(3) Identify and quote the specific
provision in the Act, regulations,
procedure, or policy provision for
which you are requesting a final agency
determination or an interpretation of
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations;
(4) Contain no more than one request
for an interpretation (You must make
separate requests for each provision if
more than one provision is at issue. For
example, if there is a dispute with the
interpretation of section 3 of the Loss
Adjustment Manual, then one request
for an interpretation is required. If there
is a dispute with the interpretation of
section 3 of the Loss Adjustment
Manual and section 2 of the Macadamia
Nut Loss Adjustment Standards
Handbook, then two separate requests
for an interpretation are required);
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(5) State the crop, crop year(s), and
plan of insurance applicable to the
request;
(6) State the name, address, and
telephone number of a contact person
for the request; and
(7) Contain your detailed
interpretation of the specific provision
of the Act, regulations, procedure, or
policy provision for which the request
for interpretation is being requested.
(b) You may request a final agency
determination or an interpretation of
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations, as applicable, only if you
have legally filed or formally initiated a
judicial review, mediation, or
arbitration.
(1) You must identify the type of
proceeding (e.g. mediation, arbitration,
or litigation) in which the interpretation
will be used, and the date the
proceeding is scheduled to begin, or the
earliest possible date the proceeding
would likely begin if a specific date has
not been established;
(2) The name, address, telephone
number, and if applicable, fax number,
or email address of a contact person for
both parties to the proceeding;
(3) Requests must be submitted not
later than 90 days before the date the
mediation, arbitration or litigation
proceeding in which the interpretation
will be used is scheduled to begin.
(i) If the rules of the court, mediation,
or arbitration require the interpretation
prior to the date the proceeding begins,
add 90 days to the number of days
required prior to the proceeding. For
example, if a court requires the
interpretation 20 days prior to the date
the proceeding begins, you must submit
the request 110 days before the
proceeding is scheduled to begin.
(ii) Failure to timely submit a request
for a final agency determination may
result in:
(A) FCIC issuing a determination that
no interpretation could be made because
the request was not timely submitted;
and
(B) Nullification of any agreement or
award in accordance with the applicable
Basic Provisions.
(iii) If during the mediation,
arbitration, or litigation proceeding, an
issue arises that requires a final agency
determination or an interpretation of
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations, the mediator, arbitrator,
judge, or magistrate must promptly
request a final agency determination or
an interpretation of procedure or policy
provision not codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations in accordance with
400.767(a).
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(4) FCIC at its sole discretion may
authorize personnel to provide an oral
or written interpretation, as appropriate;
and
(5) Any decision or settlement
resulting from such mediation,
arbitration, or litigation proceeding
before FCIC provides its interpretation
may not be binding on the parties.
(c) If multiple parties are involved
and have opposing interpretations a
joint request for a final agency
determination or an interpretation of
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations including both requestor
interpretations in one request is
encouraged. If multiple insured persons
are parties to the proceedings, and the
request for a final agency determination
or an interpretation of procedure or
policy provision not codified in the
Code of Federal Regulations applies to
all parties, one request may be
submitted for all insured persons
instead of separate requests for each
person. In this case, the information
required in this section must be
provided for each person.
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400.768
FCIC Obligations.
(a) FCIC reserves the right to not
provide a final agency determination or
an interpretation of procedure or policy
provision not codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations for any request
regarding, or that contains specific
factual information to situations or
cases, such as acts or failures to act of
any participant under the terms of a
policy, procedure, or any reinsurance
agreement.
(1) Regardless of whether or not FCIC
accepts a request, FCIC will not
consider specific factual information to
situations or cases in any final agency
determination.
(2) FCIC will not consider any
examples provided in your
interpretation because those are fact
specific and could be construed as a
finding of fact by FCIC. If an example
is required to illustrate an
interpretation, FCIC will provide the
example in the interpretation.
(b) If, in the sole judgment of FCIC,
the request is unclear, ambiguous, or
incomplete, FCIC will not provide a
final agency determination or an
interpretation of procedure or policy
provision not codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations but notify you
within 30 days of the date of receipt by
FCIC that the request is unclear,
ambiguous, or incomplete.
(c) If FCIC notifies you that a request
is unclear, ambiguous or incomplete
under 400.768(b), the 90 day time
period for FCIC to provide a response is
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stopped on the date FCIC notifies you.
On the date FCIC receives a clear,
complete, and unambiguous request,
FCIC has the balance of the days
remaining in the 90 day period to
provide a response to you. For example,
FCIC receives a request for a final
agency determination on January 10. On
February 10, FCIC notifies you the
request is unclear. On March 10, FCIC
receives a clarified request that meets all
requirements for FCIC to provide a final
agency determination. FCIC has sixty
days from March 10, the balance of the
90 day period, to provide a response.
(d) FCIC reserves the right to modify
the request for a final agency
determination into an interpretation of
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations as needed if the request
pertains to procedures or uncodified
policy provisions and contains the
information required in 400.767.
(e) FCIC will provide you a written
final agency determination or an
interpretation of procedure or policy
provision not codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations within 90 days of
the date of receipt for a request that
meets all requirements in 400.767.
(f) If FCIC does not provide a response
within 90 days of receipt of a request,
you may assume your interpretation is
correct for the applicable crop year.
However, your interpretation shall not
be considered generally applicable and
shall not be binding on any other
program participants. Additionally, in
the case of a joint request for a final
agency determination or an
interpretation of procedure or policy
provision not codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations, if FCIC does not
provide a response within 90 days,
neither party may assume their
interpretations are correct.
(g) FCIC will publish all final agency
determinations as specially numbered
documents on the RMA Web site
because they are generally applicable to
all program participants.
(h) FCIC will not publish any
interpretation of procedure or policy
provision not codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations because they are
only applicable to the parties in the
dispute. You are responsible for
providing copies of the interpretation of
procedure or policy provision not
codified in the Code of Federal
Regulations to all other parties involved
in the proceeding.
(i) When issuing an interpretation,
FCIC will not evaluate the insured,
approved insurance provider, agent or
loss adjuster as it relates to the
performance of following FCIC policy
provisions or procedures.
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14033
Interpretations will not include any
analysis of whether the insured,
approved insurance provider, agent, or
loss adjuster was in compliance with
the policy provision or procedure in
question.
Signed in Washington, DC, on March 5,
2015.
Brandon Willis,
Manager, Federal Crop Insurance
Corporation.
[FR Doc. 201506224 Filed 31715; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 341008P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 20
[NRC20090279]
RIN 3150AJ29
Radiation Protection
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed
rulemaking; extension of comment
period.
AGENCY:
On July 25, 2014, the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
published for comment an advance
notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR)
to obtain input from members of the
public on the development of a draft
regulatory basis. The draft regulatory
basis would identify potential changes
to the NRCs current radiation
protection regulations. The potential
changes, if implemented, would achieve
a closer alignment between the NRCs
radiation protection regulations and the
recommendations of the International
Commission on Radiological Protection
(ICRP) contained in ICRP Publication
103 (2007). The NRC is extending the
comment period for the ANPR to
provide additional time for members of
the public to develop and submit their
comments.
DATES: The comment period has been
extended and expires on June 22, 2015.
Comments received after this date will
be considered if it is practical to do so,
but the NRC is able to ensure
consideration only for comments
received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods (unless
this document describes a different
method for submitting comments on a
specific subject):
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
[Link] and search
for Docket ID NRC20090279. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
SUMMARY:
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