[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 6449]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-3373]



[[Page 6449]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

7 CFR Chapter XVII


Policy Statement for Direct Final Rulemaking

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Policy statement.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is implementing a new 
rulemaking procedure to expedite making noncontroversial changes to its 
regulations. Rules that RUS judges to be noncontroversial and unlikely 
to result in adverse comments will be published as ``direct final'' 
rules. ``Adverse comments'' are those comments that suggest a rule 
should not be adopted or suggest that a change should be made to the 
rule. Each direct final rule will advise the public that no adverse 
comments are anticipated, and that unless written adverse comments or 
written notice of intent to submit adverse comments is received within 
30 days from the date the direct final rule is published in the Federal 
Register , the rule will be effective 45 days from the date the direct 
final rule is published in the Federal Register.
    At the same time, RUS will publish a document in the proposed rules 
section of the same issue of the Federal Register proposing approval of 
and soliciting comments on the same action contained in the direct 
final rule. If adverse comments or notice of intent to file adverse 
comments are received by RUS, the direct final rule will be withdrawn 
prior to the effective date.
    RUS will address the comments received in response to the direct 
final rule in a subsequent final rule. This new policy should expedite 
the promulgation of noncontroversial rules by reducing the time that 
would be required to develop, review, clear and publish separate 
proposed and final rules.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: F. Lamont Heppe, Jr., Director, 
Program Support and Regulatory Analysis, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Room 4034-S, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 
STOP 1522, Washington, DC 20250-1522. Telephone: 202-720-0736. FAX: 
202-720-4120. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: RUS are committed to improving the 
efficiency of its regulatory process. In pursuit of this goal, we plan 
to employ the rulemaking procedure known as ``direct final rulemaking'' 
to promulgate some RUS rules.

The Direct Final Rule Process

    Rules that RUS judges to be noncontroversial and unlikely to result 
in adverse comments will be published in the Federal Register as direct 
final rules. At the same time, RUS will publish a document in the 
proposed rules section of the same issue of the Federal Register 
proposing approval of and soliciting comments on the same action 
contained in the direct final rule. Each direct final rule will advise 
the public that no adverse comments are anticipated, and that unless 
within 30 days, the direct final rule will be effective 45 days from 
the date the direct final rule is published in the Federal Register.
    ``Adverse Comments'' are comments that suggest that the rule should 
not be adopted, or that suggest that a change should be made to the 
rule. A comment expressing support for the rule as published will not 
be considered adverse. Further, a comment suggesting that requirements 
in the rule should, or should not, be employed by RUS in other programs 
or situations outside the scope of the direct final rule will not be 
considered adverse.
    If RUS receives written adverse comments or written notice of 
intent to submit adverse comments within 30 days of the publication of 
a direct final rule, a document withdrawing the direct final rule prior 
to its effective date, will be published in the Federal Register 
stating that adverse comments were received. RUS will address the 
comments received in response to the direct final rule in a subsequent 
final rule on the related proposed rule. RUS will not institute a 
second comment period on the action.
    In accordance with rulemaking provisions of the Administrative 
Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 533), the direct final rulemaking procedure 
gives the public general notice of RUS's intent to adopt a new rule, 
and gives interested persons an opportunity to participate in the 
rulemaking process through submission of and consideration by RUS of 
comments. The major feature of the direct final rulemaking process is 
that if RUS receives no written adverse comments and no written notice 
of intent to submit adverse comments within the comment period 
specified in the RUS will publish a document in the Federal Register 
stating that no adverse comments were received regarding the direct 
final rule, and confirming that the direct final rule is effective on 
the date specified in the direct final rule.

Determining When To Use Direct Final Rulemaking

    Not all RUS rules are good candidates for the direct final 
rulemaking. RUS intends to use the direct final rulemaking procedure 
only for rules that we consider to be non-controversial and unlikely to 
generate adverse comments. The decision whether to use the direct final 
rulemaking process for a particular action will be based on RUS 
experience with similar actions.

    Dated: February 5, 1997.
Wally Beyer,
Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 97-3373 Filed 2-11-97; 8:45 am]
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