[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 19, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43670-43671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19839]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

7 CFR Part 1780

RIN 0572-AC36


Water and Waste Loans and Grants

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), a Rural Development agency 
of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is revising the 
regulation used to process water and waste disposal loans and grants to 
remove the reference to the 11-GO Bond Buyer Index. This change will 
allow the Agency to respond to changes in indices and potentially 
reduce the budget authority necessary to fund the program.

DATES: This rule is effective October 19, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Woolard, Community Programs 
Specialist, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
STOP 1570, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20250-0787, 
telephone: (202) 720-9631. Email contact [email protected]. 
Additional Information about Rural Development and its programs is 
available on the Internet at https://www.rd.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866

    This final rule has been determined to be non-significant for 
purposes of Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 and therefore has not been 
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

    The affected programs are listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance (CFDA) Program under 10.760, Water and Waste Disposal 
Systems for Rural Communities. This catalog is available electronically 
through the free CFDA Web site on the Internet at https://www.cfda.gov/. The print edition may be purchased by calling the 
Superintendent of Documents at (202) 512-1800 or toll free at (866) 
512-1800, or by ordering online at https://bookstore.gpo.gov/.

Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs

    This program is subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372, 
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local 
officials. RUS conducts intergovernmental consultations for each loan 
in the manner delineated in 2 CFR part 200 and 400.

Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal 
Governments

    The Agency has determined that this final rule does not have a 
substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribe(s) or on either 
the relationship or the distribution of powers and responsibilities 
between the Federal Government and Indian tribes. Thus, this final rule 
is not subject to the requirements of Executive Order 13175. 
Consequently, the Agency will not conduct tribal consultation sessions.

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform

    This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. In accordance with this final rule: (1) All State 
and local laws and regulations that are in conflict with this rule will 
be preempted; (2) No retroactive effect will be given to this rule; and 
(3) Administrative proceedings of the National Appeals Division (7 CFR 
part 11) must be exhausted before bringing suit in court challenging 
action taken under this rule.

National Environmental Policy Act Certification

    The final rule has been reviewed in accordance with 7 CFR part 
1970, Environmental Policies and Procedures. The Agency has determined 
that this action does not constitute a major Federal action 
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment and, in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 
42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., an Environmental Impact Statement is not 
required. Loan and grant applications will be reviewed individually to 
determine compliance with Agency environmental regulations and with 
NEPA.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public 
Law 104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the 
effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal 
governments and the private sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, RUS 
generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-benefit 
analysis, for proposed and final rules with Federal mandates that may 
result in expenditures to State, local, or tribal governments, in the 
aggregate, or to the private sector, of $100 million or more in any one 
year. When such a statement is needed for a rule, section 205 of the 
UMRA generally requires RUS to identify and consider a reasonable 
number of regulatory alternatives and adopt the least costly, most 
cost-effective, or least burdensome alternative that achieves the 
objectives of the rule.
    This final 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 final rule is not 
subject to the requirements of sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-602) (RFA) generally 
requires an agency to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any 
rule subject to notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the 
Administrative Procedure Act (APA) or any other statute. This final 
rule; however, is not subject to the APA under 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2) and 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(A) nor any other statute.

Executive Order 13132, Federalism

    It has been determined, under E.O. 13132, Federalism, that the 
policies contained in this final rule do not have any substantial 
direct effect on 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. Nor does this 
final rule impose substantial direct compliance costs on state and 
local governments. Therefore, consultation with the states is not 
required.

E-Government Act Compliance

    The Agency is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, 
which requires Government agencies in general to provide the public the 
option of submitting information or transacting business electronically 
to the maximum extent possible and 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.

[[Page 43671]]

Information Collection and Recordkeeping Requirements

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
paperwork burden associated with this final rule has been approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the currently approved 
OMB Control Number 0572-0121. The Agency has determined that the 
changes in the rule do not substantially change current data 
collection.

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

    In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its 
Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or 
administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on 
race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including 
gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital 
status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance 
program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil 
rights in any program or activity conducted or funded by the 
Department. (Not all prohibited basis will apply to all programs and/or 
employment activities.) Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by 
program or incident.
    Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of 
communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible 
Agency or USDA's TARGET center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or 
contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. 
Additionally, program information may be made available in languages 
other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, 
complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form (PDF), found 
online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at 
any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the 
letter all of the information requested in the form.
    To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992 to 
request the form. Submit your completed complaint form or letter to 
USDA by:
    (1) Mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Assistant 
Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, 
DC 20250-9410, by Fax (202) 690-7442 or Email at 
[email protected].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Background and Discussion of the Rule

    The Rural Utilities Service's (RUS) water and waste program is 
administered by Water and Environmental Programs (WEP). The water and 
waste loan and grant programs are authorized by various sections of the 
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926 et seq.), as 
amended to provide loan and grant funds to rural areas (populations of 
10,000 or less) to construct, enlarge, extend, or otherwise improve 
rural water, sanitary sewage, solid waste disposal, and storm 
wastewater disposal facilities.
    Agency regulations provide for a three-tier interest rate structure 
for its direct water and waste disposal loans. The tiers are market, 
intermediate, and poverty. Currently, market rate is set using as 
guidance the average of the Bond Buyer (11-GO Bond) Index for the four 
weeks prior to the first Friday of the last month before the beginning 
of the quarter, with intermediate and poverty rates set as percentages 
of the market rate at 80 percent and 60 percent respectively. In 
addition to providing the interest rate for Agency direct loans, these 
rates play an integral part in the modeling of the subsidy rate for the 
program.
    In order to more effectively manage the subsidy rate and reduce the 
need for appropriations, beginning in fiscal year 2018, the Agency is 
issuing a final rule to use the 20-GO Bond Index to set the market 
rate. In order for the Agency to respond more quickly to indices 
changes, the Agency is issuing a final rule to change the current 
reference from a specific bond index to reflect that the Agency is 
using as guidance the average of the Bond Buyer Index (available in any 
Agency office or the program's Web site) for the four weeks prior to 
the first Friday of the last month before the beginning of the quarter.
    To implement this change the Agency will publish this as a final 
rule. The Administrative Procedure Act exempts from prior notice rules, 
``relating to agency management or personnel or to public property, 
loans, grants, benefits, or contracts'' (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A)).

Summary of Changes to Rule

Rates and Terms (Sec.  1780.13)

    This section outlines how rates are set for Agency loans, 
qualifications for each interest rate, and, repayment terms. The Agency 
revises Sec.  1780.13(e) to remove the reference to the 11-GO Bond 
index in order to allow greater flexibility to respond to changes in 
bond indices.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1780

    Community development, Credit, Loan programs, Rural areas, Waste 
treatment and disposal, Water supply and treatment.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, under the authority at 5 
U.S.C. 301, 7 U.S.C. 1989, and 16 U.S.C. 1005, RUS amends Chapter XVII, 
Title 7, of the Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 1780--WATER AND WASTE LOANS AND GRANTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 1780 continues to read as follows:

     Authority:  5 U.S.C. 301; 7 U.S.C. 1989; 16 U.S.C. 1005.

0
2. Amend Sec.  1780.13 by revising paragraph (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  1780.13   Rates and terms.

* * * * *
    (d) Market rate. The market interest rate will be set using as 
guidance the average of the Bond Buyer Index (available in any Agency 
office or the program's Web site) for the four weeks prior to the first 
Friday of the last month before the beginning of the quarter. The 
market rate will apply to all loans that do not qualify for a different 
rate under paragraph (b) or (c) of this section.
* * * * *

    Dated: August 29, 2017.
Christopher A. Mclean,
Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-19839 Filed 9-18-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-15-P