Recommendations From the Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review Committee to the Office of Management and Budget Concerning Changes to the 2010 Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, 5263-5266 [2021-00988]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 19, 2021 / Notices
regular inspections of the EPBMTBM’s
hyperbaric equipment and support
systems (such as temperature control,
illumination, ventilation, and fireprevention and fire-suppression
systems), and hyperbaric work areas, as
required under 29 CFR 1926.20(b)(2),
including:
(a) Developing a set of checklists to be
used by a competent person in
conducting weekly inspections of
hyperbaric equipment and work areas;
and
(b) Ensuring that a competent person
conducts daily visual checks and
weekly inspections of the EPBMTBM.
2. Remove from service any
equipment that constitutes a safety
hazard until it corrects the hazardous
condition and has the correction
approved by a qualified person.
3. Ballard would have to maintain
records of all tests and inspections of
the EPBMTBM, as well as associated
corrective actions and repairs, at the job
site for the duration of the job.
Compression and Decompression
Ballard would have to consult with its
attending physician concerning the
need for special compression or
decompression exposures appropriate
for CAWs not acclimated to hyperbaric
exposure.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Recordkeeping
In addition to completing OSHA’s
Form 301 Injury and Illness Incident
Report and OSHA’s Form 300 Log of
Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses,
Ballard would have to maintain records
of:
1. The date, times (e.g., time
compression started, time spent
compressing, time performing
intervention, time spent
decompressing), and pressure for each
hyperbaric intervention.
2. The names of all supervisors and
DMTs involved for each intervention.
3. The name of each individual
worker exposed to hyperbaric pressure
and the decompression protocols and
results for each worker.
4. The total number of interventions
and the amount of hyperbaric work time
at each pressure.
5. The results of the post-intervention
physical assessment of each CAW for
signs and symptoms of decompression
illness, barotrauma, nitrogen narcosis,
oxygen toxicity, or other health effects
associated with work in compressed air
for each hyperbaric intervention.
(a) Notify the OTPCA and the LIAO of
any recordable injury, illness, in-patient
hospitalization, amputation, loss of an
eye, or fatality that occurs as a result of
hyperbaric exposures during EPBMTBM
operations, including those that do not
require recompression treatment (e.g.,
nitrogen narcosis, oxygen toxicity,
barotrauma), but still meet the
recordable injury or illness criteria of 29
CFR 1904. The notification would have
to be made within 8 hours of the
incident or 8 hours after becoming
aware of a recordable injury, illness, or
fatality; a copy of the incident
investigation (OSHA’s Form 301 Injury
and Illness Incident Report) must be
submitted to OSHA within 24 hours of
the incident or 24 hours after becoming
aware of a recordable injury, illness, or
fatality. In addition to the information
required by OSHA’s Form 301 Injury
and Illness Incident Report, the
incident-investigation report would
have to include a root-cause
determination, and the preventive and
corrective actions identified and
implemented.
(b) Provide certification to the LIAO
within 15 working days of the incident
that Ballard informed affected workers
of the incident and the results of the
incident investigation (including the
root-cause determination as well as the
preventive and corrective actions
identified and implemented).
(c) Notify the OTPCA and the LIAO
within 15 working days and in writing,
of any change in the compressed-air
operations that affects Ballard’s ability
to comply with the proposed conditions
specified herein.
(d) Upon completion of the Suffolk
County Outfall Tunnel, evaluate the
effectiveness of the decompression
tables used throughout the project, and
provide a written report of this
evaluation to the OTPCA and the LIAO.
Notifications
Note: The evaluation report would have to
contain summaries of (1) the number, dates,
durations, and pressures of the hyperbaric
interventions completed; (2) decompression
protocols implemented (including
composition of gas mixtures, air, and/or
oxygen), and the results achieved; (3) the
total number of interventions and the number
of hyperbaric incidents (decompression
illnesses and/or health effects associated
with hyperbaric interventions as recorded on
OSHA’s Form 301 Injury and Illness Incident
Report and OSHA’s Form 300 Log of WorkRelated Injuries and Illnesses, and relevant
medical diagnoses, and treating physicians’
opinions); and (4) root causes of any
hyperbaric incidents, and preventive and
corrective actions identified and
implemented.
1. To assist OSHA in administering
the conditions specified herein, Ballard
would have to:
(e) To assist OSHA in administering
the proposed conditions specified
herein, inform the OTPCA and the LIAO
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:19 Jan 17, 2021
Jkt 253001
PO 00000
Frm 00134
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
5263
as soon as possible, but no later than
seven (7) days, after it has knowledge
that it will:
(i) Cease doing business;
(ii) Change the location and address of
the main office for managing the
tunneling operations specified herein;
or
(iii) Transfer the operations specified
herein to a successor company.
(f) Notify all affected employees of
this proposed Permanent Variance by
the same means required to inform them
of its application for a Variance.
2. OSHA would have to approve the
transfer of the proposed Permanent
Variance to a successor company.
VII. Authority and Signature
Loren Sweatt, Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health, 200
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20210, authorized the preparation of
this notice. Accordingly, the agency is
issuing this notice pursuant to Section
29 U.S.C. 655(6)(d), Secretary of Labor’s
Order No. 8–2020 (85 FR 58393; Sept.
18, 2020), and 29 CFR 1905.11.
Signed at Washington, DC, on January 13,
2021.
Loren Sweatt,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor
for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2021–01110 Filed 1–15–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–26–P
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET
Recommendations From the
Metropolitan and Micropolitan
Statistical Area Standards Review
Committee to the Office of
Management and Budget Concerning
Changes to the 2010 Standards for
Delineating Metropolitan and
Micropolitan Statistical Areas
Executive Office of the
President, Office of Management and
Budget.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comment.
AGENCY:
The Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) requests public
comment on the recommendations it
has received from the Metropolitan and
Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards
Review Committee for changes to
OMB’s metropolitan and micropolitan
statistical area standards. These
standards determine the procedures for
delineating and updating the statistical
areas as new data become available, and
responses to this request will be
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM
19JAN1
5264
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 19, 2021 / Notices
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
carefully considered by OMB in
establishing revised standards.
DATES: Comments must be submitted in
writing. To ensure consideration of
comments, they must be received no
later than 60 days from the publication
of this notice. Because of delays in the
receipt of regular mail related to
security screening, respondents are
encouraged to send comments
electronically (see ADDRESSES, below).
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent
electronically via
www.regulations.gov—a Federal EGovernment website that allows the
public to find, review, and submit
comments on documents that agencies
have published in the Federal Register
and that are open for comment. Simply
type ‘‘OMB–2021–0001’’ (including
quotation marks) in the Comment or
Submission search box, click ‘‘Go,’’ and
follow the instructions for submitting
comments. Comments received by the
date specified above will be included as
part of the official record.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice may be made available to the
public. For this reason, please do not
include in your comments information
of a confidential nature, such as
sensitive personal or proprietary
information. If you send an email
comment, your email address will be
automatically captured and included as
part of the comment that is placed in the
public docket. Please note that
responses to this public comment
request containing any routine notice
about the confidentiality of the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:19 Jan 17, 2021
Jkt 253001
communication will be treated as public
comments that may be made available to
the public notwithstanding the
inclusion of the routine notice.
Electronic Availability: This notice is
available on the internet on the OMB
website at https://www.whitehouse.gov/
omb/. Federal Register notices are also
available electronically at https://
www.federalregister.gov/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James D. Fitzsimmons, Chair,
Metropolitan and Micropolitan
Statistical Area Standards Review
Committee, telephone (301) 763–1465;
or Email statistical_directives@
omb.eop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Outline of Notice
1. Background
2. Review Process
3. Overview of Recommendations From
the Metropolitan and Micropolitan
Statistical Area Standards Review
Committee
4. Issues for Comment
1. Background
The metropolitan area program has
provided standard statistical area
delineations for approximately 70 years.
In the 1940s, it became clear that the
value of statistics produced by Federal
agencies would be greatly enhanced if
agencies used a single set of geographic
delineations for the Nation’s largest
centers of population and activity.
OMB’s predecessor, the Bureau of the
Budget, led the effort to develop what
PO 00000
Frm 00135
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
were then called ‘‘standard metropolitan
areas’’ in time for their use in 1950
census publications. Since then,
comparable data products for
metropolitan areas have been available.
The general concept of a metropolitan
statistical area is that of an area
containing a large population nucleus
and adjacent communities that have a
high degree of integration with that
nucleus. The concept of a micropolitan
statistical area closely parallels that of
the metropolitan statistical area, but a
micropolitan statistical area features a
smaller nucleus.
As currently operationalized, a
metropolitan statistical area must
contain a Census Bureau-delineated
urban area with a population of 50,000
or more, while a micropolitan statistical
area must contain a Census Bureaudelineated urban area with a population
of 10,000 to 49,999. (Areas delineated in
annual updates based on Census Bureau
place population estimates are excepted
from this requirement until the
following decade.)
Both metropolitan and micropolitan
statistical areas are composed of entire
counties (Figure 1). ‘‘Central counties’’
are those that have substantial
population residing in the largest urban
area of the metropolitan or micropolitan
statistical area. ‘‘Outlying counties’’
qualify based on having sufficient
commuting with the central county or
counties of the area. Counties that do
not fall within metropolitan or
micropolitan statistical areas are termed
‘‘outside core based statistical area.’’
E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM
19JAN1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 19, 2021 / Notices
2. Review Process
Periodic review of the standards is
necessary to ensure their continued
usefulness and relevance. OMB reviews
the statistical area standards and, if
warranted, revises them prior to their
application to new decennial census
data. The current review of the
metropolitan and micropolitan
statistical area standards is the seventh
such review. In 2018, OMB charged the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:19 Jan 17, 2021
Jkt 253001
Metropolitan and Micropolitan
Statistical Area Standards Review
Committee with examining the 2010
metropolitan and micropolitan
statistical area standards and providing
recommendations on the standards
scheduled to be issued no later than
December 2020. Agencies represented
on the review committee include the
U.S. Census Bureau (Chair), Bureau of
Economic Analysis, Bureau of Justice
Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Bureau of Transportation Statistics,
Economic Research Service, National
Center for Health Statistics, Statistics of
Income, and ex officio, OMB. The
Census Bureau provided research
support to the committee.
This notice is the first of two
anticipated notices related to the review
of the 2010 standards. After OMB
considers the recommendations of the
review committee and the comments
received through this notice, any
revisions to the standards will be
announced in a final notice.
PO 00000
Frm 00136
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
3. Overview of Recommendations From
the Metropolitan and Micropolitan
Statistical Area Standards Review
Committee
The committee noted that the 2010
standards have served the Federal
statistical community well over the past
decade. There are aspects of the
standards, however, that require
evaluation in light of experiences from
the implementation of the 2010
standards and continuing change in U.S.
population and activity patterns.
The committee made the following
recommendations in their report to
OMB, available as a supplemental
document to this Notice at
www.regulations.gov:
(1) The minimum urban area
population to qualify a metropolitan
statistical area should be increased from
50,000 to 100,000 (see Appendix, Part
A: Table 1 for a list of current
metropolitan statistical areas likely to be
among those that would be affected by
this recommendation).
(2) The delineation of New England
city and town areas (NECTAs), NECTA
E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM
19JAN1
EN19JA21.025</GPH>
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
The purpose of these statistical areas
is unchanged from when standard
metropolitan areas were first delineated:
The classification provides a nationally
consistent set of delineations for
collecting, tabulating, and publishing
Federal statistics for geographic areas.
OMB establishes and maintains these
areas solely for statistical purposes. In
reviewing and revising these areas, OMB
does not take into account or attempt to
anticipate any public or private sector
nonstatistical uses that may be made of
the delineations. These areas are not
designed to serve as a general-purpose
geographic framework applicable for
nonstatistical activities or for use in
program funding formulas.
5265
5266
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 19, 2021 / Notices
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
divisions, and combined NECTAs
should be discontinued.
(3) Research should be undertaken on
an additional, territorially exhaustive
classification that covers all of the
United States and Puerto Rico.
(4) The first annual delineation
update of the coming decade should be
combined with the decennial-based
delineations.
(5) OMB should make publicly
available a schedule for updates to the
core based statistical areas (see
proposed update schedule below).
(6) OMB should continue use of
American Community Survey
commuting data in measurement of
intercounty connectivity, though
changing societal and economic trends
may warrant considering changes in the
2030 standards.
Under the recommendations of the
committee, OMB would release three
different types of updates, subject to the
proposed standards.
(1) Annual Updates—These updates
would address qualification of new
metropolitan and micropolitan
statistical areas and typically would
affect a small number of counties. (In
some years, there may be no updates
warranted by the data.)
(2) Five-Year (‘‘mid-decade’’)
Update—This broader update would
include: Qualification of metropolitan
and micropolitan statistical areas,
qualification of outlying counties,
merging of adjacent metropolitan or
micropolitan statistical areas,
qualification of principal cities,
categorization of metropolitan and
micropolitan statistical areas,
qualification of metropolitan divisions,
qualification of combined statistical
areas, and titling of metropolitan and
micropolitan statistical areas,
metropolitan divisions, and combined
statistical areas.
(3) Decennial Delineation—The initial
re-delineation following adoption of
revised standards would include all of
the changes listed for the five-year
update, plus the qualification of central
counties.
The schedule for these updates as
described in the attached proposed
standards is as follows:
Update type
Release date
Decennial Delineation ........
Annual Update ...................
Annual Update ...................
Annual Update ...................
Annual Update ...................
Five-Year Update ..............
Annual Update ...................
June 2023.
December 2024.
December 2025.
December 2026.
December 2027.
December 2028.
December 2029.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:19 Jan 17, 2021
Jkt 253001
4. Issues for Comment
OMB is seeking comments on the
specific recommendations of the
committee for revising the 2010
standards and their potential effects on
the statistical area delineations (see
Section 3 above). Comments are also
sought on any other aspect of the
current 2010 Standards that are of
interest to reviewers, including topics
such as commuting thresholds,
alternative sources of data, stakeholder
engagement, and procedures for OMB
dissemination of updates to the
delineations, as well as editorial
suggestions to help improve the clarity
of the standards.
Dominic J. Mancini,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2021–00988 Filed 1–15–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2020–0153]
Updated Aging Management Criteria
for Reactor Vessel Internal
Components for Pressurized-Water
Reactors
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Interim staff guidance; issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing Interim
Staff Guidance (ISG) SLR–ISG–2021–
01–PWRVI, ‘‘Updated Aging
Management Criteria for Reactor Vessel
Internal Components for PressurizedWater Reactors.’’ This ISG updates the
aging management criteria for
pressurized-water reactor (PWR) vessel
internals components in the NRC’s
subsequent license renewal (SLR)
guidance documents. Specifically, the
ISG revises guidance contained in
NUREG–2191, ‘‘Generic Aging Lessons
Learned for Subsequent License
Renewal (GALL–SLR) Report,’’ and
NUREG–2192, ‘‘Standard Review Plan
for Review of Subsequent License
Renewal Applications for Nuclear
Power Plants.’’ This ISG is intended to
facilitate preparation of SLR
applications by clarifying existing
guidance for aging management and
adding new guidance, which also will
facilitate the NRC staff’s review of SLR
applications.
DATES: This guidance is effective on
February 18, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2020–0153 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00137
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
information regarding this document.
You may obtain publicly available
information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2020–0153. Address
questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges;
telephone: 301–287–9127; email:
Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly
available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. To begin the search, select
‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.’’ For
problems with ADAMS, please contact
the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR)
reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301–
415–4737, or by email to pdr.resource@
nrc.gov. For the convenience of the
reader, instructions about obtaining
materials referenced in this document
are provided in the ‘‘Availability of
Documents’’ section.
• Attention: The PDR, where you may
examine and order copies of public
documents, is currently closed. You
may submit your request to the PDR via
email at pdr.resource@nrc.gov or call 1–
800–397–4209 or 301–415–4737,
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST),
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeffrey Mitchell, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001, telephone: 301–415–
0833; email: jeffrey.mitchell2@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On August 3, 2020 (85 FR 46735), the
staff requested public comments on
draft SLR–ISG–PWRVI–2020–XX,
‘‘Updated Aging Management Criteria
for Reactor Vessel Internal Components
for Pressurized-Water Reactors.’’ The
NRC received comments from the
Electric Power Research Institute,
Materials Reliability Program (EPRI
MRP) by letter dated September 1, 2020
(ADAMS Accession No. ML20245E539),
and from the Nuclear Energy Institute
by letter dated September 2, 2020
(ADAMS Accession No. ML20246G654).
No other comments were submitted.
The NRC staff considered those
comments in developing the final
version of the ISG. The staff’s responses
to the comments are provided in
E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM
19JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5263-5266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00988]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Recommendations From the Metropolitan and Micropolitan
Statistical Area Standards Review Committee to the Office of Management
and Budget Concerning Changes to the 2010 Standards for Delineating
Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas
AGENCY: Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and
Budget.
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requests public
comment on the recommendations it has received from the Metropolitan
and Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review Committee for
changes to OMB's metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area
standards. These standards determine the procedures for delineating and
updating the statistical areas as new data become available, and
responses to this request will be
[[Page 5264]]
carefully considered by OMB in establishing revised standards.
DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing. To ensure consideration
of comments, they must be received no later than 60 days from the
publication of this notice. Because of delays in the receipt of regular
mail related to security screening, respondents are encouraged to send
comments electronically (see ADDRESSES, below).
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent electronically via
www.regulations.gov--a Federal E-Government website that allows the
public to find, review, and submit comments on documents that agencies
have published in the Federal Register and that are open for comment.
Simply type ``OMB-2021-0001'' (including quotation marks) in the
Comment or Submission search box, click ``Go,'' and follow the
instructions for submitting comments. Comments received by the date
specified above will be included as part of the official record.
Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available
to the public. For this reason, please do not include in your comments
information of a confidential nature, such as sensitive personal or
proprietary information. If you send an email comment, your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public docket. Please note that responses
to this public comment request containing any routine notice about the
confidentiality of the communication will be treated as public comments
that may be made available to the public notwithstanding the inclusion
of the routine notice.
Electronic Availability: This notice is available on the internet
on the OMB website at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/. Federal Register
notices are also available electronically at https://www.federalregister.gov/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James D. Fitzsimmons, Chair,
Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review
Committee, telephone (301) 763-1465; or Email
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Outline of Notice
1. Background
2. Review Process
3. Overview of Recommendations From the Metropolitan and Micropolitan
Statistical Area Standards Review Committee
4. Issues for Comment
1. Background
The metropolitan area program has provided standard statistical
area delineations for approximately 70 years. In the 1940s, it became
clear that the value of statistics produced by Federal agencies would
be greatly enhanced if agencies used a single set of geographic
delineations for the Nation's largest centers of population and
activity. OMB's predecessor, the Bureau of the Budget, led the effort
to develop what were then called ``standard metropolitan areas'' in
time for their use in 1950 census publications. Since then, comparable
data products for metropolitan areas have been available.
The general concept of a metropolitan statistical area is that of
an area containing a large population nucleus and adjacent communities
that have a high degree of integration with that nucleus. The concept
of a micropolitan statistical area closely parallels that of the
metropolitan statistical area, but a micropolitan statistical area
features a smaller nucleus.
As currently operationalized, a metropolitan statistical area must
contain a Census Bureau-delineated urban area with a population of
50,000 or more, while a micropolitan statistical area must contain a
Census Bureau-delineated urban area with a population of 10,000 to
49,999. (Areas delineated in annual updates based on Census Bureau
place population estimates are excepted from this requirement until the
following decade.)
Both metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas are composed
of entire counties (Figure 1). ``Central counties'' are those that have
substantial population residing in the largest urban area of the
metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area. ``Outlying counties''
qualify based on having sufficient commuting with the central county or
counties of the area. Counties that do not fall within metropolitan or
micropolitan statistical areas are termed ``outside core based
statistical area.''
[[Page 5265]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN19JA21.025
The purpose of these statistical areas is unchanged from when
standard metropolitan areas were first delineated: The classification
provides a nationally consistent set of delineations for collecting,
tabulating, and publishing Federal statistics for geographic areas.
OMB establishes and maintains these areas solely for statistical
purposes. In reviewing and revising these areas, OMB does not take into
account or attempt to anticipate any public or private sector
nonstatistical uses that may be made of the delineations. These areas
are not designed to serve as a general-purpose geographic framework
applicable for nonstatistical activities or for use in program funding
formulas.
2. Review Process
Periodic review of the standards is necessary to ensure their
continued usefulness and relevance. OMB reviews the statistical area
standards and, if warranted, revises them prior to their application to
new decennial census data. The current review of the metropolitan and
micropolitan statistical area standards is the seventh such review. In
2018, OMB charged the Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area
Standards Review Committee with examining the 2010 metropolitan and
micropolitan statistical area standards and providing recommendations
on the standards scheduled to be issued no later than December 2020.
Agencies represented on the review committee include the U.S. Census
Bureau (Chair), Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Justice
Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Transportation
Statistics, Economic Research Service, National Center for Health
Statistics, Statistics of Income, and ex officio, OMB. The Census
Bureau provided research support to the committee.
This notice is the first of two anticipated notices related to the
review of the 2010 standards. After OMB considers the recommendations
of the review committee and the comments received through this notice,
any revisions to the standards will be announced in a final notice.
3. Overview of Recommendations From the Metropolitan and Micropolitan
Statistical Area Standards Review Committee
The committee noted that the 2010 standards have served the Federal
statistical community well over the past decade. There are aspects of
the standards, however, that require evaluation in light of experiences
from the implementation of the 2010 standards and continuing change in
U.S. population and activity patterns.
The committee made the following recommendations in their report to
OMB, available as a supplemental document to this Notice at
www.regulations.gov:
(1) The minimum urban area population to qualify a metropolitan
statistical area should be increased from 50,000 to 100,000 (see
Appendix, Part A: Table 1 for a list of current metropolitan
statistical areas likely to be among those that would be affected by
this recommendation).
(2) The delineation of New England city and town areas (NECTAs),
NECTA
[[Page 5266]]
divisions, and combined NECTAs should be discontinued.
(3) Research should be undertaken on an additional, territorially
exhaustive classification that covers all of the United States and
Puerto Rico.
(4) The first annual delineation update of the coming decade should
be combined with the decennial-based delineations.
(5) OMB should make publicly available a schedule for updates to
the core based statistical areas (see proposed update schedule below).
(6) OMB should continue use of American Community Survey commuting
data in measurement of intercounty connectivity, though changing
societal and economic trends may warrant considering changes in the
2030 standards.
Under the recommendations of the committee, OMB would release three
different types of updates, subject to the proposed standards.
(1) Annual Updates--These updates would address qualification of
new metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas and typically would
affect a small number of counties. (In some years, there may be no
updates warranted by the data.)
(2) Five-Year (``mid-decade'') Update--This broader update would
include: Qualification of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical
areas, qualification of outlying counties, merging of adjacent
metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas, qualification of
principal cities, categorization of metropolitan and micropolitan
statistical areas, qualification of metropolitan divisions,
qualification of combined statistical areas, and titling of
metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan
divisions, and combined statistical areas.
(3) Decennial Delineation--The initial re-delineation following
adoption of revised standards would include all of the changes listed
for the five-year update, plus the qualification of central counties.
The schedule for these updates as described in the attached
proposed standards is as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update type Release date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Decennial Delineation.................. June 2023.
Annual Update.......................... December 2024.
Annual Update.......................... December 2025.
Annual Update.......................... December 2026.
Annual Update.......................... December 2027.
Five-Year Update....................... December 2028.
Annual Update.......................... December 2029.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Issues for Comment
OMB is seeking comments on the specific recommendations of the
committee for revising the 2010 standards and their potential effects
on the statistical area delineations (see Section 3 above). Comments
are also sought on any other aspect of the current 2010 Standards that
are of interest to reviewers, including topics such as commuting
thresholds, alternative sources of data, stakeholder engagement, and
procedures for OMB dissemination of updates to the delineations, as
well as editorial suggestions to help improve the clarity of the
standards.
Dominic J. Mancini,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2021-00988 Filed 1-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110-01-P
