Office of Environmental Quality Management Fund, 3703-3706 [2025-00473]
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Rules and Regulations
Greenhouse Gas Emissions From
Existing Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric
Generating Units; and Repeal of the
Affordable Clean Energy Rule,’’
available in the rulemaking docket. At
this time, the EPA is not addressing
other grounds for reconsideration that
have been raised by these or other
petitioners.
the OEQ Management Fund. 42 U.S.C.
4375(c).1
The CEQ Chair approved internal
policies and procedures for operation of
the Management Fund in January 1985.
On October 4, 2002, the CEQ Chair
promulgated regulations governing the
operation of the Management Fund.2
Jane Nishida,
Acting Administrator.
CEQ is amending its Management
Fund regulations to clarify their
meaning, including for consistency with
the Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L.
111–274) and the Federal Plain
Language Guidelines,3 modernize them
to reflect developments in CEQ’s
practices in administering the
Management Fund since CEQ first
adopted its regulations, and make
administrative changes.
Section 1518.1—Purpose. CEQ revises
this section to describe the purpose of
the Office of Environmental Quality
Management Fund as well as the
purpose of part 1518, which is to set
forth CEQ’s procedures for
administering the Management Fund.
Section 1518.2—Definitions. CEQ
revises this section to define key terms
that appear throughout part 1518. In
particular, CEQ removes the definitions
of the terms ‘‘advance payment,’’ which
the prior regulations defined but did not
use elsewhere in part 1518, and
‘‘source,’’ which no longer appears in
the regulations as revised. CEQ adds
definitions for ‘‘environmental project’’
and ‘‘study contract’’ to clarify the
meaning of those terms. These
definitions are consistent with CEQ’s
authorities under National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA) and the Environmental Quality
Improvement Act of 1970. CEQ also
adds a definition of ‘‘personnel costs’’ to
clarify the types of expenditures that
CEQ may make from the Management
Fund. Finally, CEQ adds definitions for
‘‘payment’’ and ‘‘reallocation’’ to clarify
how the regulations use those terms to
describe the movement of funds to and
from the Management Fund.
Section 1518.3—Policy and general
requirements. CEQ revises this section
to more clearly explain the internal
policies and procedures by which CEQ
administers the Management Fund,
including the types of expenditures that
[FR Doc. 2025–00659 Filed 1–14–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY
40 CFR Part 1518
RIN 0331–AA09
Office of Environmental Quality
Management Fund
Council on Environmental
Quality.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) is
amending its Office of Environmental
Quality Management Fund regulations
to clarify their meaning, modernize
them to reflect developments in CEQ’s
practices in administering the Office of
Environmental Quality Management
Fund (the Management Fund) since
CEQ first adopted its regulations, and
make administrative changes.
DATES: This rule is effective January 15,
2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Samuel Roth, Associate General
Counsel, 202–395–5750,
Samuel.E.Roth@ceq.eop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
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I. Background
The Environmental Quality
Improvement Act, as amended (Pub. L.
91–224, Title II, April 3, 1970; Pub. L.
97–258, September 13, 1982; and Pub.
L. 98–581, October 30, 1984) established
the Management Fund to receive
advance payments from other agencies
or accounts that may be used solely to
finance (1) study contracts that are
jointly sponsored by the Office of
Environmental Quality (OEQ) and one
or more other Federal agencies; and (2)
Federal interagency environmental
projects (including task forces) in which
OEQ participates. 42 U.S.C. 4375(a). The
statute requires the Director of the
Office of Environmental Quality (OEQ)
to promulgate regulations setting forth
policies and procedures for operation of
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II. Summary of the Final Rule
1 OEQ houses the professional and administrative
staff of CEQ, and the Chair of CEQ is the Director
of OEQ ex officio. 42 U.S.C. 4372(a), (d)(1). This
preamble refers to the Chair of CEQ and the Director
of OEQ, and to CEQ and OEQ, interchangeably.
2 CEQ, Office of Environmental Quality
Management Fund, 67 FR 62189 (Oct. 4, 2002).
3 Federal Plain Language Guidelines (1st rev. May
2011), https://www.plainlanguage.gov/media/
FederalPLGuidelines.pdf.
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3703
CEQ may make from the Management
Fund, and to eliminate outdated
provisions that no longer reflect CEQ’s
business processes.
Section 1518.4—Charters. CEQ
revises this section, which describes the
purpose of charters for environmental
projects and study contracts that receive
support from the Management Fund, to
more clearly set forth what a charter
must contain and to better explain the
roles of the Director and the Project
Officer in approving and amending a
charter.
Section 1518.5—Finances and
accounting. CEQ moves the provisions
on Management Fund finances and
accounting from the previous 40 CFR
1518.4(b) to § 1518.5. This section
explains how agencies make payments
into the Management Fund and
specifies procedures for making
expenditures from the Management
Fund. CEQ makes clarifying changes to
this section to improve its readability
and better reflect current practices.
Paragraph (a) requires the Project Officer
for each environmental project or study
contract receiving support from the
Management Fund to prepare a budget
estimate and update it annually. CEQ
adds a new provision in paragraph (c)(1)
that, consistent with longstanding
practice, requires the Director to
transmit a letter to an agency when
requesting a payment into the
Management Fund.
III. Regulatory Analysis and Notices
A. Administrative Procedure Act
This rule relates to a matter of agency
management or personnel and is a rule
of agency organization, procedure, or
practice. As such, this rule is exempt
from the usual requirements of prior
notice and comment and a 30-day delay
in effective date. See 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2),
(b), and (d). The rule is effective upon
signature.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act and
Executive Order 13272, Proper
Consideration of Small Entities in
Agency Rulemaking
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA),
as amended, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., and
E.O. 13272, Proper Consideration of
Small Entities in Agency Rulemaking,4
require agencies to assess the impacts of
rules on small entities. Under the RFA,
small entities include small businesses,
small organizations, and small
governmental jurisdictions. An agency
must prepare a final regulatory
flexibility analysis unless it determines
and certifies that a final rule, if
4 67
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FR 53461 (Aug. 16, 2002).
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promulgated, would not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. 5
U.S.C. 605(b).
This rule relates to a matter of agency
management or personnel and is a rule
of agency organization, procedure, or
practice. Accordingly, CEQ hereby
certifies that the rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
C. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Section 201 of the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L.
104–4, 2 U.S.C. 1531), requires Federal
agencies to assess the effects of their
regulatory actions on state, local, and
Tribal governments, and the private
sector to the extent that such regulations
incorporate requirements specifically
set forth in law. Before promulgating a
rule that may result in the expenditure
by a state, Tribal, or local government,
in the aggregate, or by the private sector
of $100 million, adjusted annually for
inflation, in any 1 year, an agency must
prepare a written statement that assesses
the effects on state, Tribal, and local
governments and the private sector. 2
U.S.C. 1532. This rule relates to a matter
of agency management or personnel and
is a rule of agency organization,
procedure, or practice, and accordingly
will not result in expenditures of $100
million or more for state, local, and
Tribal governments, in the aggregate, or
the private sector in any 1 year. This
rule also does not impose any
enforceable duty, contain any unfunded
mandate, or otherwise have any effect
on small governments subject to the
requirements of 2 U.S.C. 1531 through
1538.
D. Executive Order 12866, Regulatory
Planning and Review
E.O. 12866, as supplemented and
affirmed by E.O. 13563 and amended by
E.O. 14094, provides that the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs will
review any regulatory action that
qualifies as a ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ within the meaning of the E.O.5
The rule does not qualify as a significant
regulatory action.
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E. Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice
Reform
Under section 3(a) of E.O. 12988,6
agencies must review their regulations
to eliminate drafting errors and
5 See E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and
Review, 58 FR 51735, 51737 (Oct. 4, 1993); E.O.
14094, Modernizing Regulatory Review, 88 FR
21879, 21879–80 (Apr. 11, 2023); E.O. 13563,
Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,76 FR
3821, 3822 (Jan. 21, 2011).
6 61 FR 4729 (Feb. 7, 1996).
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ambiguities, draft them to minimize
litigation, and provide a clear legal
standard for affected conduct. Section
3(b) provides a list of specific matters
that agencies must consider when
conducting the review required by
section 3(a). CEQ has conducted this
review and determined that this rule
complies with the requirements of E.O.
12988.
F. Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not impose any new
information collection burden that
would require additional review or
approval by OMB under the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq.
G. National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)
The National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA) (Pub. L. 118–5, 42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as amended, and
the CEQ regulations that implement
NEPA, 40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508,
require consideration of the
environmental effects of proposed
actions in agency decision making.
NEPA provides for three levels of
review. First, agencies may establish in
their agency-specific NEPA procedures
categorical exclusions (CEs) for
categories of actions that normally do
not have a significant effect on the
human environment, individually or in
the aggregate, and apply CEs to
individual actions, as appropriate.7 If an
agency proposes to take an action that
does not fall within a CE but is not
likely to have significant environmental
effects (or the significance of whose
effects is unknown), CEQ’s NEPA
regulations direct the agency to prepare
an environmental assessment (EA).8 If,
as a result of this assessment, the agency
determines that the proposed action will
not have significant effects, the agency
may make a finding of no significant
impact (FONSI), in which case the
agency may proceed with the action.9
Otherwise, the agency must prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS).10
CEQ has not established a CE for the
preparation, revision, and adoption of
regulations generally. Accordingly, CEQ
has prepared an EA to determine
whether the revisions to the
Management Fund regulations would
have a significant effect on the human
environment. Because, as set forth
below, the regulation will likely have no
discernable effect on the use of
resources in CEQ’s administration of the
7 40
CFR 1501.4(a).
§ 1501.5(a).
9 Id. § 1501.6.
10 40 CFR part 1502.
8 Id.
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Management Fund, CEQ finds that the
regulation will have no significant
impact on the human environment and
that it is therefore unnecessary to
prepare an EIS.
1. Environmental Assessment
Purpose and Need: As set forth in the
Background (part I of this preamble) and
Summary of the Final Rule (part II of
this preamble), CEQ adopted its
Management Fund regulations in 2010
and has not updated them to reflect
developments in CEQ’s practices in
administering the Management Fund
since then. Furthermore, clarifying the
regulations and making administrative
changes will make the regulations easier
to understand and use.
Proposed Action and Alternatives: A
summary of the proposed action is set
forth above in the Summary of the Final
Rule. Under a ‘‘no action’’ alternative,
CEQ would continue to operate under
its current regulations, resolving
ambiguities and addressing
inconsistencies between the regulations
and current CEQ practices on a case-bycase basis. CEQ has decided that this
approach is undesirable because it
requires CEQ staff to address
ambiguities and inconsistencies that
CEQ can obviate by updating the
regulation.
CEQ’s preferred alternative is to
amend its regulations as set forth in this
Final Rule, for the reasons set forth in
part II of this preamble.
Environmental Effects of Alternatives:
CEQ’s administration of the
Management Fund affects the
environment primarily through CEQ’s
use of energy and other office resources.
CEQ’s use of resources for these
purposes has remained within the range
typical of the operations of a small
office. CEQ anticipates that the
amendments set forth in this rulemaking
will have minimal or no discernable
effects on its use of resources in
administering the Management Fund.
List of Agencies and Persons
Consulted: CEQ’s NEPA staff reviewed
and commented on this EA and this
final rulemaking.
2. Finding of No Significant Impact
Based on the foregoing EA, CEQ finds
that implementation of the regulations
in this notice would have minimal or no
discernable effects on CEQ’s use of
energy and other office resources in
CEQ’s administration of the
Management Fund. Thus, there would
be no significant effects associated with
implementation of the proposed action,
and it is not necessary for CEQ to
prepare an EIS.
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Rules and Regulations
CEQ further finds that the action is
not one that normally requires the
preparation of an EIS, closely similar to
such an action, or an action without
precedent.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 1518
Accounting, Administrative practice
and procedure, Environmental impact
statements and Environmental Quality
Office.
Brenda Mallory,
Chair, Council on Environmental Quality, and
Director, Office of Environmental Quality.
For the reasons discussed in the
preamble, the Council on
Environmental Quality amends 40 CFR
part 1518 by revising and republishing
it to read as follows:
PART 1518—OFFICE OF
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
MANAGEMENT FUND
1518.1
1518.2
1518.3
1518.4
1518.5
Purpose.
Definitions.
Policy and general requirements.
Charters.
Finances and accounting.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4375.
§ 1518.1
Purpose.
(a) The purpose of the Office of
Environmental Quality Management
Fund is to finance:
(1) Study contracts that the Office of
Environmental Quality and at least one
other Federal agency jointly sponsor;
and
(2) Federal interagency environmental
projects (including task forces) in which
the Office of Environmental Quality
participates.
(b) The purpose of the regulations in
this part is to set forth policies and
procedures for operation of the
Management Fund, in order to support
its effective administration and to set
forth the Office of Environmental
Quality’s internal procedures and
practices with respect to the
Management Fund.
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§ 1518.2
Definitions.
Council on Environmental Quality, as
used in this part, includes the Office of
Environmental Quality.
Director means the Director of the
Office of Environmental Quality (or
delegate). The Environmental Quality
Improvement Act, 42 U.S.C. 4372(a),
specifies that the Chair of the Council
on Environmental Quality serves as the
Director of the Office of Environmental
Quality.
Environmental project means an
official activity pertaining to the
environment that requires coordination
by or the involvement of the Council on
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Environmental Quality and other
Federal agencies, such as an interagency
task force.
Interagency agreement means a
document jointly executed by the Office
of Environmental Quality and at least
one other Federal agency that sets forth
the details of a jointly sponsored study
contract or environmental project and
the funding arrangements for such a
study or project.
Management Fund means the Office
of Environmental Quality Management
Fund.
Payment means a transfer of funds
from an agency or another account to
the Management Fund.
Personnel costs include an
employee’s salary or wages and benefits
and other direct expenses of
employment, such as administrative
costs associated with an official
background investigation of the
employee.
Project Officer means the Federal
employee responsible for direct
supervision of a study contract or
environmental project that receives
support from the Management Fund.
Reallocation means a transfer of funds
from the Management Fund to another
account or between subaccounts of the
Management Fund.
Study contract means an agreement
with a public or private agency,
institution, organization, or individual
(including, without limitation, an
agency, committee, or official of the
Federal Government) to prepare or
support the development of a report,
analysis, or recommendation.
§ 1518.3
Policy and general requirements.
(a) To receive support from the
Management Fund, an environmental
project or study contract must advance
the purposes and goals of the National
Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq., or the Environmental
Quality Improvement Act, 42 U.S.C.
4371 et seq.
(b) When the Director accepts agency
funds for payment into the Management
Fund, the interagency agreement must
specify the permissible uses of the
funds, and any restrictions relating
thereto, such as a limitation on the
funds’ period of availability, consistent
with § 1518.5 of this part.
(c) The Director may authorize the
Project Officer to make expenditures to
support Management Fund study
contracts and environmental projects,
including:
(1) Acquisition of office space,
equipment, supplies, and other goods
and services, whether by purchase,
lease, or otherwise;
(2) Personnel costs;
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3705
(3) Official travel;
(4) Publication of documents;
(5) Services of consultants, experts, or
contractors;
(6) Conferences, public meetings, and
events;
(7) Access to information, such as
scientific and technical data;
(8) Public engagement activities; and
(9) Other necessary expenses.
(d) The Director must not authorize
expenditures from the Management
Fund that would solely benefit the
Council on Environmental Quality or
another Federal agency or that would
reimburse the Council on
Environmental Quality or another
Federal agency for expenses not related
to an environmental project or a study
contract. For example:
(1) The Director may authorize
expenditures pursuant to paragraph
(c)(2) of this section for the personnel
costs of an employee whose duties are
limited to carrying out the objectives of
a study contract or an environmental
project, but not for the personnel costs
of an employee who carries out duties
unrelated to a study contract or an
environmental project.
(2) If a portion of an employee’s
duties will carry out the objectives of an
environmental project or a study
contract, the Director may authorize
expenditures pursuant to paragraph
(c)(2) of this section for a proportional
share of the employee’s personnel costs.
(e) In carrying out the purposes of the
Management Fund, 42 U.S.C. 4372(e)
authorizes the Director to contract with
public or private agencies, institutions,
organizations and individuals, by
negotiation, without regard to 31 U.S.C.
3324(a) and (b), 41 U.S.C. 6101.
§ 1518.4
Charters.
(a) The Director must not authorize
expenditures from the Management
Fund for an environmental project or a
study contract until the Director has
approved a charter for the
environmental project or study contract.
(b) The Project Officer must prepare a
charter for each environmental project
or a study contract and obtain the
Director’s approval of the charter.
(c) The charter must:
(1) Describe the environmental project
or study contract;
(2) Clearly explain how the
environmental project or study contract
is consistent with the goals, purposes,
and statutory authority of the Office of
Environmental Quality;
(3) Identify the Federal agency or
agencies (and any State, Tribal, or local
agencies) participating in the
environmental project or study contract;
and
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(4) Provide the names, titles, and
contact information of the Project
Officer and an administrative point of
contact.
(d) The Project Officer may amend a
charter in writing with the Director’s
approval of the amended charter.
(e) The Office of Environmental
Quality must provide the Office of
Administration in the Executive Office
of the President with a copy of each
charter and amendment that the
Director approves.
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§ 1518.5
Finances and accounting.
(a) The Project Officer for each
environmental project or study contract
receiving support from the Management
Fund must prepare a budget estimate as
part of the charter and update the
budget estimate annually following the
charter’s approval. The Office of
Environmental Quality must provide
copies of these budget estimates to the
Office of Administration.
(b) The Council on Environmental
Quality may make a payment into the
Management Fund by a letter of
transmittal that specifies the particular
environmental project or study contract
it is funding. The Office of
Environmental Quality will provide a
copy of each such transmittal letter to
the Office of Administration.
(c) Agencies other than the Council on
Environmental Quality may make
advance payments to the Management
Fund using the following procedure:
(1) The Director must provide the
agency with a letter that specifies the
particular environmental project or
study contract to which the Director
will apply the payment.
(2) The Director and the agency must
enter an interagency agreement for the
payment. The interagency agreement
should indicate any statutory authority
appropriate to the transaction, including
42 U.S.C. 4375(a).
(d) The Management Fund is a noyear appropriations account, which can
accept funds with any period of
availability or funds that remain
available until expended (i.e., ‘‘oneyear,’’ ‘‘multiple-year,’’ or ‘‘no-year’’
funds). Appropriated funds that an
agency pays into the Management Fund
expire under the terms of the
appropriation under which they
originated. The Office of Environmental
Quality must account separately for
each payment of funds into the
Management Fund and track when each
such payment will expire.
(e) In addition to or in lieu of an
advance payment into the Management
Fund, any agency, including the
Council on Environmental Quality, may
support an environmental project or
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study contract by providing technical
expertise, physical resources, facilities,
equipment, or other assets; performing
support or administrative services; or
assigning detailees or agency
representatives.
(f) The Office of Environmental
Quality must maintain a separate
subaccount within the Management
Fund for each environmental project or
study contract.
(g) The Director or the Project Officer
must approve all of the expenditures for
a particular environmental project or
study contract. The Management Fund
may only accept payments in advance of
expenditure; accordingly, the Director
or the Project Officer may only approve
expenditures for which the Management
Fund has received adequate payments
in advance.
(h) The Director may approve the
reallocation of funds from the
Management Fund to another Federal
account (or from one Management Fund
subaccount to another) provided that:
(1) The agency that originally made
the payment of the funds in question to
the Management Fund approves the
reallocation in writing;
(2) The reallocation would promote
the statutory mission of the Office of
Environmental Quality; and
(3) The Director determines the
reallocation is in the best interest of the
Federal Government.
(i) The Office of Environmental
Quality must classify each financial
transaction involving a Management
Fund subaccount in sufficient detail to
meet the Office of Environmental
Quality’s management planning, fiscal
control, and financial audit
requirements.
[FR Doc. 2025–00473 Filed 1–14–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3325–FA–P
GENERAL SERVICES
ADMINISTRATION
41 CFR Part 302–16
[FTR Case 2022–04 Docket No. GSA–FTR–
2023–0017, Sequence No. 2]
RIN 3090–AK65
Federal Travel Regulation (FTR);
Relocation Allowances—
Miscellaneous Expenses Allowance
Office of Government-wide
Policy (OGP), General Services
Administration (GSA).
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The United States (U.S.)
General Services Administration (GSA)
is issuing a final rule amending the
SUMMARY:
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Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) to
remove the relocation miscellaneous
expenses allowance (MEA) lump sum
amounts from the FTR. These lump sum
amounts will be published in FTR
Bulletins on an intermittent basis, much
like what is done for per diem and
mileage rates. The relocation MEA
actual expense (as opposed to lump
sum) amounts are unchanged and will
remain in the FTR. This final rule also
updates the types of expenses that may
or may not be reimbursed by relocation
MEA when employees itemize under
actual expense. Additionally, this final
rule updates and clarifies other
relocation MEA regulatory sections and
rearranges them into a more sequential
order.
DATES: Effective January 15, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
clarification of content, contact Mr.
Rodney (Rick) Miller, Program Analyst,
Office of Government-wide Policy
(OGP), at 202–501–3822 or
travelpolicy@gsa.gov. For information
pertaining to status or publication
schedules, contact the Regulatory
Secretariat Division at 202–501–4755 or
GSARegSec@gsa.gov. Please cite FTR
Case 2022–04.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
GSA published a proposed rule at 89
FR 4268 on January 23, 2024, which
proposed FTR changes to relocation
MEA. This rule finalizes those proposed
changes as summarized above, and as
set forth in greater detail below.
Pursuant to 5 United States Code
(U.S.C.) 5738, the Administrator of
General Services is authorized to
prescribe regulations necessary to
implement laws regarding Federal
employees when assigned a temporary
change of station (TCS) or when
otherwise transferred in the interest of
the Government. The overall
implementing authority is the FTR,
codified in title 41 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, chapters 300
through 304.
GSA’s OGP continually reviews and
adjusts policies and regulations under
its purview to address Government
relocation needs and to incorporate best
practices, where appropriate, as a part of
its ongoing mission to provide policies
for travel by Federal civilian employees
and others authorized to travel at
Government expense.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 5724a(f) and
5737(a)(6), an employee transferred in
the interest of the Government from one
official station to another, assigned to a
TCS location, or who has completed a
TCS assignment and returned to their
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3703-3706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00473]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
40 CFR Part 1518
RIN 0331-AA09
Office of Environmental Quality Management Fund
AGENCY: Council on Environmental Quality.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is amending its
Office of Environmental Quality Management Fund regulations to clarify
their meaning, modernize them to reflect developments in CEQ's
practices in administering the Office of Environmental Quality
Management Fund (the Management Fund) since CEQ first adopted its
regulations, and make administrative changes.
DATES: This rule is effective January 15, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samuel Roth, Associate General
Counsel, 202-395-5750, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Environmental Quality Improvement Act, as amended (Pub. L. 91-
224, Title II, April 3, 1970; Pub. L. 97-258, September 13, 1982; and
Pub. L. 98-581, October 30, 1984) established the Management Fund to
receive advance payments from other agencies or accounts that may be
used solely to finance (1) study contracts that are jointly sponsored
by the Office of Environmental Quality (OEQ) and one or more other
Federal agencies; and (2) Federal interagency environmental projects
(including task forces) in which OEQ participates. 42 U.S.C. 4375(a).
The statute requires the Director of the Office of Environmental
Quality (OEQ) to promulgate regulations setting forth policies and
procedures for operation of the OEQ Management Fund. 42 U.S.C.
4375(c).\1\
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\1\ OEQ houses the professional and administrative staff of CEQ,
and the Chair of CEQ is the Director of OEQ ex officio. 42 U.S.C.
4372(a), (d)(1). This preamble refers to the Chair of CEQ and the
Director of OEQ, and to CEQ and OEQ, interchangeably.
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The CEQ Chair approved internal policies and procedures for
operation of the Management Fund in January 1985. On October 4, 2002,
the CEQ Chair promulgated regulations governing the operation of the
Management Fund.\2\
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\2\ CEQ, Office of Environmental Quality Management Fund, 67 FR
62189 (Oct. 4, 2002).
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II. Summary of the Final Rule
CEQ is amending its Management Fund regulations to clarify their
meaning, including for consistency with the Plain Writing Act of 2010
(Pub. L. 111-274) and the Federal Plain Language Guidelines,\3\
modernize them to reflect developments in CEQ's practices in
administering the Management Fund since CEQ first adopted its
regulations, and make administrative changes.
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\3\ Federal Plain Language Guidelines (1st rev. May 2011),
https://www.plainlanguage.gov/media/FederalPLGuidelines.pdf.
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Section 1518.1--Purpose. CEQ revises this section to describe the
purpose of the Office of Environmental Quality Management Fund as well
as the purpose of part 1518, which is to set forth CEQ's procedures for
administering the Management Fund.
Section 1518.2--Definitions. CEQ revises this section to define key
terms that appear throughout part 1518. In particular, CEQ removes the
definitions of the terms ``advance payment,'' which the prior
regulations defined but did not use elsewhere in part 1518, and
``source,'' which no longer appears in the regulations as revised. CEQ
adds definitions for ``environmental project'' and ``study contract''
to clarify the meaning of those terms. These definitions are consistent
with CEQ's authorities under National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA) and the Environmental Quality Improvement Act of 1970. CEQ also
adds a definition of ``personnel costs'' to clarify the types of
expenditures that CEQ may make from the Management Fund. Finally, CEQ
adds definitions for ``payment'' and ``reallocation'' to clarify how
the regulations use those terms to describe the movement of funds to
and from the Management Fund.
Section 1518.3--Policy and general requirements. CEQ revises this
section to more clearly explain the internal policies and procedures by
which CEQ administers the Management Fund, including the types of
expenditures that CEQ may make from the Management Fund, and to
eliminate outdated provisions that no longer reflect CEQ's business
processes.
Section 1518.4--Charters. CEQ revises this section, which describes
the purpose of charters for environmental projects and study contracts
that receive support from the Management Fund, to more clearly set
forth what a charter must contain and to better explain the roles of
the Director and the Project Officer in approving and amending a
charter.
Section 1518.5--Finances and accounting. CEQ moves the provisions
on Management Fund finances and accounting from the previous 40 CFR
1518.4(b) to Sec. 1518.5. This section explains how agencies make
payments into the Management Fund and specifies procedures for making
expenditures from the Management Fund. CEQ makes clarifying changes to
this section to improve its readability and better reflect current
practices. Paragraph (a) requires the Project Officer for each
environmental project or study contract receiving support from the
Management Fund to prepare a budget estimate and update it annually.
CEQ adds a new provision in paragraph (c)(1) that, consistent with
longstanding practice, requires the Director to transmit a letter to an
agency when requesting a payment into the Management Fund.
III. Regulatory Analysis and Notices
A. Administrative Procedure Act
This rule relates to a matter of agency management or personnel and
is a rule of agency organization, procedure, or practice. As such, this
rule is exempt from the usual requirements of prior notice and comment
and a 30-day delay in effective date. See 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), (b), and
(d). The rule is effective upon signature.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 13272, Proper
Consideration of Small Entities in Agency Rulemaking
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as amended, 5 U.S.C. 601 et
seq., and E.O. 13272, Proper Consideration of Small Entities in Agency
Rulemaking,\4\ require agencies to assess the impacts of rules on small
entities. Under the RFA, small entities include small businesses, small
organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. An agency must
prepare a final regulatory flexibility analysis unless it determines
and certifies that a final rule, if
[[Page 3704]]
promulgated, would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. 5 U.S.C. 605(b).
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\4\ 67 FR 53461 (Aug. 16, 2002).
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This rule relates to a matter of agency management or personnel and
is a rule of agency organization, procedure, or practice. Accordingly,
CEQ hereby certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities.
C. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Section 201 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L.
104-4, 2 U.S.C. 1531), requires Federal agencies to assess the effects
of their regulatory actions on state, local, and Tribal governments,
and the private sector to the extent that such regulations incorporate
requirements specifically set forth in law. Before promulgating a rule
that may result in the expenditure by a state, Tribal, or local
government, in the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100 million,
adjusted annually for inflation, in any 1 year, an agency must prepare
a written statement that assesses the effects on state, Tribal, and
local governments and the private sector. 2 U.S.C. 1532. This rule
relates to a matter of agency management or personnel and is a rule of
agency organization, procedure, or practice, and accordingly will not
result in expenditures of $100 million or more for state, local, and
Tribal governments, in the aggregate, or the private sector in any 1
year. This rule also does not impose any enforceable duty, contain any
unfunded mandate, or otherwise have any effect on small governments
subject to the requirements of 2 U.S.C. 1531 through 1538.
D. Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review
E.O. 12866, as supplemented and affirmed by E.O. 13563 and amended
by E.O. 14094, provides that the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs will review any regulatory action that qualifies as a
``significant regulatory action'' within the meaning of the E.O.\5\ The
rule does not qualify as a significant regulatory action.
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\5\ See E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, 58 FR 51735,
51737 (Oct. 4, 1993); E.O. 14094, Modernizing Regulatory Review, 88
FR 21879, 21879-80 (Apr. 11, 2023); E.O. 13563, Improving Regulation
and Regulatory Review,76 FR 3821, 3822 (Jan. 21, 2011).
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E. Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform
Under section 3(a) of E.O. 12988,\6\ agencies must review their
regulations to eliminate drafting errors and ambiguities, draft them to
minimize litigation, and provide a clear legal standard for affected
conduct. Section 3(b) provides a list of specific matters that agencies
must consider when conducting the review required by section 3(a). CEQ
has conducted this review and determined that this rule complies with
the requirements of E.O. 12988.
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\6\ 61 FR 4729 (Feb. 7, 1996).
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F. Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not impose any new information collection burden
that would require additional review or approval by OMB under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
G. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (Pub. L. 118-
5, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as amended, and the CEQ regulations that
implement NEPA, 40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508, require consideration
of the environmental effects of proposed actions in agency decision
making. NEPA provides for three levels of review. First, agencies may
establish in their agency-specific NEPA procedures categorical
exclusions (CEs) for categories of actions that normally do not have a
significant effect on the human environment, individually or in the
aggregate, and apply CEs to individual actions, as appropriate.\7\ If
an agency proposes to take an action that does not fall within a CE but
is not likely to have significant environmental effects (or the
significance of whose effects is unknown), CEQ's NEPA regulations
direct the agency to prepare an environmental assessment (EA).\8\ If,
as a result of this assessment, the agency determines that the proposed
action will not have significant effects, the agency may make a finding
of no significant impact (FONSI), in which case the agency may proceed
with the action.\9\ Otherwise, the agency must prepare an environmental
impact statement (EIS).\10\
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\7\ 40 CFR 1501.4(a).
\8\ Id. Sec. 1501.5(a).
\9\ Id. Sec. 1501.6.
\10\ 40 CFR part 1502.
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CEQ has not established a CE for the preparation, revision, and
adoption of regulations generally. Accordingly, CEQ has prepared an EA
to determine whether the revisions to the Management Fund regulations
would have a significant effect on the human environment. Because, as
set forth below, the regulation will likely have no discernable effect
on the use of resources in CEQ's administration of the Management Fund,
CEQ finds that the regulation will have no significant impact on the
human environment and that it is therefore unnecessary to prepare an
EIS.
1. Environmental Assessment
Purpose and Need: As set forth in the Background (part I of this
preamble) and Summary of the Final Rule (part II of this preamble), CEQ
adopted its Management Fund regulations in 2010 and has not updated
them to reflect developments in CEQ's practices in administering the
Management Fund since then. Furthermore, clarifying the regulations and
making administrative changes will make the regulations easier to
understand and use.
Proposed Action and Alternatives: A summary of the proposed action
is set forth above in the Summary of the Final Rule. Under a ``no
action'' alternative, CEQ would continue to operate under its current
regulations, resolving ambiguities and addressing inconsistencies
between the regulations and current CEQ practices on a case-by-case
basis. CEQ has decided that this approach is undesirable because it
requires CEQ staff to address ambiguities and inconsistencies that CEQ
can obviate by updating the regulation.
CEQ's preferred alternative is to amend its regulations as set
forth in this Final Rule, for the reasons set forth in part II of this
preamble.
Environmental Effects of Alternatives: CEQ's administration of the
Management Fund affects the environment primarily through CEQ's use of
energy and other office resources. CEQ's use of resources for these
purposes has remained within the range typical of the operations of a
small office. CEQ anticipates that the amendments set forth in this
rulemaking will have minimal or no discernable effects on its use of
resources in administering the Management Fund.
List of Agencies and Persons Consulted: CEQ's NEPA staff reviewed
and commented on this EA and this final rulemaking.
2. Finding of No Significant Impact
Based on the foregoing EA, CEQ finds that implementation of the
regulations in this notice would have minimal or no discernable effects
on CEQ's use of energy and other office resources in CEQ's
administration of the Management Fund. Thus, there would be no
significant effects associated with implementation of the proposed
action, and it is not necessary for CEQ to prepare an EIS.
[[Page 3705]]
CEQ further finds that the action is not one that normally requires
the preparation of an EIS, closely similar to such an action, or an
action without precedent.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 1518
Accounting, Administrative practice and procedure, Environmental
impact statements and Environmental Quality Office.
Brenda Mallory,
Chair, Council on Environmental Quality, and Director, Office of
Environmental Quality.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Council on
Environmental Quality amends 40 CFR part 1518 by revising and
republishing it to read as follows:
PART 1518--OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT FUND
1518.1 Purpose.
1518.2 Definitions.
1518.3 Policy and general requirements.
1518.4 Charters.
1518.5 Finances and accounting.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4375.
Sec. 1518.1 Purpose.
(a) The purpose of the Office of Environmental Quality Management
Fund is to finance:
(1) Study contracts that the Office of Environmental Quality and at
least one other Federal agency jointly sponsor; and
(2) Federal interagency environmental projects (including task
forces) in which the Office of Environmental Quality participates.
(b) The purpose of the regulations in this part is to set forth
policies and procedures for operation of the Management Fund, in order
to support its effective administration and to set forth the Office of
Environmental Quality's internal procedures and practices with respect
to the Management Fund.
Sec. 1518.2 Definitions.
Council on Environmental Quality, as used in this part, includes
the Office of Environmental Quality.
Director means the Director of the Office of Environmental Quality
(or delegate). The Environmental Quality Improvement Act, 42 U.S.C.
4372(a), specifies that the Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality serves as the Director of the Office of Environmental Quality.
Environmental project means an official activity pertaining to the
environment that requires coordination by or the involvement of the
Council on Environmental Quality and other Federal agencies, such as an
interagency task force.
Interagency agreement means a document jointly executed by the
Office of Environmental Quality and at least one other Federal agency
that sets forth the details of a jointly sponsored study contract or
environmental project and the funding arrangements for such a study or
project.
Management Fund means the Office of Environmental Quality
Management Fund.
Payment means a transfer of funds from an agency or another account
to the Management Fund.
Personnel costs include an employee's salary or wages and benefits
and other direct expenses of employment, such as administrative costs
associated with an official background investigation of the employee.
Project Officer means the Federal employee responsible for direct
supervision of a study contract or environmental project that receives
support from the Management Fund.
Reallocation means a transfer of funds from the Management Fund to
another account or between subaccounts of the Management Fund.
Study contract means an agreement with a public or private agency,
institution, organization, or individual (including, without
limitation, an agency, committee, or official of the Federal
Government) to prepare or support the development of a report,
analysis, or recommendation.
Sec. 1518.3 Policy and general requirements.
(a) To receive support from the Management Fund, an environmental
project or study contract must advance the purposes and goals of the
National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., or the
Environmental Quality Improvement Act, 42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.
(b) When the Director accepts agency funds for payment into the
Management Fund, the interagency agreement must specify the permissible
uses of the funds, and any restrictions relating thereto, such as a
limitation on the funds' period of availability, consistent with Sec.
1518.5 of this part.
(c) The Director may authorize the Project Officer to make
expenditures to support Management Fund study contracts and
environmental projects, including:
(1) Acquisition of office space, equipment, supplies, and other
goods and services, whether by purchase, lease, or otherwise;
(2) Personnel costs;
(3) Official travel;
(4) Publication of documents;
(5) Services of consultants, experts, or contractors;
(6) Conferences, public meetings, and events;
(7) Access to information, such as scientific and technical data;
(8) Public engagement activities; and
(9) Other necessary expenses.
(d) The Director must not authorize expenditures from the
Management Fund that would solely benefit the Council on Environmental
Quality or another Federal agency or that would reimburse the Council
on Environmental Quality or another Federal agency for expenses not
related to an environmental project or a study contract. For example:
(1) The Director may authorize expenditures pursuant to paragraph
(c)(2) of this section for the personnel costs of an employee whose
duties are limited to carrying out the objectives of a study contract
or an environmental project, but not for the personnel costs of an
employee who carries out duties unrelated to a study contract or an
environmental project.
(2) If a portion of an employee's duties will carry out the
objectives of an environmental project or a study contract, the
Director may authorize expenditures pursuant to paragraph (c)(2) of
this section for a proportional share of the employee's personnel
costs.
(e) In carrying out the purposes of the Management Fund, 42 U.S.C.
4372(e) authorizes the Director to contract with public or private
agencies, institutions, organizations and individuals, by negotiation,
without regard to 31 U.S.C. 3324(a) and (b), 41 U.S.C. 6101.
Sec. 1518.4 Charters.
(a) The Director must not authorize expenditures from the
Management Fund for an environmental project or a study contract until
the Director has approved a charter for the environmental project or
study contract.
(b) The Project Officer must prepare a charter for each
environmental project or a study contract and obtain the Director's
approval of the charter.
(c) The charter must:
(1) Describe the environmental project or study contract;
(2) Clearly explain how the environmental project or study contract
is consistent with the goals, purposes, and statutory authority of the
Office of Environmental Quality;
(3) Identify the Federal agency or agencies (and any State, Tribal,
or local agencies) participating in the environmental project or study
contract; and
[[Page 3706]]
(4) Provide the names, titles, and contact information of the
Project Officer and an administrative point of contact.
(d) The Project Officer may amend a charter in writing with the
Director's approval of the amended charter.
(e) The Office of Environmental Quality must provide the Office of
Administration in the Executive Office of the President with a copy of
each charter and amendment that the Director approves.
Sec. 1518.5 Finances and accounting.
(a) The Project Officer for each environmental project or study
contract receiving support from the Management Fund must prepare a
budget estimate as part of the charter and update the budget estimate
annually following the charter's approval. The Office of Environmental
Quality must provide copies of these budget estimates to the Office of
Administration.
(b) The Council on Environmental Quality may make a payment into
the Management Fund by a letter of transmittal that specifies the
particular environmental project or study contract it is funding. The
Office of Environmental Quality will provide a copy of each such
transmittal letter to the Office of Administration.
(c) Agencies other than the Council on Environmental Quality may
make advance payments to the Management Fund using the following
procedure:
(1) The Director must provide the agency with a letter that
specifies the particular environmental project or study contract to
which the Director will apply the payment.
(2) The Director and the agency must enter an interagency agreement
for the payment. The interagency agreement should indicate any
statutory authority appropriate to the transaction, including 42 U.S.C.
4375(a).
(d) The Management Fund is a no-year appropriations account, which
can accept funds with any period of availability or funds that remain
available until expended (i.e., ``one-year,'' ``multiple-year,'' or
``no-year'' funds). Appropriated funds that an agency pays into the
Management Fund expire under the terms of the appropriation under which
they originated. The Office of Environmental Quality must account
separately for each payment of funds into the Management Fund and track
when each such payment will expire.
(e) In addition to or in lieu of an advance payment into the
Management Fund, any agency, including the Council on Environmental
Quality, may support an environmental project or study contract by
providing technical expertise, physical resources, facilities,
equipment, or other assets; performing support or administrative
services; or assigning detailees or agency representatives.
(f) The Office of Environmental Quality must maintain a separate
subaccount within the Management Fund for each environmental project or
study contract.
(g) The Director or the Project Officer must approve all of the
expenditures for a particular environmental project or study contract.
The Management Fund may only accept payments in advance of expenditure;
accordingly, the Director or the Project Officer may only approve
expenditures for which the Management Fund has received adequate
payments in advance.
(h) The Director may approve the reallocation of funds from the
Management Fund to another Federal account (or from one Management Fund
subaccount to another) provided that:
(1) The agency that originally made the payment of the funds in
question to the Management Fund approves the reallocation in writing;
(2) The reallocation would promote the statutory mission of the
Office of Environmental Quality; and
(3) The Director determines the reallocation is in the best
interest of the Federal Government.
(i) The Office of Environmental Quality must classify each
financial transaction involving a Management Fund subaccount in
sufficient detail to meet the Office of Environmental Quality's
management planning, fiscal control, and financial audit requirements.
[FR Doc. 2025-00473 Filed 1-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3325-FA-P