\691\ See supra notes 399-406 and accompanying text.
    \692\ See letters from CCMC 2015; Mercer; Pearl; TCA 2015; and
TCA 2022.
    \693\ See letter from ICGN.
    \694\ See letters from AB; Better Markets; CalPERS 2015;
CalSTRS; CII 2015; Morrell; SBA-FL; and Troop.
    \695\ See letter from CalPERS 2015.
    \696\ See letter from AB.
    \697\ See letter from Hermes.
    \698\ See letters from NIRI 2015 and NIRI 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Small Entities Subject to the Final Amendments

    The final rules will affect some companies that are small entities.
For purposes of the RFA, under our rules, an issuer, other than an
investment company,\699\ is a ``small business'' or ``small
organization'' if it had total assets of $5 million or less on the last
day of its most recent fiscal year.\700\ The final rules will affect
issuers that have a class of securities that are registered under
Section 12 of the Exchange Act but are not foreign private issuers,
registered investment companies, or EGCs. We estimate that there are
approximately 450 issuers that may be considered small entities and are
potentially subject to the final amendments. An investment company,

including a BDC, is considered to be a ``small business'' if it,
together with other investment companies in the same group of related
investment companies, has net assets of $50 million or less as of the
end of its most recent fiscal year.\701\ We believe that the final
rules will affect some small entities that are BDCs that have a class
of securities registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. We
estimate that one affected BDC may be considered a small entity.\702\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \699\ For purposes of the RFA, an investment company is a
``small business'' or ``small organization'' that, together with
other investment companies in the same group of related investment
companies, has net assets of $50 million or less as of the end of
its most recent fiscal year. [17 CFR 270.0-10].
    \700\ See Exchange Act Rule 0-10(a) [17 CFR 240.0-10(a)].
    \701\ 17 CFR 270.0-10(a).
    \702\ Of the seven BDCs that will be subject to the final
amendments, one may be considered a small entity for purposes of the
RFA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance
Requirements

    We expect the final rules to have an incremental effect on existing
reporting, recordkeeping and other compliance burdens for all issuers,
including small entities. Under the final rules, SRCs are permitted to
provide disclosure in accordance with Item 402(v) of Regulation S-K
that is scaled for small companies, consistent with SRCs' existing
scaled executive compensation disclosure requirements. Specifically,
SRCs are not required to provide a peer group TSR, a Company-Selected
Measure, a Tabular List, or to disclose amounts related to pensions.
Because SRCs are not required to provide a peer group TSR or Company-
Selected Measure, they are similarly not required to provide
relationship disclosure with respect to those performance measures. In
addition, because the existing scaled definition of NEO in Item 402 of
Regulation S-K applicable to SRCs applies for purposes of the new Item
402(v) disclosure, SRCs are required to provide disclosure about fewer
NEOs than non-SRC registrants. SRCs also will only be required to
provide three years of disclosure (two in the first applicable filing
after the rules become effective). Both SRCs and non-SRC registrants
are required to separately tag the values disclosed in the table in
Inline XBRL, block-text tag the footnote and relationship disclosure
and the Tabular List in Inline XBRL, and tag specific data points (such
as quantitative amounts) within the footnote disclosures in Inline
XBRL, but SRCs are required to provide the required Inline XBRL data
beginning in the third filing in which they provide pay-versus-
performance disclosure.
    Much of the information required in the pay-versus-performance
disclosure is based on items that are already required elsewhere in the
executive compensation disclosure and financial statements provided by
registrants, and the final rules are not expected to require
registrants to collect significant new data, relative to current
disclosure requirements.\703\ Compliance with certain provisions
affected by the amendments will require the use of professional skills,
including accounting, legal, and technical skills. The final amendments
are discussed in detail in Sections I and II above. We discuss the
economic impact, including the estimated compliance costs and burdens
of the final rules on all registrants, including small entities, in
Sections V and VI above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \703\ See supra Section V.C.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

E. Agency Action To Minimize Effect on Small Entities

    The RFA directs us to consider alternatives that would accomplish
our stated objectives, while minimizing any significant adverse impact
on small entities. In connection with the final rules, we considered
the following alternatives:
     Establishing different compliance or reporting
requirements or timetables that take into account the resources
available to small entities;
     Clarifying, consolidating or simplifying compliance and
reporting requirements under the rules for small entities;
     Using performance rather than design standards; and
     Exempting small entities from all or part of the final
rules.
    As noted above, the final rules will require clear disclosure of
prescribed measures of executive compensation actually paid and the
company's financial performance and the relationship between these
measures. All of the individual components needed for SRCs to calculate
executive compensation actually paid already must be reported by SRCs
under current disclosure rules, with the exception of the values to be
included with respect to equity awards. In addition, net income is
required under existing financial disclosure. As discussed above, we do
not believe that it is necessary to exempt small entities from the
final rules entirely, as we believe the benefit to investors of small
entities providing pay-versus-performance disclosure outweighs the
costs to them of preparing the scaled disclosure.\704\ We have provided
some different and simplified compliance requirements for small
entities, taking into account their resources. In particular, we have
scaled the disclosure requirements for SRCs in an attempt to limit the
compliance burden to which such companies will be subject. Accordingly,
registrants that are SRCs will be subject to the final rules, but will
be permitted to provide only three years of disclosure, instead of five
years as required for all other registrants. Also, the final rules will
require SRCs to disclose their company TSR and their net income, but
they will not be required to disclose peer group TSR, a Company-
Selected Measure, or a Tabular List. In addition, because the scaled
compensation disclosure that applies to SRCs under existing Item 402 of
Regulation S-K does not include pension plans, the pension plan
adjustment otherwise required under the final rules will not apply to
SRCs. To the extent that a small entity is a registrant, we believe
that there are few, if any, small entities that do not qualify as SRCs
because it is unlikely that an entity with total assets of $5 million
or less would have a public float of $75 million or more. Under the
final rules, a small entity, therefore, will likely be subject to the
scaled disclosure requirements described above that will apply to
SRCs.\705\ We believe this will minimize any adverse impact on small
entities of providing new disclosures which they generally do not
currently provide.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \704\ The alternative of exempting SRCs in their entirety from
the final rules is discussed above in Section V.C.4.i.
    \705\ See supra Section II.G.3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With respect to compliance timetables, the final rules also provide
SRCs with transitional relief under which they may provide two years of
disclosure, instead of three, in the first applicable filing after the
rules become effective, and three years of disclosure in subsequent
proxy and information statement filings. The final rules also provide
SRCs with a phase-in of the requirement to provide the disclosure in
Inline XBRL, under which SRCs need not comply with the Inline XBRL
requirement until the third filing in which they provide pay-versus-
performance disclosure.
    Although the final rules will require disclosure of prescribed
measures of executive compensation actually paid and registrant
financial performance, they will permit issuers significant flexibility
in presenting the relationship between these measures. For example,
issuers, including small entities, can describe the relationships in
narrative form or by means of a graph or chart, or a combination of
both forms. In this respect, the final rules make use of both design
and performance standards as a means of balancing the investors' need
for uniform disclosure across registrants while also providing
registrants,

including small entities, with flexibility to describe their pay-
versus-performance relationship in a format that is best suited to
their particular circumstances.

Statutory Authority and Text of Amendments

    The final amendments contained in this release are being adopted
under the authority set forth in Section 953(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act
and Sections 3(b), 14, 23(a) and 36 of the Exchange Act.

List of Subjects in 17 CFR Parts 229, 232, and 240

    Reporting and Recordkeeping requirements; Securities.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, we are amending title 17,
chapter II, of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 229--STANDARD INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING FORMS UNDER SECURITIES
ACT OF 1933, SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 AND ENERGY POLICY AND
CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975--REGULATION S-K

0
1. The authority citation for part 229 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 77e, 77f, 77g, 77h, 77j, 77k, 77n, 77s,
77z-2, 77z-3, 77aa(25), 77aa(26), 77ddd, 77eee, 77ggg, 77hhh, 77iii,
77jjj, 77nnn, 77sss, 78c, 78i, 78j, 78j-3, 78l, 78m, 78n, 78n-1,
78o, 78u-5, 78w, 78ll, 78mm, 80a-8, 80a-9, 80a-20, 80a-29, 80a-30,
80a-31(c), 80a-37, 80a-38(a), 80a-39, 80b-11, and 7201 et seq.; 18
U.S.C. 1350; sec. 953(a), Pub. L. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1904 (2010);
sec. 953(b), Pub. L. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1904 (2010); and sec.
102(c), Pub. L. 112-106, 126 Stat. 310 (2012).

0
2. Amend Sec.  229.402 by adding paragraph (v) to read as follows:

Sec.  229.402  (Item 402) Executive compensation.

* * * * *
    (v) Pay versus performance. In connection with any proxy or
information statement for which the rules of the Commission require
executive compensation disclosure pursuant to this section (excluding
any proxy or information statement of an ``emerging growth company,''
as defined in Sec.  230.405 of this chapter or Sec.  240.12b-2 of this
chapter):
    (1) Provide the information specified in paragraph (v)(2) of this
section for each of the registrant's last five completed fiscal years
in the following tabular format:

                                                                 Pay Versus Performance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Average                   Value of initial fixed
                                                                             summary       Average      $100 investment based
                                                 Summary                  compensation  compensation             on:
                                              compensation  Compensation   table total    actually   --------------------------               [Company-
                    Year                       table total    actually     for non-PEO  paid to non-                Peer group   Net income    selected
                                                 for PEO     paid to PEO      named       PEO named      Total        total                    measure]
                                                                            executive     executive   shareholder  shareholder
                                                                            officers      officers       return       return
(a)                                                    (b)           (c)           (d)           (e)          (f)          (g)          (h)          (i)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (2) The table required by paragraph (v)(1) of this section must
include:
    (i) The fiscal year covered (column (a)).
    (ii) The PEO's (as defined in paragraph (a)(3) of this section)
total compensation for the covered fiscal year as reported in the
Summary Compensation Table pursuant to paragraph (c)(2)(x) of this
section, or paragraph (n)(2)(x) of this section for smaller reporting
companies (column (b)), and the average total compensation reported for
the remaining named executive officers collectively reported pursuant
to such applicable paragraph (column (d)). If more than one person
served as the registrant's PEO during the covered fiscal year, provide
the total compensation, as reported in accordance with the immediately
preceding sentence, for each person who served as the PEO during that
period separately in an additional column (b) for each such person.
    (iii) The executive compensation actually paid to the PEO (column
(c)) and the average executive compensation actually paid to the
remaining named executive officers collectively (column (e)). If more
than one person served as the registrant's PEO during the covered
fiscal year, provide the compensation actually paid to each person who
served as PEO during that period separately in an additional column (c)
for each such person. For purposes of columns (c) and (e) of the table
required by paragraph (v)(1) of this section, executive compensation
actually paid must be the total compensation for the covered fiscal
year for each named executive officer as provided in paragraph
(c)(2)(x) of this section, or paragraph (n)(2)(x) of this section for
smaller reporting companies, adjusted to:
    (A) Deduct the aggregate change in the actuarial present value of
the named executive officer's accumulated benefit under all defined
benefit and actuarial pension plans reported in the Summary
Compensation Table in accordance with paragraph (c)(2)(viii)(A) of this
section;
    (B)(1) Add, for all defined benefit and actuarial pension plans
reported in the Summary Compensation Table in accordance with paragraph
(c)(2)(viii)(A) of this section, the aggregate of:
    (i) Service cost, calculated as the actuarial present value of each
named executive officer's benefit under all such plans attributable to
services rendered during the covered fiscal year; and
    (ii) Prior service cost, calculated as the entire cost of benefits
granted (or credit for benefits reduced) in a plan amendment (or
initiation) during the covered fiscal year that are attributed by the
benefit formula to services rendered in periods prior to the amendment.
    (2) ``Service cost'' and ``prior service cost'' must be calculated
using the same methodology as used for the registrant's financial
statements under generally accepted accounting principles.
    (C)(1) Deduct the amounts reported in the Summary Compensation
Table pursuant to paragraphs (c)(2)(v) and (vi) of this section and
then include an amount calculated as follows for all stock awards, and
all option awards, with or without tandem SARs (as defined in paragraph
(a)(6)(i) of this section) (including awards that subsequently have
been transferred):
    (i) Add the fair value as of the end of the covered fiscal year of
all awards granted during the covered fiscal year that are outstanding
and unvested as of the end of the covered fiscal year;
    (ii) Add the amount equal to the change as of the end of the
covered fiscal year (from the end of the prior fiscal year) in fair
value (whether positive or negative) of any awards

granted in any prior fiscal year that are outstanding and unvested as
of the end of the covered fiscal year;
    (iii) Add, for awards that are granted and vest in the same year,
the fair value as of the vesting date;
    (iv) Add the amount equal to the change as of the vesting date
(from the end of the prior fiscal year) in fair value (whether positive
or negative) of any awards granted in any prior fiscal year for which
all applicable vesting conditions were satisfied at the end of or
during the covered fiscal year;
    (v) Subtract, for any awards granted in any prior fiscal year that
fail to meet the applicable vesting conditions during the covered
fiscal year, the amount equal to the fair value at the end of the prior
fiscal year; and
    (vi) Add the dollar value of any dividends or other earnings paid
on stock or option awards in the covered fiscal year prior to the
vesting date that are not otherwise included in the total compensation
for the covered fiscal year.
    (2) If at any time during the last completed fiscal year, the
registrant has adjusted or amended the exercise price of options or
SARs held by a named executive officer, whether through amendment,
cancellation or replacement grants, or any other means, or otherwise
has materially modified such awards, the changes in fair value included
pursuant to this paragraph (v)(2)(iii)(C) must take into account the
excess fair value, if any, of any such modified award over the fair
value of the original award as of the date of such modification.
    (3) Fair value amounts must be computed in a manner consistent with
the fair value methodology used to account for share-based payments in
the registrant's financial statements under generally accepted
accounting principles. For any awards that are subject to performance
conditions, calculate the change in fair value as of the end of the
covered fiscal year based upon the probable outcome of such conditions
as of the last day of the fiscal year.
    (iv) For purposes of columns (f) and (g) of the table required by
paragraph (v)(1) of this section, for each fiscal year disclose the
cumulative total shareholder return of the registrant (column (f)) and
peer group cumulative total shareholder return (column (g)) calculated,
except as set forth below, in the same manner as under Sec.  229.201(e)
of this chapter (Item 201(e) of Regulation S-K). For purposes of
calculating the cumulative total shareholder return of the registrant
and peer group cumulative total shareholder return, the term
``measurement period'' must be the period beginning at the
``measurement point'' established by the market close on the last
trading day before the registrant's earliest fiscal year in the table,
through and including the end of the fiscal year for which cumulative
total shareholder return of the registrant or peer group cumulative
total shareholder return is being calculated. The closing price at the
measurement point must be converted into a fixed investment of one
hundred dollars, stated in dollars, in the registrant's stock (or in
the stocks represented by the peer group). For each fiscal year, the
amount included in the table must be the value of such fixed investment
based on the cumulative total shareholder return as of the end of that
year. The same methodology must be used in calculating both the
registrant's total shareholder return and that of the peer group. For
purposes of determining the total shareholder return of the
registrant's peer group, the registrant must use the same index or
issuers used by it for purposes of Sec.  229.201(e)(1)(ii) of this
chapter or, if applicable, the companies it uses as a peer group for
purposes of its disclosures under paragraph (b) of this section. If the
peer group is not a published industry or line-of-business index, the
identity of the issuers composing the group must be disclosed in a
footnote. The returns of each component issuer of the group must be
weighted according to the respective issuers' stock market
capitalization at the beginning of each period for which a return is
indicated. If the registrant selects or otherwise uses a different peer
group from the peer group used by it for the immediately preceding
fiscal year, explain, in a footnote, the reason(s) for this change and
compare the registrant's cumulative total return with that of both the
newly selected peer group and the peer group used in the immediately
preceding fiscal year.
    (v) The registrant's net income for each fiscal year (column (h)).
    (vi) An amount for each fiscal year attributable to an additional
financial performance measure included in the Tabular List provided
pursuant to paragraph (v)(6) of this section, designated as the
Company-Selected Measure, which in the registrant's assessment
represents the most important financial performance measure (that is
not otherwise required to be disclosed in the table) used by the
registrant to link compensation actually paid to the registrant's named
executive officers, for the most recently completed fiscal year, to
company performance (column (i)). For purposes of this paragraph (v) of
this section, ``financial performance measures'' means measures that
are determined and presented in accordance with the accounting
principles used in preparing the issuer's financial statements, any
measures that are derived wholly or in part from such measures, and
stock price and total shareholder return. A financial performance
measure need not be presented within the registrant's financial
statements or otherwise included in a filing with the Commission to be
a Company-Selected Measure. Disclosure of any Company-Selected Measure,
or any additional measure that the registrant elects to provide, that
is not a financial measure under generally accepted accounting
principles will not be subject to Sec. Sec.  244.100 through 102 of
this chapter (Regulation G) and Sec.  229.10(e) of this chapter (Item
10(e)); however, disclosure must be provided as to how the number is
calculated from the registrant's audited financial statements.
    (3) For each amount disclosed in columns (c) and (e) of the table
required by paragraph (v)(1) of this section, disclose in footnotes to
the table each of the amounts deducted and added pursuant to paragraph
(v)(2)(iii) of this section, the name of each named executive officer
included as a PEO or in the calculation of the average remaining named
executive officer compensation, and the fiscal years in which such
persons are included. For disclosure of the executive compensation
actually paid to named executive officers other than the PEO, provide
the amounts required under this paragraph as averages.
    (4) For the value of equity awards added pursuant to paragraph
(v)(2)(iii)(C) of this section, disclose in a footnote to the table
required by paragraph (v)(1) of this section any assumption made in the
valuation that differs materially from those disclosed as of the grant
date of such equity awards.
    (5) In proxy or information statements in which disclosure is
required pursuant to this Item, use the information provided in the
table required by paragraph (v)(1) of this section to provide a clear
description (graphically, narratively, or a combination of the two) of
the relationships:
    (i) Between:
    (A) The executive compensation actually paid by the registrant to
the PEO (column (c)) and the average of the executive compensation
actually paid to the named executive officers other than the PEO
(column (e)) included in the Summary Compensation Table; and

    (B) The cumulative total shareholder return of the registrant
(column (f)), across the registrant's last five completed fiscal years;
    (ii) Between:
    (A) The executive compensation actually paid by the registrant to
the PEO (column (c)) and the average of the executive compensation
actually paid to the named executive officers other than the PEO
(column (e)) included in the Summary Compensation Table; and
    (B) Net income of the registrant (column (h)), across the
registrant's last five completed fiscal years; and
    (iii) Between:
    (A) The executive compensation actually paid by the registrant to
the PEO (column (c)) and the average of the executive compensation
actually paid to the named executive officers other than the PEO
(column (e)) included in the Summary Compensation Table; and
    (B) The Company-Selected Measure (column (i)), across the
registrant's last five completed fiscal years.
    (iv) The description provided in response to paragraph (v)(5)(i) of
this section must also include a comparison of the cumulative total
shareholder return of the registrant (column (f)) and cumulative total
shareholder return of the registrant's peer group (column (g)) over the
same period. If a registrant elects to provide any additional measures
in the table, each additional measure must be accompanied by a clear
description of the relationship between:
    (A) The executive compensation actually paid by the registrant to
the PEO (column (c)) and the average of the executive compensation
actually paid to the named executive officers other than the PEO
(column (e)) included in the Summary Compensation Table; and
    (B) That additional measure, across the registrant's last five
completed fiscal years. (6) Subject to paragraph (v)(6)(iii) of this
section, provide a tabular list of at least three, and up to seven,
financial performance measures, which in the registrant's assessment
represent the most important financial performance measures used by the
registrant to link compensation actually paid to the registrant's named
executive officers, for the most recently completed fiscal year, to
company performance (``Tabular List'').
    (i) The registrant may provide the Tabular List disclosure either
as one tabular list, as two separate tabular lists (one for the PEO,
and one for all named executive officers other than the PEO), or as
separate tabular lists for the PEO and each named executive officer
other than the PEO. If the registrant elects to provide multiple
tabular lists in accordance with the immediately preceding sentence,
each tabular list must include at least three, and up to seven,
financial performance measures, which in the registrant's assessment
represent the most important financial performance measures used by the
registrant to link compensation actually paid to that, or those,
particular named executive officer, or officers, for the most recently
completed fiscal year, to company performance.
    (ii) If fewer than three financial performance measures were used
by the registrant to link compensation actually paid to the
registrant's named executive officers, for the most recently completed
fiscal year, to company performance, the Tabular List must include all
such measures that were used, if any.
    (iii) A registrant may include non-financial performance measures
(i.e., performance measures other than those that fall within the
definition of financial performance measures) used by the registrant to
link compensation actually paid to the registrant's named executive
officers, for the most recently completed fiscal year, to company
performance in the Tabular List, if it determines that such measures
are among its three to seven most important performance measures, and
it has disclosed its most important three (or fewer, if the registrant
only uses fewer) financial performance measures, in accordance with
this paragraph (v)(6).
    (iv) The Tabular List may include a maximum of seven performance
measures, regardless of whether the registrant elects to include non-
financial performance measures in the Tabular List.
    (7) The disclosure provided pursuant to this paragraph (v),
including, but not limited to, any disclosure provided pursuant to
paragraphs (v)(3) and (6) of this section, must appear with, and in the
same format as, the rest of the disclosure required to be provided
pursuant to this section and, in addition, must be provided in an
Interactive Data File in accordance with Sec.  232.405 of this chapter
and the EDGAR Filer Manual (referenced in Sec.  232.301 of this
chapter).
    (8) A registrant that qualifies as a ``smaller reporting company,''
as defined by Sec.  229.10(f)(1) of this chapter, may provide the
information required by this paragraph (v) for three years, instead of
five years. A smaller reporting company may provide the disclosure
required by this paragraph (v) for only two fiscal years in the first
filing in which it provides this disclosure, and is not required to
provide the disclosure required by paragraph (v)(2)(iv) or (v)(5) of
this section with respect to the total shareholder return of any peer
group, or the Company-Selected Measure disclosure required by paragraph
(v)(2)(vi) of this section, or the Tabular List provided pursuant to
paragraph (v)(6) of this section. For purposes of paragraph (v)(2)(iii)
of this section with respect to smaller reporting companies, executive
compensation actually paid must be the total compensation for the
covered fiscal year for each named executive officer as provided in
paragraph (n)(2)(x) of this section, adjusted to deduct the amounts
reported in the Summary Compensation Table pursuant to paragraphs
(n)(2)(v) and (vi) of this section, and to add in their place the fair
value of the amounts added in paragraph (v)(2)(iii)(C) of this section.
Disclose in a footnote to the table required pursuant to paragraph
(v)(1) of this section for the PEO and average remaining named
executive officer compensation the amounts deducted from, and added to,
the Summary Compensation Table pursuant to this instruction, the name
of each named executive officer included as a PEO or in the calculation
of the average remaining named executive officer compensation, and the
fiscal years in which they are included. A smaller reporting company is
required to comply with paragraph (v)(7) of this section in the third
filing in which it provides the disclosure required by this paragraph
(v).
    Instructions to paragraph (v).
    1. Transitional relief. A registrant may provide the disclosure
required by this paragraph (v) for three years, instead of five years,
in the first filing in which it provides this disclosure, and may
provide disclosure for an additional year in each of the two subsequent
annual filings in which this disclosure is required.
    2. New registrants. Information for fiscal years prior to the last
completed fiscal year will not be required if the registrant was not
required to report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange
Act (15 U.S.C. 78m(a) or 78o(d)) at any time during that year.
    3. Incorporation by reference. The information required by
paragraph (v) of this section will not be deemed to be incorporated by
reference into any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act,
except to the extent that the registrant specifically incorporates it
by reference.

PART 232--REGULATION S-T--GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR
ELECTRONIC FILINGS

0
3. The general authority citation for part 232 continues to read as
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 77c, 77f, 77g, 77h, 77j, 77s(a), 77z-3,
77sss(a), 78c(b), 78l, 78m, 78n, 78o(d), 78w(a), 78ll, 80a-6(c),
80a-8, 80a-29, 80a-30, 80a-37, 80b-4, 80b-10, 80b-11, 7201 et seq.;
and 18 U.S.C. 1350, unless otherwise noted.
* * * * *

0
4. Amend Sec.  232.405 by:
0
a. Revising the introductory text and paragraphs (a)(2) and (4).
0
b. In paragraph (b)(1)(i), removing the word ``and'' from the end of
the sentence;
0
c. In paragraph (b)(1)(ii), removing the period from the end of the
sentence, and adding ``; and'' in its place;
0
d. Adding paragraph (b)(1)(iii);
0
e. In paragraph (b)(3)(i)(A), removing the word ``and'' from the end of
the sentence;
0
f. In paragraph (b)(3)(i)(B), adding ``and'' at the end;
0
g. Adding paragraphs (b)(3)(i)(C) and (b)(4); and
0
h. Revising Note 1 to Sec.  232.405.
    The additions and revisions read as follows:

Sec.  232.405  Interactive Data File submissions.

    This section applies to electronic filers that submit Interactive
Data Files. Section 229.601(b)(101) of this chapter (Item 601(b)(101)
of Regulation S-K), General Instruction F of Form 11-K (Sec.  249.311),
paragraph (101) of Part II--Information Not Required to be Delivered to
Offerees or Purchasers of Form F-10 (Sec.  239.40 of this chapter),
paragraph 101 of the Instructions as to Exhibits of Form 20-F (Sec.
249.220f of this chapter), paragraph B.(15) of the General Instructions
to Form 40-F (Sec.  249.240f of this chapter), paragraph C.(6) of the
General Instructions to Form 6-K (Sec.  249.306 of this chapter), Note
D.5 of Rule 14a-101 under the Exchange Act (Sec.  240.14a-101 of this
chapter), Item 1 of Rule 14c-101 under the Exchange Act (Sec.  240.14c-
101 of this chapter), General Instruction C.3.(g) of Form N-1A
(Sec. Sec.  239.15A and 274.11A of this chapter), General Instruction I
of Form N-2 (Sec. Sec.  239.14 and 274.11a-1 of this chapter), General
Instruction C.3.(h) of Form N-3 (Sec. Sec.  239.17a and 274.11b of this
chapter), General Instruction C.3.(h) of Form N-4 (Sec. Sec.  239.17b
and 274.11c of this chapter), General Instruction C.3.(h) of Form N-6
(Sec. Sec.  239.17c and 274.11d of this chapter), and General
Instruction C.4 of Form N-CSR (Sec. Sec.  249.331 and 274.128 of this
chapter) specify when electronic filers are required or permitted to
submit an Interactive Data File (Sec.  232.11), as further described in
note 1 to this section. This section imposes content, format and
submission requirements for an Interactive Data File, but does not
change the substantive content requirements for the financial and other
disclosures in the Related Official Filing (Sec.  232.11).
    (a) * * *
    (2) Be submitted only by an electronic filer either required or
permitted to submit an Interactive Data File as specified by Sec.
229.601(b)(101) of this chapter (Item 601(b)(101) of Regulation S-K),
General Instruction F of Form 11-K (Sec.  249.311), paragraph (101) of
Part II--Information Not Required to be Delivered to Offerees or
Purchasers of Form F-10 (Sec.  239.40 of this chapter), paragraph 101
of the Instructions as to Exhibits of Form 20-F (Sec.  249.220f of this
chapter), paragraph B.(15) of the General Instructions to Form 40-F
(Sec.  249.240f of this chapter), paragraph C.(6) of the General
Instructions to Form 6-K (Sec.  249.306 of this chapter), Note D.5 of
Rule 14a-101 under the Exchange Act (Sec.  240.14a-101 of this
chapter), Item 1 of Rule 14c-101 under the Exchange Act (Sec.  240.14c-
101 of this chapter), General Instruction C.3.(g) of Form N-1A
(Sec. Sec.  239.15A and 274.11A of this chapter), General Instruction I
of Form N-2 (Sec. Sec.  239.14 and 274.11a-1 of this chapter), General
Instruction C.3.(h) of Form N-3 (Sec. Sec.  239.17a and 274.11b of this
chapter), General Instruction C.3.(h) of Form N-4 (Sec. Sec.  239.17b
and 274.11c of this chapter), General Instruction C.3.(h) of Form N-6
(Sec. Sec.  239.17c and 274.11d of this chapter), or General
Instruction C.4 of Form N-CSR (Sec. Sec.  249.331 and 274.128 of this
chapter), as applicable;
* * * * *
    (4) Be submitted in accordance with the EDGAR Filer Manual and, as
applicable, Item 601(b)(101) of Regulation S-K (Sec.  229.601(b)(101)
of this chapter), General Instruction F of Form 11-K (Sec.  249.311 of
this chapter), paragraph (101) of Part II--Information Not Required to
be Delivered to Offerees or Purchasers of Form F-10 (Sec.  239.40 of
this chapter), paragraph 101 of the Instructions as to Exhibits of Form
20-F (Sec.  249.220f of this chapter), paragraph B.(15) of the General
Instructions to Form 40-F (Sec.  249.240f of this chapter), paragraph
C.(6) of the General Instructions to Form 6-K (Sec.  249.306 of this
chapter), Note D.5 of Rule 14a-101 under the Exchange Act (Sec.
240.14a-101 of this chapter), Item 1 of Rule 14c-101 under the Exchange
Act (Sec.  240.14c-101 of this chapter), General Instruction C.3.(g) of
Form N-1A (Sec. Sec.  239.15A and 274.11A of this chapter), General
Instruction I of Form N-2 (Sec. Sec.  239.14 and 274.11a-1 of this
chapter), General Instruction C.3.(h) of Form N-3 (Sec. Sec.  239.17a
and 274.11b of this chapter), General Instruction C.3.(h) of Form N-4
(Sec. Sec.  239.17b and 274.11c of this chapter), General Instruction
C.3.(h) of Form N-6 (Sec. Sec.  239.17c and 274.11d of this chapter);
or General Instruction C.4 of Form N-CSR (Sec. Sec.  249.331 and
274.128 of this chapter).
    (b) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (iii) The disclosure set forth in paragraph (b)(4) of this section.
* * * * *
    (3) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (C) The disclosure set forth in paragraph (b)(4) of this section.
* * * * *
    (4) The disclosure provided under 17 CFR part 229 (Regulation S-K)
and related provisions that is required to be tagged, including, as
applicable:
    (i) The information provided pursuant to Sec.  229.402(v) of this
chapter (Item 402(v) of Regulation S-K).
    (ii) [Reserved].
* * * * *
    Note 1 to Sec.  232.405: Section 229.601(b)(101) of this chapter
(Item 601(b)(101) of Regulation S-K) specifies the circumstances under
which an Interactive Data File must be submitted and the circumstances
under which it is permitted to be submitted, with respect to Sec.
239.11 of this chapter (Form S-1), Sec.  239.13 of this chapter (Form
S-3), Sec.  239.25 of this chapter (Form S-4), Sec.  239.18 of this
chapter (Form S-11), Sec.  239.31 of this chapter (Form F-1), Sec.
239.33 of this chapter (Form F-3), Sec.  239.34 of this chapter (Form
F-4), Sec.  249.310 of this chapter (Form 10-K), Sec.  249.308a of this
chapter (Form 10-Q), and Sec.  249.308 of this chapter (Form 8-K).
General Instruction F of Sec.  249.311 of this chapter (Form 11-K)
specifies the circumstances under which an Interactive Data File must
be submitted, and the circumstances under which it is permitted to be
submitted, with respect to Form 11-K. Paragraph (101) of Part II--
Information not Required to be Delivered to Offerees or Purchasers of
Sec.  239.40 of this chapter (Form F-10) specifies the circumstances
under which an Interactive Data File must be submitted and the
circumstances under which it is permitted to be submitted, with respect
to Form F-10. Paragraph 101 of the Instructions as to Exhibits of Sec.
249.220f of this chapter (Form 20-F) specifies the circumstances under
which an Interactive Data File must be submitted and the circumstances
under which it is permitted to be submitted, with respect to Form 20-F.
Paragraph B.(15) of the General Instructions to Sec.  249.240f of this
chapter (Form 40-F) and Paragraph C.(6) of the General Instructions to
Sec.  249.306 of this chapter

(Form 6-K) specify the circumstances under which an Interactive Data
File must be submitted and the circumstances under which it is
permitted to be submitted, with respect to Sec.  249.240f of this
chapter (Form 40-F) and Sec.  249.306 of this chapter (Form 6-K). Note
D.5 of Sec.  240.14a-101 of this chapter (Schedule 14A) and Item 1 of
Sec.  240.14c-101 of this chapter (Schedule 14C) specify the
circumstances under which an Interactive Data File must be submitted
with respect to Schedules 14A and 14C. Section 229.601(b)(101) (Item
601(b)(101) of Regulation S-K), paragraph (101) of Part II--Information
not Required to be Delivered to Offerees or Purchasers of Form F-10,
paragraph 101 of the Instructions as to Exhibits of Form 20-F,
paragraph B.(15) of the General Instructions to Form 40-F, and
paragraph C.(6) of the General Instructions to Form 6-K all prohibit
submission of an Interactive Data File by an issuer that prepares its
financial statements in accordance with 17 CFR 210.6-01 through 210.6-
10 (Article 6 of Regulation S-X). For an issuer that is a management
investment company or separate account registered under the Investment
Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a et seq.) or a business development
company as defined in Section 2(a)(48) of the Investment Company Act of
1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-2(a)(48)), General Instruction C.3.(g) of Form N-1A
(Sec. Sec.  239.15A and 274.11A of this chapter), General Instruction I
of Form N-2 (Sec. Sec.  239.14 and 274.11a-1 of this chapter), General
Instruction C.3.(h) of Form N-3 (Sec. Sec.  239.17a and 274.11b of this
chapter), General Instruction C.3.(h) of Form N-4 (Sec. Sec.  239.17b
and 274.11c of this chapter), General Instruction C.3.(h) of Form N-6
(Sec. Sec.  239.17c and 274.11d of this chapter), and General
Instruction C.4 of Form N-CSR (Sec. Sec.  249.331 and 274.128 of this
chapter), as applicable, specifies the circumstances under which an
Interactive Data File must be submitted.

PART 240--GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS, SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934

0
5. The general authority citation for part 240 continues to read as
follows:

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 77c, 77d, 77g, 77j, 77s, 77z-2, 77z-3,
77eee, 77ggg, 77nnn, 77sss, 77ttt, 78c, 78c-3, 78c-5, 78d, 78e, 78f,
78g, 78i, 78j, 78j-1, 78k, 78k-1, 78l, 78m, 78n, 78n-1, 78o, 78o-4,
78o-10, 78p, 78q, 78q-1, 78s, 78u-5, 78w, 78x, 78dd, 78ll, 78mm,
80a-20, 80a-23, 80a-29, 80a-37, 80b-3, 80b-4, 80b-11, and 7210 et
seq., and 8302; 7 U.S.C. 2(c)(2)(E); 12 U.S.C. 5521(e)(3); 18 U.S.C.
1350; and Pub. L. 111-203, 939A, 124 Stat. 1376, (2010); and Pub. L.
112-106, sec. 503 and 602, 126 Stat. 326 (2012), unless otherwise
noted.
* * * * *

0
6. Amend Sec.  240.14a-101 by adding paragraph D.5 to the Notes to read
as follows:

Sec.  240.14a-101  Schedule 14A. Information required in proxy
statement.

Schedule 14A Information
* * * * *

    Notes

* * * * *

    D. * * *
    5. Interactive Data File. An Interactive Data File must be
included in accordance with Sec.  232.405 of this chapter and the
EDGAR Filer Manual where applicable pursuant to Sec.  232.405(b) of
this chapter.

* * * * *

0
7. Amend Sec.  240.14c-101 by revising Item 1 to read as follows:

Sec.  240.14c-101  Schedule 14C. Information required in information
statement.

Schedule 14C Information
* * * * *
    Item 1. Information required by Items of Schedule 14A (17 CFR
240.14a-101). Furnish the information called for by all of the items of
Schedule 14A of Regulation 14A (17 CFR 240.14a-101) (other than Items
1(c), 2, 4 and 5 thereof) which would be applicable to any matter to be
acted upon at the meeting if proxies were to be solicited in connection
with the meeting. Notes A, C, D, and E to Schedule 14A (including the
requirement in Note D.5 to provide an Interactive Data File in
accordance with Sec.  232.405 of this chapter and the EDGAR Filer
Manual where applicable pursuant to Sec.  232.405(b) of this chapter)
are also applicable to Schedule 14C.
* * * * *

    By the Commission.

    Dated: August 25, 2022.
Vanessa A. Countryman,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-18771 Filed 9-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


[Federal Register: September 27, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 186)]
[Notices]
[Page 59305-59309]
[DOCID:fr27se10-142]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-62954; File No. SR-BX-2010-066]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc.; Notice of
Filing of a Proposed Rule Change To Enhance Quotation Requirements for
Market Makers

September 20, 2010.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on September 17, 2010, NASDAQ OMX

BX, Inc. (``BX'' or the ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (``Commission'') the proposed rule change as
described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared
by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange is filing with the Commission a proposed rule change
to enhance quotation requirements for market makers. The text of the
proposed rule change is below. Proposed new language is in italics;
proposed deletions are in [brackets].\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Changes are marked to the rule text that appears in the
electronic manual of Nasdaq found at http://
nasdaqomxbx.cchwallstreet.com.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

[4613. Character of Quotations]

    A member registered as an Equities Market Maker shall engage in a
course of dealings for its own account to assist in the maintenance,
insofar as reasonably practicable, of fair and orderly markets in
accordance with this Rule.

(a) Quotation Requirements and Obligations

    (1) Two-Sided Quote Obligation. For each security in which a member
is registered as an Equities Market Maker, the member shall be willing
to buy and sell such security for its own account on a continuous basis
and shall enter and maintain a two-sided quotation (``Principal
Quote''), which is attributed to the market maker by a special market
participant identifier (``MPID'') and is displayed in the NASDAQ OMX BX
Equities Market at all times, subject to the procedures for excused
withdrawal set forth in Rule 4619.
    (A) A registered Equities Market Maker must display a quotation
size for at least one normal unit of trading (or a larger multiple
thereof) when it is not displaying a limit order in compliance with SEC
Rule 604, provided, however, that a registered Equities Market Maker
may augment its displayed quotation size to display limit orders priced
at the Equities Market Maker's quotation. Unless otherwise designated,
a ``normal unit of trading'' shall be 100 shares.
    (B) The minimum quotation increment for quotations of $1.00 or
above in all System Securities shall be $0.01. The minimum quotation
increment in the System for quotations below $1.00 in System Securities
shall be $0.0001.
    (2) The first MPID issued to a member pursuant to subparagraph (1)
of this rule, or Rule 4623, shall be referred to as the member's
``Primary MPID.'' Market makers and ECNs may request the use of
additional MPIDs that shall be referred to as ``Supplemental MPIDs.'' A
market maker may request the use of a Supplemental MPIDs for displaying
Attributable Quotes/Orders in the Exchange's Quotation Montage for any
security in which it is registered and meets the obligations set forth
in subparagraph (1) of this rule. An ECN may request the use of
Supplemental MPIDS for displaying Attributable Quotes/Orders in the
Exchange's Quotation Montage for any security in which it meets the
obligations set forth in Rule 4623. A market maker or ECN that ceases
to meet the obligations appurtenant to its Primary MPID in any security
shall not be permitted to use a Supplemental MPID for any purpose in
that security.
    (3) Market makers and ECNs that are permitted the use of
Supplemental MPIDs for displaying Attributable Quotes/Orders pursuant
to subparagraph (2) of this rule are subject to the same rules
applicable to the member's first quotation, with two exceptions: (a)
The continuous two-sided quote requirement and excused withdrawal
procedures described in subparagraph (1) above do not apply to market
maker's Supplemental MPIDs; and (b) Supplemental MPIDs may not be used
by market makers to enter stabilizing bids pursuant to Equity Rule
4614.]

4613. Market Maker Obligations

    A member registered as an Equities Market Maker shall engage in a
course of dealings for its own account to assist in the maintenance,
insofar as reasonably practicable, of fair and orderly markets in
accordance with this Rule.

(a) Quotation Requirements and Obligations

    (1) Two-Sided Quote Obligation. For each security in which a member
is registered as a Equities Market Maker, the member shall be willing
to buy and sell such security for its own account on a continuous basis
during regular market hours and shall enter and maintain a two-sided
trading interest (``Two-Sided Obligation'') that is identified to the
Exchange as the interest meeting the obligation and is displayed in the
Exchange's quotation montage at all times. Interest eligible to be
considered as part of an Equities Market Maker's Two-Sided Obligation
shall have a displayed quotation size of at least one normal unit of
trading (or a larger multiple thereof); provided, however, that an
Equities Market Maker may augment its Two-Sided Obligation size to
display limit orders priced at the same price as the Two-Sided
Obligation. Unless otherwise designated, a ``normal unit of trading''
shall be 100 shares. After an execution against its Two-Sided
Obligation, Equities a Market Maker must ensure that additional trading
interest exists in the Exchange to satisfy its Two-Sided Obligation
either by immediately entering new interest to comply with this
obligation to maintain continuous two-sided quotations or by
identifying existing interest on the Exchange book that will satisfy
this obligation.
    (2) Pricing Obligations. For NMS stocks (as defined in Rule 600
under Regulation NMS) an Equities Market Maker shall adhere to the
pricing obligations established by this Rule during Regular Market
Hours.
    (A) Bid Quotations. At the time of entry of bid interest satisfying
the Two-Sided Obligation, the price of the bid interest shall be not
more than the Designated Percentage away from the then current National
Best Bid, or if no National Best Bid, not more than the Designated
Percentage away from the last reported sale from the responsible single
plan processor. In the event that the National Best Bid (or if no
National Best Bid, the last reported sale) increases to a level that
would cause the bid interest of the Two-Sided Obligation to be more
than the Defined Limit away from the National Best Bid (or if no
National Best Bid, the last reported sale), or if the bid is executed
or cancelled, the Equities Market Maker shall enter new bid interest at
a price not more than the Designated Percentage away from the then
current National Best Bid (or if no National Best Bid, the last
reported sale), or identify to the Exchange current resting interest
that satisfies the Two-Sided Obligation.
    (B) Offer Quotations.--At the time of entry of offer interest
satisfying the Two-Sided Obligation, the price of the offer interest
shall be not more than the Designated Percentage away from the then
current National Best Offer, or if no National Best Offer, not more
than the Designated Percentage away from the last reported sale
received from the responsible single plan processor. In the event that
the National Best Offer (or if no National Best Offer, the last
reported sale) decreases to a level that would cause the offer interest
of the Two-Sided Obligation to be more than the Defined

Limit away from the National Best Offer (or if no National Best Offer,
the last reported sale), or if the offer is executed or cancelled, the
Equities Market Maker shall enter new offer interest at a price not
more than the Designated Percentage away from the then current National
Best Offer (or if no National Best Offer, the last reported sale), or
identify to the Exchange current resting interest that satisfies the
Two-Sided Obligation.
    (C) The National Best Bid and Offer shall be determined by the
Exchange in accordance with its procedures for determining protected
quotations under Rule 600 under Regulation NMS.
    (D) For purposes of this Rule, the term ``Designated Percentage''
shall mean the individual stock pause trigger percentage under Rule
4120(a)(11) (or comparable rule of another exchange) less two (2)
percentage points. For times during regular market hours when stock
pause triggers are not in effect under Rule 4120(a)(11) (or comparable
rule of another exchange), the Designated Percentage calculation will
assume a trigger percentage of 22%. For NMS stocks that are not subject
to such stock pause triggers the Designated Percentage will assume a
trigger percentage of 32%.
    (E) For purposes of this Rule, the term ``Defined Limit'' shall
mean the individual stock pause trigger percentage under Rule
4120(a)(11) (or comparable rule of another exchange) less one-half (\1/
2\) percentage point. For times during regular market hours when stock
pause triggers are not in effect under Rule 4120(a)(11) (or comparable
rule of another exchange), the Defined Limit calculation will assume a
trigger percentage of 22%. For NMS stocks that are not subject to such
stock pause triggers the Defined Limit calculation will assume a
trigger percentage of 32%.
    (F) Quotation Creation and Adjustment. For each Issue in which an
Equities Market Maker is registered, the System shall automatically
create a quotation for display to comply with this Rule. System-created
compliant displayed quotations will thereafter be allowed to rest and
not be further adjusted by the System unless the relationship between
the quotation and its related National Best Bid or National Best Offer,
as appropriate, shrinks to the greater of: (a) 4 percentage points, or,
(b) one-quarter the applicable percentage necessary to trigger an
individual stock trading pause as described in NASDAQ OMX BX Rule
4120(a)(11), or expands to within that same percentage less 0.5%,
whereupon the System will immediately re-adjust and display the
Equities Market Maker's quote to the appropriate Designated Percentage
set forth in section (D) above. As the System allows for multiple
attributable quotations by a Equities Market Maker in an issue,
quotations originally entered by Equities Market Makers shall be
allowed to move freely towards or away from the National Best Bid or
National Best Offer, as appropriate, for potential execution.
    (G) Quotation Refresh After Execution. In the event of an execution
against a System-created compliant quotation, the Equities Market Maker
shall have its quote refreshed by the System on the executed side of
the market at the applicable Designated Percentage away from the then
National Best Bid (Offer) (or if no National Best Bid (Offer), the last
reported sale).
    (H) Nothing in this Rule shall preclude an Equities Market Maker
from quoting at price levels that are closer to the National Best Bid
and Offer than the levels required by this Rule.
    (I) The minimum quotation increment for quotations of $1.00 or
above in all System Securities shall be $0.01. The minimum quotation
increment in the System for quotations below $1.00 in System Securities
shall be $0.0001.
    (J) The individual Market Participant Identifier (``MPID'')
assigned to a member to meet its Two-Sided Obligation pursuant to
subparagraph (a)(1) of this Rule, or Rule 4623, shall be referred to as
the member's ``Primary MPID.'' Equities Market Makers and ECNs may
request the use if additional MPIDs that shall be referred to as
``Supplemental MPIDs.'' An Equities Market Maker may request the use of
Supplemental MPIDs for displaying Attributable Quotes/Orders in the
Quotation Montage for any security in which it is registered and meets
the obligations set forth in subparagraph (1) of this rule. An ECN may
request the use of Supplemental MPIDs for displaying Attributable
Quotes/Orders in the Quotation Montage for any security in which it
meets the obligations set forth in Rule 4623. An Equities Market Maker
or ECN that ceases to meet the obligations appurtenant to its Primary
MPID in any security shall not be permitted to use a Supplemental MPID
for any purpose in that security.
    (K) Equities Market Makers and ECNs that are permitted the use of
Supplemental MPIDs for displaying Attributable Quotes/Orders pursuant
to subparagraph (2) of this rule are subject to the same rules
applicable to the members' first quotation, with two exceptions: (a)
The continuous two-sided quote requirement and excused withdrawal
procedures described in subparagraph (1) above do not apply to Equities
Market Makers' Supplemental MPIDs; and (b) Supplemental MPIDs may not
be used by Equities Market Makers to engage in passive market making or
to enter stabilizing bids pursuant to Rule 4614.
    (b)-(e) No Change.
* * * * *
    (b) Not applicable.
    (c) Not applicable.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in
Sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such
statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    Market Maker Quote Obligations:
    The Exchange proposes to adopt rules to enhance minimum quotation
requirements for market makers. Under the proposal, the Exchange will
require market makers for each stock in which they are registered to
continuously maintain a two-sided quotation within a designated
percentage of the National Best Bid and National Best Offer as
appropriate. These enhanced market maker quotation requirements are
intended to eliminate trade executions against market maker placeholder
quotations traditionally priced far away from the inside market,
commonly known as ``stub quotes.'' They are also intended to augment
and work in relation to the single stock pause standards already in
place on a pilot basis for stocks in the S&P 500, Russell 1000, and
specified ETFs.\4\ Under the proposal, the Exchange will require
registered market makers to enter and maintain quotes priced at no more
than a certain percentage away from the national inside bid and offer.
Permissible quotes are determined by the individual character of the
security, the time of day in which the quote is entered, and other
factors which are summarized below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See Exchange Act Release No. 62884 (September 10, 2010).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For issues subject to an individual stock trading trigger pause, a
permissible quote is determined by first looking at the applicable
stock trading pause trigger percentage of the security and then
reducing that number by 2%. Since currently the stock pause trigger
percentage across all exchanges is 10%, a market maker's quote in such
a security may not be more than 8% away from the national best bid or
best offer as appropriate. Once a compliant quote is entered, it may
rest without adjustment until such time as it moves to within \1/2\ of
1% of the applicable trigger pause percentage (i.e., currently 9.5%)
whereupon the market maker must immediately move its quote back to at
least the permissible default level of 8% away from the national best
bid or best offer. During times in which a trigger pause percentage is
not applicable (e.g. before 9:45 a.m. and after 3:35 p.m.), a market
maker must maintain a quote no further than 20% away from the inside
(i.e. it may rest without adjustment until it reaches 21.5%). In the
absence of national best or best offer, the above calculations will
remain the same, but will use the national last sale instead of the
absent bid or offer.
    For securities not subject to any individual stock pause trigger,
the proposal will a [sic] assume a hypothetical 32% trigger pause,
apply a 2% reduction, and require market makers in those issues to
maintain quotes no more than 30% away from the national best and
national best offer. Like securities subject to stock trading pauses,
once a compliant quote is entered, it may rest without adjustment until
such time as it moves to within \1/2\ of 1% of its applicable trigger
pause percentage (31.5%) whereupon the market maker must immediately
move its quote back to at least the permissible default level of 30%.
These requirements shall apply to Regulation NMS securities during
normal market hours.
    Nothing in the above precludes a market maker from voluntarily
quoting at price levels that are closer to the national best bid and
best offer than required under the proposal.
    Automated Quote Management:
    In order to assist market makers in meeting their enhanced
quotation obligations, the Exchange will also provide automated quote
management functionality. For each issue in which a market maker is
registered, the Exchange will automatically create a quotation for
display to comply with this standard set forth in this proposal.
Compliant displayed quotations will thereafter be allowed to rest and
not be further adjusted by the Exchange unless the relationship between
the quotation and its related national best bid or national best offer,
as appropriate, shrinks to the greater of: (a) 4 percentage points, or,
(b) one-quarter the applicable percentage necessary to trigger an
individual stock trading pause as described in NASDAQ OMX BX Rule
4120(a)(11), or expands to within that same percentage less 0.5%,
whereupon the Exchange will immediately re-adjust and display the
market maker's quote to the appropriate designated percentage.
Quotations originally entered by market makers shall be allowed to move
freely towards the national best bid or national best offer, as
appropriate, for potential execution.
    In the event of an execution against a System-created compliant
quotation, the market maker shall have its quote refreshed by the
System on the executed side of the market at the applicable designated
percentage away from the then national best bid (offer), or if no
national best bid (offer), the last reported sale.
    Previously Approved Rule Text:
    Finally, the sections (I), (J) and (K) of the proposed rule are
portions of previously approved text of Rule 4613 that have moved so as
to group the proposed market making standard sections together within
the rule.
2. Statutory Basis
    The statutory basis for the proposed rule change is Section 6(b)(5)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Act''),\5\ which requires
the rules of an exchange to promote just and equitable principles of
trade, to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and
open market and a national market system and, in general, to protect
investors and the public interest. The proposed rule change also is
designed to support the principles of Section 11A(a)(1) \6\ of the Act
in that it seeks to assure fair competition among brokers and dealers
and among exchange markets. The Exchange believes that the proposed
rule meets these requirements in that it promotes transparency and
uniformity across markets concerning minimum market maker quotation
requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1(a)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
result in any burden on competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act, as amended.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others

    Written comments were neither solicited nor received.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action

    Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to
which the Exchange consents, the Commission shall: (a) By order approve
or disapprove such proposed rule change, or (b) institute proceedings
to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://
www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an e-mail to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Please include
File Number SR-BX-2010-066 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, Station Place, 100 F
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-BX-2010-066. This file
number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To
help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/
sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all
written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to
the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for inspection and
copying in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10
a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All
comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should
submit only information that you wish to make publicly available. All
submissions should refer to File Number SR-BX-2010-066 and should be
submitted on or before October 18, 2010.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-24059 Filed 9-24-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P


[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 109 (Thursday, June 6, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26507-26508]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11882]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2019-0100]

Hazardous Materials Safety: Notice of Availability of the Draft
Environmental Assessment for a Special Permit Request for Liquefied
Natural Gas by Rail

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: PHMSA announces the availability for public review and comment
of the draft environmental assessment for a special permit request to
transport ``Methane, Refrigerated Liquid'' (i.e., liquefied natural
gas) by rail tank car.

DATES: Comment must be received by July 8, 2019. To the extent
possible, PHMSA will consider late-filed comments.

ADDRESSES: Comments should reference the Docket number for this notice
and may be submitted in the following ways:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management System; U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Routing
Symbol M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: To the Docket Management System; Room W12-
140 on the ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
Docket Number (PHMSA-2019-0100) for this notice at the beginning of the
comment. To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four
methods. All comments received will be posted without change to the
Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) and will include any personal
information you provide. If sent by mail, comments must be submitted in
duplicate. Persons wishing to receive confirmation of receipt of their
comments must include a self-addressed stamped postcard.
    Docket: For access to the dockets to read associated documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or DOT's Docket
Operations Office (see ADDRESSES).
    Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its process. DOT posts these
comments, without change, including any personal information the
commenter provides, to http://www.regulations.gov, as described in the
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
http://www.dot.gov/privacy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Paquet by telephone at 202-366-
4511, or email at<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PHMSA received a request for special permit
from Energy Transport Solutions, LLC seeking authorization to transport
``Methane, Refrigerated Liquid'' (UN1972), commonly known and liquefied
natural gas (LNG), in a rail tank car. Specifically, the request is to
authorize shipment of LNG in a DOT specification 113C120W tank car
subject to certain operational conditions. We invite interested persons
to review and provide comment on the ``draft environmental assessment''
for this special permit request. Please include comment on potential
safety, environmental, and any additional impacts that should be
considered. The document is available at http://www.regulations.gov
under Docket number PHMSA-2019-0100. PHMSA has also included the draft
special permit in the docket for this notice as further reference
material. Before issuing a final decision on the special permit
request, PHMSA will evaluate all comments and consider each relevant
comment we receive in making our decision to grant or deny the request
for special permit.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2019, under authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
William S. Schoonover,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. 2019-11882 Filed 6-5-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-60-P


[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 245 (Thursday, December 22, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 78621-78625]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27765]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 63

[EPA-R01-OAR-2020-0007; FRL-10498-01-R1]

Approval of the Clean Air Act, Section 112(l), Authority for
Hazardous Air Pollutants: Air Emissions Standards for Halogenated
Solvent Cleaning Machines; State of Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing to grant the Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management (RI DEM) the authority to implement and
enforce the amended Rhode Island Code of Regulations, Control of
Emissions from Organic Solvent Cleaning (Organic Solvent Cleaning
Rule), and the General Definitions Regulation (General Definitions
Rule) in place of the National Emission Standard for Halogenated
Solvent Cleaning (Halogenated Solvent NESHAP) as a partial rule
substitution as it applies to organic solvent cleaning machines in
Rhode Island. Upon approval, RI DEM's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning
Rule and General Definitions Rule would apply to all sources that
otherwise would be regulated by the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP, except
for continuous web cleaning machines, for which the Halogenated Solvent
NESHAP would continue to apply. The EPA has reviewed RI DEM's request
and has preliminarily determined that the State's amended Organic
Solvent Cleaning Rule and General Definitions Rule satisfy the
requirements necessary for approval. Thus, the EPA is proposing to
approve the request. This approval would make RI DEM's amended Organic
Solvent Cleaning Rule and General Definitions Rule federally
enforceable. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before January 23, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R01-
OAR-2020-0007 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, follow
the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either
manner of submission, the EPA may publish any comment received to its
public docket.

Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio,
video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written
comment is considered the official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not
consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, please contact the person identified in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full EPA public
comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and
general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. Publicly available docket
materials are available at https://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region 1 Regional Office, Air and
Radiation Division, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. The
EPA requests that, if at all possible, you contact the contact listed
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your
inspection. The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday
through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding legal holidays and
facility closures due to COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Bird, Air Permits, Toxics, and
Indoor Programs Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New
England Regional Office, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail code
05-2), Boston, MA 02109-3912, telephone number<PHONE_NUMBER>,
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background and Purpose
II. What requirements must a state rule meet to substitute for a
section 112 rule?
III. What material changes did Rhode Island make to its organic
solvent cleaning rule and general definitions rule?
IV. What is the EPA's evaluation regarding Rhode Island's amended
organic solvent cleaning rule and general definitions rule?
V. Proposed Action
VI. Incorporation by Reference
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

    Under CAA section 112(l), the EPA may approve state or local rules
or programs to be implemented and enforced in place of certain
otherwise applicable Federal rules, emissions standards, or
requirements for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). The Federal
regulations governing the EPA's approval of state and local rules or
programs under section 112(l) are located at 40 CFR part 63, subpart E.
See 58 FR 62262 (November 26, 1993), as amended by 65 FR 55810
(September 14, 2000). Under these regulations, a state air pollution
control agency has the option to request the EPA's approval to
substitute a state rule for the applicable Federal rule (e.g., the
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP)).
Upon approval by the EPA, the state agency is authorized to implement
and enforce its rule in place of the Federal rule, and the state rule
becomes federally enforceable in that state.
    The EPA promulgated the National Emissions Standards for
Halogenated Solvent Cleaning (``Halogenated Solvent NESHAP'') on
December 2, 1994. See 40 CFR part 63, subpart T. The EPA promulgated
several amendments to the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP, with the latest
amendments promulgated on May 3, 2007. See 72 FR 25138.
    On June 18, 2010, the EPA approved the Rhode Island Air Pollution
Control Regulation No. 36, currently codified in Title 250 Department
of Environmental Management, Chapter 120 Air Resources, Subchapter 05
Air Pollution Control, Part 36 Control of Emissions from Organic
Solvent Cleaning (Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule), and Rhode Island Air
Pollution Control General Definitions Regulation, currently codified in
Title 250 Department of Environmental Management, Chapter 120 Air
Resources, Subchapter 05 Air Pollution Control, Part 0 General
Definitions Regulation (General Definitions Rule), as a partial rule
substitution for the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP, applicable to all
sources in Rhode Island, except for continuous web cleaning
machines,\1\ for which the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP continues to
apply. See 75 FR 34647.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The regulatory text promulgated in 40 CFR 63.99(a)(40)(ii)
on June 10, 2010 specifies that the EPA's approval applies to area
sources. However, Rhode Island did not request that the rule
substitution be limited to area sources. In addition, nothing in the
June 10, 2010 Federal Register preamble describes the rule
substitution as being limited to area sources. We believe the rule
substitution was intended to apply to both major and area sources
and that the term area source is erroneously included in the
regulatory text in Sec.  63.99(a)(40)(ii). We therefore propose to
remove the reference to area sources currently in 40 CFR
63.99(a)(40)(ii) by this rulemaking.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under 40 CFR 63.91(e)(2), within 90 days of any state amendment,
repeal, or revision of any state rule approved as an alternative to a
Federal requirement, the state must provide the EPA with a copy of the
revised authorities and request approval of the revised rule. In a
letter dated June 30, 2022, RI DEM requested approval of its amended
rules pertaining to organic solvent cleaning in Rhode Island.
Specifically, RI DEM requested approval of its amended rules in Title
250 Department of Environmental Management, Chapter 120 Air Resources,
Subchapter 05 Air Pollution Control, Part 36 Control of Emissions from
Organic Solvent Cleaning, effective June 13, 2022, excluding the
provisions in Parts 36.2, 36.5.A.28, 36.6.D, and 36.17,\2\ and in Title
250 Department of Environmental Management, Chapter 120 Air Resources,
Subchapter 05 Air Pollution Control, Part 0 General Definitions Rule,
effective January 4, 2022, excluding the provisions in Part 0.2.\3\ In
this Federal Register document, the EPA is proposing to approve the
amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule and General Definitions Rule
under the rule substitution criteria in 40 CFR 63.93.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The excluded provisions at Parts 36.A.5.28, 36.6.D, and
36.17 apply to industrial solvent cleaning not regulated by the
Halogenated Solvent NESHAP. We are not proposing to approve these
provisions.
    \3\ The excluded provisions at Parts 36.2 and 0.2 state that the
State's regulation shall be liberally construed to permit RI DEM to
effectuate the purposes of state laws, goals and policies. We are
not proposing to approve these provisions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Rhode Island's Part 36 Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule was also
submitted as a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision for purposes of
meeting reasonable available control technology (RACT) requirements for
volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The EPA will take action on that
submittal in a separate document.

II. What requirements must a state rule meet to substitute for a
section 112 rule?

    A state must first demonstrate that it has satisfied the ``up-
front'' criteria contained in 40 CFR 63.91(d). The process of providing
``up-front approval'' assures that a state has met the delegation
criteria in section 112(l)(5) of the CAA as implemented by the EPA's
regulations at 40 CFR 63.91(d). These criteria require, among other
things, that the state has demonstrated that its program contains
adequate authorities to assure compliance with each applicable Federal
requirement, adequate resources for implementation, and an expeditious
compliance schedule. Under 40 CFR

63.91(d)(3), interim or final Title V program approval under 40 CFR
part 70 satisfies the criteria set forth in 40 CFR 63.91(d) for ``up-
front approval.'' On October 1, 2001, the EPA promulgated full approval
of RI DEM's operating permits program. See 66 FR 49839. Accordingly, RI
DEM has satisfied the up-front approval criteria of 40 CFR 63.91(d).
    Additionally, the regulations governing approval of state
requirements that substitute for a section 112 rule require the EPA to
evaluate the state's submittal to ensure that it meets the stringency
and other requirements of 40 CFR 63.93. A rule will be approved if the
state requirements contain or demonstrate: (1) Applicability criteria
that are no less stringent than the corresponding Federal rule; (2)
levels of control and compliance and enforcement measures that result
in emission reductions from each affected source that are no less
stringent than would result from the otherwise applicable Federal rule;
(3) a compliance schedule that requires each affected source to be in
compliance within a time frame consistent with the deadlines
established in the otherwise applicable Federal rule; and (4) the
additional compliance and enforcement measures as specified in 40 CFR
63.93(b)(4). See 40 CFR 63.93(b).
    A state may also seek, and the EPA may approve, a partial
delegation of the EPA's authorities. CAA 112(l)(1). To obtain a partial
rule substitution, the state's submittal must meet the otherwise
applicable requirements in 40 CFR 63.93 and be separable from the
portions of the program that the state is not seeking rule substitution
for. See 64 FR 1889, January 12, 1999.
    Before we can approve alternative requirements in place of a part
63 emissions standard, the state must submit to us detailed information
that demonstrates how the alternative requirements compare with the
otherwise applicable Federal standard. A detailed discussion of how the
EPA determines equivalency for state alternative NESHAP requirements is
provided in the preamble to the EPA's proposed subpart E amendments on
January 12, 1999. See 64 FR 1908, January 12, 1999.

III. What material changes did Rhode Island make to its organic solvent
cleaning rule and general definitions rule?

    Effective as of June 13, 2022,\4\ RI DEM amended Part 36 Control of
Emissions from Organic Solvent Cleaning (amended Organic Solvent
Cleaning Rule) and effective as of January 4, 2022, RI DEM amended Part
0 General Definitions Regulation (amended General Definitions Rule).
The new State regulations differ in several ways from the regulations
we last approved in 2010. See 75 FR 34647.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Since the EPA's 2010 approval, Rhode Island amended Part 36
on January 9, 2017, and then subsequently on January 13, 2019 and
June 13, 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In 2016, the State of Rhode Island revised its Administrative
Procedures Act to require that every state regulation be rewritten into
the new Rhode Island Code of Regulations format. In order to meet this
requirement, Part 0 General Definitions Rule and Part 36 Organic
Solvent Cleaning Rule were revised consistent with the required format.
Changes to the format included renumbering and lettering the
provisions, moving the general provisions about purpose, authority, and
severability from the end of the regulation to the beginning, and
eliminating the table of contents. In addition, Rhode Island added an
incorporated materials section to adopt and incorporate the Federal
regulations cited within the rule. These revisions are not substantive,
and they continue the State program we had previously approved, with
the exceptions noted below. Our prior approval notice contains a
detailed discussion of the differences between Rhode Island's Organic
Solvent Cleaning Rule and the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP. See 75 FR
34647, June 18, 2010.
    In addition to the recodification to the new format, Rhode Island
also made several substantive changes to the Part 36 Organic Solvent
Cleaning Rule. The following discussion summarizes the material changes
to Rhode Island's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule. A detailed
side by side comparison table of Rhode Island's amended Organic Solvent
Cleaning Rule compared to the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP is included in
the docket identified in the ADDRESSES section of this Federal Register
document See Enclosure 1 of Rhode Island's June 30, 2022 submission.
    Rhode Island's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule added an
exemption from requirements for cold cleaning machines with an internal
volume of 1 liter or less and not using halogenated HAP solvents as
defined. See Rhode Island's Part 36.6.C. Because Rhode Island regulates
cold cleaning machines with an internal volume of 1 liter or less if
using halogenated HAP solvents as does the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP,
Rhode Island's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule is no less
stringent than the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP. See 40 CFR 63.460(a).
    Rhode Island's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule changed the
requirement for batch vapor machines without a solvent air interface to
determine compliance with the three-month rolling emission limit on the
15th of every month. The Halogenated Solvent NESHAP requires these
machines to determine compliance with the three-month rolling emission
limit on the 1st of every month. Because the State's rule and the
NESHAP require the same frequency of determining compliance (i.e., once
every month), Rhode Island's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning rule is
not less stringent than the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP. See Rhode
Island's Part 36.12.A.3 and 40 CFR 63.464 and 63.465(c).
    Rhode Island's Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule includes solvent vapor
pressure limits for certain cold cleaning operations. Rhode Island's
amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule clarified the provisions for cold
cleaning machines excluded from the solvent vapor pressure limits. The
Halogenated Solvent NESHAP does not set vapor pressure limits for
solvents. Because Rhode Island's rule amended Organic Solvent Cleaning
rule imposes limits beyond what the NESHAP requires, it is not less
stringent than the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP. See Rhode Island's Part
36.9.G.
    Rhode Island's Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule includes a monthly
halogenated HAP solvent emission limit for all organic solvent cleaning
operations, calculated on a 12-month rolling average basis. Rhode
Island's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule added explicit
compliance dates for sources complying with the monthly halogenated HAP
solvent emission limit. See Rhode Island's Parts 36.8.Q and 36.7.B.
Rhode Island's monthly halogenated HAP solvent emission limit
compliance dates are consistent with the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP.
See 40 CFR 63.460(i).
    Rhode Island removed the specific dates for approval of
alternatives for machines installed before November 29, 1993 because
those dates have passed. Rhode Island's amended Organic Solvent
Cleaning Rule requires alternatives to be submitted and approved by EPA
and RI DEM before startup of the machine. Rhode Island's amended
Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule is equivalent to the Halogenated Solvent
NESHAP. See Rhode Island's Parts 36.9.C.2, 36.10.F.5, 36.10.G.3,
36.11.H.3, and 36.11.G.4 and 40 CFR 63.469.

    Rhode Island removed the provision requiring requests to be
submitted by December 1, 1996, for exemptions from automated parts
handling for machines installed before November 29, 1993, because the
deadline has passed for sources to request an exemption from parts
handling for machines installed before November 29, 1993. Rhode
Island's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule requires requests for
exemption from parts handling to be submitted 30 days before startup of
the solvent cleaning machine. The Halogenated Solvent NESHAP does not
have an analogous requirement for sources to request using the
alternative emission limitation as an alternative to the control
technology standards. Both the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP and Rhode
Island's rule require sources complying with the alternative emission
standard to report solvent emissions averages. Because Rhode Island's
amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule imposes this request requirement
that the NESHAP does not require, it is not less stringent than and is
consistent with the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP. See Rhode Island's Part
36.16 and 40 CFR 63.464.
    Rhode Island removed initial notification and compliance
notification reporting dates for sources installed before November 29,
1993, because those reporting deadlines have passed. Rhode Island's
amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule requires sources to submit an
initial notification 120 days before startup and a compliance
notification report 60 days after startup. The Halogenated Solvent
NESHAP requires the initial notification for new sources to be
submitted as soon as practicable before construction or reconstruction
is commenced and requires the initial statement of compliance report to
be submitted no later than 150 days after startup. Because RI's amended
Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule requires a more expeditious notification
and reporting schedule than the NESHAP, it is not less stringent than
and is consistent with the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP. See Rhode
Island's Parts 36.15.1.A and 36.15.2.A and 40 CFR 63.468(b)-(e).
    Rhode Island amended and added definitions in order to be
consistent with the NESHAP, including definitions for air blanket,
consumption, contaminants, cover, halogenated HAP solvent, hoist,
overall control device efficiency, part, soil, solvent/air interface
area, sump heater, sump heater coils, and vapor cleaning. Because Rhode
Island's definitions are equivalent to those in the NESHAP, Rhode
Island's rule is no less stringent than the NESHAP. See Rhode Island's
Part 36.5 and 40 CFR 63.461.

IV. What is the EPA's evaluation regarding Rhode Island's amended
organic solvent cleaning rule and general definitions rule?

    After reviewing the request for approval of Rhode Island's amended
Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule and General Definitions Rule, the EPA
proposes to find that this request meets all of the requirements
necessary to qualify for a partial rule substitution approval under CAA
section 112(l) and 40 CFR 63.93. Specifically, we believe that the
amended State program generally continues the program we approved in
2010, with the exceptions described in this document. We thus
incorporate the findings we made in our 2010 approval notification. See
75 FR 34650, June 18, 2010. The amendments to the program since then
are generally non-substantive changes to conform the State's
regulations to its recently revised Administrative Procedures Act. We
have scrutinized the several substantive changes as described above and
find that these do not unfavorably affect the stringency of the State's
program or its consistency with the NESHAP. We thus propose to find
that Rhode Island's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule and General
Definitions Rule meet all the criteria for our approval in 40 CFR
63.93(b): the State's program is not less stringent than the
Halogenated Solvent NESHAP as required by each of the criteria set
forth in 40 CFR 63.93(b)(1)-(2), is consistent with the compliance
schedule in the NESHAP as required by 40 CFR 63.93(b)(3), and satisfies
the compliance and enforcement requirements in 40 CFR 63.93(b)(4). We
make these findings for the State's program as applied to all sources
in Rhode Island otherwise regulated by the Halogenated Solvent NESHAP,
except for continuous web cleaning machines for which the Halogenated
Solvent NESHAP would continue to apply. Therefore, the EPA proposes to
approve Rhode Island's amended Organic Solvent Cleaning Rule, effective
as of June 13, 2022, and Rhode Island's General Definitions Rule,
effective as of January 4, 2022, in lieu of the Halogenated Solvent
NESHAP, for all sources in Rhode Island, except for continuous web
cleaning machines.

V. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve RI DEM's amended rules in Title 250
Department of Environmental Management, Chapter 120 Air Resources,
Subchapter 05 Air Pollution Control, Part 36 Control of Emissions from
Organic Solvent Cleaning, effective as of June 13, 2022, excluding the
provisions in Parts 36.2, 36.5.A.28, 36.6.D, and 36.17, and in Title
250 Department of Environmental Management, Chapter 120 Air Resources,
Subchapter 05 Air Pollution Control, Part 0 General Definitions
Regulation, effective as of January 4, 2022, excluding the provisions
in Part 0.2, as a partial rule substitution for the Halogenated Solvent
NESHAP, for all sources in Rhode Island, except for continuous web
cleaning machines. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues
discussed in this document. These comments will be considered before
the EPA takes final action. Interested parties may participate in the
Federal rulemaking procedure by submitting written comments to this
proposed rule by following the instructions listed in the ADDRESSES
section of this Federal Register document.

VI. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference Rhode Island's rules in Title 250 Department of Environmental
Management, Chapter 120 Air Resources, Subchapter 05 Air Pollution
Control, Part 36 Control of Emissions from Organic Solvent Cleaning,
effective as of June 13, 2022, excluding the provisions in Parts 36.2,
36.5.A.28, 36.6.D, 36.17, and in Title 250 Department of Environmental
Management, Chapter 120 Air Resources, Subchapter 05 Air Pollution
Control, Part 0 General Definitions Regulation, effective as of January
4, 2022, excluding the provisions in Part 0.2. The EPA has made, and
will continue to make, these documents generally available through
https://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 1 Office (please
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this preamble for more information).

VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator has the authority to approve CAA
section 112(l) submissions that comply with the provisions of the Act
and applicable Federal regulations. In reviewing section 112(l)
submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that
they meet the criteria and objectives of the CAA and of the EPA's
implementing regulations. Accordingly, this action proposes to

approve the State's request as meeting Federal requirements and does
not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by State law.
For that reason, this proposed action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001).
    In addition, this rule is not subject to requirements of Section
12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995
(15 U.S.C. 272 note) because application of those requirements would be
inconsistent with the CAA. It also does not provide EPA with the
discretionary authority to address, as appropriate, disproportionate
human health or environmental effects, using practicable and legally
permissible methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February
16, 1994) because the EPA is proposing to approve the State's request
as meeting Federal requirements and is not imposing additional
requirements beyond those imposed by State law. This rule does not have
Tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249,
November 9, 2000), because the EPA is not proposing to approve the
submitted rule to apply in Indian country located in the State, and
because the submitted rule will not impose substantial direct costs on
Tribal governments or preempt Tribal law.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 63

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Hazardous substances, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.

    Dated: December 15, 2022.
David Cash,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.
[FR Doc. 2022-27765 Filed 12-21-22; 8:45 am]
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