Notices. Revisions to Appendix C of OMB Circular A-94

776 words·~4 min read·/register/2004/02/26/04-4228

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

BILLING CODE 7510-01-P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50-334] FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company; Notice of Withdrawal of Application for Amendment to Facility Operating License The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has granted the request of FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (the licensee) to withdraw its June 24, 2003, application for proposed amendment to Facility Operating License No. DPR-66 for the Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit No. 1, located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania.

The proposed amendment would have revised the Technical Specifications to clarify the steam generator tube inspection definition and the steam generator tube repair criteria. The Commission had previously issued a Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment published in the **Federal Register** on August 5, 2003 (68 FR 46243). However, by letter dated February 9, 2004, the licensee withdrew the proposed change. For further details with respect to this action, *see* the application for amendment dated June 24, 2003, and the licensee's letter dated February 9, 2004, which withdrew the application for license amendment.

Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the internet at the NRC Web site, *http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/html* . Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737 or by email to *pdr@nrc.gov* .

Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of February, 2004. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Timothy G. Colburn, Senior Project Manager, Section 1, Project Directorate I, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E4-408 Filed 2-25-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET Discount Rates for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Federal Programs AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget. ACTION: Revisions to Appendix C of OMB Circular A-94.

SUMMARY: The Office of Management and Budget revised Circular A-94 in 1992. The revised Circular specified certain discount rates to be updated annually when the interest rate and inflation assumptions used to prepare the budget of the United States Government were changed. These discount rates are found in Appendix C of the revised Circular. The updated discount rates are shown below. The discount rates in Appendix C are to be used for cost-effectiveness analysis, including lease-purchase analysis, as specified in the revised Circular.

They do not apply to regulatory analysis. DATES: The revised discount rates are effective immediately and will be in effect through January 2005. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert B. Anderson, Office of Economic Policy, Office of Management and Budget,

(202)395-3381. James D. Foster, Associate Director for Economic Policy, Office of Management and Budget. Appendix C (Revised February 2004) Discount Rates for Cost-Effectiveness, Lease Purchase, and Related Analyses *Effective Dates.* This appendix is updated annually around the time of the President's budget submission to Congress. This version of the appendix is valid through the end of January 2005. A copy of the updated appendix can be obtained in electronic form through the OMB home page at *http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a094/a94_appx-c.html,* the text of the main body of the Circular is found at *http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a094/a094.html,* and a table of past years' rates is located at *http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a094/DISCHIST-2004.pdf.* Updates of the appendix are also available upon request from OMB's Office of Economic Policy (202-395-3381). *Nominal Discount Rates.* A forecast of nominal or market interest rates for 2004 based on the economic assumptions from the 2005 Budget are presented below. These nominal rates are to be used for discounting nominal flows, which are often encountered in lease-purchase analysis. Nominal Interest Rates on Treasury Notes and Bonds of Specified Maturities (in percent) *3-year* *5-year* *7-year* *10-year* *30-year* 3.0 3.7 4.2 4.6 5.5 *Real Discount Rates.* A forecast of real interest rates from which the inflation premium has been removed and based on the economic assumptions from the 2005 Budget are presented below. These real rates are to be used for discounting real (constant-dollar) flows, as is often required in cost-effectiveness analysis. Real Interest Rates on Treasury Notes and Bonds of Specified Maturities (in percent) *3-year* *5-year* *7-year* *10-year* *30-year* 1.6 2.1 2.4 2.8 3.5 Analyses of programs with terms different from those presented above may use a linear interpolation. For example, a four-year project can be evaluated with a rate equal to the average of the three-year and five-year rates. Programs with durations longer than 30 years may use the 30-year interest rate. [FR Doc. 04-4228 Filed 2-25-04; 8:45 am]