Metropolitan Statistical Areas
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Monday, June 28, 2010 Part IV Office of Management and Budget 2010 Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas; Notice VerDate Mar<15>2010 20:27 Jun 25, 2010 Jkt 220001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\28JNN3.SGM 28JNN3 srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES3 37246 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 123 / Monday, June 28, 2010 / Notices OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/ nonstatistical activities or for use in BUDGET omb/fedreg_default/. program funding formulas. Furthermore, the Metropolitan and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 2010 Standards for Delineating Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Suzann Evinger, Office of Management Metropolitan and Micropolitan do not produce an urban-rural and Budget, telephone number (202) Statistical Areas classification, and confusion of these 395–3093, fax number 202–395–7245. concepts can lead to difficulties in AGENCY: Office of Information and SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: program implementation. Counties Regulatory Affairs, Office of Outline of Notice included in Metropolitan and Management and Budget (OMB), Micropolitan Statistical Areas and many Executive Office of the President. A. Background and Review Process other counties may contain both urban ACTION: Notice of decision. B. Summary of Comments Received in and rural territory and population. For Response to the February 12, 2009 Federal instance, programs that seek to SUMMARY: This Notice announces OMB’s Register Notice adoption of 2010 Standards for C. OMB’s Decisions Regarding strengthen rural economies by focusing Delineating Metropolitan and Recommendations From the Metropolitan solely on counties located outside Micropolitan Statistical Areas. The 2010 and Micropolitan Statistical Area metropolitan statistical areas could standards replace and supersede the Standards Review Committee Concerning ignore a predominantly rural county 2000 Standards for Defining Changes to the Standards for Defining that is included in a metropolitan Metropolitan and Micropolitan Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical statistical area because a high Areas percentage of the county’s residents Statistical Areas. In arriving at its D. 2010 Standards for Delineating commute to urban centers for work. decision, OMB accepted the Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical OMB urges agencies, organizations, and recommendations of the interagency Areas and Key Terms policy makers to review carefully the Metropolitan and Micropolitan goals of nonstatistical programs and Statistical Area Standards Review A. Background and Review Process policies to ensure that appropriate Committee (the Review Committee) as 1. Background geographic entities are used to published in the February 12, 2009 determine eligibility for the allocation of Federal Register. The metropolitan and micropolitan Federal funds. The SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION in statistical area program, under various this Notice provides background names, has provided standard statistical 2. Review Process information on the standards (Section area delineations for approximately 60 years. In the 1940s, it became clear that From the beginning of the program, A), a brief synopsis of the public OMB (or its predecessor) has reviewed comments OMB received in response to the value of metropolitan data produced by Federal agencies would be greatly the metropolitan (and now the February 12, 2009 Federal Register micropolitan) statistical area standards enhanced if agencies used a single set of notice (Section B), and OMB’s decisions and, if warranted, revised them in the geographic delineations for the Nation’s on the recommendations of the Review years preceding their application to new largest centers of population and Committee (Section C). The 2010 decennial census data. During the activity. OMB’s predecessor, the Bureau standards appear at the end of this 1990s, OMB conducted a of the Budget, led the effort to develop Notice (Section D). comprehensive review of the 1990 what were then called ‘‘standard The adoption of the 2010 standards standards, leading to the development metropolitan areas’’ in time for their use will not affect the availability of Federal of the core based statistical areas in 1950 census publications. Since then, data for geographic areas such as States, (CBSAs) (metropolitan and micropolitan comparable data products for counties, county subdivisions, and statistical areas) and combined municipalities. For the near term, the metropolitan areas have been available. statistical areas as contained in the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau will tabulate and The general concept of a metropolitan standards (available at: http:// publish data from the 2010 Census for statistical area is that of an area www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/ all metropolitan, micropolitan, and containing a large population nucleus metroareas122700.pdf). Periodic review combined statistical areas in existence and adjacent communities that have a of the standards is necessary to ensure at the time of the census. high degree of integration with that their continued usefulness and DATES: Effective Date: This Notice is nucleus. The concept of a micropolitan relevance. The current review of the effective immediately. OMB plans to statistical area closely parallels that of metropolitan and micropolitan announce delineations of areas based on the metropolitan statistical area, but a statistical area standards is the sixth the 2010 standards and 2010 Census micropolitan statistical area features a such review. data in 2013. Federal agencies should smaller nucleus. The purpose of these In 2008, OMB charged the begin to use the new area delineations statistical areas is unchanged from when Metropolitan and Micropolitan to tabulate and publish statistics when metropolitan areas were first delineated: Statistical Area Standards Review the delineations are announced. The classification provides a nationally Committee with examining the 2000 ADDRESSES: Please send correspondence consistent set of delineations for metropolitan and micropolitan about OMB’s decision to Katherine K. collecting, tabulating, and publishing statistical area standards and providing Wallman, Chief Statistician, Office of Federal statistics for geographic areas. to OMB recommendations for revising Management and Budget, Room 10201, OMB establishes and maintains these the standards that would be issued no New Executive Office Building, areas solely for statistical purposes. In later than December 2010. Agencies Washington, DC 20503, telephone reviewing and revising these areas, OMB represented on the Review Committee number (202) 395–3093, fax number does not take into account or attempt to included the Census Bureau (Chair), (202) 395–7245, or E-mail anticipate any public or private sector Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of [email protected] with the nonstatistical uses that may be made of Labor Statistics, Bureau of subject 2010 MetroAreas. the delineations. These areas are not Transportation Statistics, Economic Electronic Availability: This notice is designed to serve as a general-purpose Research Service/U.S. Department of available on the Internet from the OMB geographic framework applicable for Agriculture, National Center for Health VerDate Mar<15>2010 20:27 Jun 25, 2010 Jkt 220001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\28JNN3.SGM 28JNN3 srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES3 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 123 / Monday, June 28, 2010 / Notices 37247 Statistics, and ex officio, OMB. The establishing a minimum employment during the past decade, and Census Bureau provided research interchange measure of 15 for the recommended only some modest support to the committee. automatic qualification of combined specific changes on which OMB sought During the five years between the statistical areas. Two commenters public comments. The comments 2000 standards’ implementation in 2003 supported the elimination of local summarized below relate to aspects of and the commencement of the Review opinion in combined statistical area the statistical area standards that were Committee’s deliberations in 2008, OMB qualification, with one of the two not open for public comment. received very few inquiries from the expressing concern about setting the One commenter suggested alternative public questioning the conceptual minimum employment interchange means of titling metropolitan statistical framework of the 2000 standards and measure threshold at 15. Two other areas with more than one county: (1) the resulting area delineations. commenters expressed concern about Titling based on the county seat of each Therefore, the Review Committee both the potential consequences of county in the metropolitan statistical concluded early in its deliberations that eliminating local opinion and setting area; or (2) listing the most populous the 2000 standards worked well and the automatic threshold at 15. One urban centers of each county. Another were generally accepted. Thus, the commenter supported setting the commenter suggested that titling a Review Committee determined that it employment interchange measure at 15 merged metropolitan statistical area be would not be necessary or appropriate for combining areas. based on the names of the areas being to seek wide-ranging public comment Two commenters remarked on the merged. Two commenters asked OMB to on all aspects of the 2000 standards, proposed combined statistical area consider shorter titles for areas. particularly since a multiyear titling