Karnal Bunt; Compensation for Custom Harvesters in Northern Texas, 24297-24302 [05-9194]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 88 (Monday, May 9, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24297-24302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9194]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 03-052-3]


Karnal Bunt; Compensation for Custom Harvesters in Northern Texas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, with changes, an interim rule 
that amended the Karnal bunt regulations to provide for the payment of 
compensation to custom harvesters for losses they incurred due to the 
requirement that their equipment be

[[Page 24298]]

cleaned and disinfected after four counties in northern Texas were 
declared regulated areas for Karnal bunt during the 2000-2001 crop 
season. The interim rule also amended the regulations to provide for 
the payment of compensation to owners or lessees of other equipment 
that came into contact with Karnal bunt-positive host crops in those 
counties and was required to be cleaned and disinfected during the 
2000-2001 crop season. This final rule amends the interim rule to 
indicate that affected parties may apply for compensation whenever 
disinfection was required by an inspector and to extend the deadline by 
which claims for compensation must have been submitted. The payment of 
compensation is necessary to reduce the economic burden imposed by the 
regulations and to encourage the participation of, and obtain 
cooperation from, affected individuals in our efforts to contain and 
reduce the presence of Karnal bunt in the United States.

DATES: Effective Date: May 9, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Matthew H. Royer, Senior Program 
Advisor, Pest Detection and Management Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 
Road Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 20737-1234; (301) 734-3769.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Karnal bunt is a fungal disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum 
wheat (Triticum durum), and triticale (Triticum aestivum X Secale 
cereale), a hybrid of wheat and rye. Karnal bunt is caused by the smut 
fungus Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur and is spread primarily through 
the movement of infected seed. In the absence of measures taken by the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prevent its spread, the 
establishment of Karnal bunt in the United States could have 
significant consequences with regard to the export of wheat to 
international markets.
    The regulations regarding Karnal bunt are set forth in 7 CFR 
301.89-1 through 301.89-16 (referred to below as the regulations). 
Among other things, the regulations define areas regulated for Karnal 
bunt and restrict the movement of certain regulated articles, including 
wheat seed and grain, from the regulated areas. The regulations have 
also provided for the payment of compensation for certain growers, 
handlers, seed companies, owners of grain storage facilities, flour 
millers, and participants in the National Karnal Bunt Survey who 
incurred losses and expenses because of Karnal bunt during certain 
years.
    In an interim rule effective and published in the Federal Register 
on May 5, 2004 (69 FR 24909-24016, Docket No. 03-052-1), we amended the 
regulations in Sec.  301.89-16 to provide for the payment of 
compensation to custom harvesters whose mechanized harvesting equipment 
was used to harvest Karnal bunt-positive host crops in Archer, Baylor, 
Throckmorton, and Young Counties, TX, during the 2000-2001 crop season 
and was required to be cleaned and disinfected prior to movement from 
those counties. This compensation was intended to reimburse custom 
harvesters for the cost of that cleaning and disinfection. The interim 
rule also provided for the payment of compensation equivalent to the 
value of one contract that an eligible custom harvester lost due to the 
downtime necessitated by cleaning and disinfection. If an eligible 
custom harvester did not lose a contract due to this downtime, the 
interim rule provided compensation for the fixed costs he or she 
incurred during the time the machine was being cleaned and disinfected. 
The interim rule also provided for the payment of compensation for the 
expenses associated with the cleaning and disinfection of other types 
of equipment used in the four affected counties. The specific amounts 
of compensation provided were discussed in detail in the interim rule.
    In a subsequent technical amendment effective and published in the 
Federal Register on July 8, 2004 (69 FR 41181, Docket No. 03-052-2), we 
extended the deadline for submitting claims for compensation under the 
regulations established by the interim rule from September 2, 2004, to 
December 31, 2004.
    Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or 
before July 6, 2004. We received 334 comments by that date. They were 
from custom harvesters, a representative of custom harvesters, and a 
State plant protection organization. We carefully considered all the 
comments we received. They are discussed below by topic.

Eligibility for Compensation

    The interim rule provided for the payment of compensation for costs 
related to the cleaning and disinfection of mechanized harvesting 
equipment that had been used to harvest host crops that had tested 
positive for Karnal bunt and for costs related to the cleaning and 
disinfection of other equipment that had come into contact with host 
crops that had tested positive for Karnal bunt. Several commenters 
stated that all mechanized harvesting equipment leaving Archer, Baylor, 
Throckmorton, and Young Counties during the 2000-2001 crop season was 
required by Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 
inspectors to be cleaned and disinfected, regardless of whether the 
host crops the mechanized harvesting equipment had been used to harvest 
had been tested and found to be positive for Karnal bunt. The 
commenters asked that we amend the rule to provide for the payment of 
compensation to custom harvesters whose mechanized harvesting equipment 
was used to harvest host crops that had not been tested for Karnal bunt 
but was nevertheless required by an inspector to be cleaned and 
disinfected prior to movement from the regulated counties.
    In an emergency situation, it is important to act quickly to 
prevent the spread of Karnal bunt. The inspectors who required cleaning 
and disinfection for mechanized harvesting equipment that had been used 
to harvest crops that had not been tested for Karnal bunt had 
determined that the host crops were infected according to the 
definition of infestation (infected) in Sec.  301.89-1 of the 
regulations, which specifies that crops may be considered infected if, 
among other things, there exist ``circumstances that make it reasonable 
to believe that Karnal bunt is present.''
    As we discussed in the preamble of the interim rule, any delays 
associated with cleaning and disinfection cause custom harvesters to 
incur losses. If inspectors had halted the movement of mechanized 
harvesting equipment from the regulated counties pending the receipt of 
Karnal bunt test results for the host crops the mechanized harvesting 
equipment was used to harvest, the delays suffered by the custom 
harvesters could have been longer, which could have resulted in 
additional costs associated with complying with the regulations. By 
requiring that any mechanized harvesting equipment used to harvest host 
crops in the four regulated counties be cleaned and disinfected prior 
to moving from the regulated area, even if the host crops that the 
mechanized harvesting equipment had been used to harvest had not yet 
been tested, inspectors were acting to minimize these costs. However, 
some costs were still incurred due to cleaning and disinfection, and it 
was our intent to provide for the payment of compensation to all custom 
harvesters whose equipment was required by an inspector to be cleaned 
and disinfected prior to movement from the regulated counties.

[[Page 24299]]

    Similar considerations apply to owners or lessees of other 
equipment in Archer, Baylor, Throckmorton, or Young Counties during the 
2000-2001 crop season who were eligible for compensation under the 
interim rule. The owners or lessees of these pieces of equipment had 
scheduled the movement of the equipment from the affected area prior to 
the designation of these counties as regulated areas and needed to move 
the equipment out of the regulated areas to continue their harvesting. 
Any delays associated with testing the host crops with which this other 
equipment came into contact for Karnal bunt would have further hampered 
the harvesting efforts for which the other equipment needed to move 
from the regulated counties.
    However, the commenters are correct that the compensation 
provisions established by the interim rule technically excluded from 
applying for compensation those custom harvesters whose equipment had 
been used to harvest host crops that had not been tested for Karnal 
bunt but was nevertheless required by an inspector to be cleaned and 
disinfected. The compensation provisions also excluded owners or 
lessees of other equipment that came into contact with host crops that 
had not been tested for Karnal bunt but was nevertheless required by an 
inspector to be cleaned and disinfected from applying for compensation. 
Therefore, in this final rule, we have amended the phrases that begin 
each subparagraph of the specific compensation provisions established 
by the interim rule in paragraph (d) of Sec.  301.89-16 that describe 
who is eligible to apply for compensation. As the interim rule 
established it in the paragraphs describing compensation provided to 
custom harvesters, this phrase read:
    ``Custom harvesters who harvested host crops that tested positive 
for Karnal bunt and that were grown in Archer, Baylor, Throckmorton, or 
Young Counties, TX, during the 2000-2001 crop season * * *''
    We are amending it to read:
    ``Custom harvesters who harvested host crops that an inspector 
determined to be infected with Karnal bunt and that were grown in 
Archer, Baylor, Throckmorton, or Young Counties, TX, during the 2000-
2001 crop season * * *''
    Similarly, the phrase that begins the paragraph providing 
compensation to owners or lessees of other equipment read:
    ``Owners or lessees of equipment other than mechanized harvesting 
equipment and seed conditioning equipment that came into contact with 
host crops that tested positive for Karnal bunt in Archer, Baylor, 
Throckmorton, or Young Counties, TX, during the 2000-2001 crop season * 
* *''
    We are amending it to read:
    ``Owners or lessees of equipment other than mechanized harvesting 
equipment and seed conditioning equipment that came into contact with 
host crops that an inspector determined to be infected with Karnal bunt 
in Archer, Baylor, Throckmorton, or Young Counties, TX, during the 
2000-2001 crop season * * *''
    In addition, the regulations established by the interim rule 
described the PPQ-540 certificate issued according to Sec.  301.89-6 to 
allow the movement of equipment from a regulated area as follows:
    ``* * * the PPQ-540 certificate issued to allow the movement of 
mechanized harvesting equipment from a regulated area after it has been 
used to harvest Karnal bunt-positive host crops and has been 
subsequently cleaned and disinfected.''
    We are amending this description to read as follows:
    ``* * * the PPQ-540 certificate issued to allow the movement of 
mechanized harvesting equipment from a regulated area after it has been 
used to harvest host crops that an inspector determined to be infected 
with Karnal bunt and has been subsequently cleaned and disinfected.''
    We have also changed other references to ``Karnal bunt-positive 
host crops'' in these paragraphs to refer to ``Karnal bunt-infected 
host crops.'' We believe these amendments address the commenters' 
concerns.
    Several commenters stated that compensation should only be offered 
to members of U.S. Custom Harvesters, an industry trade group, to 
ensure that any compensation paid under the provisions established by 
the interim rule would be paid to a verifiable U.S. custom harvester.
    We believe that any custom harvester who was required to clean and 
disinfect his or her mechanized harvesting equipment prior to movement 
from the four regulated counties in the 2000-2001 crop season and who 
submits a claim in accordance with the requirements of the interim rule 
should be eligible for compensation, regardless of his or her 
membership status in an industry trade group. We are making no changes 
to the interim rule in response to this comment.

Documentation of Claims

    Several commenters stated that, during the outbreak of Karnal bunt 
in the four Texas counties, APHIS inspectors told some harvesters who 
had harvested wheat in the regulated area but who had already moved 
their equipment from the regulated area that cleaning and disinfection 
of their mechanized harvesting equipment was necessary to prevent the 
spread of Karnal bunt. According to these commenters, the inspectors 
stated that a verbal attestation of having cleaned and disinfected 
their mechanized harvesting equipment according to the requirements of 
Sec.  301.89-13(a) was sufficient to allow further movement and did not 
issue a PPQ-540 certificate to allow the movement of the mechanized 
harvesting equipment. The commenters specifically cited one custom 
harvester who had cleaned and disinfected his equipment in another 
county, and another who cleaned and disinfected his equipment in 
another State. Since the compensation provisions established by the 
interim rule required that the claimant present a copy of the PPQ-540 
certificate, these harvesters would not be able to apply for 
compensation. The commenters suggested that claimants be allowed to 
present a ``Certificate of Claim in Good Faith'' in lieu of a PPQ-540 
certificate.
    Another commenter stated that it was likely that some custom 
harvesters had misplaced their PPQ-540 certificates in the time since 
the 2000-2001 crop season and asked that APHIS waive the requirement 
for the PPQ-540 provided that APHIS has a copy of the PPQ-540 issued to 
the affected custom harvester.
    We are aware of claims that certain custom harvesters cleaned and 
disinfected their mechanized harvesting equipment at the suggestion of 
APHIS inspectors after they had moved their mechanized harvesting 
equipment from the regulated counties. However, a relatively small 
number of custom harvesters may have been affected by this situation, 
and those custom harvesters do not all have the same evidence in 
support of their claims that APHIS suggested that they clean and 
disinfect their mechanized harvesting equipment; therefore, we prefer 
to evaluate claims for compensation resulting from this situation on a 
case-by-case basis rather than providing for the payment of such 
compensation in the regulations. We invite custom harvesters who 
cleaned and disinfected their equipment at the suggestion of an APHIS 
inspector to contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT or write to Plant Protection and Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, 304 
West Main Street, Olney, TX 76374, in order to present their evidence. 
We are making no changes to the regulations

[[Page 24300]]

established in the interim rule in response to these comments.
    In response to the second commenter's concern, if any custom 
harvesters have misplaced their PPQ-540 certificates, we will provide a 
copy of their PPQ-540 certificate upon request. Custom harvesters 
needing a copy of the PPQ-540 certificate should address their requests 
to Plant Protection and Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, 304 West Main Street, 
Olney, TX 76374.
    Several commenters stated that almost all contracts between growers 
and custom harvesters are verbal contracts. These commenters requested 
that we accept a notarized statement asserting that a custom harvester 
harvested wheat in one of the four counties during the 2000-2001 crop 
season, along with the name and address of the producer for whom he or 
she harvested, in lieu of a contract or other signed agreement for 
harvesting.
    We recognize that almost all contracts between growers and custom 
harvesters are verbal contracts. This is why the interim rule provided 
that an affidavit stating that the custom harvester entered into an 
agreement to harvest in Archer, Baylor, Throckmorton, or Young County 
during the 2000-2001 crop season prior to the designation of the 
relevant county as a regulated area for Karnal bunt could be submitted 
in lieu of a contract or other signed agreement as proof that the 
custom harvester harvested in the regulated area. However, due to an 
oversight, we did not provide that an affidavit stating that the custom 
harvester entered into an agreement to harvest could be submitted in 
lieu of the contract for harvesting in an area not regulated for Karnal 
bunt that had been lost due to cleaning and disinfecting harvesting 
equipment and for which the custom harvester wished to receive 
compensation. This final rule corrects this oversight. Just as the 
contract for which the custom harvester will receive compensation is 
required to have been signed on a date prior to the designation of the 
relevant county as a regulated area for Karnal bunt, the affidavit will 
be required to state that the custom harvester entered into an 
agreement to harvest on a date prior to the designation of the relevant 
county as a regulated area for Karnal bunt.
    Relating to the submission of affidavits, we are making one 
additional change in this final rule. The regulations established by 
the interim rule did not specify who had to sign the affidavit to 
attest that the custom harvester had entered into an agreement to 
harvest. In this final rule, we are amending the regulations to specify 
in each case in which an affidavit may be submitted that the affidavit 
must be signed by the customer of the custom harvester with whom the 
custom harvester entered into an agreement to harvest.

Other Compensation

    Several commenters stated that the compensation provided by the 
interim rule does not cover the actual loss of revenue or the 
devaluation of equipment associated with cleaning and disinfection 
after exposure to Karnal bunt-infected crops. According to these 
commenters, in some cases, custom harvesters who harvested wheat that 
tested positive for Karnal bunt have not been able to trade or sell 
their mechanized harvesting equipment due to unwarranted fear of 
contamination. The commenters stated that custom harvesters in that 
situation should receive compensation similar to that received by grain 
handlers in Arizona who handled Karnal bunt-positive host crops after 
the 1996 outbreak of Karnal bunt in that State; these commenters stated 
that the grain handlers received compensation for 3 years of lost 
revenue and contracts.
    It is USDA policy to pay compensation only for documented costs of 
complying with the regulations. The interim rule provided compensation 
for the cost of cleaning and disinfection of mechanized harvesting 
equipment and for either a contract lost due to the downtime associated 
with cleaning and disinfection or for fixed costs incurred during the 
downtime associated with cleaning and disinfection. We determined the 
amount of compensation provided for these items based on data provided 
by U.S. Custom Harvesters.
    The grain handlers in Arizona were compensated in accordance with 
paragraph (b)(2) of Sec.  301.89-14, which provided for the payment of 
compensation for loss in value of wheat. The determination of how much 
value the wheat had lost was based in part on any contracts the grain 
handlers might have signed; however, compensation for the wheat did not 
exceed $2.50 per bushel under any circumstances. Contrary to the 
commenters' assertion, compensation was not provided to the grain 
handlers for lost revenue or contracts; contracts were used, when 
available, to help determine the loss in value of the affected wheat.
    With regard to the concerns about devaluation of equipment, it is 
APHIS's priority to ensure that the movement of mechanized harvesting 
equipment from a regulated area does not pose a risk of spreading 
Karnal bunt into a nonregulated area, and the cleaning and disinfection 
process described in Sec.  301.89-13 mitigates that risk. We do not 
believe it is appropriate for APHIS to provide compensation for a 
possible loss of equipment value that is undocumented and that, if it 
exists, is due to reluctance on the part of private buyers rather than 
to a demonstrable risk that the equipment might spread Karnal bunt. We 
are making no changes to the interim rule in response to this comment.

Compensation for Other Custom Harvesters

    Although they did not take issue with any of the provisions of the 
interim rule, several other commenters urged us to expand its scope to 
provide compensation to custom harvesters who participated in the 
initial Karnal bunt survey in Arizona in 1996. These commenters pointed 
to the interim rule as setting a precedent for providing compensation 
to custom harvesters that should be followed in the case of these 
Arizona harvesters.
    Many of these commenters cited growers, handlers, seed companies, 
and wheat straw producers as other entities in the wheat marketing 
chain to whom APHIS had provided compensation for lost contract value. 
Some of these commenters suggested that APHIS should provide for the 
payment of compensation to the custom harvesters similar to that 
provided to seed companies that lost revenue from wheat seed they had 
obtained from a regulated area because buyers would not accept APHIS's 
certification that the seed was free of Karnal bunt.
    One of these commenters stated that custom harvesters who had 
participated in the initial Karnal bunt survey had suffered damage to 
their harvesting equipment and lost existing contracts as well as long-
standing business relationships over the 1996-1997, 1997-1998, and 
1998-1999 crop seasons. After cleaning and disinfection according to a 
protocol required by APHIS, their equipment had suffered damage that 
made it unusable. (This cleaning and disinfection protocol for 
mechanized harvesting equipment was required administratively and was 
never added to the regulations; different, and potentially less 
damaging, cleaning and disinfection protocols were added to the 
regulations in a final rule published in the Federal Register on 
October 4, 1996 [61 FR 52189-52213, Docket No. 96-016-14].) The 
harvesters were not compensated for this damage until after the 1998-
1999 crop season. In addition, there were reports that growers would 
not hire these custom harvesters because they did not want equipment

[[Page 24301]]

associated with the pre-harvest sampling program to harvest in their 
fields due to fears that the equipment would spread Karnal bunt.
    This commenter requested that APHIS provide for the payment of 
compensation for the revenue that would have been realized from 
contractual relationships that were lost due to the growers' reluctance 
to allow these custom harvesters' equipment to harvest in their fields; 
the commenter also suggested appropriate supporting documentation for 
such claims. The commenter suggested the example of grain handlers in 
Arizona as a case where income tax statements had been used to provide 
proof of loss as a basis for compensation.
    With regard to the compensation paid to other entities in the wheat 
production and marketing chain, we would like to clarify that, as 
described above, APHIS has only paid compensation to those entities for 
loss in value of wheat due to the presence of Karnal bunt. Compensation 
was not provided to any of these entities, including grain handlers, 
for lost revenue or contracts. It is USDA policy not to provide 
compensation for lost income, which is what the commenters requested.
    The commenters do not dispute that the custom harvesters who 
participated in the initial Karnal bunt survey were compensated for the 
damage to their equipment caused by cleaning and disinfection. In 
addition, the custom harvesters participating in this survey were 
working under a contract with the USDA to undertake the survey; they 
lost no contracts due to the downtime necessitated by cleaning and 
disinfection when they moved between fields. Therefore, we believe that 
we have provided compensation to the custom harvesters who participated 
in the initial Karnal bunt survey that is equivalent to the 
compensation provided to the custom harvesters who harvested in Archer, 
Baylor, Throckmorton, and Young Counties and were required to clean and 
disinfect their equipment prior to movement from a regulated area. We 
are making no changes to the interim rule in response to these 
comments.
    Some commenters further requested that compensation be paid to 
custom harvesters in California and Arizona who must clean their 
mechanized harvesting equipment due to Karnal bunt quarantines in those 
States.
    The commenters did not specify whether the custom harvesters to 
whom they were referring were harvesting host crops in previously 
regulated areas or in previously nonregulated areas. With regard to 
previously regulated areas, on August 6, 2001, we published in the 
Federal Register a final rule (66 FR 40839-40843, Docket No. 96-016-37) 
that established the compensation levels for the 1999-2000 crop season 
and subsequent years and made several other changes to the compensation 
regulations. One of these changes was that, after the 2000-2001 crop 
season, compensation would no longer be made available to persons 
growing or handling host crops that were knowingly planted in 
previously regulated areas. This change applies to custom harvesters as 
well as other parties.
    With regard to previously nonregulated areas, we plan to initiate 
rulemaking to amend the regulations to extend the compensation 
provisions established in the May 2004 interim rule to custom 
harvesters who harvest host crops that test positive for Karnal bunt 
and owners or lessees of other equipment that is exposed to host crops 
that test positive for Karnal bunt in any areas not previously 
regulated for Karnal bunt. That proposed rule would apply to the 2002-
2003 through 2005-2006 crop seasons.

Change of Deadline for Compensation Claims

    Claims for the compensation provided by the interim rule were 
originally required to be submitted by September 2, 2004. As noted 
previously, a subsequent technical amendment extended the deadline for 
submitting claims for compensation to December 31, 2004. However, in 
the Supplementary Information section of the interim rule, we stated 
that if a comment we received in response to the interim rule caused us 
to change the compensation provisions, we would provide an additional 
120-day period after the effective date of the final rule during which 
affected persons could submit claims for compensation. Therefore, in 
addition to the changes discussed above, we are extending the deadline 
for compensation claims in this final rule from December 31, 2004, to 
September 6, 2005.
    Therefore, for the reasons given in the interim rule and in this 
document, we are adopting the interim rule as a final rule, with the 
changes discussed in this document.
    This action affirms the information contained in the interim rule 
concerning Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 
The potential increase in compensation under this final rule is no more 
than $9,000, which does not significantly change the conclusions of the 
interim rule's executive order and regulatory flexibility analyses. 
This action also affirms the information contained in the interim rule 
concerning Executive Orders 12372 and 12988.
    Further, this action has been determined to be not significant for 
the purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been 
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.

Effective Date

    Pursuant to the administrative procedure provisions in 5 U.S.C. 
553, we find good cause for making this rule effective less than 30 
days after publication in the Federal Register. The interim rule 
adopted as final by this rule was effective on May 5, 2004. This rule 
indicates that affected parties may apply for compensation whenever 
disinfection was required by an inspector and extends the deadline by 
which claims for compensation must be submitted to September 6, 2005. 
Immediate action is necessary to indicate that affected parties may 
apply for compensation whenever disinfection was required by an 
inspector and to extend the deadline by which claims for compensation 
must be submitted in order to relieve the economic burden placed on 
small entities by the domestic quarantine regulations for Karnal bunt. 
Therefore, the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service has determined that this rule should be effective upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), the information collection and recordkeeping 
requirements in the interim rule have been approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). The assigned OMB control number is 0579-
0248.

Government Paperwork Elimination Act Compliance

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is committed to 
compliance with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), which 
requires Government agencies in general to provide the public the 
option of submitting information or transacting business electronically 
to the maximum extent possible. For information pertinent to GPEA 
compliance related to the interim rule, please contact Mrs. Celeste 
Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734-7477.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

    Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,

[[Page 24302]]

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.


0
Accordingly, the interim rule amending 7 CFR part 301 that was 
published at 69 FR 24909-24016 on May 5, 2004, is adopted as a final 
rule with the following changes:

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

0
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
    Section 301.75-15 also issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Pub. L. 
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 also 
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 (7 
U.S.C. 1421 note).


0
2. In Sec.  301.89-16, paragraph (d) is amended as follows:
0
a. In the introductory text of the paragraph, by removing the date 
``December 31, 2004'' and adding the date ``September 6, 2005'' in its 
place.
0
b. In paragraph (d)(1)(i), in the first sentence after the paragraph 
heading, by removing the words ``tested positive for'' and adding the 
words ``an inspector determined to be infected with'' in their place; 
in the second sentence, by removing the words ``Karnal bunt-positive'' 
and adding the words ``Karnal bunt-infected'' in their place; and in 
the last sentence, by adding the words ``, signed by the customer with 
whom the custom harvester entered into the agreement'' before the words 
``; a copy of'' and by removing the words ``Karnal bunt-positive host 
crops'' and adding the words ``host crops that an inspector determined 
to be infected with Karnal bunt'' in their place.
0
c. By revising paragraph (d)(1)(ii) to read as set forth below.
0
d. In paragraph (d)(1)(iii), in the first sentence after the paragraph 
heading, by removing the words ``tested positive for'' and adding the 
words ``an inspector determined to be infected with'' in their place; 
and in the last sentence, by adding the words ``, signed by the 
customer with whom the custom harvester entered into the agreement'' 
before the words ``; and a copy of'' and by removing the words ``Karnal 
bunt-positive host crops'' and adding the words ``host crops that an 
inspector determined to be infected with Karnal bunt'' in their place.
0
e. In paragraph (d)(2), in the first sentence after the paragraph 
heading, by removing the words ``tested positive for'' and adding the 
words ``an inspector determined to be infected with'' in their place; 
and in the last sentence, by removing the words ``Karnal bunt-positive 
host crops'' and adding the words ``host crops that an inspector 
determined to be infected with Karnal bunt'' in their place.


Sec.  301.89-16  Compensation for grain storage facilities, flour 
millers, National Survey participants, and certain custom harvesters 
and equipment owners for the 1999-2000 and subsequent crop seasons.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (ii) Contracts lost due to cleaning and disinfection. Custom 
harvesters who harvested host crops that an inspector determined to be 
infected with Karnal bunt and that were grown in Archer, Baylor, 
Throckmorton, or Young Counties, TX, during the 2000-2001 crop season 
are also eligible to be compensated for the revenue lost if they lost 
one contract due to downtime necessitated by cleaning and disinfection, 
if the contract to harvest Karnal bunt-infected host crops in a 
previously nonregulated area was signed before the area was declared a 
regulated area for Karnal bunt. Compensation will only be provided for 
one contract lost due to cleaning and disinfection. Compensation for 
any contract that was lost due to cleaning and disinfection will be 
either the full value of the contract or $23.48 for each acre that was 
to have been harvested under the contract, whichever is less. To claim 
compensation, a custom harvester must provide copies of a contract or 
other signed agreement for harvesting in Archer, Baylor, Throckmorton, 
or Young County during the 2000-2001 crop season, signed on a date 
prior to the designation of the county as a regulated area for Karnal 
bunt, or an affidavit stating that the custom harvester entered into an 
agreement to harvest in Archer, Baylor, Throckmorton, or Young County 
during the 2000-2001 crop season prior to the designation of the county 
as a regulated area for Karnal bunt, signed by the customer with whom 
the custom harvester entered into the agreement; a copy of the PPQ-540 
certificate issued to allow the movement of mechanized harvesting 
equipment from a regulated area after it has been used to harvest host 
crops that an inspector determined to be infected with Karnal bunt and 
had been subsequently cleaned and disinfected; and the contract for 
harvesting in an area not regulated for Karnal bunt that had been lost 
due to time lost to cleaning and disinfecting harvesting equipment, 
signed on a date prior to the designation of the relevant county as a 
regulated area for Karnal bunt, for which the custom harvester will 
receive compensation, or an affidavit stating that the custom harvester 
entered into an agreement to harvest in an area not regulated for 
Karnal bunt prior to the designation of the county as a regulated area 
for Karnal bunt and stating the number of acres that were to have been 
harvested and the amount the custom harvester was to have been paid 
under the agreement, signed by the customer with whom the custom 
harvester entered into the agreement.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 3rd day of May 2005.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 05-9194 Filed 5-6-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P